World supposedly 20% bigger than Skyrim’s30-40 minutes to cross world on HorsebackNew streaming technology (CDRED Engine 3)Geralt’s Memory is restoredNo chapters/actsDude is DONE fighting for everyone elseEverything from solving MYSTERIES to slaying monstersComing out on “all top-of-the-line” consoles
- The team felt it missed the huge freedom of open-world games like Skyrim- Proper mounted combat still being tested- Currently not a definite part of the game- Horses will be in, though, since they’re important for navigation- Ships float on the water in true physics interactions- Team has doubled in size- No chapters, acts, or any artificial break-points- Geralt can seamlessly cross from one end of the world to the other thanks to REDengine 3- No loading screens while traveling in the open world- Can explore on foot, by horseback, and via boat- Pursue yor long-lost love, play the game of empires on behalf of the northern kingdoms that still claim independence, and thwart the nefarious Wild Hunt- Fast travel: instantly revisit any discovered location- Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz: “A huge goal is to keep the high quality o four quests, with all the cinematics and impressive events and moments.”- Point of interest will always be in sight- Players will be beckoned to explore dank caves, embattled villages, decaying ruins, etc.- Over 100 hours of hand-scripted quests- Quests: help villagers, engineer the succession of the Skellige kings, etc.- Use monster hunting for adventure, incoming, and unique rewards- There are mini-games based on the area of the world- Ex: Skellige has knife-throwing- Gain exclusive rewards from mini-games- Don’t have to complete mini-games to proceed in the story- Monsters, bandits, traders, animals, and more will attack anyone they deem hostile- Enemies don’t scale to the player’s level- Slaying monsters, fighting hostile humans in the different forms they come in, collecting items, leveling up are in the game- World 40 times larger than the last game- Three different aspects to narration- Lowest level: free-form activities like monster hunting, crafting, individual standalone quests- Second step: political situation and Nilfgaardian invasion is resolved through the core plotline of the major areas (Skellige, Novigrad, No Man’s Land)- Each land has its own storyline- Can abandon the storyline, but will have repercussions later- Not doing a plotline is a choice the player has- Main narrative: search for Geralt’s loved ones and conflict with the Wild Hunt- Multiple branches of narratives that feed into each other- Don’t have to do anything outside the main storyline to beat the game- Could have help in a main-line encounter from an ally you gained in the Skellige archipelago if you’ve completed certain quests in certain ways- Major events in the main storyline are “gates” for the state of the world- Ex: village threatened by bandits might be abandoned after certain events if the player doesn’t help- Weather effects are dynamically generated and fully modeled as real volumetric clouds rather than being simply painted on the skybox- In contrast to the last game, Geralt encounters communities and individuals with monster-related problems that need solving- There aren’t contract-like assignments this time- Press the left trigger to turn on Geralt’s witcher senses- Can glean information from a crime scene upon discovering it- Within range of a scene of interest, the mechanic conveys clues to the player through the witcher muttering to himself and/or visual depictions of past events that represent Geralt’s reasoning- Time of day and other conditions determine where monsters appear and their abilities- Can strike critical areas in combat based on how much you learn about monster anatomy and tactics- The team is deciding between using a handful of in-combat special moves for particular attacks and a slow-motion quick-time event style- Monsters you defeat leave otherwise unobtainable alchemical and crafting ingrediants needed for making of unique items, potions, mutagens- These allow Geralt to gain special powers and upgrades in the new mutation development tree- These kills serve as the witcher’s primary method of income- Moving more toward romance and away from shallow sexual encounters- “We want to treat it maturely like we did in The Witcher 2. We are not bringing sex cards back.”- Witcher 3 doesn’t have completely different environments based on singular choices due to the open world, but there are similarly impactful decisions- You’ll be involved with mutually exclusive storylines and situations based on certain momentous choices- Won’t be on the same level as Witcher 2, however- Game mechanics based on previous games, but the team is revisiting many details- Backward difficulty curve being addressed- Rewroking the flow of combat- 96 animations for Geralt’s combat moves (last game had 20)- Game has a “weighting” system for the camera to help keep the biggest threats in frame at all times- Combat system: three big changes to solve the problem of being locked into long animations- Every button prss mapped to a single strike- Each move takes a roughly equivalent time to perforom- Can always interrupt your current action to immediately dodge or block- Can block/dodge when out of stamina, but you’ll be staggered- Team wants to make the combat “more intimate”- “You don’t run – in the Witcher 2 you were running constantly. You walk, but your attacks are very fast. Your opponents also walk but they have charges and things like that.”- Geralt’s dodge roll replaced by a pivot move- It retains its defensive utility without game-breaking mobility- Attacks faster than in The Witcher 2- Enemy AI completely rebuilt- No scripted boss encounters- One boss: ice giant- Roughly a dozen types of interactive objects- Ex: Can irritate a wasp with the telekinetic Aard sign to make a damaging distraction for his foes and disperse the swarm with the fiery Igni sign once the wasp swarm becomes a problem- Magical signs are retooled- Each of the five signs has a basic form such as Igni’s new flamethrower effect- If the player advances down the magic tree as Geralt levels up, can unlock a second form of the sign- For Igni, would unlock a 360-degree blast that immolates anything close- Yrdren’s small trap can be changed into a bigger field that slows enemies- Player retains the use of the basic form- Other two trees are based on swordsmanship and alchemy- Swordfighting: can unlock new strikes and boosts such as improved stanima and parrying- Alchemy: mutation mechanic moved off to a separate development path, independent of the level-up process- Alchemy specialization is based more on potions- Improvements available for the horse and boat- These aspects are still in development- One idea: players could access their long-term storage stash from their horse as well as from inns- Team knows about frustrating inventory management in Witcher 2- Crafting still important for enhancing Geralt’s capabilities- Can customize crafted items- Some components are can be substituted for similar things- Ex: monster scales instead of leather in a piece of armor- This affects the properties of the final item- Can find unique components as part of monster hunts or questlines- Combine these with special recipes to make artifacts of immense power- Each armor piece has a unique appearance- Armor has improved presentation and new cloth simulation- Can visit a barber to change Geralt’s hairstyle
Designed to be the crowning achievement from the renowned RPG developers; for the first time will combine mature, nonlinear story with a vast, fully open world.CD Projekt RED has officially announced the title of their next upcoming game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (VIDEO). Further, they've announced that this, the ultimate game in the series, will also be the final Witcher game from the studio. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt combines CD Projekt RED's trademark decision-based storytelling flair with a living open world larger than any other in modern RPG history."The captivating and nonlinear story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place in a rich, truly open world environment. A world which is thrilling to explore, full of daring adventures, momentous quests, memorable characters, and unique monsters. Players will freely travel through woods, lakes, mountains, cities, and villages. Each region is inhabited by distinct populations with their own customs, legends and problems. The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 30 times bigger than The Witcher 2," said Adam Badowski, head of the studio."Imagine playing a dark fantasy game with the same great nonlinear story as in the previous Witcher titles, but now told in a world you can explore freely with no artificial boundaries. The war-ravaged world is so huge that to reach further places you will need to ride a horse or sail a boat to get there. A world where your choices have truly epic consequences. From the development side, this goal is extremely demanding. Our team had to make significant design changes and our tech had to be rebuilt. But we believe that this will lead to a completely new level of nonlinearity and a whole new, richer gaming experience. As a gamer, I would love to play this kind of RPG and I think this is what many players are waiting for. This is our dream come true at CD Projekt RED, and we hope it will be the same for you!" adds Badowski.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final episode of the award-winning RPG series and the last part of the legend of Geralt of Rivia. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most robust and breathtaking game ever created by CD Projekt RED. Open world free-roaming exploration is an adventure in itself as the player will gallop through war-ravaged lands, sail misty waters and track down dangerous beasts for money. An improved combat system will allow players to feel like a real monster-hunter, a witcher who uses his superior senses and fighting skills to survive in a dark fantasy world--while he embarks on a quest to save his loved ones. The new core mechanics of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt immerse the player in the experience completely, with no Quick Time Events, only intuitive RPG gameplay.Badowski continued, "People may ask if this is really going to be the last Witcher game. Yes, it is. Why? Because we believe that we should end the series on a high note. Technology has progressed to where we can finally tell the story the way we want, with the visuals we want, in the world we imagined. This will be the ultimate fantasy RPG experience, and while we're hardly out of stories to tell, we believe it's time for us to look to new worlds and new horizons to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can create."For all of those who have never experienced the adventures of Geralt before, this will be their last chance. The game will be accessible all players--those who are fans of the series and those who just love RPGs--thanks to availability on all major high-end platforms and an introduction designed to smoothly introduce all those who visit the world of the Witcher for the first time."The game will be released in 2014 simultaneously on all high-end platforms. Making use of the same remarkable art direction from The Witcher 2 combined with the support of in-house technology--the recently-announced RPG-oriented REDengine 3--The Witcher 3 will take full advantage of the technical capabilities of modern hardware and will set a new standard for RPG visuals.CD Projekt RED has added a whole new section to their website. If you want to find more information, please go to www.thewitcher.comFor more details check out the latest issue of Game Informer, available for online subscribers starting from today. There you will find exclusive materials in a 14 page cover story, including early screenshots and concept artwork.To celebrate this momentous announcement, the developers of the award-winning Witcher franchise are putting The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition on a 50% off sale on GOG.com and Steam for the next 72 hours. And for console gamers, the price of The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition on Microsoft's Xbox 360 is permanently decreased to only USD/EUR 29.99 USD/EUR or GBP 19,99.To be informed about the start of official CD Projekt RED pre-orders for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and to receive the latest Witcher news please subscribe here: thewitcher.com/preorder
