Witcher 3 Gameplay from GDC and PAX

[gregski]

I wouldn't call the Witcher Senses the worst offender when it comes to investigation. As i said earlier, it might have its downsides and still require attention from the player.

It's the glowing, yellow arrow glued to the map circle that shows you direction of the next quest phase/location and ruins every sense of mystery in the investigation part. You can notice in the video that it is there, pointing you in the right direction, whether you have Witcher senses activated or not.

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

I still think they got a few tricks to make TW3 even look awesome on xbone ;

 

[KlimV]

gameplay from PAX:

1. Why is it so light in the cave? Geralt didn't drink a Cat potion.
2. Why did you cancel the sword-oiling animation?
3. Why does Royal wyvern fly so unnatural? It's flight looks like dragon's flight from Skyrim.

4. Again this &$#% red Swallow potion bottle! :blink: Make it like it was in The Witcher 2.

PLEASE.

View attachment 11039

 

[Phinnway]

I wouldn't call the Witcher Senses the worst offender when it comes to investigation. As i said earlier, it might have its downsides and still require attention from the player.

It's the glowing, yellow arrow glued to the map circle that shows you direction of the next quest phase/location and ruins every sense of mystery in the investigation part. You can notice in the video that it is there, pointing you in the right direction, whether you have Witcher senses activated or not.

I wonder if Witcher Senses or the yellow circle will be removed or altered on higher difficulty levels. It would be an interesting thing to experiment with.

 

[truthinoneword]

It was not my intention to annoy anyone with my previous comment. I had thought it done with a lighthearted tone, but I do apologize to anyone I offended.

Heck, if the thing that stood out as "the worst" in the video is that the grass doesn't look good (and I know there are other complaints, I read the thread) then that is not a bad thing at all. To those who don't like the grass (or Witcher senses or inventory layout or whichever complaint you have) hopefully you will see improvements in what you currently dislike before the game is done and we certify and it's done. This was by no means the final build of the game, we're still polishing, refining, fixing, etc. Hopefully the grass, or whatever you disliked in this video, is improved to you being happy or at least accepting of it's final state. I can say that my years in gaming has told me we will ABSOLUTELY not make 100% of the people 100% happy about 100% of everything. Everyone has their own opinion about what is great, good, good enough or bad. We are working to make Wild Hunt the very best game it can be for the most people who play it, but I know we will not make a 100% perfect game (I personally don't believe any company has ever made one), but we are working to make it as close to 100% for the most players as possible. Heck, people can't agree on what the best flavor of ice cream or best pizza topping is, having everyone agree on what is or isn't "the best" (or even "teh ok") in something as complex as a video game is nigh impossible.

Oh, and one last thing. This really should go via a private message, but I do not want it construed as a threat because it isn't one and I want it out in the open. I don't especially mean to criticize this person, but he/she is the most recent person to use this term here, so I am calling them out:
To Spiritshard (and any that feel this way) - The downgrade thread was closed by a moderator, but I fully support that they closed it. It was closed because it had outlived its usefulness and had the same few people saying the same things. If you perceive this a censorship you really need to have a better understanding of what actual censorship is. Stopping people on page 2 complaining of a downgrade and not letting them voice their opinions is censorship, letting people give their opinion for days in a thread that reaches 300 pages is not. Letting people such as yourself who have clearly stated they will not be buying the game still come here to complain is not censorship. Banning you or preventing you from posting would be censorship. We aren't doing that because we hope you (and everyone else who isn't currently planning on buying the game) will change your mind and try Wild Hunt when it comes out. And we want to hear what you dislike as we value the feedback, pro and con, as we finish the game. This IS a free exchange of ideas. This isn't censorship.

If you (or anyone)want to discuss it with me further, lets take it to private message. I am happy to discuss the point if you disagree.

Thanks folks

Edit: Oh. And I honestly don't know whether this was PC or Xbox footage. It was recorded at the studio and I haven't had time (what with being at PAX and it being a weekend) to find out and give you an answer. I'll try though.

If the most people have to complain about are minor ascetic concerns than you guys are doing more than a little right, so don't sweat it if you are feeling nervous about a few things in their feed back. You want to know what has been some legitimate bad feed back for games the last few months? "Hey this isn't a game!" The order 1886. Hey this doesn't even work right..." Assassins Creed Inquisition. Right now you guys are looking at "hey the grass is less than I imagined!" Witcher 3. Thats pretty fucking good in anybodies book.

 

[wichat]

@ The one thing I would change is that the world is too beautiful( Yeah i know, silly). I remember that Sapkowski's world was rather greyish.[/QUOTE] As long I read the books I can be placed myself in bright and colourfull lands sometimes, and other times in dark and smoky scenes. At least, in Faraldo's translation into Spanish, you can see the brightsun, the warm light, sting the rain, the clear waters of the rivers, the mug greeny ones... So, IMHO, I agree with the variety of colors with which heretofore CDPR has offered us. Cannot say more till May 19th.

 

[thislsmadness]

I wouldn't call the Witcher Senses the worst offender when it comes to investigation. As i said earlier, it might have its downsides and still require attention from the player.

It's the glowing, yellow arrow glued to the map circle that shows you direction of the next quest phase/location and ruins every sense of mystery in the investigation part. You can notice in the video that it is there, pointing you in the right direction, whether you have Witcher senses activated or not.

That is exactly how I feel, its the combination of the two that make it excessive. The idea that Geralt can activate his Witcher senses to detect smells is an interesting mechanic and its something that you have to decide to use. The minimap hints are just there and pop up with no player intervention, that makes them much more offensive to me. Hopefully, its something that can be customized in the hud options.

 

[gregski]

I wonder if Witcher Senses or the yellow circle will be removed or altered on higher difficulty levels. It would be an interesting thing to experiment with.

I've never actually cared for options that let you fiddle with UI and disable its elements but if there's every one I have to vote for to be toggleable, it's the yellow arrow.

 

[minicrom]

I wonder if Witcher Senses or the yellow circle will be removed or altered on higher difficulty levels. It would be an interesting thing to experiment with.

I personally count on this kind of idea. I don't want the witcher sens to be removed it can be a great idea. But just remove some stuff in some difficulty level such as ennemy spotting. Would be so great !

 

[AndreasZ94]

Honestly i don't care if the graphics look a little worse than before as long as all the other stuff about the living world, the ai interactions and more complex gameplay systems are still in the game. If that stuff are all true combined with the current graphics then it will be a GOTY contender for sure imo.

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

I've never actually cared for options that let you fiddle with UI and disable its elements but if there's every one I have to vote for to be toggleable, it's the yellow arrow.

AND the yellow arrow hehe

 

[Vigilance.492]

I wouldn't call the Witcher Senses the worst offender when it comes to investigation. As i said earlier, it might have its downsides and still require attention from the player.

It's the glowing, yellow arrow glued to the map circle that shows you direction of the next quest phase/location and ruins every sense of mystery in the investigation part. You can notice in the video that it is there, pointing you in the right direction, whether you have Witcher senses activated or not.

It's definitely not the worst offender, but it's still pretty damn bad.

I don't see how it requires any attention from the player beyond just staring at your screen. He checks out the wine cask, goes back into Witcher Senses, and in a couple of seconds the great big dirty red trail leads you precisely to the cave. There is no secondary trail for you to follow or get lost by, there is no thought on behalf of the player, it's essentially just like following the arrow on your mini-map except in 3D.

What WOULD be interesting is if other creatures who had recently passed by the area (Deer, Wolves etc) had also stepped through the wine, which meant there was now multiple "smell" trails leading off in different directions, and you had to ascertain which one was correct. There could be another clue further along the correct path so when you do pick the right trail to follow you know you're going the correct direction, but at least in that situation you have a CHANCE of being mislead. There's at least some kind of thought on behalf of the player.

 

[AndreasZ94]

Just a few quick notes. The quest update font size is ridiculous, it covers half of the screen. Alsoi think they removed the whole screen flashing red when getting hit thank god for that .

 

[Jack Bauer 24]

So how empty/packed is the world?

 

[Mohasz]

What WOULD be interesting is if other creatures who had recently passed by the area (Deer, Wolves etc) had also stepped through the wine, which meant there was now multiple "smell" trails leading off in different directions, and you had to ascertain which one was correct. There could be another clue further along the correct path so when you do pick the right trail to follow you know you're going the correct direction, but at least in that situation you have a CHANCE of being mislead. There's at least some kind of thought on behalf of the player.

Those are some unrealistic expectations, though, let's be honest.

 

[moonknightgog]

(1) The Witcher senses are probably one of those features they had really big plans for that got cut, and now we're stuck with this watered-down version. So even though they suck, they're probably not what the REDs wanted them to be.

Maybe it is not what REDs wanted them to be, but they are cut them down (if it is the truth, of course) and this is the result of their choice.
And the result, from what I've seen on this new video, is not good.
You have the arrow that shows you the right way even if senses are not activated, you have to find the clue and then the next step is show on the radar, and when you have to follow some lead, you have just one trail.

 

[gregski]

So how empty/packed is the world?

This should give you an idea, I encourage you to check it out!

It's definitely not the worst offender, but it's still pretty damn bad.

I don't see how it requires any attention from the player beyond just staring at your screen. He checks out the wine cask, goes back into Witcher Senses, and in a couple of seconds the great big dirty red trail leads you precisely to the cave. There is no secondary trail for you to follow or get lost by, there is no thought on behalf of the player, it's essentially just like following the arrow on your mini-map except in 3D.

What WOULD be interesting is if other creatures who had recently passed by the area (Deer, Wolves etc) had also stepped through the wine, which meant there was now multiple "smell" trails leading off in different directions, and you had to ascertain which one was correct. There could be another clue further along the correct path so when you do pick the right trail to follow you know you're going the correct direction, but at least in that situation you have a CHANCE of being mislead. There's at least some kind of thought on behalf of the player.

Sure, but with only Witcher Senses turned on it would require at least SOME effort. As it is right now, you don't even need to turn them on, you just follow the yellow arrow and that's it.

 

[Phinnway]

@gregski [mention]thisIsmadness[/mention] Personally, I liked in The Witcher 1 how you had to read your journal to know how to solves quests and sometimes use your head. i.e. your journal might say "collect alchemy ingredients from Drowners." Then you had to buy a book on Drowners (to get the monster entry) and then find a place with some to kill. I had hoped The Witcher 3 would bring back gameplay like this, but so far I haven't seen any.

I almost wonder if The Witcher 3 is meant to be an open-world game where you don't do a lot of exploration.

 

[AndreasZ94]

So what is tomorrow's presentation about? I can't find anywhere.

 

[Garrison72]

It's definitely not the worst offender, but it's still pretty damn bad.

I don't see how it requires any attention from the player beyond just staring at your screen. He checks out the wine cask, goes back into Witcher Senses, and in a couple of seconds the great big dirty red trail leads you precisely to the cave. There is no secondary trail for you to follow or get lost by, there is no thought on behalf of the player, it's essentially just like following the arrow on your mini-map except in 3D.

What WOULD be interesting is if other creatures who had recently passed by the area (Deer, Wolves etc) had also stepped through the wine, which meant there was now multiple "smell" trails leading off in different directions, and you had to ascertain which one was correct. There could be another clue further along the correct path so when you do pick the right trail to follow you know you're going the correct direction, but at least in that situation you have a CHANCE of being mislead. There's at least some kind of thought on behalf of the player.

Depends how often they implement it. Both Witcher games already did this, to my knowledge, but to have the arrow on the minimap and Witcher senses is hand holding. I recall how tricky it was to find Cedric bleeding out in Flotsam. No hand holding there. That's how it should be.