What that poll tells me is that it would be useful to have more information about the changes.
Which we do not get at the moment.
So either they are not sure what to do yet or they want to keep it and don't want to tell us. My guess is the former.
They said they are still "experimenting". However the fact that it is often brought up in interviews makes me really worried personally.
I will also "wait and see", but still, if that auto-refill is not restirced to 1 or 2 "simple potions" and if it is really how it SOUNDS, that all potions refill themselves and you "do not have to worry about not having enough ingredients" and this is not optional then I do just not like it. I might like the potion upgrade system and the way toxicity works, but that doesn't change the fact that I do not like the auto-refilling and it's far away from an ideal or acceptable solution for me, especially for a problem that I personally never saw as problem and I think has some other causes (that I mentioned earlier).
So no, I don't expect CDPR to make changes based on that poll.
But we could at least expect them to look over it again, or can't we?
I mean a lot of people said they have to know more first, which means they probably do not like the idea but they think they might be wrong and it will turn out okay or even better than the system of TW1 or TW2. But even those people are UNSURE about that, which means CDPR should at least consider looking over the system again and look what they can do to sooth the people who have serious concerns here (IMO).
This game has a scale and scope that dwarfs both the previous games combined -- there are over 100 hours of content here. Alchemy, as a whole, has been tactically expanded and should carry gameplay importance that never existed before. It has a huge open world that is 35 times larger than W2 that you can explore by land and sea; via horse or by boat. The little bits of combat we've seen look much improved over W2. And on top of it all, they are giving it to me 20% cheaper than everyone else. As a hardcore fan, I don't feel left out at all. I also don't think that just because I took 30 seconds to register a forum account that I am entitled to any influence over the game's design.
1. It still remains though - and CDPR said this themselves- that if the world in general has not enough content or atmosphere or immersion or systems and mechanic - the world will feel empty. And since alchemy and ingredients gathering is an important part of that for me personally I would like to see a compromise here, because for me auto-refilling makes the potions available all the time after I found the ingredients, with which I have several problems:
A. We will make potions of thin air, need not to collect ingredients, which means no monster loot, less herbs and less immersion
B. Potions are always there even if I do not NEED a potion or do not like to use a specific potion
C. To make the system interesting over the course of the whole game they have to make ingredients rare, which in turn means it will either be too fast and I have all potions after a short time in the game or it will take forever to even get a new type of potion, which means most of the time of the game I will have maybe 1 or 2 potions available and I have to "unlock" the "better" potions over time up to the point that I might get a potion only in the end game and do not have many chances to use them
D. If the effects of said potions are not what I personally prefer or find necessary I might end up not even using the potions that I unlock later on
E. I will always have a potion. That means if I fight of 3 enemies and then sit and meditate before I go on an move I will have all my potions refilled. Rinse and Repeat and I have potions in every possible situation. In this case potions become less a bonus, less a support system and more a necessity and routine, more a system that is just part of the game automatically. They can be used without problems almost anytime, they are always available and I do only need to meditate 2 seconds to have all of them refilled, which also actively eliminates any form of big preparation for an important fight. They become - basically - buffs like in MMOs.
F. I can not go around and collect ingredients, I can not Even BREW them. I mean come on, the ingredients gathering, fine, I don't need that necessarily, especially since in the previous games ingredients always droped with monster loot which means there was enough anyway. But the brewing is also automatic. Which means I do basically do nothing of the work. I do not do a part of it (either the ingredients gathering or the brewing), I just sit down and say "game, please auto-refill my potions". That is lame, sorry.
Hey, I like all the stuff about upgrading potions with special ingredients (at least if we are still able to make the "less powerful" ones afterwards), I love the toxicity (from what it sounds like, hopefully with negative effects), I love even the idea of long-time and support(short-time)potions, the way they are taken, the fact that potions you can take during combat are probably restricted to 2 max, etc. I love all of that. I don't like the auto-refilling.
I agree. Fan loyalty aside, I think what the new alchemy simplifies is the unintelligent part of potion usage (namely, gathering easy-to-find ingredients and a UI-automated recipe selection interface), but what it gives room to is the truly intelligent part of potion usage (namely, experimenting to use the right potion for the right monster). Simplifying an unintelligent, multi-clicking system into an unintelligent, single-clicking system is IMO an improvement. Automation is not always a bad thing - it depends on if that which is automated is smart or not to begin with.
I do not mind the simplification or the intelligent-making of the ingredients collecting itself mind you, the problem is EVERYTHING will be automatic then, the whole system, no collecting, no brewing, you just "have" the potions after the first time.
There could have been so many cool things to do, like for example being able to combine new ingredients without recipe and discovering new potions out of it, experimenting a little bit. Of course with an interesting twists, you have to try the potion before you know it's effect, and the potions CAN have negative effects. That means ultimately that you have some risk VS reward but also some cool experimentation elements in there. Of course you can stick to the formulas and make the normal potions as well.
Would add something new and cool to it.
I would just have preferred a different approach. And I would also have preferred they keep the role-playing aspect of it.
If I can not collect ingredients let me at least brew the potions myself, make the supply dependent on something, and hell make those monsters harder so we have to use potions, fix the problems that were obvious in TW1 and TW2 and that were connected to the alchemy system.
Stuff like that.
Not just making everything automatic and infinite. It's like the developer said in the interview "You do not have to worry about potions anymore". Pure simplification, no twist to it. Sure, the rest with the upgrades, etc has potential. But you have to think of something else then automatically refilling potions. I want to at least have SOME input into what potions to refill, and want at least SOME restriction on the supply for those potions.
That being said, one problem I do have with auto-refilling as it is currently known is that infinite potion refills does break immersion. How about this: making the players having to gather ingredients once in a long while? Does that seem to be a fine compromise?
Yeah indeed it DOES, but according to some people here that doesn't "solve the problem".
You sure about this?
Sure, as are a couple of other suggestions in this very thread to counter at least the auto-refilling part. The only question remains, if CDPR is willing to listen.
I think that really depends on what you had to do to get those recommendations. If it involves research, then it's not much different to the bestiary in TW1, except that it's put on the potion screen instead of you having to switch to a different screen. If it DOESN'T need research, then I would agree with you.
Yes, agreed.