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The Witcher 3 - New preview details

Stiler

Member
Why do more rpg devs not make items that can be enhanced by the player to keep them "in-line" with them or make the characters skill factor more into how well you do with an item instead of setting an item "level?"

These are the kinds of things that some other games have done well.

IT makes all items useful, it allows players that find an item and like it to keep using it, even if it's 10+ levels after they first find it (IE Dark Souls/Bloodborne).

It's like the famous line from Conan: " What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Geralts skill should play a bigger factor then the actual weapon, not saying that swords can't be "Better" or have different "stats" but the way you build geralt with his swordsmanship and skills could have been the main facitor in determining the dmg output and "usefullness" of swords or such, thus allowing ALL weapons to be viable while still allowing them to be different in various ways.
 

erawsd

Member
Why do more rpg devs not make items that can be enhanced by the player to keep them "in-line" with them or make the characters skill factor more into how well you do with an item instead of setting an item "level?"

These are the kinds of things that some other games have done well.

IT makes all items useful, it allows players that find an item and like it to keep using it, even if it's 10+ levels after they first find it (IE Dark Souls/Bloodborne).

It's like the famous line from Conan: " What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Geralts skill should play a bigger factor then the actual weapon, not saying that swords can't be "Better" or have different "stats" but the way you build geralt with his swordsmanship and skills could have been the main facitor in determining the dmg output and "usefullness" of swords or such, thus allowing ALL weapons to be viable while still allowing them to be different in various ways.

I think its a matter of identity. The Souls games are Action games first, RPG second. The Witcher is an RPG first and an action game second, so there is a heavier emphasis on loot based character progression.
 

Iastfan112

Neo Member
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...

Xbox didn't get Witcher 1 either fwiw. They don't have multiple studios so they'd either needed to take folks off the W3 or outsource. Considering their previous experience of letting another company attempt a port(it almost took the CDPR under) you can hardly blame them for not wanting to go that route.

Not to mention getting the Witcher 1 up to par would require a significant rework, as it has some wonky mechanics that would need attention and significant graphical work. I really enjoy the game but I'm much more hesistant about recommending it to friends than I am with the second game.
 
Why do more rpg devs not make items that can be enhanced by the player to keep them "in-line" with them or make the characters skill factor more into how well you do with an item instead of setting an item "level?"

These are the kinds of things that some other games have done well.

IT makes all items useful, it allows players that find an item and like it to keep using it, even if it's 10+ levels after they first find it (IE Dark Souls/Bloodborne).

It's like the famous line from Conan: " What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Geralts skill should play a bigger factor then the actual weapon, not saying that swords can't be "Better" or have different "stats" but the way you build geralt with his swordsmanship and skills could have been the main facitor in determining the dmg output and "usefullness" of swords or such, thus allowing ALL weapons to be viable while still allowing them to be different in various ways.

Have we know already about the stats gap between level 10 weapon and level 20 one though?
In previous games, weapon upgrades aren't that much different. Weapons in act 3 only have about 10-20ish damage different with weapons in act 1 in the Witcher 2, for example. And the armor, the highest I can remember is 20 armor rating at endgame, while you can get a 9 armor rating in act 1. I hope the item stats scaling in Witcher 3 will be similar.
 

A.Romero

Member
Why do more rpg devs not make items that can be enhanced by the player to keep them "in-line" with them or make the characters skill factor more into how well you do with an item instead of setting an item "level?"

These are the kinds of things that some other games have done well.

IT makes all items useful, it allows players that find an item and like it to keep using it, even if it's 10+ levels after they first find it (IE Dark Souls/Bloodborne).

It's like the famous line from Conan: " What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Geralts skill should play a bigger factor then the actual weapon, not saying that swords can't be "Better" or have different "stats" but the way you build geralt with his swordsmanship and skills could have been the main facitor in determining the dmg output and "usefullness" of swords or such, thus allowing ALL weapons to be viable while still allowing them to be different in various ways.

I think the system in place is quite logical.

The idea is that Geralt doesn't have the required level to exploit the full potential of the weapon. There are some weapons harder to wield or use effectively than others. So any monkey can raise a sword but trainning is what makes you effective with it.

The part where the weapon "locks" its power if you use it on a lower level is a balance thing, I think.

If it turns out bad they could change it. Is not like they have been conservative with updates in the past...
 

Renae

Member
Xbox didn't get Witcher 1 either fwiw. They don't have multiple studios so they'd either needed to take folks off the W3 or outsource. Considering their previous experience of letting another company attempt a port(it almost took the CDPR under) you can hardly blame them for not wanting to go that route.

Not to mention getting the Witcher 1 up to par would require a significant rework, as it has some wonky mechanics that would need attention and significant graphical work. I really enjoy the game but I'm much more hesistant about recommending it to friends than I am with the second game.

I don't blame them, i wanted to say that it's a pity :)
 

Loakum

Banned
I couldn't imagine buying a 200 hour game like The Witcher 3, digitally. Can you imagine how long it's gonna take to download? Especially on launch day.
 

NastyBook

Member
There was a big conversation within the team on whether Geralt could be fully nude or not. The conversation also involved the extra polygons that would be used for his penis and who would animate it while running. On the other side, others believed that there was a lot of female nudity in the game, so there should be male nudity as well. The result is that there’s a lot more male nudity than in previous games, but Geralt still normally wears his underwear.
They could've outsourced all dong work to Visceral Games.
 

Chemist

Neo Member
I couldn't imagine buying a 200 hour game like The Witcher 3, digitally. Can you imagine how long it's gonna take to download? Especially on launch day.

I guess it's relative to your internet. I have far from the best but still recent at 60mbps and it takes me no time at all to download. Better than going to a store, waiting for them to open then go through a long ass install. Or just hit a button and watch some Netflix.
 

aravuus

Member
I couldn't imagine buying a 200 hour game like The Witcher 3, digitally. Can you imagine how long it's gonna take to download? Especially on launch day.

Well it'd take me like

an hour

I hope I'll never have to go back to a slower connection
 
I wish they would've given Geralt more Sign magic powers in this game to use.

I wish he had like "Force Speed" and "Agility" and stuffl like that.

Go Full Jedi with the dude.
 

Chris1

Member
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 done CDPR. I hope this game does well digitally in the UK, it deserves it with fair pricing like that.

That's easily the best pricing for a digital game the UK has had. MS published games are generally fairly generous too, though still a tad bit expensive compared to retail (£45, so the same as TW3 without the discount). But this sort of pricing right here is bang on the money imo.
 

phaze

Member
I wish they would've given Geralt more Sign magic powers in this game to use.

I wish he had like "Force Speed" and "Agility" and stuffl like that.

Go Full Jedi with the dude.

They're already stretching the source material as it is. Aard is about the only sign I remember Geralt actually using in a combat situation.
 

Durante

Member
I think its a matter of identity. The Souls games are Action games first, RPG second. The Witcher is an RPG first and an action game second, so there is a heavier emphasis on loot based character progression.
I don't think that's a valid argument. E.g. Pillars of Eternity is an RPG first, and so is Baldur's Gate for that matter, and neither of those has level requirements on items.

Level requirements are used in loot games, where the item progression treadmill (on mostly randomly generated items) is a major element of the game. I think it has no place in general RPGs, and neither has level scaling items.
 

erawsd

Member
I don't think that's a valid argument. E.g. Pillars of Eternity is an RPG first, and so is Baldur's Gate for that matter, and neither of those has level requirements on items.

I'm not talking specifically about the level requirement, I'm talking about the acquisition of loot and how its progression is handled. Maybe I misread him, but it seems like he was suggesting that more games should be like the Souls games where each weapon is packaged with a particular set of skills. No weapon is really better than the other. Meaning that you find one whose skill set you like and upgrade it for the rest of the game. This is definitely a deviation from traditional RPGs and is something you see more often in character action games. With Bloodborne they've leaned much heavier in that direction.

In traditional RPGs you may commit to a class of weapon but there is a more linear progression where early gear is completely outclassed by mid game items which are further outclassed by late game items -- so you may start BG with a rusty dagger but eventually youre going to kill a Mindflayer Queen that drops a jeweled dagger+5 that is superior in every possible way.

Level requirements are used in loot games, where the item progression treadmill (on mostly randomly generated items) is a major element of the game. I think it has no place in general RPGs, and neither has level scaling items.

I see level requirements as nothing more than a type of balancing agent. Many games will use stat based requirements for a similar purpose, the Witcher games do not have Str, Dex, Vit, ect. The previous games used its chapter structure, thats also not an option here. So I can def see why they chose to go with level requirements. Whether or not its a good choice? I have no idea. Until I see how these things are actually applied in the game I'm not going to condemn it just because it may have been handled poorly in some other game.
 

Tovarisc

Member
The Xbox preload ended up being 30gigs, with a month to go who knows if that is the full thing.

That is kinda cruel, don't you think? To have so anticipated game on your HDD and launch icon in menu, just staring at you and taunting you.

For next month.
 

erawsd

Member
That is kinda cruel, don't you think? To have so anticipated game on your HDD and launch icon in menu, just staring at you and taunting you.

For next month.

Yeah, I'm surprised they are doing it so soon. Of course, if gog puts up the preload tomorrow I'll be downloading too...
 
"The conversation also involved the extra polygons that would be used for his penis and who would animate it while running"

That's next-gen right there. Realistic cock-swing for running sequences. What a time to be alive!
 

Daffy Duck

Member
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.

I'll echo this! I've just started witcher 2 (also my first witcher game) and there's a lot to read/talk about even early on, but it helps to read everything you can to get up to speed on everything, and to be honest the details/notes are pretty awesome in itself.
 

Fuz

Banned
[*]You won’t find items you can’t use because you’re too low level. They will automatically scale down to your level if they’re too high for you. For instance the damage of a weapon will be lower, even if they will keep their “cool” elements like setting elements on fire for instance. Once you pick up an item, its stats are set, so it won’t scale back up to its original stats. That said, you’ll always get better loot as you move forward anyway. There’s no need to wait to be the right level before you get an item.

First thing they say about the game that I really don't really. Also, the focus on plans and crafting doesn't sound too good.
 

Tovarisc

Member
Well, guess people dont have to worry about The MS marketing deal forcing parity.

"Xbox 1 version of Witcher 3 has lowest resolution and lowest graphical settings out of all three versions of the game!*

*statement paid by Microsoft"


To be honest I would wait for gameplay footage to be released from PS4 and X1 versions before buying into such statements by press.
 
Can someone explain to me why certain sites are banned on this forum? I've never in my life been on a forum that actually bans/censors what websites can be posted
 
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