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DF: Cyberpunk 2077 Next-Gen Patch: The Digital Foundry Verdict

Arioco

Member



As always I'll leave a summary in a few minutes.

EDIT----

- The patch adds 2 modes to PS5 and Series X, a 60 fps mode and a 30 fps RT mode for ray-traced shadows. Series S is left with only one mode which is 30 fps and doesn't make use of any form of RT.

- In Performance Mode PS5 runs at dynamic 4K, but in reality pixel counts are between 1260 and 1728, a huge upgrade over the pre-patch version anyways. Series X runs at a dynamic resolution between 1382p and 1782p, which is also an upgrade.

- RT mode is 1440p in both PS5 and Series X.

- Series S ranges between 1296p and 1440p.

- As for performance, in 60 fps mode PS5 holds the target pretty well, but in the market area it drops more than it did before, but that area is thankfuly and exception, generally the game runs smoother than the previous version, both while driven and during heavy combat. Series X sees a huge improvement too. In the market area it drops more than before too, but the rest is improved. Both consoles are largely tied, but if we stress the engine hard PS5 wins every test (by around 5 to 10 fps). Sony's machine fully updated still beats MS's machine fully updated.

- In RT Mode PS5 runs at a practically perfect 30 fps. Series X shows flashes of a drops in shootouts but they are fleeting.

- Series S runs at near perfect 30 fps.

- Loading times are much improved, especially on PS5, which used to be the slowest of the three. Now PS5 has similar loading times to Series consoles.
 
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CheeseCake

Member
tl;dr?


Tired Britney Spears GIF
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Text article:




Resolution stuff:

Series S 1296~1440p/30 FPS.
RT mode PS5/Series X ~1440p/30 FPS. In line with Series S resolution but just with RT.
Perf mode: PS5 1260p to 1728p | Series X 1382p to 1782p
Series X generally enjoys higher resolution but TAA makes both look very similar.


Performance stuff:

Both consoles perform better than before. PS5 can have a 5~10 FPS advantage in stress areas.
But Series X's VRR support makes this a non-issue.
In general DF consider Series X's improvement to performance bigger compared to pre next-gen patch.
Outside of stress areas both console run at a pretty good 60 FPS
Areas which took 40~ seconds to load before now take 13~ seconds on both PS5 and Series consoles.


DF Summary: Never been a better time than now to get into this game:

But to my mind, Cyberpunk's latest patch does one great thing: it creates a more stable base to build on for future updates and patches. The bug fixes are plentiful and CDPR is slowly chiselling away at its work to define it and to remove its blemishes. I've experienced no crashes and no soft locks in my testing, which is a start. Performance has never been better, and at least PS5 and Series X are standardised in their options, their ray-traced shadows, and crowd density. Beyond this, we'll have to wait on further patches. For now, Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably in the position it should have been at launch well over a year ago. For those tempted to replay the game to see its next-gen features, there's no show-stopping moment - but for newcomers? There's never been a better time to experience the game on console.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Still think it's a last gen game.
The game is definitely not built for the new consoles and still have some stuff that looks like it's running on last gen but at higher resolution with better framerate.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Well at least then we can do away with saying something like frame rate drops are a "non issue" when not everyone will have access to a TV that supports VRR.


Yeah, weird that people keep dismissing the obvious improvement VRR brings to the table, once it's out on the PS5 at least those folks will stop that foolishness.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Looks like the best way to play on console is Series X with VRR easily, higher resolutions, totally smooth and faster loading.

Regardless of the comparison, the Series X version seems to have improved the most over it's pre patched state. It's performance mode was terrible running in the enhanced BC mode. Now it's mostly locked 60 FPS with only drops in the stress areas.

That's a pretty massive win for that console players who've been sitting on the game till now (aka MEEEEE :D)
 
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GHG

Gold Member
Yeah, weird that people keep dismissing the obvious improvement VRR brings to the table, once it's out on the PS5 at least those folks will stop that foolishness.

Statistics are statistics. A framerate advantage is a framerate advantage.

It would be pretty strange if a GPU review was prefaced with "if you use VRR on the less performant GPU then the framerate disadvantage is a non issue", but this is where we for now are I guess.
 

Stuart360

Member
Still think it's a last gen game.
The game is definitely not built for the new consoles and still have some stuff that looks like it's running on last gen but at higher resolution with better framerate.
Its probably more next gen than any next gen game released so far, hense how terrible the last gen versions were.
This was made for PC first and ported to consoles. The PC version maxed out with full RT looks better than anything else imo.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Statistics are statistics. A framerate advantage is a framerate advantage.

It would be pretty strange if a GPU review was prefaced with "if you use VRR on the less performant GPU then the framerate disadvantage is a non issue", but this is where we for now are I guess.

Is it that dissimilar to every review/technical analysis of PC games touting using DLSS ? VRR, like DLSS, is a hardware based spec and seems to be doing its job well.

Anyway, DF only noted a drop in one 'market place shootout' in their testing, it's not like the frame rate is unanimously different between the two.

For SX owners who have VRR displays, they have the version with the higher average resolution and no performance issues.

For all next-gen console owners, they have the best version of the game on consoles right now regardless.

Everyone gains.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Its probably more next gen than any next gen game released so far, hense how terrible the last gen versions were.
This was made for PC first and ported to consoles. The PC version maxed out with full RT looks better than anything else imo.
The funny thing is you're serious 😂
But nah not even close, the PC version is last gen game with Ray Tracing nothing more.
You can't really point to the last gen consoles looking and playing like shit as proof of it being "NEXT GEN", because all versions was realised in a shit state
I'm curious if The Witcher 3 will be a better upgrade 🤔
I have my doubts.
 
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GHG

Gold Member
Is it that dissimilar to every review/technical analysis of PC games touting using DLSS ? VRR, like DLSS, is a hardware based spec and seems to be doing its job well.

Anyway, DF only noted a drop in one 'market place shootout' in their testing, it's not like the frame rate is unanimously different between the two.

For SX owners who have VRR displays, they have the version with the higher average resolution and no performance issues.

For all next-gen console owners, they have the best version of the game on consoles right now regardless.

Everyone gains.

No. You get DLSS with every modern Nvida GPU, no additional hardware required. You don't get a VRR capable display with every Series S/X purchase.

In this game the Xbox supporting VRR is a helpful feature for those with a VRR capable display and will help mask the difference in framerate but it doesn't make it a "non issue'. To say it's a" non-issue' is dismissing every Series console owner who doesn't have a VRR capable display on hand.
 
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I noticed how DF didn't have HDR turned on during the test. Does that mean with HDR on both systems can't run at 60fps in Performance Mode?
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
DF "net win for PS5"

Thats because ver 1.2 didnt have two modes on PS5 so you basically only had one way to play.
The Series X version had two modes already from the jump.
The new Raytracing mode just replaces the Quality mode on Series X.

Logically CDPR should have had 3 modes.


On Topic:
Yet again devs "wasting" performance by using RTSh instead of using RT Diffuse Indirect or even better RTGI, but in this game probably well out of budget.
RTSh is nice indoors, but it doesnt seem like the cost is worth it.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
VRR seems more of a curse for Xbox really as devs seem to be pushing rez higher, causing slightly more frame drops, but devs seem to think it doesnt really matter because of VRR.

In this VRR will likely have nothing to do with the frame drops, because in some areas the XsX is actually the better performer.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
I noticed how DF didn't have HDR turned on during the test. Does that mean with HDR on both systems can't run at 60fps in Performance Mode?
Most likely due to capture hardware and/or how they are gonna present the information.
No point capturing HDR if you are just going to display SDR content at the end of the day.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
No. You get DLSS with every modern Nvida GPU, no additional hardware required. You don't get a VRR capable display with every Series S purchase.

In this game the Xbox supporting VRR is a helpful feature for those with a VRR capable display and will help mask the difference in framerate but it doesn't make it a "non issue'. To say it's a" non-issue' is dismissing every Series console owner who doesn't have a VRR capable display on hand.

Series S doesn't have a performance mode, I'm assuming you meant to say Series X.

These are DF's exact words:

Xbox Series X's VRR support does a phenomenal job of masking the performance drops the console does have.

Now of course it goes without saying you will only get this tangible benefit if you have a VRR display. But it's not like you get a 4K TV with every PS5 or Series X either. The Series consoles currently support VRR which lets them have advantages like this and in cases like Dying Light 2, literal doubling of frame rate over PS5.

What display a user has is an irrelevant argument here. The support for the feature is on a console hardware level.

It's a bit naive to outright dismiss the benefit VRR brings just because one of the next gen console brands still hasn't added support for it yet.
 

Stuart360

Member
The funny thing is you're serious 😂
But nah not even close, the PC version is last gen game with Ray Tracing nothing more.
You can't really point to the last gen consoles looking and playing like shit as proof of it being "NEXT GEN", because all versions was realised in a shit state
I'm curious if The Witcher 3 will be a better upgrade 🤔
I have my doubts.
They would demo the game on a 1080ti at the game running at 1080p/30 with zero RT.
Just becaus the game came out at the end of last gen it doesnt mean its a last gen game. Like i said this was made for high end PC's, and current gen consoles really. They even said they didnt really test the game on last gen consoles until near the end of development.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
VRR seems more of a curse for Xbox really as devs seem to be pushing rez higher, causing slightly more frame drops, but devs seem to think it doesnt really matter because of VRR.

Series X has a bigger improvement compared to before the patch. VRR isn't a curse, it's just making that improvement be even bigger.

Pre patch Series X version had a much lower native resolution (same as PS5) but it also ran a lot worse compared to PS5 before, constant frame drops and hitching.

Now at worse it's a few frames behind the PS5 in one stressful combat scenario DF noted.
 
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Riky

$MSFT
I'm sure, the text article says stress areas can have drops to 40s and screen tearing on PS5, both those things VRR completely fixes.

This would be pretty close when PS5 eventually gets VRR, the resolution advantage on Series X isn't massive,

ohMegFS.jpg
rryWCpT.jpg


But with drops into the forties and some screen tearing then VRR really becomes essential, Sony need to sort this out as soon as possible.
 

NEbeast

Member
Is it that dissimilar to every review/technical analysis of PC games touting using DLSS ? VRR, like DLSS, is a hardware based spec and seems to be doing its job well.

Anyway, DF only noted a drop in one 'market place shootout' in their testing, it's not like the frame rate is unanimously different between the two.

For SX owners who have VRR displays, they have the version with the higher average resolution and no performance issues.

For all next-gen console owners, they have the best version of the game on consoles right now regardless.

Everyone gains.
You're really going to notice that extra 100p.
sponge bob love GIF
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Of course i am. I mean i dont even like the game, but one thing it doesnt have problem with is its graphics.
I'm not saying it's a bad looking game, it just looks like CPR could do with upgrading the engine.
It looks like an end of the gen game regardless of how shiny it looks with Ray Tracing on PC.
I actually think the Keanu Reeves character model is fucking terrible even for last gen.
 

Cherrypepsi

Member
This would be pretty close when PS5 eventually gets VRR, the resolution advantage on Series X isn't massive,

ohMegFS.jpg
rryWCpT.jpg


But with drops into the forties and some screen tearing then VRR really becomes essential, Sony need to sort this out as soon as possible.



would be nice to have acutal screenshots and pixel counts in this market area stress test

also driving around the city shows small differences in LOD pop in and asset streaming, it's hard to declare a winner - not for you though, surprisingly :messenger_winking_tongue:
 

Stuart360

Member
I'm not saying it's a bad looking game, it just looks like CPR could do with upgrading the engine.
It looks like an end of the gen game regardless of how shiny it looks with Ray Tracing on PC.
I actually think the Keanu Reeves character model is fucking terrible even for last gen.
Well like i said in my post above, CDPR admittied that they didnt even test the game on last gen consoles until very late in development, and thats why it ran and looked so bad on last gen. I mean thats out of CDPR's own mouths. The game was designed with PC's and current gen consoles in mind, NOT last gen consoles.
 

Lysandros

Member



As always I'll leave a summary in a few minutes.

EDIT----

Shit, Neogaf, when I posted the whole message it got a "enter a valid message" notificación. I'll have to write it all over again. 😡

A spoiler: Pixels counts give Series X an small edge in rez but PS5 performs better in every test, both in Performance and RT mode.

Slightly higher resolution for XSX (according to Tom's findings) is exclusive to performance mode (where PS5 outperforms XSX by up to 5-10 FPS), for the RT mode resolution is exactly the same for both, 1440P.
 
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