Gaming Cyberpunk 2077 (PC, PS4/5, Xbox One)

[AaronRedDevil]

Just got back onto Cyberpunk last night to prepare everything for the dlc. I was going to replay the game but I realised they still don't have New Game +. What the feck man. So after that, there's no way I'm replaying the game after all the work I did for my character. Rather just use the DLC with the new stuff they put in.

 

[Hoof the ball]

So, a cool thing. I used Sandevistan to kill this dude, but he used Sandevistan to counter my Sandevistan, so now we're fighting in normal speed again whilst everyone else is in super slo mo.

Nice attention to detail.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Just booted up 2.0 on PC and started a new game. Crashed in like 10 minutes

 

[Hamnat]

Started my new game last night going for half Cyborg edgerunner. No issues at all graphics card getting the full workout on Psycho settings.

 

[Hoof the ball]

Nvidia DLSS 3.5 Tested: AI-Powered Graphics Leaves Competitors Behind
Nvidia DLSS 3.5 on Cyberpunk

Nvidia wants to sell everyone on its vision of the future of graphics rendering. It's a compelling vision in many ways, with higher fidelity ray tracing thanks to AI enhanced visuals. DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction is here, in the form of Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 and the Phantom Liberty DLC, and we've tested it and seen how it looks. It's clearly a step forward in graphics fidelity, especially if you want fully ray traced graphics. The system requirements are steep, however, and Ray Reconstruction is also completely proprietary — as in, you must have an Nvidia RTX graphics card to even give it a try.

We're at a fork in the road, in other words, and I'm not even sure there's a "correct" way forward. Nvidia has the GPUs and technologies to make noticeable improvements in gaming graphics viable. Yes, it requires upscaling, and it also benefits from frame generation. Non-Nvidia alternatives are potentially available to both of those in the form of AMD's FSR 2 and FSR 3, respectively. But Ray Reconstruction? Yeah, that's fully locked into Nvidia RTX hardware, there's no direct competitor, and I'm not sure there will ever be a direct competitor.

The graphics enthusiast in me absolutely loves what Nvidia is doing. This is cool stuff! AI-enhanced upscaling and ray traced rendering have real potential benefits (though I'm less convinced by frame generation). Nvidia isn't alone in promoting the benefits of ray tracing either: Just look to Hollywood and you can't swing a projector without hitting some ray traced special effects. But this effectively breaks competition, in the sense that AMD and Intel GPUs have no way of running DLSS 3.5.

That's not good, for a variety of reasons. At the same time, innovation often flies in the face of standards. We began down this road with the first RTX graphics cards, and Nvidia had to work with Microsoft to create a new standard. DirectX Raytracing (DXR) works for ray tracing effects, but we don't have an equivalent standard for real-time neural rendering tools. For better or worse, Nvidia is blazing trail and leaving the competition to find their own path.

While Nvidia is the market leader in PC graphics, and according to the Steam Hardware survey it accounts for 82% of the total PC market, it's not the only game in town. Specifically, besides AMD and Intel GPUs on PC — the remaining 18% — there are tens of millions of console gamers using the latest PlayStation 5 (over 40 million) and Xbox Series X (over 21 million) consoles. That means they're all using AMD GPUs, and that means games made for consoles won't have Ray Reconstruction unless the developers do extra work for the PC version.

Looking just at Nvidia's RTX GPUs, that amounts to 46% of the Steam Hardware Survey. Except, 37% of those are running either RTX 20-series or RTX 3050 or 3060 GPUs. Less than 10% of the Steam users surveyed have an RTX 3080 or faster Nvidia GPU (including all 40-series cards, which aren't technically faster if you look at the 4060-class offerings). We don't have precise numbers, but surely there are far fewer than 61 million people who own such a GPU. Even if you want Nvidia to win out, then, it's far from a done deal.

That's sort of unfortunate. Improved graphics and new technologies on the one hand, status quo graphics on the other. But the status quo also represents a win for standards and a loss for proprietary tech, and if you want competition in the GPU space going forward, maybe that's okay? Alternatively, Nvidia is forging ahead because no other company appears willing to do so. Waiting for "open" standards that would allow Ray Reconstruction to work on every GPU under the sun probably means we'd never have the tech in the first place. So we have a choice between one company's innovations, or stagnating standards for everyone.

That's a lengthy introduction to Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and the debut of DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction, but it's an important topic. Cool graphics technology that never gets used isn't much good to anyone. Cool graphics technology that locks you to a specific vendor meanwhile isn't great either. But enough about all that, let's look at the Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update, in terms of graphics and performance

 

[chris123]

I'm blown away by how much this free update has transformed this game, it's *incredible*. I first played it when it was a buggy mess and haven't returned to it since. I still enjoyed the story back then, but this feels very close to what they actually promised 5-6 years ago.

 

[Donut]

So if the game was released in this state in the first place, it would have met all the expectations? It’s an actual 10/10 right now?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I just booted up a new game as I had a friend over who wanted to see it, and darn it the writing, voice acting and general atmosphere are in a different stratosphere to something like Starfield (which I’ve been playing this past month).

Jumping into 2.0 and PL in December will be lovely

 

[Kaos]

So if the game was released in this state in the first place, it would have met all the expectations? It’s an actual 10/10 right now?

I'd say a solid 8.5/9, its a very good game in its current state.

I still think it was hyped to the heavens during its development, and I for one was expecting a lot more from it. But perhaps that was my fault for buying into the **** of CDPR after their Witcher success and swallowing the gargantuan levels of hype.

 

[Ragnar123]

So if the game was released in this state in the first place, it would have met all the expectations? It’s an actual 10/10 right now?

Not really, because two of the main criticisms were a shallow city and meaningless player background except from the first 30 min gameplay and that didn't change.

 

[Redplane]

Not really, because two of the main criticisms were a shallow city and meaningless player background except from the first 30 min gameplay and that didn't change.

Exactly the reason why despite all the improvements and additions I can't get back into it. The game does a lot of things right, even in its buggier days. But for something set in an open world this size it feels incredibly monotone and empty as soon as you veer off the quest line path. In some ways it feels like they would have been better off turning it more into a Hitman like game, or something similarly more limited in world expansiveness.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

So if the game was released in this state in the first place, it would have met all the expectations? It’s an actual 10/10 right now?

What’s an actual 10/10? It’s all very subjective and it’s best to try games out for yourself to tell for sure. A game like God of War is considered a modern classic and many here don’t think much of it.

 

[Irwin99]

Got the plat on the PS4 years ago and i'm now two trophies away from a PS5 platinum but the remaining trophies are now bugged . The new skill tree design looks interesting and the police system feels way better. Not really tried the vehicle combat yet but there's some promising signs.

Have said it before, i can understand why people are pissed off with the initial launch but I think there's so much potential in this series if they go forward with it.

 

[Gehrman]

What’s an actual 10/10? It’s all very subjective and it’s best to try games out for yourself to tell for sure. A game like God of War is considered a modern classic and many here don’t think much of it.

I thought the new god of war for ps4 was an 8/10 at best. The sequel was an 9/10 imo. I thought the patched next gen version of cyberpunk is a 9/10. Its difficult to measure at times like Rdr2. Boring and empty at times but the writing and characters really lifted it. I think Arthur is greatest video game character ever.

 

[Massive Spanner]

What’s an actual 10/10? It’s all very subjective and it’s best to try games out for yourself to tell for sure. A game like God of War is considered a modern classic and many here don’t think much of it.

Many? I’d say it’s a minority if you go by the thread at least.

A 10/10 for me is The Witcher 3, BotW, Baldurs Gate 3, Elden Ring, Bloodborne. None of them are perfect, but they all raise the bar in their respective genres in different ways.

I’d also class both God of War games as 10/10 for me personally but neither really do anything “new”, they just do it very, very well, so I can understand why some wouldn’t be bothered by them

 

[Redlambs]

Very tempted to install this again for what would be the 12th time (seriously). Can anyone, who isn't a massive fanboy, cast light on if the combat is at least now interesting with the supposed AI changes? How about the changes to vendors/clothing drops/crafting, are they at least worthwhile to mess with now?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Many? I’d say it’s a minority if you go by the thread at least.

A 10/10 for me is The Witcher 3, BotW, Baldurs Gate 3, Elden Ring, Bloodborne. None of them are perfect, but they all raise the bar in their respective genres in different ways.

I’d also class both God of War games as 10/10 for me personally but neither really do anything “new”, they just do it very, very well, so I can understand why some wouldn’t be bothered by them

A minority can still be many. I’d only class my top 3 all time best games as proper 10/10s so that’s a LOT of greats missing out on that. Even something I adore like GoW 2018 or MGS3 SE would fall below despite being absolutely incredible.

Very tempted to install this again for what would be the 12th time (seriously). Can anyone, who isn't a massive fanboy, cast light on if the combat is at least now interesting with the supposed AI changes? How about the changes to vendors/clothing drops/crafting, are they at least worthwhile to mess with now?

Bit strange that being a certified Nintendo fanboi, you seem so badly affected by others loving a game that you don’t - first the weird as feck Kpop reference and now this. Disappointing.

 

[Redlambs]

Bit strange that being a certified Nintendo fanboi, you seem so badly affected by others loving a game that you don’t - first the weird as feck Kpop reference and now this. Disappointing.

I knew you'd once again get your knickers in a twist over that one. Shouldn't you be in some up and coming rival game thread playing it down before launch? You know, since nothing is allowed to be better than your precious Cyberpunk.

But since you are here, and despite your dramatic reactions to my silly little jokes I do value your input, maybe you can answer the question then for me: Is combat improved? Does the changes to stats make the character builds feel better through the cybernetics now?

 

[Laurencio]

I'm blown away by how much this free update has transformed this game, it's *incredible*. I first played it when it was a buggy mess and haven't returned to it since. I still enjoyed the story back then, but this feels very close to what they actually promised 5-6 years ago.

What changed? I played the buggy mess at release that crashed every 20 minutes, and never touched it again after completing it.

 

[SuperiorXI]

What changed? I played the buggy mess at release that crashed every 20 minutes, and never touched it again after completing it.

They've sorted a ton of issues and improved many aspects of the game. Full breakdown here: https://forums.cdprojektred.com/index.php?threads/update-2-0.11118898/

I'm a couple hours into a fresh playthrough and it all seems much more stable, not really seen much of the new stuff yet.

 

[Redlambs]

Anyone playing this on PC who has tested the patch?

I'm on GOG and getting crashes and still the settings are borked. Any luck on Steam?

 

[Hamnat]

I am on PC I haven't crashed at all the entire time. Steam/GOG. I was just on it for hours on my new character. Took a break to grab a snack and a phone call. There were new Nvidia drivers if you have Nvidia card that released the same day. Only thing I would say is it is really running my 4090 and testing the cooling. They mentioned that before test your cooling somewhere.

 

[Redlambs]

I am on PC I haven't crashed at all the entire time. Steam/GOG. I was just on it for hours on my new character. Took a break to grab a snack and a phone call. There were new Nvidia drivers if you have Nvidia card that released the same day.

You've tried it on both for the same amount of time, and messed with the settings on them?

I suspect GOG is more the issue here than the game, which is why I want to know what people are loading the game on.

 

[Hamnat]

Yes I launched from steam after I downloaded the patch Thursday. Today I launched from GOG though. Accounts are linked Steam/GOG.

I wanted max all settings, my setup should be able to have max. But I did have to step DLSS: Ray tracing down one from Max to 'Performance'. Because I had a weird white glare thing at my feet if that in particular was maxed out. Not sure what the deal is there but backed it down to performance one step down and all perfect since Thursday.

 

[Redlambs]

Yes I launched from steam after I downloaded the patch Thursday. Today I launched from GOG though. Accounts are linked Steam/GOG.

I wanted max all settings, my setup should be able to have max. But I did have to step DLSS: Ray tracing down one from Max to 'Performance'. Because I had a weird white glare thing at my feet if that in particular was maxed out. Not sure what the deal is there but backed it down to performance one step down and all perfect since Thursday.

Yes the accounts are linked, but often Steam is more stable running the games. It's no different to MS store games.

Thanks though, it confirms to me that the settings are still borked. There are some issues with DLSS and the version the game uses too, clearly. May I ask what fps you are getting and what GPU you are using? And if it's a 40 series are you using frame generation?

 

[Hamnat]

Intel i9-10980XE Extreme Edition (18 core)
64gb DDR4 3200MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX
ROG-STRIX-RTX4090-O24G-GAMING

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

I ran Cinebench like they suggested so I was sure everything should be stable on my end.

My average framerate using the internal Benchmark was 112 .

 

[Redlambs]

Intel i9-10980XE Extreme Edition (18 core)
64gb DDR4 3200MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX
ROG-STRIX-RTX4090-O24G-GAMING

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

I ran Cinebench like they suggested so I was sure everything should be stable on my end.

My average framerate using the internal Benchmark was 112 .

A random dev asking people to test their cooling is odd and if more people knew about this would cause some panic for sure

But yeah, I suspect there's still issues with the setting/rendering. I'll keep testing. Cheers!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I knew you'd once again get your knickers in a twist over that one. Shouldn't you be in some up and coming rival game thread playing it down before launch? You know, since nothing is allowed to be better than your precious Cyberpunk.

Well it’s nice to have self awareness of making a turd post while making a turd post so well done on that I suppose. I have no idea about rival games - are even games rivals now? Sounds like a childish concept.

But since you are here, and despite your dramatic reactions to my silly little jokes I do value your input, maybe you can answer the question then for me: Is combat improved? Does the changes to stats make the character builds feel better through the cybernetics now?

No idea. Haven’t played it.

 

[Redlambs]

Sounds like a childish concept.

Agreed. Which is why it always amuses me when you do it.


Anyway, I'm playing this all day so maybe I'll be joining the dark side. At least from the patch notes it looks like they've finally made some decent gameplay decisions and upgrades, so fingers firmly crossed!

 

[Solius]

Bit strange that being a certified Nintendo fanboi, you seem so badly affected by others loving a game that you don’t - first the weird as feck Kpop reference and now this. Disappointing.

I think he was only trying to get an objective opinion on the game amol. It’s quite clear how much you love it so it is harder for someone to believe your opinions on it won’t be biased. Having said that, Lambs didn’t even mention you (was asking anyone in a broader sense) but you seem to have taken it personally?

 

[Balljy]

Agreed. Which is why it always amuses me when you do it.


Anyway, I'm playing this all day so maybe I'll be joining the dark side. At least from the patch notes it looks like they've finally made some decent gameplay decisions and upgrades, so fingers firmly crossed!

It's worth sticking the settings up to ultra to turn on path tracing just to check that out for a bit regardless of FPS. I found with that and ray reconstruction on I was getting somewhere in the 50's with DLSS on auto at 1440.

I spent a good 30 minutes just looking at puddles and checking out the lighting with that all turned up. It's pretty impressive and shows where we're heading in the next few years.

 

[Redlambs]

It's worth sticking the settings up to ultra to turn on path tracing just to check that out for a bit regardless of FPS. I found with that and ray reconstruction on I was getting somewhere in the 50's with DLSS on auto at 1440.

I spent a good 30 minutes just looking at puddles and checking out the lighting with that all turned up. It's pretty impressive and shows where we're heading in the next few years.

I spent 3 hours last night messing with settings and getting to see the full game and balancing performance. It's really outstanding what it actually looks like and shows off what RT can really do and puts AMD to shame!

Now today I'm going to actually play and check out the changes. I really hope I can get into it!

I think he was only trying to get an objective opinion on the game amol. It’s quite clear how much you love it so it is harder for someone to believe your opinions on it won’t be biased. Having said that, Lambs didn’t even mention you (was asking anyone in a broader sense) but you seem to have taken it personally?

It's ok mate, I don't mind people being that passionate. If anything I'm jealous of the love for this game in a way as I've always been desperate to love it too. Not sure where the offense is to him though, I don't snap at people claiming I'm a "Nintendo fanboy" I find it amusing and roll with it. Just like Alock does when we call him a MS shill (which tbf is true).

Amol here occasionally has bad days and forgets his sense of humour and I am a little bit cheeky with my jokes sometimes, so I'm sure it's all good

 

[Massive Spanner]

A minority can still be many. I’d only class my top 3 all time best games as proper 10/10s so that’s a LOT of greats missing out on that. Even something I adore like GoW 2018 or MGS3 SE would fall below despite being absolutely incredible.


Bit strange that being a certified Nintendo fanboi, you seem so badly affected by others loving a game that you don’t - first the weird as feck Kpop reference and now this. Disappointing.

Huh? If it’s a minority then that means the overwhelming amount loved it which was my point. I don’t think you’ll ever find a game on here that at least some people didn’t enjoy. It’s all subjective really. You love Cyberpunk which is fair enough but I don’t think that should then make it immune to criticism from others, right?

 

[Redlambs]

Huh? If it’s a minority then that means the overwhelming amount loved it which was my point. I don’t think you’ll ever find a game on here that at least some people didn’t enjoy. It’s all subjective really. You love Cyberpunk which is fair enough but I don’t think that should then make it immune to criticism from others, right?

Especially when the actual guys who made the game are saying stuff like this:

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[AaronRedDevil]

How do you unlock the top half of the skill tree? Been ages since I played it. Forgot that all the skill points are resettd

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Agreed. Which is why it always amuses me when you do it.

Not really. If I had such an odd mentality I wouldn’t have gained an interest in Starfield and actually gone ahead and got an Xbox for a month to give it a go during my break-week. That it turned out to be a disappointment for me personally is another matter and it seems that’s a fairly common view anyway. Oh well, at least it gave me a chance to play Ori which was a lot of fun and Hi Fi Rush which has started well.

 

[Ragnar123]

How do you unlock the top half of the skill tree? Been ages since I played it. Forgot that all the skill points are resettd

The requirements of each tree tier is displayed on the left side.

 

[Redlambs]

Not really. If I had such an odd mentality I wouldn’t have gained an interest in Starfield and actually gone ahead and got an Xbox for a month to give it a go during my break-week. That it turned out to be a disappointment for me personally is another matter and it seems that’s a fairly common view anyway. Oh well, at least it gave me a chance to play Ori which was a lot of fun and Hi Fi Rush which has started well.

Ori is great mate, both are, not played Hi Fi Rush myself. It seems like a spiritual successor to the (mostly) great Jet set Radio games, so let me know how you find it!

Not really much else to recommend on the Xbox off the top of my head, apart from Sea of Thieves but that depends how long you have it for. Might be worth booting it up to do the Monkey Island tall tales though! Part 1 and 2 are out and are absolutely fantastic.

 

[SuperiorXI]

Finding this really enjoyable. About 8 hours in so far on a new 2.0 playthrough (PC). It feels like they just made everything more fun and easier to use. The driving is a LOT better. I love that your grenades and health are now cooldown based so you don't need to farm them. Lot of fun messing around with the grenades knowing you won't run out.

I forgot how satisfying it is slicing motherfeckers up like sushi all over the city.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Huh? If it’s a minority then that means the overwhelming amount loved it which was my point. I don’t think you’ll ever find a game on here that at least some people didn’t enjoy. It’s all subjective really. You love Cyberpunk which is fair enough but I don’t think that should then make it immune to criticism from others, right?

Absolutely not. I mean I enjoy posting bite sized reviews in the gaming thread with pros and cons so that’s only healthy. And if a legitimate negative point here will help someone avoid a game they may have regretted buying then it’s even more useful.

My comment had more to do with a general point on the original launch - that while it should remain a cautionary tale to try and ensure developers / publishers don’t pull the fast one on gamers again (sadly they will), this specific release and video game 3 years can be judged on its own merits which I think it is, going by the review cycle.

Anyway, for those who do play PL / 2.0 and do recommend any specific build - do let me know!