Any swamp fans?

[paulthu]

Any swamp fans?

I've gotten the feeling that a popular choice for the worst part of the Witcher 1 is the swamp areas, but I have to disagree. I really enjoyed the realistic and banal and uncomfortable kind of outdoor area full with enemies, instead of super scary dark cave or a regular dark forest style.

There was some magic in the transition in traveling back to Vizima after a long stay in the swamp and the other way around. That -- for me -- didn't quite exist between the town areas and the outside dangerous environments in the Witcher 2. And the feeling in finding the beautiful druids grove in the midst of the uncomfortable swamp area was one of the finest moments in the game for me.

I really missed the swamp area in the Witcher 2. It doesn't have to be a swamp, but something with a similar idea. Everything was too beautiful in the W2. Anyone else agree or am I just crazy?

 

[Demut]

Nah, I feel you. Similarly, I enjoyed the “swamp” in The Witcher 2, too. Unfortunately, there was not a lot going on there and if swamps make a return in TW3 then I’d love for CDPR to use the creepy atmosphere they can evoke for some really great moments.

Swamps in general are pretty interesting. Back in the day they were basically everywhere (in Europe at least). Heck, some countries such as the Netherlands were almost entirely covered in swamps. As such, they played a central role in human lives for hundreds if not thousands of years. They were both feared and revered and there are a lot of myths involving them that I think CDPR could draw from for some pretty neat ideas.

 

[nippur]

I agree, the swamp was my favorite place after the fields in Murky Waters. But I hate it when I want to go from point A to B, and a lot of monsters start chasing me. On the other hand that allows me to circle and cluster them, then spam Igni he he he. It's a love/hate relathionship The forest in Flotsam is beautiful too, I like to walk around, just watching the sunlight between the trees, the fog or the rain. The music in the swamp helps to achieve that unsettling feeling too.

 

[vivaxardas2015]

I like swamps in video games in general. I got a soft spot for them since the Swamp Camp in Gothic. In TW1 it looked fine, and I pretty much enjoyed visiting it (a little less backtracking would be appreciated, though). Yes, I want a real large swamp area in TW3, with swamp gas glowing at night, owls, mosquitoes, nasty monsters, and its gloomy grayish/greenish look at day and surreal feel at night. It would be nice if Geralt or NPCs could actually get drowned, or poisoned, and have to follow trails to avoid mortal danger.

 

[Demut]

As long as we don’t have to take on said NPCs as temporary companions and guide them through that ... :S

 

[paulthu]

As long as we don’t have to take on said NPCs as temporary companions and guide them through that ... :S

Enough! I've had enough!!!

 

[Blothulfur]

Yep, underestimated locale.

 

[AngelOfPassion]

I thought the swamp was a pretty cool location when I played TW1.

 

[Garrison72]

For atmosphere and setting, yes, I'm a huge fan of the swamps. I want to slosh knee deep in putrid water hunting nekkers, drowners and other blasphemies.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

They could add dangerous mires for the swamps.

 

[bengeddes]

The problem with the swamps in TW1 is that you get dumped back in them time and time again, after feeling like you put in your time and are ready for a change of scenery.

 

[AngelOfPassion]

The problem with the swamps in TW1 is that you get dumped back in them time and time again, after feeling like you put in your time and are ready for a change of scenery.

I can see where you are coming from with that. I didn't quite make it to the point where I felt like I was tired of it when I played, but everyone is different.

 

[Demut]

Well, that wouldn’t be a problem in TW3 since you’d be free to just go somewhere else

 

[M4xw0lf.978]

[x] Swamp fan, definitely.

 

[Sephira]

The first time I took a step in the swamps I was scared lol but indeed it was a good challenge!
How can you forget those sweet echinopsae or those kind drowners?

 

[AsTheDeath]

The location was great, the annoying bit was just that no matter how often and how many monsters you killed, they'd all respawn every night anyway. Which IMO is not just annoying to fight/run through every single time but also kind of bad for the immersion.

Now TW2 did that better, giving you contracts to kill for example the nekkers or the endregas in the forest, after which their spawn rate would be reduced. I'm a huge proponent of less combat but more intense/challenging, and I'm curious to see whether CDPR dare/want to go down that route or just spawn wave after wave of enemies as is common in most games.

 

[Shavod]

I'm a huge proponent of less combat but more intense/challenging, and I'm curious to see whether CDPR dare/want to go down that route or just spawn wave after wave of enemies as is common in most games.

In one interview they mentioned that they're not going to make a hordes of monsters. They want to make them lesser in numbers, but more dangerous. Also it was reported that fight with a single fiend took them 10 minutes during presentation, which means a bigger monsters will be much greater threats.

 

[GuyNwah]

I greatly enjoyed the Act 2/Act 3 Swamp. The Act 5 Swamp Cemetery's a little one-dimensional in comparison.

"I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay, I sleep all night and I work all day."

Singing lumberjacks, Veles worshippers, Druids, a visiting Dryad That place has atmosphere, even if it smells of drowner farts.

 

[Kindo.824]

I like the Swamp just fine, but the design was plagued by 'invisible' walls (actually visible, but they are ankle-high fences or a set of bushes) that made it very annoying to navigate. Its atmosphere and quest design was good, though.

 

[chiefje]

I want to slosh knee deep in putrid water hunting nekkers, drowners and other blasphemies.

This is what always bothers me about swamps in games, you never really are knee deep in the mud. All that happens is some splashing sounds, slower movement and your feet under the water line. It never feels like your actually walking through a swamp.

An example of this is Left 4 Dead 2. You are bogged down when in the water, but when you get on a small piece of land that is above the water line, you can magically run again.

I don't know about any games that have realistic mud/swamps...