Modders unlock Watch Dog's hidden graphics settings

[Kerethos]

Well if it wasn't obvious they'd reduced the graphics to not make the PC version too superior to the consoles before, this pretty much relates that fact with about as much subtlety as a nuclear carpet-bombing.

Ubisoft: Yes, we like the PC and develop games that deliver on the PC experience (only we can't make the PC games look too good, because that'd hurt our console sales).

Probably the truth of it.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

It isn't even a mod, it's a basic tweak. He isn't adding anything to the game's files (the mod is 1MB, not even enough to hold a small explosion effect), all he is doing is reversing the downgrades Ubisoft deliberately did to the game to sell more copies of the console version.

and why the fuck would they do that? it doesnt even make sense, they make more money off every PC sale, steam only takes a 30% cut off every sale, and every copy sold through Uplay is 100% of the money for them and them alone, is so stupid my brain hurts


seriously Ubisoft? are you this motherfucking dense?

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

aparently, this was written inside the code of the game

"this is PC only who cares"

they shouldve added "im going to leave this comment on the code, i mean whats the worst that could happen?"

 

[Vault101]

Wow, Ubisoft should be ashamed of themselves.

A non-profit modder has made their game look as good as it can, and is on their way to optimising it.

._.

I was going to say....did they fix the bullshit where I can't go outside without stuttering unless I have it on low-medium?

Well if it wasn't obvious they'd reduced the graphics to not make the PC version too superior to the consoles before, this pretty much relates that fact with about as much subtlety as a nuclear carpet-bombing.

Ubisoft: Yes, we like the PC and develop games that deliver on the PC experience (only we can't make the PC games look too good, because that'd hurt our console sales).

Probably the truth of it.

thats not even gaming outrage material

thats LEGIT outrage material....like consumer rights and shit...

 

[Hawkeye21]

Yeah, I've tried it, it definitely makes the game look better and actually improves framerate by about 15-20% on my very modest gtx 570. I've noticed less stuttering too.

Author of this mod was posting screencaps yesterday, and those settings were literally called "E3_effect = 0" "E3_lighting = 0" etc.

Since Ubisoft has been pushing PS4 as the definitive, best looking version of "Watch_dogs" experience, I think it's pretty obvious what has happened here... I wonder how much money Ubi got for sabotaging their own product.

Inb4 they come out and say that "those settings were disabled during development because they caused bugs"

 

[Vault101]

aparently, this was written inside the code of the game

"this is PC only who cares"

they shouldve added "im going to leave this comment on the code, i mean whats the worst that could happen?"

wwhhhhaaaaaat?.....no way thats real...its too horribly perfect...

 

[HoFT013]

Again PC gamers find the true game, as it was intended all along.

Still waiting for this to be in the Steam Sale.

 

[Strelok]

"Yeah who needs mods!"..said no one ever.

This is why I game on PC..if the devs can't do it we will get people that will put in the hours that will fix the problem. I know it's quite a lame thing to expect something from someone that does this for free, but some actually like doing things like this (mod,tweak, work on "fixing" games).

Different strokes for different folks because this is the reason I don't game on PC.

Could you explain that? Really what does that even mean? You are not forced to use mods, do they offend your senses or something? Help everyone understand the hardships of the console only gamer, because honestly your reply above makes no sense at all.

 

[Drizzitdude]

Figures we get a crappier p roduct for no good reason,

Yeah, I've tried it, it definitely makes the game look better and actually improves framerate by about 15-20% on my very modest gtx 570. I've noticed less stuttering too.

Author of this mod was posting screencaps yesterday, and those settings were literally called "E3_effect = 0" "E3_lighting = 0" etc.

Since Ubisoft has been pushing PS4 as the definitive, best looking version of "Watch_dogs" experience, I think it's pretty obvious what has happened here... I wonder how much money Ubi got for sabotaging their own product.

Inb4 they come out and say that "those settings were disabled during development because they caused bugs"

Y'know what? They'll do it. They'll do it, and they'll fuck it up, and it'll be all the more reason for people to pirate the game: Ubisoft not only forces UPlay, but makes mods not work, and does a terrible job with optimization on purpose, meanwhile, pirates are free from UPlay, and will most likely be pirating an earlier version of the game that allows mods, such as the original, better graphics, and optimization far better than anything Ubisoft would ever do, despite the fact that these are customers they are treating like garbage.

People who paid them actual money for their product, are being treated like thieves. It perplexes me to no end.

The increased settings actually increased your framerate? Dafuq? Will we be able to download and install this mod properly on a legit version of the game? Or will Ubisofts servers and U-play decide to kick me in the ass for trying it?

 

[Smooth Operator]

Different strokes for different folks because this is the reason I don't game on PC.

Could you explain that? Really what does that even mean? You are not forced to use mods, do they offend your senses or something? Help everyone understand the hardships of the console only gamer, because honestly your reply above makes no sense at all.

He is saying ignorance is bliss, as long as he doesn't acknowledge that things could be better he can lead the perfect life.

OT: I got nothing on this... there is just no conceivable real world scenario where such stupidity would make it to the final product. I guess for once I'll do the devils advocate and say maybe those effects and shaders were the first things they disabled when optimizing for consoles(which you would do), and then that build went back into the PC version as they were bringing it all together.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

aparently, this was written inside the code of the game

"this is PC only who cares"

they shouldve added "im going to leave this comment on the code, i mean whats the worst that could happen?"

Reminds me of that time one of the programmers named something FeministWhore in a game, it was an ability or something. Programming is fun.

OT: I don't really get the thought process behind this. They're crippling the PC version so that the console versions are comparable in graphical quality, for what? Do they have a deal with Sony and Microsoft where they don't make the PC version look too good? There are plenty of games that look better on PC and aren't ashamed of it, and that's natural because PCs don't have to be made at a certain budget or limited to release technology. As a console player, that's something people already accept, are they trying to perpetuate a myth of technological parity between consoles and high-end PCs? I can't see how the massive outrage over graphics and accusations of bullshotting outweigh good relations with console manufacturers where there is no expectation of product parity in the first place.

 

[black_knight1337]

aparently, this was written inside the code of the game

I call bull on this.

During the process of compiling human-readable code into machine-readable code, comments are removed.
It *is* possible to decompile machine code back into editable text, but you don't get the comments back when you do.

So I call bull on this image.

Where did you get this from? Either is fake, or it's leaked by one of the devs.

Can confirm that it's legit.

 

[Hawkeye21]

The increased settings actually increased your framerate? Dafuq? Will we be able to download and install this mod properly on a legit version of the game? Or will Ubisofts servers and U-play decide to kick me in the ass for trying it?

Mod only modifies config files and should work with any version of the game. I've never heard of Ubisoft banning anyone for modding before. Framerate improvement is not guaranteed, but it works for me and some other people. I see no harm in trying it out.

BTW, new version 0.7 of the mod is out http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=390114

 

[ToastiestZombie]

It isn't even a mod, it's a basic tweak. He isn't adding anything to the game's files (the mod is 1MB, not even enough to hold a small explosion effect), all he is doing is reversing the downgrades Ubisoft deliberately did to the game to sell more copies of the console version.

and why the fuck would they do that? it doesnt even make sense, they make more money off every PC sale, steam only takes a 30% cut off every sale, and every copy sold through Uplay is 100% of the money for them and them alone, is so stupid my brain hurts


seriously Ubisoft? are you this motherfucking dense?

Because pirates most likely. That and they want to give an early boost to the current-gen consoles by lying and saying "they actually can run at the equivalent of ultra settings on PC! Buy this version!". That and they probably had some sort of deal with Sony or Microsoft to make the console versions look better to hide the fact that they're actually pretty underpowered.

 

[LaochEire]

"Yeah who needs mods!"..said no one ever.

This is why I game on PC..if the devs can't do it we will get people that will put in the hours that will fix the problem. I know it's quite a lame thing to expect something from someone that does this for free, but some actually like doing things like this (mod,tweak, work on "fixing" games).

Different strokes for different folks because this is the reason I don't game on PC.

Could you explain that? Really what does that even mean? You are not forced to use mods, do they offend your senses or something? Help everyone understand the hardships of the console only gamer, because honestly your reply above makes no sense at all.

Your response makes less sense. The poster I was replying to said that this was the reason he gamed on PC, mods. He doesn't have to use these mods, but they obviously fix Watch Dogs' gimped graphics and are of an obvious benefit to him. Personally, I can be bothered with it. I can't be bothered to wait months for someone to potentially fix a problem with a game. I can't be bothered tinkering with settings or dealing with all that. I just choose console for simplicity and comfort.

 

[Pinkamena]

aparently, this was written inside the code of the game

I call bull on this.

During the process of compiling human-readable code into machine-readable code, comments are removed.
It *is* possible to decompile machine code back into editable text, but you don't get the comments back when you do.

So I call bull on this image.

Where did you get this from? Either is fake, or it's leaked by one of the devs.

Can confirm that it's legit.

Spoiler: spoilered for readibility

Oh my. Ooooooh my. That is quite the blunder... Hopefully this whole shebang will cause a lot of modders to try and get it to look as good as possible, simply out of spite for Ubi. "We can do anything better than you"

 

[Pinkamena]

"Yeah who needs mods!"..said no one ever.

This is why I game on PC..if the devs can't do it we will get people that will put in the hours that will fix the problem. I know it's quite a lame thing to expect something from someone that does this for free, but some actually like doing things like this (mod,tweak, work on "fixing" games).

Different strokes for different folks because this is the reason I don't game on PC.

Could you explain that? Really what does that even mean? You are not forced to use mods, do they offend your senses or something? Help everyone understand the hardships of the console only gamer, because honestly your reply above makes no sense at all.

Your response makes less sense. The poster I was replying to said that this was the reason he gamed on PC, mods. He doesn't have to use these mods, but they obviously fix Watch Dogs' gimped graphics and are of an obvious benefit to him. Personally, I can be bothered with it. I can't be bothered to wait months for someone to potentially fix a problem with a game. I can't be bothered tinkering with settings or dealing with all that. I just choose console for simplicity and comfort.

I don't get what you mean either, sorry :/ It's a little confusing. If you have two versions of a game (in this case, PC and console), that are both sort of broken, wouldn't you go with the one that could potentially be fixed instead of the one that won't? Of course you don't have to bother with it, but it's nice to have the option.

 

[LaochEire]

"Yeah who needs mods!"..said no one ever.

This is why I game on PC..if the devs can't do it we will get people that will put in the hours that will fix the problem. I know it's quite a lame thing to expect something from someone that does this for free, but some actually like doing things like this (mod,tweak, work on "fixing" games).

Different strokes for different folks because this is the reason I don't game on PC.

Could you explain that? Really what does that even mean? You are not forced to use mods, do they offend your senses or something? Help everyone understand the hardships of the console only gamer, because honestly your reply above makes no sense at all.

Your response makes less sense. The poster I was replying to said that this was the reason he gamed on PC, mods. He doesn't have to use these mods, but they obviously fix Watch Dogs' gimped graphics and are of an obvious benefit to him. Personally, I can be bothered with it. I can't be bothered to wait months for someone to potentially fix a problem with a game. I can't be bothered tinkering with settings or dealing with all that. I just choose console for simplicity and comfort.

I don't get what you mean either, sorry :/ It's a little confusing. If you have two versions of a game (in this case, PC and console), that are both sort of broken, wouldn't you go with the one that could potentially be fixed instead of the one that won't? Of course you don't have to bother with it, but it's nice to have the option.

Well, you're making the assumption I am having issues with the console version graphically. I'm not. That's how it looks on those machines. It doesn't bother me.

If I had a top of the range PC capable of running those graphics shown in the mod then I'd download that mod and fiddle around with it to get it working. My point is I just really can't be bothered with all that extra stuff with PC gaming. I'm not criticising PC gaming. I'm not saying it's wrong, just saying that personally, it's not for me.