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[patapuf]

And again people go up in flames for something they havent even played yet.

Lets see how it works out. I would assume that exploring and killing high level monsters is still worth it just for the extra stats of a weapon. Maybe that weapon better fits your current playstyle, because it upgrades a certain sign or makes evasion better or whatnot.

Also, if you are able to take out all the monsters in a dungeon, your level is probably good enough for the stuff you find in the dungeon.
Someone said it before, but this game is tilted slightly into the direction of character skill. So no matter good of a player you are, some monsters will crush you and make it impossible to obtain certain gear.
Not everything has to be Souls' like.

I personally dont like getting gear that I cant wear. I had this in DA:I. I fought some crazy hard mage, got some gear that was 4 levels above mine. And leveling in that game takes a long time. So I horted that item for hours, which lead to more micromanaging of my inventory (not fun) and in the end I found something better before I was even able to equip it.
That system is as least as stupid as loot scaling.

I'll just wait and see how it works.

The debate of scaling vs. not scaling in an RPG is very, very old an while there are better and worse implementations of scaling it's still loot scaling and it does impact the way the reward structure for exploration is designed (most direct comparison: Fallout 3 vs. Fallout New Vegas).

Some people are into it and some are not. That's not going to magically change when the game releases.

 

[Majukun]

I'll ask here too..did they say if the "simulate world states" option present in the console version will ba present on the pc version too?
I've played witcher 2,but on 360,while I'll play witcher 3 on pc...and i don't want to replay the game just for that

 

[GribbleGrunger]

Is it true that this game has gone down from 50gb to 35gb? If so, I'm going to be keeping my eye on how big the future DLC is.

 

[Mifec]

I'll ask here too..did they say if the "simulate world states" option present in the console version will ba present on the pc version too?
I've played witcher 2,but on 360,while I'll play witcher 3 on pc...and i don't want to replay the game just for that

You get to choose it in the prologue of the game, on every platform. So no need to worry.

 

[dlauv]

Is it May 19th yet?

Interview was pretty underwhelming. They were scrounging around for something to say about MKX for most of it. Dude looked kind of bored but carried it nicely with some charming anecdotes about MK. Girl seemed kind of the same but tried to hide it with a huuuuuge cheesy smile. What's interesting about her was it seemed like she made a bunch of unintentional intentional innuendo. Hell, even the host seemed a bit bored.

School's out soon. I'm going home. I'm going to play the hell out of this: all day, all night on my folks' gigantic tv. And only once I'm satisfied will I nab a summer job.

 

[Ushay]

Witcher is up for preload for £40 on Xbox One. Let me repeat that.. £40. Fuck me.

You see this EA/Activision/Ubisoft. This is how you price your games.

*applaud CDP*

 

[Denton]

Witcher is up for preload for £40 on Xbox One. Let me repeat that.. £40. Fuck me.

You see this EA/Activision/Ubisoft. This is how you price your games.

*applaud CDP*

£40 is still expensive as fuck. I got it on GOG for $34.

(and then I got CE and Steam version + expansion because I am generous)

 

[Majukun]

Witcher is up for preload for £40 on Xbox One. Let me repeat that.. £40. Fuck me.

You see this EA/Activision/Ubisoft. This is how you price your games.

*applaud CDP*

well,ea/ubisoft and activision have not their studios in poland ,where the workforce costs less

 

[Sn4ke_911]

 

[Philippo]

Joe of Rivia?

 

[cripterion]

That is one lucky dude! Looking forward to more impressions of the game.

 

[Tovarisc]

1. Ideal situation: Weapons don't have any scaling or level lockout.
2. Compromise: Weapons downscale when you get them, but can upscale to full potential eventually.
3. Compromise + punishment: Weapons downscale, but stay locked at the level you get them thus nerfing them permanently.

Witcher 3 uses the third option. =/

I would argue it's punishment only because you want it feel like it, "Sword X is ruined because I touched it 0.5 levels too early!", but same time if game keeps giving you decent gear at regular intervals and Godtier through crafting I don't see how it's punishment.

Is it true that this game has gone down from 50gb to 35gb? If so, I'm going to be keeping my eye on how big the future DLC is.

We don't know. One store says 35 GB, another says 25 GB and third says 50 GB. Either one is right or all are wrong, we just have to wait for them upgrade all store pages.

well,ea/ubisoft and activision have not their studios in poland ,where the workforce costs less

Well it's all relative tho, isn't it? Cost of living in Poland seems low when looking at it as e.g. American from US, but for local it can feel just as high as it can feel for American in US.

 

[JoJo UK]

£40 is still expensive as fuck. I got it on GOG for $34.

(and then I got CE and Steam version + expansion because I am generous)

Buying digital on the XB1 gives you 2 copies of the game though which is great for us with kids .

 

[erawsd]

well,ea/ubisoft and activision have not their studios in poland ,where the workforce costs less

Yeah, I think the game had around a $15million budget, which has gone up a bit after 2 delays. Meanwhile, the rest of the AAA industry is hovering in the $40-50million range.

 

[Denzar]

Pardon my ignorance, but will I be able to enjoy this game's story, even If i haven't played the previous Witcher games?

I played the beginning of 1, but... That game did not age well.

I bought The Witcher 2, but the combat was, erm... wonky. It was also A LOT to take in. Maybe I'll try to play through the game a second time next week (on vacation) but with GTA V and MKX out there, I doubt it.


Everything I've seen of The Witcher 3 so far looks stellar. I just hope I'm not completely lost, story wise.

 

[erawsd]

Pardon my ignorance, but will I be able to enjoy this game's story, even If i haven't played the previous Witcher games?

I played the beginning of 1, but... That game did not age well.

I bought The Witcher 2, but the combat was, erm... wonky. It was also A LOT to take in. Maybe I'll try to play through the game a second time next week (on vacation) but with GTA V and MKX out there, I doubt it.


Everything I've seen of The Witcher 3 so far looks stellar. I just hope I'm not completely lost, story wise.

Yeah, the game is suppose to be very accommodating to people who are unfamiliar with the series.

 

[batman2million]

£40 is still expensive as fuck. I got it on GOG for $34.

(and then I got CE and Steam version + expansion because I am generous)

How'd you get it for $34? Does GOG give steam keys?

 

[Denton]

Buying digital on the XB1 gives you 2 copies of the game though which is great for us with kids .

That's pretty great.
Of course on GOG you get infinite amount of copies

How'd you get it for $34? Does GOG give steam keys?

GOG is DRM-Free, it gives you exe files that you install however many times you want on however many computers you want, no client necessary.

I got it with discount because I own TW1 and TW2 already:

I did buy also steam copies because I actually prefer the convenience there, with auto updates and such. GOG will have their own optional Galaxy client but who knows when that will be released.

 

[Daverid]

Pardon my ignorance, but will I be able to enjoy this game's story, even If i haven't played the previous Witcher games?

Well CDPR claims you'll be fine. That's really all we've got to go off currently.

I would highly recommending pulling yourself through W2. Combat does improve as you obtain more skills and start to progress down a path. If you're playing on PC I would HIGHLY recommend using this - http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/697/? Replaces the clunky roll with a beautiful pirouette and just makes movement in combat feel so much smoother (Also doesn't affect Gameplay in that it makes the game easier or anything like that, it only really means that you get 2 extra skill points if you choose the Swordsmanship path since you don't need to invest in the Roll talent).
Almost everything else about the game is fantastic, especially the Story/Characters. Just really try to pay attention, explore dialogue options to learn more, read the journal when in doubt etc. There is a lot to take in, and for some it can be overwhelming, but as someone who played W2 as his first Witcher game, you most certainly can play, understand it for the most part and really enjoy it.

Although if you just hold off for TW3, I understand, and the tutorial/prologue this time around does seem like it's going to take things a little slower and give you a better introduction to the world and what is happening than TW2 did.

 

[Tovarisc]

I got it with discount because I own TW1 and TW2 already:

Regional pricing of GOG can be so derpy, just like e.g. on Steam. Here you are getting Witcher 3 for $34 after owning both earlier Witcher games. When I as European go to GOG I get to pay €44, includes discount from owning both Witcher games, which is roughly $44 with current exchange rate. That is quite serious price cap for a game on site that allegedly doesn't believe in uneven regional pricing.

 

[JoJo UK]

That's pretty great.
Of course on GOG you get infinite amount of copies



GOG is DRM-Free, it gives you exe files that you install however many times you want on however many computers you want, no client necessary.

I got it with discount because I own TW1 and TW2 already:

I did buy also steam copies because I actually prefer the convenience there, with auto updates and such. GOG will have their own optional Galaxy client but who knows when that will be released.

Ohhh, I didn't think of that lol!

 

[cslesce]

Why US again lower price?

and CD Project is European company, wtf?

 

[Hypron]

I got it with discount because I own TW1 and TW2 already:

I did buy also steam copies because I actually prefer the convenience there, with auto updates and such. GOG will have their own optional Galaxy client but who knows when that will be released.

Meanwhile in NZ:

Edit:

When switching to USD:

 

[Denton]

Regional pricing of GOG can be so derpy, just like e.g. on Steam. Here you are getting Witcher 3 for $34 after owning both earlier Witcher games. When I as European go to GOG I get to pay €44, includes discount from owning both Witcher games, which is roughly $44 with current exchange rate. That is quite serious price cap for a game on site that allegedly doesn't believe in uneven regional pricing.

I am from Europe too, Czechland to be precise. I just selected USD in currency selector at the bottom of the GOG homepage.

As for regional differences, unfortuately for some games, especially ones that are also publishes in retail by publisher, GOG has to abide by their rules. But at least they give the difference back in store credit, which is more than can be said for literally anyone else.

 

[jacksepticeye]

I did buy also steam copies because I actually prefer the convenience there, with auto updates and such. GOG will have their own optional Galaxy client but who knows when that will be released.

GOG master race

 

[Tovarisc]

But at least they give the difference back in store credit, which is more than can be said for literally anyone else.

Shame I don't care about that store credit at all, I use GOG so rarely as I get games like Witchers from there.

Edit: When I switch from € to $ it goes from €44 to $47. Price is same, it just takes exchange rate into count.

 

[Ushay]

£40 is still expensive as fuck. I got it on GOG for $34.

(and then I got CE and Steam version + expansion because I am generous)

That's a cracking price, but over here in UK especially on digital Xbox, it's a bargain for a new title. It's cheaper than the physical copy on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BT9DU0I/

It's £45 for both PS4 & Xbox One.

 

[Currygan]

best news is Gwent tournaments, I'll be spending a ridiculous amount of time and money on that one

 

[abundant]

Well CDPR claims you'll be fine. That's really all we've got to go off currently.

We also got comments from IGN's First 6 Hours of the game.

Density and variety are The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s greatest assets. Whether you’re coming in completely fresh, or with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Nilfgaard’s imperial power, there’s so much to absorb from Wild Hunt that it becomes anybody’s game. Despite its overwhelming amount of information, it is, strangely, the best place to start. Where The Witcher 2 moved forward with ruthless, unforgiving concern for anyone who couldn’t keep up, Wild Hunt moves slow enough, and gives players the room to focus, that everyone can consume its gorgeous, convincing world at their own pace.

 

[JimmyRustler]

It was terrible in Oblivion and is frowned upon by a lot of RPG fans as it implies a world pandering to your player over an organic world you're challenged to explore and discover.

I think that a true Open World game wouldn't work without level scaling because in such a case you have to separate a world. That works well in games like Gothic where the areas are connected with a corridor (more or less) but in a true Open World game? I don't think this could turn out well.

 

[Loakum]

I pay the Iron price.

 

[Zolo]

I pay the Iron price.

That looks more like the gold price to me. =p

 

[zonezeus]

I think CDPR distributes the game themselves in some parts of Eastern Europe, so they're probably matching GOG prices with retails prices in these regions. Still, their pricing policy can be weird as fuck, for example GOG price for W3 here in Poland is 36€ which is about 145PLN, but you can also buy the game from their own online shop for 129PLN.

Spoiler

Did I mention Poland gets PC CE for an equivalent of 95$?

 

[Darryl M R]

Traded somethings into amazon and I had some left over credit in my PSN wallet, just bought The Witcher 3 digitally through PSN for $1.01

 

[erawsd]

So, technically the release date for those of us in the US is May 18th. The game will unlock @5:00pm Monday evening.

I've seen a few articles posting about how there are different times for the unlock of the digital game and how some people will be playing it on the 18th, not the 19th and so forth. So, just to clarify:
All digital copies on all platforms, PCs, Playstation 4 & Xbox One, get access at 1AM CET, May 19th.

So, depending on which time zone you live in, your game may unlock on the 18th or the 19th. This doesn't mean that anyone gets it earlier as everywhere unlocks at the same time, but depending on where you live, it may seem like it is earlier. Basically, we want the unlock time to be fair to everyone and staging unlocks at the same time in different time zones was felt to be unfair. This way, everyone gets it at the same time.

To determine what your time zone is in relation to CET do a Google Search or use this handy website.

 

[H4r4kiri]

I began to play the Witcher 2 yesterday and I really hope they fix the menu, map and the journal. I cannot figure what a important quest is and what not and I sometimes feel lost in this game

 

[Tigress]

I'll actually go against the grain and say I am a little disappointed in the few fetch quests. I like fetch quests and I think they can be done well.

I'd love to see fetch quests where they give you hints (or you have to find clues) on where to go to find the item and maybe some opposition along the way (but not always just to mix it up). Skyrim's fetch quests are an example of how not to do it. No chance of finding the place on your own cause they in general never told you where to go other than a cave name but no hint on where to find that cave so you either just wondered until you happened to find it or you gave up and let the map tell you exactly where to go. Skryim in general was weak when it came to good puzzles and I like some puzzles in my RPG.

And by puzzles I mean problems that require you to figure out how to solve it. Doesn't need to be a move piece here but just a "find this item, I've heard that it was somewhere southwest. I heard some old hermit was bragging about encountering it in some cave. I hear he is holed up near some village. He sometimes goes to the village to buy stuff." Add in that you have to find the villager that knows where he lives but you have to convince the villager to talk somehow. Maybe by bribe, maybe by intimidation, maybe you are just really charismatic. And then maybe the hermit doesn't have a clear memory or is crazy and you can only get more hints on where to find it (but more specific than just in the southwest).

 

[dlauv]

The way he said that sometimes a fetch quest isn't even about the object, but the journey to that object, was kind of worrying. That's basically Skyrim. He tried to sell it by the whole meditation and preparation and being attacked and growing a beard. Of course he mentioned other types of "fetch quests" which were more narrative based.

 

[Tigress]

I think that a true Open World game wouldn't work without level scaling because in such a case you have to separate a world. That works well in games like Gothic where the areas are connected with a corridor (more or less) but in a true Open World game? I don't think this could turn out well.

I'm not sure if Fallout: New Vegas had level scaling along with how they tried to herd you in one direction (though you were free to try to ignore the hints that you should go in a certain direction).

I know a lot of scaling had to do with the area you were in. It was open but if you tried to go to certain places at low level you would be getting surprised (and you better be being really sneaky or very clever in how you go about things). Talk to everyone who tried to go to Vegas first (I actually didn't and tried to follow where the quests guided me cause in open world games I get too overwhelmed by choice and get stuck trying to figure out which to do next unless i allow some direction from quests).

So in an open world what they can do is have certain areas be more level specific (the monsters here are more appropriate for this level kind of stuff).

It doesn't seperate the world, and you are free to explore more difficult areas. But you're going to have to be more creative/sneaky about it or you might find it's just impossible without dieing.

Personally, I kinda like it more like that. Seems more realistic for one (the fauna here isn't so bad but here it's really bad vs. the fauna constantly gets harder to combat no matter where you are). And it allows you to try for creative challenges early in the game (though I guess it makes some areas super easy/boring later in the game). But it also rewards you for getting higher level by making it easier or even possible to explore certain areas.

I think though thinking of it more, I like a combo of both. I'd like some areas to be harder/impossible at low levels, but I would like the monsters in low level stuff to at least get harder as I get higher level just to make them not just annoying time consumers that really don't add anything cause they're too easy but still take my time when I go back to low level areas.

 

[aravuus]

I think that a true Open World game wouldn't work without level scaling because in such a case you have to separate a world. That works well in games like Gothic where the areas are connected with a corridor (more or less) but in a true Open World game? I don't think this could turn out well.

I disagree. Design your world and quests so that they gently push the players in the direction you want them to, simple as that. If people want to be truly adventurous and explore and face enemies they'll never beat at their level and find items they won't be able to use for another dozen hours cause their level is too low, let them.

Don't take the easy way out and start scaling shit, it's boring. I dislike the idea of item scaling, but CDPR seems to be pretty confident, so it's not THAT a big deal. And I'm sure there will be mods to prevent item scaling and just giving them lvl requirements to equip.

 

[erawsd]

As some folks suspected, it sounds like the scaling does not apply to everything:

That's pretty cool because you are rewarded with a very powerful sword, instead of having something on you that is brilliant but that you cannot use until you've levelled up more.

In some cases that's still the case; we don't auto-generate everything, but in some cases we do and it's pretty cool because it guarantees an awesome piece of gear that you'll be able to use instantly. You don't want to feel like you should have waited to earn the item - the point here is to make you keep going so that you always get better and better instead of aiming for that one legendary sword (I keep saying sword but it's for armour too and other things).

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2015/03/interview-as-we-get-more-excitied-for.html

The way he said that sometimes a fetch quest isn't even about the object, but the journey to that object, was kind of worrying. That's basically Skyrim. He tried to sell it by the whole meditation and preparation and being attacked and growing a beard. Of course he mentioned other types of "fetch quests" which were more narrative based.

Well, it really gets back to why fetch quests are reviled. Generally, the ones people are critical of are those with barely any real player engagement or narrative weight, you don't really care why, you just go to the location mark on the map and return for the reward... just like a dog fetching newspaper for his master. For instance, in DA:I Cassandra wants you to kill rogue Mages. The game never really explains why or who any of them are, just go to all the Xs marked on the map and kill. Then after its all over Cassandra is basically like "Im glad thats over" and you get some Exp and she likes you a little more.

In the example he gave it sounds like it starts out with a simple "Hey hero, help me get this thing".. and along the way the game fills in the narrative and that may influence how you feel about helping the guy in the end. At a basic level its a fetch quest but its maybe done in a way where the player doesnt feel like hes doing chores. Execution is really what is most important.

 

[bbd23]

Witcher 3 will be releasing a little earlier for digital platforms

May 18th @ 7PM EST

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

Whelp, seems I have to hold off till I get a 970. I've decided a 670 is no good and I want to really appreciate the game with minor hiccups with the graphics.

See you in the other side folks

 

[Slixshot]

I think it came from GameInformer

hahahahahah

 

[Renae]

It's surprising CD Project didn't plan to release a Witcher Remastered Collection on PS4/XO. Playstation players don't have the possibility to play TW1&2...

 

[misho8723]

It's surprising CD Project didn't plan to release a Witcher Remastered Collection on PS4/XO. Playstation players don't have the possibility to play TW1&2...

This situation happens quite often

 

[Turin Turambar]

It's surprising CD Project didn't plan to release a Witcher Remastered Collection on PS4/XO. Playstation players don't have the possibility to play TW1&2...

It isn't like redoing two big games like that is something trivial...

 

[Philippo]

They'd alos have to redone TW1's controls from scratch, since it was designed for PC only.
That's way more than a simple HD remster.

 

[ymgve]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbrFIp73tbw
(lol the bunny)

I think you meant to post this video instead (NSFW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgLzrTPkdgI

 

[ironcreed]

Witcher 3 will be releasing a little earlier for digital platforms

May 18th @ 7PM EST

Keep the digital incentives coming.