The Witcher 3 gets photo mode, cross-save, Netflix armors, ray-tracing

CD Projekt Red outlined the features that will be included in the next-gen update. Wild Hunt: The Witcher 3In a Twitch streaming Wednesday. These include cross-progression and photo modes, as well as a Quick Cast Control System for Signs.

Ray-tracing will be available on consoles, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, in addition to PC, according to previously reported. The new technology includes screen-space reflections and ambient occlusion. It also supports dynamic resolution scaling. And on PC, it can support the FSR or DLSS upscaling methods that may improve frame rate.

The consoles will have the standard performance and quality mode. Performance targets 60 frames per seconds, and quality is 30 fps with ray-tracing. (The game will run at 30 fps on Xbox Series S.) Even if you choose performance mode, the game will look significantly better than the previous PS4 and Xbox One version — closer to Ultra settings on PC. Power users on PCs will now have access to the new Ultra Plus settings that allow them to push their machines.

All characters and environments have had their environment upgraded with improved grass and leaves, better models and textures at higher resolutions and additional details, such as smoke coming from faraway villages or new weather conditions.

As well as adding the much-requested photo mode, the developers at CD Projekt Red — many of them members of the original The Witcher 3 Team, pulled off Cyberpunk 2077 to work on the upgrade — have added a new camera, closer to Geralt and off to one side, similar to the view in recent God of War games. This can be toggled on or off independently for different states — exploration on foot, horse-riding, and in combat.

A new control option, Quick Cast, is available to players who want to use magic with Signs builds. This allows them hold R2 while accessing different Signs or spells directly using the face buttons, rather than choosing each one individually from the radial menu.

Cross-progression is already in place Cyberpunk 2077It works with GOG Galaxy accounts, and players can transfer their saved files between any format.

New armor sets inspired by Netflix’s The Witcher Series will be introduced to the game, including its last-gen versions. These are introduced via a new quest which CD Projekt Red revealed without giving much detail. This quest will award schematics that will allow you to craft the new armor.

The default map filter now removes all question marks from the map. This allows you to indicate points of interest like treasure chests, powerful monsters or bandit camps. The purpose of this filter is to make these events more natural and allow players to discover them as they go along with the game. These icons, as well as the ones that show where you can find boats, are easily restored by using a filter. A new UI mode can be selected that eliminates quest objectives and the minimap when you are out of combat. They also allow for quick access to them with a single button click.

A long list of community requests was reviewed by the developers. These included a slow-walk mode, the possibility to switch sprint speeds with a click on right stick and fixings for notoriously flawed quests. This should be retroactive to your saved game. Subtitle scaling allows for bigger font sizes and the ability of pause cutting-scenes. The game’s first ever fully-voiced version has finally been released in Chinese.

It’s not bad for free. Get the next-generation upgrade The Witcher 3This publication will be available on December 14.