How 'Fixed' Cyberpunk 2077 is After Patch 1.2: What's Better, What's Unchanged
With patch notes spanning over 8000 words long, and literal hundreds of fixes implemented in the game's latest version, patch 1.2 has finally arrived for Cyberpunk 2077. After a few delays, at first due to pandemic and controversy concerns from the game's initial release, and another significant delay due to a real-life cyber attack on CD Projekt Red, the first huge update to the game is here. Ranging from anywhere between 33 GB on the PC version to 44 GB on PS4, patch 1.2 brings a slew of different changes related to AI behavior, bug fixes, physics and vehicle handling, new functionality, various quality of life enhancements, among other various changes.
As for how "fixed" the game is, well, that'll be subjective based on the issues or concerns raised from player to player. Differences in quality will obviously vary based on platform, most notably between console players. However, the biggest thing to note about this patch is stability, something expressed in comments by CD Projekt Red that this upcoming patch would fix the "most prominent problems gamers are facing on last-gen consoles." To some extent that is true, though several issues that are platform-agnostic still exist in version 1.2 of Cyberpunk 2077. There are a ton of fixes that have come in this latest patch though, and finally puts the game on the right track.
Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on all platforms, though the update size varies between platforms: patch 1.2 on PC is 33.6 GB, 44.1 GB on PS4 (PS5), and 40.3 GB on Xbox. According to CD Projekt Red's patch notes, changes to Cyberpunk 2077 in patch 1.2 are divided into several categories: Gameplay, Quests, Open World, Cinematic Design, Environment and Levels, Graphics/Audio/Animation, UI, Stability and Performance, as well as other miscellaneous and platform-specific changes. Before diving into overall changes, it's important to note the many console and platform-specific changes in patch 1.2, which are arguably the most important adjustments.
Starting off with Xbox One, there are a ton of different adjustments made to Cyberpunk 2077 that seem to remedy the many crashes players would have to endure. Several different instances that would cause the game to become unresponsive have seemingly been fixed. Some examples of note include a freeze that would occur after deleting a save on Xbox One, changing Xbox player profiles while the game is on the title menu, as well as a sign-out/controller disconnected freeze. Additionally there were some vague optimizations made for the console's RAM usage, as well as a fix for the UI loading issue during Johnny Silverhand's "Love Like Fire" story mission.
On PlayStation, there were several functional and graphical changes made outside of raw performance and framerate optimizations specifically for PS4/PS4 Pro. An issue with inventory items not dropping from the backpack menu (items reappearing in inventory) was resolved. Rendering issues with conflicting fog and lighting systems were resolved (visual stuttering). There was also an issue specific to beheaded corpses stretching/"glitching out" on PS4 that was seemingly resolved as well.
There were quite a few fixes specific to the PC version of the game as well. A majority of the issues with larger resolutions causing issues with in-game UI have been seemingly fixed. Ray Tracing capability has now been added for those playing the game on AMD graphics cards, with the only prerequisite being updated graphics card drivers. Keyboard bindings were changed significantly: Players can now bind movement to more than just WASD, dodging can now be bound to a specific key instead of double-tapping movement buttons, and there are also more keys to utilize for key bindings overall. Additionally, mods now have a dedicated folder in the system files.
As for the platform-wide changes, it'd be impossible to go through every change implemented in this patch, but these are some of the big highlights worth noting.
On the note of stability, several optimizations and improvements were made to Cyberpunk 2077's rendering engine to improve graphical and system performance. These changes are most noticeable on console, where texture streaming would be extremely slow in highly populated/dense areas, resulting in framerate slowdown and texture pop-in. It's worth noting these issues aren't entirely resolved, especially on PC, but it does keep PS4/Xbox One versions of the game much closer to a consistent 30 frames per second. Much of these improvements can be attributed to memory optimization, which should assist with resolving game crashes, as well as any graphical hiccups.
In terms of systemic and tangible gameplay changes, there are quite a few surprising ones. There were several adjustments made to the wanted/police system in Cyberpunk 2077, specifically in cop spawns and behavior. The spawn radius for officers has increased, far fewer cops actually spawn at any given moment (depending on wanted level), and the NCPD also sends drones in first to investigate reports of crime. This really only applies to earlier wanted levels, as the NCPD still largely functions in a similar manner to how it did at launch.
There have also been several adjustments to Cyberpunk 2077's driving mechanics and physics. Balancing and adjustments to steering sensitivity in general were made, apparently adjusting for framerate discrepancies to "produce more consistent results." Along those lines, all versions of the game now have a steering sensitivity slider that players can adjust based on preference. Additionally, players can now shift and adjust vehicles that are stuck in a position that pre-patch would've become immovable.
All the rest of the changes are specific to certain mechanics, specific quests, or are otherwise less general to the overall gameplay experience. It's also worth noting that there are a ton of "stealth fixes" in the game as well, something the patch 1.2 notes list as "and many more."
Overall, the increase in stability should keep the framerate a little more stable for PS4/Xbox One players, though early tests have shown the improvement isn't particularly staggering. That being said, it's clear this patch is still very much a first-step for Cyberpunk 2077. The police changes are largely surface-level, as the response time changes don't factor in to later wanted levels. Otherwise, it's hard to quantify anything else in patch 1.2's changes as anything other than bug-fixing, and optimization. Much of this stuff probably should've been present in the base game's launch, but the reality of the scenario is that this is a nominal first step towards improving Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: CD Projekt Red
Reviewed by Unknown
on
March 30, 2021
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