But we are talking about a game... that is suppose to be fun. I know not everyone's definition is the same... but the fact this thread continues to grow is a sign it is an issue.
The thread continuing to receive posts has absolutely nothing to do with the possibility of it being an "issue" .
In-fact many posts here are actually very supportive of the system, not to mention those poll results definitely do not indicate that this is an issue and even if it was, it's a minor one.
Throwing "realism" in as a definition for a feature is always a challenging aspect to judge. Some people will define realistic as strictly a "our world" deal, others will look at the universe which is being judged and base the realism on what would/should be for that world and others will allow for varying degrees of bending that realism no matter which way you view it from. It's why a viewpoint like both Costin & Yours exist, but both are valid.
Personally one aspect about The Witcher as a series that has always hit home has been immersion. Not just the world and characters, but the game systems have always been designed in such a way that they host an extremely immersive and atmospheric experience, but without ever becoming tedious. Realistic or not, I'll take any system that enhances that immersion and creates atmosphere, and I see weapon degradation as something that could potentially add both - not only directly through the realistic nature of a sword slowly degrading, but indirectly by possibly making me explore an area of the world I might have not otherwise explored, to reach some undiscovered village that I hope contains a blacksmith because my weapon is going blunt.
Ultimately it'll all depend on how the system is implemented, and whether or not it can do the above for people like myself, but also not become a royal pain in the ass for people who really aren't all that interested in the system (And not become tedious even for those who don't mind the system). We'll just have to wait and see, hopefully CDPR have found a good balance.
I just don't want to be in a situation like this:
- Leaves town after repairing sword
- Encounters some monsters on world map, and then goes exploring into a long dungeon (caves etc) for a few hours
- Weapon degrades while in dungeon
Also, I want to be able to use 100% of my weapon until the end of the dungeon. No 50% capability nonsense, as that will mean the best way to clear the dungeon and get to its last boss is by running from most encounters.
I don't know how this game plans to implement this, but I hope it doesn't feel like a nuisance.
- Leaves town after repairing sword
- Encounters some monsters on world map, and then goes exploring into a long dungeon (caves etc) for a few hours
- Weapon degrades while in dungeon
Also, I want to be able to use 100% of my weapon until the end of the dungeon. No 50% capability nonsense, as that will mean the best way to clear the dungeon and get to its last boss is by running from most encounters.
I don't know how this game plans to implement this, but I hope it doesn't feel like a nuisance.
Weapon will not break or reach a "useless" state. It will just decrease in damage output until a certain point. If that's what you meant, that is.
Yeah, decreasing in damage means it's reaching only 50-80% of the damage I could be doing if it wasn't degrading. I'd prefer if it didn't come to that, since that would make me consider running from battles to keep my weapon at 100%.
Ohh. Hm I can see your reasoning, although personally if the combat is fun I would take on the enemies no matter what heh. We'll see when the game lands.
Yeah, I guess if the weapon has a lower limit of 75-80%, that wouldn't be so bad. But like you said, we'll have to wait to see how it works out in the game.
It's a minor thing tho, so no worries.
I'd be surprised if durability is directly tied to weapon damage (i.e. 90% durability, means the weapon is only doing 90% damage). My guess is that only when you let the durability reach zero then the weapon has the damage penalty or just becomes unusable, which is what happens in just about every game that has item durability.
I don't think you understand my meaning. By 'issue' I mean point of conversation. Which is true, it is a point of conversation AND the reason the thread grows. It was not meant to be read as "the car is broken, that is an issue". It is also apparent that I was not discounting anyone's view when I stated that not everyone has the same definition of fun. So to clarify, I believe this topic and options for it are worth discussing, I hope CDPR does as well. Please remember a text conversation is not going to be as immediately clear as a spoken one. It is polite to read things twice or ask if a statement is unclear.
Perhaps there was a misunderstanding on both sides, because I think you've also misunderstood my reply. Maybe it read back a little harsher than I intended, but I was more-so just throwing general statements out there in response to what you said.
It is an interesting topic, one I do like seeing the various responses towards and so I thought I'd finally throw out a ton of my thoughts, it just so happened that I kind of mixed my response to general topics in with a direct response to you (And Constin), so it came across perhaps a tad unintended (Apart from the response to the use of "Issue", because I took that literally, and I'm not sure how else one would take the use of that word in the context - but with updated information I see your point).
Ultimately I see many arguments for this system, both ways, but it comes down to how it's handled and implemented by CDPR, and although I'm not too happy with their handling of the Alchemy system, I still hope for the best with this one and that it'll be implemented well enough to satisfy as many people as possible.
I guess you won't be using fast-travel then, since the more immersive experience is to walk?
Personally, I think escapism is a part of gaming. Implementing every menial minutiae of every-day life is swiftly obsoleted by the real thing (real life). Games are an essentialised distillation of some facet of reality, they aren't supposed to be reality simulators. If they were we'd have no time to play them.
Immersion is a value, sure, but there are many things in games that aren't realistic at all and i've been able to take at face value. The ability of a game to immerse you is greater than the sum of its parts and isn't so crude as simply imitating how the real world operates.
I'm still curious as to what else people think it adds to the game, besides the inherent realism.
Last edited:
Great stuff, always loved this aspect of games from old days, fondly remember having to prepare my armour and weapons in old Betrayal at Krondor, gets my vote of approval.
Especially nice when you run across a weapon that doesn't deteriorate, makes it all the more rewarding, thumbs up and fuck yeah, really good design decision.
Especially nice when you run across a weapon that doesn't deteriorate, makes it all the more rewarding, thumbs up and fuck yeah, really good design decision.
Absolutely not. You have this nice and cool sword and then it will break apart and bye bye nice sword. I don't like this super special weapon to decompose as I fight with it. Sure, if the blade gets a bit dull, you could sharpen it with some stones. That would be okay. But I really dislike weapon degradation.
Geralt: "Hello Blacksmith."
Blacksmith: "Hello Witcher, what can I do for you?"
Geralt: "Well you see, I killed 99 nekkers and if I hit one more nekker, it will break apart in front of your eyes. Could you repair this?"
Blacksmith: "If you slayed them with your sword, how would it be damaged?"
Geralt: "Beats me, I just cut through the flesh, and my sword is razor sharp, so I have no clue either."
Blacksmith: "Wait let me see this. Ah, yes, it seems your sword is 'next gen'. That explains everything."
Geralt: "That's okay, Roach carries 10 more of those same swords so I can last for a while on the road
p.s. Can't believe so many like a feature that does nothing but to ruin your gameplay experience.
Geralt: "Hello Blacksmith."
Blacksmith: "Hello Witcher, what can I do for you?"
Geralt: "Well you see, I killed 99 nekkers and if I hit one more nekker, it will break apart in front of your eyes. Could you repair this?"
Blacksmith: "If you slayed them with your sword, how would it be damaged?"
Geralt: "Beats me, I just cut through the flesh, and my sword is razor sharp, so I have no clue either."
Blacksmith: "Wait let me see this. Ah, yes, it seems your sword is 'next gen'. That explains everything."
Geralt: "That's okay, Roach carries 10 more of those same swords so I can last for a while on the road
p.s. Can't believe so many like a feature that does nothing but to ruin your gameplay experience.
Last edited:
@senteria
I don't think the swords will break though Illogical, and hard to implement in a universe with "legendary" equipment. I don't think the devs want to see the Aerondight broken into pieces. And if it is implemented as dullness, then it adds a great tactical/strategic aspect in my opinion; granted if you can't sharpen it yourself, or only to some extent, and have to give it to a professional blacksmith to take care of it.
Also, different materials should inflict different levels of degradation (against swords, against metal armors, flesh, etc.), otherwise it won't be that logical as well But all in all, I think it will be a good strategic aspect. (Again, I confidently believe that there won't be and "breaking" swords. Although of course no one can know before the devs say anything, or before we see it in-game.)
I don't think the swords will break though
Illogical, and hard to implement in a universe with "legendary" equipment. I don't think the devs want to see the Aerondight broken into pieces. And if it is implemented as dullness, then it adds a great tactical/strategic aspect in my opinion; granted if you can't sharpen it yourself, or only to some extent, and have to give it to a professional blacksmith to take care of it.Also, different materials should inflict different levels of degradation (against swords, against metal armors, flesh, etc.), otherwise it won't be that logical as well
But all in all, I think it will be a good strategic aspect. (Again, I confidently believe that there won't be and "breaking" swords. Although of course no one can know before the devs say anything, or before we see it in-game.)Besides immersion, another positive effect that item durability and having to look after your gear's condition brings to the table would be the idea of being the architect of one's own fortune (or failure).
You are essentially given additional control over how hard the next run-in or encounter's going to be, based on the condition of your swords.
Didn't have the time or simply forgot to check the durability and, if necessary have your swords repaired or resharpened? Well, chances are you're going to fail terribly in the next fight, because your steel sword was so blunt that it couldn't even cut through paper or, in the worst case broke on you mid fight, resulting in you dying a horrible death.
And that's perfectly fine.
Failing because you didn't pay attention or maybe felt too confident or simply didn't care going into a confrontation with battered swords resulting in you learning the lesson the hard way is always good game design, as far as I'm concerned.
I don't like to bring it up, but Demon Souls/Dark Souls is a good example of establishing this kind of 'failure is good' mentality as an integral part of the gameplay, and very successfully at that.
I like if you can potentially end up experiencing a failure state and 'hit a wall' on your progression because of your own doing, or undoing respectively, which is something that kind of got lost or isn't used that prominently any more in AAA titles these days, unfortunately.
Don't want to fail?
Look after your weapons then (especially after particularly enduring combat) and have them fixed, if they fall below some threshold and only do 75% of the damage they would do if at full durability, or something like that. It's quite simple, actually.
Another thing I'd consider a positive effect would be the sense of accomplishment or having put effort into something that contributed to you not failing that next run-in or encounter.
I don't know exactly what it is, but it kind of feels good having made that detour to the blacksmith and have your swords fixed before engaging with an edge instead of charging head first into the fight and pay the price for your recklessness and ignorance of not taking care of your weapons. Feels even better if you learned your lesson and succeed on your second, more prepared attempt.
Last edited: