Witcher 3 Gameplay from GDC and PAX

[jjensson]

Well, after viewing the latest PAX uncompressed trailer, i just preordered the game.

Negatives:
- i hate the "handholding", too casual for my taste, i love to search and explore and find objectives the hard way - the payoff is so much bigger
- some animations still need a bit of work (i don't know why but ATM i still like TW2 animations better - maybe it's just the low framerate of the videos...)
- i hate this trendy "chromatic abberation look" in the post processing, i will disable this for sure!

Positives:
+ graphics are great, can't see signs of downgrade, textures are good, ambient occlusion is working, cloud shadows are in!!
+ lighting is great, the translucency in the vegetation is wonderful, it even reacts to the wyvern's shadow!
+ environment is alive: wind, shaking vegetation, leaves flying around
+ not from this video, but from the previous with Damien & the Nvidia guy: Igni sign is affected by the wind - this blew my mind! The reactions of the sparks, the sound, wow, just wow...
+ the new inventory interface design: look look, very tasteful, very fitting
+ small symbols in the dialogues - pretty - what can i say, i'm a sucker for this small intricate stuff
+ grass interaction

Wishes:
* i'd like a bit more colorgrading for athmosphere

 

[Geralt_of_bsas]

I suspect Witcher Senses was one of those things that were cut, its complexity and gameplay depth I mean of course..

What I'd like to test when I'm in the game, is if many of the clues can be detected without the feature, sure I might have to look around a lot and pay special attention, but I have no problem with that. If not however, and I'm forced to follow the WS highlights, then there's nothing to do about it, its what it is.

 

[gregski]

Yes, it looks like it so far...
But it would be nice if Geralt could make a mistake while using senses...Misjudge clues, follow wrong trails...

Even if you're using Witcher senses you still need to pay attention to what Geralt is saying so you follow up on the right lead.

 

[Agent_Bleu]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching the footage.
My take:

1. Vastly improved animations

Geralt now moves naturally, with the ease, precision and intent one would expect from a witcher. His rolls are butter smooth. His swerves sharp yet convincing. Cloth behaves accordingly. Having watched some excerpts in slow motion, it’s a thing of beauty. Well done REDs!

I feel the Royal Wyvern could still use some iteration on its flapping and soaring motions. Behaves a bit like a paper plane, a bit weightless. But I do realize it must be a though challenge.

2. Inventory looks 1 000 000 000 times better

Yay, victory! I’m perfectly sure it’s just a coincidence, but the grumbling has been made to appear has having paid off. From what I can tell, REDs have addressed every single complaint I had about the previous iteration. Pretty much all aesthetic problems (save for halved swords) seem to have vanished and functionality-wise it appears spot on. Warm congrats to the inventory team!

3. Lighting is phenomenal

Here we have Vermeers at work, really. Masterful use of light and hue to set the mood. It’s a complete triumph. I could print oversized gicleés from the game and have them framed and hanged and no one would doubt the artistry.

And now the unpalatable,

4. Downgrade

It seems some folks are feeling uneasy. Not only don’t they want to discuss the topic, which they have every right not to discuss, they also seek to have the topic go undiscussed, which is a bit more questionable and far more telling. Until moderators explicitly forbid debate on the case for a hypothetical downgrade, I’ll be here alright, each and every time I deem fit, patiently discussing it, no uproar, just calmly pushing for a rational consideration of points, a rational consideration of both sides of the dispute. I am not impressed by epitaphs such as «downgrade crowd» nor am I bothered by how it makes me look to this or that high profile forum member. At all. These epitaphs don’t amount to a point. A GIF of a cat is not a point either. You don’t want to discuss the case for a downgrade? Well, that’s perfectly fine. Don’t. Discuss whichever you feel like discussing, here or elsewhere. But extend to others the very same basic courtesy and allow them to at least have their points heard.

With that out of the way, let’s tackle the topic.

I’ll say the latest footage looks very good. It is perfectly in line with GDC’s and mostly on par with the 35 min demo. Pop in seems to be less extensive, which is music to my ears. Still, notable problems:

- Grass. Much has been said. I’ll just reiterate two facts: José Teixeira said in an interview they had at the time recently revamped the foliage. Another dev stated that some of it is indeed procedurally generated. These might help explain the notable divergence with both VGX and SoD trailers. The fact grass in real life is not 2D has no bearing in the discussion.
- Texture. There are some funky low res textures at work. The case compounds when some funky geometry steps in, such as in the shot with mounted Geralt overlooking NML.
- Lighting in the dungeon seems quite problematic. Little in way of ambient occlusion. Very flat. Not that the 35 min demo was ideal in that regard, but it just goes to show that as far as I can tell, issues persist.

- The Takeaway? May seem like a paradox, but not being mutually exclusive, to me both statements still hold water: the game looks very good, and the case for a downgrade just congealed a few more molecules.




Finally, I feel compelled to direct a personal note to @Marcin Momot.

Marcin, I want to thank you. Thanks for the noble, honest and courageous way in which you have managed the forum. Thank you for letting people expresses their points of view without senseless recrimination. Thank you for the discerning language with which you’ve handled controversial topics. I realize we’ve had our share of disagreements in the past, but in retrospect I now fully realize just what a damn fine forum manager you are. You're a paradigm. Others have a lot to learn from you.

My sincerest, warmest thanks Marcin!

 

[Roccogrb]

What bothered me was that he does not actually drink the potion and the obvious witcher senses use during the quest (points directly at the objetive). While on the topic of witcher senses, it is possible (but improbable) that it could scale to the game's difficulty, as in higher difficulties require more work/more investigation while in lower difficulties it is more "casualised" (for the sake of a better term). The sword's damage also bothered me slightly, since "Rusty Velen sword" was able to one shot wolves but that could be made specifically for the demo.

 

[Ljesnjanin]

Or make false trails that the player can follow.

Yes...For example, in these Wyvern quest Geralt should go in completely different direction...And when he realizes his mistake, goes back and find those peasants butchered by wyvern...
Quest failed, no reward

 

[Sneky]

How can anyone say that the game is downgraded if we haven't seen maximum settings? Can someone expain it? It doesn't make any sense for me. There is some things that looks better even on high settings like Geralt hair, lighting, faces and overral characters models compared to VGX or other old footages. Some things looks worse like grass and some things they cut like sharpening filter.

 

[Phinnway]

Even if you're using Witcher senses you still need to pay attention to what Geralt is saying so you follow up on the right lead.

I agree and disagree at the same time.

On the one hand, there seems to be a delay when you're looking at a clue before it starts glowing. It takes a couple seconds of Geralt looking at it before it becomes vibrant on screen. So you do have to listen to what he says.

On the other hand, Geralt telling the clues directly instead of the player having to figure them out themselves is still a form of hand-holding.

 

[Adamastor]

loved the video my only complain is they are still showing videos with spoilers.

 

[misho8723]

They saw no downgrade on the wyvern that's why they didn't mention it

Well, atleast I commented on the wyvern, even put a screen from the video where I praised how it looks and that how much I missed them in W2

 

[gregski]

I agree and disagree at the same time.

On the one hand, there seems to be a delay when you're looking at a clue before it starts glowing. It takes a couple seconds of Geralt looking at it before it becomes vibrant on screen. So you do have to listen to what he says.

On the other hand, Geralt telling the clues directly instead of the player having to figure them out themselves is still a form of hand-holding.

True, but on the other hand, even with the Witcher senses you can have many things highlighted by them around you - actual quest lead, a monster, bandits, animals etc. So listening to Geralt really requires attention, it's not totally mindless. The hand-holding factor seems fairly diminished for me.

 

[KA1N3R]

1. Vastly improved animations

Geralt now moves naturally, with the ease, and intent one would expect from a witcher. His rolls are butter smooth. His swerves sharp yet convincing. Cloth behaves accordingly. Having watched some excerpts in slow motion, it’s a thing of beauty! Well done REDS.

I feel the royal Royal Wyvern could still use some iteration on its flapping and soaring motions. Behaves a bit like a paper plane, a bit weightless. But I do realize it must be a real challenge to animate such a creature.

God yes!
I absolutely adore some of the animations Geralt pulled of while dodging teh Royal wyvern.
Looks approx. 27.3 billion times better than the very jumpy doding animations from the 35min video.

 

[Garrison72]

God yes!
I absolutely adore some of the animations Geralt pulled of while dodging teh Royal wyvern.
Looks approx. 27.3 billion times better than the very jumpy doding animations from the 35min video.

Animations are top notch. When he walks, runs uphill or down hill, when he strafes side to side or backs up. Really impressive.

 

[Phinnway]

- Texture. There are some funky low res textures at work. The case compounds when some funky geometry steps in, such as in the shot with mounted Geralt overlooking NML.
- Lighting in the dungeon seems quite problematic. Little in way of ambient occlusion. Very flat. Not that the 35 min demo was ideal in that regard, but it just goes to show that as far as I can tell, issues persist.

About textures. I've noticed this too. In some places it is really bad. But I've always attributed it to the fact that they had to make sacrifices in some areas to make other areas look better. After all, when you're playing the game it's not the small details on a tree or wall that matters, it's the overall effect of all the graphics taken together.

About the lighting, I distinctly remember an interview with Damien where he said in-door lighting suffers in The Witcher 3 because they spent so much of the engine's powers on out-door lighting. He said in-door lighting in The Witcher 2 will probably look better than in The Witcher 3.

 

[Ljesnjanin]

Even if you're using Witcher senses you still need to pay attention to what Geralt is saying so you follow up on the right lead.

Yes...But I imagined it like investigations...
"With Flickering Heart" and "Anatomy of a Crime" comes to my mind...

 

[Euskalduna]

OK. In the game content, I don't worry , but If there are diferents gameplays , show me a real gameplay from the three plataforms.

Because, of that way , they dont give false ilusions. Show the real gameplay running on PS4/Xbox and miself( in my case), I will havent any desillusion.

All this is in my personal view, because I have many illusion for this game, Its the GAME for me.

Thank you

 

[scratcherpen]

Anyone got link for the Wikia:Witcher 3 stream record? I missed it today.

 

[EliHarel]

Bugger it, I took it to a PM.

 

[jjensson]

- Texture. There are some funky low res textures at work. The case compounds when some funky geometry steps in, such as in the shot with mounted Geralt overlooking NML.

I think it's just the DOF effect + fog + video compression.

- Lighting in the dungeon seems quite problematic. Little in way of ambient occlusion. Very flat. Not that the 35 min demo was ideal in that regard, but it just goes to show that as far as I can tell, issues persist.

I second this. Indoor lighting need to be on par with the outdoor lighting. But maybe it was just the witcher sight, were he can see in the dark. Or maybe it was the dynamic transition to the outdoor lighting that illuminated in a "fullbright" manner the cave for a second.

 

[Phinnway]

Yes...But I imagined it like investigations...
"With Flickering Heart" and "Anatomy of a Crime" comes to my mind...

I think that @Geralt_of_bsas was right when he said that the original Witcher Sense were one of the features that were cut from the game, and they had to settle for this watered down system instead. Ideally the system would be like you said, but we don't live in an ideal world. :coffee: