Latest Battlefield 1 Patch Downgrades Visuals And Performance For PC Gamers
Typically when installing a patch for a game the expectation is that it will improve performance, stomp out bugs, and maybe even make the title look better, depending on what it brings to the tablet. That isn't the case for some gamers with the Fall update for Battlefield 1. PC gamers who applied the latest BF1 patch are up in arms over a degradation in graphics and they've gotten DICE's attention.
A thread is that is 30 pages and growing is filled with complaints on the official BF1 forum. Some questioned whether others were seeing things, chalking the whole thing up to a placebo effect of sorts, though the degraded graphics are more easily seen on higher resolutions with the eye candy cranked up. A forum user who goes by the handle "Arrogant_Amigo" gathered up a couple of comparison screenshots that show the visual downgrade in a number of spots. Have a look:
Before the patch
After the patch
Bear in mind that the above images show different weather conditions, with the post-patch scene displaying a bit of fog. That isn't what gamers are ticked about. It's the graphics quality of specific elements. Apparently it is something that PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro players are seeing as well, as confirmed by Nils Hallberg, development director at DICE working on BF1.
The issue appears rather widespread. As one Twitter user responded to Hallberg's tweet, "It is not some people. We are thousands! PS4 Pro took the hit big time!" Another user complained, "Some people? Do you read Battlefield forums? All PS4 owners have the problems with the 1.04 [patch]."
DICE has not yet given a time frame for how long gamers can expect to wait for another patch that restores graphics to the previous visual quality.
A thread is that is 30 pages and growing is filled with complaints on the official BF1 forum. Some questioned whether others were seeing things, chalking the whole thing up to a placebo effect of sorts, though the degraded graphics are more easily seen on higher resolutions with the eye candy cranked up. A forum user who goes by the handle "Arrogant_Amigo" gathered up a couple of comparison screenshots that show the visual downgrade in a number of spots. Have a look:
Before the patch
After the patch
Arrogant_Amigo notes several graphical changes between the two images, those being:
- Clearly lacks tessellation on muddy terrain path -- see bottom left highlighted area
- Lacks previous (pre-patch) anisotropic filtering/textures -- see far right highlight on rock formation textures
- Terrain quality/decoration lowered, notice missing foliage and plants -- see top left highlight above the muddy path
- HBAO/shadow resolution or shadow-draw distance lowered, notice cluster of plants -- see middle highlight above weapon
@CurleeToes @Battlefield It hasn't. We are investigating why some people experience a degrade on PS4, PS4 pro and PC.
— Nils Hallberg (@_FancySquirrel_) November 17, 2016
DICE has not yet given a time frame for how long gamers can expect to wait for another patch that restores graphics to the previous visual quality.
