Yeah, I remember this bullshit. As I remember his "Ultra will be a slap on the face".
Yeah, I remember this bullshit. As I remember his "Ultra will be a slap on the face".
Well, it would be sufficient it they did it W2 style. W2 handled W1 import states pretty well. Regardless of your path in W1, you always got some winks here and there accordingly. W2 acknowledged your choices in W1. By default Adda is dead, yet if you imported save with Adda alive, you get different convo with Foltest about Radovid's ambitions in the Prologue and it impacts Act 3 convos with Radovid accordingly. By default Siegfried is dead, but if you imported save with Siegfried alive, you either get to meet him (W1 Order path) or the Order knights will let you pass without a challenge (Neutral path with Siegfried not killed). Et cetera. The only possible exception is probably awkward convo with Iorveth about your time with Yaevinn (in case you went W1 Scoia'taiel path) that seems not to fit. Obviously neutral W1 run was intended as a default state, with Triss romanced, but W2 took into account your choices quite well.
What I meant was that W3 deals with imported (or simulated) choices in a way like they really did not matter that much. This would only be possible if no arrangement made at Loc Muinne was actually implemented - e.g. united Temeria defeated by Nilfgaard in W3 makes no sense for those on Iorveth path at all, and for those on Roche path who went for Triss, going after Triss on either path probably did not happen given that W3 insists on massacre at Loc Muinne etc. etc.
As for the Free State of Upper Aedirn - regardless of W2 Iorveth or Roche path import save, the Ambassador notes that Aedirn fell without resistance, and this most probably includes Upper Aedirn as well. As Saskia frees herself from Phillipa's control regardless of our choices in W2 (if we let her live and did not lift the spell, she does it on her own), it makes little sense, unless she struck a deal with Nilfgaard for some Dol Blathanna kind of autonomy.
As for Temeria - it is no longer as powerful realm as it was during Foltest's rule. At the very best it was ruled by Interrex Natalis who was defeated by Nilfgaard. Any possible arrangement between Radovid and Henselt (if alive) was not implemented due to the invasion being under way. Radovid probably took advantage of Temeria taking the brunt of the invasion and dealt with Kaedwen. But what happened to little Anais?
I intended to do a Trilogy run, but with the things being the way they are, I will probably first do a speed-run of default-state W3 to see what kinds of W1 (yeah, Thaler lives, already know that) and W2 choices and consequences matter in W3.
So far it seems to me (yeah, I am repeating myself, but hey...)
- that the only choice of W1 that matters is Thaler has to be alive (if the Trilogy playthrough is to have a consistency)
- that as for W2 choices Triss is not saved by Geralt, but then it becomes blurry
If there is anyone who can confirm that in the default-state run Geralt gets shout-outs that he and Roche kill kings then this would probably be of heavier consequence then (also if anyone can confirm this happens in the default-state run) Geralt and Zoltan reminiscing about old times in Vergen (as this can be interpreted, albeit in a stretch, as their adventures there on Roche path as well).
no idea, i don't remember seeing anything else in there...i definitely would not have skipped any scenes. i loaded a save and did it again but didn't notice anything. maybe something was glitched? i will have to try again.
*sorry about the bump, haven't logged in for a while!
If Sheala is in the cell, you have to decide, whether you end her pain or whether Yennefer does it. There is no way around, you have to decide it.
If Sheala isn't in the cell, then she is already dead, because of what happened in Witcher 2.
Actually, the save import does recognize that choice, however, reacting to it is only partly implemented in the game:
Margarita Laux Antille default dialogue:
Geralt choice: Aretuza, the school - what happened to it?
Geralt: If you're here, what's become of Aretuza?
Margarita Laux Antille: The day I arrived in Novigrad, I received a message from Biruta Icarti. A short, curt note - "School overrun by Redanians. The libraries burn. Handful of pupils fled with Nina Vivero, the rest are dead. It is over."
(import_council_exists == false)
Margarita Laux Antille: Later I learned priests of the Eternal Fire stood amidst the academy's ruins, promising the rabble that such a punishment awaited all mages and traitors.
(import_council_exists == true)
Geralt: No reaction from the Council, the Conclave?
Margarita Laux Antille: Do you jest? They asked Radovid to "intervene." Just after he'd appointed them.
Geralt: If you're here, what's become of Aretuza?
Margarita Laux Antille: The day I arrived in Novigrad, I received a message from Biruta Icarti. A short, curt note - "School overrun by Redanians. The libraries burn. Handful of pupils fled with Nina Vivero, the rest are dead. It is over."
(import_council_exists == false)
Margarita Laux Antille: Later I learned priests of the Eternal Fire stood amidst the academy's ruins, promising the rabble that such a punishment awaited all mages and traitors.
(import_council_exists == true)
Geralt: No reaction from the Council, the Conclave?
Margarita Laux Antille: Do you jest? They asked Radovid to "intervene." Just after he'd appointed them.
Radovid in "A Favor for Radovid":
Geralt choice: Mages are more likely to succeed.
Geralt: Philippa's using magic? You'd be better off sending mages after her.
(import_council_exists == false)
Radovid: I cannot count on their aid. We parted ways after the events at Loc Muinne.
Geralt: Parted ways…? You gathered them in one place, then gave the order to murder them.
Radovid: You ignore the context. They'd assembled to revive the Conclave, the very same they had once dismantled.
Radovid: I was open to the prospect. The other rulers likewise… Until a certain witcher revealed that the Lodge was behind the regicides.
Radovid: The mages proved to be traitors, while the witcher proved himself skilled at tracking traitors down.
Radovid: Now go to the mountains and bring me Philippa Eilhart.
(import_council_exists == true)
Radovid: I agreed to the Conclave's revival - but what has this brought me? The mages at my side are mediocrities, cowards. They can't hold a candle to the likes of Eilhart, Laux-Antille or Merigold.
Geralt: There's always your witch hunters.
Radovid: You are the best witch hunter. You've proven it clearly.
Radovid: Síle de Tansarville's and Philippa Eilhart's plan - you were the one to foil it. I want you to finish what you started.
Radovid: Now go to the mountains and bring me Philippa Eilhart.
Geralt: Philippa's using magic? You'd be better off sending mages after her.
(import_council_exists == false)
Radovid: I cannot count on their aid. We parted ways after the events at Loc Muinne.
Geralt: Parted ways…? You gathered them in one place, then gave the order to murder them.
Radovid: You ignore the context. They'd assembled to revive the Conclave, the very same they had once dismantled.
Radovid: I was open to the prospect. The other rulers likewise… Until a certain witcher revealed that the Lodge was behind the regicides.
Radovid: The mages proved to be traitors, while the witcher proved himself skilled at tracking traitors down.
Radovid: Now go to the mountains and bring me Philippa Eilhart.
(import_council_exists == true)
Radovid: I agreed to the Conclave's revival - but what has this brought me? The mages at my side are mediocrities, cowards. They can't hold a candle to the likes of Eilhart, Laux-Antille or Merigold.
Geralt: There's always your witch hunters.
Radovid: You are the best witch hunter. You've proven it clearly.
Radovid: Síle de Tansarville's and Philippa Eilhart's plan - you were the one to foil it. I want you to finish what you started.
Radovid: Now go to the mountains and bring me Philippa Eilhart.
Alchemist near Novigrad:
Geralt choice: How'd you wind up here?
Geralt: How'd you end up here? Crematory wouldn't exactly be my first choice if I needed to hide…
Mage 01: I wound up here by accident…
(import_council_exists == false)
Mage 01: At first, after the slaughter at Loc Muinne, I hid in the woods near Ban Glean… But how long can one survive on roots?
Mage 01: Finally, I could stand it no more and boarded a raft bound for Novigrad. Once here, my coin soon ran out. I began to beg… and thus met the King of Beggar's men.
Mage 01: They gave me a choice. I could start working for him, or they would break my legs.
(import_council_exists == true)
Mage 01: After the Conclave's deliberations at Loc Muinne.
Geralt: What happened?
Mage 01: I moved to condemn Radovid… So Carduin called the guards. They beat me… thoroughly, with gusto.
Mage 01: Once they thought I'd expired, they sent me here… The furnace was blazing and open… I felt a wave of heat… and began to scream.
Geralt: How'd you end up here? Crematory wouldn't exactly be my first choice if I needed to hide…
Mage 01: I wound up here by accident…
(import_council_exists == false)
Mage 01: At first, after the slaughter at Loc Muinne, I hid in the woods near Ban Glean… But how long can one survive on roots?
Mage 01: Finally, I could stand it no more and boarded a raft bound for Novigrad. Once here, my coin soon ran out. I began to beg… and thus met the King of Beggar's men.
Mage 01: They gave me a choice. I could start working for him, or they would break my legs.
(import_council_exists == true)
Mage 01: After the Conclave's deliberations at Loc Muinne.
Geralt: What happened?
Mage 01: I moved to condemn Radovid… So Carduin called the guards. They beat me… thoroughly, with gusto.
Mage 01: Once they thought I'd expired, they sent me here… The furnace was blazing and open… I felt a wave of heat… and began to scream.
But it is ignored for example in this conversation in Pyres of Novigrad (it could have been fixed in patch 1.10 without too much effort):
Geralt: Free City of Novigrad - name actually used to mean something.
Triss: The very reason so many mages came here after the massacre at Loc Muinne.
Triss: Thought they'd be safe from Radovid's reapers. Instead they jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
Triss: But Novigrad stands atop a mountain of coin, and winning a war takes three things: Coin, coin and even more coin.
Triss: That's why they're exterminating mages, confiscating their property and possessions. And they'll go after nonhumans next.
Triss: The elves occupy slums, but the dwarves practically control financial life in the city.
Geralt: Official word is that Novigrad'll remain neutral. Somehow doubt anyone believes that anymore.
Triss: The very reason so many mages came here after the massacre at Loc Muinne.
Triss: Thought they'd be safe from Radovid's reapers. Instead they jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
Triss: But Novigrad stands atop a mountain of coin, and winning a war takes three things: Coin, coin and even more coin.
Triss: That's why they're exterminating mages, confiscating their property and possessions. And they'll go after nonhumans next.
Triss: The elves occupy slums, but the dwarves practically control financial life in the city.
Geralt: Official word is that Novigrad'll remain neutral. Somehow doubt anyone believes that anymore.
---------- Updated at 11:41 AM ----------
By the way, there is a list of all known consequences to TW2 choices in this thread. Generally, most of the major choices are recognized by the game and it reacts to them, even if only in a minimal way. One exception is giving Anais to Natalis or Radovid, which does not matter at all. And the majority of the others just result in minor dialogue changes. The one choice that matters in a meaningful way is killing or sparing Letho.
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Well, the same article also includes "Monnier makes it clear: no more Witcher games after this one", but on this picture from a leak from half a year earlier, one can see what looks like planned save imports from TW3 to TW4.
One thing that is quite likely is that it would again have a pretty bad save import feature.
That's the problem. Minimal rather than meaningful way. You can't even say that Letho living or dying is a meaningful consequence in the third game since he only appears for the Battle of Kaer Morhen and even if he decides to stay a while after the funeral, he has no further part to play in the story. Those of us who have been brand loyal and bought and played the previous games wanted our choices in those games to have a meaningful effect on the third game. CDPR let us down.
---------- Updated at 12:38 AM ----------
Well I guess that decision comes down to how popular their next IP is. If Cyberpunk turns out to be a complete failure in terms of sales, licence allowing, they might well look at this IP once more.
And even those minimal consequences are only partly implemented, like the example in this post shows. It really would not have required a lot of resources to at least make the choices recognized, fix a few obvious story breakers, and maybe give some simple explanations why the choices ultimately did not matter (like that journal note in TW2 about Shani - and even that was only added in the enhanced edition). It should not have cost more than those new dialogues in patch 1.10.
Maybe they want to alternate two IPs like Bethesda and Bioware, a medieval/fantasy one (The Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age) and a science fiction (Cyberpunk, Fallout, Mass Effect).
The thing is, their justification for it doesn't wash. They claim they wanted the game to be more accessible to newcomers but it actually has more references to the books than either of the previous two games as well as having a full in-game glossary giving insights in to different characters and explaining certain events.
Take Letho, for example. The game asks you what happened to Letho, giving you the choice to reply he's dead or alive but if you haven't played TW2 you'd have no clue who Letho was, never mind whether you would have killed him or not, which completely undermines their argument. So with that in mind, why not apply the same to the Iorveth/Roche paths? Why not to the rescuing Triss or freeing Saskia choice? The major decisions from the previous game could just as easily been implemented as Letho and Sile.
It does not tell who she would have married, but it would probably have been in the empress ending.
It is as if they expected more of the new players to have read the books than played the previous games. Perhaps because of the focus on consoles, but that is only a guess.
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Yeah, that makes sense, all 8 books are totally translated on English.
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I doubt it would have a save import feature at all. You wouldn't be able to make a game set in the Northern Kingdoms or in Nilfgaard with all the different ending states. They'd probably just canonize an ending. I'm fine with that, but if this really is it for the Witcherverse under CDPR, I'm fine with that too.
Try W2 bud. Where no matter what, Geralt ended up with Triss. You sound like you were expecting something like what Bioware does, which was never a good idea. I didn't even know there WAS a save import for Witcher when I started the series, and quite frankly I'd rather they just drop it. Even Bioware ends up mostly just forcing everything to converge into one canon.
Edit: There was a clear precedent from the start, and from what I remember CDPR didn't talk about imports leading up to W3 very much if they even did at all. So I'm rather surprised that you're surprised this happened.
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TW2 retconned the Triss-Shani choice, but not everything like TW3
I hadn't been surprised if only little of our choices mattered, I was surprised so many stuff were retconned
At least if you use the save import, the game gives a reasonable explanation why that happens:
Shani
Some of you have surely heard the rumors about the relationship that bloomed between the young medic Shani and Geralt. I hasten to inform you that they are all true. I consider Shani a friend both true and old. We go back to the days when I lectured in minstrelsy at Oxenfurt University, and I was the one to introduce her to the witcher. Upon Geralt's return to the living, they were reunited in Vizima, where the red-haired medic competed with Triss Merigold for Geralt's heart.
She emerged victorious from the rivalry. The flame of their romance blazed bright, but it burned out quickly. Though a very young woman, Shani proved more mature than the witcher, who had always found relationships puzzling and difficult. Geralt would dodge his obligations towards her, preferring instead to pursue the missions King Foltest assigned him. The medic quickly realized this flour would yield no bread. She had a serious conversation with the witcher, and they parted amicably.
Shani accepted an offer to teach at Oxenfurt and left for that city, whereas Geralt followed Foltest to the lands of the La Valettes. After splitting with Shani, the witcher needed comforting and quickly found solace in Triss Merigold's arms.
Some of you have surely heard the rumors about the relationship that bloomed between the young medic Shani and Geralt. I hasten to inform you that they are all true. I consider Shani a friend both true and old. We go back to the days when I lectured in minstrelsy at Oxenfurt University, and I was the one to introduce her to the witcher. Upon Geralt's return to the living, they were reunited in Vizima, where the red-haired medic competed with Triss Merigold for Geralt's heart.
She emerged victorious from the rivalry. The flame of their romance blazed bright, but it burned out quickly. Though a very young woman, Shani proved more mature than the witcher, who had always found relationships puzzling and difficult. Geralt would dodge his obligations towards her, preferring instead to pursue the missions King Foltest assigned him. The medic quickly realized this flour would yield no bread. She had a serious conversation with the witcher, and they parted amicably.
Shani accepted an offer to teach at Oxenfurt and left for that city, whereas Geralt followed Foltest to the lands of the La Valettes. After splitting with Shani, the witcher needed comforting and quickly found solace in Triss Merigold's arms.
It also does not make the break up with Shani Geralt's decision, so he does not act against the player's choice. However, even this journal note, which cost very little to write, was added only in the enhanced edition of W2, which shows how low priority continuity between the games is for CDPR.
A save import feature is only difficult to implement if you try to actually make it have a meaningful impact on the game, which it did not in W2 and W3. It is never a good thing if your choices are retconned in a sequel, as that makes them kind of pointless. Even more so when one can suspect the "canon" ending for a sequel was already decided before the release of a game that is advertised as the last one in a trilogy. But W4 could also be a relatively long time after W3, like 5-10 years, then it can reasonably be explained why the choices did not matter in the long term. Or its events could take place before W3 and/or it could feature a different cast of main characters.
how can we import the save game file to a game that will not exist? (no more witcher games)