The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [2014]

[Nonek]

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.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Nonek

[Keyrock]

Not a fan of the cut-scene killing of the Gryphon.  I'd rather kill the monster myself.  I though the rest looked great.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Keyrock

[Nordicus]

The griffin fight needed more work in general. The thing with Arkham style combat is that it's usually made with more-or-less average sized humanoids in mind, and trying to fit a griffin into that looks a bit funny. The fight was at its best when the griffin leapt around and attempted dive attacks, doing stuff like a griffin probably would, but at the ground the attacks looked weak and the monster stood oddly still.

 

Now, I'm not looking for a Nargacuga fight in a Witcher game (though that'd be amazing) but I hope the monster behaviour will look a bit better few months from now.

[Lexx]

Not a fan of the cut-scene killing of the Gryphon.  I'd rather kill the monster myself.  I though the rest looked great.

To me it looks like it's probably still part of the intro. Because right after the health bar was down, the cutscene started and Geralt was walking into the city. I've seen that stuff usually only at the beginning of a game, when you are still able to get force-teleported around without the player being angry about it for whatever reason.

[Nordicus]

Here's the same gameplay demo played by different people. The player here is actually quite good and sidesteps a lot of the enemy moves perfectly, pushes enemies and uses signs effectively, and to my pleasant surprise, the griffin has a rush move when there's distance, and it doesn't just ineffectively try to swipe at you while on the ground

[licketysplit]

That's impressive stuff. Geralt can actually circle his enemies again. Wasn't expecting a crossbow in the game.

[marelooke]

Looking good, my chances of a pre-order just went up again.

 

Just noticed the pre-combat quaffing of potions is still in. I guess that's okay as long as you don't end up dead whenever you run into something you didn't anticipate, though while I can understand it from a realism perspective (see the trailer of Witcher 1) I still find it a questionable gameplay mechanic. But I'm hopeful it will be better implemented than in W2 (couldn't really judge becuase I had to watch the video without sound).

 

The rest looked like net improvements though (barring the remarks already made about the Griffon fight). Excitement++

[BruceVC]

Gryphon Hunting Gameplay

 

 

I wonder if it's possible to save the guy getting attacked by the thugs?  Also, I'm assuming you have the option to get some sexy time with the attractive lady (witch? herbalist?) later on.

 

Nice trailer and it only adds to the excitement of this games release.

 

Keyrock its also good to see you asking questions around Romance, this is the level I want all fans of RPG to get to where we assume Romance will be part of the RPG journey. You can see in the example of the video where it would make perfect sense to Geralt and his own experiences, especially where he says  " I'll be back later to check on things"

[Nordicus]

Keyrock its also good to see you asking questions around Romance

I think you're confusing romance and casual ploughing.

[BruceVC]

 

Keyrock its also good to see you asking questions around Romance

I think you're confusing romance and casual ploughing.

 

 

Romance and casual ploughing can be terms that are interchangeable. I am supportive of both in RPG for different reasons but I do think they have some similarities  

[aluminiumtrioxid]

I just don't get why is it assumed in the cutscene that the player was originally hacking away at the gryphon with the steel sword. I mean, really, based on its efficiency vs. monsters in the previous two games, it just makes Geralt look like an idiot.

[WorstUsernameEver]

I just don't get why is it assumed in the cutscene that the player was originally hacking away at the gryphon with the steel sword. I mean, really, based on its efficiency vs. monsters in the previous two games, it just makes Geralt look like an idiot.

According to a CD Projekt dev that posts on Something Awful, steel is actually the way to go with griffins.

[HoonDing]

Silver is used against "alien" monsters that entered the world during Conjunction of Spheres. Griffins are indigenous creatures.

[Lexx]

Was there any monster in TW2 (didn't finished TW1) that actually needed the steel sword? It always annoyed me a bit that everyone assumed the steel was against humans and silver against monsters. But I think the games never did anything against this talk, no?

[Tigranes]

Huh? There was always a marked difference in effectiveness, to the point that sometimes if you had the wrong sword by mistake it felt like you were slicing a tree with a butter knife.

[Nonek]

I used Broom.

[Lexx]

If I try to remember back, then I just don't remember any situation where using the silver sword vs. monsters in TW2 was not effective.

[marelooke]

Was there any monster in TW2 (didn't finished TW1) that actually needed the steel sword? It always annoyed me a bit that everyone assumed the steel was against humans and silver against monsters. But I think the games never did anything against this talk, no?

TW1 certainly made it known that silver was not always the way to go against monsters. Aside from the often pretty clear difference in effectiveness it was also listed in the book you could buy that described the monster which sword and stances were most effective.

 

Dunno about TW2 though since I didn't manage to finish that one (which I need to fix before TW3 is released, so I still have time )

[BruceVC]

 

Was there any monster in TW2 (didn't finished TW1) that actually needed the steel sword? It always annoyed me a bit that everyone assumed the steel was against humans and silver against monsters. But I think the games never did anything against this talk, no?

TW1 certainly made it known that silver was not always the way to go against monsters. Aside from the often pretty clear difference in effectiveness it was also listed in the book you could buy that described the monster which sword and stances were most effective.

 

Dunno about TW2 though since I didn't manage to finish that one (which I need to fix before TW3 is released, so I still have time )

 

 

You naughty boy, I can't believe a hard core and committed RPG fan like you hasn't finished one of the great RPG like TW2....but as you said you do have time before the anticipated launch of TW3

[Nepenthe]

 

I know nobody else who has roided up arms like that. The other witchers from the first game will play an significant part in 3, that much we know from trailers and the secret letter in the newest one, so if Letho will reappear...

 

 

My favorite foil in an RPG since Delita!

 

I wonder how they'll deal with this potential problem if you chose to do the fighting option at the end of TW2.

 

 

They'll ignore it, they've said in the past that they'll limit the impact of decisions in previous games if they see it fit (ie. overrule them).

 

Already have the medallion from the witcher 2 dark edition, so no reason to buy CE for this one

 

[Nonek]

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.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Nonek

[Nepenthe]

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 wish I could find the quote for that, but it's definite I've heard someone say it - maybe I'll take a look for it later. Not sure if it was re 3 or for 2. Personally doesn't matter, as I'm switching platforms again, but it's something to consider at least as a possibility.

[Nonek]

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.

[Malcador]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wNiiQpDPJE

[BruceVC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wNiiQpDPJE

 

Nice, Malc I imagine you will have Geralt spending loads of time in the brothel district ?