The Witcher 3 Pre-Expansion Thread

[Zeriel]

I'm not actually criticizing W3's sidequests, that was more of a generalized criticism of open world games. Witcher 3 is the best possible version of the open world formula we've seen. It's just really obvious to me comparing the best areas from Witcher 2 to the best from 3, Witcher 2 just seems to have a lot more "wow" factor going on, and that's the only merit you really expect from AAA games, the open world formula seems to cannibalize what I enjoy about the big budget games.

I guess I side with Erik Kain's article on Witcher 3. It's a good game and does the open world formula better than most such games, but the things the format demands be sacrificed on the altar of production isn't worth it in my book. Just compare Flotsam's forest to any forest in 3, and you see what is lost in order to be able to run 1,000 meters in any direction.

I wish the AAA market was less me-too, I guess, nothing wrong with there being one developer doing the niche, but it seems like every big singleplayer developer is trending towards the exact same game. Maybe that's the future of big games, no genre distinctions, just The Game: Insert Year.

 

[bminorkey]

So I've been playing this game nonstop due to the promise of it being a "100+ hour" game that's "3.5 times bigger than Skyrim". I'm close to the last part of the game. I've done almost all sidequests (I skipped some quests I outleveled by 20 levels or so), collected a ton of Gwent cards, done some treasure hunting. I'm about 40 hours in. Unless I'm missing something, there seems to be a *severe* lack of endgame content - I've only found two contracts and one quest that were meant for characters level 30 and above, and they were all short and not particularly challenging.

From what I've seen Witcher 3 is at best a 60 hour game. If you are a super completionist and do all the treasure hunts, *maybe* you can find 100 hours in it, but 40 hours will be spent on bland and unrewarding (from a gameplay objective/challenge point of view) treasure hunts that have no point since you did everything else, or doing quests far far below your character's level.

Now even if I'm right about the overall length and didn't miss any content I'm not writing this to say "Witcher 3 is shite!" or "CD Projekt RED" are lying dicks; I think this game is one of the best RPGs to come out in a long time. There is almost no filler content, the game's is *gorgeous* and makes you want to explore it, some of the monster designs are really cool, and there's a lot of good ol C&C elements. Even the combat is not too awful once you get the hang of it. But from what I've seen it's hardly a 100 hour game, and the lack of endgame content is fairly disappointing given how quickly your character outlevels everything else just by doing sidequests.

Now I might very well be wrong - I haven't finished the main quest yet (though I am close, and though it's basically the only thing I haven't finished AFAIK), so take this post with a grain of salt. It just seems like there is a huge lack of endgame content and it's a big shame.

Also, if someone finds any more level 30+ quests I'd be thrilled to know about them.

 

[Zeriel]

So I've been playing this game nonstop due to the promise of it being a "100+ hour" game that's "3.5 times bigger than Skyrim". I'm close to the last part of the game. I've done almost all sidequests (I skipped some quests I outleveled by 20 levels or so), collected a ton of Gwent cards, done some treasure hunting. I'm about 40 hours in. Unless I'm missing something, there seems to be a *severe* lack of endgame content - I've only found two contracts and one quest that were meant for characters level 30 and above, and they were all short and not particularly challenging.

From what I've seen Witcher 3 is at best a 60 hour game. If you are a super completionist and do all the treasure hunts, *maybe* you can find 100 hours in it, but 40 hours will be spent on bland and unrewarding (from a gameplay objective/challenge point of view) treasure hunts that have no point since you did everything else, or doing quests far far below your character's level.

Now I'm not writing this to say "Witcher 3 is shite!" or "CD Projekt RED" are lying dicks; I think this game is one of the best RPGs to come out in a long time. There is almost no filler content, the game's is *gorgeous* and makes you want to explore it, some of the monster designs are really cool, and there's a lot of good ol C&C elements. Even the combat is not too awful once you get the hang of it. But from what I've seen it's hardly a 100 hour game, and the lack of endgame content is fairly disappointing given how quickly your character outlevels everything else just by doing sidequests.

Now I might be wrong - I haven't finished the main quest yet (though I am close, and though it's basically the only thing I haven't finished AFAIK), so take this post with a grain of salt. It just seems like there is a huge lack of endgame content and it's a big shame.

Also, if someone finds any more level 30+ quests I'd be thrilled to know about them.

They're dotted around, but I agree overall. Not as far as you into it, but I've been wasting a lot of time on pointless stuff and it still seems like it isn't going to touch the hours I put into DA:I. Of course, DA:I was a loathsome experience, so Witcher 3 easily wins in the enjoyable department.

 

[bminorkey]

I was going to mention DA:I as an example of an actual 100 hour game, thank you. Witcher 3 absolutely trumps DA:I in most respects, but I wish they didn't market it as this colossal open world RPG where really, map size aside, it has about as much actual content as Skyrim does.

 

[Zeriel]

I remember spending way more hours on a single playthrough of Skyrim, but it's pretty hard to compare the two, they feel like very different sorts of games.

 

[Havoc]

Why are you even comparing TW3 to a game that only gets good with mods and a game that disguises itself as an RPG MMO? Really?

 

[Suchy]

So, after playing a bit in config files, I finally got it looking pretty decent and quite close to those 2013 trailers. Increased LOD, objects/shadows draw distance and foliage quality.
You can push it even further, but then you'll need a monster GPU. With this config I'm getting about 30-35 fps outside, on an overclocked GTX 780 and i7 @ 4.5GHz. Disabled hair gimmick.
First screenshots, then details.

1. In game set graphics to ultra. Disable hairworks, unless you want a -10fps hit, and set sharpening to lowest (SweetFX will take care of this).
2. Unzip my SweetFX profile http://www.mediafire.com/download/vsrpjiq0w0hbdwi/sfx.zip to c:\GOG Games\The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt\bin\x64\ - it's based on KPutt's settings - I slightly toned down sharpening and modified colors a bit, to make it look more natural. SweetFX won't work with Fraps.
3. Edit c:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\The Witcher 3\user.settings - these are my values, set above ultra level:

Spoiler

SwarmHideDistance=250
GrassDensity=3100
CascadeShadowDistanceScale2=4
MaxTextureAnizotropy=16
CascadeShadowDistanceScale3=4
MeshLODDistanceScale=1.5
MeshRenderingDistanceScale=2
CascadeShadowDistanceScale1=2
GrassGenerationEfficiency=0.005
FoliageDistanceScale=10.8
MaxVisibilityDepth=48

4. Set user.setting file properties to read-only, so that it doesn't get overwritten to vanilla values once you start the game.

 

[bminorkey]

In my opinion, Skyrim increases its longevity by how its concept lends itself more to roleplaying or sandboxing, so you spend more time dicking around (messing with the NPC AI/just random exploration/finding all the easter eggs). In terms of actual content, i.e. #text/dynamic events/#non-filler quests and activities it sums up to be about the same as W3. Skyrim has more dense content and the map is much smaller, and obviously the production values are worse, but the amount of content is about the same.

Also, let's not forget that unlike Skyrim W3's available content is actually heavily impacted by player decisions, so judging it based on a single playthrough's length might not be fair.

 

[Gerrard]

I have 26 hours of playtime and am level 8. Unless you suddenly start getting 10 times the amount of XP from quests I don't see finishing it in 40.

 

[bminorkey]

I have 26 hours of playtime and am level 8. Unless you suddenly start getting 10 times the amount of XP from quests I don't see finishing it in 40.

I was level 8 about 20 hours in as well. Start doing the main quest exclusively and you'll be level 25 in about 8 hours. There's literally a part that gives you like 10 free levels (10000 xp I think), whereas sidequests rarely give more than 100 xp.

 

[NotAGolfer]

It's just really obvious to me comparing the best areas from Witcher 2 to the best from 3, Witcher 2 just seems to have a lot more "wow" factor going on, and that's the only merit you really expect from AAA game

Why?
It doesn't always have to be the indie devs who are creative and pushing back the boundaries of game development, and open world games were always more of a promise of something greater that they just couldn't quite get right than a working formula.
Skyrim for example is a nice larping sim and the modding tools lend themselves to add even more larping features (Frostfall being the prime example) but is it a good open world CRPG? Heck no, the game's characters are completely devoid of personality and a role playing game with crappy stories (fetch quests, go kill the big bad dragon, sloppily implemented guild questlines - just because they had to add them, NPCs boring you to death when you're forced to listen to their exchangeable drivel) is just that, crap.
And the list of open world games that were not quite the real thing goes on and on.
Maybe New Vegas kinda did it right, but you have to accept the silliness of the Legion and the subdued (non-grimdark but also generally not very involving) atmosphere to not disregard that one.
So in my book if TW3 can actually pull it off to be a good open world game and a good CRPG then this would be the first time.

 

[made]

Higher difficulty gives less XP, that might be why. I've turned it down a notch now, kept dying left and right. Main story def is easier then banging your head against higher lvl witcher quests.

The elf dungeon was pretty cool btw, complete with secret passages and hidden loot (sadly way too obvious thanks to witcher sense), optional boss, and even a puzzles. :O Didn't think CDP had it in them.

 

[bminorkey]

Also, here's a sort of gripe I have with W3. There's never really an opportunity to feel *accomplished*. Yes, peasants fear you, kings and sorcerers respect you, and people mention all your past heroisms yadda yadda yadda, but this ends up taking away from the experience because everything you do during the actual game is taken for granted. Nobody is going to mention how I slayed an Archgriffin or foied a coup or whatever because I'm Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf slash Butcher of Blaviken (sp?), and this is but another minor feat to tattoo on Roach's butt. And because Geralt is a prewritten character, there's not really any room for you to "enlargen his legacy" or something by becoming a guildmaster or buying a super expensive stronghold and populating it or whatever. Even when I won this super secret Gwent maestro competition nobody commented on my unusual achievement.

Now, I don't really have a problem with this inherently. A game where you're playing a legendary swordsman from the start is cool. But the way the game is designed you never really feel like a legend. The people who know you, bards or kings or just lowly peasants, all treat you like their bro-in-arms to dick around with. Supposedly they respect you but you never really feel that way from their dialogue. The people who haven't heard of you don't give a shit about you. Rarely, someone will actually both know you and respect you, but it's invariably a level -1 peasant, if you're lucky, and his/her admiration is played out as comedic relief. You (legendary dragonslaying kingmaking witcher about whom countless ballads are written) start the game as level 1, barely able to best a few bandits. You do random unimportant errands to get minor favors from peasants, outcasts and low ranking troops who aren't supposed to be able to scratch the soles of your boots. Throughout the entire game everyone spits you in the face and treats you like a task mule.

I don't know, the impression I have is that the Geralt this game claims you are playing as, and the lowly witcher you actually are playing as, are two completely different things.

Power fantasies are a very integral part of RPGs and I'm kind of surprised CDPR doesn't seem to appreciate this. A few dialogue lines by key NPCs after you've completed a mission and some comments thrown by folks around Novigrad would've sufficed. Even games with like, 5 total NPCs and 10 total dialogue lines ever like Dark Souls congratulate you on your accomplishments and newfound power (actually, DaS is quite good at this, since NPCs comment on you doing things out of order or the hard way with higher praise).

Higher difficulty gives less XP

I'm playing on either Broken Bones or Deathmarch most of the time so that's not really it (I briefly turn it down to easy when I'm doing filler content, not sure if that affects anything).

 

[Zeriel]

I'm playing on either Broken Bones or Deathmarch most of the time so that's not really it (I briefly turn it down to easy when I'm doing filler content, not sure if that affects anything).

It'll affect your cheesemints. VERY important.

Agree on everything else, too, by the way, just too lazy to put that much effort into detailing the various ways this game is a disappointment.

 

[Dookins]

Yeah, aside from all the technical issues, that's another problem the game has and is more deeply rooted. The game isn't really so much an RPG as it is a Geralt sim with all the issues that entails. Lore accuracy > everything else over at CDPR and while that's admirable, it leads to issues like this. Gotta wonder what Cyberpunk will turn out like

 

[Monkeysattva]

The game is a strange mix. Some good sidequests, and world building, mixed with really cringe worthy romance dialogue, completely shitty writting (Dandelion) and MMO style combat areas... I think it could have been really good if just sized down.

Also, the combat: it spans the spectrum from bad, to meh, with occasional moments of greatness. (being mostly boring and meh) I actually think that with better mob programming, and some active combat skills, it could be a real gem. But it would needed a LOT of work. A LOT.

Also, for basically being a sultry motherfucker simulator, it has really NO good sex scenes. And the amount of pussy you can bone is in the single digits.

 

[Perkel]

I'm not actually criticizing W3's sidequests, that was more of a generalized criticism of open world games. Witcher 3 is the best possible version of the open world formula we've seen. It's just really obvious to me comparing the best areas from Witcher 2 to the best from 3, Witcher 2 just seems to have a lot more "wow" factor going on, and that's the only merit you really expect from AAA games, the open world formula seems to cannibalize what I enjoy about the big budget games.

IMHO i always wanted game where geralt will be riding on roach from village to vilage solving problems.
TW3 does that.

Currently 55h in and i mostly fallow main quest. I didn't even explore ard skelie at all beside 2-3 main quests there. Velen and Novigrad have huge parts which i haven't seen yet.

My sidequest log has shit ton of quests and i stopped even to add new ones because i want to focus on my first playthrough on mc.

Honestly i don't have slightest idea how the fuck they were able to pack so much good content into this game. I mean 55h in and i fallow mostly mc and i am sure that i have like 5-10% sidequests done.
I guess 4 years developement time is hella time for content creation.

When i finish game i will write my own review but from what i see and if nothing happens later in the game (stupid story) this could be seriously one of the best RPGs i played in years.

 

[Metro]

More shitty videos for the fanboys in here:

 

[uaciaut]

and 3 is even worse in pretty much every regard.

I don't get how people can say that, at all. TW3 is an upgrade to 2 in p much any regard.
edit: Ah, i see, it's the wow factor ofc.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I've finally finished the Baron family questline and I can honestly say this is probably the best quest I've played through in a long, long time, in any game. It was a self-contained, well-written, very atmospheric story full of great characters (the Baron is indeed a bro) that felt entirely satisfying all the way through.

Spoiler

I transferred the Mother's soul into the mare, hoping this has cool consequences later on. The furies/crones were so awesome, from their design to their voices, to their dialogue, to the eerie theme music.

Very impressive stuff indeed. For all the little flaws the game has, this kind of stuff makes it completely worth it.

 

[cvv]

The crones were so awesome, from their design to their voices, to their dialogue, to the eerie theme music.

That doesn't have to be in a spoiler, it bears repeating. The guy who designed the crones must be some pretty sick fuck genius :D

 

[WhiteGuts]

Doing stuff slightly underleveled on Death March is a huge pain in the ass, actually. Enemies are deadlier, but the HP bloat is real. Combat are tense...initially. And then the tediousness settles in when you realize you're in for a long time, taking tiny chunks of HP at a time.

Spoiler

That dunegon with Keira and the boss fight at the end ? You're literally caught in a loop where he'll constantly regen because you can't beat the trash mobs he summons fast enough.

Now onto the Blood Baron. You niggas hyped me up, so it better delivers.

 

[Makabb]

So how long is it ? I just cleared the white orchard in a few hours and there are like 2 big zones only.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

The elf dungeon was pretty cool btw, complete with secret passages and hidden loot (sadly way too obvious thanks to witcher sense)...

Spoiler

Did you find the optional illusion passage in the laboratory, the one that was hidden behind a wall/door that you destroyed by Aard?

 

[made]

Spoiler

Did you find the optional illusion passage in the laboratory, the one that was hidden behind a wall/door that you destroyed by Aard?

Spoiler

Not sure if I found that particular one. I think I must have missed something because I got the unique gloves and pants but I suspect there must be a full set.