Topic: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt thread

@BAMozzy I think the game tells you that the world reverts back to its state before the ending, but with the final main quest updated to completed. I would be neat to see how it would affect the world, but with 12(?) different endings, I understand why that would be way too time-consuming to implement. Especially for content that most people won't even see. I believe the outcome of Reason of State should still apply, I'm certain he won't be back. It's only the result of the final quest that has no affect on the world.

Hearts of Stone feels like it should be completed before the main quest. It works either way, but one of the possible endings is gaining knowledge on how to save Ciri. Blood and Wine is definitely a post-ending quest. So don't get your hopes up, B&W feels like a completely separate game, even more so than HoS was.

@Octane I wasn't referring to 'every' aspect of the final missions but a lot of the decisions that impacted that final few missions were decided before then. If I go to find Dijkstra or Radovid, they are no longer around because of the decisions I made before engaging on the final push. Speaking to the Countess at the Auction in Hearts of Stone reflected on the Battle at Kaer Morhen and Vessimer. I know Reason's of State happened after that but its not jumped back to before that point.

Blood and Wine is a post main game and in a different area so conversationally at least, CD Projekt could have had a few lines of dialogue that reflected the state of world post that ending. There are basically three possibilities for Ciri and each would not necessarily result in her appearance in B&W but it would still be nice if we had some 'dialogue' to reflect on that - where relevent. You could still have a few different lines of dialogue based on the events and outcome - even if those characters don't physically appear to make a lot more connected. As you can tell, I opted to kill Radovid and sided with Roche which then really felt odd playing Hearts of Stone and wandering around Oxenfurt.

Its not as if CD Projekt didn't know that they would be making DLC at launch and therefore could and I think should have done more to fit into the main game - even if its changes in dialogue options. Its one of the issues I have with Story DLC - especially in RPG's with a variety of different outcomes. Its not as if the game though doesn't reflect on our choices as we progress so they know how to incorporate decisions. Instead of Redanian Soldiers, they could have switched these for something different to still give the same outcome, same 'rule' but with different random speech and coloured uniform. It feels odd that those decisions haven't carried through.

When it gets to Blood and Wine, depending on who you romanced, Triss could 'holiday' there from Kovir, This could be the retirement home of Yen and Geralt. Ciri could visit too depending on her storyline - even if its just a brief Easter Egg scene with a few dialogue options depending on how their story's finished. Have a chat about ruling or Witchery for example - just to tie everything together. Characters like Zoltan and Dandelion could have some new dialogue too.

Considering how dynamic the game felt when playing through, the DLC seems to have made the world disjointed, more static and lacking the progression I felt with the game. When the world 'reset' after completing the game, they really should have reset the quests to that point too and tied everything together. If the ending is still THE ending of the whole saga, then the two expansions are more 'separate' side quests as such, they could have changed the level requirements and reset those final missions to reflect that these should be finished after those Expansions.

@BAMozzy All fair points. It's just that, consindering the size of the game and the step forward it was in terms of open world games as a whole, I'm okay with those things not being completely perfect. I mean, after two years, it's still one of the best open world RPGs!

And in that case, don't worry, there's something along those lines in B&W.

@Octane Of course its still the greatest RPG's ever made and raised the bar. I think its the best game this generation and one of the best games ever made. Even things like Lip synch is incredible for the amount of dialogue involved. The depth - even in Side Quests are without equal. The details in the fabric - to the point you can believe they were hand stitched, embroidered with Silk etc. The buildings are all well thought out too. You never feel that they copy and pasted but unique - some of the interiors may be a bit similar but the cities look lived in and look like they were built up and expanded up over centuries. As I said, the main game is so dynamic too.

Whilst the DLC, particularly the new area looks absolutely stunning - just like the main game but the new area has more 'beauty' to it than Velen and Novigrad, I just had higher expectation that this would still tie and feel 'dynamic' and interwoven into the game. Of course it still maintains the high standards of production, the same quality of writing and development but its just that separation that I found jarring - more so with Hearts of Stone because of where it took place. Maybe Skellige would have been a better place to set the first DLC and could be better implemented into the main game. The ruler may not be important overall - they can still say long live Clan Crach for example and with so many islands it could therefore be easier to slot it in to that area.

I can't wait for Cyberpunk...

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/17/netflix-to-produce-the...

Netflix will develop and produce a new show based on The Witcher Saga, the series of eight novels by Andrzej Sapkowski that inspired the hugely popular CD Projekt Red RPG games.

If done right this could be epic...

Just started playing this game. I am way behind on all of my games. Anyway, I found some useful information in this thread and I joined the forum. Thanks.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/m/3742ea4d-6274-3c4b-b3c4...

The Witcher Showrunner Says Pilot Script is Finished

Please be good!!!!!!!!!!

Finally got into this game. First few times I tried I just couldn't get into, may have been due to a lack of time. After a few hours im really liking this alot.

@JohnnyShoulder @Kidfried
I was worried about derailing the other thread too much so I moved my questions over here.
So It sounds like the Witcher 3 is complex enough that it is hard to pick back up if you’ve been away from it a while? Is it the combat that is hard to remember how to execute (ex. which button does what, how to use certain functions like potions or magic, how to approach certain types of enemy weakness, etc) or is it that the menu systems and leveling up are complicated to remember how to do, or is it the story and map that is hard to remember where you are and what you were doing? I ask because the game is so long that I wonder if I will be able to complete it in a short enough timeframe to not get lost. I tend to take longer to finish games than most, some of their is due to my own folly of having to mop up every single side quest before I move on with the story — a bad habit that I am trying to cure myself of 😉. And when I’ve taken a break from games before, sometimes it’s the combat I can’t remember (like might occur in a Soulsborne game), sometimes it’s the menu and level system (No Mans Sky killed me this way when I tried it again recently), and sometimes it’s the story and where I need to go (Metroidvania games are typically bad about this and you can be easily lost if too much time lapses between plays, Guacamelee is an example of a game I couldn’t get back into when I picked it back up because I was just plain lost). Good games typically have ways to refresh someone in these areas if you boot it up after an absence (ex. “The story so far...” with a reminder of where your next objective is, A combat tutorial in the menu, a simple intuitive menu, etc, etc)
And a somewhat related question .. Is the DLC in Witcher 3 integrated into the story or map somewhere and has to be “unlocked” at a certain level or by arriving at an area, or is it completely free-standing and a stand-alone that you select from a menu whenever you want? In other words, is it playable from the very beginning? I’ve played games with DLC that is handled in each of these ways so I’m curious.

Edit: I just read @BAMozzy ‘s comment above about DLC and it sounds like it all post ending content? If so that kind of concerns me. I’m refraining from reading to much further because I don’t want to spoil anything, but if it’s not a spoiler, how does this vaunted DLC work with the main game? I’ve always heard such great things about the 2 DLCs and so I was sure to buy the Complete Edition for a little more money when I got this.

@Th3solution The DLC is integrated into the main game. The first DLC adds a new area (few towns, etc.) to one of the existing maps, and the second DLC adds a completely new map.

I wouldn't say that combat is difficult to remember, nor is the interface. The story is one of the game's highlights, so forgetting what you were doing could diminish the impact. Side quests can also affect other side quests, and even the main quest. It's neat seeing how some of your choices affect the game in later parts, and I guess you could lose track of all the things you've done if don't play it for several months.

I took my time with The Witcher 3, and I did take a few breaks to play some other games in between, like The Last Guardian, but I always returned to it. Took me around 250 hours to do most of it I think, spread over a handful of months. I did take break after the main game and the first DLC, since the second DLC kinda stands on its own and is more like a separate story with new characters. The first DLC integrates really well into the main story though, and I kinda wish I did it as soon as it became available. However, I chose to ignore it until I beat the main campaign. So if you have the choice, I'd advise you to play the main game and the first DLC simultaneously. And in case you're wondering, both DLCs start out as a quest if your level is high enough. I think the game does notify you when it becomes available, either that, or the quest marker was always on your map from the start. Shouldn't be hard to miss though!

Oh, and here’s a mention for you too @beemo since you are a Witcher 3 fan so maybe you have some input too. See my super long and tediously worded comment above 😜

@Octane Ok, thanks for that! It’s encouraging to know I wouldn’t necessarily have to commit 2 weeks straight of my life to try to play the whole thing at once.
Are there a lot of characters to remember? And if so are they well fleshed out enough to know them if you run across them 100 hours of game time later?

@Th3solution Yeah, there are a lot of characters, from minor characters to important ones. I feel that they are quite easy to remember, and I can still recall most of them. The game has a character list, so you can always look up some info on some characters. But the list also includes minor characters that are only part of a (usually rather big) side quests, so you wouldn't really encounter them ever again. I think the narrative really helped in this case, because even though I don't remember some of their names, I do recall their backstories, the quests they were part of and things like that. The game does a pretty good job in that regard I think.

@Octane Ok, that’s good. Really long games can fail in this regard sometimes. Persona 5 is great in that despite its length, the characters are introduced gradually and each of the important ones has the separate confidant relationship leveling up to gradually keep you up on the ones you want to keep up with and each is memorable.
In my mind I keep comparing Witcher 3 to Dragon Age Inquisition. Having not played W3, this may be an unfair comparison, but DA: I failed me a little in its complexity of combat and leveling (mostly armor upgrades) since when I went back it was hard to keep up with how I was making my characters stronger. Having a whole party to track and upgrade was a lot to monitor. Also despite the clear map and its icons to guide me, the volume of side activities and lesser characters made me just lose interest in what was going on and it was too tedious to try to relearn it. So I never quite finished that game. Maybe one day.

@Th3solution You should be ok with the combat, it is just a bit different as you need to apply lotions to your sword and drink potions for some fights. It has been something like 2 years since I've played the two games, so it's gonna take me awhile to get back into it.

@Th3solution I think you should be fine. I've never given armour a lot of thought, I just went with the things I found on the road; I don't think I've ever made something myself. I guess it makes the game a little harder, but I was playing on normal difficulty, so that was fine. I kinda got over-leveled from doing all the side quests anyway!

@Th3solution I played the game in a period that I didn't even live at home during the week due to work, so I could only play the game in the weekends. It took me about 6 months or something to complete. Also, the way The Witcher 3 has structured its quest system, means it is pretty easy to get back into those.

I agree with @Octane that you should play the main game, and follow up with the DLC. The second DLC stands on its own.

Also, whether it is difficult to put the game aside or a while, depends also on the way you play. The oils can make fighting a lot easier, but you have to know which one to use for which situation. It's a cool mechanic, but you could choose to not use it.

Also, knowing weaknesses and the lore behind the creatures will make it easier to understand what weapons and sign use against which monsters. So getting back to the game after being away for longer than a month, could result in some reacquainting.

At first The Witcher 3 will feel more overwhelming than Dragon Age: Inquisition. But once you get into the gameplay loop, you'll find it to be less overwhelming. Also, a difference between Dragon Age and The Witcher 3 is that the latter is all about those side quests. In that regard I think a comparison with Skyrim is more fair to The Witcher 3. Basically, The Witcher 3 is Skyrim without all of its faults.

@Octane It's funny how different people play this game differently. I was constantly engaged with getting the best armor possible. But I didn't spend too much time on potions at all.

@Kidfried Thats good to hear as I quite liked Skyrim and had no problem finishing it, despite its length and intricate lore.

@Th3solution Of course it's dangerous too hype this game up too much for you. So, let me stress again that the game might not have made the same impact were it released in 2018.