[9th October 2024] - Hoped I'd find the game running better after so long and returning to test but performance is still choppy and left in a very un-optimised state on the newest patch :(

[4th January 2023] - Performance is still very unstable and has issues compared to the 1.32 patch update.

• A tip for people wanting to continue from old saves too - old PC saves work but aren't compatible really as they cause a lot of bugs and add to performance issues also, from my tests anyway.

*Edit still having random frame drops and stutter since the optimisation hotfix patch, not sure if the Geralt black facial hair glitch is still happening though but I didn't see it when I tested it again*

I love this game and it's one of my favourites but this new update is so unoptimised for older cards like my 1660 Super, the patch 1.3 version of the game ran smooth at 1440p for me with 60fps minimum and this new version is full of bugs, and I suffer from stuttering and drops from 70fps down to 20fps randomly, even when dropping my settings down from what I originally played the game with before this "update".

As for my critique on the update, I like the new texture upgrades, the water is nice, I won't be playing with any of the Netflix inspired stuff because I'm against that and what that show made to try to destroy in my favourite Franchise. I can't say about how the RTX features work but I'm sure they're nice and I like the Shadows Ultra+ setting from testing it at 1080p though it was buggy in places and shadow colours didn't match the sky or weather system and looked very odd from an artist's perspective [Tested in White Orchard+Velen+Skellige] the sun lighting in Velen was very bright too when compared to identical saves from the original. As for the weather system, I liked how Toussaint looked with the new atmosphere when compared to the original but with White Orchard and Velen the game has really lost something that it once had; it looks nice, yes... but it is so clean now and doesn't have almost as much of the gritty and mysterious atmosphere that it once had in the original, Crookback Bog is especially different and there's only a hint of what once was, still there... the dark overcast skies and moody weather, mixed with the haze and fog around the swamps and forested areas and villages; nearly all gone and replaced with just a haze. Only a hint of that nice mysterious horrific atmosphere that was once there can be seen now... I'm not a fan of that. :(

One main repeated glitch I encountered was that Geralts facial hair would randomly turn black and this wasn't a problem before this update, Also I'm guessing it's due to the new integrated 'Red Launcher' but the Steam overlay feature and ability to screenshot through steam is completely broken and unusable in game. An in game hint of some kind of where the photos are saved in the new integrated photo mode would also be helpful.

I hope you see this CDPR and you can work to optimise the game more anyway because it really is a shame, I planned to replay the game from the beginning on this new update and I just can't... I love Witcher 3, it's my favourite game and I've made so many drawings and paintings from it as well as cosplays by both me and my brother, but this is unplayable for me in the current state with frame drops and stuttering so much that I have to play on lower graphics settings than before, just to achieve semi stable performance. And I can't get any further hours on the game or any achievements via the backed up old 1.32 patch version of the game. Really wish this new update was just a separate copy added to our libraries on steam like how Metro did it with the Enhanced edition or other games like Bioshock did it for free with Remastered versions.

[9th October 2024] - Hoped I'd find the game running better after so long and returning to test but performance is still choppy and left in a very un-optimised state on the newest patch :( [4th January 2023] - Performance is still very unstable and has issues compared to the 1.32 patch update. • A tip for people wanting to continue from old saves too - old PC saves work but aren't compatible really as they cause a lot of bugs and add to performance issues also, from my tests anyway. *Edit still having random frame drops and stutter since the optimisation hotfix patch, not sure if the Geralt black facial hair glitch is still happening though but I didn't see it when I tested it again* I love this game and it's one of my favourites but this new update is so unoptimised for older cards like my 1660 Super, the patch 1.3 version of the game ran smooth at 1440p for me with 60fps minimum and this new version is full of bugs, and I suffer from stuttering and drops from 70fps down to 20fps randomly, even when dropping my settings down from what I originally played the game with before this "update". As for my critique on the update, I like the new texture upgrades, the water is nice, I won't be playing with any of the Netflix inspired stuff because I'm against that and what that show made to try to destroy in my favourite Franchise. I can't say about how the RTX features work but I'm sure they're nice and I like the Shadows Ultra+ setting from testing it at 1080p though it was buggy in places and shadow colours didn't match the sky or weather system and looked very odd from an artist's perspective [Tested in White Orchard+Velen+Skellige] the sun lighting in Velen was very bright too when compared to identical saves from the original. As for the weather system, I liked how Toussaint looked with the new atmosphere when compared to the original but with White Orchard and Velen the game has really lost something that it once had; it looks nice, yes... but it is so clean now and doesn't have almost as much of the gritty and mysterious atmosphere that it once had in the original, Crookback Bog is especially different and there's only a hint of what once was, still there... the dark overcast skies and moody weather, mixed with the haze and fog around the swamps and forested areas and villages; nearly all gone and replaced with just a haze. Only a hint of that nice mysterious horrific atmosphere that was once there can be seen now... I'm not a fan of that. :( One main repeated glitch I encountered was that Geralts facial hair would randomly turn black and this wasn't a problem before this update, Also I'm guessing it's due to the new integrated 'Red Launcher' but the Steam overlay feature and ability to screenshot through steam is completely broken and unusable in game. An in game hint of some kind of where the photos are saved in the new integrated photo mode would also be helpful. I hope you see this CDPR and you can work to optimise the game more anyway because it really is a shame, I planned to replay the game from the beginning on this new update and I just can't... I love Witcher 3, it's my favourite game and I've made so many drawings and paintings from it as well as cosplays by both me and my brother, but this is unplayable for me in the current state with frame drops and stuttering so much that I have to play on lower graphics settings than before, just to achieve semi stable performance. And I can't get any further hours on the game or any achievements via the backed up old 1.32 patch version of the game. Really wish this new update was just a separate copy added to our libraries on steam like how Metro did it with the Enhanced edition or other games like Bioshock did it for free with Remastered versions.