Ubisoft has released another update for the PC version of Watch Dogs that should "reduce" stuttering during gameplay, particularly at higher texture settings, and promised that more such fixes are still in the works.
Watch Dogs has suffered from visual stutters of varying intensity since the day it launched, even on high-end video cards. Today's update should address the problem, at least in part, although Ubisoft warned that "some players might still experience some stuttering while playing with 'Ultra Textures' settings on."
"We optimized some of the performance issues that were causing some users to experience high amounts of stuttering while playing Watch_Dogs. Instances of stuttering during gameplay should now be reduced, especially when using 'High Textures'," Ubisoft Community Manager Nik_CtOS wrote . "We'll keep updating you as more fixes for stuttering are currently being worked on."
The update also improves NAT-type error messages, improves support for PCs with multiple network interfaces and fixes a few specific gameplay bugs and crashes.
Based on the response to the post, not everyone is having success with the patch, but some users are reporting significant improvements. The one consistency seems to be, as Ubisoft indicated, that the improvement is most pronounced when using "high" texture settings, while "Ultra" textures seem to be only marginally influenced. Disappointing for gamers with bleeding-edge video cards, perhaps, but it's a start.
