How do you make the open world more interesting?

+
No, no, no. Iorveth would make everything better :p It would be nice if night would look actually like a nighttime. In Sellige it's always so bright that I'm always wondering why they even use the torches. I'm glad there are mods to remedy this. Oh and I would really like if rain would really look like a rain. Lastly: bigger villages, ability to sleep at inn, dice poker, more encounters, trolls from Witcher 2. more enemy variety, and little things to ineract for heavy roleplayers like hunger etc.
 
Skirmishes in war time, battles

That's a very good point. And we know RED engine can handle small scale battles just fine. It would be awesome to have come across a few set-piece battles, or maybe randomly generated smaller ones. Very rare, but very dangerous to get involved in.

I still say they have to look at the way Red Dead Redemption populated the world with random events and AI encounters. TW3 would have benefited alot from that. According to one of the devs, the streaming tech they implemented hampered the roaming/loading distance for monsters.

https://twitter.com/Rpergent
 
That's a very good point. And we know RED engine can handle small scale battles just fine. It would be awesome to have come across a few set-piece battles, or maybe randomly generated smaller ones. Very rare, but very dangerous to get involved in.

I still say they have to look at the way Red Dead Redemption populated the world with random events and AI encounters. TW3 would have benefited alot from that. According to one of the devs, the streaming tech they implemented hampered the roaming/loading distance for monsters.

https://twitter.com/Rpergent

I suppose that it's somethint that a modder can do. We have to wait if someone it's interested on doing it because, at this point, we know that it won't come from CDPR for sure
 
Last edited:
magic places! and using the medallion to discovr the magic in th air, lik in tw2
scoia'tael in forests and wooded areas
monsters eating flesh or other monsters
more particles in the air, dust, pollen, insects,
seeing geralt while he meditates, not the black screen with the clock, just the clock and geralt and the world, like the meditation in tw1 and 2
 
that was a problem in my opinion about this game. they made a big beautiful open world but it was kind of boring, mostly finding random loot or fighting random monsters, I prefer when the monsters are unique and you fight them in quests or contracts mostly like the other games. there's also no survival or companion gameplay like there is in other big open world games. being able to have the choice to be a loner geralt or have a companion accompany him like you read sometimes in the novels. Dandelion travels with him a lot, or being able to go around on contracts with ciri, even yen or triss if you wanted. that would've required probably more work with a companion dialogue system and whatnot and probably dynamic dialogue with them based on where you guys go and what you do. the lack of actual war in this game as I've already said was one of the biggest disappointments for me, though really neither nilfgaard or redania were really likeable for me, whereas previously both the blue stripes and the scoa'tael were very likeable. the scoa'tael would've been perfect for this game given the continued persecution of non-humans in my opinion but it would've even just been nice being able to help the blue stripes and fight for a free, completely free, temeria, but there was no option for that. i'd prefer a scoa'tael plot but I still liked Roche a lot too. In the end, I would've rather they spent their time on the main story and character's and a better plot for the final game with better closure and a smaller world like the other games rather than a huge, yet breathtaking, but also mostly boring and repetitive open world.
 
Last edited:
Of all wild animals except wolves and bears I've seen only hares and does. It would be nice to append foxes, elks, deers, boars, beavers and badgers.
 
No main quest! Why hasn't any open world rpg ever done this? The main quest is always the worst part of any open world rpg.
Just have a big open world filled with towns that have problems that need solving. You get to wander from town to town at your own discretion and pace as a monster hunter for hire without the "urgency" of the main quest hanging over your head. This way you feel like you can take your time and take everything in without feeling like you NEED to do this main story quest at now.
 
More slavic folklore, like the totem poles in TW1.
Hide "guarded treasure" and "hidden treasure" and the such from the map. Make the loot more specific, interesting.
Make other items you want to find, not necessarily useful. Maybe bringing home items to decorate Dandelion's house with.
More very unique quests like the false god one. (preferably much longer).
 
I would have corrected the devilry with the miraculous masking of Geralt. That feeling when a white-haired man in an armor with a wolf medallion and two swords tells the medic that he is a student and medic believes. :geraltthatsgood:
 
Also, I would be against it if the witcher would become a little hardcore. For example, a drowned man without proper control could have gnawed Geralt, I would have been like that (Almost like the Roach School). Still I would like to see a hunt for monsters, and more monsters as such.
 
In worlds like these, I really want NPCs reactions, you know, about your behavior, your actions and you cloths, you know, wearing a Nilfgardian armor in a place where they hate Nilfgar, wear a Witch-hunter armor in a meeting with witches. you know, someting that makes the world more conscious of your existence beside two or three pre-fabricated phrases
 
Last edited:
Edwelt_Hunter;n9073960 said:
In worlds like these, I really want NPCs reactions, you know, about your behavior, your actions and you cloths, you know, wearing a Nilfgardian armor in a place where they hate Nilfgar, wear a Witch-hunter armor in a meeting with witches. you know, someting that makes the world more conscious of your existence beside two or three pre-fabricated phrases

It is probably a matter of priorities, this game is more about the story and quests than world simulation, so less resources were spent on things like points of interests or making the NPCs react realistically to the player's actions and gear equipped. That would have taken a fair amount of work if it was to take all the possibilities into account.
 
sv3672;n9140130 said:
It is probably a matter of priorities, this game is more about the story and quests than world simulation, so less resources were spent on things like points of interests or making the NPCs react realistically to the player's actions and gear equipped. That would have taken a fair amount of work if it was to take all the possibilities into account.

However, what he says is indeed correct. I would even forbid Nilfgaardian armors from being worn, since we are in territories hostile to Nilfgaard during most of the game. It is the same as wearing Hitler's uniform in Soviet rear.

 
To OP;

I feel the construction, presentation and interactivity of the world determines how interesting it is to me.

Obviously avoid the old tropes of room interiors being larger than building exteriors.

Traveling around the world should be intuitive. This means not having to look at the world map to plan my way to a general area or direction, and not being dependent on following a magic line on the mini-map. The former is tedious, the latter is boring gameplay.

Invisible walls are generally just bad world design. There are natural barriers, canyons, cliffs, mountains. These communicate to the player that the world stops where they begin, instead of just wandering into a invisible wall. I particularly dislike finding invisible walls existing between spots that I can explore, just sections of the middle quartered off for no reason.

I'm not a fan of pressing the use key to hear an ever repeated line from NPC. They should be either people worth interacting with in depth or not at all. The "repeat this line" thing just might was well be them saying "I'm an random NPC, and this is a game."
I know it seems like a small thing, but when the world is littered with random NPCs that basically repeat to you "this is a game" it takes you out of the world in my opinion.

Weather, population density, wild-life, etc. Places where NPC;s can be seen doing unique activities, that makes sense for the area they are in, as opposed to simply standing around doing nothing. (And then telling you repeatedly "I'm busy" when you press the use key)

Interactivity is a double edged sword.
Being too conservative leaves a world with little interaction. Being overly liberal with things to interact with (think TW2 arm wrestling) gives the impression the world is filled with pointless fluff.
Luckily CDPR seem to know how to fill their world with interesting interactions, be it worth-while side quests or mini-games.
They also show an aptitude to improve. The horse racing in TW3 was "meh"... but they spiced it up in Blood and Wine with the sword and crossbow target practice mechanics.

Part of interactivity is exploration. I have mixed feelings about how Geralt telepathically knew every spot of importance in the world. I would have liked it if general traders had a stock-pile of maps for important place like Place of Power, (and Witcher Gear treasure maps) but the less important locations, like barrels floating in the water with goodies, should have been something you discovered organically.
The best comments I hear about this game beyond the story, acting, decisions, etc, is how mind blowing it is for the world to seem to unravel in an organic way. Not by being force fed.
 
sv3672;n9140130 said:
It is probably a matter of priorities, this game is more about the story and quests than world simulation, so less resources were spent on things like points of interests or making the NPCs react realistically to the player's actions and gear equipped. That would have taken a fair amount of work if it was to take all the possibilities into account.
NukeTheMoon;n9228091 said:
I feel the construction, presentation and interactivity of the world determines how interesting it is to me...(Snipping for space.)

I agree with a lot of this. TW3 (all of The Witcher games for that matter) have primarily relied on their narrative as the backbone. As they are an intimate, gritty evolution of character and plot, I feel the physical worlds of The Witcher games accurately reflect that. The gameworlds serve as a backdrop for the overarching themes. Sure, there are lots of interesting nooks to uncover, but much of it simply feels like "ground to be covered". I mean that in a good way, as it highlights the long, lonely road that Geralt needs to travel. In kind, the signature locations (cities, castles, elven ruins, etc.), while perhaps initially striking, suddenly devolve into familiar, gritty, earthy materials up close -- just like real life. That's lends a great sense of weight and tactile substance to all parts of The Witcher games.

And not just locations. Tools and equipment and characters' abilities as well: e.g. arriving in Kaer Morhen while Yen is trying to set up the megascope. You are walking up the staircase when...*BANG*...followed by Yen's supremely frustrated shout of, "God damn it! You piece of shit!" I feel this particular scene captures the essence of the open world in TW1-3. Yes, there are magical, fantastical locations and experiences -- but they are tempered by the fact that it's day-to-day business in this world. The literal lay of the land and feel of any particular place reflects this. It's grounded.

I would say it's a far cry from Bethesda's titles, in which (for The Elder Scrolls, at least) the world itself is the main character. In that regard, there is much more extreme personality and overt stylization in any particular location. To me, at least, it feels like if you level the horizon to the center of your screen, no matter where you are in a Beth game, it's a postcard. While visually stunning and very entertaining, it also creates a constant sense of being in a "magical place". A place that could not possibly exist. Nothing wrong with that! I love the games (Morrowind and Skyrim especially), but it's far easier for me to roll my eyes at certain parts. It's also far easier for me to spend time exploring every last inch of a cave.

______________


The impact of The Witcher's universe is simply more cohesive, IMO. Especially in terms of actual quests, I think CDPR managed to create a sense of meaning and urgency to every single thing you do -- without harassing or rushing the player. Of course, not all quests can be shining beacons of ingenuity, but I can't recall how many times I finished a side-quest and just sat there for a minute soaking it all up. It was ingenious as a design. It more or less reflects the structure of the novels: standalone short-stories that all contributed to an over-arching theme. Not even Bioware managed to create such powerful narratives so consistently. Their main quests were wonderfully fleshed out and moving at times, but there were also plenty of fetch-and-carry or kill-the-foozle quests that were as flat as cardboard. CDPR's quests set a new standard for story-based, open-world gameplay, I think.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom