We are having a friendly discussion on a game, so I'd never consider you having a different opinion from me to be offensive.Sorry in advance if I may sound a bit rude here but I can't explain myself differently now.
You are awesome, and I respect and appreciate your opinions.
The Triss and Geralt relationship was just an example, and I did not come to the conclusion just based on how it was handled. There are many other things that have been said before, and I do not deem necessary to repeat them. I used this certain issue as an example, because CDPR addressed it as well and owned up to it.Geralt-Triss breakup fits in the category of plot holes/inconcistencies, you think it's also an apology to books fans? Oh no... I'll make a list:
1. in W2 the fourth assassin was completely erased from the memory flashbacks
2. If in relationship with Shani the game would have provided a small excerpt from the diary telling it didn't work and now Geralt was with Triss
3. Anais and John Natalis
4. Iorveth and Saskia
5. How did Geralt manage to escape Avallach island?
Luckily Geralt-Triss breakup isn't the worst one. Since it was said in W2 ending that Geralt was going to search Yennefer knowing she was a captive in Nilfgaard, so maybe something happened during the trip. But yeah we haven't much info other than that, it's a plot hole.
I agree there are many plot holes that needed to be addressed, and I hoped that they would although they did not.
One of my favorite parts of the game was the beginning of the game and seeing Geralt train with Ciri, and another one is their reunion that brought out emotions in me. I was not against Ciri's involvement, but I think she got turned into an annoying filler instead of the important plot device that she had the potential to be.It's true: there is much Ciri.
But you're Geralt, and this girl is the most important thing in his life so... yeah totally a puppet with no goal or... maybe Geralt cared about finding Ciri as well as Yennefer did? Or maybe... as all the other characters? I won't make a list since we've all played the game.
You as the player make things done, it's said you're one of the best hunters and trackers expecially if you know what Ciri is for you: Bloody Baron cutscenes, as well as Geralt-Ciri reunion in that hut, would have convinced you of that, without Geralt no one would have accomplished anything at the beginning, it's after you find Ciri that things changes. Wild Hunt wanted Ciri and used Geralt and Yennefer as baits, so it was totally predictable this would have played a major role into the story, even if we know that was messed up in the 3rd act.
Ciri flahsback stories served to let the players know who Ciri is. To not see her only when you find her. It took very little time in contrast to the overall hours you spent into the game. The whole Dandelion quest was longer than all the flashbacks put together.
Wild Hunt depiction is a joke. We agree on that. What went wrong was how act 3 was handled, politics, Eredin, and White Frost. And believe me that wasn't absolutely an apology letter to the book fans. Again, how does this barely resembles an apology?
I preferred a simple dialogue about Ciri's whereabouts instead of having irrelevant flash backs every time Geralt asked someone where she was. The flashbacks could have covered the important events of the book that really highlights Geralt and Ciri's relationship. New comers would have known Ciri and her relationship with Geralt on a deeper level, and the story would have aroused more emotions.
Let me elaborate on why I say the Ciri flashbacks were irrelevant, and why I think CDPR missed a golden opportunity:
Instead of having to play through a boring and irrelevant sequence of Ciri taking a bath in the Skellige isle and so forth which could have been covered by a dialogue line, we could have had a flash back that covered Ciri rescuing Geralt from the Wild Hunt, more flashbacks on how her relationship developed with Geralt as a little girl, or the time she spent with Eredin to get to know Eredin better, and so many other better options that made a real difference ! that's why I got sick and tired of Ciri and her sequences, and it enraged me because I could see what a great opportunity was lost.
This game was going to be about Geralt discovering what had happened to him and learn more about the Wild Hunt, a group of other worldly Elves that had taken away his lover, his daughter, and his memory. Yet We did not even see a glimpse of his time riding with the Wild Hunt. Instead of the game being the Witcher 3 "Wild Hunt" and learning more about the Wild Hunt and its generals, the game turned into the Witcher 3 "good or bad dad edition". There were no real revelations about the Wild Hunt, and the decisions that determined the ending were so ridiculous and simple that it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Anyone could see them from a million miles away. If you let Ciri destroy a lab or see people alone, then you get the "good" ending. Really !?!
I don't know how the people behind the Witcher 2 could have gone so wrong to bring us to these low standards. The Witcher 2's story was complex, intriguing, and evoked thinking.
Can't believe this, I hope this isn't slowly turning into what I fear. Don't turn this into something "book fans vs game fans" because it isn't, or into something even worse that plagued these forums for months.
Let me also make something clear that I should have mentioned before. I myself am a book fan, and I've read all the books. I just think CDPR should have boldly approached the Witcher 3 just like they did in the Witcher 1 and 2. In my opinion the games got overshadowed by the books in the Witcher 3 instead of them having their own identity. That is what I mean, when I say the Witcher 3 was apologetic to the book fans. CDPR tried really hard to keep the fans of the book happy, but they detracted from the game's identity and what they had built in the previous installments by doing so. There were no good twists in the story, because CDPR played it too safe.
I loved the previousgames, because they offered something new. I loved the previous games, because they weren't a rehash of the books. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the Witcher 3.