All things The Witcher

[JaySevenZero]

So after about a 8 month hiatus I'm going to jump back into Witcher 3. I haven't finished the main quest nor the first expansion. Normally I would have moved on from a game after this much time has passed but I really love this game. Does anyone think it will be hard jumping back in? I've taken a break before this big one of about 2 months but it felt like nothing. I want to finish this and both expansions. I kinda feel like I owe the developers for being such a complete experience even without the expansions.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem, you'll need to re-acclimatise with the menus, especially now it's had an overhaul and I imagine that you may also need to refresh yourself with the combat etc. but that can be done easily by jump fighting some beasties out in the wilderness first.

[Todinho]

You wouldnt happen to know if any characters from Witcher 2 appear on the expansion,I mean a few popular characters that were weirdly absent from the main game?

If you like the characters go get the books. You'll get infinitely more out of the games if you do. Just got the most recent book to read but I refused to pay the £17 they wanted at the time because of the HAT (Hype Added Tax) of releasing it at the same time as the new game. Even if you just read The Last Wish, you'll get to find out why you're known as the Butcher of Blaviken, where Ciri and why Yennefer is a love interest.

The problem is the characters Im looking for were made especially for the games,Witcher 2 in particular so I dont really have any other recourse XD,I totally understand them wanting to put more of the book material in the game but it's unfortunate that they seem to have neglected what they created on their own and Im not gonna lie this had a big impact on how I felt about the game and it's abit ridiculous because it's a minor thing but it really bothers me and given this is the final expansion and final Witcher game we will have in the forseeable future it's kinda sad and frustrating that we wont get any more of them...But here's to hoping that Iorverth will appear again in a form that isnt a collectible card game.

[macstat]

I really dig that on the new start screen that appears Geralt is wearing the same outfit he wore in the first Witcher game and in the background you can hear the song that was sung in the first cinematic trailer by the female vampire.

Actually that's new Manticore armor set:) And yeah its definitely outfit from first game. Good eye (and/or memory )

[JaySevenZero]

It's just occurred to me that....

Spoiler: show

...the second cinematic trailer for The Witcher 3 was in fact a massive bloody spoiler for Blood & Wine!

But I'll say no more for now, other than it gave me a real "Holy shit!" moment when I realised!

[macstat]

Spoiler: show

You mean "A night to remember" right ? With Geralt fighint vampire in stables ? Cause first one was "killing monsters" where he saves girl from hanging.

But yeah, it is . Menu screen is basically begining of trailer . Stable with vampire girl inside, and same music.

[JaySevenZero]

Yeah, I wondered about the start screen but then...

Spoiler: show

...the woman in that trailer turns up in the story, instantly recognisable because of both the character model and voice actress. Although it's pretty much a massive spoiler in regards to the story as it's giving away what she is at that point but still, I really dig that they've done this

[macstat]

Spoiler: show

Oh so they more with her than just generic vampire trailer ? That's awesome ! I guess i need to start story quest then Im nearing 30 hour mark and im still doing mostly side stuff

On less spoilery note, i was thinking about Toussaint as a location and to be honest i think it might be best looking location, but at the same time its design is pretty genius.
When you look at it, Toussaint is designed kinda like a crater. Low in the middle (with huge lake) and slopes on each sides so in most places you have huge amazing view of your surroundings.
In comparision Velen was mostly flat, with a lot of forests, so you barely saw the horizon. Skelige had its high points but mountains were often pretty close to each other forming narrow passes and not giving that many vantage points. Oh ... and there was a lot of water if you're into that stuff .

[macstat]

Ok I've finished Blood and Wine, but Im gonna wait for more people to join me since i wanted to discuss different endings Hurry up will ya ?

[AndrewBrown]

Got in the Gwent beta today!

Anybody joining me?

[KSubzero1000]

I recently started playing The Witcher 3 and have put around 6 hours into it. My initial impressions are mixed: The world and character design is great and the writing seems really good. The combat is hardly a strength, but it's also not the complete travesty some people make it out to be. My main issue however lies with the obfuscating complexity of the systems and mechanics. Was it absolutely necessary to have that many tutorials and stats and info tabs and systems to memorize? Some restraint and elegance in design would have gone a long way on this one. I would gladly trade two thirds of all these systems for the streamlined experience and controls of Fable. That way I could better focus on the quests and the exploration.

[macstat]

Well the thing is most of them arent necessary to enjoy the game. You dont like Gwent ? No need to play it. You dont want to bother with alchemy? Its also for the most part not needed. Only on my second playthrough i actually put some thought in stats and build so you can play the game you prefer without need of minmaxing.

[Stanshall]

Yep, I never used any oils or alchemy except when missions or quests required it, probably, I just couldn't be arsed. Be aware (and be grateful hehe) that the UI has been revamped several times so you're working with the best version! I fired it up last night for the first time in a good while and was very pleasantly surprised. They had already made significant revisions and this is the best it's been.

Now, I appreciate that I can't serve you mouse turd in a restaurant and say at least it's not dinosaur turd...actually, I would if I could...but the point is, well, I've forgotten my point.

I think it's a game which requires a bit of adapting, it took me about a dozen attempts to get properly into it. I finally did by turning off music, turning off the minimap and taking my time to soak up the atmosphere and watched every cut scene and followed every line of dialogue. I'd also say that it doesn't necessarily reward exploration, and I found it quite frustrating to canter across the map until I got immediately walloped by some level 28 dogs or something equally arbitrary. You'll seldom find higher level quests or areas accessible and you're best off just doing quest after quest, and enjoying than loop of prepare, quest, chill out in town, Gwent, rinse and repeat. That's my experience, anyway. .

[Todinho]

I see all that you guys are saying but that all sounds like blasphemy to me,one of the reasons I got into the gameplay of the Witcher series,even in the first one which was rough, was the whole preparation before battle,you have to prepare: know your prey,how to kill it and use all means avaliable to do it. You're a scholarly hunter,that's what's so cool about it!

[KSubzero1000]

Well the thing is most of them arent necessary to enjoy the game. You dont like Gwent ? No need to play it. You dont want to bother with alchemy? Its also for the most part not needed. Only on my second playthrough i actually put some thought in stats and build so you can play the game you prefer without need of minmaxing.

That may be true, but all of these systems are quite difficult to ignore, given that the horrendous UI keeps shoving them in my face. I spend an obscene amount of time just navigating the menus and trying to figure out the ins and outs of the economy and the like. I shudder to even imagine the original UI that Stanshall is talking about.

But then again, I'm particularly demanding when it comes to elegance in design, which is a bit of a lost art in my opinion. To put it simply: depth is good, needless complexity is not.

[macstat]

Menus and interface was always a weak point of CDP products, that i wont argue. And imagine that its now better than it was on release.

On my second playthrough i actually turned off my ui (same as stanshall) and played with basically nothing on screen Also some mods really help out with UI problems.