Preview Witcher 3 Previews at GameBanshee

[OSK]

Holy shit! Where's the original photo from?

A camera.

 

[Stabwound]

Well, I have my concerns about this game getting consolized out the ass, but if their intentions are to make a Skyrim without the fuckery that makes Skyrim shallow and boring then that's only a good sign. I'm still very skeptical even though I enjoyed the previous 2 games to various degrees, because they both had their own awful aspects. W3 sounds to be an entirely different style of game than the last two, so we'll see.

 

[Infinitron]

Well, I have my concerns about this game getting consolized out the ass, but if their intentions are to make a Skyrim without the fuckery that makes Skyrim shallow and boring then that's only a good sign. I'm still very skeptical even though I enjoyed the previous 2 games to various degrees, because they both had their own awful aspects. W3 sounds to be an entirely different style of game than the last two, so we'll see.

Really? To me looks like it's going to be "Witcher 2 with really big maps".

 

[Grotesque]

Holy shit! Where's the original photo from?

His name is Wolfgang Güllich and he died driving his car on Autobahn.

Geralt will have the same fate in this 3rd installment, dieing while trying for the first time strawberries.

 

[made]

Witcher 2 with really big maps

 

[crawlkill]

There will be immediate as well as long-term consequences to just about every decision a player makes — even if you’re just popping off the trail to do a seemingly quick good deed. It’s worth pointing out that these choices appear somewhat limited. In this particular case, it was: attack the bandits or let them do their thing. There was no option to lend a hand and kick down the guy’s door, potentially earning the bandit’s favor and a future ally.

Geralt may not be a straight good guy, but wouldn't help such bandits in any case, so limited choice here makes sense.

Yeah, that does kind of make it sound like the interviewer hasn't played the previous games. Geralt ain't a schizophrenic Skyrim PC, joining up with assassin factions and the city guard to get all his achieves. I feel like the worst things I remember him doing were generally standing aside and letting bad shit happen to people who pretty much deserved it.

Psychic consequences is a little annoying, but I guess I prefer the game knowing what I've done and reacting to it even though there was no real reporting available to the game just ignoring what I do. That kind of thing is more relevant in Skyrim, though, where you're out there criming and ought to be able to murder all witnesses. Geralt shouldn't really be slaughtering peasants for their fourteen orens or whatever.

I'm pretty jazzed, really. Seems like cool shit. You know the tiny RPG thing I'd like to see removed is -taking away random look in fucking drawers and shit.- Seriously. Not only does it make me OCDly check every drawer in the game, but it's also kind of...de-immersifying that we can just ransack people's houses for their silver rings to pawn. Drawers filled with cash are for Garret, not Geralt. I saw some comment on Bioshock Infinite suggesting that having loot stashed all over actually detracted from the game, because it created this obsessive focus on finding openable containers instead of taking in the (...repetitive) views.

 

[MasPingon]

"Witcher 2 with really big maps".

 

[Infinitron]

I'm pretty jazzed, really. Seems like cool shit. You know the tiny RPG thing I'd like to see removed is -taking away random look in fucking drawers and shit.- Seriously. Not only does it make me OCDly check every drawer in the game, but it's also kind of...de-immersifying that we can just ransack people's houses for their silver rings to pawn. Drawers filled with cash are for Garret, not Geralt. I saw some comment on Bioshock Infinite suggesting that having loot stashed all over actually detracted from the game, because it created this obsessive focus on finding openable containers instead of taking in the (...repetitive) views.

This. Obsessive looting works well in games with a point and click UI (eg, Witcher 1) and a bit less well in first person games (Bethesda games, Bioshock) but it's a fucking disaster in third person over-the-shoulder games. I don't need to control Geralt as he runs around a room digging through log piles!

 

[crawlkill]

This. Obsessive looting works well in games with a point and click UI (eg, Witcher 1) and a bit less well in first person games (Bethesda games, Bioshock) but it's a fucking disaster in third person over-the-shoulder games. I don't need to control Geralt as he runs around a room digging through log piles!

I was thinking it works kind of well in terribad Bethesda games but then I realized that's just because of how hilariously awful the AI is that you can get away with it so often. My favorite's how sleeping NPCs in New Vegas actually have perfect line of sight in all directions. And of course the fucking basket on the fucking head. Yeah. Doesn't do anything for me, I don't like bein a klepto conceptually or tiny micro-gameplay it allows. But this is some ancient, entrenched shit. Just went back and played BG2 and my god there are so many crates with twelve gold in them.

 

[tuluse]

The smaller FOV is retarded, TW2 was terrible and I can't imagine how bad it will be in TW3. Hopefully they will fix it.

Is the low FOV due to console limitations?

It's due to the limitations of their users. There is no technical reason for lowering the FOV.

 

[abnaxus]

CD Projekt really is on a roll with these series.

 

[Kalin]

The Witcher 3 doesn't do quest markers

As he travelled the woods, activating the sense gave him clues--highlighted in red--as to the beast's strength, habits and traits

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Well, I have my concerns about this game getting consolized out the ass, but if their intentions are to make a Skyrim without the fuckery that makes Skyrim shallow and boring then that's only a good sign. I'm still very skeptical even though I enjoyed the previous 2 games to various degrees, because they both had their own awful aspects. W3 sounds to be an entirely different style of game than the last two, so we'll see.

Really? To me looks like it's going to be "Witcher 2 with really big maps".

Which -at least on paper- I'm mostly fine with, to be honest; especially once you start to add all these other improvements they are talking about.

 

[Gerrard]

The Witcher 3 doesn't do quest markers

As he travelled the woods, activating the sense gave him clues--highlighted in red--as to the beast's strength, habits and traits

 

[Sodafish]

I enjoyed both Witchers. This one looks like one to watch too, although I'm wondering how well it will run on my ageing machine.

 

[Carrion]

There is no technical reason for lowering the FOV.

I don't think the consoles could handle a 90-degree FOV, or whatever it was in TW1. They probably had to make every possible adjustment to make the game playable on that ancient tech. Of course, on the PC a narrow FOV shouldn't be a problem in the first place. Can't say it even bothered me personally, though.

I'm pretty jazzed, really. Seems like cool shit. You know the tiny RPG thing I'd like to see removed is -taking away random look in fucking drawers and shit.- Seriously. Not only does it make me OCDly check every drawer in the game, but it's also kind of...de-immersifying that we can just ransack people's houses for their silver rings to pawn. Drawers filled with cash are for Garret, not Geralt. I saw some comment on Bioshock Infinite suggesting that having loot stashed all over actually detracted from the game, because it created this obsessive focus on finding openable containers instead of taking in the (...repetitive) views.

This. Obsessive looting works well in games with a point and click UI (eg, Witcher 1) and a bit less well in first person games (Bethesda games, Bioshock) but it's a fucking disaster in third person over-the-shoulder games. I don't need to control Geralt as he runs around a room digging through log piles!

Didn't they say that NPCs will react to it this time? So if you go digging through their stuff, they'll get angry and might even attack you. It probably won't stop obsessive people from being obsessive but it might prevent some of them from searching every single house in hopes of a couple of orens and a pair of leather straps.

That's the way it should go, in my opinion. Removing gameworld interactivity is in general a bad idea and one of the reasons why, for example, the post-BG2 BioWare games feel so goddamn empty and sterile.

 

[Infinitron]

Didn't they say that NPCs will react to it this time? So if you go digging through their stuff, they'll get angry and might even attack you. It probably won't stop obsessive people from being obsessive but it might prevent some of them from searching every single house in hopes of a couple of orens and a pair of leather straps.

That's the way it should go, in my opinion. Removing gameworld interactivity is in general a bad idea.

That's not the issue. The issue is that in a low FOV third person over-the-shoulder perspective game, controlling and orienting your character as he runs around a cramped room clicking on endless chests, log piles, herbs and corpses of fallen enemies is really not fun. It was a pain in Mass Effect and it's an even bigger pain in Witcher 2 because there are so much more items in the world. (What's cool about Mass Effect and also Jade Empire is that enemy corpses are auto-looted, so at least you don't have to deal with that)

I think part of the problem is that your character on screen is actually blocking your view of the area as you're try to explore it. That's why looting is less painful in first person games.

 

[Kem0sabe]

They should add a FOV slider on the PC, i couldn't care less about the console version, but i trust them on this, they have done nothing but good on their PC versions before.

 

[Carrion]

That's not the issue. The issue is that in a low FOV third person over-the-shoulder perspective game, controlling and orienting your character as he runs around a cramped room clicking on endless chests, log piles, herbs and corpses of fallen enemies is really not fun. It was a pain in Mass Effect and it's an even bigger pain in Witcher 2 because there are so much more items in the world. (What's cool about Mass Effect and also Jade Empire is that enemy corpses are auto-looted, so at least you don't have to deal with that).

I don't get this. TW2 even highlights unlooted containers for you, so even if you don't see where you're going (you do, by the way) you can still collect every piece of loot in a room without problems. It can kind of feel like work at times, but then again, looting in most games does. By the way, would there still be a problem if they increased the FOV?

Mass Effect's magical autoloot sucks and just fills your inventory with worthless junk. Arguably TW2 also has too much inventory space, which encourages you to pick up every single thing in the game world. I'd prefer to be able to loot everything while not being able to carry a lot at a time, like in TW1. I wonder if anyone was obsessive enough to sell the enemies' weapons one by one, travelling back and forth between the site of the battle and the nearest merchant to earn a couple of extra orens...

 

[MasPingon]

Before you start talking nonsense about FOV, watch this:

fov in games

Console gamers do not need FOV bigger then 60, FOV 90 is A MUST HAVE for PC gamers. If they leave fov60 in PC version I won't take the game out of an inventory.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't get this as I never found it that clunky myself. TW2 even highlights unlooted containers for you, so even if you don't see where you're going (you do, by the way) you can still collect every piece of loot in a room without problems. It can kind of feel like work at times, but then again, looting in most games does. By the way, would there still be a problem if they increased the FOV?

Yes, it feels like work, but to me it feels like less like work when less things are bothering me. A top down/isometric game with a point and click interface, for instance, is designed for finding and selecting lootable hot spots on screen. You just click em and your character goes there. You don't need to control his every step. You don't need to rotate the camera and look for stuff.

(The latter is also a problem in first person games, but IMO less so since there isn't a big character on screen obscuring your view. Movement is also easier and faster in most first person games since they don't simulate natural human body movement to the same degree as third person games. It also feels like you're the one doing the exploring and looting rather than a cumbersome puppet that you're controlling, so it's more intuitive at a psychological level.)

Mass Effect's magical autoloot sucks and just fills your inventory with worthless junk.

There is indeed too much worthless junk, but that's a separate problem. The autolooting mechanic itself can work (and does work in relatively loot-free Jade Empire)

Arguably TW2 also has too much inventory space, which encourages you to pick up every single thing in the game world. I'd prefer to be able to loot everything while not being able to carry a lot at a time, like in TW1.

Agreed, hopefully TW3's grid inventory takes care of this.

 

[Carrion]

There is indeed too much worthless junk, but that's a separate problem. The autolooting mechanic itself can work (and does work in relatively loot-free Jade Empire)

In a game with little loot you don't really need an autoloot system, do you? In a game with a lot of loot, it's hard to avoid your inventory getting cluttered with all kinds of junk. A filter mechanism can be helpful ("pick up all gems and weapons, don't pick up cleaning rags") but I still usually prefer to search stuff manually, just to see what each enemy dropped. I have a bunch of other issues with autoloot as well (like the idea that looting is just a mechanical process without any thought involved), but let's not go there.

 

[Infinitron]

In a game with little loot you don't really need an autoloot system, do you?

You do need it if there are lots of enemy corpses to loot for coins and other repetitious loot. Just because there aren't many different types of items, doesn't mean there isn't lots of tedious picking up to do.

 

[MicoSelva]

I'm not sure how it is in the game-making aspect itself, but CDP's Hype The Game skill has improved a lot in recent years.

 

[Sodafish]

Honestly I never got the fuss people make with FOV in games. I can't remember a game where the default value bothered me, let alone made it unplayable.