My unpopular opinion on the Witcher 3 map size

[Djmax1213]

My unpopular opinion on the Witcher 3 map size

Unlike some people who absolutely love getting lost in the sheer size of the Witcher 3 I feel like I enjoyed the Witcher 2 map size alot more (could just be nostalgia). It felt so much more "dense" and dark. Everything was packed full of meaning to the very inch and everything had a purpose. And there were no nostalgic taverns at all in the Witcher 3 unlike the Witcher 2 where you only had a few taverns but each one was very special. I would be spending like 30 mins in the Dwarven taverns just walking around pretending I belonged there. Also why no arm wrestles?
Just one of my few gripes with this game, otherwise it's a 10/10

 

[sv3672]

Perhaps something between the size of TW2 and TW3 would have been ideal, still larger than the previous game, but with more resources left to make it more detailed, and for a better developed main story and characters, with the game not feeling rushed in its second half.

 

[ShinGnosis]

A map like the swamp in witcher 2 takes a lot of time to make, lots of custom work.

A map like the witcher 3 can mostly be made with landscape tools as long as it's standard items.

I like both and if I had to choose I'd pick Witcher 3's style because at the end of the day it's a bigger world with more in it, and let's not forget the horse. They needed a big world for the horse.

But they could have had more really dark and cramped caverns and crypts, I would have liked that. I would have loved a unmarked crypt with no mission or name and you go down it for 2h and find more strange things as you go. That's the kind of stuff I love.

 

[cloolvl]

i prefer maps not being packed to the very inch

its silly when there are some people sitting around and just 30m away there are some monsters just chilling

 

[zerebrush]

W2 always felt a deal claustrophobic to me.
Every place had been crowded with props, people.
Imagine Novigrade had been done in this "style" - a nightmare.

 

[nllsq]

There are a already a ton of games that feature small to medium size maps. I'd rather gave a few that are BIG! Thanks.

 

[vesemas228]

Interesting point, to that i probably prefer the witcher 3.. because of the corridor nature of witcher 2, while i appreciate the extra detail afforded, it was all very contrived.. as in each setting didn't have its own purpose apart from the one scene in the adventure that it belonged in. The excellent uncharted games have the same effect.. i loved every inch of those games so much, but ultimately they had no meaning deeper than a theme park, movie set or zoo exhibit.

Being in a world setting to me gives each place its own sense of belonging, as far as that goes in a game.

Also, in case you haven't just wonder around soaking up the graphics. Don't do anything but wonder around and soak up the place. Like you did in the taverns, but everywhere. Because of the detail it works.

The only thing stopping this experience from being complete brilliance is the lack of a campsite and companion mod as skyrim has. Get some fresh air maybe?

 

[Brogan80]

The taverns do not have multiple quest/store/activity opportunity individuals who remain in place in the respective taverns, as in W2.

That's pretty much what you're talking about with the nostalgic thing, and I agree. That's a classic aspect for any RPG setting and it's a very appealing feature. I would assume the reason to not build up the taverns in W3 in this manner is because, as you infer, the size of the maps and thus the amount of actual taverns has increased, so with everything else this game has packed into it, it was likely a casualty of time constraints.

Perhaps the modding community can do something about it.

 

[cyberpunkforever]

I agree with the dense feeling and that in tw3 some places feel a little generic or empty, for it an is open world, there is much more distance among environments , elements, scenaries, etc but the elements and environments in tw2 were there for the quest/s it involves and it serves perfectly it's purpose,

the map in tw3 seems at times a little empty, but there is now a more exploration focused gameplay, and the elements and environments are also well made and detailed like in tw2,
the world of tw2 feels a little more atmospheric, for there is always something above your head, trees, buildings, etc, always something sorrounding you

 

[Pawlle]

Yeah,i agree,but its not just the map SIZE it's the structure that has changed as well...TW2 was a HUB-based RPG meaning it had HUBS and TW3 is a open-world RPG.

HUGs need to be more atmospheric and like there is more in them because they are usually limited on SIZE.
Open-Wrolds however they need to have interesting content in them,which TW3 delivers in Velen and Skellige,and a wee bit in Novigrad.

I also prefer HUBS but once a developer goes Open-World they never go back
I hate that OPEN-WORLD is considered superior by most people and like its an evolution of HUBs,its simply not true,both have advantages and disadvantages.
But i guess it's easier to impress people with "BIG OPEN WORLD" on the back of the box

 

[Brogan80]

I kind of think if the game had about 90% less signposts, and forced you to actually exist in a huge world and ride to places instead of magically fast traveling, there would be alot less of this empty feeling. That is such an immersion killer even though it feels like a convenience on the surface.

This is why the Long Journey mod is so awesome. Once the author updates it for 1.10, I'm absolutely going to leave it installed for all future playthroughs.

 

[vesemas228]

I kind of think if the game had about 90% less signposts, and forced you to actually exist in a huge world and ride to places instead of magically fast traveling, there would be alot less of this empty feeling. That is such an immersion killer even though it feels like a convenience on the surface.

This is why the Long Journey mod is so awesome. Once the author updates it for 1.10, I'm absolutely going to leave it installed for all future playthroughs.

The only problem with that model is inventory space. When first playing, i tried to impose a rule on myself to only fast travel to sell junk, and only fast travel back to where i was originally to continue..

It worked for a while.....

At the minimum what i do now is always fasttravel to a few towns away from where i need to be and walk the approach... Yeah there needs to be just that extra element of something.. Ahh i remember what happened.. it took months, but i finally got to skellege and boat travel was a complete misery. It took 2 goes to realize boat travel was complete bs, unfun, crap. And my setup seemed to like crashing more frequently on the water.. i got used to fast traveling everywhere. Damn you skellege x2.

 

[Brogan80]

The only problem with that model is inventory space. When first playing, i tried to impose a rule on myself to only fast travel to sell junk, and only fast travel back to where i was originally to continue..

It worked for a while.....

At the minimum what i do now is always fasttravel to a few towns away from where i need to be and walk the approach... Yeah there needs to be just that extra element of something.. Ahh i remember what happened.. it took months, but i finally got to skellege and boat travel was a complete misery. It took 2 goes to realize boat travel was complete bs, unfun, crap. And my setup seemed to like crashing more frequently on the water.. i got used to fast traveling everywhere. Damn you skellege x2.

The inventory is already a bit of a hedge when it comes to how much Geralt should be able to carry. With the LJ mod installed, I had to make realistic decisions on how far I wanted to roam based on how much I could pack in my saddlebags AND how much content I started learning was going to be packed into almost all areas. Loved every minute of it.

And I disagree wholeheartedly about the boat travel on Skellige. The mechanics of it are perfect imo. Very limited, yet convenient to an acceptable degree (reverse being the main one - I'd have sunk many boats without it). The distances are sizable enough that going to one of the 5 islands (without using fast travel) takes long enough that you want to prepare for an actual journey and stay away from the mainland, but short enough that it's not going to take you all night to get there.

The week or so I devoted solely to getting all the Smuggler's Cache's around the map was so much fun because I ended up also exploring every single island on the map, and finding quite a bit of hidden loot and treasure. And I was on the boat the whole time. It made me want to buy a boat!

 

[whitewoof]

Seeing how most modern games try to compete on the 'realism' of their worlds, don't think any current generation games can afford to be small. Compare GTA V to San Andreas for example. Novigrad to me is one the best examples of a realistic living mega game city. The whole place felt alive. Witcher 3 really made me feel like I was actually in the Witcherverse as described in the books, and this wouldn't have been possible if it the map was any smaller. Only problem with a bigger map is you expect more and more things to do, whereas large parts of Witcher 3 were completely inactive. Then again, even without the large map being fully utilized, it was already offering 200 hours (and people are complaining that the game is toooo long), so I can't begin to imagine how long the game would be if the map was fully utilized

 

[killkenny1]

I kind of think if the game had about 90% less signposts, and forced you to actually exist in a huge world and ride to places instead of magically fast traveling, there would be alot less of this empty feeling.

But who forces you to fast travel? Don't use it, problem solved. That's what I do (except if I have to travel between maps).

 

[Tangsta]

My main gripe with the map and world in this game is not it's size (I love big worlds, so much potential!) but how poorly designed the environments are. So much room to play around with yet both Geralt and Roach will get stuck or be obstructed by a small tree, rock or some other foliage asset every minute of travel. It's ridiculous!

I know they were going for extreme detail, and the game does look amazing with it but what the heck is the point of a horse if it is constantly stopping all the time? I find that Geralt + Werewolf decoction is so much more effective most of the time! Sometimes it's better to have less details to allow for better game design. I'm not angry, just hope CDPR take this into serious consideration for Cyberpunk.

 

[WolvenGear]

I wish witcher 3 was even bigger.

 

[Dubya75]

I've played A LOT of open-world games and I can honestly say that the open world of The Witcher 3 is by far the best and most enjoyable I've experienced.
Really can't wait for Cyberpunk 2077 that is reported to be much bigger even.

The BIGGER the BETTER!!!

 

[JasonShepard]

Yeah,i agree,but its not just the map SIZE it's the structure that has changed as well...TW2 was a HUB-based RPG meaning it had HUBS and TW3 is a open-world RPG.

HUGs need to be more atmospheric and like there is more in them because they are usually limited on SIZE.
Open-Wrolds however they need to have interesting content in them,which TW3 delivers in Velen and Skellige,and a wee bit in Novigrad.

I also prefer HUBS but once a developer goes Open-World they never go back
I hate that OPEN-WORLD is considered superior by most people and like its an evolution of HUBs,its simply not true,both have advantages and disadvantages.
But i guess it's easier to impress people with "BIG OPEN WORLD" on the back of the box

Despite what people may think, if you really look at how the world, main quest, and leveling system is structured, The Witcher 3 is pretty close to being a hub-based RPG.

 

[Walster]

For the people that don't like fast travel, don't use it, it's as simple as this. Only use it when you have to, for zone to zone travel.

As for the map size, I'm very impressed. Not only for its technical features, like interiors without loading screens, but also with the way the map is structured. Although I can see the HUB based alternative as appealing it really can't beat the freedom and sense of adventure an open world brings.