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[erawsd]

Funnily enough Sapkowski was most involved with writing of Witcher 1 so in a sense it should be closest and most faithful to lore set by books.

I think they consulted with him on the map but he had nothing to do with the plot.

 

[Tovarisc]

I think they consulted with him on the map but he had nothing to do with the plot.

And I understood that he had a lot contact with writing team etc. when it came to writing and doing the game.

---

I'm not sure it was good move from CDPR to reveal item scaling. People will try be so clever and gamey about it, not returning quests or picking up loot before "max level" so loot doesn't get ruined and come useless.

So, how popular do you guys expect the Witcher 3 to be in the modding scene? There are a decent amount of mods for The Witcher 2, but not an extreme amount. However, if you look at what games are most popular in the modding scene, open world games have by far the most active communities (Skyrim, GTA IV etc). So do you guys think that the fact that The Witcher 3 is also open world will mean that it is likely to get more/better mods?

I don't think being open world has anything to do with it. It's a lot more about how large community game has and how easily you can mod the game. Witcher games always had small, but dedicated following where something like Skyrim has huge crowd around it. This alone affects amount of mods, Witcher 1&2 have handful and Skyrim has metric ton of mods from pebble models to furry character models. I don't expect Witcher 3 modding to be any larger than modding was for Witcher 2, maybe few skins and UI tweaks and thats it.

 

[roytheone]

So, how popular do you guys expect the Witcher 3 to be in the modding scene? There are a decent amount of mods for The Witcher 2, but not an extreme amount. However, if you look at what games are most popular in the modding scene, open world games have by far the most active communities (Skyrim, GTA IV etc). So do you guys think that the fact that The Witcher 3 is also open world will mean that it is likely to get more/better mods?

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

Watchin the interview, that dig at ign...
Amusing but do they actually talk much about the witcher at all?

 

[Tovarisc]

Watchin the interview, that dig at ign...
Amusing but do they actually talk much about the witcher at all?

Later half of the show yeah, but first part is meaningless MKX circlejerk with other things sprinkled in.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

Later half of the show yeah, but first part is meaningless MKX circlejerk with other things sprinkled in.

Is it usually like this?

 

[texhnolyze]

Bestiary screen (from the latest Famitsu). Looks like we'll see the recommended bombs, signs and potions. Also seems to be PS4 screenshot.

This would go hand in hand with last night GT Q&A where dev said that as you do research and learn about monsters you gain deeper knowledge about them. What they are weak to, where they usually nest, does time of day affect them etc. To have UI interface like this to highlight that information makes sense.

Looks like a step back for me, more handholding.
In previous Witcher games, you can also learn about monsters' weakness, but you have to read their respective books instead of looking at the recommended set of signs, potions, and bombs.
Well, it's actually a good thing for the general crowds so I won't complain further.

An example of Drowner bestiary book:

Sometimes a drowned man returns as a monster, to haunt the living. Tormented with his death, he murders his victims. He prefers to draw them beneath the water's surface, tearing the drowning victim to shreds with sharp claws, and eat them like a wet biscuit. Such creature is called a drowner. They are quite often found at the banks of the Pontar, since the huge river with regular shipping and riverside villages provides them with ample sustenance.
"When monsters are really crappy, ganging up makes them happy". Drowners are not the mightiest beasts in the world, so they hunt in groups, in accordance with the above saying. They are surprisingly fast on land, but are a threat only to fishermen and washerwomen. They can best a witcher only if he is drunk or in love. Sometimes, however, a more robust specimen is found among the drowners. It is called a drowned dead and can command the entire band. Thus it's best to eliminate it first.
One could say that if drowners chatted among themselves, Geralt would be highly esteemed among them after his exploits in Vizima. Yet drowners do not chat - they are dumb like a left shoe. And good. Fast style should be used when fighting them, and one must spin swiftly before they flee from a witcher's blade. Enough said.
As they are already dead, drowners do not fear poisons, and even a large loss of blood makes no impression on them. This ends the list of the monsters' strong points, however, as the rest of the witchers' arsenal is extremely effective against them. Thus the drowners can be killed with fire, immobilized by traps, knocked down and, above all else, sliced and diced until slime spills from their ears.

 

[aravuus]

:/ as in this series is weird.

I guess it's a fine line between spoilers. The Witcher series is an unofficial continuation of the books, made for people familiar with the lore and also those who aren't. Geralt has amnesia so they more or less reset everything. But at the same time the series occasionally, and frustratingly, dips into assumed knowledge territory. As someone who hasn't read the books it's a bit of a pain. Yennifer was barely touched on in both The Witcher. Same goes for Ciri. Yennifer was mentioned in The Witcher 2 through flashbacks. But The Witcher 3 makes both characters hugely important when, to someone unfamiliar with the books, they don't seem to be. Then you read up on the book info and go "Oh, I get it now". And you wonder if that's supposed to be spoilers, detrimental to the story of the games, given their approach to new The Witcher fans. Or if it's not really supposed to be a spoiler at all, as said they're unofficial continuations of the books.

So that makes Ciri weird. Because there's a lot of really important massive shit to do with her that, having now read about her, would be known to anybody who has read the books. You can really clearly see where Wild Hunt is going and why. But someone who hasn't read the books won't know, and I wonder to what extent the game will explore her character. "She's returned, Geralt" doesn't really mean anything to people who haven't read the books, because she didn't exist until Wild Hunt.

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

 

[DOWN]

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

W1 and 2 have a gross amount of references via random lines of dialogue that are irrelevant to the games and largely meant to point out its source material's larger lore even though the games don't have or use near the amount they name drop. There's no excuse for the style of name-dropping references that the games use besides the games being specifically written to assume they are part of the reader's experience. It doesn't take those only familiar with the games into account well during a number of dialogues.

Sadly, there's a codex that I would have to mention in the games that alleviates some confusion, but it is slapstick in any of its attempts to be less dry (if there's such a thing as a less dry codex). So I didn't find the codex a reasonable answer to the references even though it's there for lore, especially when the references still have nothing to do with the game world, specific time span, or events you are involved in as the player.

 

[thebloo]

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

I think you should. They're not complex to read and really not bad at all.

 

[Hammer24]

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

Yes! That´ll make the game much more enjoyable.

 

[firebranded]

So, how popular do you guys expect the Witcher 3 to be in the modding scene? There are a decent amount of mods for The Witcher 2, but not an extreme amount. However, if you look at what games are most popular in the modding scene, open world games have by far the most active communities (Skyrim, GTA IV etc). So do you guys think that the fact that The Witcher 3 is also open world will mean that it is likely to get more/better mods?

A lot of it depends on how easily it can be applied, from what I heard W2's tools were sort of obtuse versus Bethseda's tools for example.

 

[AntiFacebook]

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

Have they ever been published in english?

 

[aravuus]

I think you should. They're not complex to read and really not bad at all.

Yeah, I've actually read the first two books already and quite liked them. I was planning on finishing the series back in March but real life came in the way.

Hell, I guess I should. Like you said, they're pretty easy reads too, shouldn't take more than two or three evenings per book.

Shame I probably won't have the time to replay both W1 and W2 too before W3 releases. I'll probably just do W2.

 

[erawsd]

And I understood that he had a lot contact with writing team etc. when it came to writing and doing the game.

This interview with Sapkowski suggests that he barely had anything to do with it.

All Sapkowski actually saw of The Witcher video games was artwork, he revealed, but said it was "a sight to behold". His role was therefore "not enough to call it cooperation". "I don't feel like a co-author of the game," he said, so all plaudits must be directed at CDPR.

The Witcher game told an alternate story with The Witcher world. Was Sapkowski happy with it?

"The game - with all due respect to it, but let's finally say it openly - is not an 'alternative version', nor a sequel. The game is a free adaptation containing elements of my work; an adaptation created by different authors," he noted.

"Adaptations - although they can in a way relate to the story told in the books - can never aspire to the role of a follow-up. They can never add prologues nor prequels, let alone epilogues and sequels.

"Maybe it's time to set the matters straight," he went on. "'The Witcher' is a well made video game, its success is well deserved and the creators deserve all the splendour and honour due. But in no way can it be considered to be an 'alternative version', nor a 'sequel' to the witcher Geralt stories. Because this can only be told by Geralt's creator. A certain Andrzej Sapkowski."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...r-of-the-witcher-books-thinks-about-the-games

I'm not sure it was good move from CDPR to reveal item scaling. People will try be so clever and gamey about it, not returning quests or picking up loot before "max level" so loot doesn't get ruined and come useless.

Eh, I think those people will just ruin the game for themselves. The Witcher games arent Diablo, theres no reason to be obsessing over loot like that. Im just going to enjoy what I get and throw it away when I get the next thing.

 

[Tovarisc]

Looks like a step back for me, more handholding.
In previous Witcher games, you can also learn about monsters' weakness, but you have to read their respective books instead of looking at the recommended set of signs, potions, and bombs.
Well, it's actually a good thing for the general crowds so I won't complain further.

We don't really know how this informations is gained. All we know it's combination of reading books and experimenting [read: learning as we do]. UI may just highlight most crucial information, but deep lore can still be there.

 

[Yu Narukami]

I never played a Witcher game. Will I like this if I hated Dragon Age Inquisition? Apparently the combat system is not great in the former games. I saw some videos and the combat seems strange. I don't know how to explain. The character movement looks floaty and without weight impact, maybe it's just me. I want to like this but don't want to be disappointed like with DAI.

 

[patapuf]

Have they ever been published in english?

I think 4 or 5 of the 7 books have been published by now. There's fan translations for all of them though.

They are otherwise available in pretty much all european languages.

I never played a Witcher game. Will I like this if I hated Dragon Age Inquisition? Apparently the combat system is not great in the former games. I saw some videos and the combat seems strange. I don't know how to explain. The character movement looks floaty and without weight impact, maybe it's just me. I want to like this but don't want to be disappointed like with DAI.

That depends on what you hated about DA:I

The witcher series isn't really the same kind of game it has more ein common with stuff like Gothic. It's also the first game in the series with this scope, so it's hard to judge how it ultimately be set up.

 

[texhnolyze]

We don't really know how this informations is gained. All we know it's combination of reading books and experimenting [read: learning as we do]. UI may just highlight most crucial information, but deep lore can still be there.

Ah, I see.
That's good to hear, and I think it's perfect and makes sense. If we've already learned their weaknesses, we'll just have to take a glance of the bestiary instead of reading the books. It's still immersive for me, love it.

 

[ScepticMatt]

Read up about Ciri.

Wild Hunt sure is gonna be interesting :/

How so? Spoiled or don't like super princess tomboy?

 

[ocean]

I never played a Witcher game. Will I like this if I hated Dragon Age Inquisition? Apparently the combat system is not great in the former games. I saw some videos and the combat seems strange. I don't know how to explain. The character movement looks floaty and without weight impact, maybe it's just me. I want to like this but don't want to be disappointed like with DAI.

I suppose it'd help to know what disappointed you in DAI. Fetch quests made me hate the game although I finished it anyways. This game doesn't have those so I am hopeful I'll enjoy it

 

[EatChildren]

I never played a Witcher game. Will I like this if I hated Dragon Age Inquisition? Apparently the combat system is not great in the former games. I saw some videos and the combat seems strange. I don't know how to explain. The character movement looks floaty and without weight impact, maybe it's just me. I want to like this but don't want to be disappointed like with DAI.

Nobody can judge the combat until they play it, but it's factually apples/oranges to Inquisition. And I say this is someone who really enjoyed Inquisition. Inquisition's combat is a bit shit because despite being real time it's still fundamentally command based. You hold an attack button, but you're just sending the command "attack" and your character cycles through those animations with hits/damage based on invisible dice rolls. Same goes for all your powers; you press a button assigned to that "command" and it happens. And those "powers" consist of everything from magic spells and laying traps to just blocking or doing a special swing. It's very, very MMO like. Or like some weird (and not very good) hybrid of old CRPG game systems with a real time environment.

Wild Hunt is purely action driven with some invisible dice rolls to dictate damage/criticals/bonuses. You press a button to swing, a button to dodge, a button to block, a button to cast magic, etc. Like Zelda or 'Souls or any other action RPG, it's not command based, but real time action based: button-per-function.

How so? Spoiled or don't like super princess tomboy?

Not spoiled, just the weird shit this franchise deals with .

 

[DOWN]

I never played a Witcher game. Will I like this if I hated Dragon Age Inquisition? Apparently the combat system is not great in the former games. I saw some videos and the combat seems strange. I don't know how to explain. The character movement looks floaty and without weight impact, maybe it's just me. I want to like this but don't want to be disappointed like with DAI.

I'm saying no, you are almost guaranteed not to love it, and you probably won't even like it over the long run. It's lower budget than DAI, dense, lore-heavy questing and stats, the combat is not like Arkham or Shadow of Mordor in animation connection with enemies and overall fluidity.

It should have a nice, big world, which is why I'm willing to spend on it, but I found the production values and overall questing to be tedious compared to even the bloated nature of Inquisition, which is at least clearly expensive and a bit more polished.

Witcher is like a long series on subscription cable, DAI was like some sort of Narnia type film franchise that isn't the most lovable or popular, but is well received because it was overall sleek and goes for the classics.

 

[Yu Narukami]

I suppose it'd help to know what disappointed you in DAI. Fetch quests made me hate the game although I finished it anyways. This game doesn't have those so I am hopeful I'll enjoy it

I hated the fact that you ran around like an idiot without any purpose and the lack of dungeons, at least during the 30 hours I played. During the time I played I collected shit and killed monsters that's it. I found the battle system too slow aswell.

 

[Blitzblotz]

Can't wait for this to come out so I never have to see another W3 preview article!

 

[ScepticMatt]

and your character cycles through those animations with hits/damage based on invisible dice rolls.

Not invisible in the Witcher 2. No idea how W3 will handle it for fans of min-maxing.

Not spoiled, just the weird shit this franchise deals with .

read the books or just online info?

 

[EatChildren]

Not invisible in the Witcher 2. No idea how W3 will handle it for fans of min-maxing.

I totally forgot about this lol.

read the books or just online info?

Online character summary.

 

[erawsd]

I'm saying no, you are almost guaranteed not to love it, and you probably won't even like it over the long run. It's lower budget than DAI, dense, lore-heavy questing and stats, the combat is not like Arkham or Shadow of Mordor in animation connection with enemies and overall fluidity.

It should have a nice, big world, which is why I'm willing to spend on it, but I found the production values and overall questing to be tedious compared to even the bloated nature of Inquisition, which is at least clearly expensive and a bit more polished.

Witcher is like a long series on subscription cable, DAI was like some sort of Narnia type film franchise that isn't the most lovable or popular, but is well received because it was overall sleek and goes for the classics.

This is one of the strangest comparisons Ive ever seen.

 

[RDreamer]

I'm still wondering if I should rush through the books before W3 comes out

Probably. Not necessarily because you NEED to, but because they're good books. I'm trying to read through as many as I can before release and I've been liking it quite a bit.

I'm really wondering how they handle Yennefer. Her and Geralt have such a weird relationship that I don't know how they do it justice in flashbacks. Same with Ciri's origin. Law of Surprises will need to be explained.

 

[Kosma]

It should have a nice, big world, which is why I'm willing to spend on it, but I found the production values and overall questing to be tedious compared to even the bloated nature of Inquisition, which is at least clearly expensive and a bit more polished.

You're saying questing in DAI is better then in Witcher 3?

 

[Tovarisc]

I'm saying no, you are almost guaranteed not to love it, and you probably won't even like it over the long run. It's lower budget than DAI, dense, lore-heavy questing and stats, the combat is not like Arkham or Shadow of Mordor in animation connection with enemies and overall fluidity.

It should have a nice, big world, which is why I'm willing to spend on it, but I found the production values and overall questing to be tedious compared to even the bloated nature of Inquisition, which is at least clearly expensive and a bit more polished.

Witcher is like a long series on subscription cable, DAI was like some sort of Narnia type film franchise that isn't the most lovable or popular, but is well received because it was overall sleek and goes for the classics.

You write that like you have already plenty of hours in Witcher 3 and/or know something what rest of us doesn't, what gives? Also in general you are saying that DAI is good amounts better than Witcher 3 can be/is or am I just reading that wrong?

For a person who doesn't seem to see a lot good in Witcher 3's design and apparently production values you spent quite a lot time posting in Witcher 3 related threads.

 

[DOWN]

You're saying questing in DAI is better then in Witcher 3?

W3 isn't out yet. Talking about the series in general and what I got out of the previous ones, and impressions that have brought me in for the next one

You write that like you have already plenty of hours in Witcher 3 and/or know something what rest of us doesn't, what gives? Also in general you are saying that DAI is good amounts better than Witcher 3 can be/is or am I just reading that wrong?

For a person who doesn't seem to see a lot good in Witcher 3's design and apparently production values you spent quite a lot time posting in Witcher 3 related threads.

to be clear, I'm talking about having played previous Witcher games and my impressions of W3's showings so far. Anything I'm referring to having played is obviously then referring to the what has released in the series

And no, I think that DAI is bigger budget and intended to be more palatable, mainstream compared to the Witcher series. Who knows if W3 is better or how people would finally compare upon release

And I'm posting about it because I am buying it and it's kind of a big deal

 

[DOWN]

Double

 

[Psykoboy2]

Game just went Gold according to a press release I just got.

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, announce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt going GOLD

“We worked so damn hard over the past three years to bring you this game,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD PROJEKT RED. “From the corrupt nobles in Novigrad to ancient monsters lurking in deep forests, to the bustling cities, colorful ports and breathtaking vistas; all the people, all the places -- we literally spent tens of thousands of hours to turn all that into an adventure that will kick your ass and make you want to come for more,” adds Badowski. “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has gone GOLD and will soon be yours!” he concludes.

Garnering over 200 prestigious awards before launch, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CD PROJEKT RED’s most ambitious endeavour up to date. Set within a truly open world, the game puts you in the role of a wandering bounty hunter and monster slayer, Geralt of Rivia. In The Witcher, you take on the greatest contract of your life -- tracking down the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.

 

[Chobel]

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt goes gold

http://gematsu.com/2015/04/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-goes-gold

 

[Tovarisc]

Also YouTubers are hitting up Twitter indicating they have safely landed in Poland and in CDPR offices putting hours into Witcher 3. Can't wait to get hands on coverage they get to create.

 

[michaelius]

How so? Spoiled or don't like super princess tomboy?

Technically You can't spoil game with books as games happen after them

 

[Jay Shadow]

It's funny that all the recent marketing materials refer to Ciri as the Child of Prophecy, cause the Wild Hunt are pretty much the only entity in the universe whose interest in her has nothing to do with the prophecy.

 

[Tovarisc]

It's funny that all the recent marketing materials refer to Ciri as the Child of Prophecy, cause the Wild Hunt are pretty much the only entity in the universe whose interest in her has nothing to do with the prophecy.

But isn't she Child of Prophecy for mankind, for people who know about her? I would imagine it's why she is referred to like that, how most see it and to make her more interesting for players with little lore knowledge. At least to me it makes her ten times more interesting than having her described as "White haired girl with scar on her face".

I expect game to bring up points why Wild Hunt is interested in her or isn't interested in her.

Spoiler

I'm heretic who hasn't read single Witcher book.

 

[roytheone]

I don't think being open world has anything to do with it. It's a lot more about how large community game has and how easily you can mod the game. Witcher games always had small, but dedicated following where something like Skyrim has huge crowd around it. This alone affects amount of mods, Witcher 1&2 have handful and Skyrim has metric ton of mods from pebble models to furry character models. I don't expect Witcher 3 modding to be any larger than modding was for Witcher 2, maybe few skins and UI tweaks and thats it.

Maybe it is an indirect effect, open world RPG's tend to be more popular than linear ones, which leads to a bigger community which in turn will lead to more mods. I also expect the witcher 3 to be more popular than its predecessors, there seems to be much more hype and activity surrounding this game.

A lot of it depends on how easily it can be applied, from what I heard W2's tools were sort of obtuse versus Bethseda's tools for example.

While good tools will certainly help, Rockstar actively acted against mods with GTA IV, and the mod scene for that game still took of regardless.

Anyway, this is all speculation, and the only way to be certain is to wait and see how the mod scene is about half a year after launch. Hopefully it will be very active, mods are great to extend the life of a game far beyond its normal lifespan.

 

[RedSwirl]

Probably. Not necessarily because you NEED to, but because they're good books. I'm trying to read through as many as I can before release and I've been liking it quite a bit.

I'm really wondering how they handle Yennefer. Her and Geralt have such a weird relationship that I don't know how they do it justice in flashbacks. Same with Ciri's origin. Law of Surprises will need to be explained.

We already know the tutorial is gonna introduce Geralt's relationship to Ciri to newcomers, but I still don't know how they're gonna handle Yennefer's relationship. TW1 and 2 make it seem like Triss is Geralt's main love interest with little mention of Yen at all.

 

[SaberEdge]

I'm saying no, you are almost guaranteed not to love it, and you probably won't even like it over the long run. It's lower budget than DAI, dense, lore-heavy questing and stats, the combat is not like Arkham or Shadow of Mordor in animation connection with enemies and overall fluidity.

It should have a nice, big world, which is why I'm willing to spend on it, but I found the production values and overall questing to be tedious compared to even the bloated nature of Inquisition, which is at least clearly expensive and a bit more polished.

Witcher is like a long series on subscription cable, DAI was like some sort of Narnia type film franchise that isn't the most lovable or popular, but is well received because it was overall sleek and goes for the classics.

You honestly seem like you are trying very hard to downplay The Witcher 3 in any way you can. You don't like the graphics, you don't like the combat, you don't like much of the gameplay in general...so why waste so much of your time talking about a game you don't like very much?

 

[DOWN]

You honestly seem like you are trying very hard to downplay The Witcher 3 in any way you can. You don't like the graphics, you don't like the combat, you don't like much of the gameplay in general...so why waste so much of your time talking about a game you don't like very much?

They have me convinced to the point I am buying yet another of their games. That doesn't mean I think it is preemptively one of the best games of the generation. I gave my honest opinion of how it compares to another game because someone asked. I've made positive comments, comparisons, and voiced issues I have with the showings for W3.

Not everyone here has to systemically "downplay" or entirely fail to recognize compromises of the game, visual or otherwise.

 

[SaberEdge]

They have me convinced to the point I am buying yet another of their games. That doesn't mean I think it is preemptively one of the best games of the generation. I gave my honest opinion of how it compares to another game because someone asked. I've made positive comments, comparisons, and voiced issues I have with the showings for W3.

Not everyone here has to systemically "downplay" or entirely fail to recognize compromises of the game, visual or otherwise.

Having some criticisms or doubts is fine. For example, I don't like the camera distance, I think they should have given the grass more contrast or dimensionality, I'm not sure I like the fact that weapons get downgraded to your current level, etc. I think it's likely going to be a fantastic game, but those are things I don't like or that I'm doubtful of.

But if you barely like a game at all and mostly all you have to say about it is negative I just don't understand the point of spending so much time talking about it. There are games I'm not interested in or games I'm mildly interested in and plan to eventually get, but you won't see me spending a lot of time talking about them.

Anyway, it's up to you. I personally just don't understand it.