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The Witcher 3 - Impressions

G

Gattsu25

Banned
macfoshizzle said:
You hold down "A" and your horse "Roach" will basically follow a path to your destination. But like i said before, the mechanics is very similar to Red Dead as you tap "A" to hit your horse move, and tap double "A" to gallop.

Roach also serve as a storage for your shit. I am sure you can upgrade Roach or your storage but i never got a chance to see.
Click to expand...

Do you set your destination before you begin traveling or do you choose the destination by looking at its general direction?
 
D

Daverid

Member
blueteainfusion said:
This is why I hated the english pronunciation of Vernon's last name: why the hell would it be identical to the name Geralt's horse(s)??
Click to expand...

Because names, and words in general, are just sometimes like that?

I fail to see the issue, it's not like you can easily confuse the Horse & Human. Not to mention that the two of them aren't even in a game together, and if Roche pops up in TW3 (Which I think he might be) it's most likely only going to be for a very minor part.
 
macfoshizzle

macfoshizzle

Member
Gattsu25 said:
Do you set your destination before you begin traveling or do you choose the destination by looking at its general direction?
Click to expand...

destination is set by whatever your current mission is which is showed in the upper right of your HUD under your mini map. I haven't tried setting a custom waypoint or know if you can even do that.
 
magnumpy

magnumpy

Member
Messofanego said:
They've shown that in trailers that you can sail and swim.

io0K004qDyUxt.gif

iDOi8TmDFCiwU.gif
Click to expand...

that's so epic...May 19 can't come soon enough
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Damn, I can store my stuff on Roach? That's fucking awesome.

Schreckstoff said:
One thing that always bothered me is that no one seemingly gives a fuck that Geralt is a huge slut.
Click to expand...

You certainly don't remember TW1 when you went into Vizima and there was always one guy who would scream "A WITCHER, HIDE YOUR WOMEN", or something like that. And I always thought "fuck yeah, I am a stud".
 
E

Emperor_Uriel

Member
I like Geralt, but there's something to be said for the massive excitement at the announcement of a playable Ciri.

Geralt feels a bit too Batman for an open world, 100+ hour ARPG. He's so experienced, so powerful and so well known that it puts pressure on the devs to portray him, and the player to control him, in a certain way.

If Geralt ends up playing like, say, Talion from SoM (a real possibility, given that this game's combat is very Arkham-inspired), then he'll feel overpowered. If they changed the combat to be more Souls-like, then you'll have this supposedly badass monster hunter getting wrecked by nekkers. It's a choice between bland and dissonant.

I'm really hopeful that, if CDPR returns to this universe later on, it'll be with a character who is a bit more vulnerable and inexperienced. With gameplay to match.
 
F

flaxknuckles

Member
Emperor_Uriel said:
I like Geralt, but there's something to be said for the massive excitement at the announcement of a playable Ciri.

Geralt feels a bit too Batman for an open world, 100+ hour ARPG. He's so experienced, so powerful and so well known that it puts pressure on the devs to portray him, and the player to control him, in a certain way.

If Geralt ends up playing like, say, Talion from SoM (a real possibility, given that this game's combat is very Arkham-inspired), then he'll feel overpowered. If they changed the combat to be more Souls-like, then you'll have this supposedly badass monster hunter getting wrecked by nekkers. It's a choice between bland and dissonant.

I'm really hopeful that, if CDPR returns to this universe later on, it'll be with a character who is a bit more vulnerable and inexperienced. With gameplay to match.
Click to expand...

But Ciri is even more OP
 
D

-Deimos

Member
Emperor_Uriel said:
I like Geralt, but there's something to be said for the massive excitement at the announcement of a playable Ciri.

Geralt feels a bit too Batman for an open world, 100+ hour ARPG. He's so experienced, so powerful and so well known that it puts pressure on the devs to portray him, and the player to control him, in a certain way.

If Geralt ends up playing like, say, Talion from SoM (a real possibility, given that this game's combat is very Arkham-inspired), then he'll feel overpowered. If they changed the combat to be more Souls-like, then you'll have this supposedly badass monster hunter getting wrecked by nekkers. It's a choice between bland and dissonant.

I'm really hopeful that, if CDPR returns to this universe later on, it'll be with a character who is a bit more vulnerable and inexperienced. With gameplay to match.
Click to expand...

Ciri isn't exactly the most "fresh" character to play as. She has a shit ton of training and experience plus OP super magic. She's probably more powerful than Geralt at this point.

Plus her playable segments will probably be short flashbacks and linear missions.
 
E

Emperor_Uriel

Member
-Deimos said:
Ciri isn't exactly the most "fresh" character to play as. She has a shit ton of training and experience plus OP super magic. She's probably more powerful than Geralt at this point.

Plus her playable segments will probably be short flashbacks and linear missions.
Click to expand...

Not pointing her out as the ideal PC, but as someone who is at least a bit less grizzled than Geralt. She's extremely powerful (she's already beaten the Eredin on her own), but I always felt like she was "winging it" far more than Geralt.

Geralt is familiar with everything, surprised by little. He isn't indestructible, but he's relentlessly competent in a way that makes him tough to roleplay. Ciri seems more fallible, more prone to screw up and be forced to use her abilities to find an improvised solution.
 
D

-Deimos

Member
Emperor_Uriel said:
Not pointing her out as the ideal PC, but as someone who is at least a bit less grizzled than Geralt. She's extremely powerful (she's already beaten the Eredin on her own), but I always felt like she was "winging it" far more than Geralt.

Geralt is familiar with everything, surprised by little. He isn't indestructible, but he's relentlessly competent in a way that makes him tough to roleplay. Ciri seems more fallible, more prone to screw up and be forced to use her abilities to find an improvised solution.
Click to expand...

True, but I think she's still way too OP to be considered for an "inexperienced" protagonist role. A new character would would work way better if they went that route.

That being said, I don't really care to play an inexperienced character. I'd love a game with Ciri as the protagonist.
 
S

Schreckstoff

Banned
Emperor_Uriel said:
Not pointing her out as the ideal PC, but as someone who is at least a bit less grizzled than Geralt. She's extremely powerful (she's already beaten the Eredin on her own), but I always felt like she was "winging it" far more than Geralt.

Geralt is familiar with everything, surprised by little. He isn't indestructible, but he's relentlessly competent in a way that makes him tough to roleplay. Ciri seems more fallible, more prone to screw up and be forced to use her abilities to find an improvised solution.
Click to expand...

Didn't Letho genuinely wipe the floor with Geralt in a cutscene?
 
L

LegendofDragoonLives

Member
Vigilant Walrus said:
It's hard to say I think. OP says a lot of things but I wonder if any game can live up to the hype of the Witcher 3. To play a game for three hours and then already call it GOTY... In January. This game must be something really special.

I really, really liked the Witcher 2, so I hope I can have a lot of fun with it and be as entertained by the story. I wonder how a open world game design will influence it. Open world games don't have the focus of a narrow linear experience, of course. So, some things are gained, and some things are lost.
Click to expand...
Sounds like PR to me. Saying that, day 1 on the PS4.
 
D

-Deimos

Member
Daverid said:
Really? http://a.pomf.se/rovemx.webm

I think it fits absolutely flawlessly. He's also obviously not just half-assing it or just doing his standard voice, he's even putting on an accent and is clearly well directed.
Well, at least that's what I personally have gathered from the very limited snippet we've heard from him.
Click to expand...

I think it fits perfectly too. A little more grizzly than what I imagined reading the books, but it fits.
 
E

EmptySpace

Banned
after reading the first 2 witcher books, i don't think witcher 3 could surpass the details and everything the book offers.

the fights were so unique, and painstakingly detailed. from the brush of the sword to the footsteps in the mud, etc. then i just see the fights in the game as a video game and that charm is lost on me.


then again i am comparing a book to a game, so there's that. i'd probably have to look for other things the video game would offer me. but yeah....
 
D

-Deimos

Member
EmptySpace said:
after reading the first 2 witcher books, i don't think witcher 3 could surpass the details and everything the book offers.

the fights were so unique, and painstakingly detailed. from the brush of the sword to the footsteps in the mud, etc. then i just see the fights in the game as a video game and that charm is lost on me.


then again i am comparing a book to a game, so there's that. i'd probably have to look for other things the video game would offer me. but yeah....
Click to expand...

I think it'll be a while until we get games that can deliver that kind of detail. It's easier to just be able to wreck a group of baddies with a click of a button instead of implementing a proper dodge and parry system.
 
macfoshizzle

macfoshizzle

Member
LegendofDragoonLives said:
Sounds like PR to me. Saying that, day 1 on the PS4.
Click to expand...

Well i'm of course basing it on the time I played. Though with 3 hours, i've only gone through the prologue which at the same time works as a tutorial and couple missions to track down Yennefer. Of course the rest of the game could end up being crap. But my prediction is from what I've experienced during my play time, the previous Witcher games, vids that I've seen so far, and my faith in CD Projekt. Same way I thought Red Dead would be my GOTY when I played the first 2 hours. Also when I was heading to my first destination, there were so much stuff in the world that I wanted to check out in detail everything that I was passing by. In one case on my my first mission, I passed by this house where there was a family crying outside. I had to dismount and see why they were crying. Half of their house was burnt down, and a bloody dead body right out side. I tried talking to them but they kept telling me to STFU and get the fuck out of here. I tried punching them when they freaked out and ran. I felt like a total jerk. Here one of their family member is dead and their house is in ruins. But continuing my way to my destination, you'll come across random stuff like this. Even saw some bodies left hanging by a tree which I just wanted to check out. You'll see interesting objects or ruins in the middle of nowhere and can't help to explore. You'll see all kinds of people on the road and little patches of farm and houses where you just want to go up to them and see whats up. I tried really hard to focus on my missions to at least get a good feel of how the missions are structured instead of just wondering around which I was really tempted to. And to think this is only as tiny section of the world it is just mind blowing.

What happens next isn't that much of a spoiler alert but I'll tag it anyway.
So continuing on with Vessemir to reach I forgot the name of the place, we run into a dude that is getting attacked by a giffin. After some cool cut scene, you have an option to either be a total dick and demand for payment or be a chap and say you just wanted to help. I decided to be nice. The dude being appreciative, said to go to his town just up the road to a tavern where his sister or mom will treat me like family. Also that they might have information on Yennefer. Upon reaching the town, you can already see and feel the problems with griffins. Lots of dead bodies, people mourning, and people hating on witchers. Speaking with people in the tavern, you get your first introductory to the political system in the works and who's doing what of the griffin problem. You speak to series of people to find out about Yennifer and what the hell is going on here. After talking to the tavern owner, i went out to explore the town to scope out the peasant ladies hoping to get laid which ended up being disappointing. This is basically where I left off.

BTW i forgot to add this screenshot. This is from the prologue of the game after you race with Ciri down from the castle to meet with the other witchers.

Young_Ciri.jpg
Click to expand...
 
D

-Deimos

Member
macfoshizzle said:
Well i'm of course basing it on the time I played. Though with 3 hours, i've only gone through the prologue which at the same time works as a tutorial and couple missions to track down Yennefer. Of course the rest of the game could end up being crap. But my prediction is from what I've experienced during my play time, the previous Witcher games, vids that I've seen so far, and my faith in CD Projekt. Same way I thought Red Dead would be my GOTY when I played the first 2 hours. Also when I was heading to my first destination, there were so much stuff in the world that I wanted to check out in detail everything that I was passing by. In one case on my my first mission, I passed by this house where there was a family crying outside. I had to dismount and see why they were crying. Half of their house was burnt down, and a bloody dead body right out side. I tried talking to them but they kept telling me to STFU and get the fuck out of here. I tried punching them when they freaked out and ran. I felt like a total jerk. Here one of their family member is dead and their house is in ruins. But continuing my way to my destination, you'll come across random stuff like this. Even saw some bodies left hanging by a tree which I just wanted to check out. You'll see interesting objects or ruins in the middle of nowhere and can't help to explore. You'll see all kinds of people on the road and little patches of farm and houses where you just want to go up to them and see whats up. I tried really hard to focus on my missions to at least get a good feel of how the missions are structured instead of just wondering around which I was really tempted to. And to think this is only as tiny section of the world it is just mind blowing.

What happens next isn't that much of a spoiler alert but I'll tag it anyway.
So continuing on with Vessemir to reach I forgot the name of the place, we run into a dude that is getting attacked by a giffin. After some cool cut scene, you have an option to either be a total dick and demand for payment or be a chap and say you just wanted to help. I decided to be nice. The dude being appreciative, said to go to his town just up the road to a tavern where his sister or mom will treat me like family. Also that they might have information on Yennefer. Upon reaching the town, you can already see and feel the problems with griffins. Lots of dead bodies, people mourning, and people hating on witchers. Speaking with people in the tavern, you get your first introductory to the political system in the works and who's doing what of the griffin problem. You speak to series of people to find out about Yennifer and what the hell is going on here. After talking to the tavern owner, i went out to explore the town to scope out the peasant chicks of course which ended up being disappointing. This is basically where I left off.

BTW i forgot to add this screenshot. This is from the prologue of the game after you race with Ciri down from the castle to meet with the other witchers.
Click to expand...
Do you know what year the game takes place during those sections where you track down Yennefer? One of the trailers say 1272 which is before Witcher 1 but I didn't know Vesemir ever met up with Geralt or even knew he was alive during then.
 
macfoshizzle

macfoshizzle

Member
-Deimos said:
Do you know what year the game takes place during those sections where you track down Yennefer? One of the trailers say 1272 which is before Witcher 1 but I didn't know Vesemir ever met up with Geralt or even knew he was alive during then.
Click to expand...

After you wake up from your dream, all i remember it saying the location and year 12XX. I haven't read the books so I'm no to familiar with the timeline in terms of years. I asked the dev when this takes place, and he said after the witcher 2. He said people playing for the first time prob won't know who Vessimer is but you'll get a pretty good idea from the prologue that you just went through and as the story progress, you'll get to know him better and where he's been between witcher 1 - 2.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
macfoshizzle said:
Well i'm of course basing it on the time I played. Though with 3 hours, i've only gone through the prologue which at the same time works as a tutorial and couple missions to track down Yennefer. Of course the rest of the game could end up being crap. But my prediction is from what I've experienced during my play time, the previous Witcher games, vids that I've seen so far, and my faith in CD Projekt. Same way I thought Red Dead would be my GOTY when I played the first 2 hours. Also when I was heading to my first destination, there were so much stuff in the world that I wanted to check out in detail everything that I was passing by. In one case on my my first mission, I passed by this house where there was a family crying outside. I had to dismount and see why they were crying. Half of their house was burnt down, and a bloody dead body right out side. I tried talking to them but they kept telling me to STFU and get the fuck out of here. I tried punching them when they freaked out and ran. I felt like a total jerk. Here one of their family member is dead and their house is in ruins. But continuing my way to my destination, you'll come across random stuff like this. Even saw some bodies left hanging by a tree which I just wanted to check out. You'll see interesting objects or ruins in the middle of nowhere and can't help to explore. You'll see all kinds of people on the road and little patches of farm and houses where you just want to go up to them and see whats up. I tried really hard to focus on my missions to at least get a good feel of how the missions are structured instead of just wondering around which I was really tempted to. And to think this is only as tiny section of the world it is just mind blowing.

What happens next isn't that much of a spoiler alert but I'll tag it anyway.
So continuing on with Vessemir to reach I forgot the name of the place, we run into a dude that is getting attacked by a giffin. After some cool cut scene, you have an option to either be a total dick and demand for payment or be a chap and say you just wanted to help. I decided to be nice. The dude being appreciative, said to go to his town just up the road to a tavern where his sister or mom will treat me like family. Also that they might have information on Yennefer. Upon reaching the town, you can already see and feel the problems with griffins. Lots of dead bodies, people mourning, and people hating on witchers. Speaking with people in the tavern, you get your first introductory to the political system in the works and who's doing what of the griffin problem. You speak to series of people to find out about Yennifer and what the hell is going on here. After talking to the tavern owner, i went out to explore the town to scope out the peasant chicks of course which ended up being disappointing. This is basically where I left off.

BTW i forgot to add this screenshot. This is from the prologue of the game after you race with Ciri down from the castle to meet with the other witchers.
Click to expand...
Thank you for these impressions, this is more of what I wanted to know about. Cool moments that are discovered when exploring.
 
P

Philippo

Member
Idk what kind of personality Ciri has, but those flashback sequences gives me a strong Joel/Ellie vibe (which was a huge success), i hope it's like that.
 
G

Goldenroad

Member
I personally don't believe that three hours with an RPG of this size is really going to give you any indication of the overall quality of the product, but that's my opinion and I haven't played it, so for all I know that could be half the game.
 
B

Baron Von Beans

Member
I know nothing about the Witcher series, aside from I want to play them. I don't have the time for 1 & 2 though, and I plan to jump in to 3 naked. I did NOT know there were books though...are they just novel representations of games 1 & 2?

Also, I have never seen GoT, and likely never will. Being said, this game looks sensational, and I am finding myself becoming more and more excited without even realizing it.
 
T

Tigress

Member
Baron Von Beans said:
I know nothing about the Witcher series, aside from I want to play them. I don't have the time for 1 & 2 though, and I plan to jump in to 3 naked. I did NOT know there were books though...are they just novel representations of games 1 & 2?

Also, I have never seen GoT, and likely never will. Being said, this game looks sensational, and I am finding myself becoming more and more excited without even realizing it.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure the game is a game version of the book (except from what I understand it doesn't try to cover the same exact storyline as the books but other tales involving the same main character). From what I understand the books are pretty good but have horrible english translations (that's just what I heard).

And you really should watch GoT (or better yet, read the books ;) ). No offense to Witcher, but I do prefer the story to GoTs way over Witcher (but I've only played Witcher 2 and never read the books).
 
B

Bedameister

Member
Baron Von Beans said:
I know nothing about the Witcher series, aside from I want to play them. I don't have the time for 1 & 2 though, and I plan to jump in to 3 naked. I did NOT know there were books though...are they just novel representations of games 1 & 2?

Also, I have never seen GoT, and likely never will. Being said, this game looks sensational, and I am finding myself becoming more and more excited without even realizing it.
Click to expand...

The books were there before the games. And they are the prequels for the game. The game takes place after the books as far as I know
 
B

Baron Von Beans

Member
Tigress said:
I am pretty sure the game is a game version of the book (except from what I understand it doesn't try to cover the same exact storyline as the books but other tales involving the same main character). From what I understand the books are pretty good but have horrible english translations (that's just what I heard).
Click to expand...
Bedameister said:
The books were there before the games. And they are the prequels for the game. The game takes place after the books as far as I know
Click to expand...
Thanks :D Disheartening though, as I really don't want to miss out on anything...I am a big stickler for seeing things and their connectivities across several games/movies/books/whathaveyou :\
 
Denton

Denton

Member
Tigress said:
I am pretty sure the game is a game version of the book (except from what I understand it doesn't try to cover the same exact storyline as the books but other tales involving the same main character). From what I understand the books are pretty good but have horrible english translations (that's just what I heard).

And you really should watch GoT (or better yet, read the books ;) ). No offense to Witcher, but I do prefer the story to GoTs way over Witcher (but I've only played Witcher 2 and never read the books).
Click to expand...

Books were written in period 1987-1999 (and last book, sort of a standalone prequel, was released last year, 14 years after the end of saga).
All books take place before the games and the games are direct continuation.
Books are the SOURCE material and are all fantastic. English translations are supposed to be passable, but best versions are original Polish, then Czech and Spanish. I read Czech translation of books, three times already, all 7 of them, over the last 15 years.

The information is on the net, please inform yourself before writing incorrect information.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Baron Von Beans said:
I know nothing about the Witcher series, aside from I want to play them. I don't have the time for 1 & 2 though, and I plan to jump in to 3 naked. I did NOT know there were books though...are they just novel representations of games 1 & 2?

Also, I have never seen GoT, and likely never will. Being said, this game looks sensational, and I am finding myself becoming more and more excited without even realizing it.
Click to expand...

Tigress said:
I am pretty sure the game is a game version of the book (except from what I understand it doesn't try to cover the same exact storyline as the books but other tales involving the same main character). From what I understand the books are pretty good but have horrible english translations (that's just what I heard).

And you really should watch GoT (or better yet, read the books ;) ). No offense to Witcher, but I do prefer the story to GoTs way over Witcher (but I've only played Witcher 2 and never read the books).
Click to expand...

The novels were published between 1987 and 1999. They're a huge deal in Poland (and also very popular in other countries) which made CDPR (they're also polish) ask for permission to make a game based on them.
The source material is perfect for a rpg.
The games take place after the books and are very faithful to them. Of course they're not canon since they weren't written by Sapkowski but you can think of them as being part of Geralt's story.
And yes, they're excellent fantasy novels.

Edit: beaten.
 
N

NoWayOut

Member
200 hours for the average playthrough?!?! That's crazy. I hope it will be 200 hours of real content and it won't turn out to be a pretty hiking simulator with optional collecting of elfroots and iron ore :p
 
E

erawsd

Member
NoWayOut said:
200 hours for the average playthrough?!?! That's crazy. I hope it will be 200 hours of real content and it won't turn out to be a pretty hiking simulator with optional collecting of elfroots and iron ore :p
Click to expand...

the devs have been saying the game is ~100hrs if you do everything. 50hrs for the Main Quest and 50hrs for side content. Not sure where all the 200hr stuff is coming from.
 
U

Uthred

Member
NoWayOut said:
200 hours for the average playthrough?!?! That's crazy. I hope it will be 200 hours of real content and it won't turn out to be a pretty hiking simulator with optional collecting of elfroots and iron ore :p
Click to expand...

An average play test of the game i.e. a full QA run takes around 200 hours, that has no real bearing on how long an actual playthrough of the game will take
 
E

erawsd

Member
NoWayOut said:
The OP mentioned the 200 hours, that's what I was referring to.
Click to expand...

Ah, yeah he does. I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else. If its true, thats probably more concerning than intriguing. How do you add an extra 100hours to a game in 6 months?
 
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