I miss the ambushes, the sense of dread...

[GratuitousViolets]

I miss the ambushes, the sense of dread...

I love this game, hands down one of the best played on ps4 to date. However, I miss the ambushes of the first game. I'm playing the first on laptop at the moment and your medallion barely twitches and suddenly you're being ambushed by five drowners because you walked near a lake or river. I miss the sense of dread being near such areas and not expecting skmething to suddenly come shooting out the water towards me.

In this game you travel miles to see a monster, and you see it coming long before you even fight it so you have too much time to prepare, it takes the challenge away a little and there's no scares or surprises really. I understand Geralt is a seasoned witcher and can hear monsters a mile away but it also means he's too prepared all the time and it takes away the fun.

Anyone else feel this way sometimes?

 

[moonknightgog]

I love this game, hands down one of the best played on ps4 to date. However, I miss the ambushes of the first game. I'm playing the first on laptop at the moment and your medallion barely twitches and suddenly you're being ambushed by five drowners because you walked near a lake or river. I miss the sense of dread being near such areas and not expecting skmething to suddenly come shooting out the water towards me.

In this game you travel miles to see a monster, and you see it coming long before you even fight it so you have too much time to prepare, it takes the challenge away a little and there's no scares or surprises really. I understand Geralt is a seasoned witcher and can hear monsters a mile away but it also means he's too prepared all the time and it takes away the fun.

Anyone else feel this way sometimes?

No.
Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

 

[gloomfrost]

what the game world needs are random encounters, the world is far to static

 

[cloolvl]

No.
Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

:what3: just :what3:

1. seeing as videogames are entertainment, gameplay is supposed to be fun. you cant have only one of them being important.

2. ambushes would not break the game at all. unless of course you'd be ambushed by a bunch of chorts and similar.

3. having no time to prepare is exactly the point of ambushes. seeing how you deal with a problem without being optimally prepared for it. not that it would be a big deal anyway since you can just hitdodgequen your way thru everything.

 

[gtcarlson]

No.
Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

I could see your point if all combat was replaced by ambushes, and you never had time to prepare. But what harm would having drowners pop out of nowhere every once in a while do?

 

[moonknightgog]

:what3: just :what3:

1. seeing as videogames are entertainment, gameplay is supposed to be fun. you cant have only one of them being important.

No.
1) Entertainment is subjective. What is fun to you could not be fun to me.
2) Videogames are not consumer goods. As for movies, or books:

Fast & Furious is a good movie because it is fun? No, it's simply an american bullshit. And a bad movie.
2001 space odyssey is not fun. But it is a goddamn masterpiece.

2. ambushes would not break the game at all. unless of course you'd be ambushed by a bunch of chorts and similar.

3. having no time to prepare is exactly the point of ambushes. seeing how you deal with a problem without being optimally prepared for it. not that it would be a big deal anyway since you can just hitdodgequen your way thru everything.

If the entire combat system is based on preparation, and then the game doesn't allow you to prepare yourself, then yes, it's a poor design choice.

 

[iCake]

Huh? Walk around the croockback bog. There are drowners coming out of nowhere there all the time. Yet again, you just put on the nechrophage oil when you're there, as you don't really have any other enemies there.

 

[cloolvl]

No.
1) Entertainment is subjective. What is fun to you could not be fun to me.
2) Videogames are not consumer goods. As for movies, or books:

Fast & Furious is a good movie because it is fun? No, it's simply an american bullshit. And a bad movie.
2001 space odyssey is not fun. But it is a goddamn masterpiece.

If the entire combat system is based on preparation, and then the game doesn't allow you to prepare yourself, then yes, it's a poor design choice.

first you say that fun is not important, then you change it up to fun being subjective. ok.

f&f is good exactly because its fun. take your movie critic aspirations to inception forum.

also ,the entire combat system is based on dodging well. preparation can be ignored completely. and even if your 'design analysis' wasn't completely wrong, ambushes still wouldn't be poor choices.

 

[zmey_gorinich]

what the game world needs are random encounters, the world is far to static

I second that. After a while you know exactly what you will encounter where. Random spawn, wandering monsters would be a nice addition to the game in my humble opinion.

I never played Witcher 1, but the ambush idea sounds nice too.

 

[moonknightgog]

first you say that fun is not important, then you change it up to fun being subjective. ok.

f&f is good exactly because its fun. take your movie critic aspirations to inception forum.

also ,the entire combat system is based on dodging well. preparation can be ignored completely. and even if your 'design analysis' wasn't completely wrong, ambushes still wouldn't be poor choices.

I'm saying that fun is not important from both development and analysis standpoints.
If you are a game designer, you can't approach to design thinking "yeah, let's make something fun". Simply because what you think it's fun, its fun for you but couldn't be for other people.
The correct approach is..."let's do something that works".

Which mean that, if you are making the enemy encounter based on preparation, you can't make an ambush pattern. Not because it's bad or it's not fun, but simply because it's the antithesis of preparation.

It's like the ice-skating combat. Why they cut it off from the game? Not because it wasn't fun, but simply because it didn't work in the context.

 

[zmey_gorinich]

I'm saying that fun is not important from both development and analysis standpoints.
If you are a game designer, you can't approach to design thinking "yeah, let's make something fun". Simply because what you think it's fun, its fun for you but couldn't be for other people.
The correct approach is..."let's do something that works".

Which mean that, if you are making the enemy encounter based on preparation, you can't make an ambush pattern. Not because it's bad or it's not fun, but simply because it's the antithesis of preparation.

It's like the ice-skating combat. Why they cut it off from the game? Not because it wasn't fun, but simply because it didn't work in the context.

And why is an ambush here and there the antithesis of preparation? Being Geralt, you'd know that ambushes of a certain type are likely in certain areas. So, you'd prepare accordingly if the path led you through the said areas.

In a sense, it is already in the game; for example, while taking a stroll through the Crookback bog. The problem is, you can sense monsters a mile away in TW3. Ambushes where the monsters would purposely hide and jump out in the last moment would be a nice addition.

 

[GratuitousViolets]

I didn't intend for this to turn into a huge debate about what's fun and what's not. I just miss the occasional ambush that keeps me on edge. It seems to me in a game where dealing with monsters, the occasional scare might be entertaining lol. I'm in the sewers right now in the first game and it's always a case of am I about to be bitch slapped by a gaggle of drowners or not, edging closer to corners, not knowing what's around it, what might surface. Witcher 3 on the other hand there's no careful cautious approach If you see them a mile ahead.

Being outside Vizima and always ending up with a Bhargast leaping out of nowhere....being more cautious about travelling at night etc because Ghouls are roaming... Night was when you were more prone to be ambushed by all sorts...Geralt can pretty much hang in the woods for days and not be touched or approached by anything more vicious than the snow hare lol. Finding most groups of monsters everywhere during daytime takes the edge out for me, especially when I can stand making potions, taking them and crafting bombs with them in line of sight lol.

Like someone else mentioned, it doesn't have to be all monsters and all the time, just certain areas or a random encounter situation. Being caught off guard always taught me the importance of prep and save lol. I learned from those mistakes in the first game.

Anyway, it was just a thought. I think the only time I've been caught off guard is by the OP boss monsters.

 

[Gyrofalcon]

+1 For ambush.
Enforce need for Geralt, so weeks easly can pass ingame. Then fullmoon will happend often, and monsters will roam around, people are in horror. Maybe you must kill x monsters to continue some quest, due to people are locking themself inside, and you can't talk to them.

 

[AvengerGrim]

No.
Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

"Fun is not important."

:skepticalzoltan: Too much internet for today, ugh. Good night folks, i'm out.

 

[velcroboy]

I think random ambushes would add to the realism a lot. And the added fear/adrenaline rush would be awesome. Yes, the combat system asks you to do some preparation before fights but there are tons of fights that I just walk into without much thought to prepping.

Also, the gangs in Novigrad ambush you frequently at night. Why would it be such a stretch for monsters to sneak up/jump out/bait you into an ambush?

All that being said, the first time I encountered foglets I was caught completely off guard. Two of them attacked me at once and I was still only a level 4 or 5. I just barely survived and it is still one of the most memorable/exhilarating fights I've experienced in this game.

 

[velcroboy]

A fullmoon cycle would be great.

What a horrible night to have a curse.

 

[shanersimms]

Everyone here does realize that Geralt's Witcher senses make it nigh impossible for him to be truly ambushed right? RIGHT?!?

 

[shnabeltasse]

Not exactly feeling your way, OP. This big world needs to have smoot travelling. When walking from A to B you had to fear an ambush everytime at a riverside you would get frustrated and annoyed quickly. Oh well, I would at least.

But I definatetly feel a lack of variety overall. Bandit camps, more bandit camps etc. And yeah, some ambushes like being ambushed by Wyverns or Gorgons would bring some dread.

 

[SgtThundercok]

There will always be something that someone thinks was left out, or could have been done better. With just about everything. The only things pretty much perfect in this world are the Stones albums released between 1968 and 1972. And 'The Godfather'.
:cheers:

I like the game a lot and have been playing the hell out of it, taking it slow to take it in. I'm not sure I would like more ambushes, and definitely know I would not like a ton of ambushes added. Playing at Blood and Bones.

I love the randomness of what I can do, where I can go. Gwent. The visuals. The signs. I'm still learning. Just re-specced, keeping Active Shield, Fast Attack, Melt Armor, and Delusion while dumping Exploding Shield and Firestorm.

Added Magic Trap and am loving it. I'm still using the base level of Quen and Yrden, but I don't have to slot them and they serve their purpose. When I get more points I might look at them again but for now I love this combo. Also use Sun and Stars, Griffin and Rage Management.

Of special note, I've not followed the Witcher series, am typically a cut-scene skipper, and I find myself watching more cut-scenes than I probably ever have. I'm stunned by the quantity and quality of cut-scene content.

Wonderful work CDPR!

---------- Updated at 12:09 AM ----------

No.
Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

Hey. Everyone? This was poorly worded sarcasm. I'm pretty sure of that!
:smile:

 

[Fuz]

No. Fun is not important. Gameplay is. And if there would be ambushes, this would mean that the game is broken, because it don't give you enough time to prepare.

No.