In defense of Roach

[Wasbunny]

In defense of Roach

I've read a few comments from players and critics that I feel don't give Roach the credit she deserves.

I've never seen a game that handles an 'instant' spawn of a summoned...anything...as well as with Roach. I sometimes play a game by whistling and try to catch where she pops in and I'm always delightfully surprised to see her saunter out behind some trees or shaded outcropping, ears twitching and ready. In other games the mount magically pops in, sometimes even making all your companions suddenly disappear for no reason (yeah I'm looking at you Dragon Age: Inquisition).

But this isn't always the case (and therefore sparks some of the criticism). When she's in a village or at least near enough to any water or feed source upon dismounting she'll eventually find her way over to graze and drink after a long day of travels. After I've had my fill of Gwent and ale, visited a merchant or two and am ready to move on I whistle for her. And wait...and listen. And wait. After a few moments I walk through the village and find her still drinking out of a small puddle...as stubborn as I to leave a good watering hole. I coax her with some kind words and we are off.

I hope this is never changed for the sake of 'quality of life'. This is yet another example of what makes the world feel real.

It's these little touches, the fact that she doesn't come when called if she is drinking, grazing, or scared that get criticized as being 'flaws' or annoyances. I find them incredibly absorbing and endearing, giving character and personality even to our trusty steed. She becomes not just our mount but our companion. As I've said I've never seen a game handle this so well, right down to the complex yet absolutely natural and realistic idle animations. I find myself talking to her, even waiting for her to finish grazing before getting in the saddle again.

I acknowledge that there are camera issues (mainly having my view being auto 'corrected' while I'm riding looking off to my side at a sunset. That becomes a bit jarring I'll admit. But overall I think she's the most well developed (hate to call her a mount)...ride-able companion I've seen in any game, and she deserves the love and respect that was put into her creation.

 

[KiriSilvermane]

ill back you up here; i love Roach!
there is something insanely satisfying about ending a quest and then whistling her up and she trots into view!
I often just watch the mini map to see her spawn and then check out how she weaves her way through whatever obstacles are in the way to get to me! LOL

sure her coding isnt perfect: head first galloping through hills, occasionally stopping mid bridge, not overly good at negotiating staircases (but i guess thats not really horse territory) but she is far superior to the "climb any mountain" all terrain vehicle that was the horse of Skyrim!

in the end; to me; she is an integral part to the immersion of an already amazing game! there is simply no game ive played that has been as joyous as galloping along into the sunset on Roach having just beheaded the local waterhag!
shes like Starsky and Hutches Torino; Micheal Knight and KITT!

she needs more love!!

cmere Roach "PPPRRrrrrrrrrrrr"

 

[HarelMor]

I totally agree with you here. roach is an incredible riding companion and she feel like a real animal rather then a mount for geralt. by the way real horses hate stairs.
The witcher 3 is the only game that i have ever played that made me ride a horse for the fun of it, i find myself constantly calling roach in order to get to the next point.
i don't find any problem with her, everything give me the feeling that it is a living breathing horse. iv'e seen her looking for water and food seconds after i dismounted her, refuse to walk on steep train, everything that i would expect from a living animal. By the way one of the greatest points in the game for me was that a bandit horse kicked geralt after i killed his rider.

 

[syrik]

I call Roach my magic horse cause she shows up anywhere I go, whenever I want her. Not always perfect in her placing, but....who's perfect? Roach rocks.

Oh, she's also invincible and so are you, so long as shes not scared. Go, jump off mountain tops, it's k.

 

[SmilingSword]

Roach is great as is, I personally don't like horse racing but that's just me sucking at it. Now if only Geralt could read a signpost without having to dismount, that would be a quality of life change I could get behind.

 

[KingKnee]

Whenever I'm on a mountain I like to summon her for shits and giggles.

Hearing the futile clippety-cloppety is sweet music to my ears. Dumb horse.

 

[Liquidacid]

If you have never seen a game that handles an 'instant' spawn of a summoned anything as well as with Roach than you either have not done a lot of gaming or are simply fanboying because. While not absolutely horrible or game breaking, it's not done very well. Constantly spawning in places where she can be completely stuck or unable to reach the player isn't a "good" spawning system. I get they wanted her to spawn somewhat away this way she could gallop up to the player for immersion or whatever but the way it's handled by seeming picking random spots actually has the opposite effect just as often. The horse spawning stuck on or in something and such or even earlier I had it spawn IN a tavern I was standing by and get stuck in the doorway as she tried to leave.

Honestly it would have been better off to just have it summon right next to the player instead in most instances as it would cause less issues or at least mark the terrain so the game knew where was "safe" to summon the horse and where not to. It's not a game breaking issue but it's certainly not optimal or something great that deserves praise

And that's not even touching on the horses sometimes idiotic AI. Like running into the middle of combat for no reason and interfering which both is annoying gameplay wise and ruins immersion because no horse realistically would run toward the monsters or guy shooting fireballs instead of away

 

[AVMC]

If you have never seen a game that handles an 'instant' spawn of a summoned anything as well as with Roach than you either have not
done a lot of gaming or are simply fanboying because. While not absolutely horrible or game breaking, it's not done very well. Constantly spawning in places where she can be completely stuck or unable to reach the player isn't a "good" spawning system.

Agreed, though not about fanboying... I'd say a good 30% of my tries to call for the horse ended up with the horse stuck in a building. One time, Roach was outside a house, but the collision mesh was stuck in a wall so I could mount but not move. I get that the little touches of the horse eating and drinking are neat and I love the horse.

But damn that horse is dumb. I've ridden horses. My family owned horses. My friend's family owned a few horses.

Horses don't run at full speed down a path and then decide to run into a tree. They also don't jump off of giant cliffs. And if you say that's because this is a game, you've invalidated any reason for the realistic touches being great. Think what you want, but that horse is a stupid, loveable, dumb equine. Definitely not a dumb ass, no asses in this game as far as I know.

 

[Wasbunny]

If you have never seen a game that handles an 'instant' spawn of a summoned anything as well as with Roach than you either have not done a lot of gaming or are simply fanboying because. While not absolutely horrible or game breaking, it's not done very well. Constantly spawning in places where she can be completely stuck or unable to reach the player isn't a "good" spawning system. I get they wanted her to spawn somewhat away this way she could gallop up to the player for immersion or whatever but the way it's handled by seeming picking random spots actually has the opposite effect just as often. The horse spawning stuck on or in something and such or even earlier I had it spawn IN a tavern I was standing by and get stuck in the doorway as she tried to leave.

Honestly it would have been better off to just have it summon right next to the player instead in most instances as it would cause less issues or at least mark the terrain so the game knew where was "safe" to summon the horse and where not to. It's not a game breaking issue but it's certainly not optimal or something great that deserves praise

And that's not even touching on the horses sometimes idiotic AI. Like running into the middle of combat for no reason and interfering which both is annoying gameplay wise and ruins immersion because no horse realistically would run toward the monsters or guy shooting fireballs instead of away

What game did it better? I've actually played a few (to put it mildly). Not sure why you feel the need to insult / belittle me by labeling me as a 'fanboy' for seeing the merits of how Roach was created, but whatever I guess.

I haven't actually encountered any of the bugged spawn points you mentioned so maybe that might make me more forgiving? Just would like a firm example of how this was done better before I write this off to 'fanboy-ism' ...that I just like the game so much I can't see any of it's flaws. Please illuminate me.

 

[DeGorro82]

Even Geralt saying to Princess (The Pellar's Sheep).
"You are better than Roach ..."

 

[KiriSilvermane]

Agreed, though not about fanboying... I'd say a good 30% of my tries to call for the horse ended up with the horse stuck in a building. One time, Roach was outside a house, but the collision mesh was stuck in a wall so I could mount but not move. I get that the little touches of the horse eating and drinking are neat and I love the horse.

But damn that horse is dumb. I've ridden horses. My family owned horses. My friend's family owned a few horses.

Horses don't run at full speed down a path and then decide to run into a tree. They also don't jump off of giant cliffs. And if you say that's because this is a game, you've invalidated any reason for the realistic touches being great. Think what you want, but that horse is a stupid, loveable, dumb equine. Definitely not a dumb ass, no asses in this game as far as I know.

why would you let Roach run into a tree??
ive read a few statements now that lend me to think people think there is an autodrive option for Roach??
is that the case? is there a Far Cry 4 autodrive for Roach when she is on a road?
because ive never come across it yet! ive encountered some very very "minor" steering at times; but ive tested and tested and she will just keep on going straight 99.9% of the time if i let her!!
i admit the "immortality" of cliff jumping is somewhat off putting; but to be honest, again, she will usually only jump if i force her too; stopping at the edges of anything she doesnt like unless i force her to jump; and even then it can be a bit glitchy to force that jump.

am i fan boy? (actually, at my age thats fanman) yep! im a HUGE fan of the game!
does that blinker me? not in any way shape or form!
ive never had her gltich into a building when summoned in 33+ hours of gameplay
i think ive only seen her get stuck once or twice..and even then i just had to run and mount her.
ive had her run "through" hill landscape whilst at a gallop.
noone here is saying she is the perfect coding of a horse!
but at the same time she isnt the nightmare of hideous coding that people are making her out to be!

 

[Bellator Pius Gratus]

Hear hear! I love Roach too, and devs outdone themselves with her behaviour and pathfinding.

Only thing to complain about is that I wanted to choose a horse myself(a colour that is) and make it my main Roach. It would still be sweet to do, but otherwise I've nothing to complain about, and she's a companion that never fails me. :happy:

EDIT: The only trouble(it happened one time) I've had with Roach's 'auto-canter and gallop' is where there is a fork in the road. But then I actually take over and steer myself and it isn't an issue anymore.

 

[Liquidacid]

why would you let Roach run into a tree??
ive read a few statements now that lend me to think people think there is an autodrive option for Roach??
is that the case? is there a Far Cry 4 autodrive for Roach when she is on a road?
because ive never come across it yet! ive encountered some very very "minor" steering at times; but ive tested and tested and she will just keep on going straight 99.9% of the time if i let her!!

Yes there is. I'm not sure how you missed it as they explain it at the very beginning of the game. You hold down shift (or whatever button gallop is on your console) while on a road/path and it "auto-drives" or well is supposed to make her keep following said road without you needing to steer. It mostly works but she doesn't follow the path in the middle and so often randomly veers off and into things or slips off ledges ect.

 

[Wasbunny]

I mean just one. Just one example of a game that does this better. Until someone can come up with a standard to judge Roach by this game IS the standard now.

---------- Updated at 10:28 AM ----------

Yes there is. I'm not sure how you missed it as they explain it at the very beginning of the game. You hold down shift (or whatever button gallop is on your console) while on a road/path and it "auto-drives" or well is supposed to make her keep following said road without you needing to steer. It mostly works but she doesn't follow the path in the middle and so often randomly veers off and into things or slips off ledges ect.

So as a Non-Fanboy who did it better?

 

[KiriSilvermane]

Yes there is. I'm not sure how you missed it as they explain it at the very beginning of the game. You hold down shift (or whatever button gallop is on your console) while on a road/path and it "auto-drives" or well is supposed to make her keep following said road without you needing to steer. It mostly works but she doesn't follow the path in the middle and so often randomly veers off and into things or slips off ledges ect.

really? sheeeeeit
well i did miss it and without that knowledge ive been just fine!
if there really is a road based autodrive then id have to agree its bloody awful!!! LOL!

but then i have played all the game so far without knowing it was there and ive been 100% happy anyway!
HEH!

 

[JasonShepard]

Roach is fucking kickass, I can't see why anyone would have an issue with her
She does motherfuckin' handstands. She eats motherfuckin' grass. She can stand on two legs while going down a motherfuckin' mountain. She gives no fucks when you hang motherfuckin' decapitated monster heads on her. She learns to motherfuckin' fly in Skellige when you ride down mountains.
Best horse in video games.

 

[Liquidacid]

I mean just one. Just one example of a game that does this better. Until someone can come up with a standard to judge Roach by this game IS the standard now.

---------- Updated at 10:28 AM ----------



So as a Non-Fanboy who did it better?

Pretty much every game that simply makes the mount spawn under the player is functionally a better summoning mount system tho not really as conducive to immersion. Hell this game's system isn't even new or original so I don't know how you could think Roach could set any standards, Red Dead basically has almost the same system as this game but I had far few actual issues with it. In fact the entire horse game mechanics over all were, while not without flaws, better in RDR and more immersive.

 

[AVMC]

why would you let Roach run into a tree??
ive read a few statements now that lend me to think people think there is an autodrive option for Roach??
is that the case? is there a Far Cry 4 autodrive for Roach when she is on a road?
because ive never come across it yet! ive encountered some very very "minor" steering at times; but ive tested and tested and she will just keep on going straight 99.9% of the time if i let her!!

Real quick, I don't think people are fanboys or fanmen or fanwomen or whatever because they see things differently. I was disagreeing with that part.

As for autorun, yes, there is one. But even ignoring that for now, there are times where I've had Roach swerve right or left into things while I was NOT doing the auto-gallop. Also, if you try to have the horse turn while running you run into the same control issues Geralt has at high speed. Namely, it starts an animation and until you finish you can't seem to turn again. This is more forgivable because you're directing an animal, not just moving yourself. But what about the times where you're galloping manually and all of a sudden the horse stops, then tries to start, then whinnies like it hits something, then starts again? It's like you game thinks something in the terrain should make the horse stop, but there's nothing identifiable in your path. If you haven't run into that, that's great. But in my hundreds of hours of playing, I've run into this a LOT.

Next, the autogallop, it's atrocious. It works. Except all the times it doesn't. The horse will literally run into buildings and walls and make 70 degree turns that aren't on the road while the game seemingly tries to calculate your heading and if you're on a path. [First part is observable, last part is my guess of why, just to be clear.]

The horse AI also seems to get stuck into a circle loop easily where the horse, when you're not riding, will just start turning circles. Park the horse near a NPC and talk, then watch the hillarity. This points to so pretty strange horse AI, methinks. It feels like it's doing things to throw you off and see if you're paying attention. It doesn't always happen, but it happens just enough to think, "Roach, are you a horse, or a cat?"

I don't think it's a bad horse, I just don't agree with people who think Roach isn't getting the credit it deserves, which is how the thread started. It deserves love and critique.

 

[Wasbunny]

Pretty much every game that simply makes the mount spawn under the player is functionally a better summoning mount system tho not really as conducive to immersion. Hell this game's system isn't even new or original so I don't know how you could think Roach could set any standards, Red Dead basically has almost the same system as this game but I had far few actual issues with it. In fact the entire horse game mechanics over all were, while not without flaws, better in RDR and more immersive.

Fair enough (sort of). Red Dead Redemption is actually one of the few I haven't played so you might have a point. I strongly disagree that having your horse pop into existence out of nowhere is better though (again, Dragon Age:Inquisition). But perhaps it could be improved, and again, with over 100 hours playing I haven't encountered the spawn bugs your talking about. So maybe it's just me, or just you.

 

[Liquidacid]

Fair enough (sort of). Red Dead Redemption is actually one of the few I haven't played so you might have a point. I strongly disagree that having your horse pop into existence out of nowhere is better though (again, Dragon Age:Inquisition). But perhaps it could be improved, and again, with over 100 hours playing I haven't encountered the spawn bugs your talking about. So maybe it's just me, or just you.

Your horse DOES "just pop into existence out of nowhere" in this game. They just have it do so a little farther away to attempt to create the illusion that it's not

I'm not saying this game's Horse spawning mechanics are trash or anything. They work well enough most of the time and are adequate. They just aren't anything special or evenwell crafted enough to actually deserve to be singing the praises of as the new standard or some milestone in gaming