Anyone else not liking the graphic executions? [GIF warning]

[val.mitev]

It seems that people will always find something to complain about.

Geralt is a mutant with super human strength. If a normal human cat cut 2 pigs with not much of an effort, then it won't be a problem for Geralt to do in combat.
As for the horse finisher, please consider that he's galloping and the speed of the horse adds extra momentum to his swing, making it much more powerful, so yeah.

And for the books, Geralt kills with efficiency, he would go for the throat if possible since it's an almost sure kill.

And depending on the type of swing/thrust for the attack, a decapitation/dismemberment is very likely to occur. If a hand or some limb is in the way, off with it, it won't kill the momentum of the swing that much.

If we consider armor, well, he's a mutant with superhuman strength, so let's not try to justify things with "realism" as that is only applicable to certain degree.

 

[1337Smithy]

I did recognise that, but why is it red like it's been dipped into a tank full of red paint?

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you didn't. I meant if we had the game in front of us and were able to scrutinise, their heads would be of a generic model if decapitated and wouldn't match that of the original model.

But yeah, I know what you mean. I think it's a developer hack to hide the fact it changed.

Edit: Didn't see Zabanzo beat me to it. Woops.

 

[Giovanni1983]

Unless our next course of discussion is to be extremely nitpicky and decide whether Geralt cut the man a few inches less than this chap...

...and if the Nilfgaardian in the book was with heavy, medium or light armor, I think it's clear that even book Geralt could be a fucking madman, and the spirit is the same, give or take a few inches of amputation.

@sapkowski, next time you write your books, read a bit less anime before.

That is not the only time Geralt cuts someone like that in the books if i remember correctly. There are other instances as well but you've found just the right one that resembles the footage.

 

[val.mitev]

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you didn't. I meant if we had the game in front of us and were able to scrutinise, their heads would be of a generic model if decapitated and wouldn't match that of the original model.

But yeah, I know what you mean. I think it's a developer hack to hide the fact it changed.

I think it was a different model only for the first horse finisher, it looked like it was eaten by wolves, but it could be just because of the amount of damage received, like a critical hit or something.

For the red on the model, it also was excessive only on the first horse finisher, the next 2 looked fine to me.

The way I see it, they either need to just apply the bloody textures on the models or simulate how the blood spills and gushes and apply some fluid simulation on it to make it realistically cover the body and the surroundings in blood. I'm fine with this trade off.

 

[StormKorp]

To be honest I simply love the bloody executions. A little bit of gore is always appreciated.

 

[erxv]

The first one looks really stupid.
These executions are implemented for kids who think this is cool. Wow, look at me, i cut the man in half!!!

so you have to be a child to think something is cool? who made you the fun-police?


@Agent Bleu
so every game with slow-mo is suddenly completely immersion killing and makes you distance yourself away from the character you are playing...... funny i´ve never had that feeling when playing GTA 5, Shadow of Mordor, Skyrim, F.E.A.R., AssCreed, etc, etc

how can every decision made by the devs be somehow bad??? if you want a perfect game (FOR YOU) then go make one yourself..... dont expect a games mechanics to suit YOU perfectly, and then whine when they dont....

 

[Ancient76]

I am not debating the developer teams budget. They might not have money but that doesn't really change that the combat had many flaws. Not having slow motion might be a plus for most people i agree but it doesnt automaticaly make the rest of the combat any better.

Combat had many flaws!? Slow motion!?

 

[Percival_Dickenbutts]

I like the decapitation in that GIF, however I am not hugely keen on the thing where he cleaves a guy in two for a couple of reasons.

Firstly: Because in most of the cases we've seen it happen so far, the actual direction of the slice doesn't even remotely line up with where the split happens, not even in the example that the OP included, nor in the previous gameplay videos.

Secondly: Because they seem to happen even from the fast attacks that I would like to imagine are more like the way Geralt normally fights in the books, slashing with the very tip of the blade at extreme precision leaving enemies dead on their feet without them immediately realizing it.
If they only happened when using strong attacks or charged up power-attacks like in the E3 Griffin hunt video (still didn't line up though) I would be fine with it....mostly.

 

[thislsmadness]

I wonder if the slow mo only happens if you hold the button? Marcin confirmed that that is the way the horse slow mo works, doesn't seem far fetched for it to apply to finishers as well.

 

[Giovanni1983]

Combat had many flaws!? Slow motion!?

Yes the combat had many flaws and i will say again, lets see people memorize the clicks and buttons so they can do the special attacks of the weapons.

Where did i say that Blade of Darkness had slow motion? I clearly said many times already that it didn't. You should read before replying please.

 

[Ancient76]

Yes the combat had many flaws and i will say again, lets see people memorize the clicks and buttons so they can do the special attacks of the weapons.

Where did i say that Blade of Darkness had slow motion? I clearly said many times already that it didn't. You should read before replying please.

No comment.

 

[Dylaniskillen]

What do you mean it's awesome, I love finishers, and it's only on the last enemy in a group. There is already dismemberment for the other people too, it's great I LOVE it. Great idea and it looks awesome

 

[Giovanni1983]

No comment.

Thank you, cause twisting words to prove a point doesn't really make any sense.

 

[Kinley]

And keep it civil. Also if you have nothing to add, then don't go around posting "No comment". Let's keep the thread clutter free.

 

[JackieEstacado]

I'm quite satisfied, because the dismemberment looks pretty random.
Three foes died by fatal slashes without being dismembered, one of them was killed by belly thrust (though I don't like the blade extraction from the foe's gut, it was too clunky and the sword feels slippery, like it was dipped into a butter pan), one of them was beheaded and only two of them were cut in 2.

Maybe the thug killed while Geralt was galloping shouldn't have been torn apart like that, as Geralt was wielding his sword with only one hand.
A spinning fall would have been more than appropriate in that situation.

 

[Agent_Bleu]

Gotta admit, I read this post many times to comprehend it but I'm too thick to. So instead I'll just intuitively write down a couple of things I think have to do with the matter, but I'm kinda shooting blind here.

I wrote about Geralt being emotional in combat in order to explain why at times he's so savage in it. That savagery can result in a jacuzzi of blood and a lot of dismemberment. It's in line with the character. This is just to set that brutality has a place in the witcher's fighting style. The jacuzzi would still be a jacuzzi no matter the speed it's being shown at, so I must be missing something about this.

What you write about slow-motion is more tricky and where I'm mostly fumbling in the dark here, because you're going to philosophical directions about game design and role-playing that I don't understand. This is beyond me honestly, so I'll keep it simple - why does playing from a third-person perspective and having a game with cinematic scenes and odd angles and the camera revolving around the protagonist not in line with a few slow-motion moments? I'm not seeing the inconsistency here.

Ah. Stop acting caustic. It doesn't become you.
Maybe it's me who needs to be clearer and more precise.

The point is that while Geralt can be quite the savage, there would be no emotional spur for him to behave like one upon meeting a random hillbilly road bandit. To show Geralt acting like this, and as frequently as the latest footage suggests, strikes me as misrepresenting his character, which, if true, would help build the case for a roleplaying conundrum. Mind you, this conundrum only arises because of the change in speed and change in camera angle. These are for effect. Notwithstanding, they underline and signal the beheading as particularly significant. But it's completely banal, isn't it? There's no more significance to beheading that road bandit than to dispatching your 23rd or 24[SUP]th[/SUP] nekker. The only scenario where deliberately guillotining a road bandit would be so meaningful to Geralt that it would warrant depicting it in slow motion and in close quarters camera, that scenario involves Geralt having a different personality altogether.

So it's not that Geralt would never find it in him to dismember, to decapitate. That he certainly would, given the right circumstances. And it’s not that shit doesn't happen when a sword is wielded. Limbs are bound to fly left and right, once in a while. That's simply a contingency.

But once you depict it in dramatic slow motion and in a more intimate camera angle you re-frame the act itself, you award it intent, meaning, an emotional charge it can't originally claim to have. Moreover, when further down the line heated emotions do drive Geralt into decapitating and dismembering an adversary, that emotional capital, so to speak, will feel instantly and irrevocably disparaged because the act itself has been trivialized and squandered at its most dramatic and expressive peak on lowly roadside nobodies.

It’s the Law of diminishing returns at work.

Is my point clearer now?

 

[Giovanni1983]

I'm quite satisfied, because the dismemberment looks pretty random.
Three foes died by fatal slashes without being dismembered, one of them was killed by belly thrust (though I don't like the blade extraction from the foe's gut, it was too clunky and the sword feels slippery, like it was dipped into a butter pan), one of them was beheaded and only two of them were cut in 2.

Maybe the thug killed while Geralt was galloping shouldn't have been torn apart like that, as Geralt was wielding his sword with only one hand.
A spinning fall would have been more than appropriate in that situation.

You are right about this. Geralt fights enemies and he kills most of them normally with a slash and they go down. It's not like there is a 100% rate of slow-mo takedown kills. He usually kills without takedowns.

Ah. Stop acting caustic. It doesn't become you.
Maybe it's me who needs to be clearer and more precise.

The point is that while Geralt can be quite the savage, there would be no emotional spur for him to behave like one upon meeting a random hill-billy road bandit. To show Geralt acting like this, as frequently as the latest footage suggests, strikes me as misrepresenting his character, which, if true, would help build the case for a roleplaying conundrum. Mind you, this conundrum only arises because of the change in speed and change in camera angle. These are for effect. Notwithstanding, they underline and signal the beheading as particularly significant. But it's completely banal, isn't it? There's no more significance to beheading that road bandit than to dispatching your 23rd or 24[SUP]th[/SUP] nekker. The only scenario where deliberately guillotining a road bandit would be so meaningful to Geralt that it would warrant depicting it in slow motion and in close quarters camera, that scenario involves Geralt having a different personality altogether.

So it's not that Geralt would never find it in him to dismember, to decapitate. That he certainly would, given the right circumstances. And it’s not that shit doesn't happen when a sword is wielded. Limbs are bound to fly left and right, once in a while. That's simply a contingency.

But once you depict it in dramatic slow motion and in a more intimate camera angle you re-frame the act itself, you award it intent, meaning, an emotional charge it can't originally claim to have. Moreover, when further down the line heated emotions do drive Geralt into decapitating and dismembering an adversary, that emotional capital, so to speak, will feel instantly and irrevocably disparaged because the act itself has been trivialized and wasted at its most dramatic and expressive peak on lowly roadside nobodies.

It’s the Law of diminishing returns at work.

Is my point clearer now?

That is a very sensible post and i do see your point. As mentioned above though, it's hardly gonna happen every time and on every enemy. It's part of the "fun" of playing a mutant in a fantasy game. At least that's how i see it

 

[JackieEstacado]

You are right about this. Geralt fights enemies and he kills most of them normally with a slash and they go down. It's not like there is a 100% rate of slow-mo takedown kills. He usually kills without takedowns.

And that's a great thing, because it is beneficial for the immersion and it also means that the developers have taken note of our tips and requests in the previous months' discussions over here. My respect for them is growing.

 

[hamilcarBarca.196]

I don't like slo mo finishers.

They're completely unnecessary as far as I'm concerned. In fact, contrary to what some seem to believe, I find them not in line with the game's overarching restained aesthetics. Geralt doesn't kill for fun and would take no pleasure watching as the blade chops off, severs, decapitates, and a jacuzzi of blood then gushes through. Now, one's roleplaying as Geralt. How exactly are these slo mo finishers in-character again?


Regular speed decapitations and dismemberment, that I have no problem with. Those are simply a contingency.
But slo mo finishers, that's the kind of spectacle Geralt wouldn't engage in.

Wish I was also spared.

geralt doesn't kill for fun...but I do

 

[JackieEstacado]

But once you depict it in dramatic slow motion and in a more intimate camera angle you re-frame the act itself, you award it intent, meaning, an emotional charge it can't originally claim to have. Moreover, when further down the line heated emotions do drive Geralt into decapitating and dismembering an adversary, that emotional capital, so to speak, will feel instantly and irrevocably disparaged because the act itself has been trivialized and wasted at its most dramatic and expressive peak on lowly roadside nobodies.

It’s the Law of diminishing returns at work.

Is my point clearer now?

To me slow-mo isn't necessary, but a zoom in makes the scene more dynamic.
Anyway a slitted throat, as it sheds a lot of blood and leaves horrible wounds on the body, is almost the same of beheading and maiming, because all are nothing but a way to end a life.
Surely, as you stated, the action of killing has been dramatized, but we've had only one zoom in up until now.
If you think about it, it's not all this big deal. I mean, I don't think that it will harm your game experience enough to make you reconsider the purchase.
Other than that, I agree with you that the entertainment industry is trivializing violence and important themes.