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[jmood88]

No it is not. Skyrim was designed around fast travel same as Oblivion. Most of random shitty quest make you go to completely different place at back of the map for fucking dagger.

I'm not really understanding your complaint. Why are you against fast travel? If you don't like that you might have to go far away to get something, then why are you mad that you can get back there instantly?

 

[TCRS]

This shit is bananas.

B-AN-AN-AS.

Either it's typical dev exaggeration, or 90% of the world will be a barren wasteland of nothingness and boringness like Bethesda games. The Witcher 2's world isn't ungodly huge, but being 40 times bigger than it would make The Witcher 3 the largest RPG world in modern gaming history by a looooong stretch.

huh? I thought it's only 20% bigger than Skyrim. I find Skyrim already too small to be considered a state.

 

[lefantome]

GOTY 2014

or GOTHIC 2014?


when the reveal is expected?

 

[UrbanRats]

This shit is bananas.

B-AN-AN-AS.

Either it's typical dev exaggeration, or 90% of the world will be a barren wasteland of nothingness and boringness like Bethesda games. The Witcher 2's world isn't ungodly huge, but being 40 times bigger than it would make The Witcher 3 the largest RPG world in modern gaming history by a looooong stretch.

20% larger than Skyrim is not unthinkable.
I find Skyrim even too little, to seriously convey a sense of "journey".

Plus consider that PR talk implies that they're counting water and other less meaningful spaces, into it.

 

[Arjen]

Count me in the club that doens't dig the open world. I really like how they structured the story in 2 and i doubt they can do that with an open world.
Still really hyped and excited though.

 

[demidar]

I'm not really understanding your complaint. Why are you against fast travel? If you don't like that you might have to go far away to get something, then why are you mad that you can get back there instantly?

If there was no fast travel, the dagger would be placed somewhere nearby, perhaps within walking/trekking distance. Fast travel diminishes to purpose of an open-world, instead it boils down to "click on icon to fast travel and skip most of the world, retrieve item, click on icon to fast travel back, ta-da open world".

 

[ZombieFred]

Have faith in the developers, they've not let us down yet!

 

[Solo]

huh? I thought it's only 20% bigger than Skyrim. I find Skyrim already too small to be considered a state.

Skyrim, like all Bethesda games, is far too huge for its own good. I'll take a smaller, hand-crafted world any day of the week over a Bethesda style empty, pre-fab dungeon/building world. Clearing the exact same dungeon 150 times in the world doesn't turn my crank. Admittedly, Skyrim was better than Oblivion in this regard.

The Witcher 2 was perfect in this regard - all the envirnoments were unique and memorable. When you get into a world 40x the size, hello asset reuse overload and large swaths of barren wasteland.

 

[jmood88]

Another pet peeve, the at-will fast travel system seen in Oblivion and Skyrim essentially makes the player omnipresent, completely shattering the sense of scale of the world. This diminishes the work put into making the world so large if it's a trifle to traverse it and completely removes the sense of adventure and danger of going deep into the wilderness and potentially getting lost or trapped by hostile creatures. Since the player doesn't spend an extended time in any one place the world starts to feel transient and ephemeral like a fever dream.

No it doesn't. At no point are you forced to use fast travel if you don't to. If you want to walk around from place to place or only use carriages, you are free to do so.

 

[jmood88]

If there was no fast travel, the dagger would be placed somewhere nearby, perhaps within walking/trekking distance. Fast travel diminishes to purpose of an open-world, instead it boils down to "click on icon to fast travel and skip most of the world, retrieve item, click on icon to fast travel back, ta-da open world".

I don't even know what quest you're referring to because I don't remember ever having to go somewhere far away for a small item that didn't matter, unless you're complaining about radiant quests which are designed to get you to places in the world that you hadn't visited. And again, what are you complaining about? You don't have to use fast travel, you can walk to wherever you need to walk to and pick up the item.

 

[Solo]

No quest markers

No mini-map

No HUD

No Fast Travel

No mercy

No more than 1% of the game completed by Dennis.

 

[rasberryjam]

I PEED.

ALSO BEARD! Holy ploughing hell, YES!

 

[Sentenza]

This shit is bananas.

B-AN-AN-AS.

Either it's typical dev exaggeration, or 90% of the world will be a barren wasteland of nothingness and boringness like Bethesda games. The Witcher 2's world isn't ungodly huge, but being 40 times bigger than it would make The Witcher 3 the largest RPG world in modern gaming history by a looooong stretch.

RPG developers could eventually learn that you don't need necessarily to fill every square meter of your world, but you should use large empty spaces for interesting stuff (i.e. a long chase of a large fast monster on horseback, Shadow of the Colossus-style).

 

[demidar]

No it doesn't. At no point are you forced to use fast travel if you don't to. If you want to walk around from place to place or only use carriages, you are free to do so.

The game was designed around fast travel, so if you don't use fast travel you're in for a world of hurt. It's like playing through Doom where the game was designed around the use of quick saves lest the player finishes a fight with depleted health and no armour and fucks themselves over.

 

[ZombieFred]

Skyrim, like all Bethesda games, is far too huge for its own good. I'll take a smaller, hand-crafted world any day of the week over a Bethesda style empty, pre-fab dungeon/building world. Clearing the exact same dungeon 150 times in the world doesn't turn my crank. Admittedly, Skyrim was better than Oblivion in this regard.

The Witcher 2 was perfect in this regard - all the envirnoments were unique and memorable. When you get into a world 40x the size, hello asset reuse overload and large swaths of barren wasteland.

I think the two biggest differences between Bethesda and C is that they have two entirely different production environments. From the impressions I gather with the SDK/modding tools from the red engine it’s efficient for larger scaling production. Just look at the forest for example and how humongous the area really was when you consider the scale of the trees in the distance, they were actually 3D and part of the map rendering. It’s not too hard to believe that they can achieve those kind of details, especially given they are a talent (and insane) bunch when you look at the work they have done. They have a total different mind-set when it comes to game development with the European ethos, and that is something of a far advantage than anything Bestheda will ever have.

I'll be happy with some semi generic quests if the gameplay is fun but I am sure they've got a lot of good ideas with the different tier quests the information has already described. Why else would they risk going for the open sandbox if it meant the risk of a bigger backlash when the can see far bigger potential if they manage to pull off everything that concept of freedom compared to how restrictive you was in Witcher 2?

 

[jett]

Bring on the 1080p+ pictures and gameplay video.

In the scans(yes, old renderer and all that) it looks really close to the Witcher 2.

 

[poisonelf]

I can respect someone preferring open world games, personal preferences and all.

What annoys me is a kind of general acknowledgement that seems to exist in the gaming industry that open world is inherently better, it's a natural evolution, and it's to be celebrated.

Yes, pressing a key to walk for minutes on end amidst repetitive landscapes is so much more satisfying than the detailed variety of the first Witcher locales (especially the unforgettable 3rd and 4th chapters), and is so much more fulfilling than the game revolving around an interesting story line and character interactions.

Each type has its place and one does not have to be "upgraded" to match the other. They serve different audiences I guess.

Also, I'm just generally commenting on the open-world adoration that seems to exist in reviews etc, not regarding the Witcher 3 specifically, since, well, we know nothing about the game at this point and they claim that story will still be a focus.

Spoiler

I'm scared my favoritve RPG series will turn into Elder Scrolls

 

[demidar]

I don't even know what quest you're referring to because I don't remember ever having to go somewhere far away for a small item that didn't matter, unless you're complaining about radiant quests which are designed to get you to places in the world that you hadn't visited. And again, what are you complaining about? You don't have to use fast travel, you can walk to wherever you need to walk to and pick up the item.

Okay, lets throw out all the useless radiant and fetch quests and take out that problem. What are you left with? A lackluster storyline and no content with a plethora of other problems.

 

[EatChildren]

Stop trying to make it sound like Metal Turds Solid 4.

Respect your elders, scrub.

 

[Solo]

I think the two biggest differences between Bethesda and C is that they have two entirely different production environments. From the impressions I gather with the SDK/modding tools from the red engine it’s efficient for larger scaling production. Just look at the forest for example and how humongous the area really was when you consider the scale of the trees in the distance, they were actually 3D and part of the map rendering. It’s not too hard to believe that they can achieve those kind of details, especially given they are a talent (and insane) bunch when you look at the work they have done. They have a total different mind-set when it comes to game development with the European ethos, and that is something of a far advantage than anything Bestheda will ever have.

I'll be happy with some semi generic quests if the gameplay is fun but I am sure they've got a lot of good ideas with the different tier quests the information has already described. Why else would they risk going for the open sandbox if it meant the risk of a bigger backlash when the can see far bigger potential if they manage to pull off everything that concept of freedom compared to how restrictive you was in Witcher 2?

I hope you're right. I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer. It's just that The Witcher 2 was my GOTY and one of my favorite games of all time, and all this open-world talk for The Witcher 3 has me a bit scared, as I feel 90% of open-world games have failed.

 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

And then you cram a bunch of crap in a much smaller area and it creates its own immersion breaking experience. I no longer feel I'm traveling and exploring a real land that has developed itself over generations and instead I know all the major landmarks are right around the corner or over that near by hill. I no longer have that sense of bearing off the beaten path in a forest and finding a small settlement that may take ten minutes to get to because it settled itself inside a large forest that first took me fifteen to twenty minutes of monster fighting to find and felt like it really was miles away from the closest city.

It was a main issue of mine with both red dead redemption and dragons dogma. While both incredible. It felt like Mexico, Texas and North Dakota were literally five minutes from each other and dragons dogma failed to take advantage of that smaller gameplay arena. I found no increased value from there approach then skyrim. And honestly felt more immersed In the latter then the former.

This is my biggest issue, the past games had setpieces with a grand sense of scale and that will be lost in favor of "cities" consisting of a dozen buildings, with said major cities all conveniently located a short several minute walk from each other. The sort of stuff is always goofy in the Elder Scrolls games.

 

[TCRS]

Skyrim, like all Bethesda games, is far too huge for its own good. I'll take a smaller, hand-crafted world any day of the week over a Bethesda style empty, pre-fab dungeon/building world. Clearing the exact same dungeon 150 times in the world doesn't turn my crank. Admittedly, Skyrim was better than Oblivion in this regard.

I agree but the problem here was that there were way too many dungeons. The world was like swiss cheese which is pretty unrealistic. Less dungeons definitely, but the world should have been larger in size and so should the mountains. That was another thing that disturbed me, the mountains. They just suddenly popped up from the ground more or less. I want mountains like on Alborz Mountains (Battlefield 3 map). That's how mountains should be, wide and sprawling. That would take care of the empty space.

 

[jmood88]

The game was designed around fast travel, so if you don't use fast travel you're in for a world of hurt. It's like playing through Doom where the game was designed around the use of quick saves lest the player finishes a fight with depleted health and no armour and fucks themselves over.

You complain that fast travel ruins the big open world while at the same time complaining about having to walk through that open world. That's hilarious.

 

[Rawket Lawnchair]

Do we expect a trailer or gameplay or something else for today?

 

[Tobor]

I'm just glad to see that Bethesda's success is influencing the rest of the industry. The more open world RPG's we get, the better.

 

[EatChildren]

Do we expect a trailer or gameplay or something else for today?

A RED Engine 3 presentation video. Most assume it will use The Witcher 3 assets to show off the pretty.

 

[jmood88]

Okay, lets throw out all the useless radiant and fetch quests and take out that problem. What are you left with? A lackluster storyline and no content with a plethora of other problems.

That's cool but irrelevant. I don't really care about your opinion of Skyrim, I just have no idea how you can complain about the optional use of fast travel.

 

[Hindle]

Hopefully this could be Skyrim only better designed.

 

[Trickster]

My only concern so far is that this open world they are talking about, seems pretty barren. The 2 screenshots + concept art are all of wide open desolate looking places.

I know that it's way to early to judge the game. But I hope they release some screenshots or concept art soonish that'll have some not quite so barren enviroments.

A RED Engine 3 presentation video. Most assume it will use The Witcher 3 assets to show off the pretty.

My day just got more interesting :>

 

[Hargenx]

A RED Engine 3 presentation video. Most assume it will use The Witcher 3 assets to show off the pretty.

My body will never be ready...O_O

 

[demidar]

You complain that fast travel ruins the big open world while at the same time complaining about having to walk through that open world. That's hilarious.

I don't want to walk through a world that was designed for fast travel, I want to walk through a world designed for, you know, regular walking. How hard is that to see?

 

[Solo]

My other concern about turning TW open-world is that they will lose the plot. TW2 was incredibly narrative-driven and full of nuance. Open world games tend to be about the world first and the plot second.

Please show me something to quell my fears, CDPR!

 

[lefantome]

I'm just glad to see that Bethesda's success is influencing the rest of the industry. The more open world RPG's we get, the better.

yes, we had few rpg this gen compared to big fps or mmog(ok the gen before even less but it's not the point).

 

[RiverBed]

Any in-game pics at all (not just one character in an empty screen or concept)? I'd love to see a game-screen.

 

[ZombieFred]

My other concern about turning TW open-world is that they will lose the plot. TW2 was incredibly narrative-driven and full of nuance. Open world games tend to be about the world first and the plot second.

Please show me something to quell my fears, CDPR!

I think the narrative will be just the same quality, if not higher. The plot is driven into three main components and into "zones" (same kind of method with Witcher 2s Hub chapters) but it'll most likely have the story more presented in other ways such as details into the world and NPC dialogue, among with the usual cut scene narrative. It's the god damn Wild Hunt man, it's been all built up to this since the first game. I want dat "alien" invasion I've been waiting for all this time.

Plus Roche. He needs to be in this!

 

[jmood88]

I don't want to walk through a world that was designed for fast travel, I want to walk through a world designed for, you know, regular walking. How hard is that to see?

Because it is designed for walking. You are never forced to use fast travel. If it was designed for fast travel all the time, they wouldn't have included the carriages or keep areas locked from fast travel until you get to the location.

 

[EatChildren]

My other concern about turning TW open-world is that they will lose the plot. TW2 was incredibly narrative-driven and full of nuance. Open world games tend to be about the world first and the plot second.

Please show me something to quell my fears, CDPR!

This is a concern of mine as well, but the way they've explained the plot threads gives me hope. The big problem with so many open world game stories is that they cover issues and struggles sweeping across entire civilizations. They're kind of a big deal. But they're also restricted to the pacing and involvement of the player. It develops this really transparent and unconvincing loop of a narrative of supposed great importance losing importance because of how heavily it panders to the player's involvement. You're the chosen one. Wars wont start until you're in the area. Missions will wait for when you're ready. Meanwhile you can fuck off and spend a hundred hours doing medial side quests and the world will sit patiently waiting for you to trigger the set pieces and deliver the final blow to the bad guy.

With The Witcher 3, the main core narrative isn't saving the world or uniting kingdoms. That's the second tier of narrative, with involvement limited to whatever you wish to contribute. The Witcher 3's main narrative is more personal. It's about Geralt and his connection with The Wild Hunt, and how far he's willing to go for his friends.

In theory, a good story like that would stay very focused in an open world game, as it's more about what you personally experience on a character level throughout the game world. The wars and politics and other bullshit are simply wrapped around that, rather than the main focus.

 

[FACE]

A RED Engine 3 presentation video. Most assume it will use The Witcher 3 assets to show off the pretty.

I WANT IT AAAAALLL, I WANT IT AAAAAALL, I WANT IT AAAAAALL AND I WANT IT NOOOOOOOW!

 

[Solo]

This is a concern of mine as well, but the way they've explained the plot threads gives me hope. The big problem with so many open world game stories is that they cover issues and struggles sweeping across entire civilizations. They're kind of a big deal. But they're also restricted to the pacing and involvement of the player. It develops this really transparent and unconvincing loop of a narrative of supposed great importance losing importance because of how heavily it panders to the player's involvement. You're the chosen one. Wars wont start until you're in the area. Missions will wait for when you're ready. Meanwhile you can fuck off and spend a hundred hours doing medial side quests and the world will sit patiently waiting for you to trigger the set pieces and deliver the final blow to the bad guy.

With The Witcher 3, the main core narrative isn't saving the world or uniting kingdoms. That's the second tier of narrative, with involvement limited to whatever you wish to contribute. The Witcher 3's main narrative is more personal. It's about Geralt and his connection with The Wild Hunt, and how far he's willing to go for his friends.

In theory, a good story like that would stay very focused in an open world game, as it's more about what you personally experience on a character level throughout the game world. The wars and politics and other bullshit are simply wrapped around that, rather than the main focus.

This post almost makes me forgive you for ME3, EC

Fears temporarily calmed. Thank you.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Because it is designed for walking. You are never forced to use fast travel. If it was designed for fast travel all the time, they wouldn't have included the carriages or keep areas locked from fast travel until you get to the location.

The quests in Bethesda games Oblivion onward are definitely designed for fast travel. They send you back and forth all over the map, have no time or money constraints, and rely on quest markers telling you exactly where to go.

 

[EatChildren]

This post almost makes me forgive you for ME3, EC

Fears temporarily calmed. Thank you.

I hear BioWare is offering narrative advice too!

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Oh they could have easily justified doing amnesia AGAIN.

Maybe Geralt can actually develop a character now. So shallow compared to Roche or Letho. I'm hoping Trish isn't a huge focus in this one. She really needs to give the White Wolf his space.

Game Geralt is very similar to the character in the books, amnesia or not, he basically acts similar always (distant guy, usually uses sarcarsm as his humor, mostly neutral but always help his love ones and friends). The only change you will see is that this time he knows the people he is going to see again (like for example the mercenaries in the camp) and he will act accordingly.

End of the trilogy? Hopefully not the end of the series though. So much they could tap into.

Even if I love much the whole series (including the books) I dont hink you can squeeze much more when this game ends. Geralt will return with its love ones, or not, nilfgaard will win or lose. Theres nothing more to tell with the lore Sapowski created in the books, becuase its already told. That would mean create a whole new world (even if we are talking of the northern kingdoms and surrounding) and characters nearly, and The Witcher is a character driven story, not a world driven.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

No level scaling critters alone makes this almost a must buy for an open world fan like myself.

 

[Solo]

I hear BioWare is offering narrative advice too!

 

[Hindle]

How can they afford to make a game like this? CD Project are hardly the most wealth developer plus they're independent.

It' shows how efficient they are.

 

[Fezzan]

So if this is on next gen how are 360 players gonna get there saves to the next console. Because if they do some stupid comic I'm gonna be pissed

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

The quests in Bethesda games Oblivion onward are definitely designed for fast travel. They send you all over the map and rely on quest markers telling you where to go.

The things is, i thin CD Project is not going to do that. For them is "why would a villager with a monster contract want something from another region?" The most normal thing a simplevillager will ask would be to save his crops or family from near attacking monsters. Thats why I think that even if the games is going to be open world, the quests are going to be really centered in where you, and will design for fast travel, even if it has it.

How can they afford to make a game like this? CD Project are hardly the most wealth developer plus they're independent.

It' shows how efficient they are.

Also Poland

 

[demidar]

Because it is designed for walking. You are never forced to use fast travel. If it was designed for fast travel all the time, they wouldn't have included the carriages or keep areas locked from fast travel until you get to the location.

How is it designed for walking? Just because you can doesn't mean it's designed to be the focal point.

The carriages are a good form of fast travel, limited but it serves a good purpose at creating central points at which one can branch out and explore. Unfortunately at-will fast travel renders them useless except for the first time, and in Skyrim only proliferates the use of at-will fast travel.

 

[BigTnaples]

LTTP but awesome.


Who would have figured that The Witcher would be the very first franchise to get a next gen game on the cover of Game Informer.

 

[shinobi602]

My day just got more interesting :>

My body will never be ready...O_O

Remember to keep your expectations reasonable for now:

CD Projekt RED has provided the screenshots you see here from its current in-game assets running on its Internal PC development hardware. However, the renderer - the part of the engine that translates the game files into what you ultimately see on screen - is still in development and will boast significant improvements by the time The Witcher 3 ships. "Right now you see the game in the old renderer, but it's going to be taken to a truly next level," says gameplay producer Marek ZSiemak. In particular, the developers tell us that skin shaders and the dynamic lighting model will be markedly more advanced in the final version.