Quest Markers in TW3

[Calrabjohns]

I voted default enabled only because I would prefer a quick tutorial screen popping up telling me how to disable it. I can see how obtrusive the elements on-screen are and then disable it. A matter of one step in my case. Other than that, I would end up disabling it as I want to figure the game out mostly on my own (barring tutorial mentioned above and a couple others). It could be the same way with disabled initially I guess but this was a more honest reflection of my preference.

 

[CostinRaz]

Please no quest markers, they are a blight upon the RPG genre.

 

[kitta]

Dishonored handled this aspect nicely- you could individually enable/disable makers for quests and subquests. I hope CDPR does this too.

 

[wisielec]

Quest markers? Change it to places of interest (with quick travel option) on the map, with the function when you hover over it it shows what quests are in the area. Nothig more is needed imo.

 

[MUPPETA]

A few things i like to see;

NOT to have any markers or mini map
onscreen when I play the game,

-instead pause the game- go to inventory-map section
(beautiful old style painted 2d map or like heightmap- no 3d like skyrim)
where you can see your main quest marked RED dot
(after that current main quest is solved,
there should appear a icon of witcher medalion)

- an option to set togleable active sub quests in that region
(if is three region in game(or more) so three old maps should be there)

and if monster in some area is killed
-a icon of monster
(when you click on monster icon
-a window pop up(with all facts-clues-bestiary text-a pic of monster etc...)

We will have a detective mode so there is no need to have mini map,
and I want for players a freedom to learn every placed cliff,
paths in forests, harbour, cities, vilages etc;
cause RED team will put enormous hours of work in this game


this is just ideas,
and sorry for my spelling(english is not my native language)

 

[Calrabjohns]

@Kitta: Was going to mention Dishonored but changed my mind at the last second. That's what I'd like to see also. They made an ideal mix.

 

[Senteria]

I do would like to have discovered places and things shown on the map by it's name but that's common knowledge.

 

[arkblazer]

Well, like Fast Travel, someone is bound to chime in and remind us that designing a game around quest markers, even if they're left optional, can have catastrophic effects, as abundantly at display in Skyrim, with its absence of any real directions to POIs precisely because the player is supposed to rely on markers.

So it's not merely nor primarily a question of making them toggle-able. Designing the game around them or not, that's the real issue.

This. they should designed it to be played without markers but still give us the option. i rember in skyrim being way o focused on those little triangles.

 

[Demut]

I love this feature. What would be really cool is the tool Baldurs Gate has where you can write in your journal. Very, very, handy. With a quality map and reasonable directions/hints, there is no need for the game to provide quest markers.

I second this. Markers and notes of one’s own are a great idea and easy to implement.

 

[bengeddes]

That said I hope they'll allow us to put our own markers on the map.

This. I love it when games have this feature (the Divinity series comes to mind) and I always wonder why more games don't allow you to mark your own map.

 

[His_Majesty]

Quest markers often tend to break the immersion, please allow us to turn them off or leave them out altogether.

 

[Blothulfur]

Yeah fuck moron marks, i've no desire to farm golden exclamation points.

 

[dragonbird]

I second this. Markers and notes of one’s own are a great idea and easy to implement.

Third it. I love being able to add notes to a map.

Regarding the overall use of quest markers on maps, I agree with

If the game says go to Town A and talk to Joe. Then I should easily be able to go to the map and the game should say "here's Town A." When I get to Town A, it shouldn't tell me where Joe is unless they told me exactly where Joe would be. If I can't find Joe on my own I should be able to ask some people to lead me in the right direction.

which is the way that TW2 did it (except that TW2 was occasionally bugged). It should be quest-related. It's OK for someone to say "Let me mark that on your map", but if they DON'T say that, or know the location, or if you forget to ask, then you don't get the clue.

And big glowing signs are totally out. They can put it as an option if they want, but absolutely NOT linked to difficulty level. A lot of players probably play the first playthrough on Normal or Easy, but the first playthrough is the one where you really, really should have the clues turned off.

 

[Username.]

YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

Keept it that way CDPR.

 

[cmdr_silverbolt]

Lol, you guys are neglecting that this game is 35x the size of TW2. Simply put: it goin' be huuuuge.

I think there need to be dynamic quest markers, i.e. quest markers which are available to the player as their understanding of a situation changes or improves. And of course you should be able to turn them off if you want to travel blindly.

Let's also not forget that not everyone is going to have the kind of time needed to play the game by wandering around blindly.

If you're aware of how to get to someplace or someone, through clues, dialogue, whatever, then there's no reason for why you shouldn't get quest markers, i.e. a gamey representation of your character's understanding of where to go.

So yeah, definitely dynamic quest markers which can be toggled.

 

[wichat]

Option "chose enable it". Nothing else to say.

 

[Ploutonas]

what type of quest system it has? dynamic like skyrim? or specific things to do...

I think for open world and with modding abilities, dynamic is the best way to go..

And you need a kind of indication that there is something happening in a specific area, a quest npc or a dynamic event...

 

[Aaden]

Lol, you guys are neglecting that this game is 35x the size of TW2. Simply put: it goin' be huuuuge.

I think there need to be dynamic quest markers, i.e. quest markers which are available to the player as their understanding of a situation changes or improves. And of course you should be able to turn them off if you want to travel blindly.

Let's also not forget that not everyone is going to have the kind of time needed to play the game by wandering around blindly.

If you're aware of how to get to someplace or someone, through clues, dialogue, whatever, then there's no reason for why you shouldn't get quest markers, i.e. a gamey representation of your character's understanding of where to go.

So yeah, definitely dynamic quest markers which can be toggled.

There are reasons: Immersion and that sense of exploration and figuring it out on your own. If it gets marked for you as soon as you learn about it, you don't have to focus on the information you get and put tidbits of it together to know where to go. You don't have to explore some small areas either.
Example given: You're supposed to clear out a mine, a NPC tells you that the mine is some way downriver. Now either you get a marker and know exactly where the mine is and just wander toward an arrow on your map. Or you don't get a marker and go to the river to follow it, while keeping an eye out on your surroundings for the mine. Not only will it feel like a small achievement to actually find the mine, you'll also get a much more intense experience out of the landscape because you actually focus on looking at it and studying it, instead of just trudging through it toward your next marker.

That system can be expanded: You're in town A and supposed to do something in a forest near town B. Questgiver in A doesn't know exactly where it is, so he advices you to go to B and ask a local. Local in B then might tell you that he's heard of it and it's somewhere in the northeasterly part of the forest, but can't really tell you where, but there's a forester living right on the edge of the forest outside of town who might. You can either go to the northeasterly part of the forest and look for your target. Or you go to the forester who in turn could tell you that there's a hill in the forest with an old oak on it, which you can see from afar, and that what you're looking for is right next to it. You then go on to explore the forest with an eye out for that oak and try to make your way toward it. Much more satisfying than simply walking toward golden sparkle thingies A, B and C after talking to these persons.

Just like a limitation to Fast Travel (or neglecting it in the design process and adding it afterwards), it ensures that quest design isn't unreasonable and unbelievable, due to gameplay mechanics that make travelling to very specific and/or faraway locations easy. It just adds so much consistency to the world, improves immersion and adds another layer of gameplay fun.

Of course, this has to be done properly, so that you DON'T wander around blindly, but know where to go from the information given to you (which has to be stored in a journal or something, for players that can't play regularly or have to take a prolonged break from playing, to look things up). An example for the difference in the design process: Morrowind does not have quest markers and it's absolutely fantastic (except for the few instances when the descriptions are irreliable), Skyrim on the other hand is designed with quest markers in mind and allows to turn them off - which is useless because you don't get the required information from the game to actually find what you're looking for.

 

[cmdr_silverbolt]

That's why I said quest markers should be dynamic and have a toggle option.

 

[Chewin3]

Don't mind if it exists as a toggle option. Seriously, some people have very poor navigational skills and I've heard a lot of people getting lost in even quite linear games.