Future Witcher game priority: OPEN WORLD aspect or GAME MECHANICS ?

[serxho92]

Future Witcher game priority: OPEN WORLD aspect or GAME MECHANICS ?

Since we all know that CDPR loves the Witcher and won't let go of this franchise so easy, in what aspect of the game would you want them to invest more?

Would you prefer a bigger Map, more quests and free-roaming which adds to replayability? Or you'd want them to implement more game mechanics like more complex combat system, stealth mechanic etc.

 

[Riven-Twain]

Moderator's note: We've already a couple threads about potential future Witcher games; however, since this is a specific question about game-play preferences, we'll keep it separate for now.

Personally, I'd welcome well-developed mechanics, which could be used to interact with the world's environment. I'm not referring to survival mechanics, such as hunting, fishing, and so on -- although some people certainly enjoy those -- but more tactical, or tactile, mechanics, allowing players to use the world's features to their advantage. Exploration can be fun, but engagement with the surroundings strikes me as an interesting possible feature.

 

[serxho92]

I personally hope they invest in the Combat aspect. Witchers are supposed to be dangerous and unpredictable swordsmen and combat in the game must be top notch to justify this.
Even the Witcher 2 had more combat animations and faster pace than W3.

To be honest i expected more. I don't see the point of having a huge world with countless quests if don't enjoy the core mechanics of the game. The fighting style and abilities are elements that make the witchers unique and thess should be expanded more in future games imo.

 

[Riven-Twain]

I personally hope they invest in the Combat aspect. Witchers are supposed to be dangerous and unpredictable swordsmen and combat in the game must be top notch to justify this.

It's a fair hope, provided, of course, that another game set in the Witcher's world were about a witcher. Some players have expressed interest in non-witcher characters -- although, admittedly, this group of voices seems to have been rather small.

Off hand, I don't recall Assassins of Kings having a much faster pace than Wild Hunt, although it did have a more varied selection of finisher animations.

In any case, a new game would likely require innovations in its combat system, in order to keep up with standards set by other games.

 

[sv3672]

Would you prefer a bigger Map, more quests and free-roaming which adds to replayability? Or you'd want them to implement more game mechanics like more complex combat system, stealth mechanic etc.

While I personally do not consider a large open world to be really important, I do think a future game would feature one, at least judging from the current trends. Cyberpunk 2077 was already said to be even bigger than Witcher 3 some time ago. Although despite the much larger map compared to the previous games, most of the best content in Wild Hunt is still in the main quests and the major side quests that branch out of them. In my opinion the complexity and quality of the combat system is not necessarily related to the map size or having an open world, those have more effect on the quest design.

 

[Krull32]

Well, i don't have anything against if they go open world again IF they put a bit more effort into it and sacrifice less story for it .I'm looking at the Millions of "?" too
Sometimes the beautiful world didn't helped against the boredom here and there.
They did it better with blood and wine ( dynamic point of interests) and i hope they will improve it.

And personally, i don't have any problems with the witcher 3 combat. I liked it.

 

[slothman32]

I don't the mechanics in W3 but I do like a bigger world.
More plot as well as side quests and contracts.
Without Geralt or any Witchers contracts, the real reason for Witchers, contracts would be odd.

 

[Twardyk]

Personally, I do not need an open world like in The Witcher 3. Give me 10-20 locations the size of the White Orchard, and a couple bigger ones, scattered across the continent, and I'll be happy. Also, if you take all the locations from TW1 and merge them, you'll get a very small open world that can be crossed in 8-10 minutes. But when I played it, this world seemed much bigger to me.

Thus, we have the following paradox:
A large open world without internal borders "reduces" the territory accessible for exploration (remember Velen, which is located 2 minutes from Novigrad). At the same time, several locations separated from each other, even if only by a little, give the impression that the world is much larger.

 

[Domhnallaich]

Personally, I prefer non open world games. It feeds the imagination / intrigue better when you can't go everywhere. For me it makes the world feel smaller when it's open world because it removes that element of intrigue and wonder. I like how they did it in TW1 and 2, TW1 felt like a huge game and it take me ages to complete it. Just improve the levels technically. That way each zone can have a far more distinct look, feel,and story. Personally I LOVE how Naughty Dog did Uncharted 4.

 

[Sam2305]

I think the answer is out of question. They are going to do an open world because it is what gives them money. If they had care about the plot they would have done it with TW3

 

[Tselina]

In my opinion the complexity and quality of the combat system is not necessarily related to the map size or having an open world, those have more effect on the quest design.

The map size means money spent on development. The more money spent, the less possible risks. The less the possible risks there are, the more primitive the combat system and gameplay should be.

And personally, i don't have any problems with the witcher 3 combat. I liked it.

The worst combat system in The Witcher series.

 

[Krull32]

The worst combat system in The Witcher series.

Ha.
No no no no aaaaand no. That title belongs to witcher 1.

Btw, the Discussion about the Witcher 3 Combat is so old, i dont know why a few people have so many problems with it.. It works, is fast and flows and smooth.
Some people can really exaggerate....

 

[Guest 3847602]

At this point, CDPR and Rockstar are the only ones who can deliver engaging story, interesting characters, gorgeous world, good gameplay and decent variety of side content in the OW environment. Even with its flaws, TW3 comfortably wipes the floor with every recent AAA RPG.
That being said, I really wish to see them keep the filler content at the absolute minimum in the future. As far as I'm concerned, TW3 would have been a better game with half of smuggler caches, bandit camps and monster nests simply gone from the game (even if nothing new was added in their stead). What I actually want reinstated is TW1 alchemy system and dice poker.

 

[Riven-Twain]

dice poker

Ah, yes, 'twould be rather jolly to get back to basics again. Personally, I'd welcome more atmospheric, 'authentic' side-games in a future instalment, rather than the somewhat absurd conceit of Gwent. The REDs had fun making, and playing, it, ay, and so did quite a few other people as well; but, let's be fair, why would a card game in the world of the Witcher feature characters currently in that world? Heh. Ach.

 

[Krull32]

At this point, CDPR and Rockstar are the only ones who can deliver engaging story, interesting characters, gorgeous world, good gameplay and decent variety of side content in the OW environment. Even with its flaws, TW3 comfortably wipes the floor with every recent AAA RPG.
That being said, I really wish to see them keep the filler content at the absolute minimum in the future. As far as I'm concerned, TW3 would have been a better game with half of smuggler caches, bandit camps and monster nests simply gone from the game (even if nothing new was added in their stead). What I actually want reinstated is TW1 alchemy system and dice poker.

Well said :like:

Btw, that reminds me of an funny post someone made in an Mass Effect Andromeda Topic " Witcher 3 - Ruining Games since 2015 "
And to be honest, it's really true
Nothing so far came even close to it.
And i have also to say after some time and thinking, i was a bit harsh with my earlier criticism comments here and there.
Now im happy what we got and that's far more than other companies deliver.

Ah, yes, 'twould be rather jolly to get back to basics again. Personally, I'd welcome more atmospheric, 'authentic' side-games in a future instalment, rather than the somewhat absurd conceit of Gwent. The REDs had fun making, and playing, it, ay, and so did quite a few other people as well; but, let's be fair, why would a card game in the world of the Witcher feature characters currently in that world? Heh. Ach.

Yep. i like Gwent in Witcher 3 too , but they shouldn't rely completely on it. Something else like dice poker would have been nice.

 

[sv3672]

The map size means money spent on development. The more money spent, the less possible risks. The less the possible risks there are, the more primitive the combat system and gameplay should be.

Not necessarily, different people work on the open world map and the combat system, and if the open world is expected to increase the revenue, then more money can be spent on the development overall. In any case, I do not find the combat in TW3 to be worse than in the previous games, even if it is not particularly great either, it is OK in all three games, but not the main selling point.

 

[Domhnallaich]

Ha.
No no no no aaaaand no. That title belongs to witcher 1.

Btw, the Discussion about the Witcher 3 Combat is so old, i dont know why a few people have so many problems with it.. It works, is fast and flows and smooth.
Some people can really exaggerate....

I liked combat style in TW1 the best. It needed work for sure but, it felt more in depth.

 

[slothman32]

I liked combat style in TW1 the best. It needed work for sure but, it felt more in depth.

I do like the fact that you have to dodge manually in TW3.
Without the revamp mod I could just spam igni to win; hard level was easy.
Dodging and rolling and such is better than just standing and barely getting hurt with tough armour.
Even a pack of level 1 wolves could hurt a level 30 Geralt if he did nothing; in TW1 Geralt would be unharmed.

 

[Riven-Twain]

Not directly related to the past couple posts: I was considering the open-world question again the other day, and it occurred to me that, if the REDs were to attempt such a world again, there could be potential investing the locations within it with greater interconnections with one another. In Wild Hunt, it often seemed to me that all but a few of the locations lacked significance in the story. (Some of the major events in the story seemed to hop about from one place to another.) Moreover, actions performed at most of these sites had little apparent impact on the areas around them. Although there are many intriguing points of interest on the map, and a few quests that focused on a specific spot -- to me -- several of them seemed rather self-contained, or mere attractive 'set pieces'. From the descriptions on the map, some locations suggest interesting, but unexplored, stories, which leave the player guessing. (Although, this impression may have been the result of development limitations, or how each location was individually designed.) Granted, there were some improvements in Blood and Wine (namely, the Hanse strongholds, and some of the monster nests), although they still were merely side attractions. If they were to try this open format again, I would appreciate greater attention to the interactions between events at different points in the world. (Also, perhaps greater emphasis upon navigation by landmarks in order to complete quests.) Naturally, this might come at the cost of other mechanisms.

 

[Domhnallaich]

I do like the fact that you have to dodge manually in TW3.
Without the revamp mod I could just spam igni to win; hard level was easy.
Dodging and rolling and such is better than just standing and barely getting hurt with tough armour.
Even a pack of level 1 wolves could hurt a level 30 Geralt if he did nothing; in TW1 Geralt would be unharmed.

Which is why I said, it needed work for sure.