Freya is in the Details (the small things you love about TW3)

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Freya is in the Details (the small things you love about TW3)

Firstly I apologize if there is already a thread about acknowledging some of the small things that make The Witcher 3 great. I could have sworn there was already a thread on this but I searched and couldn't find it. Maybe I'm thinking of a thread in the Dragon Age: Inquisition forums shining a light on some often overlooked small but important touches that sets TW3 apart. Yes, it's not just this forum that is in awe of TW3.

In any case I'd like a place to put those sometimes overlooked yet important and brilliant small touches that catch our attention. Ok...I'll go first.

The fact that the Hornwall Horn is perfectly in tune (playing the root note) with all music in the game.

At some point the tired but dedicated developer / sound engineer who made that horn sound took the time to make sure it was in tune with the rest of the music in the game. She / he didn't have to...probably wasn't even instructed to. But they made sure that even this seemingly small detail was not overlooked.

I sometimes drink some ale and play this horn in time with whatever group of musicians is entertaining the tavern patrons. The fact that the time was taken to make sure that the horn was in tune with any and all music in the game makes me happier than it probably should. This attention to detail should be acknowledged and appreciated, for not many game developers will go to this length to ensure that even this tiniest of details will add to our experience.

Ok...your turn....
 
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Good one Exentryk.

I have another one. The White Whale. Here's something that incorporates all departments; writers, VO (villagers mumbling rumors), animators, texture & 3D modeling artists, sound design etc. Just to have a mythological white whale appear occasionally out of the icy waters of Skellige. That's a lot of work for something that really has no real bearing on any quests. Very cool.
 
Regarding the children in the Three Witches "kindergarten"

If you choose to save them, there's a note in Mirabells Orphanage, that says they appear one day outside of the door, and they take them in. There's a full list of the children names. After I've found that I felt a little less like shit for getting Baron killed and Downwarren burnt to the ground.
 
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Good one Exentryk.

I have another one. The White Whale. Here's something that incorporates all departments; writers, VO (villagers mumbling rumors), animators, texture & 3D modeling artists, sound design etc. Just to have a mythological white whale appear occasionally out of the icy waters of Skellige. That's a lot of work for something that really has no real bearing on any quests. Very cool.

sure but whats up with the horrible graphics on the whales? Everything else looks fucking perfect then a whale from a super-nintendo game shows up.. wtf

Oh and my little detail
I've gotten the 3 different Ciri endings (btw stop reading if you dont wanna know this shit) and even though I like it the most when she becomes a witcher I gotta say that I was allmost shocked when I got the "Ciri becomes a sorcress ending" and White Orchid was covered in snow.

Hell, thats not even a small detail its a big one, but I thought that was sweet.
 
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When you've made it that Cerys or Hjalmar becomes the king of Skellige and Birna gets sentenced to death...

You can find her body strapped on a rock in the beach north of the village of Sund!
 
There are numerous little things, in a way it is probably what makes the game so good, in my humble opinion.

as if they hired a Archeologist, Geologist, Anthropologist, Biologist, and a Historian as consultants for creating the world. yesterday i was walking around Novograd when I noticed a brick stone factory, as I'm aware not connected to a specific quest, but because a riverbank is where it ought to be, historically.

these things in m opinion give the world/game a soul where most others fail
there are times just walk around enjoying the environment without perusing quests or the like
 
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There are numerous little things, in a way it is probably what makes the game so good, in my humble opinion.

as if they hired a Archeologist, Geologist, Anthropologist, Biologist, and a Historian as consultants for creating the world. yesterday i was walking around Novograd when I noticed a brick stone factory, as I'm aware not connected to a specific quest, but because a riverbank is where it ought to be, historically.

these things in m opinion give the world/game a soul where mot others fail
there are times just walk around enjoying the environment without perusing quests or the like

Well who's to say they didnt? I saw in an interview that all the castles in the game are based and made exactly like the old castles in Europe. There's quite a few of them.
 
When you've made it that Cerys or Hjalmar becomes the king of Skellige and Birna gets sentenced to death...
@vahouth That was amazing discovery. I found long after the quest ended and it blew me away- never seen a follow up before. Brilliant detail.
There are so many small details in this game: the sailor tossing his knife back and forth between his hands. Geralts expressions, his satisfied look after clearing out abandon areas. Cats being cats. The businesses: dye, mason, laundry, stage shows around the cities. The women sweeping the floor as dust spreads in the air or washing in the tub as water spills out.
 
The NPC's do much more than stand or walk around aimlessly. There is a whole thread on this. It is impressive even in White Orchard. Kids are chasing each other, chicken feathers are being plucked, pipes are being smoked, drunkards are tossing their cookies, etc. As for animal NPC's, I've seen wolves rolling around in the grass, bears chasing game, crows circling corpses, etc.

Just the level of detail CDPR put into non-important NPCs in every city and village is awe-inspiring. Makes for great immersion.
 
I remember the first time I arrived at the burnt village in White Orchard, to start the quest of the missing brother. The moment I left Roach to talk with the guy I heard people screaming and rushed to see what happened: a pack of wolves just came from the other side of the village(forest side road) and were hunting the villagers. I killed all of them as fast as I could and returned to my business.

At first I wasn't sure if the wolves thingy was scripted, but then, the second time I started a new game the wolves didn't attack these villagers, but they were roaming near, so then it was a random encounter.

Wolves hunting does, deers and rabbits (and maybe humans when given the chance ?) for food is awesome!
 
I love how NPCs actually comment on the weather, and the way foliage reacts to the weather is amazing, I love seeing trees swaying in the wind, and when you go into witcher sense mode you can hear the branches straining and cracking.
 
Loved finding birna on the rock, but I was a little pissed I couldn't find the drunk in white orchard who was
hung
Also the fake witcher , I couldn't find out what happened to him when I let the villagers punish him.
So yes there are a lot of small details, but also a fair amount of loose ends.
 
Walked across a painting in novigrad by the hierarch square. It only looked like a bunch of colors plopped together but when you got super close it had an outline of a horse. ;)
 
Loved finding birna on the rock, but I was a little pissed I couldn't find the drunk in white orchard who was
hung
Also the fake witcher , I couldn't find out what happened to him when I let the villagers punish him.
So yes there are a lot of small details, but also a fair amount of loose ends.
That drunk in White Orchard made me search every big tree in the vicinity of the village.
The fake witcher though I had him work in the fields to make amends, and there he was doing some elbow grease. :)
Too bad though he still wore the medallion...
 
Loved finding birna on the rock, but I was a little pissed I couldn't find the drunk in white orchard who was
hung
Also the fake witcher , I couldn't find out what happened to him when I let the villagers punish him.
So yes there are a lot of small details, but also a fair amount of loose ends.
That drunk in White Orchard made me search every big tree in the vicinity of the village.
The fake witcher though I had him work in the fields to make amends, and there he was doing some elbow grease. :)
Too bad though he still wore the medallion...
 
Ok here's one someone else pointed out on a different forum. The quote below is from one of the books describing Keira. Attention to detail right down to every mole.

"Before the Witcher had regained the power of speech, a short, slim sorceress with long, straight, straw coloured hair came over to him. He recognized her at once – she was the one in the horned agama skin slippers and the green tulle top, which didn’t even cover a minor detail like the small mole above her left breast."
 
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The NPC's do much more than stand or walk around aimlessly. There is a whole thread on this. It is impressive even in White Orchard. Kids are chasing each other, chicken feathers are being plucked, pipes are being smoked, drunkards are tossing their cookies, etc. As for animal NPC's, I've seen wolves rolling around in the grass, bears chasing game, crows circling corpses, etc.

Just the level of detail CDPR put into non-important NPCs in every city and village is awe-inspiring. Makes for great immersion.
The insane thing is The Witcher 1 did this too, 8 years ago. So did Deus Ex 1 back t in 2000. It's one of the reasons why I couldn't stand Dragon Age Origins the first time I played it. It came out in 2009 and all the NPCs stood around like rocks >__<
 
When you use alternative quen shield while it's raining, raindrops affect visibly the sphere's surface.
 
Like when you visit normal towns, people generally despise the Wticher and spit. But on the areas you've cleared and villagers settle in, when you visit again, people there are more welcoming and comment that not all Witchers are monsters.
 
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