Cyberpunk 2077 - Overhauling Development Tools

[Silver]

iDigitalTimes reports that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't as far along as we might all hope. Currently the Witcher developers are overhauling development tools before work officially begins.

"The most important thing that's happening at the moment is that the programmers are taking the feedback we gave them from working on The Witcher . As cliche as it sounds it was a big learning experience," he said, explaining that by the end of the development everyone had a list of features they wanted for new dev tools. "The programmers are updating our software quite drastically."

This includes a brand new visual effects editor, which Teixeira is very excited about. He admits that he's got a little more enthusiasm for the upcoming project than he did for The Witcher 3 . For him, Cyberpunk 2077 represents a chance to explore a genre he finds more interesting.

"I immensely appreciate medieval fantasy games," he said. " But I don't know what it is about Cyberpunk 2077 but it just clicks. There's something about this game that just clicks with me and I'm really happy to be working on it."

Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled for release sometime in the next four years , so don't hold your breath for any big announcements in the near future.

More information.

 

[CelticFrost]

That is the worst news of the year. The only reason I see for any overhaul is they have the new console specs and working on the game to be released when the PS5 comes out.

 

[Ripper]

On the bright side, I give them credit for actually pushing their engine forward between games, instead of iterating off the same clunky old engine for years, like Bethesda.

 

[CelticFrost]

On the bright side, I give them credit for actually pushing their engine forward between games, instead of iterating off the same clunky old engine for years, like Bethesda.

Though if they do this between every game I will only get to play 3 to 4 more before I am in the nursing home.

 

[azarhal]

I don't know about PS5, but the "release sometime in the next four years" is kinda scary. 8 years of developer sound more like development hell than something that is going smoothly.

 

[Moriendor]

8 years of developer sound more like development hell than something that is going smoothly.

Hm? What eight years of development? This article confirms that they haven't even really started yet .

I have always been wondering about Cyberpunk when CDP said prior to the Witcher 3's release that they have all hands on deck to finish up TW3. Did they mean all hands that were not working on Cyberpunk or really ALL hands they got?

This article seems to confirm that the latter was the case and that CDP never got far beyond the very initial conceptual phase on Cyberpunk because TW3 + expansions took over priorities.

So it looks like they really had everyone on TW3 + expansions up until now and Cyberpunk is now only just beginning to enter full development. We're at 0.x years and not 8 years in.

 

[Drithius]

So it looks like they really had everyone on TW3 + expansions up until now and Cyberpunk is now only just beginning to enter full development. We're at 0.x years and not 8 years in.

Except the talent that codes an engine isn't the same talent that uses it. Something like redesigning an engine should really have been started long before even TW3 shipped. There's no law against having two active versions of an engine; I guess CDProjekt has trouble walking and chewing bubblegum at the same time

No skin off my back though, I still need to play TW3!

 

[Moriendor]

Except the talent that codes an engine isn't the same talent that uses it. Something like redesigning an engine should really have been started long before even TW3 shipped. There's no law against having two active versions of an engine; I guess CDProjekt has trouble walking and chewing bubblegum at the same time

Well, as CDP said during TW3's development, they apparently needed all hands on deck to wrap it up so it would seem that the code monkeys are/were all tied up on various fronts, i.e. the game, the DLC, the patches, the expansions and also last but not least the REDKit mod tools.
Looks like they had absolutely no free capacities to begin working on dev tools or engine updates for Cyberpunk. That had to wait until now.

No skin off my back though, I still need to play TW3!

Same here. Still waiting for the enhanced edition including everything in one nice, fat package and the final patch. Hopefully later this year or early next year...

 

[GabrielMP_19]

I don't know about PS5, but the "release sometime in the next four years" is kinda scary. 8 years of developer sound more like development hell than something that is going smoothly.

I don't thinkl they were actually working "for real" in the game before last year (hell, maybe before this year). And well, I kinda expected the game late 2019, so 2020 or maybe 2021 in case of delay won't be so bad. Projekt Red is a very slow developer, but I prefer them that over shitty games like some other AAA companies do.

 

[joxer]

I don't know about PS5, but the "release sometime in the next four years" is kinda scary.

I couldn't care less for PS5.
All I care for is hairworx which is something only PC can do. And I'll probably die before consoles add that feature. Okay, not really, but by the time consoles add it, we'll already have VR on PC.

 

[Moriendor]

What if everyone in Cyberpunk is bald?

 

[Droniac]

That is the worst news of the year. The only reason I see for any overhaul is they have the new console specs and working on the game to be released when the PS5 comes out.

That doesn't seem very likely:

• A PS5 would be at least 3-4 years out. There is absolutely no way anyone knows its specs. When aiming for a cutting-edge release that far out you do so based on PC specs, because it has a semi-predictable hardware release pattern. Console releases are completely arbitrary and unpredictable, even for the console manufacturers themselves.
• All prior CD Projekt RED games were initially (in alpha stages) developed with purely high-end PCs in mind. Then later downgraded as the actual capabilities of hardware became apparent. I've seen nothing to suggest that this mentality has changed. Nor does the interview suggest they're really anywhere near that stage yet.
• An engine overhaul would only make sense if the game was currently in production for current-gen and then suddenly shifted over to next-gen. It doesn't make sense in a scenario where programmers are still developing tools: production hasn't begun yet, so there has been no shift. Or rather, the only shift appears to be in your perception.

I suspect you're misreading the quoted interview. Jose is an artist at CD Projekt RED and clearly speaking from his perspective. He's not mentioning anything about how they're overhauling the engine to look better. Instead he's talking about how they're improving their tools, such as those used to create visual effects.

To clarify this: the engine is what renders content (among other things) on screen, the tools are what allow artists to create content to be used in that engine. The programmers are currently working primarily on those tools, not the engine. This is stated very clearly in the interview.

The reasoning for that process is obvious as well. During Witcher 3 and Blood & Wine production the artists have come across all sorts of little annoyances, glitches, or new features that would be a great asset during the content production process. Rather than diving straight-in on content production with the current tools and whatever flaws those possess, CD Projekt RED is instead taking the time to overhaul its tools. That will delay production by some months, but will also provide artists with tools that allow them to create their content more easily, more quickly, and most likely produce better results as well.

In essence: they're swallowing an up-front production delay in order to be more efficient once production actually starts. If the amount of feedback is anywhere near what Jose seems to indicate, then it's very likely that in the long-run this will result in a superior product, an earlier shipping date, or both.

And yeah, it does sound like production on the game itself hasn't really started yet. That trailer? It was only a mood trailer, i.e.: an artist's rendition of what the game could be like.

 

[azarhal]

Hm? What eight years of development? This article confirms that they haven't even really started yet

They always had a team working on Cyberpunk 2077 since they announced it back in 2012 and moved most of the studio devs to it more than 6 months ago.

All that work doesn't get invalidated because they announced they decided to retool the project and take four more years to finish it. It's like saying that Dragon Age Origins only took 3 years to make instead of 7 (most of the dev team was busy with Jade Empire/Mass effect until 2006/2007) or FFXV took only 3 instead of 10 (or is it 11 now? I don't follow it much).

 

[joxer]

What if everyone in Cyberpunk is bald?

The trailer suggests otherwise.

 

[Moriendor]

They always had a team working on Cyberpunk 2077 since they announced it back in 2012 and moved most of the studio devs to it more than 6 months ago.

Did you read the linked article here and not just the headline? Like everyone else, I thought so as well (i.e. that they had a second team on Cyberpunk all this time) but apparently they had nothing of the sort. They are just starting now. From scratch (almost) since the game is "very, very early" in the dev cycle to quote the article. I don't think that four years (2012 to 2016) qualifies as "very, very early" even by CDP's standards (it might for Valve or Blizzard though ) .

 

[rjshae]

As long as it's good, I don't care if it takes eight years.

 

[Couchpotato]

So I'm guessing that vague 2017 release date is not happening now.

Now any guesses as I''ll pick late 2018 or mid 2019 now?

Also seems CD Projekt wants to copy the Rockstar model.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-04-27-cd-projekt-games-will-follow-the-rockstar-model

The Witcher 3's success won't turn the company into a ten-project studio, says CEO Marcin Iwinski, but it has raised its ambitions for Cyberpunk.

 

[joxer]

Rockstar model is Red Dead Redemption console exclusive and middlefinger to PC audience.

The model CDpr is chasing is what Pluto13 does but with larger workforce.

 

[Gorath]

If I'm not mistaken nowhere in these 2 articles anyone said CDPR is only working on one project at the same time. If Rockstar Games is their role model, they should have at least a second game (-> Cyberpunk) cooking slowly. Rockstar has several daughter studios and more than one game in development. They even had a studio for the PC conversions (yes, conversion! Rockstar makes console games) but it has been closed years ago.

Personally I don't believe this "We'll first ship our game and see how it sells, etc." bullshit other studios pull. Since when is it good business practice to have dozens of people sitting idle before you start work on the next project?

Some of the 250 people who worked on TW3 must have finished their work a long time ago. These people are certainly working on something else. Add-ons usually recycle 90+% of the assets.
The point of starting pre-production early is to have the new project ready to move people over when the current game has shipped.

 

[Couchpotato]

Visual Effects Artist Jose Texiera clarified the game is not in early development.

Link - http://kotaku.com/the-people-behind-cyberpunk-2077-would-like-to-correct-1775789408

“I mentioned that we were upgrading the engine based on the feedback everybody gave from The Witcher 3,” Texiera said. “We’re upgrading the engine. It’s a pretty thorough upgrade. Almost every aspect of the engine is getting upgraded. My particle effects editor is getting upgraded, as is almost every other tool.”

“But the article that was written online was worded in a slightly click-bait-y type way that made it sound like we haven’t even started really working on Cyberpunk yet,” he added. “I didn’t say that. We’re just upgrading the tools. That’s all I said. That’s something that any company that uses custom software has to do from time-to-time. That’s all.”