Combat in The Witcher 3

[DukeAlmighty]

Incorrect. They're demonstrating maneuvers which were used for longsword fighting in medieval times. They've studied texts from the time period to learn the techniques which were actually used. Yes, those are all very real maneuvers used in combat at the time. See this site for reference:
http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_arms_gls.php
A quote from that page:

real maneuvers maybe, but without speed and power. one guy stops so other can execute his move, hard to call it fighting.

 

[freakie1one]

real maneuvers maybe, but without speed and power. one guy stops so other can execute his move, hard to call it fighting.

Correct. They were demonstrating longsword maneuvers which were used in combat during the medieval times, not actually fighting each other.

*Edited for clarity.

 

[tommy5761]

The history of medieval warfare sounds intriguing but what does it have to do with combat in Witcher 3 ?

 

[DukeAlmighty]

Correct. They were demonstrating longsword maneuvers which were used in combat during the medieval times, not fighting.

Here's what fighting with a longsword looks like and why dismembering people with it is a bit silly:

So which one is it ?

 

[theLaughingStorm.108]

The history of medieval warfare sounds intriguing but what does it have to do with combat in Witcher 3 ?

I think people want the combat to be somewhat realistic and not too flashy. In that case, its kind of difficult to not bring real life history into this.

 

[freakie1one]

So which one is it ?

Both are true, of course. The two people were demonstrating medieval longsword maneuvers which were used in combat. Watching actual longsword maneuvers which were used in combat should give you an idea what the fighting was like. I never claimed the two men were fighting each other, I said "here's what fighting with a longsword looks like". I figured it was fairly obvious that the two men were performing a demonstration of longsword fighting and not engaged in an actual fight. I hope this is now clear to you .

 

[Rudoli]

Really?
I keep watching the combat in the videos and keep seeing how Geralt is holding his sword before his body ready to parry and a frame later his arm his stretched out after he had cast an Aard sign.
And in general, the transitions between the animations are so inconsistent in their speed
How is this considered fluid?

Did you watch it on Youtube or did you download the 5 GB files and watch them? You are partly correct in that the speed is sometimes inconsistent, but for me the combat looks so smooth and fluid, at least much more than any other action-RPG I've ever seen. Are there any games you think has better and more fluid animations? Because I really can't think of any other game that has.

---------- Updated at 08:53 AM ----------

I think people want the combat to be somewhat realistic and not too flashy. In that case, its kind of difficult to not bring real life history into this.

The combat is somewhat realistic already, isn't it? I mean look at games like Dragons Dogma, Kingdoms of Amaleur and Devil may cry and compare it to the footage we saw. So far every move we have seen from Geralt a normal person can do(with a lot of practice), besides the magic signs. Besides completely realistic combat won't be fun I can promise you that.

 

[shawn_kh]

The history of medieval warfare sounds intriguing but what does it have to do with combat in Witcher 3 ?

Exactly what I was thinking.
It's a game set in a fantasy world with elves and dwarves, and swords with magical runes wielded by a mutated monster hunter who deflects arrows.
And people are arguing about medieval warfare and Katanas vs longswords

 

[Tracido]

Exactly what I was thinking.
It's a game set in a fantasy world with elves and dwarves, and swords with magical runes wielded by a mutated monster hunter who deflects arrows.
And people are arguing about medieval warfare and Katanas vs longswords

Not quite the same as Final Fantasy, though, there's plenty of those titles out there to go off from this one to play.

No, this is harsh realism with dark fantasy, you don't go about it half assed.

 

[freakie1one]

Exactly what I was thinking.
It's a game set in a fantasy world with elves and dwarves, and swords with magical runes wielded by a mutated monster hunter who deflects arrows.
And people are arguing about medieval warfare and Katanas vs longswords

The Witcher games are low fantasy, not high fantasy. Despite having magic, dwarves and elves things must still behave in a reasonable and logical manner. This is why the armor and weapons are somewhat realistic. If TW3 were to suddenly switch to being high fantasy it would be completely out of place.

 

[shawn_kh]

Not quite the same as Final Fantasy, though, there's plenty of those titles out there to go off from this one to play.

No, this is harsh realism with dark fantasy, you don't go about it half assed.

The Witcher games are low fantasy, not high fantasy. Despite having magic, dwarves and elves things must still behave in a reasonable and logical manner. This is why the armor and weapons are somewhat realistic. If TW3 were to suddenly switch to being high fantasy it would be completely out of place.

I'm not talking final fantasy here, Im talking Witcher fantasy.
Need I remind you that Geralt uses the Witcher's fighting style and not medieval fighting style. Witcher's fighting style is developed for mutants who are much faster and stronger than humans, and it is based on fantasy more than actual medieval warfare. Medieval fighting was effective, but it was also heavy, restricting, slow, and boring. Geralt is described as being fast and dancing and pirouetting around the battlefield with a two handed sword, which is pretty unrealistic for a regular dude in a medieval battlefield
I also agree that the fighting style should be kept within a reasonable level, and overdoing it would undermine the game's seriousness. But at the same time why go for the boring and realistic medieval warfare, when you have a character such as Geralt who is capable of so much more. There has to be a balance between reality and fantasy.

 

[Tracido]

I'm not talking final fantasy here, Im talking Witcher fantasy.
Need I remind you that Geralt uses the Witcher's fighting style and not medieval fighting style. Witcher's fighting style is developed for mutants who are much faster and stronger than humans, and it is based on fantasy more than actual medieval warfare. Medieval fighting was effective, but it was also heavy, restricting, slow, and boring. Geralt is described as being fast and dancing and pirouetting around the battlefield with a two handed sword, which is pretty unrealistic for a regular dude in a medieval battlefield
I also agree that the fighting style should be kept within a reasonable level, and overdoing it would undermine the game's seriousness. But at the same time why go for the boring and realistic medieval warfare, when you have a character such as Geralt who is capable of so much more. There has to be a balance between reality and fantasy.

You quoted two people, and as I already said why his moves would do more impact based on the inhuman gifts he has, I'm not sure who you are addressing.

I'd say there is a difference between how he would take them down and how one of them fight with Geralt. Also, you can have magic, demons, ghouls and goblins still within combat tactics used in the real world, within reason and capability to include in gameplay, what can happen though, is it becomes boring when it doesn't come off as believable, or gets too tedious, that's where the developers are the masters, finding that perfect point with the lore and the series itself. I think it is important to observe and compare notes on real world use of our ingame weapons at the very least...

That's the same thing though, balance, at least to me.

 

[The_Crow.410]

Hey does anyone know, if the combat animations gonna work randomly or we gonna have direct control on all of the animations?

 

[gregski]

Hey does anyone know, if the combat animations gonna work randomly or we gonna have direct control on all of the animations?

Hmm...how would that work? Directly controlling 96 combat animations?

 

[The_Crow.410]

I refer to the swordsmanship animation, that if we gonna know which attacks am i using just like games like MG Rising, dmc, Prince of persia in which to achieve a desire attack or combo,we have to use certain buttons combinations or it gonna be just random button smashing like batman arkham series?

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

Hmm...how would that work? Directly controlling 96 combat animations?

I don't think Geralt has 96 new animations just for combat alone does he? I think it's in general, e.g Jump,sprint,swim,climb,horse,crossbow etc..etc.. Who knows.. I could be wrong.

 

[Lieste]

Did you watch it on Youtube or did you download the 5 GB files and watch them? You are partly correct in that the speed is sometimes inconsistent, but for me the combat looks so smooth and fluid, at least much more than any other action-RPG I've ever seen. Are there any games you think has better and more fluid animations? Because I really can't think of any other game that has.

---------- Updated at 08:53 AM ----------



The combat is somewhat realistic already, isn't it? I mean look at games like Dragons Dogma, Kingdoms of Amaleur and Devil may cry and compare it to the footage we saw. So far every move we have seen from Geralt a normal person can do(with a lot of practice), besides the magic signs. Besides completely realistic combat won't be fun I can promise you that.

Even the signs.. [video=youtube;tvrQt6s7a-0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvrQt6s7a-0[/video]

 

[ReptilePZ]

I don't think Geralt has 96 new animations just for combat alone does he? I think it's in general, e.g Jump,sprint,swim,climb,horse,crossbow etc..etc.. Who knows.. I could be wrong.

http://www.worldsfactory.net/2014/08/14/the-witcher-3-96-animations-just-combat

 

[gregski]

I refer to the swordsmanship animation, that if we gonna know which attacks am i using just like games like MG Rising, dmc, Prince of persia in which to achieve a desire attack or combo,we have to use certain buttons combinations or it gonna be just random button smashing like batman arkham series?

I would say it's gonna be mostly random. Or at least not fully under our control, maybe some basic stuff like switching directions of thrusts etc.

I don't think Geralt has 96 new animations just for combat alone does he? I think it's in general, e.g Jump,sprint,swim,climb,horse,crossbow etc..etc.. Who knows.. I could be wrong.

I thought they meant 96 animations for combat only...but now when you make me think about it...I'm not sure

EDIT: Reptile to the rescue!

 

[The_Crow.410]

Well i just expect that at least we have control on some animations.