Release date announced for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt GOTY Edition

[Yeiiow]

I must say that i am dissapointed or at the very least very concerned about this anouncement, with all the flaws people have pointed out regarding the flow and writing of the last 3rd of The Wild Hunt, the lack of proper closure in Blood and Wine, and all the irrelevanse of previous deciditons in the 2 previous games, i would have spected a proper Enhanced Edition rather than just a GoT Edition.

If this is to be the last Witcher(or at least Geralt) game before moving to new IPs if anything else it would be a good PR and Marketing move to adress some of the most glaring issues and aplease some of the most loyal fans.
Otherwise i wonder how many will start seen CDPR in the same light they now see Bioware and company... just another corporate-thinking studio...

 

[sv3672]

Since it looks like the GOTY edition is essentially a new game (separate AppID) on Steam, and apparently also on the consoles, I wonder if those who have the original game with both expansions will get the GOTY edition for free (although if not, it is not a major problem since the content is the same anyway). Also, if more patches are released after the GOTY edition, will they still be applied to both versions ? Finally, will the original version (base game only without the expansions) remain available for sale at a lower price, or will it be replaced by the new edition ?

 

[Garrison72]

I was holding out hope they'd consider tweaking some of the loot balance issues or add another difficulty setting. Oh well. It's a killer deal for that much content. I also hope they continue to patch the game post release.

 

[SeanieTheMan]

@Marcin Momot, will the GOTY edition come with everything the regular edition came with (soundtrack, compendium, game manual, stickers, thank you note, and world map)?

 

[Riven-Twain]

Moderator's note:
Greetings, all,
As you can see, this thread has been reopened in order to respond to some of the questions posted about the GOTY Edition. A reminder, however: It shall remain open so long as users can post in a respectful, topical manner.

Thank you. Carry on.

 

[Eredin_Breacc_Glas]

I must say that i am dissapointed or at the very least very concerned about this anouncement, with all the flaws people have pointed out regarding the flow and writing of the last 3rd of The Wild Hunt, the lack of proper closure in Blood and Wine, and all the irrelevanse of previous deciditons in the 2 previous games, i would have spected a proper Enhanced Edition rather than just a GoT Edition.

If this is to be the last Witcher(or at least Geralt) game before moving to new IPs if anything else it would be a good PR and Marketing move to adress some of the most glaring issues and aplease some of the most loyal fans.
Otherwise i wonder how many will start seen CDPR in the same light they now see Bioware and company... just another corporate-thinking studio...

Let's look at what the previous Enhanced Editions gave us:

1. Some extra side missions.

2. Updated U.I..

3. All patches on the disc.

Let's look at what we're getting.

1. Some extra side missions.

2. Updated U.I..

3. All patches on the disc.

4. Extra DLC.

5. Two expansions.

Some things to keep in mind:

A. All of the additional content packaged into the game contains more hours of game-play than the entire two previous games combined.

B. With this edition, we are getting far more than a previous Enhanced Edition has ever given us.

C. All three Witcher games had plot issues at some point or another, but it was never "fixed" in an Enhanced Edition, and it won't ever be. It's simply an unrealistic expectation.

D. Everyone's ideas of where the plot went weak in TW3 is different. There's no making everyone happy.

Since it looks like the GOTY edition is essentially a new game (separate AppID) on Steam, and apparently also on the consoles, I wonder if those who have the original game with both expansions will get the GOTY edition for free (although if not, it is not a major problem since the content is the same anyway). Also, if more patches are released after the GOTY edition, will they still be applied to both versions ? Finally, will the original version (base game only without the expansions) remain available for sale at a lower price, or will it be replaced by the new edition ?

1. My guess is that if we own the season pass and main game, we'll get it for free by sending in pictures, like we did with the Blood and Wine Gwent decks.

2. I think the plan is for the GotY Edition to be 100% self-contained. So, no patches (So that there's no installation.).

3. My guess is that the GotY Edition is going to be cheaper to incite sales.

I was holding out hope they'd consider tweaking some of the loot balance issues or add another difficulty setting. Oh well. It's a killer deal for that much content. I also hope they continue to patch the game post release.

I think the plan is for the GotY Edition to be 100% self-contained.

@Marcin Momot, will the GOTY edition come with everything the regular edition came with (soundtrack, compendium, game manual, stickers, thank you note, and world map)?

I'm sure it will.

 

[cyberpunkforever]

@Eredin_Breacc_Glas you are comparing Enhanced Edition with Complete Edition, the enhanced editon for tw2 and tw1 had a few new quests, the complete edition for tw3 has no new quests.

Anyway, this is the last version of the game or content of tw3 we will ever have. the complete edition is meant for those who don't own the game or the expansion yet, there is nothing new and nothing new wil be ever added.

 

[Garrison72]

@Eredin_Breacc_GIas: self contained or not, I still think they should be committed to patching after release, because new patches have introduced new bugs. With all three games, and pretty regularly.

 

[Eredin_Breacc_Glas]

@Eredin_Breacc_Glas you are comparing Enhanced Edition with Complete Edition, the enhanced editon for tw2 and tw1 had a few new quests, the complete edition for tw3 has no new quests.

Anyway, this is the last version of the game or content of tw3 we will ever have. the complete edition is meant for those who don't own the game or the expansion yet, there is nothing new and nothing new wil be ever added.

The 16 DLCs are the additions. Rather than package them solely in to the Enhanced Edition, they gave them away early. So, in essence, you do have several new quests.

What I think C.D.P.R. should have done is not given us the free DLCs until they made it a part of the GotY Edition, because people aren't recognizing that this IS the additional content.

@Eredin_Breacc_GIas: self contained or not, I still think they should be committed to patching after release, because new patches have introduced new bugs. With all three games, and pretty regularly.

I think the goal is to have one huge patch that fixes everything (Or nearly everything.). Besides that, I know very little.

 

[Holgaroni]

Let's look at what the previous Enhanced Editions gave us:

1. Some extra side missions.

2. Updated U.I..

3. All patches on the disc.

4. New Transitional Cinematics. These short in-game movies, summarizing each chapter upon its completion, provide a smooth transition into each subsequent chapter and are designed to inform players of their current geographical position in the game world.

5. Final Boards. These video sequences, composed of procedurally combined short movies, summarize players’ in-game choices.

6. New Movie – ‘Witchers’. Designed for players new to The Witcher franchise, this movie was built using hand-drawn 2D art animated in Flash, in the same style as the ‘Flashbacks’ and ‘Memories’ in The Witcher 2. It describes witchers in some detail.

7. Cgi Intro/Outro

8.New Locations. Fresh locations were produced for the significant new quests now available in Chapter 3. These includes a system of underground chambers beneath Loc Muinne and a temperate coniferous forest with a secret cave passage in the mountains surrounding the ancient city.

9. Additional Cut Scenes. Eleven new rendered cut scenes have been added at various junctures to enrich in-game events. Created using a new set of motion-captured animations, these additions include 3 engine-rendered cut scenes illustrating the events that transpire in Loc Muinne when Geralt is engaged elsewhere. Each movie is made of 3 fully animated and rendered scenes that required extensive post production.

10. Gameplay changes and improvements.

11. Witcher 2 EXTRA DLCs

http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/The_Witcher_2:_Enhanced_Edition

 

[Eredin_Breacc_Glas]

4. New Transitional Cinematics. These short in-game movies, summarizing each chapter upon its completion, provide a smooth transition into each subsequent chapter and are designed to inform players of their current geographical position in the game world.

5. Final Boards. These video sequences, composed of procedurally combined short movies, summarize players’ in-game choices.

6. New Movie – ‘Witchers’. Designed for players new to The Witcher franchise, this movie was built using hand-drawn 2D art animated in Flash, in the same style as the ‘Flashbacks’ and ‘Memories’ in The Witcher 2. It describes witchers in some detail.

7. Cgi Intro/Outro

8.New Locations. Fresh locations were produced for the significant new quests now available in Chapter 3. These includes a system of underground chambers beneath Loc Muinne and a temperate coniferous forest with a secret cave passage in the mountains surrounding the ancient city.

9. Additional Cut Scenes. Eleven new rendered cut scenes have been added at various junctures to enrich in-game events. Created using a new set of motion-captured animations, these additions include 3 engine-rendered cut scenes illustrating the events that transpire in Loc Muinne when Geralt is engaged elsewhere. Each movie is made of 3 fully animated and rendered scenes that required extensive post production.

10. Gameplay changes and improvements.

http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/The_Witcher_2:_Enhanced_Edition

4. Already included in the game, when loading.

5. What are those? My memory of TW2 isn't that great.

6. Didn't know that.

7. Already included in TW3.

8. Already included in TW3.

9. Didn't know that, either.

10. Already included.

But, over-all, don't you think that the two incredible expansions that we were given balance those out? I meant, HoS' story was a master-piece, and BaW had an absolutely incredible atmosphere. I'd take the expansions over the only two items on that list that are missing (#6 and #9.) any day.

 

[sv3672]

5. What are those? My memory of TW2 isn't that great.

TW3 already has final boards, they are these narrated slides that are shown at the end of the game.

2. I think the plan is for the GotY Edition to be 100% self-contained. So, no patches (So that there's no installation.).

I meant patches that would be released after the GOTY edition, assuming there will be any. But if no patches are planned after 30th August, that would be somewhat disappointing, given that the game was - if I recall correctly - previously said to be supported until the end of the year.

 

[Holgaroni]

4. Already included in the game, when loading.

7. Already included in TW3.

8. Already included in TW3.

10. Already included.

Don't care much if they're already in TW3. They were missing from your list

But, over-all, don't you think that the two incredible expansions that we were given balance those out?

No. I didn't feel the need of two more expansions.

 

[Riven-Twain]

I'll remark that The Witcher III has had rather an impressive collection of post-release contents: The 16 DLCs, numerous improvements introduced in patches, the two masterful expansions. Collecting them all in a single edition is -- whether one wishes to acknowledge the edition as 'enhanced' or not -- quite a substantial extension of the base game we had upon first release. Even if this mayn't address some of the specific changes for which many had hoped in an Enhanced Edition, for players who'd like to play the complete game, this edition would appear to present a convenient solution.

Is the game perfect? No. (Very few are.) Is it a grand, ambitious work of art, which has been continuously expanded and adjusted for over a year? I'd say so, yes.

 

[gregski]

From what I read on the Polish side of the forum, there will be another patch to the game.

 

[Pawel1995]

From what I read on the Polish side of the forum, there will be another patch to the game.

No need to go that far, to the polish forum

Mr. Momot confirmed that already here:

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/thre...GOTY-Edition?p=2814811&viewfull=1#post2814811

 

[gregski]

No need to go that far, to the polish forum

Mr. Momot confirmed that already here:

http://forums.cdprojektred.com/thre...GOTY-Edition?p=2814811&viewfull=1#post2814811

Thank you, I must have missed it!

 

[Vinyalonn]

@Marcin Momot (or anyone else who knows) Is there an ETA on when the next patch will be released for the base game? I'm going on a trip on the 23rd and will not have internet access for my console where I'll be staying. Any chance it'll be released before then, or probably not?

 

[CNTM]

If the complete edition and next patch includes alternative costumes in the prerendered cutscenes, I'll eat my hat.

 

[Marcin Momot]

@Marcin Momot (or anyone else who knows) Is there an ETA on when the next patch will be released for the base game? I'm going on a trip on the 23rd and will not have internet access for my console where I'll be staying. Any chance it'll be released before then, or probably not?

It won't release by the 23rd. Sorry.