drahkon Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Haven't had the time to play this for 5 days now... Time to dive back in Let's see how much improvement the patch has brought.
Happenstance Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Im on the endgame stuff now, expecting to complete the main story by tonight.
Ganepark32 Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Haven't really had the time to play this much at all outside of a half hour or so a week or so back. So sat down yesterday and put a couple of hours in and really enjoying it so far. Just been pottering about White Orchard doing side quests and contracts but really liking the open world and the characters I've met so far (as well as some of the pop culture references I've spotted so far). But really, I'm enjoying the combat a lot. I struggled with it when I tried to play the Witcher 2 on the 360 but it's clicking here and I'm really liking mixing up the use of Signs with attacks and counters. Think they've nailed the combat to be honest and I like that unlike in Assassin's Creed or other games, when you take on a group of monsters or enemies, they don't all just stand around to take their turn but rather can swarm you. Means that you have to keep an eye on what's happening and try not to be greedy with spamming your attacks on one enemy. It's also just ridiculously beautiful to look at. They've really done a brilliant job at realising the world, particularly when the weather changes up and it's raining and windy. Don't think I've stopped this much to take things in as I have in this game. There are a few weird visual things I have noticed though, mainly centred around how the grass/plants move when you walk over them. With small turfs of grass, it looks as though there's a circle at your feet that makes them disappear completely until you move passed them and in longer grass or plants, they seem to swirl around your feet when you walk through them. Not that it takes away from the experience, it's just something which I thought it was a bit strange. The sound design though really is phenomenal. Again, the soundtrack is brilliant but that's something they've always been able to do with the Witcher games (still listen to the soundtrack for the second one every now and again). But I took the advice of a review I read the other week and turned the music off/turned it down for a bit and the sound design there, of all the bustle in the village or the wind and stuff is incredible. Even with the music up, it really helps create an atmosphere. Have had a noticeable frame rate drop once and had the Devil in the Well contract quest glitch such that one of the things I was supposed to look at with my Witcher Senses wouldn't highlight and let me examine it so had to wait around for the noonwraith to appear and take on the quest like that. Least it resolved itself after that. Those have been the only small issues I've come across so far but they haven't really dampened things as from the first couple of hours, I love it so far. Really can't wait to play more. Definitely echo others in saying this is right up there not only as a GOTY contender but one of the best well rounded and constructed WRPGs ever.
dan-likes-trees Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 The detail in-game is immense, i love it. The Witcher 3 continuously give me a sense of wonder, something I've missed in a lot of video games lately. Going into this after the last big RPG I played being Skyrim, it feels like the world doesn't just exist as a chain of quests designed to gratify my obsessive compulsion, but like an actual world. Obviously you run into the limits of the believability of that world in places, but its still better than any other game of its type so far. Big up mang, it's dope as fuck. Urgghh. You boys have me sold. Couple of quick queries in handy bullet point format.. - How open world is the game? With Skyrim I loved how there were literally no barriers from the get go. It seems that you have to 'unlock' the world as you go in this - how accurate or annoying is that? - Not to keep banging on about Skyrim but, as the obvious comparison, how does W3 compare? I loved the shit out of exploring in that game. - I cant quite get a grip on the combat from watching videos - what would you compare it to? Ultimately my conundrum is, I usually wait until a next gen console is cheaper or has a game that I consider a Must Buy before I get it. Would you consider this the a Must Buy game that would vindicate the £350 total spend?
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Urgghh. You boys have me sold. Couple of quick queries in handy bullet point format.. - How open world is the game? With Skyrim I loved how there were literally no barriers from the get go. It seems that you have to 'unlock' the world as you go in this - how accurate or annoying is that? - Not to keep banging on about Skyrim but, as the obvious comparison, how does W3 compare? I loved the shit out of exploring in that game. - I cant quite get a grip on the combat from watching videos - what would you compare it to? Ultimately my conundrum is, I usually wait until a next gen console is cheaper or has a game that I consider a Must Buy before I get it. Would you consider this the a Must Buy game that would vindicate the £350 total spend? Brah, I literally shit myself every time I play this game. You can get insaaaaaane deals now on both the One and PS4. Insaaaaaaane. There's more than enough quality out there for you to enjoy including this. I do not regret jumping into next gen one bit. I spent hours the other day just riding around looking at stuff. I've never played Skyrim, so can't compare. If you're going to go next gen, you may as well jump in. Also, Batman is out this month. Dunno how the fuck I'm going to play these two games.
Tales Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) @dan\-likes\-trees If you loved Skyrim for its open world and exploration then you will love this. Guaranteed. It's only the opening act that might feel cut off. After that the world is yours. There's a loading screen between Velen/Novigard and Skellige but both maps are massive. You might have to avoid areas with higher levelled enemies but you had to that in Skyrim too. I don't know where you got the "unlock the world" from. When you first go to Velen you can gallop to Novigrad right away. Now that I am writing this you do have to continue the story to be able to go to Skellige but I never saw this as a problem. Too much to do in Velen and I basically "unlocked" it as I went on my way exploring the world and picking up story missions on the way. My opinion is, if you have been wishing for a new "Skyrim", this is it. Partial patch notes. The first one is greatly appreciated. Geralt will no longer interact with candles near chests and other interactive element General stability and performance improvements Significantly Enlarged GUI and HUD elements (including fonts) on consoles and slightly on PC. Improved camera smoothness Performance improvements during some cutscenes Fixed case where game was crashing on loading a save in certain situations Various bug fixes and user experience improvements in GUI panels. Fixed issue where some players were unable to run after Wandering in the Dark quest Fixed issue where players were unable to talk to Eight after the Lord of Undvik quest Too many wild hunt minions were spawned during Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog quest. Fixed issue where Keira could sometimes fall under terrain during Wandering in the Dark quest Fixed issue where Player was unable to move freely during Blindingly Obvious quest Fixed issue where Player was unable to activate portal during Wandering in the Dark quest Fixed issue where Player could get trapped in Turseach castle ruins Fixed issue where Roche was not present at Hanged Man's tree during Eye for an Eye quest Fixed issue where Player was unable to talk or interact with certain NPCs Fixed issue where Sirens in quest Lord of Undvik could be invulnerable Fixed issue where player was unable to use certain actions after Carnal Sins quest Fixed issue where Geralt was sometimes unable to mount Roach Fixed issue where some players where experiencing infinite loading screen during King's Gambit quest. Fixed issue where Simun was not properly spawned in An Unpaid Debt quest Fixed issue where player might have had a progression break after choosing certain dialogue option when talking to Dijkstra in Count Reuven's Treasure quest The Pyres of Novigrad quest is of course going to be fixed as well as the XP glitch Edited June 1, 2015 by Tales
dan-likes-trees Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 @dan\-likes\-trees If you loved Skyrim for its open world and exploration then you will love this. Guaranteed. It's only the opening act that might feel cut off. After that the world is yours. There's a loading screen between Velen/Novigard and Skellige but both maps are massive. You might have to avoid areas with higher levelled enemies but you had to that in Skyrim too. I don't know where you got the "unlock the world" from. When you first go to Velen you can gallop to Novigrad right away. Now that I am writing this you do have to continue the story to be able to go to Skellige but I never saw this as a problem. Too much to do in Velen and I basically "unlocked" it as I went on my way exploring the world and picking up story missions on the way. My opinion is, if you have been wishing for a new "Skyrim", this is it. Brah, I literally shit myself every time I play this game. You can get insaaaaaane deals now on both the One and PS4. Insaaaaaaane. There's more than enough quality out there for you to enjoy including this. I do not regret jumping into next gen one bit. I spent hours the other day just riding around looking at stuff. I've never played Skyrim, so can't compare. If you're going to go next gen, you may as well jump in. Also, Batman is out this month. Dunno how the fuck I'm going to play these two games. Thanks chaps. That's all I needed to hear! You're not wrong about the deals flink. Searched on HUKD and reserved this ludicrous deal from Argos. Seems too good to be true but I'll find out tomorrow!
Jimbob Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) @dan\-likes\-trees. Witcher 3, even though it is 3 main regions, all 3 when within load seamless. You want to go into a building, go ahead. Cave, again feel free. Nothing to load in each region, it's all seamless. As it's been said by @Tales, if you were looking for the new Skyrim then look no further. Edit: Bloodborne and Witcher 3 will keep you going for quite a while, both are fantastic games. Edited June 2, 2015 by Jimbob
MadDog Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Thanks chaps. That's all I needed to hear! You're not wrong about the deals flink. Searched on HUKD and reserved this ludicrous deal from Argos. Seems too good to be true but I'll find out tomorrow! Whey! It's worth buying a PS4 just for those two games, nevermind the other great titles. Fantastic price aswell. 😊
drahkon Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Looks like I need to stop playing as I've encountered that no-exp-bug. Just finished "Family Matters" and got absolutely no experience points. Should've given me 200exp.
Tales Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Fyi if you are five levels or more above the quest, you don't get experience.
drahkon Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Fyi if you are five levels or more above the quest, you don't get experience. Good to know. I was 4 levels above the quest, though
Happenstance Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Does anyone else sometimes feel like the developers built the roads and paths in the game, then added the pathing for where Roach will follow while on them, then afterwards add all the sign posts and fences etc so Roach doesnt account for them and is constantly bumping into stuff?
Happenstance Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 (edited) You can auto ride Roach? What. Yeah just hold or double tap X while on a path Edited June 2, 2015 by Happenstance
drahkon Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Finished the Baron quests... Saved the children...Anna died...Baron hanged himself The quests in this game...amazing.
Happenstance Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Finished the Baron quests... Saved the children...Anna died...Baron hanged himself The quests in this game...amazing. Mine was the opposite. The kids died (although it didnt seem to be mentioned oddly enough), Anna was still nuts so the Baron took her off to a far away healer to get help
drahkon Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Mine was the opposite. The kids died (although it didnt seem to be mentioned oddly enough), Anna was still nuts so the Baron took her off to a far away healer to get help I thought I did the good thing by saving the children. Turns out it hasn't been that great of a choice...
Happenstance Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 I thought I did the good thing by saving the children. Turns out it hasn't been that great of a choice... Yeah this game rarely has the clear cut "good choice".
Nolan Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Yea roach is an asshole who controls horribly. Red Dead Redemption did it best, and even Shadow of the Colossus did horses well. I've ridden plenty of horses, Roach is just an uncooperative asshole that doesn't want to listen to the rider.
Happenstance Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Well thats the main quest finished! I expect ive got many more hours of this game to play with all the side quests and contracts left! Such a great game, definitely a GOTY contender for me. One of those games where it definitely has its faults as you are playing but you just dont care.
Murr Posted June 3, 2015 Posted June 3, 2015 This game, I've been in Novigrad for about 10 hours now with no signs of quests drying up meaning I have no need to travel to Skellige right now. So far in Novigrad I've... Recovered some stolen goods for the owner of the bath house in the city Tracked down and killed Whoreson Jnr Met a king who want's me to do a favour for him Met Vernon Roche which will start quests I assume Taken Part in a play Tracking down Dandelion currently Asked to assassinate the king I've yet to do a favour for helped the mages escape sexy times with Triss Seriously... how can I contemplate leaving Novigrad when there is always so much to do.
Ganepark32 Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Put a few more hours into this last night and again this morning and really didn't want to have to turn off but sadly I have a meeting at work Gutted as well as I've progressed the story to get to Velen and it's so ridiculously massive. Every time I open the map I think how long am I going to spend here doing all those side quests and discovering the markers, especially when the first marker I went to had lvl 14 enemies and I'm only lvl 4. Really, really enjoying it though. Definitely the best game I've played this year, perhaps in the last couple of years. Yes, there are one or two technical niggles but their appearances are few and far between so far. Everything is just so well put together. Looking forward to putting more time in tonight as... I've just got to Crow's Perch and started hearing the Baron's story about Ciri, thus just gained control. Interested to see how the story at this point fleshes out.
flameboy Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Well thats the main quest finished! I expect ive got many more hours of this game to play with all the side quests and contracts left! Such a great game, definitely a GOTY contender for me. One of those games where it definitely has its faults as you are playing but you just dont care. How many hours? The last few times I've played I've done nothing but ? chasing I’m now 49 hours in and not touched the Baron missions although I have been to Novigrad and done some of the missions there. The thing about this game that is very different to say an Assassin's Creed is that you feel compelled to explore and find all those areas. Edited June 4, 2015 by flameboy
MadDog Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Once i got to Skellige, am i able to freely travel back to Velen when i wish?
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