Topic: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt thread

@scubydo:

If your feeling overwhelmed,.........

• Ignore the (?) on the map, at least for the most part.
• Don't be afraid to lower or raise the difficulty level as you see fit (you can do it at anytime in the options menu).
• Stick to the main quest arc and do a secondary quest or witcher contract to break up the repetition, but make sure you keep the story moving forward in the grand scheme of things (IE, do 1X main quest, 2X secondary quest, 2X main quest, 1X witcher contract, 1X secondary quest, 2X main quest, etc).

The author of The Witcher book's is not a fan of video games...

http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-author-refused-a-profit-sh...

Most gamers know Geralt, The Witcher, as the lead character of CD Projekt's hit fantasy RPG series of the same name. But he actually originated in a series of short stories and novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, dating back to 1992.

It was actually Adrian Chmielarz's first studio, Metropolis Software, who first approached Sapkowski about making a game based on the novels, but it was CD Projekt that ultimately got the job done. He said he didn't remember the details of the deal, but "they brought a big bag of money," and that was good enough for him. And since he didn't expect the project to amount to much, and believed that videogames, in a broad sense, "are stupid" anyway, he signed a cash-up-front deal and sent them on their way. After that, he had no contact with the studio, much less input on the game's development.

"I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch," Sapkowski said. "They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, 'No, there will be no profit at all—give me all my money right now! The whole amount.' It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn't believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn't."

@ShogunRok @get2sammyb - Interesting...

@Splat There's not much new or even controversial here, Sapkowski has never been a fan of video games and has always been kinda grumpy . He made a mistake there but still tried to cash in on the popularity of the games when he released a subpar Witcher novel called "Season of Storms". If anyone here is a fan of his short stories or the saga, be sure to skip this when it's finally translated, it reads like poor fanfiction.

@Splat He's weird. He has also said that in other interviews that he was involved in the game's development. Not directly, but the studio did communicate any changes to the original story for example, looks like he was well aware of that. I think he was involved in designing the map for TW3 too. Though, it's no secret that he doesn't like video games, he's made it clear in the past that he thinks they're a waste of time. He also said that the games don't replace the original story and that they're merely an adaptation of his work, which I think is fair. In the same way that the LOTR films are an adaptation of the LOTR books.

In the end he sounds a bit like a grumpy old man. The games gained way more attention than his books and now he regrets not taking a percentage of the profits, CD Projekt Red even offered it to him in the first place. He underestimated the gaming industry and he could've made a lot more money if he didn't.

@Splat Its no different to Actors that were in the first Star Wars movie. All but Alec Guinness thought the film wouldn't amount to much so took a fixed pay cheque where Alec Guinness opted for a share. Look how that panned out...

Its not uncommon in a number of situations where a creator of something has seriously undersold their creation and had the opportunity to be a 'share' holder but opted for a 'lump sum'. In hindsight it turned out they seriously undersold their product.

@Lurker Duly noted, ta. I've just ordered Lady of the Lake which I've been waiting about a year for.

Should I get this game for PS4? or is it PC preferred?

Also, will I be completely lost if I haven't played Witcher 1 and 2?

@Kogorn733 You don't need to play the other two entries, I didn't and I never had the feeling I was missing something.

@Kogorn733 PC will give you greater than 30fps and depending on your hardware, upto 4k resolution so of course its potentially the best place to play. PS4 will be at 30fps and it tends to hold this pretty well now. Its not essential that you play the previous games at all and its actually quite diferent from the previous ganes. Its much more 'open world' now. It may help to play at least the Witcher 2 first if you want to understand the characters, the world, the politics etc beforehand. It may enhance your decision making, the romance option (if you pick one), the important relationship and why they are important etc. There are a lot of recurring Characters and like all 'sequels' it only helps and enhances the game if you come to know the characters over time and enhances the impact of their appearance and the decisions you make. Opting to embark on a quest for someone you have come to know over time is a lot easier than a random NPC for example, deciding their possible fate, where loyalties may lie etc.

That being said, you don't have to play the previous games at all - the Story is quite independent of the last and there is info provided in the game if you want to read it. I didn't play the first myself - not gaming on PC's and found the Witcher 2 accessible. Playing the Witcher 3 afterwards though, I think, was enhanced because I was more familiar with the world, the characters etc but I doubt you would be that lost if you hadn't played the previous game(s). Its quite an Adult game and I don't mean from a 'sexual' nature but because of the lore, the politics, the dynamics of the world etc.

I think they must have changed this in a patch, but you don't seem to get the option to play Gwent at this point. If you nab Lambert after the meet up in the inn you just get a white background chat option and no Gwent. I'd guess you're not supposed to play him before the return to Kaer Morhen and they've fixed this chance to play him earlier now.

I know this game is old now but I have just bought the Game of the Year edition for PS4. I only had the standard version (none of the DLC) and bought on Day 1 for XB1. I forgot just how good this game actually is. Its easy to forget with great games like Uncharted 4 and Horizon: ZD but replaying it from scratch - still not reached the level required for DLC - is reminding me just how great this game actually is!

Its definitely the best game this generation in my opinion!

@BAMozzy Well, in ways, the DLC is even better!

I think I may go through this again sometime on New Game +
Not sure how harder that makes it?

@Octane I had every intention of getting the DLC on XB1 but when I saw the GOTY version on PS4, for little more than the price of the DLC separately (not much more than the Season Pass), I thought I would buy this instead. Its been 2yrs (nearly) since I beat the story so it seemed like I good way to reacquaint myself before tackling the DLC. Forgot just how big this game actually is too. Still only a level 21 at the moment so a while to go before I get to the level required for the DLC but loving every minute of the game again...

@BAMozzy its just superb isn't it, I picked up the dlc just last week when it was like 20 bucks for both having never played them and oh my god... Cyberpunk is going to be a m a z i n g

Finally beaten the Story (again) with an ending I was 'happy' with and now starting the main quest in the first DLC - although I did do some of the side quests whilst I was roaming Velen and Novigrad. I still have a LOT of '?'s' on Skellige although most of those are at sea and the tiny islands (not the main ones with a fast travel option). I think I need to put anything with weight in my Stash, grab a boat and just go from one to the next - most are just Smugglers Caches (if I remember correctly) so easy to become encumbered....

Still working my way though this game. I stupidly did all the side quests in each area before doing the main quests and now my level is over double the recommended for each main quest making the main game stupidly easy. You should stick to the main quest mainly, doing the side quests to level up to the recommended level not past it or you might get a bit bored

@Jaster1990 XP rewards scale as well so doing quests when you are 'over-level' gives less XP reward...

Blood and Wine looks stunning.... Still working my way through Hearts of Stone though....

EDIT - Just finished Heart of Stone. After some of the Boss fights, the ending was surprisingly easy...

@BAMozzy Yeah, too bad there's no ''real'' boss fight, but I did like the story. What ending did you get? Because I know that one of the endings is pretty neat if you hadn't saved Ciri yet.

@Octane Without trying to give any spoilers, I opted to side with Olgeird and had completed the Wild Hunt storyline so Ciri's story was resolved. I have been playing solidly for about 3weeks now and completed all the side quests (apart from the races and fist fights, the High Stakes Gwent) and only 'failed' one of the Statuette quests as Triss's quest line was too far advanced - as soon as I went to see her about the statuette, it went straight into the final part of her quest.

I am a little disappointed that the main characters - like Yen, Triss are not involved in the DLC, Characters like Zoltan and Dandelion do not have 'dialogue' to respond to the world after the ending and the world itself hasn't updated either - even things like the 'Reasons of State' quest - the outcome of Radovid, Dijkstra, Roche and Ves. I found it quite odd - especially in Hearts of Stone and the fact a lot of it is in Oxenfurt. The comments by the Redanians (Long Live Radovid) were very much out of place based on my playthrough. Depending on your playthrough, 2 out of the 3 could be 'missing' and the other in power. I am now tempted to go the Bath-house and half expect to see a character that shouldn't be there. (may tell you how I resolved Reason of State LOL). I was very surprised to see a certain person still in their hidden camp in the cave instead of ruling the Temaria.

I really hope that Blood and Wine will see some impact from my Wild Hunt playthrough. Some of the decisions tied in - like maybe Yen or Triss arrive, comments about Ciri based on her ending - maybe they do of course. It made more sense to have this new and separate area as it could be more oblivious to the state of the areas and decisions we made. At most a few 'rumours' and comments from the locals.

Both packs so far seem to be oblivious to the outcome of the Wild Hunt and the decisions we made during that. These almost seem to be set before the ending - before some of Act 3 - or at least should have been.