Feedback to the devs

[tw3fanapp]

Feedback to the devs

I thought we should gather some feedback about the development of The Witcher 3 and list them in a constructive and clear way, so that the developers can get some hints from the community. I start with the conclusion of the VGX trailer, but this thread is about older stuff too.

First, I have to ask Marcin or who is responsible for this forum: Where is The Witcher 3 section of the board? We post TW3 related stuff in 'General Discussion'. Please open a new category.

Pro

• 
  [*]The level of detail is jawdropping. Keep it up!
  [*]The world design and level design is awesome and very believeble.
  [*]The view distance and how far away objects are rendered.
  [*]The monster design gets mostly good responses.
  [*]The enhancements of the RED Engine are visible and add a lot of atmosphere. I mean the weather effects, physics system, material shaders, skin improvements, APEX technologies, Depth of Field effect.
  [*]The Wild Hunt as a story arc is great, but it should not become that way Geralt is the only one to save the world. The design of the Wild Hunt also must be explained, they are wraiths or specters, so why the full bad ass armor?
  [*]The cinematic sequences are done very well.
  [*]The sound and music is great.
  [*]Character design and variability is great.
  [*]The city is a city, not a village.
  [*]Voice actors are great.
  [*]The focus on monster hunting as the main income for Geralt is better than playing minigames to get some money.
  [*]Concept art alludes to an interesting cast of lore rich characters and places.
  [*]100 hours of handcrafted Witcher content sounds wonderful.
  [*]Multiple endings and 3 different playable epilogues.
  [*]Approach to level scaling.
  

Con

• 
  [*]The NPC's seem not to react to Geralt and fighting.
  [*]If the camera in combat is that close, the player has no overview.
  [*]There is a big controversy about the blood effects. Some like it, others tihnk it's overdone and they miss blood on the ground and weapons.
  [*]The bump mapping of ground textures lacks depth.
  [*]Geralts hair looks a little old gen and is too dark!! He's supposed to be the white wolf after all. And his pupils are round.
  [*]Witcher's speed would get lost, if the combat has only slow slashes.
  

I know there are bigger challenges ahead to be made, but some feedback never hurts. There is not much to say about very important RPG mechanics like the skilltree, crafting and inventory, conversations and of course the story. I see forward to some releases regarding that topics.

 

[wichat]

how can i delete a thread?

Must ask for to a mod.

 

[Geralt_and_Ciri]

Just what i think, this game looks like the best RPG ever made, but i agree,
on special the part of the NPC that no react to Geralt, fighting the enemies, the NPC is like "i don´t give a fuck" , i mean, the NPC should at least run for his life !... even if this still like that, i still don´t complain, but just one of those details that help on the immersion of the game.

 

[sidspyker]

Cons

• 
  [*]The NPC's seem not to react to Geralt and fighting.[*]If the camera in combat is that close, the player has no overview.[*]The blood is way overdone and vanishes in mid air. No more blood splatters on the ground. My proposal: Less blood, more lasting.
• The bump mapping of ground textures lacks depth.
• Geralts hair could be more improved and is too dark!! He's supposed to be the white wolf.
• Strangely, I don't like the textures on processed wood. The trees look great, but wooden textures in the scene with the mill look odd. Maybe it's low res.
  

Well in the decapitation scene I noticed some NPCs looking at Geralt fighting. It's the window breaking scene where they're going about their business outside.

I think it was just developer camera for trailer because one of the changes they mentioned was that combat camera would be higher up to give us a good view of the battlefield.

Agreed, blood is very glittery and no visible puddles on the ground.

Didn't notice the bump mapping, got any specific example?

-no opinion on hair colour- Hair doesn't look very good, though the ponytail movement etc is lovely. The hair itself looks....Crappy

The wood on the mill looks VERY dithered but I really doubt that's gonna be in the game, it would look totally out of place.

 

[Agent_Blue]

Good idea, to have a thread centralizing all our takes. It should be said though that recent topics have been all about providing feedback. I endorse your pro list, for the most part, from which I would emphasize DoF effects, which look great,are used very cunningly and to great effect.

I would suggest adding a third category: undecided. Personally, I'm undecided about:


1. Witcher senses. They've been so tight.-lipped about it.

2. Focus mode. Likewise.

3. Novigrad. It looks very, very promising. I just haven't seen enough of it to make up my mind.

4. Open world. I'm still not persuaded that it's possible to fill such a gargantuan open world with the kind of attention to detail and variety exhibited in the trailer. Fingers crossed though. Rooting for you CDProjekt.


A few additional notes:

1. Blood. Looks more like caramel. Too viscous, too gushy, disappears into thin air. It's a quibble all right, but imagine the sigt repeated once every few moments in every clash, over a period of 100 hours. It'd soon turn into a pesky nuisance. Please fix it.

2. Fur. Tech looks impressive. But no furry or woolly coat would flaunt like that. Please tone it down.

3. That first NPC, who gets smashed into the ground. His face is too sketchy (for example, his features look slightly cartoonish and I can't tell whether that's a piece of string on his hat or if it's just painted in). It might have been on purpose though.

4. Geralt's hair looks slightly past gen.

 

[tw3fanapp]

I think it was just developer camera for trailer because one of the changes they mentioned was that combat camera would be higher up to give us a good view of the battlefield.

Didn't notice the bump mapping, got any specific example?

The wood on the mill looks VERY dithered but I really doubt that's gonna be in the game, it would look totally out of place.

I don't know how the camera move is directed in the trailer, but you can see in both fights, that not all opponents are on screen. Plus, when Geralt draws his sword while running to the griffin, Geralt is consuming one third of the whole screen.

look at the stones on the floor. The ground mesh is very flat. The details lying on the ground, all this wooden stuff, that's great.


It's not only the wood on the mill but in front of the right hut as well.

 

[sidspyker]

I don't know how the camera move is directed in the trailer, but you can see in both fights, that not all opponents are on screen. Plus, when Geralt draws his sword while running to the griffin, Geralt is consuming one third of the whole screen.

look at the stones on the floor. The ground mesh is very flat. The details lying on the ground, all this wooden stuff, that's great.


It's not only the wood on the mill but in front of the right hut as well.

Yeah that's what I mean I would guess that it was taken using developer tools(in this case camera) for trailer purpose since that's a rather common practice, but well it's nice that you mentioned it.

I see now the lack of bump.

Yes the huts look rather flat, I thought I was perhaps being too critical since it could very well be some blurry DoF.

 

[tw3fanapp]

Good idea, to have a thread centralizing all our takes. It should be said though that recent topics have been all about providing feedback.

I endorse your pro list, for the most part. But I would suggest adding a third category: undecided.

No, it's about giving clear direction and feedback to the developers. If someone is undecided, he can hold his opinion until he has made his mind. As I wrote in my first post, we don't have enough information on a lot of topics.

Personally, I'm undecided about:


1. Witcher senses. They've been so tight.-lipped about it.

2. Focus mode. Likewise.

3. Novigrad. It looks very, very promising. I just haven't seen enough of it to make up my mind.

4. Open world. I'm still not persuaded that it's possible to fill such a gargantuan open world with the kind of attention to detail and variety exhibited in the trailer. Fingers crossed though. Rooting for you CDProjekt.


A few additional notes:

1. Blood. Looks more like caramel. Too viscous, too gushy, disappears into thin air. It's a quibble all right, but imagine the sigt repeated once every few moments in every clash, over a period of 100 hours. It'd soon turn into a pesky nuisance. Please fix it.

2. Fur. Tech looks impressive. But no furry or woolly coat would flaunt like that. Please tone it down.

I thought that as well, but I think they pushed it very hard for the trailer. Too much of that fur technology would bring down most hardware anyway.

3. That first NPC, who gets smashed into the ground. His face is too sketchy (for example, his features look slightly cartoonish and I can't tell whether that's a piece of string on his hat or if it's just painted in). It might have been on purpose though.

You mean the guy with the mexican mustache and a bucket as a head? No, had no problem with him.

4. Geralt's hair looks slightly past gen.

You're right, on a lot of features we just have too little information. This post is to build on the stuff we know and I will take other feedback to complete the list, but no speculations.

 

[tw3fanapp]

Yes the huts look rather flat, I thought I was perhaps being too critical since it could very well be some blurry DoF.

There is a DoF active. But I meant the hut on the right to the mill, where the woman is standing. The wood between the mill and the hut is looking strange.

 

[floppypig.425]

Good idea, to have a thread centralizing all our takes. It should be said though that recent topics have been all about providing feedback. I endorse your pro list, for the most part, to which I would add not only do DoF effects look great, they're used very cunningly and to great effect.

I would suggest adding a third category: undecided. Personally, I'm undecided about:


1. Witcher senses. They've been so tight.-lipped about it.

2. Focus mode. Likewise.

3. Novigrad. It looks very, very promising. I just haven't seen enough of it to make up my mind.

4. Open world. I'm still not persuaded that it's possible to fill such a gargantuan open world with the kind of attention to detail and variety exhibited in the trailer. Fingers crossed though. Rooting for you CDProjekt.


A few additional notes:

1. Blood. Looks more like caramel. Too viscous, too gushy, disappears into thin air. It's a quibble all right, but imagine the sigt repeated once every few moments in every clash, over a period of 100 hours. It'd soon turn into a pesky nuisance. Please fix it.

2. Fur. Tech looks impressive. But no furry or woolly coat would flaunt like that. Please tone it down.

3. That first NPC, who gets smashed into the ground. His face is too sketchy (for example, his features look slightly cartoonish and I can't tell whether that's a piece of string on his hat or if it's just painted in). It might have been on purpose though.

4. Geralt's hair looks slightly past gen.

Focus mode? What's that? I thought Witcher senses and focus mode were the same thing?

 

[Agent_Blue]

You're right, on a lot of features we just have too little information. This post is to build on the stuff we know and I will take other feedback to complete the list, but no speculations.

Sure, fair enough.

- Yes, I mean «guy with the mexican mustache and a bucket as a head».
- For reference perhaps you should link to the HD version of trailer on the OP

http://wpc.4d7d.edgecastcdn.net/004D7D/www/thewitcher/files/download/The%20Witcher%203%20-%20VGX%20Trailer_h264_1080p30_5.1.mp4

- I'm not convinced that pavement needs to be bumpier. City streets were meant to be somewhat flat

Focus mode? What's that? I thought Witcher senses and focus mode were the same thing?

- Wicther senses are used to uncover clues, Focus mode to attack vital organs or weak spots.

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

Just what i think, this game looks like the best RPG ever made, but i agree,
on special the part of the NPC that no react to Geralt, fighting the enemies, the NPC is like "i don´t give a fuck" , i mean, the NPC should at least run for his life !... even if this still like that, i still don´t complain, but just one of those details that help on the immersion of the game.

Yeah, some should stop what they are doing and stand there and watch as if they do give a fuck.
While the rest go run and hide.

 

[Tutux]

TBH, the most things that a little bit not that good, the blood, the reactions of these people, and mostly Geralt's hair!! (HIS HAIR needs to be fixed, if possible, and I don't mean the movement!

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

Blood needs to stay on the walls and ground with the body or parts.

 

[Geralt_and_Ciri]

The blood looks fine, maybe the best blood effect in-game that i can remember, maybe CDRED will put a option for enable "Physics" for the blood and the Fur and a lot of other effects that wil make our graphic cards explode

 

[Flitters]

First, I have to ask Marcin or who is responsible for this forum: Where is The Witcher 3 section of the board? We post TW3 related stuff in 'General Discussion'. Please open a new category.

That would seem to make the best sense actually.


Pro

• 
  
  [*]The villain 'Wild Hunt' is a good choice and the design is great.

Not sure I agree with this.

Why would an ethereal being like the Wild Hunt need chromed plate mail or holes in the face plate to see though?

Hmmmm...maybe that is not the Wild Hunt?


I do look forward to additional information as the year progresses.

 

[Jack Bauer 24]

Isn't it still in Alpha?

 

[Senteria]

What I like about the Witcher 1, is that it stays pretty close to the story. It's far from a huge scale. Sure geralt has been at sorcereress parties, talked to kings and queens alike, but if we get a wild hunt as a villain that is about to destroy the world or eradicate all people in the world, I kind of find that to be flat. However if the wild hunt is looking for ciri and if they come only at certain times in the world, burning villages, kidnapping children, etc. then yes, I like that approach.

I just hope it's not a 'this is the threat that will destroy the world' thing. So I'm mixed about the wild hunt.

What I really like is the details and how the town looked alive.

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

The HD Video looks awesome. The VGX Video did no justice.
The wood and blood looks great, so what is the problem?

 

[Senteria]

Isn't it still in Alpha?

Well Alpha is the stage where they can still choose to change things, in beta it's mostly fixing bugs and optimizing the game. (unless I got alpha & beta wrong)