View Full Version : The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
More info about the first proper DLC:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/09/28/the-witcher-3-heart-of-stone-introduces-a-tonal-shift/
Some minor spoilers in there so steer clear if you don't want to see them.
Looking forward to this, I couldn't be bothered going back to the game just to gallop about mopping up monster nests and stuff but this sounds much meatier.
Bernanke
28-09-2015, 12:49 PM
Some reviewer described it as a "medieval Ballad of Gay Tony" because of how funny and silly it is compared to the base game. Ridiculously excited.
Raoul Duke
28-09-2015, 09:23 PM
I still haven't completed this. Ugh.
Yevrah
09-10-2015, 07:14 PM
So the latest patch is 17GB. How is that even possible?
Raoul Duke
09-10-2015, 08:20 PM
It fixes a shitload of stuff, but yeah - it's bonkers.
Yevrah
09-10-2015, 08:25 PM
Are these patches cummulative in their size as well? In that my copy of the Witcher will be taking up about 100GB of my hard drive?
Raoul Duke
09-10-2015, 09:00 PM
No idea. Wouldn't have thought so.
Bernanke
10-10-2015, 12:12 AM
No, not cumulative. Also, the 17GB probably has a fair bit of the expansion in it, for that to be a lower size.
RPS review it:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/10/09/the-witcher-3-hearts-of-stone-review/
I didn't read every word, just enough to understand that, yes, I'm going to like it.
Raoul Duke
10-10-2015, 11:33 AM
No, not cumulative. Also, the 17GB probably has a fair bit of the expansion in it, for that to be a lower size.
Not sure about that - it'd be a bit shitty to download a fuckload of data onto people's hard drives if they're not necessarily going to buy the expansion. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing CD: PR would do.
Yevrah
10-10-2015, 01:17 PM
Surely that's the only explanation for the patch being so big though?
If it isn't that, what in the fuck is in it that makes it that size?
Surely even fixes and upgrades for existing, non-DLC stuff could replace existing files? You'd bloody hope so.
Disco
10-10-2015, 01:37 PM
Not sure about that - it'd be a bit shitty to download a fuckload of data onto people's hard drives if they're not necessarily going to buy the expansion. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing CD: PR would do.
It's unlikely to be their choice, you want your game on consoles you do as you're told.
It does seem big for a patch, even though the notes are apparently 13 pages long so they're not fucking around with fixe and updates.
Raoul Duke
11-10-2015, 09:52 PM
I'm still plugging away at this - gotta be on the final stretch now though. Despite putting a shitload of time into it, I'm still engaged in the plot. The characterisation is fantastic in some places, and I can imagine it'd only be better if you had played the previous games.
The depth of some of the story missions is great too. Some cracking plots in amongst all the 'killing stuff for money' bits.
Genuinely don't think I've ever played a game that's drawn me into its world as much as this.
Raoul Duke
01-11-2015, 07:27 PM
It's finished!
:rave:
Only took me about 5 months.
Ending questions:
I heard there are alternate endings - in mine, it didn't make an awful lot of sense: Avallach and Ciri went off to go stop the world getting destroyed by the big freeze, Gerald walks up to them and is about to croak Avallach when Ciri pipes up and tells him she's going to be the hero. The next thing I know I'm in a tavern with Dandelion, the Dwarf guy and Yen. I then walk outside and go for a wander to see Ciri, who then promptly fucks off to go hang out with Charles Dance :cab:
What happened to Avallach? Did Ciri succeed in stopping Winter? Why was she suddenly back and hanging around? What happened to all the big-titted witches I was working with? Was my ending "good"?
I'm trying to get it done before Fallout comes out, but every time I think I'm clearing things up I keep finding more sodding side quests.
The fact I'm still enjoying it as much as I am is a massive testament to how good it is, but dear god almighty do I never want to see a Drowner or Siren again.
Avallac'h presumably fucks off back to Huntsville to hang out with his elf chums again. She stopped winter else everybody would have been armpit deep in snow like in that one part where you're in a world where the big freeze set in I assume. Ciri fucks off to rule Nilfgaard with Charles Dance if you took her to see him at that once quest when you can opt whether to do so or not, I believe, and comes back to see Geralt before she goes.
As for the non-Yen witches, dunno, That ending is considered to be one of the 'good' ones, I suppose.
The options as far as I'm aware are that one, Ciri coming back but taking up Witcher-work (sending Ciri and her powers to kill a gryphon seems like overkill to me) and then there's one where if you've been a dick and Ciri 'loses faith' in herself during that last bit she dies/disappears, Geralt goes to kill whichever of the crones it was who nicked Ciri's necklace/token/thing and ends up fading to black before he gets swarmed by nasties.
And then in mine I got the 'Geralt and Yen fuck off to shag a lot somewhere' epilogue.
I was a bit confused at that same bit during the ending when it suddenly cuts to the pub and wondered if I'd missed something.
EDIT: I'd rather face a gryphon than another mob of fucking drowners.
Raoul Duke
01-11-2015, 07:44 PM
Cheers Ian.
It was very enjoyable overall (and some bits were genuine all-time gaming highlights, for me).
Cord - you just have to stay focussed and crack on through the main story missions. You can generally come back to nearly everything at the end, so it's not the end of the world if you've not done it all. I topped out at level 30 ish and never got the final armour sets etc. Also gave up with races and Gwent shit as well.
I barely touched the races. Gwent snowballed. All of a sudden I had a deck that I just didn't lose with other than seriously unfortunate draws. By the time I got the Geralt/Ciri/whatever the other top cards were I didn't need them.
It was very enjoyable overall (and some bits were genuine all-time gaming highlights, for me).
Which bits were these, out of interest? The Bloody Baron quests are in that category for me.
Raoul Duke
01-11-2015, 08:00 PM
Which bits were these, out of interest? The Bloody Baron quests are in that category for me.
The BB quest, definitely. I really liked the plot line with the blonde singer girl who shacked up with Dandelion. The whole 'Oceans 11'-ness of the battle at Kaer Mohren was pretty ace. The Siggy Reuben one was great throughout as well (including up until the Radovid-related conclusion). The quest where Yen + Gerald faced-up to whether their relationship was real or not was well done too - I'd not played any Witcher games before but it felt weighty and impactful.
I think a lot of it was just if felt like LoTR or GoT. For a game to pull me in that much was surprising.
Cord - you just have to stay focussed and crack on through the main story missions. You can generally come back to nearly everything at the end, so it's not the end of the world if you've not done it all. I topped out at level 30 ish and never got the final armour sets etc. Also gave up with races and Gwent shit as well.
Ah, I wasn't sure if this was going to be one of those where you can carry on after the 'end'. I should think I'm now getting to the business end of things anyway:
I'm getting people to join my Wild Hunt slapping crew. Think I've got the people I can get from Skellige all on board, and now I need to work on the Novigrad lot and bored sounding Charles Dance. I've not really even started the Radovid assassination thing, which I'm assuming it's sensible to get done before talking to Charles Dance or the fat spy fella in Novigrad for their help.
I've not even worked out if killing Radovid is a good idea yet. It seems like it should be, but I've learnt many times now that isn't how it works.
The BB quest, definitely. I really liked the plot line with the blonde singer girl who shacked up with Dandelion. The whole 'Oceans 11'-ness of the battle at Kaer Mohren was pretty ace. The Siggy Reuben one was great throughout as well (including up until the Radovid-related conclusion). The quest where Yen + Gerald faced-up to whether their relationship was real or not was well done too - I'd not played any Witcher games before but it felt weighty and impactful.
I think a lot of it was just if felt like LoTR or GoT. For a game to pull me in that much was surprising.
The relationship-y bit was definitely well done. I can't think of too many romantic scenes in the games I've played which have been done better because they're usually cringe-y as fuck. That one isn't exactly oscar-worthy (though part of that is possibly just getting over it being animated folk) but it's nicely done.
Finally finished this. Not entirely sure why the final boss did about as much damage per attack as all those times I accidentally walked over tiny campfires, but that aside I've no complaints. It is a great game. Might be up there as the best open world game I've played. Certainly in contention with the Ken Levine Bioshocks as the best written games I can remember.
Ian/anyone else, are the older ones still half decent/worth a go? I should get on them at some point if so.
Raoul Duke
10-11-2015, 10:16 PM
I agree on the last boss. I just beat the shit out of him with about the same ease I'd kill a drowner. Great writing, like you say.
No idea on the old games, but the DLC is meant to be good, if you want more Witcher-ing.
The old ones are available for a pittance in Steam sales. 1 would probably be a bit of a chore to get into these days because while it gets really good it is an absolute ballache between hours 3-6 and I had to grit my teeth at my second attempt to get through it. Witcher 2 would still hold up pretty well I think. Neither are open though. More like a series of relatively open areas rather than a big massive open thing.
I've resisted the temptation to buys Hearts of Stone so far but it looks swish.
The last boss was definitely a bit weird. There's a guy not that much earlier who can kick your cunt in with a couple of hits if you muck up. The one up the mountain with the crones.
phonics
11-11-2015, 12:02 AM
Finally finished this. Not entirely sure why the final boss did about as much damage per attack as all those times I accidentally walked over tiny campfires, but that aside I've no complaints. It is a great game. Might be up there as the best open world game I've played. Certainly in contention with the Ken Levine Bioshocks as the best written games I can remember.
Ian/anyone else, are the older ones still half decent/worth a go? I should get on them at some point if so.
The Witcher 1 was one of the worst controlling games I've ever played aside from it's not great gameplay, poor storytelling or overt sexism in it's 'collect women trading cards by shagging them' mini game. The Witcher 2 is Witcher 3 quality storytelling with janky controls, poor boss fight and frustrating sequences involving brewing potions before battle. I'd recommend the second if you like the world but avoid the first at all costs.
The sex-with-chicks minigame in the first is a horror but you were in no way made to play it. The storytelling was fine, if not as polished as 2 and definitely not 3.
In 2 you could just easily sack off the potions just by turning down the difficulty a notch. Which is to be a recommended at the start anyway given the devs still don't know how to do a learning curve. (Though off the top of my head I'm not sure how many open world games I've played that really got that right.)
phonics
11-11-2015, 12:19 AM
I was going to mention the difficulty at the beginning of the game (despite buying it I never completed the tutorial, watching my mate complete it on my Steam account instead) I heard that they released a patch for it with the GOTY edition making the early stuff far easier.
Who thought it was a good idea to make block a skill point?
While they didn't go quite as nuts with the previous two CD Projekt have always been good with continued support for the Witcher game, tweaks and fixes and shit.
Bernanke
10-12-2015, 01:53 AM
First screens for Blood & Wine:
http://wpc.4d7d.edgecastcdn.net/004D7D/mkt/image/TW3BAW_The_palace_of_Beauclair_EN.png
http://wpc.4d7d.edgecastcdn.net/004D7D/mkt/image/TW3BAW_Toussaint_is_famous_for_its_wine_and_vineya rds_EN.png
Holding out for that full second playthrough. All next shitty Swedish summer is gonna be 150+ ours of this amazing game. :drool:
Yevrah
10-12-2015, 09:20 AM
I'm really looking forward to get back into this, post all the patches and with some DLC.
Shindig
10-12-2015, 09:42 AM
That herbalist needs to be 3 feet closer to her desk. I'm up to the Griffin but might want to knock some potions together. No more side stuff is immediately available.
phonics
10-12-2015, 10:32 AM
I did enjoy the mod that turned all combat into Gwent :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMVQiDv62c
I'm really looking forward to get back into this, post all the patches and with some DLC.
I'm surprised. I know you didn't hate it or anything like that but I didn't think you had any particular interest in digging back in either.
Yevrah
10-12-2015, 08:02 PM
I'm surprised. I know you didn't hate it or anything like that but I didn't think you had any particular interest in digging back in either.
I thought it was a good game, not as good as some others (I shan't go into that) but definitely one I eventually want to see through. What put me off at the time were the endless patches, some of which fundamentally changed mechanics in the game, which (while ongoing) would seriously jeopardise the narrative I'd created in my own mental head.
Yeah, the extent of some of the changes was a bit odd. Commendable in as much as they weren't just fixing stuff but trying to improve it but strange to suddenly thrust it upon existing saves.
Shindig
10-12-2015, 11:38 PM
That Griffin fight was a bit daft. Allowing me to mediate for 5 hours mid-scrap was unexpected and I'm kinda wishing I played this in Polish.
Yevrah
05-04-2016, 09:21 PM
Just had a look at what's available for this now while doing some housekeeping on the old Xbox One.
The amount of free DLC is amazing - it's getting reinstalled.
CD Projekt are top. I hope Cyberpunk 2077 is ace whenever they finish it because I'd quite like to give them all of my money.
Though I've yet to touch Hearts of Stone. Waiting until Blood and Wine is out then I'll nab both.
Yevrah
05-04-2016, 09:28 PM
Couple of questions on that front.
How much is Blood and Wine likely to be?
How does Hearts of Stone integrate with the main game?
Hearts of Stone is acquired like a normal in-game quest but it's higher level, I think. If you've finished the game and are in mooching about mode you can go right into it as soon as it's installed, you presumably just have to go to the quest on the map.
Blood and Wine is meant to be £15 or so I believe, for a purported 20 new hours (in a brand new region) of game.
This was easily my top game of last year, probably one of my favourites. Barely touched Hearts of Stone though, despite buying it when it came out. I can see me giving it full welly when Blood and Wine comes out in the next couple of months.
Started Hearts of Stone yesterday. Man, it's good to be back in Witcherland.
That first boss in Hearts of Stone is good. As with any good ones in these games it's just satisfying to work out how best to wear the bastard down. And it's another good twist on fairytales/folklore.
Bloody loving this. A wedding, an auction and now a bank heist and it all feels totally in keeping with the setting and character.
I think now having done both expansions, Hearts of Stone (certainly the first 3/4 of it) is a very strong contender for being the best part of the game.
It's either HoS or the Bloody Baron quest line.
Just finished Hearts of Stone, it was brilliant. Moved onto Blood and Wine now. Touissaint is lovely and Beauclair feels different to the other cities. It's also nice to have people happy to see you when you arrive in places.
There's also clearly a hell of a lot of game in it. Excellent.
Demerit
20-07-2016, 02:14 PM
Loaded this up for the first time in a long time.
I only played for a few hours when I got it as I think I got distracted by something else, and I forgot how overwhelming it is. In the first 10 minutes of playing another 23 quests popped up. I also don't love the inventory.
I'll persevere with this over the next few weeks between other games, but I actually think it's too dense for me.
Probably the biggest complaint of the few I have is that fights which should be relatively mundane are sometimes significantly harder than ones the game sets up as epic slugfests.
Went to Roach's stable and found this shifty-looking fucker.
http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/275104379581894391/B50D47852E148B3D9B233518E0EB66E012F69D0C/
Finished Blood and Wine. The ending is nice, even if before the finale bit Dettlaff turns out to be less interesting than it appeared he might have been
I'm going to miss Geralt. :(
Bernanke
23-10-2016, 11:01 AM
I just started on the first DLC, and these characters are freaking awesome. The house just burned down so I've pretty much just been introduced to the major players.
Bernanke
27-10-2016, 03:26 PM
What a story that was. :drool:
I just arrived in Toussaint. :drool: :drool: People here are actually appreciative of my work, and I heard rumours of a vineyard.
People in B&W actually showing you some respect is a nice change.
Raoul Duke
18-05-2017, 07:46 PM
There's a Witcher tv series coming to Netflix :drool:
https://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/2017/05/the-witcher-netflix-series/
Yevrah
19-05-2017, 12:43 PM
That should actually be quite good. It won't be obviously, but it should.
Pretty much two years to the day since Wild Hunt came out.
I want more. :(
I've just learned that my friend who is forever moaning about having "nothing to play" has not finished Hearts of Stone or ever started Blood and Wine.
I'm not sure I've ever been this disgusted with somebody.
Also:
https://i2.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/witcher-cavill.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1
Roach. :cool:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.