Rumours and Speculations

[Snowflakez]

Is in debt and doens't have enough money to keep working for CDPR, but has enough money to start his own company. Hmmm.







Leaving a company a few months before it launches its most successfull product which consequently made it one of the biggest polish companies is a smart move.

I'm pretty sure he left quite a while after TW3 launched. He worked on one of the expansions and then worked on Cyberpunk 2077 - apparently, he was the design lead for one of the most important game features, though he couldn't share details.

 

[metalmaniac21]

I'm pretty sure he left quite a while after TW3 launched. He worked on one of the expansions and then worked on Cyberpunk 2077 - apparently, he was the design lead for one of the most important game features, though he couldn't share details.

Something related to AI or scripting? Given the fact that he worked on it in Twitcher 3.

 

[Meccanical]

Something related to AI or scripting? Given the fact that he worked on it in Twitcher 3.

Yeah, he did say he worked on the AI design.

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

I'm pretty sure he left quite a while after TW3 launched. He worked on one of the expansions and then worked on Cyberpunk 2077 - apparently, he was the design lead for one of the most important game features, though he couldn't share details.

Yep. But I guess my point of him "making a mistake by leaving" also stands:

"Only 6 months after I left, more or less everybody got a salary bump. I don’t know the actual numbers, but I think I would now be earning the 3000 euros that I asked for.

The management also greatly improved, and I heard most of the problems I went through have been fixed or mitigated."

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

.

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

Article on Gamasutra from an ex CDPR dev:
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Ryan...aign=gamasutra

YOOOOOOONG YEA HERE WITH BREAKING NEWS ABOUT CYBERPUNK 2077. ACCORDING TO AN EX MEMBER WHO HAS BEEN WORKING FOR OVER A DECADE AT CDPR, HE WAS CONSTANTLY WHIPPED BY MEMBERS OF THE TEAM AND WORKED FOR FREE. HE ALSO REVEALS THE GAME MAY OR MAY NOT BE A NINTENDO SWITCH EXCLUSIVE. THANKS FOR WATCHING AND SUPPORT ME ON PATREON. YONG OUT.

 

[Snowflakez]

Yep. But I guess my point of him "making a mistake by leaving" also stands:

"Only 6 months after I left, more or less everybody got a salary bump. I don’t know the actual numbers, but I think I would now be earning the 3000 euros that I asked for.

The management also greatly improved, and I heard most of the problems I went through have been fixed or mitigated."

Yeah, entrepreneurship is something I always thought I'd get into, but I just prefer a job that allows for stability and freedom. I'm not cut out for that stuff. Going off and doing your own thing is always a huge risk, but it seems like he's really passionate about it and he thought it through, so more power to him.

I am really curious what features he worked on, though... Sounds like he was pretty good at his job. I wonder if, when the game releases, I can pry some details out of him. Probably not.

If it is something AI related, I wonder how significant an improvement it was over TW3, because TW3's AI was not that great. It wasn't terrible, but enemies just did weird things. Mods helped, but if something is fundamentally flawed, it probably requires some engine work to fix.

 

[Suhiira]

HE ALSO REVEALS THE GAME MAY OR MAY NOT BE A NINTENDO SWITCH EXCLUSIVE.

Where the hell did he get the idea this was even remotely possible?
CDPR (and anyone else that care to look) can easily count their PC sales and see going the "console exclusive" route (ANY console) would be ludicrous in the extreme.

 

[Shavod]

If it is something AI related, I wonder how significant an improvement it was over TW3, because TW3's AI was not that great. It wasn't terrible, but enemies just did weird things. Mods helped, but if something is fundamentally flawed, it probably requires some engine work to fix.

TW3 AI on it's own was pretty good, but the problem was it wasn't perfectly suited for open world design they went with, which resulted in some odd behaviours, such as enemies not being able to leave their aggro zones or them sometimes taking a very long route in order to attack Geralt from the side in a tight spaces, which made it look like they were leaving in the middle of the combat. I hope they will try to remedy those issues in CP2077.

Where the hell did he get the idea this was even remotely possible? CDPR (and anyone else that care to look) can easily count their PC sales and see going the "console exclusive" route (ANY console) would be ludicrous in the extreme.

It was just a parody by Lisbeth, Yong didn't make the video about it yet and I doubt he will, unless the link to the Ryan article gets posted on Cyberpunk 2077 reddit.

 

[Suhiira]

It was just a parody by Lisbeth, Yong didn't make the video about it yet and I doubt he will, unless the link to the Ryan article gets posted on Cyberpunk 2077 reddit.

Missed that ... sometimes (most times?) I tend to take things to literally.
Good for engineering or science ... REALLY bad for most anything else.

 

[sv3672]

If it is something AI related, I wonder how significant an improvement it was over TW3, because TW3's AI was not that great. It wasn't terrible, but enemies just did weird things. Mods helped, but if something is fundamentally flawed, it probably requires some engine work to fix.

Changes to the AI will probably be needed due to more emphasis on ranged combat, and stealth (if supported by the game). I think the AI in TW3 was also helped quite a bit by restricting the player's capabilities while in combat: you cannot jump, climb ladders, open doors, or often even run away (since you are either locked into an arena with no return, or if you run, the game takes the control away and makes Geralt slow down and turn around to face the enemies on his own). So, encounters usually play out the way the designers intended. I can imagine this kind of design could be explained with the fixed protagonist (like "Geralt would never run away from combat"), but in a game that presumably gives more player freedom and character customization, it would seem overly restrictive.

On the other hand, more player freedom makes it much easier to make the AI look "stupid" with exploits and cheese tactics. So, the AI needs to take into many possible situations, use cover, flee if it has no ranged weapons and the player is in an unreachable location, use throwable weapons like grenades when advantageous, work as a team with other NPCs (more so if stealth is supported, inform others about things like finding a dead body, etc.), and so on.

TW3 AI on it's own was pretty good, but the problem was it wasn't perfectly suited for open world design they went with, which resulted in some odd behaviours, such as enemies not being able to leave their aggro zones or them sometimes taking a very long route in order to attack Geralt from the side in a tight spaces, which made it look like they were leaving in the middle of the combat. I hope they will try to remedy those issues in CP2077.

I think that is actually what intelligence of the AI is really about, the ability to react to situations (or even learn from them, although that might be beyond what one would normally expect in a game), rather than just playing "static" scripted patterns.

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

Ex CDPR member: "The first design didn’t work well with writing an impactful story"

A former member tells that they had to "rewrite the design almost entirely and come up with a better version that satisfy everyone, including the Writers." because members of the team including the lead writer "openly expresses his issues with the concept, echoing the opinion of his team." According to him "The first design didn’t work well with writing an impactful story".

Guess what's the one thing that's most impactful in a story? The character itself, So perhaps we might say goodbye to character creation and accept a predefined one. I can't wait to play as the character CDPR choses me to play as instead of creating my own! I hope we can at least have the option to play as a female or male character, and also change the main character hairstyle but not the color because that would go against writing an impactful story. (I'm being ironic)

You can check the full story here: https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2018/0...l-story/52874/

 

[sv3672]

Guess what's the one thing that's most impactful in a story? The character itself, So perhaps we might say goodbye to character creation and accept a predefined one. I can't wait to play as the character CDPR choses me to play as instead of creating my own! I hope we can at least have the option to play as a female or male character, and also change the main character hairstyle but not the color because that would go against writing an impactful story. (I'm being ironic)

Not sure if that is really the case, we will see, but it would actually make some sense. Especially with the rumors about pre-production being binned in 2016, even if that was an exaggeration (which seems likely), it suggests something important and/or fundamental was changed about the story. And 2016 is also the time CDPR could realize how their approach with The Witcher 3 has been much more successful than Bethesda's with Fallout 4, and they might have reconsidered their earlier stance on a custom protagonist.

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

And 2016 is also the time CDPR could realize how their approach with The Witcher 3 has been much more successful than Bethesda's with Fallout 4

Fallout 4: 13.89 million sales (12m were on launch)
Witcher 3: Almost 10 million sales

Spoiler

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhTLvNEYbQ&t=1486s
https://www.statista.com/statistics/504477/global-all-time-unit-sales-fallout-games/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-surpasses-skyrim-to-become-bethesdas-mos/1100-6447621/

 

[sv3672]

Fallout 4: 13.89 million sales (12m were on launch)
Witcher 3: Almost 10 million sales

The Witcher 3 sold not "almost" 10 million copies, it actually reached that amount long ago. There are now over 5 million sold on PC alone, and if we combine GOG and Steam, TW3 already outsold FO4 on PC[SUP]*[/SUP]. I predict it will soon overtake Bethesda's game even on Steam only, since it consistently sells better nowadays. But I referred not only to sales, but rather a combination of sales and reception, since the latter is also important when predicting future sales. In fact, FO4 sold well mainly around launch, while TW3 seems to have had better longevity. So, I think the former benefited largely from the more established brand and developer, especially on consoles.

[SUP]*[/SUP]: Fallout 4 is at 5.2 million on Steam (where it is exclusive on PC) right now, while Witcher 3 is at 4.8 million. However, the latter also had a 690000/610000 split between GOG and Steam 6 weeks after launch, it is not known how many GOG copies have been sold since, but even if we assumed 0 (extremely unlikely), it would be 5.5 million total. I recall TW3 may also be available on Origin and/or Uplay, but I would guess the sales on those have been minor.

Edit: you do have a point though that in 2016 the numbers were more in FO4's favor, but I still think CDPR could predict from the much better reception of their own game that the "Witcher" way will work better in the future. Which may also be why other major developers seem to be copying it now, but not Bethesda's approach (maybe they will even move away from it themselves in the rumored new IP).

 

[Lisbeth_Salander]

The Witcher 3 sold not "almost" 10 million copies, it actually reached that amount long ago. There are now over 5 million sold on PC alone, and if we combine GOG and Steam, TW3 already outsold FO4 on PC*.

You didn't post sources and if it's true that doens't confirms Witcher 3 didn't sold "almost 10 million" copies as it was confirmed by CDPR CEO in my source. Oh, and GOG counts each expasion of Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone as a single Witcher 3 "copy" each.

But I agree with you, long term stability is what makes a game successful:

 

[cara2100]

I prefer a pre-defined and charismatic character like Geralt ......... hopefully they have done it, sorry who wants the opposite

 

[sv3672]

You didn't post sources and if it's true that doens't confirms Witcher 3 didn't sold "almost 10 million" copies as it was confirmed by CDPR CEO in my source. Oh, and GOG counts each expasion of Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone as a single Witcher 3 "copy" each.

For what they are worth, all Steam figures can be found on steamspy.com. It is not an "official" site, but so far whenever developers disclosed their own numbers, they were within a few % of SteamSpy's estimates, so they should be reliable enough for a major title where there is large number of owners to sample. The GOG number of 690,000 copies is very old news, you can find it for example here, it is from a few weeks after launch when the expansions were not released yet. Realistically, in all likelihood it should be much higher by now, I used 690,000 simply because I did not find anything more recent, and for the comparison it was already high enough anyway. While I have no idea about the current number on consoles, the "almost 10 million" news is from around Q2 of 2016, since when there have been more than 3 million sales on Steam alone (source: archived steamspy.com).

But I agree with you, long term stability is what makes a game successful:

Not sure if that is sarcastic, but the number of owners and number of concurrently active players are not the same. Statistically, a game that is on average played for more time by one owner will have relatively more concurrent players. Anyway, from what I see there, FO4 is currently at a tenth of the all time peak, while TW3 is at a third of it (it even shows a trend of slow growth since late 2015, which correlates with an increase in per-year sales). This agrees with what I noted about FO4 being helped by the initial hype and pre-orders (while TW3 was held back at first by being a relatively unknown franchise), hence the huge peak in the first months.

In any case, I do not want to derail the topic with a Fallout vs. Witcher sales "war", my point was simply that the success of TW3 could have influenced the decision if a switch was made to a more pre-defined protagonist. But we do not even know yet if that actually happened.

 

[kofeiiniturpa]

I prefer a pre-defined and charismatic character like Geralt ......... hopefully they have done it, sorry who wants the opposite

If they did that, and they might well have already (even if they allowed the player to generate the looks and some minor statistics of the character), it puts me on the fence of even wanting to play the game. As it is, I'm not at all interested in playing another Geralt/Jensen/Shepard.

 

[Meccanical]

I prefer a pre-defined and charismatic character like Geralt ......... hopefully they have done it, sorry who wants the opposite

Fallout 2 had preset characters you could choose in addition to the option of creating your own. Most recently Divinity Original Sin 2 did this as well.

This is the best option for everyone, and with the inclusion of Lifepath(hopefully), you should be able to make characters that don't feel like empty husks with no history.