Is TW3 getting downgraded for the sake of consoles?

[archaven]

Bringing this attention to CDPR on Dragon Age Inquisition:
Replied by Cameron Lee:
"PC interface is unique, we've said this in the past a number of times. Hot bars, mouse etc. We've also said multiple times that tactical cam is on all platforms which includes (PC, X1, PS4, PS3, 360). We've shipped a unique PC interface on all DA games before, there's no reason we would change that now."

Question asked by user on Tweeter:
User
Is the camera of tactical mode of DA:I always locked to the cursor? Even on PC? Also, can we see the mouse & keyboard UI?

Tweeted by Mike Laidlaw ‏@Mike_Laidlaw
It is not locked in the same way, no. Closer to an RTS

The reason i'm highlighting this issue is to remind CDPR is that downgrading of PC for the sake of consoles does not means it's only about extra particle effects, shadows or fur tech. The reason i'm highlighting this issue is because TW2 was indeed consolised and dumbed down (my opinion) in the UI aspect as well as the limited world exploration.

 

[tommy5761]

Bringing this attention to CDPR on Dragon Age Inquisition:
Replied by Cameron Lee:
"PC interface is unique, we've said this in the past a number of times. Hot bars, mouse etc. We've also said multiple times that tactical cam is on all platforms which includes (PC, X1, PS4, PS3, 360). We've shipped a unique PC interface on all DA games before, there's no reason we would change that now."

Question asked by user on Tweeter:
User
Is the camera of tactical mode of DA:I always locked to the cursor? Even on PC? Also, can we see the mouse & keyboard UI?

Tweeted by Mike Laidlaw ‏@Mike_Laidlaw
It is not locked in the same way, no. Closer to an RTS

The reason i'm highlighting this issue is to remind CDPR is that downgrading of PC for the sake of consoles does not means it's only about extra particle effects, shadows or fur tech. The reason i'm highlighting this issue is because TW2 was indeed consolised and dumbed down (my opinion) in the UI aspect as well as the limited world exploration.

In what way was W2 "dumbed down" ?

 

[val.mitev]

Bringing this attention to CDPR on Dragon Age Inquisition:
Replied by Cameron Lee:
"PC interface is unique, we've said this in the past a number of times. Hot bars, mouse etc. We've also said multiple times that tactical cam is on all platforms which includes (PC, X1, PS4, PS3, 360). We've shipped a unique PC interface on all DA games before, there's no reason we would change that now."

Question asked by user on Tweeter:
User
Is the camera of tactical mode of DA:I always locked to the cursor? Even on PC? Also, can we see the mouse & keyboard UI?

Tweeted by Mike Laidlaw ‏@Mike_Laidlaw
It is not locked in the same way, no. Closer to an RTS

The reason i'm highlighting this issue is to remind CDPR is that downgrading of PC for the sake of consoles does not means it's only about extra particle effects, shadows or fur tech. The reason i'm highlighting this issue is because TW2 was indeed consolised and dumbed down (my opinion) in the UI aspect as well as the limited world exploration.

You can't compare Witcher with DA, in the Witcher you only control Geralt, while in DA you can control a whole party.
So the whole unique RTS style UI has no place in W3. From what I've seen from the UI so far, it looks good for a PC game, not sure what people are expecting or complaining about.

Everyone says "unique PC UI", but I don't think that everyone knows what they mean by saying that.

If there's a game with a horrible UI that comes to mind, then it's DS2.

 

[Scholdarr]

Bringing this attention to CDPR on Dragon Age Inquisition:
Replied by Cameron Lee:
"PC interface is unique, we've said this in the past a number of times. Hot bars, mouse etc. We've also said multiple times that tactical cam is on all platforms which includes (PC, X1, PS4, PS3, 360). We've shipped a unique PC interface on all DA games before, there's no reason we would change that now."

Question asked by user on Tweeter:
User
Is the camera of tactical mode of DA:I always locked to the cursor? Even on PC? Also, can we see the mouse & keyboard UI?

Tweeted by Mike Laidlaw ‏@Mike_Laidlaw
It is not locked in the same way, no. Closer to an RTS

The reason i'm highlighting this issue is to remind CDPR is that downgrading of PC for the sake of consoles does not means it's only about extra particle effects, shadows or fur tech. The reason i'm highlighting this issue is because TW2 was indeed consolised and dumbed down (my opinion) in the UI aspect as well as the limited world exploration.

TW2 wasn't consolized but it was developed with a controller in mind. Witcher 3 is also created with a controller in mind. That's just a fact and we have to live with that. But I hope that we get at least an optimal UI for PC or better M/K (which includes: mouseover information instead big information windows, drag and drop mechanics, X buttons at the upper right corner to close something, hotkeys for almost everything, scalable and movable UI elements, personal map markers, no list or ring menus and so on)...

And too bad that we won't be able to play DA:I in isometric view outside of combat.

So much to Bioware's pathetic try to cater to their old (outdated) PC fans... /irony off.

 

[sidspyker]

I like lists/weight-based much more than icons and there is nothing wrong with radial menus. Crysis was created for the PC and it had radial menu for suit power selection and worked just fine. You don't like it does not equate to "consolized".

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

In what way was W2 "dumbed down" ?

I think he is talking about TW2 on XB360 maybe. I noticed the sounds of dogs barking and geese honking, but they were not in the game like on pc.
Maybe little stuff like this, who knows who cares. TW3 is already a billion times better looking than TW2.

 

[KnightofPhoenix]

I draw a clear difference between streamlining and dumbing down / downgrading.

I don't mind the former. I am not interested in grinding for exp, or keep backtracking, or anything that would waste my time AND not add to the experience of the game. I want challenging, I don't want tiresome. So I am all for them streamlining. They did for TW2 and I approve of most of it.

 

[Scholdarr]

I like lists/weight-based much more than icons

Wait, wait, you REALLY argue for inventory lists? Something that is one of the major flaws in the TES games? Something that was criticized in almost every TES review on PC? Something which was regularly the first thing that was fixed/changed by mods? Yeah, sure, happy liking. It's just that the vast majority of people on PC don't like list inventories. Maybe you are just too used to them, I don't know.

and there is nothing wrong with radial menus. Crysis was created for the PC and it had radial menu for suit power selection and worked just fine. You don't like it does not equate to "consolized".

There is simply no need for a radial menu if you can have hotkeys. Just because Crytek implemented it in Crysis doesn't mean it's good or clever or optimal design...

And why not just playing with the controller UI if you don't mind its design???

I draw a clear difference between streamlining and dumbing down / downgrading.

I don't mind the former. I am not interested in grinding for exp, or keep backtracking, or anything that would waste my time AND not add to the experience of the game. I want challenging, I don't want tiresome. So I am all for them streamlining. They did for TW2 and I approve of most of it.

And who said that "challenge" is the main experience of the game? Your "streamlining" could be my "downgrading" and vice versa. In the end, it's just name dropping...

 

[tommy5761]

There is simply no need for a radial menu if you can have hotkeys. Just because Crytek implemented it in Crysis doesn't mean it's good or clever or optimal design...

And why not just playing with the controller UI if you don't mind its design???



And who said that "challenge" is the main experience of the game? Your "streamlining" could be my "downgrading" and vice versa. In the end, it's just name dropping...

IN Witcher 2 you had both hotkeys and a radial menu . I also used the radial menu all the time and reverted to the hot keys very seldom .

So what you`re saying is that streamlining/downgrading is a matter of opinion and tastes ?

 

[sidspyker]

Wait, wait, you REALLY argue for inventory lists? Something that is one of the major flaws in the TES games? Something that was criticized in almost every TES review on PC? Something which was regularly the first thing that was fixed/changed by mods? Yeah, sure, happy liking. It's just that the vast majority of people on PC don't like list inventories. Maybe you are just too used to them, I don't know.

There is simply no need for a radial menu if you can have hotkeys. Just because Crytek implemented it in Crysis doesn't mean it's good or clever or optimal design...

There is literally one UI mod worth mention and that's SkyUI which makes the lists better by larger listbox, smaller fonts thereby showing much more stuff on screen(come to think of it, even Darnified UI for Oblivion did the same) and it works really well. And yeah, nothing beats an alphabetically arranged/categorically arranged list when it comes to 'productivity'. Large chaotic icons are alright when all you're going to deal with is 5 things at best.

Yes because TW2 totally never had both the things. I have no qualms with a radial menu if anything it works flawlessly with a mouse. I almost never used the hotkeys and I remember you didn't even know double tapping them in case of signs was quickfire. Radial menu was much faster for signs while hotkeys were good for switching between steel and silver.

 

[Garret117]

Radial menu was much faster for signs while hotkeys were good for switching between steel and silver.

I respectfully disagree, I don't know how it was much faster for you, but I remember in TW2 fighting a group of people and having to enter "bullet time" dozens of times just to change sings was tolerable at the beginning, but became quickly annoying. I want a fight to go smoothly from the beginning to the end, and having to open a menu just to change signs every time is not that great...

I played some MMOs, and having fast, quickly-reachable hotkeys for key abilities is way better than constantly having to open a menu to select the right one.

So, for the controller, radial menu could stay, but for M/K well designed hotkeys are close to a must in my opinion.

 

[sidspyker]

Not suggesting hotkeys need to go, I like them just that radial menu isn't useless and has nothing to do with "it's for controllers hurr durr" when it works great with a mouse in any game. I find it much easier to press LCtrl and select a sign with my mouse while I'm moving or dodging or rolling or attacking. If I'm performing an action that needs both the mouse and keyboard at the same time(combat) then I don't want to interrupt my action for different hotkeys, if I'm pressing W for moving forward or both W and S for sideways movment, the most easy way to reach 2 or 3 or 4 for example would be using the same finger(s), thereby stopping my movement and whatever flow I had decided for my combat tactic.

 

[val.mitev]

The radial menu is very handy, but I don't see a reason for hotkeys to be missing just because we have a radial menu.
In W2 we had both, so it's safe to assume that we'll have them again in W3.

As for lists in the inventory, it depends on the implementation. Skyrim had a particularly bad implementation.

 

[Garret117]

I must say grid system is my favorite, just because you can instantly check everything you have when you open up the inventory, without the need to scroll all the items to find the one thing you are looking for. Diablo III did it perfectly, they should take inspiration from it.

 

[eskiMoe]

I must say grid system is my favorite, just because you can instantly check everything you have when you open up the inventory, without the need to scroll all the items to find the one thing you are looking for. Diablo III did it perfectly, they should take inspiration from it.

Agreed. Properly designed grid inventories are the best. And they have this kind of uniqueness in them imo.

Like playing The Witcher 1 after a long hiatus and when you open up the inventory you get a huge boner feeling of nostalgia from it.

 

[Scholdarr]

So what you`re saying is that streamlining/downgrading is a matter of opinion and tastes ?

Much of it, indeed.

 

[prince_of_nothing]

Should Witcher 3 have been a PC exclusive title?

This topic is purely hypothetical and for shits and grins..

If you could have chosen, would you have made the Witcher 3 a PC exclusive title?

As a longtime PC gamer myself, I'm kind of torn at this prospect. The Witcher 3 being multiplatform is definitely good for CDPR from a financial and public relations perspective. If the Witcher 2 made CDPR a bona fide AAA developer, then the Witcher 3 will cement that in stone and then some. Also, Witcher 3 will have the potential to sell millions more copies by virtue of being available on the PS4 and Xbox One, both of which are enjoying strong sales at the moment. More sales equals more revenue which equals a stronger and more productive CDPR.

But I can't help but thinking that it was PC gaming that carried CDPR this far already. And while PC gaming is stronger than ever, it is sorely in need of exclusive titles (especially big titles) that can propel the industry forward even more. I have no doubt, that if the Witcher 3 was a PC exclusive title, then sales would still be very robust; enough to make them a very nice profit. PC games have higher profit margins and longer sales cycles than console games after all, even though console games have the potential to sell many millions of copies more..

And could the Witcher 3 have been a better game if it had been a PC exclusive title? Perhaps, or perhaps not.. What I do believe, is that the game would NOT have been delayed if it had been PC only. Just like Watch Dogs, another big game, developers are finding it hard to hit their performance targets on current gen consoles whilst maintaining a reasonable level of IQ.. The current gen consoles are not weak by any means, but they aren't nearly as powerful as Microsoft and Sony would have us believe..

Anyway, CDPR has managed to accrue a large bit of good will with PC gamers over the years by enacting good policies such as no DRM, free DLC, and finally, no retailer specific DLC.. It would be a terrible shame if CDPR ended up like Bioware, another former beloved PC only developer. Bioware was bought by EA, and their focus shifted from PC to consoles resulting in a rollercoaster ride of successes and failures. The same could be said of Crytek as well, a former PC only developer which is experiencing massive financial difficulties right now.. But that's not to say that CDPR resembles Bioware or Crytek in any way at this stage. CDPR from what I've read, has no intention of sacrificing it's independence.

But who knows what the future holds.. Games can be so expensive to make (especially AAA games), that the lure of having a massive benefactor must seem tempting.. If CDPR does "give in," I hope it's not to EA, but to Microsoft.

 

[andry18]

I would have said "Yes" for every other game, or to be more precise, for every other software house. But...CDPR is different, I trust them and I'm sure they'll never "castrate" a game just to reduce the gap between the pc and console versions, in order to make the "ugly one" more pleasing.
A lot of games aren't at their best condition possible just because "who cares, it's for consoles, too. why should we spend time working exclusively for upgrading the pc version?". It's not a risk that I feel The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk or any other CDPR's game is running

 

[Omega-Bit]

Same as above really, CDPR can do whatever they like, just so long as the PC version doesn't have to suffer just to accommodate for consoles. They've done a brilliant job so far of doing what they feel is best, not just going along with what is the norm.

 

[didymos1120]

If CDPR wants to survive as a company, probably not. Not to mention, if they want to make larger and even more ambitious games. It ain't cheap.