Nonek

I played the Dyrford theme while watching the Anslog's Compass shore scene on repeat, very soothing.

On the other hand, even if you chose Shani in TW1 you still got Triss at the beginning of TW2. Which treatment Letho gets probably depends a lot on what his role is in the story and how peripheral or essential it is. True but there was really no mileage in Shani and Geralt's relationship, whereas Triss had been a on-off friend and lover for a very long time, whom was still intent on using her wiles to snare the Witcher, and saw nothing wrong with manipulating his misplaced feelings for Yennefer. Geralt really stood no chance in that situation, and may as hinted at by the Roses of Rememberance situation, been subtly manipulated by Triss' glamours. I found that to be quite logical really, especially as I would never have given a Source to an untrained medic in the first place. I would still however state that the situation is not the same, a well explained change in affection is a lot different from being dead and then being ressurected for plot purposes, which is basically telling the player their choices do not matter. A silly thing to do in my eyes, when the Witcher games are built on choice and invalidating that simply makes a player doubt that any of his choices will matter. Such a situation would sour the whole game for me, if not the series, so I certainly hope they do not ride roughshod over our playthroughs. After all i'm playing the game and making the choices not watching a movie.

I've seen a similar conversation where the devs stated that the plot came first, and that Geralt's intentions might not play out the way he wished. I assume that means despite the politicing and power plays at Loc Muinne the Northern Kingdoms are overtaken by events, for instance Anais may take the throne of Temeria, but in reality half the country is gone before any effective opposition can be raised, rendering that choice somewhat moot due to unexpected events. With a solid event such as Letho's disembowelment however, there isn't much room for perspective in my opinion, hopefully anyway.

I somewhat doubt that, not only is it disrespectful for the player, but the save import from the first game acknowledges a similar large characters (in this case Adda and Siegfried's) death or survival. I just assume that the Viper will not be there to help you in pursuing Emhyr's agenda of hunting the Hunt, though another Viper or an imperial agent of some sought may be on hand. Edit: I suspect one of the reasons for the delay was to make more impactful consequences for save imports.

I think I can personally understand your ire somewhat Mr Crash, though I do not share it, however I would say that it is necessary to look at the wider picture. The journalists will be shown what they are capable of understanding, which we all know is fairly much limited to pertinent buzzwords and references, while we will be shown the real meat and bones of the project through the various strata of information dispersal Mr Sawyer and others choose to use. I would say that we as discerning and interested parties will always be far more informed than the journalists, and thus I do not mind Obsidian showing their workings to the press. In reality it is necessary to raise the public profile, court reviewers, interest potential future publisher backed projects and network with the rest of the industry. These are important parts of maintaining the viability of the company, and more so in spreading the word and making Poe not just satisfactory for those of us who backed it, but also a success amongst a wider audience. A necessary act to ensure that Obsidian thrives, we get more products that we desire (possibly without the need for a Kickstarter campaign) and that the public profile of Poe is raised. I do not think that this in any way lessens Obsidian's respect and gratitude for your donation and all of ours, merely that they are proud of the work they have done, wish it to be a success so it may be repeated (to our benefit) and raise their public profile as gamemakers. Though I think that the press are hardly capable of seeing beyond their pre-concieved notions. I will not try and condemn you for raising a legitimate concern Mr Crash, as you have a right to do so, I will merely say that it is a complicated matter demanding a little give and take.

Has anyone posted this, a rather effective display of well made plate armours mobility and strength? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hlIUrd7d1Q

I used Broom.

Hmmm it has the two features of combat I thought personally were missing from the second game, strafing the opponent and more variety in escape methods, I think somebody went back and played Severance. The detective vision seems a little too overt, one would have thought a search for spoor and clues was more in order. The environmental navigation seems very Assassin's Creed-ish, which is no bad thing. Seemed a touch stuttery, i'm assuming that was because of console limitations, 30 fps and such. Edit: Not sure about the UI, looks too much like the second games for my personal comfort, far preferred the first games in this instance.

Try the feet.

In general I agree, I usually wait a month before purchase until the BEST GAME EVAH reviews have died down and the truth emerges, however with CDPR i'm quietly confident. Their last two games very much catered to my own particular tastes, with obviously some exceptions, and more importantly the games were improved and enhanced based on player feedback for free, along with the free DLC. Thus I am giving the developer a little support in the same manner as helping Obsidian with their Kickstarter, as they have so far earned that in my eyes. If that proves to be untrue then I shall exercise a little more Caveat Emptor in the future, but until then I shall take the first step on the road to disappointment. This is how I justify it in my own head anyway. I would of course not pre-order a sequel to a poor game, as then I would just be a blinkered fanboy who was exercising wishful thinking, and wished to be fooled twice.

Three hundred to me sounds like quite a reasonable number spread over all of the cities content, with patrolling guards, shopkeepers, passers by, quest givers and such. The lack of voice acting helps as well, so we can more easily implement broad and diverse text responses, something that for instance Torment does very well.

Nonek faced with all this empirical evidence I am hoping that you and others come to an inescapable conclusion " The great avalanche of Romance in RPG is upon us, let us embrace it with open arms " It is only in opposing the impossible that humanity may advance into enlightenment. Fight for what is right, even if there is no chance of victory. @Malcador & Bruce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Ju8WVY2a4

The plague spreads, there is no cure and no one is immune, it is time to dispatch Inquisitor Monte Carlo to purge and scourge the promancers.

I'm wondering about possession, and whether it is feasible for an Animancer to swap bodies or Souls? The Fistandantilus situation from the Twins trilogy springs to mind, an ancient Wizard swapping his failing body for that of his apprentices. Investigating or stumbling across this kind of situation has so much potential, one can almost see the scenes making themselves, and ancient eyes watching the characters from a form of young, innocent flesh.

Two stand out for me, Britain from Ultima VII and Vizima from the first Witcher. Obviously npc routines help, along with reactions to the weather and protagonist, I especially liked how the common folk would run for cover when it rained, or Geralt would push them out of his way. A lovely addition in the Witcher 2 was Geralt drawing his sword in Flotsam, at which point everybody would be alarmed and back away in panic. I agree that this is an important feature, if cities are just empty grey and boring background paintings, like say Kirkwall from Dragon Age 2, then they are robbed of all vibrancy and interest. The worst feature is of course when one can walk through the npc's, as if they were ghosts, really a cheap and nasty trick that nobody should settle for. Sigil and then Athkatla are less ambitious, but satisfactory, for me.

Carrying Aryan through the dungeons later (if you spare him) also confers the strong back perk, allowing one to carry an extra fifty pounds of weight.

I would agree that the North was in the process of a long defeat, they took no advantage of their victory at Brenna, only Radovid sought to secure his power base and defeat the regicide who usurped his fathers throne after killing him. Foltest, Henselt and Demavend should have been doing the same instead of pursuing pointless wars amongst themselves and personal matters. Though I think Demavend may have had a little aid from the Lodge in his regression from the smartest ruler in the north to an alcoholic idler, it was definitely a departure from the books. The hidden hand of Enid in Dol Blathanna perhaps? My Geralt couldn't judge Letho for assassinating potentates for Emhyr as he'd just slain Jacque's for Foltest, and eight thousand Orens. He did blame himself for failing Foltest when he'd agreed to act as his bodyguard following the assassination attempt by the Viper at the end of Witcher 1, and saw to it that Anais took the throne of Temeria with Roche and Natalis at her side. He was not going to fail another child. After that he bid good riddance to the mire of politics and hopefully will fly free like the ladybird, pursuing Yen and personal matters.

Swimming in the Witcher 3? The obvious joke must be made, Geralt always uses breaststroke. Sorry.

Only one real problem with Letho for myself, and that was the forced outcome of the melee under the Elven Baths, apart from that I agree that he was fairly much a perfect foil for Geralt. Perhaps purposely so? Edit: I admit i'm somewhat worried about Yen's voice actress, she needs bite and class, the polar opposite of Triss hopefully.

At the :32 second mark, is that Letho on the right of the screen behind the Wolf school Witcher's? Is Emhyr enthroned in Vizima's throneroom from the first game? The raven taking the Nilfgaardian's eye at the end, is it Philippa the mistress of shapeshifting, or maybe even Borch Three Jackdaw's? The trailer keeps giving.

One must admit that pushed the right buttons personally and I think i'll indulge in a pre - order, I was over all very satisfied with Assassins of Kings and with a mouse and keyboard UI being implemented (instead of the barely disguised console abomination) i'm hopeful for better controls. The combat had a few flaws but was mostly satisfactory, though personally i'd have preferred a turn based system to simulate Geralt's speed, or simply go the whole hog and copy Severance to the full rather than the semi action system they had. The plot, narrative, setting and characterisation were all more than satisfactory, though there were a few things stripped from the first game that were obviously troublesome, and personally i'd like to see certain areas reflecting the Slavic Folk feel of Murky Waters. Edit: Nice to see the other gentlemen of Kaer Morhen, however Yen's face seemed too soft, not shrewd enough.

Commiserations or congratulations Mr Neutral, one is not sure which to wish you.

An insomniac?

The potential is almost boundless I agree, and a trial setting precedents and codes of conduct might be a perfect method of exploring the matter. The collecting of evidence, witnesses, clues and opinions from the great and good as well as (of course) the corrupting elements that seek to help and hinder for their own reasons. It might be nice to be supported by the bad man for the wrong reasons, and yet ironically reach the right conclusion, like the original Junktown Gizmo ending.

A rather appropriate video I think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAyZSAHPBLY Edit: Personally I say damn the consequences and take the risk, but with an eye for more research and more study before experimentation. If my character is in a position to fund the work of a blossoming Herbert West, then I shall do so, lest he undertake his own research under less than ideal circumstances. I pity the prisoners in my cells however.