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[Dedication Through Light]

Not the thread I wanted to see first thing this afternoon, my 2015 winter is in shambles

 

[loganclaws]

Holy crap, CDPR why did you re-design the King of the Wild Hunt???? He looked so much better before!!!

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Well, fuck.

Just make it good. That's all that really matters.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

This. Always felt a bit of that "too good to be true" vibe from this game. A game like this would be very ambitious for ANY developer, including Bioware and Bethesda. And I'm not just talking about the open world either. I want this game very much but at the same time I'm a bit worried.

CDPR shot too high with their ambitions and it's come back to bite them.

This delay doesn't surprise me. The latest trailer looked really rough...like pre-alpha footage and gave me the impression that the game wasn't anywhere close to being finished. Game likely had more serious issues than a lack of polish.

CDPR (and certain other devs) shouldn't announce precise release dates so far in advance, especially for huge games like this. Looks like CDPR acknowledged that in their open letter.

I wouldn't expect Cyberpunk 2077 until 2018 at the earliest. I suspect development of that game is on hiatus currently, and all hands on deck are dedicated to getting The Witcher 3 done.

This was my worry from the first footage/feature list of Witcher 3. Trying to do a Skyrim-esque open world that looks better than damn near everything else on the market, and then you also want to cram it with as much content/writing/etc as a typical Witcher game? It just seems like an impossible task that much larger and better funded studios fail at regularly, so how the hell are these guys going to do it?

The answer, I fear, is that they aren't. The game will come, and it'll probably be pretty great, but it won't look anything like those earlier trailers, and will probably have Unity-esque struggles on the consoles.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

bloodborne..W3 cries

 

[Exuro]

The thing I want to know is why this happened:



The original design was god-tier villain design. It was incredible. The new one is super bland. I don't even care if the textures weren't that good because of a bad trailer or whatever, the entire design changed and I don't like it.

This can't be real...it just cant. The loss of the shoulder pads, and the new skull mask is terrible.

 

[BrassDragon]

In previous titles, they couldn't get their basic story arc and core gameplay mechanics right at launch. Sure they delivered free and excellent patches until the 'Enhanced Editions' took shape but the need for these is indicative of a wonky development pipeline.

I have lots of love for The Witcher games but if I'm honest, they came out in a time when I was absolutely starved for deep, nerdy roleplaying games with good production values - for a while, they were the only game in town and that's where my goodwill comes from. But with the crowdfunding renaissance and BioWare finally finding its mojo again, I'm less forgiving of the series.

 

[Latvian Hitman]

Just because the game has been delayed doesn't mean it won't be 'unfinished' or broken when it finally does release.

Of course not. There are no guarantees in life. My point was, no matter what happens, internet kiddies are going to bitch.

 

[Faustek]

That sucks, but I'd rather wait than play a buggy mess. Besides, Pillars of Eternity should take plenty of my time prior to this getting released.

Was it ever confirmed that the game was running on console?(assuming it should be XBO)?
Because I already have it pre-ordered on GoG and don't really feel like I should be worried at all.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I'll prepare for the worst but hope for the best. That's really all you can really do. They've earned my respect with how they've handled themselves in the past, but no studio is immune to development realities.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Ubisoft take note.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

The thing I want to know is why this happened:



The original design was god-tier villain design. It was incredible. The new one is super bland. I don't even care if the textures weren't that good because of a bad trailer or whatever, the entire design changed and I don't like it.

Wow, wtf?!
Are you sure that's the same character? If so, that's a shame..

 

[Jobbs]

I demand you release a buggy half-working mess on time!

 

[dex3108]

I guess that those 12 or 16 DLCs will be now included in game on launch?

 

[Complistic]

This was my worry from the first footage/feature list of Witcher 3. Trying to do a Skyrim-esque open world that looks better than damn near everything else on the market, and then you also want to cram it with as much content/writing/etc as a typical Witcher game? It just seems like an impossible task that much larger and better funded studios fail at regularly, so how the hell are these guys going to do it?

The answer, I fear, is that they aren't. The game will come, and it'll probably be pretty great, but it won't look anything like those earlier trailers, and will probably have Unity-esque struggles on the consoles.

yeah, my completely uninformed self says what they wanted to do wasn't going to transfer well/at all to consoles so now they've gotta go back and redesign a bunch of stuff.

 

[Gaz_RB]

It's ok guys....

We'll be ok

 

[Justice_Bolt]

I demand you release a buggy half-working mess on time!

Yup that's what I want!

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Holy crap, CDPR why did you re-design the King of the Wild Hunt???? He looked so much better before!!!

That's an understatement. He went from a unique, substantial presence in his design to looking like a mere minion-type.

I'm not to where I'm on meltdown mode like so many others, but I do wonder what happened from then to now. I too think that they likely overestimated what they could do on consoles and had to rework a lot of assets.

 

[omegashockwave]

Oh well that kills my February plans. More time to play Bloodborne and Type-0 in March and April then.

 

[Adry9]

There seems to be a lot of downplaying about the questions about Witcher 3 in here.

1. We had a verified insider saying the game is having major dev issues and the entire staff in crunch time for over 1 year.

2. There have now been 2 delays totaling up to 7 months for the game to be pushed back.

3. We just had a trailer last week that the entire community recognized as seriously downgraded.

There was a time Witcher 3 supposedly looked like this


listen I live the Witcher franchise as much as anyone else but there are some serious warning signs going on that something is very off with its development.

Someone with common sense, thank you.

 

[JORMBO]

Damn, I passed on $45 Dragon Age since I figured W3 was out soon.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

This along with Bloodborne and Batman.. sheesh..

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Oh well that kills my February plans. More time to play Bloodborne and Type-0 in March and April then.

There's still Evolve. Full game looks so much more promising than what we saw with that tired out Hunt mode from the Alpha and events.

 

[kevin1025]

I look forward to playing this game next fall.

 

[Seanspeed]

There seems to be a lot of downplaying about the questions about Witcher 3 in here.

1. We had a verified insider saying the game is having major dev issues and the entire staff in crunch time for over 1 year.

2. There have now been 2 delays totaling up to 7 months for the game to be pushed back.

3. We just had a trailer last week that the entire community recognized as seriously downgraded.

There was a time Witcher 3 supposedly looked like this

listen I live the Witcher franchise as much as anyone else but there are some serious warning signs going on that something is very off with its development.

I've seen nothing to suggest that the game cant still look like that.

Blow that GIF up to 1920x1080 and it looks a lot less miraculous.

 

[Kintaro]

You can't do anything right in this industry.
No DLC bullshit, free updates, modding support, even more free content, fair pricing and a whole bunch of extra content in the normal retail box but delay a game one time to many and have one guy on the internet claim you're not legit and suddenly it was all for nothing.

Two delays.

Release footage that looks downgraded from previous footage.

Stupid PR talking heads.

= Suspicious Gamers.

You are only as good as your next game in the AAA industry.

 

[notoccupanther]

Dear CDPR.

No worries. Take your time.

Split the game into two parts if it means you might lose any kind of quality .. A story as epic as the Witcher kinda warrants imagery of the same calibre.

I'll purchase both. Being CDPR, you won't rip the piss in any shoddy manner marketingwise

Regards,

A fan

 

[Abandapart82]

My birthday! The more time the better. Id rather it come out late spring a few weeks before batman then it come out the same time as bloodborne.

 

[NHale]

There's still Evolve. Full game looks so much more promising than what we saw with that tired out Hunt mode from the Alpha and events.

They better release a demo that shows the game better because after the Alpha it seems the big majority of people is wondering why the gaming press loves the game so much.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

You are only as good as your next game in the AAA industry.

And that game isn't out yet, sooo....

 

[UrbanRats]

Fine with me.

After shit like Unity, people outraged by this are insane.
They need time to polish the game? Take that time, as long as the game doesn't release in a fucked up state like we've seen far too many times this very fall.

 

[Coreda]

The thing I want to know is why this happened:

The original design was god-tier villain design. It was incredible. The new one is super bland. I don't even care if the textures weren't that good because of a bad trailer or whatever, the entire design changed and I don't like it.

Seems various designs changed during development.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

What's the usual time frame between a game going gold ->sent for mass production -> release? Like a month or more?

I think games tend to go gold a few weeks before release date.

 

[UrbanRats]

I demand you release a buggy half-working mess on time!

And subsequentially complain about the "state of the industry".

 

[Carlius]

I still am hopeful.

And well, maybe they felt pressure from Dragon Age too. I remember pre release where everybody downplayed DAI in Witcher threads, and it has now won at least one GOTY award. That has to be some pressure for CD Projekt.

not one bit. dai is a good game but not goty material, witcher 3 will destroy it i am confident.

 

[dani_dc]

Well, I'll be out of the country for half a year starting on early March, guess I might as well wait for the enhanced edition to play it.

Might just ask for a refund on the game and get it later instead.

 

[GavinUK86]

"This is not our first game; we are not newbies, no more delays." - May '14

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Seems various designs changed during development.

Damn, he definitely looked way fucking cooler before.

 

[VisceralBowl]

Seems various designs changed during development.

almost like they were continuing to develop stuff

who would've known

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Every delay makes me happy.

 

[Lunar15]

Seems various designs changed during development.

This is probably the most depressing thing, to me.

 

[Willy Wanka]

Disappointing but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

 

[Alric]

Well I'm sort of glad. I need more time to buy a better video card and also gives me time to enjoy some of the other games coming out in march and april before I feast on the new Witcher.

 

[sappyday]

May? My brain read this as March.

 

[Reedirect]

Good. February is getting ok for my wallet now.

 

[Kintaro]

And that game isn't out yet, sooo....

True. But this isn't a good look either. Sorry.

I'm hopeful, but I won't be preordering. =)

 

[Cameron122]

Heh, my dad's birthday.

Buying this is what he would have wanted

 

[Psoelberg]

Take all the time you need to make a great game, CDPR.

 

[Dark_castle]

I don't see how a delay is indicitive of quality problems - CD Projekt have given us no reason to doubt them thus far. They've established a practice of releasing free "remasters"/enhanced editions of their games (complete with optional combat mods made by, I believe, the lead designer of the game) and have championed things like digital ownership of software, region-free pricing, and even gaming goodies. Sure, the Witcher 1 was a little rocky on release, but that was largely due to the poor engine it used, and CDPR went on to fix the problems anyways. Since the first game's release they have not wavered from their ideals, and I don't see that changing in the future.

CD Projekt is no EA (or Ubisoft). They will do what Bioware couldn't and release a fitting end to an epic RPG trilogy, perhaps even on their first try.

It's not just one delay, but two, they even boasted that they're not newbies and Witcher 3 would only have one delay. Then there's the "insider" claim that the original vision was overblown PR and the development team was struggling hard now, and then some visual downgrades in the recent trailer.

You should see why some are concerned regarding the game's development.

 

[Nameless]

I'm kind of relieved; Q1 was shaping up as overwhelming stacked. Early May sounds perfect and gives more balance to PS4's release schedule.