CD Projekt RED will release The Witcher 3 Remastered on September 29, updating the base game on Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and PC. Journalists have already tested the project and actively welcomed the changes, and performance tests of the game on Xbox Series X have also appeared | S. In turn, CD Projekt RED studio on its official website publish The full list of changes awaiting players in the remaster.
graphics
- We’ve added an improved shading model and updated many textures and models.
- Improved lighting and shadowing of grass and foliage, as well as the rendering of terrain and materials, making lights, shadows, reflections, and highlights more natural.
- The game has been converted to DirectX 12 with multi-threading, improving graphics quality and performance.
- Tone mapping updated to improve color rendering, lighting, contrast, and image detail.
- Screen Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) Added support for GTAO (Ground Live Ambient Occlusion).
- Added ray tracing to HairWorks, improving hair lighting and shading.
- Subsurface scattering technology has been updated to give skin a more natural look.
- A new Image-Based Lighting (IBL) system has been introduced to improve ambient light and reflections in a variety of environments.
- Glow has been redesigned to improve the quality of lighting effects in different locations.
- The logo’s visuals have been improved, including enhanced versions, and new effects have been added to skills.
- Improved motion blur for better, more cinematic images.
- Updated HDR calibration panel with new options and other improvements.
Game play
- The skill system has been completely redesigned – they are now presented as a tree, with 3 levels per skill. To unlock new skills, you need to learn previous skills rather than just spend a certain number of points.
- The balance of the skill tree has been adjusted – bonuses, effects, and interactions between individual skills have all changed. The names of some skills have also been changed to more accurately reflect their effects.
- Added the ability to reforge equipment, changing its appearance without changing its properties. This service is provided exclusively by master craftsmen Ioanna and Hattori. New appearance options appear after adding the appropriate equipment or blueprints to your backpack.
- The behavior of all common enemies has been improved – attack patterns, counterattacks, movement, reactions, escape and the use of various effects have all been improved.
- Horse controls have been changed – to enter the gallop and gallop, you now simply press the corresponding button, no longer needing to hold it. In the settings section, we have added a “Horse Control Sensitivity” slider.
- Improved movement, controls and animations for Geralt and Roach.
interface
- During meditation, a separate interface screen is no longer displayed, but instead the accelerated passage of time is displayed.
- The map has been updated to make switching between tracking missions easier.
- In the interface section, it is now possible to hide herbs, ships, and corpses on the minimap to reduce the number of objects displayed.
- Job updates are now consolidated into one on-screen notification.
- Added the ability to collect nearby loot from one window, without having to view multiple separate windows. This feature has been enabled in settings
- The left side of the screen displays loot sources containing recently picked items.
- Tooltips have been added to the loot window, allowing you to view information about an item before picking it up.
photo mode
- The Photo Mode interface has been completely updated, and its functionality and number of available settings have been significantly expanded.
- You can now add selected characters to the frame, and a set of poses and facial expressions are available for Geralt and the placed character.
- A new View Direction menu has been added that allows you to set the viewing direction of Geralt and your character.
- You can place lights in your scene and adjust their brightness, color, lighting angle, and other parameters individually.
- Added confirmation before exiting photo mode to prevent accidental shutdown.
- The camera position can now be locked to ensure it stays the same when taking a photo.
- Added the ability to apply ready-made environment options to a scene.
- You can save camera settings, including camera position and angle, and reuse the saved settings.
- Added screenshot aspect ratio setting.
- First-person mode can now be enabled or disabled, allowing you to see the game world through Geralt’s eyes.
- You can now enable or disable camera collision with objects and walls.
- Weather and time of day settings have been added to create the desired mood, as well as adjust the intensity of weather phenomena, including rain and thunderstorms.
- You can turn the rule of thirds on or off for different aspect ratios and movie black bars.
- Camera coordinates are now displayed directly in the interface.
- Added the ability to hide surrounding characters.
- Photo mode now includes props that can be placed in the scene to create additional compositional elements.
minstrel ballad setting
Added ready-made “Bard’s Song” settings. They can be activated when starting a new game on story-only difficulty, or at any time via the Special Features section. They are designed to reduce cognitive load for players who are mentally fatigued or have difficulty concentrating by simplifying certain mechanics and disabling certain features.
You can also adjust the settings of “Bard’s Ballad” to suit yourself:
- Enhanced Health Regeneration – Allows you to set the threshold at which recovery is activated and its multiplier.
- Infinite Air – Geralt no longer loses air when swimming and diving.
- Infinite durability of items – equipment does not wear out and requires no craftsmen to repair it.
- Unlimited Boat Durability – The boat is immune to damage, including sharp rocks and sirens.
- Ignores the weight of objects – Allows you to carry an unlimited amount of stuff.
- Speedboat – Increases boat speed, reducing the time it takes to cross Skellige’s waters.
- One-touch Switching Witcher Sense – Turn Witcher Sense on and off with just one press, no need to hold down a button.
Changes made for player convenience
- The tutorial has been redesigned to be more concise so that players can quickly focus on mastering the core mechanics of the game.
- Added the ability to quickly leave combat by running away.
- You can now collect loot directly from roaches without dismounting.
Revise
- Added support for modification on all platforms via built-in tools based on mod.io.
- REDkit features various improvements to the engine, interface, and other enhancements to make it easier to create, manage, and customize custom modifications.
The remaster also fixes various bugs that players have complained about in recent years. In addition, the game will receive Play Anywhere support within the Xbox ecosystem.
Please note that in The Witcher 3 Remastered you can start using a saved game, but skills will need to be reassigned.