The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition

onemananadhisdroid · Oct 29, 2021

Alternatively, you could just grab your popcorn and watch the hours of cutscenes on Youtube at the core of the gig (whilst skipping on the rest of the experience witcher sensing itself anyway).

TheHeroOfTime · Nov 1, 2021

Cool little changes that the game has if you do things in a different order.

If only the game would have encouraged this type of things more instead of gatekeeping the process with autolevel and the red skulls system...

Danikas · Nov 1, 2021

TheHeroOfTime said:
Cool little changes that the game has if you do things in a different order.

If only the game would have encouraged this type of things more instead of gatekeeping the process with autolevel and the red skulls system...

That's why Im playing with Witcher 3 enhanced edition mod with it you can go straight to Skellige or start hearts of stone right after finishing the tutorial it's really fun doing stuff in different order and the game narrative was designed with this in mind but someone in the gameplay department fuck up really bad with those shitty hp and damage bonuses that high lvl enemies have so 99% of the people playing will do things in this exact order Velen>Novigrad>Skellige.

Starwars · Nov 17, 2021

Replaying this and just did the Crones part of the main quest. To me, that really is the highlight of the game. The atmosphere is just outstanding, from the music, the setting of the swamp, the design of the Crones (of course, the gameplay of fighting basically drowners and the odd water hag throughout the questline is terribly boring). And while I still wished for something more regarding the Whispering Hillock quest, it's still pretty creepy. I like that you don't really get much info on them overall, except in the She Who Knows in-game book.

It's such a shame that you actually fight and kill the crones later on. It's A) so anticlimactic and B) really robs them of their mystery and feeling of danger.

ga♥ · Nov 17, 2021

Agreed. Also they

become servants of the nazi elves

It really sounded like they had no clue how to close that story arc and came up with a very bad solution.

Kem0sabe · Nov 17, 2021

Starwars said:
Replaying this and just did the Crones part of the main quest. To me, that really is the highlight of the game. The atmosphere is just outstanding, from the music, the setting of the swamp, the design of the Crones (of course, the gameplay of fighting basically drowners and the odd water hag throughout the questline is terribly boring). And while I still wished for something more regarding the Whispering Hillock quest, it's still pretty creepy. I like that you don't really get much info on them overall, except in the She Who Knows in-game book.

It's such a shame that you actually fight and kill the crones later on. It's A) so anticlimactic and B) really robs them of their mystery and feeling of danger.

You dont kill all the crones in the first fight with them playing as Ciri, one escapes and depending on your choices, it can kill Ciri post ending.

Starwars · Nov 17, 2021

Oh, I actually didn't remember that and didn't know about the post ending thing. Still, I think it's more the fact that you get to fight and beat them in a boss fight. And their appearance again at that point in the game feels somewhat sudden as well (especially if you do the Velen parts first and then Novigrad+Skellige).

Kem0sabe · Nov 17, 2021

Starwars said:
Oh, I actually didn't remember that and didn't know about the post ending thing. Still, I think it's more the fact that you get to fight and beat them in a boss fight. And their appearance again at that point in the game feels somewhat sudden as well (especially if you do the Velen parts first and then Novigrad+Skellige).

Sorry i was mixing things up.

The worst ending for Geralt and Ciri, depending on your choices:

"Ciri just doesn't return after defeating the White Frost and is presumed dead. This weighs heavily on Geralt because he feels responsible, that he failed her. He hunts down the last remaining Crone, kills her and retrieves Ciri's/Vesemir's medallion. Then just sits in a hut, resigned and overcome by emotion while it is overrun by monsters. The assumption is that Geralt commits suicide."

TheHeroOfTime · Nov 17, 2021

Considering how rushed the third act is compared to the rest of the game I don't think the resolution of the Crones is bad at all. I like the setting and the atmosphere of the sabbath. It could have benefited more from a slower pace though.

gurugeorge · Nov 17, 2021

Starwars said:
Replaying this and just did the Crones part of the main quest. To me, that really is the highlight of the game. The atmosphere is just outstanding, from the music, the setting of the swamp, the design of the Crones (of course, the gameplay of fighting basically drowners and the odd water hag throughout the questline is terribly boring). And while I still wished for something more regarding the Whispering Hillock quest, it's still pretty creepy. I like that you don't really get much info on them overall, except in the She Who Knows in-game book.

It's such a shame that you actually fight and kill the crones later on. It's A) so anticlimactic and B) really robs them of their mystery and feeling of danger.

I thought that too, better to have left them as they were in the memory of that big conversation with them. That sequence of events in that area, from seeing the tapestry of the three crones in their youth, meeting with the blue creature, culminating in meeting the three crones in the flesh is one of the most amazing, evocative experiences in all of gaming storytelling. On first playthrough, it felt so hyper-real that one really felt one was in the presence of these disgusting, tricksy, eldritch entities. The kind of aesthetic experience of transport (to another world) that's totally unique to gaming.

Starwars · Nov 17, 2021

It's a shame regarding the pacing of the game too. For me, playing through the game for the first time, I was left very impressed with the Crones/Baron questline in Velen. But following the level recommended main quest, you go to Novigrad after and it's just not nearly as impactful or special. Not to say that some lighthearted fun with Dandelion and Zoltan can't be fun, but it just feels a lot thinner than the Velen questline. And then, I headed to Skellige last which... well, to be honest I kind of rushed through because by then it's easy to feel kind of fatigued by the game. And Skellige is a more "annoying" area as well with the islands.
For my current playthrough, I'm trying to weave into Skellige earlier to hopefully keep it fresher. Already ran into some stuff that I just didn't experience before which is fun.

But yeah, the quality and atmosphere of the Crones stuff is just so far above the rest of the game when it comes to story. They hit upon something special there, and that special something isn't there for the rest of the game. And it kinda makes it feel like the game blows its load early on.

rusty_shackleford · Nov 18, 2021

On the upside, there's still Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine. If Witcher 3 was just the base game, I'd consider it a lot worse, but together with those it's great.

gurugeorge · Nov 18, 2021

Starwars said:
It's a shame regarding the pacing of the game too. For me, playing through the game for the first time, I was left very impressed with the Crones/Baron questline in Velen. But following the level recommended main quest, you go to Novigrad after and it's just not nearly as impactful or special. Not to say that some lighthearted fun with Dandelion and Zoltan can't be fun, but it just feels a lot thinner than the Velen questline. And then, I headed to Skellige last which... well, to be honest I kind of rushed through because by then it's easy to feel kind of fatigued by the game. And Skellige is a more "annoying" area as well with the islands.
For my current playthrough, I'm trying to weave into Skellige earlier to hopefully keep it fresher. Already ran into some stuff that I just didn't experience before which is fun.

But yeah, the quality and atmosphere of the Crones stuff is just so far above the rest of the game when it comes to story. They hit upon something special there, and that special something isn't there for the rest of the game. And it kinda makes it feel like the game blows its load early on.

I think it's the deep folklore, sort of mythic aspect. The game is at its best when it's doing that sort of thing (like with the lore around the monsters), it's at its weakest when it's doing citified stuff, intrigue, etc. Not that that side of the game is bad exactly, it's still pretty well done, but it just doesn't have the weight of the folkloric side of the game, it doesn't tickle your hindbrain as much, make you feel a sense of wonder like the crones stuff does.

cretin · Nov 18, 2021

Danikas said:
TheHeroOfTime said:

Cool little changes that the game has if you do things in a different order.

If only the game would have encouraged this type of things more instead of gatekeeping the process with autolevel and the red skulls system...

Click to expand...

That's why Im playing with Witcher 3 enhanced edition mod with it you can go straight to Skellige or start hearts of stone right after finishing the tutorial it's really fun doing stuff in different order and the game narrative was designed with this in mind but someone in the gameplay department fuck up really bad with those shitty hp and damage bonuses that high lvl enemies have so 99% of the people playing will do things in this exact order Velen>Novigrad>Skellige.

W3EE is mandatory IMO. It fixes too many systems that were just slapdash and not thought out.

Sykar · Nov 18, 2021

Shackleton said:
Shadowfang said:

Finished Witcher once 1-2 years ago and am on the mood for a second playthrough but i am not sure how do i want to go about it and would like to know if you guys think if the new game plus mode worth it? Should i check any mods since i played the game so far unmodded?

I can only tolerate mods regarding level scaling, loot and combat. The rest of the game is fine as it is.

Click to expand...

Personally I got quite far into it with 'W3: Ghost mode' mod and found it pretty good. Just didn't have the energy to play through the whole thing again.

I would be more interested in a mod that alleviates or removes the inane level scaling and makes loot more interesting. Also removal of set bonus which are retarded in a game like TWitcher.

Chippy · Nov 18, 2021

W3 was a good game for the style of game that it was. The best thing it had going for it was obviuosly the story, but I think they fucked up by not having you spend more time with Geralt's friends. Having all of that voiced dialogue in the game for every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and then you only get to spend a bit of time with Triss, or Vesemir and Zoltan, etc.

I probably would have paid for a DLC with a bit more from each character.

Starwars · Nov 18, 2021

Again, replaying it just really leaves me feeling that it's too broad of a game, that is lacking in depth. So yeah, reining in the open-world aspects, cutting away a lot of the sidecontent and trying to fatten up some of the main parts of the game with more character depth as well as more choices would've been my preference. Especially because CD Projekt RED do really well with the characters in general (or maybe that all comes from the books, I don't know).
I've never really delved into and read up about the Witcher 2 choices and how complex they really are but when playing that game, but it certainly leaves you with a feeling that it was layered. Witcher 3 doesn't feel like that at all. Some parts feel like they *should* be layered (like the crime bosses stuff in Novigrad for example) but they just aren't.

The open world is seductive, as with most games. And there's something to be said for the whole "see that mountain? you can go there" shit, it's fun for a bit. But when you start to enter the "cleaning up quests" part of the experience, it just sucks.

That said, I'm playing it on a fairly new computer this time around and man, it really is beautiful at times. I still think the two other games have better and more interesting art direction but there are times in this game where it's just really, really pretty. Like Skellige.

But I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I could complain until the end of time about the game but all in all, I still have a lot of fun with it.

rusty_shackleford · Nov 19, 2021

Starwars said:
cutting away a lot of the sidecontent

that was the good part though

TemplarGR · Nov 19, 2021

Starwars said:
that is lacking in depth

Seriously? You are utterly retarded. Witcher 3 has some of the best attention to detail of any game ever made. It is not a combatfag crpg, it is a narrative-focused crpg, and it is the best ever made in that regard. You are completely and utterly retarded and bashing on one of the greatest games ever made just for codex brownie points. And it is pointless, as let's be honest RPGCodex's "critical consesus" for CRPGs is a joke and has been a joke for a long time and the whole internet knows it at this point, so i don't get what is the point of blatantly lying to bash one of the greatest crpgs just to fit in with the edgelords here.

Quillon · Feb 17, 2022

Witcher 3 GD Konrad T./my fav ex-CDPR dev formed a new studio to make a next gen dark fantasy cRPG in UE5.

He's saying "cRPG" to satisfy codexers imo

Another talent they fired who in turn snatches more peeps away.

https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/former-cd-projekt-red-developers-announce-new-studio-rebel-wolves.

FORMER CD PROJEKT RED DEVELOPERS ANNOUNCE NEW STUDIO REBEL WOLVES, WORKING ON DARK FANTASY RPG
a day ago | By Neil Bolt

A former CD Projekt Red Game Director has formed a brand new studio with the aim to create a truly next-gen RPG.

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who was Game Director on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Head of Production on Cyberpunk 2077, has formed a new pack of developers for startup studio Rebel Wolves. The studio will be based in Warsaw, Poland, but allow for remote workers as well.

Konrad wishes to create a Dark Fantasy cRPG in Unreal Engine 5, and makes it clear he'll be doing things differently at Rebel Wolves compared to his previous company. He'll look for a fresher approach to making games, and ensure a considerate treatment of his staff as they create this new project.

In an official statement, Rebel Wolves CEO Tomaszkiewicz excitedly details the vision for the studio.

''For all of us here at Rebel Wolves, video games were always something we felt destined to do—something ingrained in our DNA. Personally, I couldn't be happier to have banded together with friends who share this passion. We’re developing a video game we'd like to play in a way that games should be made. We want to evolve the cRPG genre by creating unforgeable stories and stirring deep emotions, all while working as a tightly knit team united by a shared goal and ambition.

Collectively, we envision Rebel Wolves as a place where experienced game developers can reignite their passion, where they can focus on their craft and pour their love into an amazing, ambitious title. We want to stay small and agile—a place where people know and care for each other''

Narrative Director Jakub Szamałek echoes Tomaszkiewicz's sentiment;

“In order to create truly great games, we won't chase trends or numbers. Our goal is clearly defined: to create memorable games, tell moving stories, and evoke visceral emotions. It's ambitious, true - and I'm glad it is. Art needs ambition. I don't want to create another game. I want to work on titles people will remember.”

With such a high pedigree in the camp, and a positive worker-focused outlook, it will be exciting to see what this studio produces.

Atlantico · Feb 17, 2022

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who was Game Director on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Head of Production on Cyberpunk 2077,

Game Director on two of the most bland consolified mainstream "rpgs" in recent memory, is striking out to make an edgy "dark fantasy RPG".

:keepmymoney: