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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - All News

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Box Art

Wednesday - May 31, 2023

Witcher 3 - 50 Million Copies sold

by Hiddenx, 15:51

RPG Site reports that The Witcher 3 is very successful:

CD Projekt Red: The Witcher 3 sold over 50 million, Cyberpunk 2077 DLC showing at SGF 2023

According to the latest financial report from developer CD Projekt Red, sales for The Witcher 3 have officially topped 50 million units. The milestone was mentioned in CDPR's consolidated financial report and announced by the company on Twitter. The report covers the period ending in the first quarter of 2023.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Thursday - February 02, 2023

Witcher 3 - Patch 4.01

by Hiddenx, 18:57

The Witcher 3 got a new patch:

Patch 4.01 — list of changes

Patch 4.01 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now available! It improves the overall stability and performance of the game and brings various fixes.

Here's the list of changes for this update:

PC-SPECIFIC

  • Fixed an issue where the Screen Space Reflections setting wasn't working on PC despite being turned on. Players who had previously set their SSR setting to high may notice a performance impact.
  • Added a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, which can be toggled by players with compatible hardware. It improves frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.

QUESTS & GAMEPLAY

  • Battle Preparations - Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to interact with Avallac'h during the objective "Let Avallac'h know everything's ready."
  • Family Matters - Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash during the transition to Ciri's Story: Out of the Shadows when speaking to the Bloody Baron.
  • King's Gambit - Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to participate in the fistfight with the second Vildkaarl due to an invisible obstacle.
  • Wine Wars: Belgaard - Added a retrofix for the issue we fixed in 4.00, where the quest couldn't be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
  • A Dangerous Game - The armor in Caesar's room should now change its appearance when the Alternate Nilfgaardian Armor is turned on.
  • Axii Puppet - Increased the health and damage dealt by the puppet.
  • Adrenaline Rush mutation should now work according to its description.
  • Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.

LOCALIZATION

  • Fixed various issues with Arabic localization.
  • Added the localized versions of Orianna's song "Lullaby of Woe" in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
  • Adjusted Priscilla's lip-sync animation to match her voice-over in Simplified Chinese during the song "The Wolven Storm".

Please note: these are only the most notable changes. The patch contains other minor fixes that didn't make it into this list.

Tuesday - December 20, 2022

Witcher 3 - Hotfix

by Hiddenx, 11:58

The Witcher 3 got a stability and performance hotfix:

Marcin Momot on Twitter:

A hotfix that should improve overall stability and performance of the game has just gone live on PC. Please make sure to update your version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and let us know how you're finding it.

Update size:
STEAM - 3GB update
GOG - 1.9GB update

Thanks Henriquejr!

Wednesday - December 14, 2022

Witcher 3 - Next Gen Upgrade Gameplay

by Hiddenx, 19:07

IGN presents the features of the upgraded Witcher 3:

Witcher 3 Next Gen Upgrade Gameplay - New Armor, New Combat, New Graphics

Monday - November 14, 2022

Witcher 3 - Next-Gen Releasing December 14th

by Silver, 21:05

CD Projekt RED have announced on Twitter that the next-gen edition of The Witcher 3 will arrive December 14th; free for existing owners.

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game. For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on twitch.tv/cdprojektred.

Saturday - October 23, 2021

Witcher 3 - Next-Gen Delayed to Q2 2022

by Silver, 13:07

@DSOGaming In some not surprising news the next gen update for The Witcher 3 has been delayed until Q2 2022.

From what we know, The Witcher 3 Next-Gen will feature a range of visual and technical improvements — including ray tracing and faster loading times. These improvements will be present across the base game, both expansions, and all extra content. Furthermore, modder ‘Halk Hogan‘ will be contributing to this new version of The Witcher 3.

Friday - May 07, 2021

Witcher 3 - Next-Gen Update might be using some Fan-made Mods

by Hiddenx, 21:26

Kotaku reports that some fan-made mods are likely to be included in The Witcher 3:

The Witcher 3's Next-Gen Update Might Be Using Some Fan-Made Mods

The Witcher 3 is getting a next-gen re-release later this year, and when it does, some of the “visual and technical improvements” it introduces might actually be thanks to the work of fans in the modding community.

Earlier this week Halk Hogan, the creator of the The Witcher 3 HD Reworked project (which swaps out many of the game’s original textures with much sharper ones), announced that he had been in talks with CD Projekt Red over the upcoming next-gen release, writing:

Hello my dear friends! It’s been a long time since the last video. I know I announced a new HDRP preview in early March but I was silent the whole time. Sorry for that. But in return, I have some good news, and the reasons why I was quiet and why I don’t have too much to show. I think the most important news is that I got an official message from CDPR about cooperation. While it’s not certain yet, it’s very likely that HDRP will be included in the official next generation update. I will inform you what’s next. As always, I would like to thank you for all your support and kind words. 

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

[...]

Wednesday - March 31, 2021

Witcher 3 - Next Gen Coming Second Half of 2021

by Silver, 22:04

@Radek on Twitter According to the PR manager for CD Projekt RED The Witcher 3 next gen update is coming the second half of 2021.

ICYMI, the next-generation update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming in the second half of 2021.

Thursday - March 11, 2021

The Witcher Games - Streamed on Geforce NOW

by Myrthos, 16:55

The GOG versions of the Witcher games can now be streamed via Geforce NOW.

We're happy to announce that starting today, you can play the GOG versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and selected games from The Witcher universe via GeForce NOW, NVIDIA's cloud gaming service. 

If you want to explore the universe of the legendary Witcher, become a professional monster slayer, or a war-veteran queen of two Northern Realms, you can do it now on almost any device -- including low-powered units, Mac laptops, Chromebooks, and more, thanks to GeForce NOW. 

All GOG owners of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition, The Witcher Adventure Game, and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales can stream these games across their devices via GeForce NOW with full language support. 

Friday - September 04, 2020

Witcher 3 - Coming to Next Gen

by Silver, 22:36

CD Projekt RED has announced that The Witcher 3 will be coming to next gen consoles and PC. It will be a free update if you already own the game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming to the next generation!

04.09.2020
 
We’re working on the next generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt!

Developed to take advantage of the most powerful gaming hardware, the next-gen edition of the game will feature a range of visual and technical improvements — including ray tracing and faster loading times — across the base game, both expansions, and all extra content.
 
The next generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will release as a standalone purchase for PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, as well as a free update for everyone who already owns the game on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Monday - July 06, 2020

Witcher 3 - Meaningful Player Choices @ IGN

by Hiddenx, 20:26

How can you design meaningful player choices? - CD Projekt Red's Story Director Marcin Blacha has some answers:

How CD Projekt Red Designs Meaningful Player Choices

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Thanks Couchpotato!

Sunday - May 31, 2020

Witcher 3 - An Anniversary Interview with CD Projekt Red

by Silver, 07:28

VG24/7 has an anniversary interview with CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3.

How did the game evolve during development – did you move away much from the initial vision?

The high-level vision didn’t change that much. We wanted to make an open world game with an emphasis on storytelling, where players assume the role of Geralt searching for Ciri – and this is the game we released. But finer details changed a lot.

For the longest time, we couldn’t settle on how many Skellige isles we should have, or how big they should be. We initially didn’t plan to have underwater exploration – but ended up adding it quite late in the process and had to retroactively add this gameplay mechanic to already existing quests. Oh, and we also originally wanted players to be able to change horses. Which, in hindsight, would have been a terrible decision – how could we encourage people to get rid of trusty Roach?

Was there anything you changed because it wasn’t possible at the time?

We planned to have a sequence where Ciri fights enemies on a frozen lake, while skating – a reference to a similar scene in one of the books. But preparing that sequence proved extremely complicated. For example, we couldn’t easily record the necessary gameplay animations – imagine recording motion capture for skating sword fighters.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Tuesday - February 18, 2020

Witcher 3 - Gets Cross Saves with Switch

by Silver, 21:17

Windows Central reports that The Witcher 3 is getting cross saves with Switch.

CD Projekt Red has released a new update for the Nintendo Switch version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, allowing players to take their PC saves on the go with cross-save support. Currently, cross-save support is not available for the other console versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

This update also added new graphical options for the game on Nintendo Switch, so while you'll likely be taking your save over to a different platform with worse technical specs, you'll still be able customize some of the graphics to your liking.

[...]

Monday - December 30, 2019

Witcher 3 - More Popular Now than Launch Day

by Silver, 12:08

@Green Man Gaming The Witcher 3 has more people playing now than on launch day.

If you head over to Steam Charts, you can check out the concurrency numbers for the action RPG, with it hitting around 92,000 at launch. That has now been beaten, with it hitting 94,601 players in December, up from 26,594 in November.

Why’s that? Well there’s probably two reasons right now. The most obvious is the ubiquity of the Netflix Witcher series which has launched to acclaim both from fans of the series and enthusiast press (though it must be said, a mixed reaction from mainstream press).

[...]

Monday - October 28, 2019

Witcher 3 - The Writing of The Witcher 3

by Silver, 20:02

Eurogamer examines the writing of The Witcher 3.

Comedy is not the only challenging factor to implement within an interactive space. In movies and TV shows, we're used to those quiet scenes where characters are seen just relaxing and bonding - these are crucial in revealing the relationships to the viewer while bringing variety to the narrative flow, and the Witcher 3 team wanted to provide similar moments - but they're tough in games, and Szamalek found the team had to find innovative ways to make the player feel and experience camaraderie. "There's the quest where the witchers reunite at Kaer Morhen," he says. At this stage, the player has completed a huge chunk of the story and has a decisive battle looming ahead of her. We felt she deserved a moment of respite, of fun - and meeting with old friends seemed like an ideal opportunity.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Tuesday - August 20, 2019

Witcher 3 - Becomes Switched

by Myrthos, 20:05

We usually don't do console games, but as it is about The Witcher 3, here is and exception: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is available on Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Switch announced! Watch new trailer and video

CD PROJEKT RED announces that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition for Nintendo Switch will launch digitally and in retail on October 15th, 2019.

In addition to the new trailer, the studio has also released a gameplay overview video, offering an extended look at the Nintendo Switch version of The Witcher 3. Playing the game are CD PROJEKT RED's Community Manager Paweł Burza and Paweł Sasko, Senior Quest Designer on Wild Hunt and Lead Quest Designer on the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions.

Gamers visiting this year's gamescom, taking place from Tuesday, August 20th through Saturday, August 24th in Cologne, Germany, will be able to check out the title in person. The game will be playable at the Nintendo booth, located in Hall 9 of the entertainment area.

I saw it at Gamescom, but didn't play it. Here is the gameplay video:

loading...

And for completeness, here is the release date announcement video:

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Saturday - April 27, 2019

Witcher 3 - Unofficial Advanced Modding Tools

by Silver, 06:30

DSOGaming reports that The Witcher 3 now has some unofficial advanced modding tools which allows modders to create whole new storied adventures.

What this basically means is that these modding tools are meant for advanced modders and not for novice. Still, these tools open up a lot of possibilities so here is hoping that we’ll see some cool story-driven quests.

In order to showcase what is possible with these modding tools, rmemr shared a new custom Quest that you can download from here.

[...]

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Sunday - June 10, 2018

Witcher 4 Speculation - What to Expect

by Silver, 19:23

Gamewatcher write what to expect from a possible Witcher 4.

...

While the interview came out just after The Witcher 3 was released in 2015, every other interview claimed that the game would be an end to Geralt of Rivia’s story. Seriously, how did we miss this? Now that this new information has been dug up, we think it’s high time we gave our opinion thusly: The Witcher 4 – What To Expect and What We Want to See! We’ll do 5 points each way, shall we?

The Witcher 4 - What To Expect


1. Geralt Will Not Be The Star


What Do You Mean?: The Witcher 3 was the last story of Geralt of Rivia. The next game in the series will star a different protagonist, most likely his adopted daughter Ciri.

Why This Will Definitely Happen: Talking to IGN, CD Projekt’s senior writer had this to say: “The Witcher universe is a very big place with a lot of NPCs, a lot of characters, a lot of places we haven't shown yet. So, we might return to it at some point…but we think that this is a good place to let Geralt enjoy his retirement and try something new." In other words CD Projekt wanted to make The Witcher 3 their big send-off for Geralt, the series star since the original books and someone we’ve levelled up three damn times. But who could fill his shoes?

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Monday - May 07, 2018

Witcher 3 - Combat Mod and more

by Myrthos, 12:55

A new mod for The Witcher 3, promises a complete overhaul of the combat system.

With the exception of a few tough fights toward the end, you can get away with quite a bit of button-mashing in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. But that’s not the case with a mod called The Enhanced Edition, which retools enemy stats and completely changes the way fighting happens in the game. The final version of the mod, 3.30, is available for download now.

...

One of the biggest changes the mod introduces is removing level scaling from all NPCs. Enemies don’t scale anymore, instead each one is given a particular set of stats and abilities, varied enough so that they aren’t carbon copies of each other but that they still manage to make sense with their position in the world and its lore. 

Combat itself is a completely different beast with the Enhanced Edition mod. Designed with keyboard and mouse in mind, the mod adds a staggering amount of depth to The Witcher 3’s combat encounters by giving Geralt a new range of moves - you’ll have to choose whether to attack at close, medium, or long range, and these attacks will allow you to move around the combat space in a way that makes more sense.

...

Direct link to the mod, which has the following description, showing it is more than 'just' a combat mod.

Are you tired of the same old banal activities that the vanilla game offers you? Are you looking for complex and challenging gameplay that will stimulate your mind, body and soul? Are you looking for the answers to life's most daunting questions?
Well look no further than the The Witcher 3: Enhanced Edition, the result of years of toil and rumination, all conducted with a burning passion and with one singular purpose in mind: IMMERSION.

W3EE is a complete overhaul of most of the game's mechanics and systems, offering great depth and stimulating gameplay that will keep you wanting for more each time you delve into the carefully crafted world it lays out before you.

The mod was designed with realism in mind, but in keeping with the spirit of actually having fun in a game, thus keeping tediousness to a minimum while simultaneously trying to offer enticing and somewhat realistic gameplay to the player.
Among the mechanical and gameplay changes, it also offers a myriad of bugfixes that the vanilla game sorely needed and a vast options menu where most things can be tweaked to your own liking.

Friendly HUD is also included in the package with some slight modifications and some additional options to complement the new and modified mechanics.
Incidentally, if you are experiencing performance problems, disable the 3D Markers from Friendly HUD.

There is also included support for the hoods and shields from the Shields mod. If you wish to take advantage of it, simply install the DLC part of the Shields mod and nothing else.

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Thanks Pladio.

Friday - April 06, 2018

Witcher 3 - 50 Shades of Geralt

by Hiddenx, 19:33

Porcozaur spotted a funny Witcher article on Gamepressure:

50 Shades of Geralt - if The Witcher was made by different developers

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if The Witcher wasn’t developed by CD Projekt RED, but someone else? Nope? Well, we have, and we know exactly what would be the outcome. Here’s a collection of The Witchers from alternate realities!

It’s 2002. Having received a nice, round sum of money – which, however, can now be considered modest to say the least – a popular Polish writer, Andrzej Sapkowski gives his blessing to what was at the time an obscure studio from Warsaw – CD Projekt RED – allowing them to create games set in the world he’d created in The Witcher books. Five years later, The Witcher is released to an overwhelmingly positive reception in Poland. Thirteen years after acquiring the rights, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launches, also to an overwhelmingly positive reception – this time around on the whole globe. In the meantime – and in order to maintain mathematical cohesion of the trilogy – there’s also the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which didn’t quite receive an overwhelmingly positive reception anywhere in particular, but we love it nonetheless.

But get this: imagine that it all never happened.

I assume that our dear readers are familiar with the theory of alternate realities and parallel universes. Whoever had the chance to roam the streets of Columbia with “the false prophet,” Booker DeWitt, certainly knows what I’m getting at. I’ll let you in on a secret. We have (“we” meaning the Gamepressure staff) mastered the ancient techniques of accessing the rifts connecting our reality to millions of other dimensions and universes. Needless to say, we’ve thrown some people in there (not against their will), but most of them didn’t come back yet. However, those who did come back brought some incredible news – The Witcher is the multiverse’s favorite game! Or actually, The Witchers are, to be completely exact. After all, the reality can bend and wrap in an infinite number of ways…

We have the utmost pleasure of presenting to you, ladies and gentlemen, the examination of the most interesting, the most bizarre iterations of The Witcher brought from the farthest reaches of alien galaxies (though I’m not quite sure whether all of them are obeying the copyrights – the inter-dimensional creative commons are a true nightmare of legislature). Strap in, grab a beverage and get ready for something out of this world…

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Sunday - February 11, 2018

Witcher 3 - Saving Slavic Folklore

by Hiddenx, 16:03

Hyper explains how games like the Witcher are saving Slavic folklore:

How video games like The Witcher are saving Slavic folklore

Video games like Thea: The Awakening and The Witcher 3 are using Slavic folktales to tell new and compelling stories

Folktales from the Slavic countries (primarily Central and Eastern Europe) form one of the richest and most diverse mythologies in the world. Traditional Western European fairy tales may have become watered down and sanitised over countless retellings and interpretations, but Slavic mythology still retains its bite.
If you caught the recent TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, you'll have some idea of how sharp this bite can be. The show, like the novel it's based on, prominently features the Slavic god of darkness, Czernobog, who lives with the Zorya sisters (representing the evening star, the morning star and the midnight star). The character is violent, funny and morally ambiguous; a long way from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

But such appearances of Slavic folklore in popular media are rare. Unlike the Western fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, which have become subsumed into our consciousness through animation and film, you're unlikely to see Slavic spirits and monsters in a cartoon musical. The lack of written source material means there's also a distinct possibility we could lose this rich and diverse mythology.

But this rich folklore is finding a suitable home in the nascent medium of video games, an interactive artform that chimes with the ambiguous shades of Slavic storytelling.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Saturday - January 13, 2018

Witcher 3 - Still dominant @ PC Gamer

by Hiddenx, 18:57

The Witcher 3 outsells many games in 2017 without loot boxes etc.:

The Witcher 3 outgrossed some of 2017's biggest games because it's just that good

Without the trappings of loot boxes or 'games as a service,' the single player RPG still managed to outsell almost everything on Steam.

2017 was a hard year for some high-profile singleplayer games, and there was more than a little hand-wringing that the genre as we know it might be dying, replaced by 'games as a service.' We argued that in fact they're not dying, just changing, but it's easy to look at Steam's highest earning games of 2017 and spot the commonalities. Free to play mechanics, skins and loot boxes and crates and keys, all play a major part in 'living' games like Rainbow Six: Siege,Warframe,PUBG and Dota 2. And then there's The Witcher 3, which doesn't have any of that shit. And it's still raking in the dough.

[...]

Saturday - November 25, 2017

Witcher 3 - Immersion Mod

by Silver, 10:18

@GameWatcher The CD Projekt Senior Gameplay Designer has released an Immersion mod for The Witcher 3 which brings the game closer to the books and the games original vision.

...
"This Mod doesn't aim for any deep and intrusive changes, instead it is meant to maintain original feeling of the game, sometimes going closer to original intention behind the designs. It focuses mainly on fixing immersion breakers, buffing underperforming skills and items, cosmetic changes and bugfixing. It also fixes few instances of items and abilities that made Geralt (nearly) immortal and removed all the challenge from the game."

Basically it adds tweaks and changes to make the game feel, if not more realistic, then more in keeping with the Witcher universe and less game-y. Furthermore as designer on Witcher 3, Andrzej has more of an idea of what the team were aiming to do with certain things but had to compromise on - he's restored a lot of those to make more sense. Here's a few examples of things the mod changes:

  • Metamorphosis mutation effect "Witcher Senses now increase visibility in dark places without the use of potions works" works without the mutation. In combat it works automatically, while outside of combat it can be activated in focus mode. Witchers see in the dark. All of them, no potions needed. It’s in lore.
  • Buffed sorceress and witcher followers damage. These are the most powerful characters in the setting, you should feel that now.
  • Added reaction to stealing for commoners. There are two severities of reactions and two results for each of them depending on npc AI. Commoners will react depending on the priority of tasks they are undergoing at the moment. The effect is that some of the npcs will ignore you stealing stuff, others will call you out on it, some will just stare. There will be also rare cases when someone will be become intimidated, cover in fear or possibly run away. The effect is especially visible in Novigrad, less in Skellige and least in Toussaint, where even guards ignore player stealing.
  • Depletion glyphword: casting Aard depletes enemy’s stamina (was 50% stamina damage). The idea behind the glyphword was to allow player to overcome enemy defence even if he didn’t manage to knock him down (stamina is used for offensive and defensive actions). With just 50% stamina damage enemies could still parry after casting Aard, so it didn’t feel like it made any difference.
  • Moon Dust bombs block abilities of cursed monsters and shapeshifters. These monsters are especially vulnerable to silver.

And a lot more.

Tuesday - November 14, 2017

Witcher 3 - Particle Effects Mod

by Silver, 23:37

DSOGaming reports on a particle effects mod for The Witcher 3 which adds lots of new and interesting effects.

Modder ‘MrMan01’ has released a new mod that improves the particles effects system of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This mod is based on another mod that was created to make the firestream form of Igni influenced by the wind. Impressed by it, MrMan01 decided to create a new one that would overhaul the game’s particles system.

The Witcher 3’s Improved Particles System mod allows numerous particles to be affected by the wind. For example, fog, dust, sparks, smoke, blood and explosions are now influenced by the wind. In addition, this mod makes all effects look “flashier” by increasing their particle count. As such, Igni, Aard, Quen and Yrden look more powerful than before. Furthermore, this mod also increases the particle count of other effects such as blood, snow, smoke, explosions and PhysX APEX destruction.

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Monday - November 13, 2017

Witcher 3 - Witcher Prologue Remastered

by Silver, 12:34

DSOGaming reports on a mod that recreates the prologue of The Witcher in The Witcher 3.

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Modder ‘Eero’ has informed us about this new mod for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As its title suggests, this mod recreates the intro from the first The Witcher game in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It looks pretty cool and PC gamers can go ahead, download, and play this recreation right now.

As Eero noted, all scenes were made entirely by using the w2scene encoder and the Storyboard UI. Naturally, there was some extra editing by hand for every single scene. Additionally, some scenes required mod editor editing.

[...]

Saturday - October 28, 2017

Witcher 3 - New Lead: Ciri?

by Hiddenx, 06:17

PCGamesN thinks Ciri should be the new lead for The Witcher 4:

Out of the way Geralt, Ciri should lead The Witcher 4

We're celebrating ten years since the first The Witcher game was released in Europe. This is the second of four articles looking at the ever-popular series - tune in throughout the week for more. This article contains spoilers for the entirety of The Witcher 3.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Tuesday - October 03, 2017

Witcher 3 - Grass & Super Turbo Lighting Mods

by Silver, 08:35

@DSOGaming The Witcher 3 now has a Grass mod and a Super Turbo Lighting mod.

Modder ‘Boostin4kix’ has released a new mod for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that overhauls its grass. According to the modder, this mod changes the grass types for White Orchard, Velen, and Skellige, and shared some images to showcase the new grass textures.

In order to install this mod, users will simply have to place modBeautifulGrass in their mods folder (you can download the mod from here). Users can also edit user.settings in the Witcher 3 folder in their documents and use the following values for these settings in order to further improve draw distance and density (do note that these additional tweaks will have an impact on the game’s performance).

[...]

Do note that this mod is more like an artistic overhaul. As Essenthy has pointed out, this mod aims to mimic the original art direction before the game was downgraded. However, the mod does not add anything or remove anything.

“This is not supposed to be ” better ” than vanilla, this is specifically made for those who preferred the original look of the game pre downgrade like me.”

Essenthy has released a new video for this brand new version of Super Turbo Lighting Mod that can be viewed below. You can also download the mod from here.

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Friday - August 25, 2017

Witcher 3 - First Person Mod

by Hiddenx, 22:48

OnlySP reports that there's a good first person mod for The Witcher 3:

There’s A Mod That Allows You To Play The Witcher 3 in First Person

This is a mod you probably didn’t know you actually wanted.

Modder ‘skacikpl‘ is currently working on a first person view mod for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and if you check out the footage below, it really gives you a new look at the incredible world that CD Projekt Red has built.

The mod in its current state doesn’t include first person view for combat yet, so when you draw your sword while using the mode the game reverts back to a third person view. To see the mod in action check out the video below.

Attempts have been made to make combat playable in first person, but as of right now it’s quite wonky and can quickly induce motion sickness. The second video at the bottom of this article gives you a glimpse at what first person combat could look like in The Witcher 3. Just keep in mind that it’s a very shaky video so if you get motion sickness easily you may want to avoid watching.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Tuesday - August 08, 2017

Witcher 3 - Behind the Scenes: Cinematic Dialogue

by Silver, 10:51

A GDC talk about The Witcher 3 and its cinematic dialogue has recently been posted.

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In this 2016 GDC session, CD Projekt Red's Piotr Tomsinski explains the process for creating the dialogue animation system of The Witcher 3.

GDC talks cover a range of developmental topics including game design, programming, audio, visual arts, business management, production, online games, and much more. We post a fresh GDC video every weekday. Subscribe to the channel to stay on top of regular updates, and check out GDC Vault for thousands of more in-depth talks from our archives.

Sunday - August 06, 2017

Witcher 3 - Enter The Devils Pit

by Silver, 22:46

@GameRant The Witcher 3 has a new mod called Enter The Devils Pit.

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Despite having been available for nearly two years at this point, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains a popular title for the modding community, as there have been a plethora of graphics mods, first-person mods, and even ones as simple as adding snow to the open world created since the base game's initial launch. Now, however, one fan has decided to make a fresh mod available called "Enter the Devil's Pit," which unlocks a brand new area that includes 20 new items, a bunch of non-playable characters (NPCs), bombs, potions, weapons, and much more.
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Tuesday - August 01, 2017

Witcher 3 - Fan concept for a new expansion

by Silver, 09:24

@GamePressure The Witcher 3 does not have any new expansion planned but a fan concept for a new expansion sounds interesting nonetheless. The Sands of Ofir continues the story after the two official expansions.

The Sands of Ofir is the name of The Witcher 3 DLC that will probably never see the light of day, but is very interesting nevertheless. Designed by a fan from Russia, the project has some concept art and original story.

Regrettably, CD Project RED is not planning any more expansions for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Who knows, though, perhaps they’ll change their mind when they see this concept for a DLC designed by a fan, a computer graphics school graduate from Russia named Alexandra Tokaryuk. The Sands of Ofir, as the project is called, tells a story which starts after the events featured in the base game and its two original expansions.

In this story, Geralt is again captured by the emissaries of Ofir and this time taken to that distant land to face the sultan of Ofir, determined to bring justice to the killer of his son and successor to the throne (the plot roots back to a quest featured in Hearts of Stone). Geralt has little choice but to find the person who masterminded the death of the prince.
[...]

Thursday - July 20, 2017

Witcher 3 - HD Reworked - UPDATE 4.6 Released

by Silver, 23:56

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project - UPDATE 4.6 has been released.

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Mod site and download: http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mod...
For newest info about mod - visit CDProject forum thread: http://forums.cdprojektred.com/thread...

Music:
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack - The Trail
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack - Drink Up, There's More!
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack - Cloak and Dagger
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack - Another Round For Everyone
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack - The Wolven Storm (Polish version)

[...]

Mod Features

- high quality meshes with a lot of details, most of them are created from scratch, good optimalization is preserved
- very high quality detailed textures with great sharpness and performance, without any unnecessary VRAM losses (no unnecessary big textures for small stuff)
- very high quality accurate normal maps, almost all is baked from high poly meshes, these normals combined with detail normalmaps, giving amazing look with almost any performance hit!
- specially customized materials for all reworked stuff

Tuesday - June 27, 2017

Witcher 3 - Behind the Scenes

by Hiddenx, 22:04

Gamepressure has collected a lot of info about the Witcher series:

Behind the scenes of The Witcher trilogy with CD Projekt RED

Digital Dragons in Cracow have gathered top Polish video game developers, and more. We’ve took this chance to talk with some members of CD Projekt Red (both their current and former workers) about the Witcher series and some behind the scenes mysteries.

I’m fully aware that a lot has been already said and written on the Witcher video game series, and especially on its third installment. We’ve been told about the secrets behind the development of the games, about various nods and shoutouts hidden within, and things that were supposed to be included in the story, but in the end weren’t. But does this mean that the topic has been exhausted and there’s nothing more interesting left to be discovered about it? Certainly not! We’ve learned that during the latest Digital Dragons, where we had a chance to talk several CDPR members – both current and former. We’ve had three quest designers answering our questions about various plot related matters – Artur Ganszyniec, Pawel Sasko, and Blazej Augustynek.

What we got is a timeline of sorts, on which we were able to follow the evolution of the entire series, as seen from behind the scenes, through a series of trivia. We invite you on a journey following the history of CD Projekt RED – except this time you’ll be going via the backstage scenic route. A fair warning though – you will encounter many a spoiler before this editorial is done.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Monday - June 05, 2017

Witcher 3 - First Person Mode

by Hiddenx, 15:11

DSOGaming reports that version 1.13 of SkacikPL's mod for The Witcher 3 has been released:

This mod for The Witcher 3 lets you play in first-person mode, supports combat & customizable FOV

SkacikPL has released a new version of his amazing first-person mod for The Witcher 3. This mod features an immersive first person camera that properly follows Geralt’s body and supports a customizable FOV (in range from 1 to 110), customizable, separate X and Y axis mouse sensitivity, as well as experimental combat mechanics.

This mod has been in development since 2016. In April 2016, SkacikPL released the first version of his mod that did not support any combat mechanics. Fast forward a year and some months and here we are with a better version that makes the game feel like a Bethesda title.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Sunday - May 28, 2017

Witcher 3 - 12 Mods

by Hiddenx, 00:37

Farflame spotted 12 mods for The Witcher 3 at Sirius Gaming:

Perfecting A Masterpiece: 12 The Witcher 3 Mods That Will Make You Feel Like It’s Remastered

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been out for exactly 2 years as of now, and with the upcoming Netflix series that has just been recently confirmed, I can’t help but crave for it. From the memorable and multilayered side characters, and of course our self-aware protagonist, to the amazing rendering of forests and day-night cycles, it’s really a world to be hold. Never have I ever just strolled in a game for almost half an hour (that’s actually a really long time) just to bask in the game’s beautiful yet personified scenery. I have been playing the trilogy on and off since 2008, and there’s no slowing down.

[...]

 

Saturday - May 27, 2017

Witcher 3 - On Vinyl

by Silver, 23:15

@PCGamesN The Witcher 3 now has a vinyl soundtrack.

Good news audiophiles and fans of The Witcher 3, CD Projekt are releasing a special vinyl soundtrack for The Witcher 3. Featuring 35 total tracks, this soundtrack features four tracks which were previously only available to those who pre-ordered The Witcher 3.

 

Created in partnership with Spacelab9, this soundtrack comes with two silver vinyl discs - probably to match Geralt’s hair - along with a special slip-cover showing a rampaging Leshen. The four exclusive tracks are Fields of Ard Skellig, Ladies of the Woods, Merchants of Novigrad and Hunt or Be Hunted, which are not available on any digital versions of The Witcher 3 soundtrack.
[...]

Thursday - May 25, 2017

Witcher 3 - A believable World

by Hiddenx, 09:26

GameSpew praises the world design of the The Witcher 3:

In Praise of The Witcher 3’s World Where You Barely Matter

With the announcement of a Witcher Netflix series, there’s never been a better time to delve into The Witcher 3 and experience a world that could well exist without you.

There’s a line in Christopher Nolan’s Memento, uttered by the movie’s memory-deprived protagonist: “I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world’s still there”. Yet in the case of most games – role-playing games in particular – it’s patently obvious that it’s not. In an age when we’ve come to expect more from video games, many still fall short in this regard.

Take Skyrim which, while still an enjoyable affair, does little to hide its player-centric nature. True, the game has been created with the sole purpose of entertaining you, but the player is so overtly the focus of events that the game ends up resembling a digital version of The Truman Show. Despite the fact that there’s a civil war raging, NPCs exhibit an obsessive interest in the minutiae of your life even before they’re informed that you’re The Chosen One (TM) – news which, apparently, instantly reaches all corners of the land. Join a guild and you’ll ultimately end up running it, the members being bafflingly quick to entrust their ages-old organisation to someone who’s been around for all of three weeks.

[...]

 

Thanks Farflame!

Sunday - April 30, 2017

Witcher 3 - Best Characters

by Silver, 12:17

PCGamer declare who their best characters are in The Witcher 3. Obviously there is a heavy spoiler warning attached to this article so read at your own risk if you have not completed the game.

...

13. Vernon Roche

Wes: Most of my affection for Roche is a holdover from The Witcher 2, where he became a loyal brother to my Geralt. He's hard to like, at first: a dyed-in-the-wool asshole, and part of the establishment that treat non-humans like dirt. But he's also unflinchingly loyal to his unit and to his country. He saves Geralt's life. And his goals, like Geralt's, end up being deeply personal. As a result, the state of the Northern Kingdoms at the start of The Witcher 3, embroiled in civil war, felt like a direct result of the history Roche and I had shared.

[...]

11. Roach

James: Roach is a horse.

There really isn't much to say about Roach that isn't already made obvious by the fact that she's a horse. She's a horse that does horse things, like get spooked by literally anything that moves or snort and steer off Geralt's intended path. But Geralt needs her because whenever he's in trouble or needs a ride or someone to hear his thoughts, Roach is there and Roach is listening. For every canyon she gets Geralt stuck in, she gets him out of five more.

[...]

Sunday - April 02, 2017

Witcher 3 - Not the last Witcher Game

by Hiddenx, 22:02

Farflame spotted on Gamepressure that The Witcher 3 is not the last game in the Witcher universe:

[...]

CD Prpject RED President Adam Kicinski:

The Witcher has been designed as a trilogy. A trilogy cannot have a fourth part. Nonetheless, we like this universe very much, we’ve invested 15 years of our lives and a lot of money in it… we’ll think about it some day. (…) We think rationally. We happen to have weird ideas occassionally, but generally we think rationally. We have full rights to these games, they are ours. We’ve pomped huge money into their marketing, the brand is strong… I think you can answer that question to yourself.

[...]

Thursday - March 30, 2017

Witcher 3 - Revenues

by Hiddenx, 19:42

Joxer spotted some nice numbers for the Witcher series on PCGamesN:

CD Projekt Rich: Witcher 3 revenues total $250 million, trilogy sells 25 million

CD Projekt, the group that owns both famed developer CD Projekt Red and GOG, has announced their 2016 financial results and ho-boy, they’ve made some dollars and cents. Reporting a net profit of 251 million Polish Zloty (~64 million USD) for the year, they’ve released some rather nice statistics on how their most famous game series is getting along. Spoilers: very well indeed.

[...]

Saturday - March 25, 2017

Witcher 3 - Polish Witcher Trivia #2

by Hiddenx, 09:46

Farflame spotted an interesting article about Witcher lore on Gamepressure:

Polish Witcher Trivia #2 – Hearts of Stone and its plot built around a Polish legend

After last part's Bruniwch and its relation to Polish literature, this week we're taking a look at the plot of Hearts of Stone and how it is built around a classic Polish legend.

Since you enjoyed the first part of our Polish Witcher Trivia series, it’s time for a follow-up. For those of you who don’t know what’s going on, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has certain Easter eggs that are clear for the Polish audience, but players from other countries may have trouble understanding them. Two weeks ago I talked about Brunwich and its relation to Polish literature. This week, we’re looking at the main plot theme of The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone and how it is built around a poem by Adam Mickiewicz – Pani Twardowska (Twardowski’s Wife).

As we progress through the story, we come to a realization that Master Mirror is a powerful person, but we still don’t know his true nature. The mysterious man admits that he signed a certain pact with von Everec and the agreement can be fulfilled only when Gaunter O’Dimm grants three of Olgierd’s wishes and they stand together on the Moon. So let’s take a closer look at Adam Mickiewicz’s poem (as translated into English by Dorothea Prall Radin), which was inspired by a legend of Jan Twardowski and see where it gets us.

[...]

Sunday - January 22, 2017

Witcher 3 - Super Turbo Lighting Mod

by Silver, 11:06

@DSOGaming The Super Turbo Lighting Mod 3.1.1 for The Witcher 3 is now available for download.

Modder Essenthy Onigami has finally released a new version of his amazing mod for The Witcher 3, Super Turbo Lighting Mod. Super Turbo Lighting Mod 3.1.1 revamps every zone starting with the original setting, fixes ambient occlusion in shadowed areas and increases ambient occlusion in general.

In addition, this latest version of the Super Turbo Lighting Mod comes with fixes the exposure issues that have been reported, revamps vegetation translucency/lighting now coloring depending on Tod like vanilla and adjust rainy weather to fit more STLM mood.

Those interested can download the latest version of the Super Turbo Lighting Mod for The Witcher 3 from here.

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Monday - January 09, 2017

Witcher 3 - The Desert Mod

by Silver, 12:25

@Nexusmods The Witcher 3 has a desert mod. Watch the video of it in 6K.

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Fun fact: 6K is 9x the resolution of 1080p. Some damn high quality pixels. - A bit of inactivity atm, working on a big project. Got inspired by Joseph Anderson's work, and planning on releasing an academic character analysis of Witcher 3 by February. Stay tuned.

Tuesday - December 20, 2016

Witcher 3 - Winter is Coming Mod

by Silver, 10:21

The Witcher 3 mod 'Winter is Coming' has been released.

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novigrad winter environment
http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mod...

Tuesday - November 15, 2016

Witcher 3 - Best Mods @PC Gamer

by Silver, 20:29

PC Gamer lists which mods they recommend for The Witcher 3.

Better Torches

Download Link

Torches are the unsung heroes of The Witcher 3, allowing Geralt to see in the many dark places of his world without being forced to see gray for ages as he would with a Cat potion.This mod lets you get the most use of them. Now Geralt can cast signs, ride his horse, climb over ledges, and even block in battle without having to snuff out his trusty flame.

[...]

Realistic Weather

Download Link

If you're looking for a better weather experience in Novigrad and environs, then be sure to pick up this relatively recent mod. It places a heavy emphasis on fog, but it also brings other treats such as more snow in Skellige and better light rain animations. If you think it overdoes it, the description page has a list of settings you can freely change with console commands.

Wednesday - October 05, 2016

Witcher 3 - Designing a Crafting Economy

by Aubrielle, 10:25

CD Projekt RED's Matthew Steinke discusses the economy of The Witcher 3, and how he attempted to bring it to life by resisting exploitation.

The GDC YouTube channel has published a GDC Europe 2015 talk given by CD Projekt RED's Matthew Steinke, who talked about his work designing the game's economy and crafting systems. Much of the talk focuses on Steinke's "scientific" approach to economy balance and the tricks he used when designing an economy that resisted exploits, and his subsequent work on the crafting systems, which forced him to rebalance the entire economy.

There are some points that I believe are worthy of critique, like Steinke's idea that making crafting components weightless would make the inventory system more confusing, but overall it's an interesting talk, if nothing else because of the insight it gives into the game's production:

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Source: GameBanshee

Wednesday - July 06, 2016

Witcher 3 - Game of the Year Edition Coming

by Nyx, 16:56

CD Projekt Red has, in a statement given to Eurogamer, confirmed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition.

"With all the free DLC and updates the game received so far, including significant changes to the game's interface and mechanics, many gamers have asked us if we're working on some sort of a Game of the Year Edition. I'm happy to confirm - yes, plans are in motion to release such an edition. We'll release more details, including the release date, in the future. In the meantime, I'd like to thank every fan of the game for their support - you're really amazing!"

The GOTY edition is said to be released on August 26th this year.

Source: EuroGamer

Sunday - June 26, 2016

Witcher 3 - Pulp Fiction Covers

by Aubrielle, 03:13

The Witcher 3 sees you running around playing detective for just about everyone.  Freelance illustrator Astor Alexander takes it a bit more literally with his pulp dime novel renditions of Geralt and Co.

For a game that features giant monsters and lawless bandits, you sure do spend a lot of time in The Witcher 3 playing medieval detective. Which is an idea freelance illustrator Ástor Alexander takes and runs with in these incredible images.

It’s not the first time he’s done something like this—you might remember his Nintendo book covers from a while ago—but man, these Witcher ones are something else. From the outfits to the Igni...perfect.

I’ve led with the Witcher images, but there are examples of Alexander’s Dragonball and Nintendo covers below them. You can see more of Ástor’s art at his personal site and Artstation page.

Thursday - June 23, 2016

Witcher 3 - Why I Love the Topography

by Aubrielle, 11:56

PC Gamer explores The Witcher 3's topography, its realism, and its beauty.

The Witcher 3 loves to wade through the murk of its magical Middle Ages. Whether Geralt is trudging the forsaken swamps of Velen or topping up his tan in Toussaint, things are always more grim than they seem. A dash of domestic violence here, an avenging spirit there—The Witcher’s world is complex and muddy.

I’m not interested in emotional grime, however. No, every time I play The Witcher 3 I’m hit by its actual dirt: the mud, rocks, silt and sand that make up the Northern Kingdoms.

Immersion comes in part from CD Projekt Red’s incredible textures and facial rigging, but the real legwork is done by topography. And I don’t mean the awesome mountains of Skellige or the great expanse of Crookback Bog. CDPR’s artistry is in the small details.

Even amid the gentle farmland of White Orchard there’s evidence of geological processes at work. Sheer, sandy banks overhang the river, fringes of grass suggesting ongoing erosion. Where many RPGs would dump a river in a convenient trough in the landscape, The Witcher 3’s ragged, crumbling riverbanks convince me that this stream was flowing eons before Geralt wandered by.

When the heavens open, rain spatters every exposed surface. Decades-old games can simulate rain of course, but as the torrent develops, rivulets start to run down rock faces, explaining how their deep crevices developed. Even throwaway items like a quest-specific frying pan catches raindrops as you hand it to an NPC.

Rocks, clifftops, tree roots and all the imperfections that make nature a pain in the arse each get their time to shine. They never feel like assets studding the landscape for variety’s sake, as boulders often do in Skyrim, for example. They are the landscape, born of imagined natural processes. I like to believe The Witcher’s NPCs considered the lay of the land before building their hovels. Roads, for example, typically take the easiest route up a hill, skirting ridges though a straight route would be quicker.

Source: PC Gamer

Thursday - June 16, 2016

Witcher 3 - B&W Patch 1.22 Released

by Aubrielle, 03:47

Blood and Wine's patch v1.22 has been released, promising a good-sized chunk of fixes, both quest-related and general.

While a few CD Projekt RED employees were at E3 to promote their new free-to-play Gwent game, plenty of them have been hard at work on a new patch for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt back in Poland. The patch, which brings the title to v1.22, is out today on PC, and the changelog can be found at this link. It fixes a number of issues with the main game and the expansions, including a few show-stoppers.

Source: GameBanshee

Monday - June 13, 2016

Witcher 3 - Gwent Game Announced

by Myrthos, 22:10

We knew it was coming, so here is the official announcement of the card game Gwent.

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, are proud to announce the newest game in the studio's PC and console line up -- GWENT: The Witcher Card Game.


In GWENT, gamers clash with their friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction. The game is played over a best-of-three series of rounds, as players unleash their hand by slinging spells and diverse units with special abilities and use clever tricks to deceive their opponents.

REGISTER FOR BETA

“I would like to thank all the fans for supercharging us to make standalone GWENT happen. Thousands of e-mails in dozens of languages coming from all around the world, the phone calls, the forum posts, and more than 40 fan made versions – all this, and everything in between, didn’t go unnoticed,” said Marcin Iwiński, CD PROJEKT co-founder. “Yes, we were mysteriously quiet after the launch of The Witcher 3, but during all this time we were hard at work on what we just unveiled today – GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. We’ve taken all that heart and energy you gave us and put it into GWENT,” continues Iwiński. "If you enjoyed GWENT in The Witcher 3, I think I don’t have to convince you to sign-up for the beta. If you hadn’t tried it yet, there’s no better time. Go register, play the beta for free starting from September and share your feedback with us. Tell us what you like, and what you don’t. Tell us what we should change or improve. We made this game for you, so let’s shape it together."

Available at release for Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4, GWENT is a free to play game that puts you, not your cards, in the center of the action.


WELCOME TO GWENT
Deck Building
Become a master cardsmith and battle friends from around the world!

Pick your side -- command 5 different factions: the mighty Nilfgaardian Empire, proud Skellige, brutal Monsters, cunning Northern Realms or shadowy Scoia'tael.
Build your deck -- collect new cards and deploy armies full of versatile units, unique heroes and rule-flipping cards that summon fog to blind your opponent's archers or call down dragon fire to destroy their strongest units.
Craft new cards -- break down unwanted cards and craft new ones to build an ever-evolving deck.

BLUFF YOUR WAY TO VICTORY
Rules & Tricks
If you can't overpower your enemy, make sure you know how to outsmart them!


Force their hand -- with limited cards per game, lure your opponent into draining their resources!
Lose the battle, win the war -- win the entire game by learning how to cleverly lose a round.
Hold the line -- play your cards across three rows, infantry, ranged and siege, and build a formation to counter your opponent's strategy.

BRING YOUR ARMY TO THE TABLE
Game Modes
Embark on a story-driven single player journey, or just play online for fun, fame and glory!

Story Campaign -- lead mighty armies during prominent events straight from The Witcher universe.
Friendly Matches -- test your deck, try out new strategies, or just show off your collection of rare, animated cards.
Ranked Matches -- rise through player-driven divisions and advance to the Pro League.

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Sunday - June 05, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Review @ AppTrigger

by Hiddenx, 09:22

AppTrigger has reviewed the Witcher 3 addon Blood and Wine:

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Review – Paradise Found

Can you believe it? It has been over one year since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released, to the jubilation of RPG fans everywhere. Since then, the game has been tweaked with multiple updates, saw the release of its first expansion pack Hearts of Stone, and received enough Game of the Year Awards to justify the purchase of a trophy cabinet the size of a grand arch-griffin. So how does CD Projekt RED end such a successful year of consistent excellence? The answer is Blood and Wine; a final expansion pack that puts other pieces of downloadable content to shame.

[...]

The Witcher III: Blood and Wine may not break any new ground, but it is one of the most valuable and worthwhile pieces of downloadable content I’ve played in a long time. Big, bold and beautiful, it is an expansion for the fans that has been well worth the wait. Geralt clearly enjoys himself throughout the entirety of Blood and Wine’s main story, which is aptly reflective of the fact that this trip to Toussaint is quite simply a grand old time for everyone involved.

Score: 9/10

Thursday - June 02, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Review

by Hiddenx, 20:38

TechRaptor has reviewed the addon Blood and Wine for Witcher 3:

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine Review – Sad to See it Go

The level of quality CD Projekt RED was able to achieve with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was simply astounding, as I said in that review. Their ability to keep that quality consistent with the 30+ hours of more content in Hearts of Stone and now Blood and Wine is a true feat. Where Hearts of Stone was able to give you a great, focused storyline, with some other small additions to be sure, Blood and Wine offers more of that original Witcher 3 experience with plenty of sidequests to do, places to explore, characters to meet, and more.

[...]

It’s sad to see the likely end of CD Projekt RED’s Witcher series. Not being able to look forward to more content in the stunningly detailed world of the Witcher 3 is certainly tragic for any fan out there. I’ve never liked this saying, nor given it much merit, but this is the first time I truly understand when people say they’re jealous of others experiencing some book, game, movie, etc. for the first time. Blood and Wine did wonders to add to that feeling and is a more than adequate send-off for the series. As CD Projekt RED showed how to do an open-world RPG by establishing Wild Hunt, they’ve shown how expansions and DLC should be handled as well.

Obviously, if you liked the base game, and Hearts of Stone, you’ll really enjoy Blood and Wine.

Score: 9/10

 

Witcher 3 - B&W Dark Souls Easter Egg

by Aubrielle, 00:26

Warning: Minor spoilersBlood and Wine players have discovered a Dark Souls easter egg.

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Barely out a day, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine's darkest secrets are already being illuminated by players. A bog light dances on rickety bridge towards the end of the DLC. Let the flames guide thee, and you'll discover a combustible bonfire, complete with sword, in homage to Dark Souls.

Disappointingly, it's not a Coiled Sword. This is Gesheft, but as Gesheft is a beast of a blade (plus-20% sign intensity, three rune slots and up to 627 damage unaltered), I'm inclined to forgive the oversight. It's certainly a more practical Dark Souls tribute than Just Cause 3's.

Source: PC Gamer

Witcher 3 - Motivations of Best Character in B&W

by Aubrielle, 00:21

A PC Gamer editorial takes a look at their favorite character from Blood and Wine, and what really makes them tick. Warning: contains major spoilers.

Full article.

Source: PC Gamer

Tuesday - May 31, 2016

Witcher 3 - Quest Design @ PCGamesN

by Hiddenx, 23:14

PCGamesN has interviewed Patrick Mills, a quest designer at CD Projekt RED and formerly Obsidian, about the quest design in RPGs:

"We know you aren't stupid" - a quest design masterclass from CD Projekt RED

  • A good quest can come from anywhere
  • Every quest must tell a story
  • Banish your fear of dialogue
  • Don't underestimate your audience
  • Make the world relatable
  • Let the player do what they want
  • Remember to work within your limits
  • Embrace the possibilities of new tech

[...]

Thanks Joxer!

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Released

by Silver, 15:25

The last expansion to the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been released. Blood and Wine will mark the end of Geralts adventures. Get it on Steam or GOG.

Become professional monster slayer Geralt of Rivia and explore Toussaint, a remote land untouched by war, where you will unravel the horrifying secret behind a beast terrorizing the kingdom. With all trails leading to dead ends, only a witcher can solve the mystery and survive the evil lurking in the night. Introducing an entirely new realm to traverse, new characters and monsters, Blood and Wine is a 20+ hour adventure full of dark deeds, unexpected twists, romance and deceit.

Features

Explore an entirely new part of The Witcher's vast open world -- the land of wine, Toussaint
Embark on over 30 hours of new adventures and discover a land unlike anything you've seen in Wild Hunt or Hearts of Stone. Visit new points of interest and set out on new side-quests in a realm rivalling No Man's Land or Novigrad in size.Kick back and relax in your very own vineyard, a real home away from home.

Hunt down an elusive beast terrorizing the kingdom

  • Unravel the mystery of the strange killings -- investigate a series of brutal murders and decipher the pattern to predict who's going to die next.
  • Discover the dirty secrets of Toussaint's capital, Beauclair -- explore the city by day, ask questions by night.
  • Use new gear, items, and combine them with your skill to slay monsters never before seen in the series.

Embark on your final quest in a world still brimming with things to do

  • Visit a world of fairytales gone wrong and battle surreal creatures you know from children's tales and books.
  • Dye witcher armors in different colors thanks to an all-new game mechanic.
  • Take on knights in a grand tourney to show your true fighting skill, or set out to discover the gruesome mystery behind a spoon-collecting creature known as a wight.
  • Team up with powerful allies to take down the beast terrorizing the kingdom, or turn a blind eye to what's going on and play Gwent with an all-new Skellige deck.

Saturday - May 28, 2016

Witcher 3 - Gwent Update in 1.20

by Aubrielle, 10:52

Hey, Gwent fans. Update 1.20 for The Witcher 3 will include an item that tells you which cards you're missing...and where you can find them. You can't put a price on something like that. Other fixes and additions are included.

CD Projekt has released the patch notes for the coming 1.20 update to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which makes a number of improvements and fixes to the game, including one that will be a big boon for Gwent card collectors: A new book called “A Miraculous Guide to Gwent,” which displays the number of cards missing form your base-game deck, and information on where to get them. New players can get the book from the Gwent scholar in the prologue, while those of you already deep into the action can pick it up from the merchant near St. Gregory's Bridge in the Gildorf district of Novigrad.

Other big changes include the addition of optional enemy “upscaling,” which will make low-level enemies more challenging (but won't affect experience points, loot, or quest rewards), and an increase in the incidence of certain monster-based ingredients required for high-level alchemy.  The inventory and journal have been improved to make them easier to use, automatic drawing and sheathing of swords can be disabled, and—this is a big one—there will be a fix for a bug "whereby Geralt's clothing was not properly restored after sex scenes.” 

Oh, Geralt

There are quite a lot of other fixes and tweaks, most of them for the base game but some specific to the Hearts of Stone expansion. A rollout date wasn't announced, but CD Projekt Community Lead Marcin Momot said on Twitter that it will be out after this weekend, but “shortly before” the Blood and Wine expansion goes live on May 31, and Tom Senior's review says that it's very good indeed. Full patch notes can be found here, and the relevant discussion of the update on the CD Projekt forums is here.

Source.

Source: PC Gamer

Friday - May 27, 2016

Witcher 3 - B&W to Introduce Enemy Scaling

by Aubrielle, 01:30

Blood and Wine will introduce enemy scaling to The Witcher 3, according to a German video.  There was already a mod for it, but official content is always nice.

Due to the prevalence of this Reddit thread and various European previews of The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, we're learning that CD Projekt RED has added an option to introduce "feinde skalieren" or enemy scaling to the RPG with the accompanying patch. The thread contains a screenshot of the option in question, and level designer Miles Tost apparently does not refute it at the 19:50 mark during this 27-minute preview (I know zero German, unfortunately):

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More.

Source: GameBanshee

Thursday - May 26, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine: More Reviews

by Hiddenx, 09:02

More reviews for the Witcher 3: Blood and Wine:

Destructoid 9/10

Eurogamer

Gamepressure 10/10

GamesRadar 4.5/5

Gamereactor 9/10

Gamespot

IGN 9/10

PC Gamer 94/100

PCGamesN 9/10

Rock Paper Shotgun

Shacknews 9/10

Twinfinite 5/5​

US Gamer

VideoGamer 9/10

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Review

by Aubrielle, 00:19

PC Gamer reviews Blood and Wine, giving it a whopping (yet unsurprising) score of 94.

Have you ever wanted to get drunk with a vampire? The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion gives you that opportunity, and lets you ask all the important questions. What's it like to die and come back? What's it like to live for centuries in a world that mostly wants you dead? How does the bat thing work? The brooding, complicated undead are just one aspect of an excellent add-on that every Witcher fan should play.

...

Frankly if one of these expansions came out every year I'd still be playing The Witcher 3 in 2020. However, this is a fine end. Fantasy RPGs like this offer us the chance to walk through the pages of pulp fantasy fiction, to stand opposite the witches, wizards and wights of those stories. Even if we can't form our own words, or ultimately greatly affect the stories they tell, the semblance is powerful enough. Even in its immutable, heavily cutscene-driven form, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is an accomplished piece of genre fiction with some characters I'll come to miss. Pour a goblet of the red stuff and join them, you won't be disappointed.

More.

Source: PC Gamer

Wednesday - May 25, 2016

Witcher 3 - On Iorveth's Cut Content

by Silver, 01:13

At wccftech they explain how the new expansion Blood and Wine for Witcher 3 will tie up loose ends by being the whole games finale. Also CDPR’s Philipp Webber explained why Iorveth's content was cut from the main game. Iorveth featured prominently in the Witcher 2.

As we already heard in the past months, the game was apparently going to be even more massive, with some story quests focused on the Wild Hunt getting cut for a variety of reasons. Content related to one of the more popular characters of the second entry of the series, the Scoia'tael Iorveth, has also been cut, and a few hours ago a member of the team commented on the matter.

In a post on the official The Witcher forums, CDPR's Philipp Webber has commented on the Iorveth focused content that was cut from the game. Apparently, this chunk of the story was a big part of it and it was not possible to recreate it in another quest once the decision to cut it was made.

I'd like to give some clarification for this discussion. Like our writers already mentioned a few months ago, Iorveth used to be part of the game. However, as time and development went on, this chunk of the story had to be cut for multiple reasons, but it was quite a big part of the game. At this time, it was simply not possible to "just" create another quest that would replace it and we had to finish and polish the rest of the game. It's perfectly natural that parts of the game are cut in development, and in this case it unfortunately hit a part that Iorveth had a big role in.
And yes, of course you can come up with many ways and ideas how to still cram him in there somehow, but that's not our way. If we do something like that, we do it right and we do the character justice. It's not easy to make decisions like that, so I hope you can respect that.

As The Witcher 3 is going to be Geralt's final adventure, the game was probably the last chance for players to see Iorveth again. While the decision made by the team is definitely understandable, it's still disappointing for those who chose the Iorveth story path in The Witcher 2 and have come to love the Scoia'tael and their cause.

Tuesday - May 24, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine Launch Trailer

by Myrthos, 22:16

A launch trailer for the launch next week of The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine, named Final Quest, has been made available.

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Sunday - May 22, 2016

Witcher 3 - Don't expect a Witcher 4

by Hiddenx, 17:41

Eurogamer suspects that there will not be another Witcher game:

Don't expect The Witcher 4 any time soon - or maybe ever

According to CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski, the company doesn't have a next Witcher game in any kind of development. Nor is one planned.

I asked him whether the studio will leave The Witcher series for good - following the release of Witcher 3 Blood and Wine on 31st May - or return to it some day, and he said, "We honestly don't know. We don't have anything planned as of now to be honest on the next Witcher.

"As we said before, never say never [but] right now it's really Blood and Wine. This is the end. Blood and Wine is [the] closing and there won't be any Witcher any time soon - if there ever will be one. And I would really like to see how people feel about it, if they will enjoy it."

[...]

Thanks Couch!

 

Thursday - May 19, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine New Region Trailer

by Myrthos, 22:51

Here is a new trailer for Blood & Wine showing of the new Toissant region.

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Become professional monster slayer Geralt of Rivia and explore Toussaint, a remote land untouched by war, where you will unravel the horrifying secret behind a beast terrorizing the kingdom. With all trails leading to dead ends, only a witcher can solve the mystery and survive the evil lurking in the night. Introducing an entirely new realm to traverse, new characters and monsters, Blood and Wine is a 30+ hour adventure full of dark deeds, unexpected twists, romance and deceit.


Blood and Wine releases May 31st, 2016.

Monday - May 16, 2016

Witcher 3 - New User Interface

by Hiddenx, 16:38

The Witcher 3 gets a new UI alongside the release of Blood and Wine - Gamepressure has some comparison screenshots.

The Witcher 3 to get a new interface alongside the release of Blood and Wine – check out the comparison images

With the release of the Blood and Wine expansion on May 31 comes a new update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It will bring, among other things, many changes to the user interface. CD Projekt RED has provided us with some comparison screenshots.

[...]

1. When you pick up a new document (e.g. a book), you can read it immediately. You don’t need to search for it manually in the inventory any longer;

2. Switching Signs with the quick access menu on consoles is now easier – all you have to do is tilt the analog stick towards the symbol of the Sign you wish to select and then release it (there’s no need to confirm the choice with another button);

3. The map screen was provided with additional markers and filters.

Witcher 3 - B&W is What DLC Should Be

by Aubrielle, 05:46

ThisGenGaming explains why Blood and Wine is everything a DLC should strive to be, and why we should be especially excited about this latest effort from CD Projekt RED.

Now the other day the final paid expansion for The Witcher 3, Blood and Wine, was detailed and given a release date of May 31. Blood and Wine is part of the $25 season pass or if you didn’t buy that you can pick it up for $20 or $18 if you pre-order it now. Now let me just go ahead and tell you that the amount of content in Blood and Wine that you are getting for as low as $18 trumps what some entire games ship with for $60. The expansion was described by the studio as “basically a new game” and they aren’t kidding. Let me throw some facts your way: 30+ hours of content, 90+ new quests, 40+ points of interest, 14,000 lines of dialogue, 20+ new monsters, 100 new armor pieces, 2 hours of new music, New Game Plus Level increased to 100, 30+ new weapons, New UI, 12 new abilities and more. All of that is pretty incredible but the new area of Toussaint is as big as all of the Skellige’s islands from the main game combined. Oh and the graphics in the expansion have been improved over what the base game looked like.

When you look at all of that and see that it only costs $18 it makes just about every other games DLC look like a joke. That is a massive amount of content and it shows why I personally think CD Projekt Red is the best in the business at giving players their money’s worth. More developers really need to take note of The Witcher 3’s example and give players more bang for their buck. I’ve heard some people saying that Blood and Wine could be their Game of the Year for 2016 and it’s hard to argue against that when you see this much content in an expansion.

More.

Thursday - May 12, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Dev Diary

by Myrthos, 22:53

In a devloper diary video from CD Project Red we can hear about the final expansion pack of The Withcer 3 - Blood and Wine, the expansion's pack features and the new ocation of Toussaint.

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Tuesday - May 10, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Teaser Trailer

by Hiddenx, 19:04

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine teaser trailer is out:

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"THE LAND OF WINE IS DRENCHED IN BLOOD”

For the last time become professional monster slayer Geralt of Rivia and explore Toussaint, a remote land untouched by war, where you will unravel the horrifying secret behind a beast terrorizing the kingdom. Blood and Wine is a 30+ hour adventure full of dark deeds, unexpected twists, romance and deceit.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine launches on May 31, 2016.

 

Witcher 3 - Possible B&W Release 5/30

by Aubrielle, 16:42

The rumor mills are churning. "Leaks" about Blood And Wine's release are the talk everywhere, but Pixel Dynamo is predicting May 30.

A recent leak on Steam suggests *The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt*’s next expansion, *Blood and Wine*, will release as soon as May 30.

The premature listing has subsequently been removed, but one eagle-eyed fan took a screenshot of the information before it disappeared. Details of the various features accompanying the DLC are extremely exciting, providing roughly 20 hours of new content that’ll have existing players counting down the days until its release.

Set in Beauclair, capital of the unique new area of Touissant – a location that appears in Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels from which the games are derived – *Blood and Wine* focuses on protagonist Geralt as he attempts to solve a series of brutal murders, uncovering the dark secrets of the city as he does so.

Additionally, players can look forward to plenty of new gear, a new Skellige themed Gwent deck (which was revealed and confirmed earlier by developer CD Projekt Red), and the chance to relax in their own vineyard when not slaying horrific mythical creatures. Moreover, the land of Touissant itself appears to be vast, equaling Novigrad in terms of size, according to Steam’s description.

Source.

Source: Pixel Dynamo

Saturday - May 07, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine Info @ Gamepressure

by Hiddenx, 19:16

Gamepressure has some interesting info about the land of Toussaint from The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine:

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine – A pocket guide to Toussaint to prepare you for the expansion

The second add-on to The Witcher 3, Blood and Wine, takes us to a whole new region – Toussaint – pulled straight out of a fairy tale and chivalric romance. Find out what awaits Geralt by reading our guide to this curious land.

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[...]

Thursday - April 28, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine Info @ PCGamesN

by Hiddenx, 21:46

Joxer spotted some information about the next Witcher 3 expansion Blood & Wine on PCGamesN:

The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion will be as big as all of the Skellige Isles combined and out before E3

In an interview with German website GameStar, some solid details about Blood & Wine, Witcher 3’s second expansion, have finally been released. Not only is it likely to be out before E3 - though there’s no solid release date yet - but it’s absolutely huge: as big as all of the base game’s Skellige Isles combined. Assuming it’s also as dense with quests and battlefields and enemies and slightly odd sex scenes as the rest, that’s mighty impressive for a single DLC expansion.

 

Our favourite game of 2015 and one of the best RPG ever.

That’s not all either, with a full translation of the interview made on Reddit. Here’s some further highlights, about both Blood & Wine and some general CD Projekt facts:

  • There won’t be a sale on the expansion immediately after it releases.
  • There are no plans for remasters of Witcher 1 & 2.
  • Nor will there be an all-three-games package of some kind once Witcher 3 is ‘finished’ - their argument is that W1 and 2 are already quite cheap when sales roll around.
  • They’re considering a Game of the Year edition for Witcher 3 that puts all the expansions and DLC together in one place.
  • Filling the world isn’t as tough as you might think, they’ve even had problems actually having enough space for everything they want.

[...]

Friday - April 22, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine Screenshots

by Myrthos, 16:26

Here are five new screenshots for the upcoming Blood & Wine expansion.

 

 

Thursday - March 17, 2016

Witcher 3 - Wins GotY at 2016 GDC Awards

by Hiddenx, 20:25

Another great prize for the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:

Witcher 3 wins Game of the Year at 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the open-world fantasy role-playing game from developer CD Projekt RED, was honored with the Game of the Year award at tonight's 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony during the 2016 Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The acclaimed title also received the award for Best Technology for its complex game engine that combines brilliant visuals with a huge game world.

Thursday - March 10, 2016

Witcher 3 - Series sold over 20 Million Copies

by Hiddenx, 22:50

WCCFTech reports that the Witcher series has sold over 20 million copies already:

CD Projekt RED is a team that requires no introduction, as it’s the studio behind one of the best role playing games released last year, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The series as a whole is doing great, according to the latest financial results report, which has also revealed plenty of other interesting things on Cyberpunk 2077 and future projects.

According to the latest CDPR financial results report, The Witcher series has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, an excellent result that’s well deserved. Digital sales of the latest entry of the series have also been going great, as they currently represent the 50.2% of the revenue. [...]

More infos from NeoGAF:

CD Projekt's conference has now ended.

Some information:

  • Combined sales of all Witcher games is now over 20 million copies
  • Plan for 2016: A new type of video game format previously unexplored by the Studio
  • Digital sales of the Witcher 3 - 31.6% representing 50.2% of the revenue

Plans for 2017-2021:

  • Release of Cyberpunk 2077
  • "We aren't a long way away from the premiere" - Adam Badowski on the state of the development of Cyberpunk 2077
  • Release of another AAA RPG
  • Expansion of core franchises with additional media content and product lines
  • Two fold expansion of the CDPR team - creation of four individual teams, two of them tasked with the development of of games representing new segments
  • Establishment of new local branches of CDPR in key territories

GOG.com in 2016:

  • Release of an AAA game unaffiliated with GOG, with full support of GOG Galaxy- concurrent with global release date.
  • More global releases of AAA titles with Galaxy support coming in 2017-2021

Misc:

  • Share price increased by 353% in the last 4 years
  • CDPR to buy back shares in the future

Thanks Eye!

Thursday - February 25, 2016

Witcher 3 - Deleted Content

by Myrthos, 13:03

Gamepressure has made an analysis of the content that has been removed from the released The Witcher 3 game, for various reasons.

Both these characters are pawns compared to our next guest. That’s right, your sight is not deceiving you – it’s Iorveth, the elf in charge of a Squirrel commando, who has done some serious damage in the Assassins of Kings, and was expected to pop-out at some point in the Wild Hunt. Contrary to Hvtir and Hemmelfart, his role made it into pretty advanced stages of development. The 3D models were being worked on, and his appearance in the story was being tentatively planned. According to dev’s notes, Geralt was supposed to stumble upon him in Novigrad, in the basement of Triss’ house, playing on his flute the same melody he played during the first encounter in The Witcher 2. Really cool idea, but we don’t know anything more – how much of an impact would he have made on the story remains a secret.

...

The plot modifications change the adventures, but it’s the mechanics that change the experience. As it turns out, some huge changes were made here. Three of them seem to be the most important: the first concerns the behavior of city guards. In the final build, the “punishment” only involves loss of cash after losing a fight with a unit of guards. But if the previous idea had been implemented, there would have been a lot less troublemaking in the cities and villages, as the proposed consequences were a lot harsher. First, we’d have to choose whether or not to pay the fine – denial meant either fighting the guards or fleeing, and in case of choosing the former and losing, we would have to say goodbye not only to some of our money, but the unused skill points as well! On top of that, Geralt would be thrown out of the city. There’s nothing we love more than mandatory walks.

CD Projekt Red also planned on posing a bigger challenge before Geralt in terms of crafting. In the game, crafting and enhancement of the equipment is simple and linear, but it was not always so. The key part here were supposed to be books; right now, they only provide additional insight into the game world, but originally they also taught Geralt things. Without reading the right book, buffing swords and armor would be impossible. “Nilfgaard’s War Tactics” increased damage dealt to the imperials, and “How to avoid bigger ships” increased the speed of boats. This complex system was dropped, however, and the developers decided that Geralt should have all these perks from the very beginning.

Thanks Couch.

Wednesday - February 03, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine "Not Imminent"

by Aubrielle, 04:18

According to The Witcher 3's official Twitter, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing Blood and Wine as soon as we'd hoped.

Thanks, Couch.


The second expansion for The Witcher 3, titled 'Blood and Wine', does not look likely to be made available any time soon judging by a Tweet posted on the game's official Twitter account.

Responding to a question regarding the highly anticipated DLC package, The Witcher account revealed that more information on the Blood and Wine expansion would be released 'in the coming months'.

The first DLC offering for CD Projekt Red's smash hit RPG arrived back in October and the Blood and Wine content was initially expected to be released during the first quarter of 2016. That original time window has since been expanded to the first half of 2016, with most people now expecting it to be released sometime after March.

To date only a couple of screenshots have been shown off from the Blood and Wine expansion but it has been revealed that the DLC package will include an additional 20 hours of gameplay and take place in a new area which wasn't initially in the game, named Toussaint.

More.

Sunday - January 24, 2016

Witcher 3 - Solving a Problem Like Geralt

by Aubrielle, 01:13

In "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Geralt?", RPS takes a look at Geralt as a stodgy narrative figure, and how to get him doing unbelievable things in Hearts of Stone.

Here’s a question: How do you solve a problem like Geralt? There he is, stern and stalwart, everyone’s favourite low fantasy drifter. A man of rank bogs, blasted no man’s lands and rugged islands. A man who isn’t much of a laugh, or awfully fun to have a drink with.

But what if you want to extend his world, and expose him to new adventures? That’s what last October’s expansion to The Witcher 3 [official site], Hearts of Stone, aimed to achieve, but it had to get Geralt doing things he’d never normally do. So how did CD Projekt manage to get him drunk and dancing at a wedding, robbing a bank, and appraising fine art? Their solution was deft.

More information.

Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Thursday - January 21, 2016

Witcher 3 - Best 13 Mods

by Myrthos, 13:17

Let's do another list. This one is about the best mods in The Witcher 3, according to PC Gamer, listing 13 of them. Here are the frist three on the list.

Absolute Camera

Unhappy with the camera placement while you're running, fighting, riding, or swimming? Absolute Camera doesn't just change the camera distance and angle but gives you over a dozen completely customizable options for camera placement during Geralt's many activities. In the video above you can get a look at just how flexible the new camera tools are.

PhotoMode

Want to take some awesome screenshots of Geralt in action? This mod provides a toggle button that lets you freeze the game at will, then fly your camera around in 3D space to line up the perfect picture. There's also a toggle for making yourself invisible (good for landscape shots), and an option to spawn fog and mist to make your shots more atmospheric.

Friendly HUD

The Witcher 3 isn't just a great game, it also contains a great game: Gwent, a collectible card game Geralt can enjoy during his adventures. In fact, it's not unusual to hear that players would rather indulge in a Gwent fix than kill monsters. Now, you can do both! This mod replaces all combat with games of Gwent. You even earn similar loot and XP rewards for winning a game.

Tuesday - January 19, 2016

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Hotfix

by Aubrielle, 01:11

There's a new hotfix to address some recent issues with the Witcher 3, namely with Gwent.

Check the list of changes made in Hearts of Stone by the Hotfix:

- Fixes a problem whereby boards shown after finishing a game of Gwent were incorrectly grayed out.
- Restores the progress bar shown when passing a round during a game of Gwent.

More information.

Sunday - January 17, 2016

Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine Huge, "More Refined"

by Aubrielle, 13:28

CD Projekt RED says that Blood and Wine isn't so much "better" than the original game as simply "more refined".

Update: And it's supposed to be really big - comparable to Velen.

The Witcher 3's upcoming expansion will feature a new area that's comparable to Novigrad, Skellige, and Velen. The new realm Toussaint, "rivals the size of those found in the base game," according to Michal Platkow-Gilewski, CD Projekt Red marketing lead.

Speaking to GameSpot, Platkow-Gilewski added that the expansion should feel "more refined" because the team was able to make it with the "sum of all the experiences we gained when creating Wild Hunt."

Earlier this week, a CD Projekt RED developer talked about Blood and Wine, the highly anticipated second expansion for the award-winning role playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, saying that it was even better than the main game in some aspects. However, the latest comments from the developer on the topic elaborate the previous statement and provide some additional clarification pointing out  that The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine is rather “more refined” instead of “better” than the main game.

Those players who think the game-of-the-year award winning role playing title that was released last year could have delivered better in itself would likely be pleased to know what the latest comment from CD Projekt RED apparently implicates. The implication, subtly made, is that The Witcher 3’s second and last expansion is being put together piece by piece by the developer with everything that the team learned creating a saga that Geralt of Rivia’s final adventure is.

In an interview with GameSpot, CD Projekt Red marketing lead Michal Platkow-Gilewski explained how previous experiences are helping the team to create an experience that is not necessarily “better,” but definitely “more refined” than the main game in many regards. He went on to point out that along with all types of new monsters, quests and places of interest in the upcoming expansion, players can look forward to Toussaint, Blood and Wine’s new realm that competes with the size of those found in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. However, he wouldn’t get into a debate about what is “better.”

“Blood and Wine is the sum of all the experiences we gained when creating Wild Hunt, so it’s definitely more refined than Wild Hunt in many regards, but that doesn’t mean it’s better per se”

“I wouldn’t point fingers at what’s better separately, as each addition to Wild Hunt (including over 10 updates we’ve released so far) enriches the overall experience you get from The Witcher as a game in general. The base game with the expansions is simply better than without them.”

The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine expansion is set to conclude the legend of Geralt of Rivia, as it will feature him as the main character of the series for the last time. The expansion was set to arrive in the first quarter (January-March) of 2016, but is now expected in the first half (January-June) of 2016. Once it is out, players will be able to enjoy around 20 hours of brand new gameplay that it will have to offer.

More information.

Tuesday - January 12, 2016

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.12 Available

by Myrthos, 12:23

Patch 1.12 for The Withcer 3 is now available on all platforms.

With this update we’ve introduced over 70 changes to gameplay, quests, DLC’s and Hearts of Stone. Main adjustments include a fix to the Wild Rose Dethorned achievement, fixes to the Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear quest and more!

You can read the PDF with a lengthy list of changes, right here.

Saturday - January 02, 2016

Witcher 3 - Scores GOTY @ Shacknews

by Aubrielle, 06:00

The Witcher 3 scored Shacknews's Game of the Year award for 2015.

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More information.

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone...GOTY?

by Aubrielle, 01:06

Does Hearts of Stone, the first paid DLC for the Witcher 3, deserve the title "Game of the Year" even more than the base game?  Polygon's Jake Lear thinks so.

Disclaimer: This article includes minor spoilers about characters and plot points in The Witcher 3 and Hearts of Stone.

The Witcher 3's first expansion, Hearts of Stone, is a master class on how to create meaningful, valuable downloadable content. It has all the strength of the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt behind it (as well as the developer's considerable dedication to improving the game post-release).

The Witcher 3 is the best game released this year, and any publication that says otherwise is, in my opinion, wrong. However, it suffers from a few notable flaws. Among those is the common open-world game challenge of balancing the urgency of the primary quest line with the vast number of other things to do. Additionally, the titular villain, The Wild Hunt, is invisible for most of the game. They're threatening to abduct the player character's adopted daughter and use her to invade the world and destroy all known life, but it's too easy to ignore this danger for the majority of the game.

Hearts of Stone adeptly takes players on a journey free from these foibles.

...

More information.

Friday - January 01, 2016

Witcher 3 - Race and Fantasy Tropes

by Aubrielle, 03:24

US Gamer's Mike Williams pens an interesting op-ed about race and traditional fantasy tropes.  He doesn't attack The Witcher; instead, he asks what new things can be done.

Thanks again, Couch.

And please, please keep your comments civil!  This is video game news, not something intended to cause controversy!

The lack of minorities in The Witcher III is not something I mentioned in my review two weeks ago. That's not because I didn't notice - I did - but because I decided in this specific situation that it didn't bother me. Most of the Witcher III takes place in Redania near the southern front of that country's war with the Nilfgaard Empire, or on the islands of Skellige. In both regions, based on the books and previous game titles, it's rare to see people of color. Redania is largely white. The free city of Novigrad might have featured traders from other races, but there's a witch hunt going on. Skellige is a clear homage to Norse culture, so the rarity is justified there too.

Can you find room within the text and game for the occasional minority character? Yeah. Nilfgaard is based on the Roman Empire and like that empire, operates by conscripting those it conquers into its highly-trained army. There probably should be a few darker-skinned soldiers in its ranks, coming from the south of the Continent. In the far southeast, there's an entire race based on Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski's mashup of African and Indian culture called the Zerrikanians. They're generally off on their own, though they're the origin of the tech behind bombs, which have played a big part in the Witcher's gameplay. Zerrikanian warriors Tea and Vea were featured in the Sword of Destiny collection and CD Projekt Red featured another, Azar Javed, in the first game.

So yeah, they had opportunity. It would've been cool. Despite that, I understand if the combination of Polish author and Polish developer meant their heads were down working on the game and it didn't come up. Even American studios can miss opportunities for diversity, so devs from a country that's 97 percent Polish (read: almost all white)? I understand that. They made what reflected their thoughts on The Witcher book, movies, and TV shows. It's a choice the developer made, but in this case, I don't fault them for missing the depth of their options.

I don't chastise them, instead stating that they probably should think about it and do better for their upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077. A title taking place in a futuristic city, a melting pot for different cultures. A title based on the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG series created by Michael Pondsmith, an African-American author. Everything I've read about the game tells me that CD Projekt Red is on the right track when it comes to that game. I'm hopeful.

This commentary is partially based on the fact that The Witcher III doesn't exist alone. There is a larger context in games (and entertainment) that can't be ignored. Are you tired of open world games with conquerable towers and towns that open up the world map with collectible item icons as far as the eye can see? (The Ubisoft method.) Perhaps free-to-play games and monetization is your issue. Downloadable content? Jingoistic first-person shooters? I'm sure some major part of our industry annoys you. I'm sure you have commentary on that and you've potentially aired it on Twitter, Facebook, a forum post, or a blog. This is no different, as these mechanics and design choices are as much a creative decision as the narrative and the characters. A game is taken as a work of art on its own, but it's also measured within a larger context.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Wednesday - December 30, 2015

Witcher 3 - Understands War

by Silver, 03:45

@warisboring.com Matthew Gault writes about the Witcher 3 through the lens of its war time setting.

Fallout and Call of Duty were fun. Metal Gear was fun and brilliant. But The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt was on another level. It was the best game I played in 2015 and one of the best games I've ever played in my entire life. Polish developer CD Projekt crafted an immersive world, told a compelling story and made every moment fun to experience.

But more than that, CD Projekt took a staple video game setting - war - and presented it in a way games rarely do. War is awful. It shatters lives, separates families and ravages the land. The Witcher 3 understands that.

[...]

Many video games are power fantasies, and most that involve warfare depict the glory of combat and put the player in the lead role. Not so in The Witcher 3. Geralt has his own motivations, and he does his best to avoid politics and the larger conflict between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms.

And CD Projekt never depicts war as glorious or fun. Soldiers describe combat as a lot of boredom and waiting punctuated by moments of frenzied madness. The Northern War of the The Witcher 3 is all about waiting, survival and boredom.

[...]

Dead bodies litter the ground of the Northern Kingdoms. Nilfgaardians and Northerners alike rot in the sun. People hang from trees, a sign posted in front of their swinging and bloated bodies lists their crimes - desertion, stealing provisions and rape. The North and the South hang criminals in equal measure. Refugees huddle outside of the few cities untouched by the war. Soldiers demand the proper paperwork and keep the rabble from flooding the last civilized outposts in the North.

Civilians cling to tradition and appease whichever army is currently occupying them. They know it could all change tomorrow. There are no heroes, just men and women desperate to survive. This sense of despair and struggle permeates The Witcher 3.

Tuesday - December 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - Play as Triss, Yennefer, or Others

by Aubrielle, 03:00

The Witcher 3 is perfectly fun with Geralt, but now a mod has emerged to let you play as Triss, Yennefer, Shani, or Ciri, and add companions, like Ves.  The only problem is that you still talk in Geralt's voice, which is a little strange.

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More information.

Monday - December 28, 2015

Witcher 3 - Game of 2015

by Myrthos, 12:03

Eurogamer has a list of games of 2015 and today it features The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 isn't perfect. How could it realistically fulfil all of those dreams - how can any game, any thing? I thought the combat was repetitive; I thought I'd use more magic, more potions, but really I just dodged and hit. I thought there were too many supplementary activities, and as good as they were, the novelty wore off. By the time I hit Skellige about half-way through the game, those hard grey knuckles of islands, I was fatigued - so I started ignoring things and following the main story blinkered. A burden of riches.

But I loved its characters' ugliness, its world's dirtiness, its equipment's realness. I loved the incidental voices in villages, the farts, the odd things people would say - and the mish-mash of Welsh/Irish/Scottish/Cornish accents in which they said it. And I loved the swearing.

I loved the Bloody Baron, that abusive brute who defied my early judgement. I loved Kiera Metz. I loved the jokes, the referential nods, the handmade camera angles, even the breasts in my face - they all added up to character, to soul.

The article also comes with a video review of all the sex scenes in The Witcher 3.

Sunday - December 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - More on HD Reworked Project

by Aubrielle, 04:02

GameBanshee is covering the Witcher 3's HD Reworked Project 2.0, including the original video and an interview with its creator.

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“I’ve always liked working with 3D graphics,” Członka tells us. He explains that the genesis of The Witcher HD Reworked project was spurred by both his love of 3D graphic design and discovering his favorite game, CD Projekt RED’s dark fantasy RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

“I wanted, and still want to make the world of The Witcher 3 even more beautiful,” he explains.

Członka has just released version 2.0 of his mod, and some of the improvements within are absolutely stunning. The HD Reworked project will make you see the game’s visually impressive fantasy world in a whole new light. He has painstakingly worked his way through the game, creating whole new models and textures to replace the originals, and the result is a gorgeously realized world that feels close to phosto-realism. Roofs, rocks, crates, tiles and trees have all been given the HD makeover, and they all look fantastic. We're particularly taken by the new spruces, which are thick with sharp-looking needles that you feel like you could almost touch.

“[Re-texturing] rocks in the game was definitely the most challenging part of the project so far,” Członka says. “To match the appropriate textures, I had to work on this for a long time. Of course, I still have a lot of work ahead of me so we shall see what new challenges await.”

You'll also notice that the rocky landscape of the Northern Kingdoms looks and feels a lot more solid. Not only has Członka retextured its rocks with a load of gritty new detail, he's also rebuilt the 3D models themselves so that their surfaces are more uneven and natural-looking.

More information.

Tuesday - December 22, 2015

Witcher 3 - Breaks all Rules @ The Escapist

by Hiddenx, 09:47

The Escapist explains why the Witcher 3 breaks all rules:

How Witcher 3 Breaks all the Rules

One of the things we've come to accept in video games is that we're never going to get another big-budget, dialog-heavy RPG like we used to get in the old days. Planescape: Torment was all text, and nobody could afford to make something that large in today's world of mandatory voice acting. Even if you could somehow afford the voice actors (which would be ridiculous) you'd still have the problem where you'd need to spend months in the recording booth with them all. The logistics of writing all that dialog, casting that many actors, recording all those lines, and scripting all those cutscenes would be a nightmare. [...]

Saturday - December 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - HD Reworked Project 2.0

by Aubrielle, 03:06

One modder has set out to recreate the textures in The Witcher 3, polishing them to a new level of detail.  His 2.0 release is now available.

Modder ‘Halk Hogan PL’ has released the next version of his amazing Texture Pack for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The modder has also provided some new comparison screenshots that can be viewed below.

Those interested can download the mod from here.

The Wither 3 HD Reworked Project is a Texture Pack that improves the graphics by reworking the following models and textures to better quality

  • Rocks (almost all)
  • Spruces
  • Wood Crates
  • Sacks (primary)
  • Ceramic Roof
  • Checkered Floor

More information.

Tuesday - December 15, 2015

Witcher 3 - Witcher 3 vs. Fallout 4

by Aubrielle, 03:03

ASidCast's op-ed asks "what makes a good rpg?" by comparing Witcher 3 to Fallout 4.

Thanks, Couch.

With 2015 almost drawing to a close, we decided to look at the best releases this year. We noticed a curious thing in the RPG genre. Although both of the biggest RPG titles of 2015 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Fallout 4 got great critic scores, The Witcher 3 received an overwhelming amount of better reception by the users and was considered a good RPG while Fallout 4 wasn’t. Why is that?

It has been a common complaint against Fallout 4 that it over-simplifies the RPG mechanics which were present in previous games, and which made Fallout a classic long before Bethesda bought the rights. Of course, Bethesda fans might argue that with time, the concept of RPG mechanics change with time. The very existence and popularity of Witcher 3 challenges that outlook. Let’s take a look, shall we?

More information.

Thursday - December 10, 2015

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Screenshots

by Myrthos, 12:28

Here are two new screenshots for the Blood and Wine expansion of The Witcher 3.

The palace of Beauclair

Toussaint is famous for its wine and vineyards

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, have just released the first two screenshots from the upcoming expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- Blood and Wine. The expansion is slated for release in the first half of 2016. The studio has also announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has collectively garnered over 300 awards, including a Golden Joystick for Ultimate Game of the Year, and The Game Award for Game of the Year.

“2015 is almost behind us. It’s a great year for open world games and a fantastic time for The Witcher. A year of intense work for the team and a time filled with many personal victories for everyone involved in a project that received more than 300 awards so far (wow!). We overcame so many obstacles to get to this point, and we’ve always done it with gamers rooting for us. It’s your year, too!,” said Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director, CD PROJEKT RED. “Blood and Wine, the second expansion for The Witcher 3, is on the horizon. It’s a massive new land to explore, visually unlike anything you saw in Wild Hunt or Hearts of Stone, and it too is brimming with stories we want you to discover,” adds Tomaszkiewicz.

Blood and Wine is a 20-hour tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint, will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret. Currently, Blood and Wine is available for purchase as part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Expansion Pass.

Monday - December 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - More Witcher Games in the Future @ Gamezone

by Hiddenx, 20:13

CD Project Red will create more Witcher games:

[...]

According to CDPR's founder Marcin Iwinski, after crafting swords for 12 years, the team is a bit "burnt out." Regardless of whether or not CDPR wants to pursue new horizons, Wild Hunt is a critically acclaimed addition to the Witcher series making it something hard to let go. 

After winning the Game of the Year award for Wild Hunt during last night's Game Awards event CDPR CEO Adam Kicinski was invited to speak with Polish TV station TVN24 BiS (via GamePressure). During the interview Kicinski was asked on whether or not there would be another installation in the series following Wild Hunt.

Kicinski's response could bring hope to fans, but the reality is we wouldn't be seeing a Witcher game any time soon.

It's too early to talk about it, but it's not like we're forgetting about this brand – that's understandable. (...) It wouldn't be fair towards the fans. We work within this universe for over a dozen years now and I don't think it's going to be the end of it.

[...]

Tuesday - December 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gamereactor

by Myrthos, 12:21

Gamerreactor talked to CD Projekt Red's Senior Technical Artist José Teixeira about development, Bethesda, and the backlash over The Witcher's graphical downgrade.

"There was a lot of discussion about graphics before the game was released, but when it finally came out, we found numerous forums and comments praising the game's stunning graphics. Especially now that we allowed access to all the graphics settings in the PC version. Problem is, there seems to be nothing we can say to please some people, and I find that genuinely scary. Have games today really become this? To see a long, hard and sweaty investment to create a great story, world and characters, suddenly under attack and even threatened with boycott... because the grass density is not the same, or a visual effect was removed since the trailer? This is scary, and honestly, a bit depressing, especially after we spent endless hours trying to create the best game possible."

"Here at CD Projekt Red, we worry a lot about the quality of the game, and we knew The Witcher 3 would be very complicated from a game mechanics standpoint. In fact, we often joke the 'game testers' are the ones that suffer the most here in the studio. A game so big, based on a open world, with a non-linear story... there are so many ways of doing things that it's impossible to test all the variables. There were some ridiculous errors, problems that would only occur at a certain time of day, or if Geralt wore a specific armour. Things that are completely impossible to predict and test. In any case, it was crucial to launch the game without any error that would prevent the player from completing the game, and since launch we have released several updates with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of adjustments and fixes."

Thanks Eye.

Monday - November 30, 2015

Witcher 3 - Expansion Pass Trailer

by Hiddenx, 20:07

Eye spotted the trailer for the Witcher 3 Expansion Pass:

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Friday - November 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - Five Awards

by Myrthos, 12:50

Zahratustra informed us that The Witcher 3 has already won 5 Global Game Awards for 2015.

Exciting news! We’d like to announce that we’ve won five Global Game Awards in the following categories:

  • Game of the Year
  • Best Developer (CD PROJEKT RED)
  • Best Open World
  • Best Story
  • Best Audio
We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and for your ongoing support!

Thursday - November 26, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.12 coming in December

by Myrthos, 13:04

Eye spotted that in December patch 1.12 of The Witcher 3 will see the light of day.

CD Projekt RED has announced Patch 1.12 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Details for patch 1.12 are available for the time being but they should be shared soon enough.

reviously, Momot mentioned that the patch will deal with Pickaxe issue in the RunSmith Quest.

More than that isn't really available at this point in time.

Tuesday - November 24, 2015

Witcher 3 - An Epic Year

by Myrthos, 17:09

A new trailer for The Witcher 3 has been released, which is labeled as 'An Epic Year'.

"This year was really epic for the entire crew behind The Witcher. We launched Wild Hunt, the RPG we've been working on for so long, then we've gone above and beyond to give gamers as many free DLC as we could, and then released Hearts of Stone, which - judging from player feedback - took the game even further. And we innovated all along the way -- if you compare Wild Hunt to our previous game, almost every element was improved or changed. Now we're working on Blood and Wine, the final expansion for Wild Hunt which we will launch in 2016. To thank everyone for being with us this whole time, we've prepared something special -- enjoy the Epic Trailer!" said Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director, CD PROJEKT RED.

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Friday - November 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - Lighting Mod Updated

by Myrthos, 13:12

Eye found on Geeksnack that the Super Turbo Lighting Mod (inadvertently called Lightning Mod on Geeksnack) for The Witcher 3, is being upgraded to version 2.0. There are some work in progress videos available on NexusMods, in case you are interested in changing the game with this mod.

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Monday - November 09, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Stevivor

by Hiddenx, 21:04

Short interview at Stevivor with Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz:

CD Projekt Red’s Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and lessons learned for “Hearts of Stone”

No fetch quests.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a massive game, filled with various types of quests. Of those quests, not a lot of them feel forced, and most offer up insight into Witcher Geralt and the world around him.

Still, CD Projekt Red’s Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, Principal Narrative Designer, thinks the developer could have done better.

“In the main game, there were a few quests – even though we had a rule against it – that felt padded; like fetch quests,” he admitted. “I think [those fetch quests] were there because we stuck with ideas we shouldn’t have [from previous games in the Witcher franchise].”

With lessons learned, Tomaszkiewicz and his colleagues approached The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s first expansion, “Hearts of Stone” in a different way.

“In ‘Hearts of Stone’, we came up with the right ideas right from the start. We spent more time coming up with ideas from scratch; with ideas that felt right and natural. Nothing was added simply to make something else [like another quest] make sense.” [...]

Monday - November 02, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ PressA2Join

by Myrthos, 12:52

Eye spotted this interview at PressA2Join, where The Witcher 3 writer Karolina Stachyra and Lead Quest Designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, talk about being gamers, the dislike of DRM, the Blood and Wine DLC, believable characters and Gwent.

PA2J: The Witcher series, even from its inception, was a controversial one due to its adult content. Most notably, it tackles sex, racism and prejudice in a very forthright manner. This has drawn both praise and criticism from journalists and the public. If one looks at the series' progression, one can see that these themes are presented in an increasingly tasteful and mature way, with the sex being evolved from collectible cards to a narrative device that lets us know more about the character relationships and the prejudice being depicted increasingly as a complex social issue rather than a simple good vs evil matter.

Many writers struggle to properly depict mature content in a way that doesn't patronize the audience. Was it an effort for the team to get these issues right? Were there any fears that you'd alienate part of your audience?

KS: When we approached creating characters in Wild Hunt, be it male or female, our first and, by far, most important guideline was to make them believable. A believable character has to be multilayered - they need to have their own emotions, motivations and character. And, I think, this is why Wild Hunt fared so well in terms of player reception to the aspects of the game some might consider video game taboo. And I'm not only talking about how this process resonated with sexual content in the game, but also how we approached other mature themes, like alcoholism. Take the Bloody Baron. At first, when you meet him, he seems like a pretty archetypical bad guy, but once you get to know him, see how he connected with Ciri and get to know his story, you start seeing how multi-dimensional he is. We consider this sort of writing something that elevates the genre a bit and paves way for even more difficult mature themes to appear in video games.

Friday - October 23, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.11 Out

by Myrthos, 12:25

The Witcher 3 patch 1.11 is out now on PC and Xbox One. The patch for PS4 will be later. The list of changes is too long to list, so here is a link to the PDF with the information.

Monday - October 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Interview @ Redbull

by Myrthos, 12:32

Last week Redbull interviewed CD Project Red's senior art producer Michał Krzemiński about the The Witcher 3 expansion Hearts of Stone.

Was there any feedback about the gameplay and quests in the main game that tailored how you designed Hearts of Stone?

The feedback from Wild Hunt we receive on forums or social media is, where applicable, being introduced to the game itself. A good example of this is the game's GUI [graphical user interface], which we changed (adjusted the size) according to what gamers told us would be optimal. It would be unfair to introduce these changes with HoS only, as we do continue to support Wild Hunt, even if you choose not to buy the expansions. Also, remember that the expansion was planned well before the launch of the main game – we started work on it when we finished Wild Hunt, and that's too little time to change anything significant.

 

Tell us what's the process is for an expansion at CD Projekt Red. Does the team actually get a break any more after the game’s release?

It's very fluid. In a nutshell, as various teams wrap up with their stuff for Wild Hunt, after a much-needed break they start working on the expansion. However, this doesn't mean the whole studio went for a month of leave after we launched Wild Hunt. Many teams end their work well before the game ships. For instance, the writers and localisation team need to wrap-up first, as dialogue needs to be recorded into many different languages, and that takes a lot of time. Their work gets finalised first so, say, a joke in the game can be really funny instead of being a Siri-sounalike voiced by two grayboxes.

Other teams work on other stuff and then move to other aspects of the game as it nears completion. That's why it's so hard to pinpoint the exact moment the entire studio started working on Hearts of Stone. The core of the work, however, was started after we shipped Wild Hunt. Hearts is really massive, and I'm really hyped that gamers are soon going to get the expansion in their hands. As for Blood and Wine [the second major expansion for the game], yeah, it's being worked on, but it's still pretty early for details.

Thanks Eye.

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Developer Video

by Hiddenx, 05:22

The Witcher 3 devs are proud of their game and had a lot of fun making it:

loading...

Listen to CD PROJEKT RED developers talk about The Witcher, the studio’s DLC philosophy, and Hearts of Stone -- the just-released expansion to the winner of over 200 awards, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

 

 

Sunday - October 18, 2015

Witcher 3 - Three Hearts of Stone Reviews

by Hiddenx, 19:27

Three more Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone reviews:

Kotaku:

With Hearts of StoneThe Witcher 3 Continues To Get DLC Very Right

A month or so ago, I would’ve told you I was done playing The Witcher 3. Turns out that’s not the case.

This week, The Witcher 3’s first paid downloadable expansion, Hearts of Stone, came out. While CD Projekt Red already demonstrated their ability to confidently expand The Witcher 3 with those 16 pieces of mostly terrific (and more importantly, free) DLC, Hearts of Stone is their first proper paid expansion. I’ve played six or so hours, and while that hasn’t been enough to finish—or even come close? I can’t quite tell how far I am—I’ve easily seen enough to recommend it.

[...]

Given how good most of The Witcher 3’s free DLC was, it shouldn’t come as a shock that the first paid expansion is similarly high-quality. All the same, I wasn’t expecting to like Hearts of Stone quite as much as I do. Hearts of Stone does precisely what a good expansion should: It gives us more of what we liked about the original game while expanding on it in interesting ways.

Metro:

The Witcher 3: Hearts Of Stone review – rock solid

The first story DLC for The Witcher 3 offers an amusing change of pace and some of the best storytelling in the whole series.

Before the release of The Witcher 3, developer CD Projekt RED got themselves into gamers’ good books by announcing plans for a string of completely free DLC. They delivered too, and although all of it was pretty minor stuff it painted a picture of a company that was genuinely grateful to its fans and wanted to please them. That didn’t mean there wasn’t going to be paid-for DLC as well, but this much larger expansion still shows a generosity of effort, and pricing, that other companies would do well to emulate.

Two story expansions are planned for The Witcher 3; the second due in the spring will be slightly bigger and yet this one will still last you a good 10 hours in terms of the story and at least twice that when it comes to all the side quests. Sensibly though, there is no attempt to out-epic the parent game and although there’s plenty of drama to be had the whole experience has a noticeably lighter tone to it.

It doesn’t go as far as some BioWare DLC, but Hearts Of Stone is much funnier than almost anything in the main game – with a particularly memorable wedding sequence that is sharply written, genuinely amusing, and has an inspired excuse for ensuring protagonist Geralt is in on the joke. The expansion is by no means all played for laughs though, and the tragedy of one of the new main characters is actually very depressing once you think it all through.

[...]

In Short: Some of the best storytelling so far in the series, and some inspired set pieces, but the chance to refine the gameplay has been sadly missed.

Pros: Excellent script with some surprising tonal shifts and good voice-acting. Lots of content for a very reasonable price.

Cons: No significant gameplay changes, which is a particular shame when it comes to the combat. Only minor increases to the size of the game world and menagerie of enemies.

Score: 8/10

Stuff TV:

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Expansion 1: Hearts of Stone review

The Witcher 3 is many things: bloody, brutal and totally brilliant. With up to 200 hours of epic gameplay, the outstanding action RPG is certainly not brief. And there’s even more of it to come.

Having already announced 13 pieces of Witcher 3 DLC for free, CD Projekt RED has now released the Hearts of Stone (HoS) expansion. It’s the first of two self-contained new adventures from the Polish developer with the ominously-titled Blood & Wine set to follow next year. Much to our delight, HoS seems to be a considerably more cheeky affair.
Trio of intrigue

It’s difficult to discuss the main quest-line of HoS without giving away its many red herrings and twists, so we’ll try and avoid spoilers here. Essentially, the expansion revolves around a trio of characters, some of whom you’ll already be familiar with.

The story is kicked off Olgierd Von Everic, a powerful, cultured yet fickle David Beckham-alike who you will quickly love to hate, or hate to love. Inseparably tied into Olgierd’s fate is a familiar, minor face from the first hour of the core game - one you and protagonist Geralt might not remember at first glance - and who exudes even more mystery and fickle power. Another key figure from Geralt’s distant past (and the original Witcher game) also crops back up in the form of the young medic Shani.

All three characters are utterly captivating in terms of their snappy dialogue, convincing ‘acting’, and the way the quests delve thoroughly into their backstories and motivations. They’ll make you feel utterly entrenched in a grimy world with tricks up its sleeve that even take the seasoned Geralt by surprise. Both Olgierd and he-who-I-shall-not-name are two of the best characters in the whole series and one of my few complaints is that they’ll probably be constrained to this little slice of the universe.

[...]

Witcher 3: Heart of Stone Verdict

Whether what you call it matters is another issue. In terms of pure value for money, which is always paramount with expansion packs, HoS probably represents an average of 8-12 hours (assuming you don’t rush through and do the main side-quests) which equates to less than a pound per hour of excellent gameplay.

If you’re already a big Witcher fan this is an absolute no brainer, and even if you thought you were quite happily done with the game, it’s worth the asking price just to steam though the main story in order to experience some of the best, most unusual characters, writing and quests in the series yet.

Saturday - October 17, 2015

Witcher 3 - Two Hearts of Stone Reviews

by Hiddenx, 23:28

Eye spotted two reviews for the Witcher 3 Expansion Hearts of Stone:

The Escapist:

The Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Review - Storytelling Excellence

Hearts of Stone is CD Projekt Red's first paid expansion for The Witcher 3. Except, it isn't really an "expansion". In gaming, the word expansion conjures up images of huge packs of additional content, that often drastically changes the playstyle, or bring with it an entirely new experience. I think of Heart of the Swarm for Starcraft II, or Throne of Bhaal for Baldur's Gate. Hearts of Stone on the other hand, is best compared to the DLC "episodes" of games like Fallout 3 and Borderlands - a short, self-contained adventure that simply takes place within the original game's world. But please do not take this semantics discussion as a negative, for Hearts of Stone, despite not really being an expansion, is most definitely worth the price of admission. [...]

Bottom Line: Hearts of Stone, despite not really adding that much new "stuff", tells an amazing, engaging story that is worthy of the $10 price tag. While The Wild Hunt was the conclusion to an epic, climactic saga, Hearts of Stone is simply another story in the life of Witcher Geralt.

Recommendation: If you're looking for an expansion of The Wild Hunt, you won't find it here, but if you are just looking for another bite of CD Projekt Red's incredible world-building and character development, then Hearts of Stone is for you.

Score 4.5/5

Polygon:

Witcher 3's first expansion isn't terrible or great, and that's the problem

"Hearts of Stone," the first actual "expansion" style DLC for The Witcher 3, is difficult to write about, because your interest in it is going to be based entirely on how much you want more Witcher 3. Because as much as any singleplayer DLC release I've played in as long as I can remember, "Hearts of Stone" is very much more of what the base game is already full of.

In a move that almost felt geared toward me as someone who no longer has a Witcher 3 save, "Hearts of Stone" can both fold into your existing game or be played completely independently, with a new Geralt pre-leveled to 30 with decent gear to start. The DLC gets things moving quickly, introducing a new set of characters that quickly sweep Geralt into a supernatural feud involving powerful forces and the quintessentially flawed human element that's become a kind of trademark for developer CDProjekt.

[...]

Here's the thing: There's already an enormous amount of that in The Witcher 3 proper. It's not a game light on content by any definition, and my time with "Hearts of Stone" doesn't put it near the top of the game's best-of list. If you've absolutely exhausted The Witcher 3 and want more, then "Hearts of Stone" is definitely that. But most of the way through the story, I don't feel especially compelled to play more.

Friday - October 16, 2015

Witcher 3 - CDProject Red Interview @ MCV

by Hiddenx, 07:51

Matthew Jarvis (MCV) takes a look at the success story of CD Project Red together with visual effect artist Jose Teixeira:

'We're ready to move on': CD Projekt Red on The Witcher, Hearts of Stone and Cyberpunk 2077

In 1986, Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski entered a short story titled Wiedzmin (‘The Witcher’) into a competition in the local magazine Fantastyka. It won third place.

29 years later, on May 19th 2015, the third in The Witcher series of video games was released. It sold six million copies in its first six weeks on sale and became the biggest game launch of the year at that time.

It was quite the achievement for the sprawling fantasy world that Sapkowski had created almost three decades prior. It was equally the accomplishment for CD Projekt Red, the Warsaw-based studio formed in 2002 that first brought the tale of titular monster hunter Geralt to virtual life in 2007.

The Witcher wasn’t always destined to become one of gaming’s greatest RPG franchises. 

[...]

For CD Projekt, it wasn’t enough. It knew The Witcher deserved mainstream attention and, earlier this year, it was proved right.

“Witcher 1 and 2 were popular, but were still niche,” recalls visual effects artist Jose Teixeira. “We were hoping Witcher 3 would do well and were so happy that fans, for the lack of a better term, ‘got it’.”

The Witcher stands out as a shiny silver sword among a market saturated by muted gunmetal. It’s in many ways the antithesis to what many assume to be the core elements of mainstream hits; it has no multiplayer, a story that stretches gameplay time into the dozens or even hundreds of hours, complex sword-based combat and layered dialogue exchanges.

“This wasn’t about capturing objective Alpha, Bravo, Charlie or Delta before something explodes,” explains Teixeira. “It’s a single player experience – you enjoy the game. It’s exceptionally well-written; you get to know the characters, you get to know the story.

“A fan once said that the reason The Witcher is so interesting is that it’s neither an American RPG, which tend to be more action-orientated and in which the morality of choices is often very black or white, or a Japanese RPG, which have their own distinct art styles, story structures and types. It’s somewhere in-between. It’s neither one nor the other; it brings something totally different.

“We are still amazed at how many people played The Witcher 3, because it’s a game style that is usually reserved for hardcore audiences. People actually loved it, especially more in the casual audience, which we’re really impressed with.”

“In the beginning, it was all about PC,” Teixeira says of The Witcher’s beginnings as a single-platform IP.

Following a failed attempt to create a console port of The Witcher in 2009, a deal with Microsoft saw the franchise brought to console in 2011, with The Witcher 2 landing on Xbox 360. The Witcher 3 completed the series’ expansion, hitting PS4, Xbox One and PC.

“Naturally, we wanted to get as many people playing as possible,” Teixeira explains.

“For The Witcher 3, it was this mood where the studio finally had enough people and technology to create the game for all three platforms. Previously, we just couldn’t spare the people. It was finally the first time we were able to get the game to everyone and no-one got left out. Of course, we love PC gamers, but we wanted to get it to everyone and let everyone have this experience.”

The Witcher’s roots on PC and among a hardcore audience could go some way to explaining its contrasting factors to the majority of games released today. Chief among these is the title’s truly epic scope, requiring hundreds of hours of gameplay to see every corner of the world. Yet this time investment didn’t deter the millions of consumers who have picked up the game. 

“If anything, The Witcher 3 proved the point that players are more interested in longer games,” argues Teixeira.

“Now, especially, you hear so many people talking about how the triple-A games industry is there and nobody wants that experience anymore, and here you go – a nice, well-written single-player experience. There’s no multiplayer, there’s no microtransactions; you get a game, you play the game and enjoy the game, and it’s a great success.”

The scale of The Witcher 3 has been made even grander with a variety of extra content released over the last four months. The first of two planned major expansion packs, Hearts of Stone, landed this week. Containing a level of content comparable to many standalone games, the £7.99 add-on stands out in a market flooded by single item micro-transactions.

“There’s definitely people asking for game expansions,” says Teixeira.

“We were very happy to prove that there is still a market for these types of things. Some of the comments we’ve had from players after playing the first expansion is ‘you guys totally broke the system – you’ve just released something that has more content than many full triple-A titled releases for a fraction of the price. It’s crazy.’

“We want to make sure everyone gets their money’s worth. This is an expansion, after all, so it’s fairly priced. That’s one thing that we are very adamant about: making sure everyone feels their money’s well spent.

“Having expansions is very old-school. It’s very rare to see, which is sad. If it’s good, it’s worthwhile and it has an interesting story, why not do it? It only adds even more good to an already good thing.”

The Witcher 3 is the keystone in the foundation CD Projekt built its castle upon back in 2007. Although the franchise was popular before, Wild Hunt has taken the series to completely new heights – this applies to its literary source material, too.

“Before, there were some hardcore fans who read the books out in the West, but very few,” observes Teixeira.

“The Witcher 3 really opened up the floodgates. In a way, Sapkowski’s benefits are from the success of The Witcher 3 and the other games. He benefits from the mass appeal of the games, because a lot of people have opened up to his books. We’re very happy it worked both ways; the hardcore fans made the game possible, and now the game has brought fans to the books.”

CD Projekt may be leaving The Witcher behind (See ‘Cyber Excitement’), but the fantasy world remains. So where does The Witcher universe go from here?

“I have no idea,” Teixeira admits.

“We’re very happy with the way it ended. The Witcher 3 is really the game that CD Projekt always wanted to make and we’re happy that people were positive about it.

[...]

CD Projekt Red has already revealed its next ambitious project after The Witcher 3.

Titled Cyberpunk 2077, it’s another adaptation – this time, of the Cyberpunk series of tabletop role-playing games.

Set in a sci-fi world akin to Blade Runner, it’s a far cry from the swords and dragons of The Witcher. But the games may be more closely linked than it may first appear.

“Cyberpunk 2077 is a totally different style,” details CD Projekt Red visual effects artist Jose Teixeira. “In a way, The Witcher helped Cyberpunk quite a bit, because the game got so big and so complex that it really taught us.

“Cyberpunk is far bigger than anything else that we have done before. Far, far bigger. We’re really stepping into the unknown in terms of complexity and size and problems we encounter. We really didn’t know what was going to happen.

“It’s going to be a lot more dense. For The Witcher, I had the clouds, the rain, the petals of flowers and things like that. Cyberpunk is going to be everything; it’s going to be explosions and fire and lighting effects and everything happening all at the same time. It’s going to be a mess of effects.

“I’m very much looking forwards to it. It’s going to be a challenge. Our ambitions and expectations about the amount of visual information on-screen at any given time is going to be pretty brutal.”

 

Thursday - October 15, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Review @ PC Gamer

by Hiddenx, 08:47

Henrique spotted this Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone review at PC Gamer:

Since The Wild Hunt’s grand finale, I like to imagine Geralt has been pottering around Kaer Morhen, taking long baths, sharpening his swords and keeping his nose out of the toxic Novigrad Gwent scene. I haven’t touched the game for a while, but when I emerged into the Northern Realms for the first time in months a melancholy mood descended. The people I met and loved in the last adventure are getting on with their lives. Returning to The Witcher 3 is kinda sad for this reason, but in a lovely way. It’s a reminder how powerful the game’s narrative high notes were.

What better way to reacquaint with pastoral Velen than a good old-fashioned monster contract? That’s how Hearts of Stone starts, with a seemingly routine appointment at the home of one Olgierd von Everec, a slightly dandyish cutthroat with a thing for imperfect sculpture. Soon enough Geralt is roaming the sewers beneath Oxenfurt, cutting through hoards of level 30 drowners and happening upon… well, it’s no secret really: you meet with Shani, a medic, scholar and love interest from the original Witcher. Olgierd von Everec wants you to slay whatever’s lurking in the sewers and, once you do, a whole new problem emerges: that beast was prince to a mysterious organisation called the Ofieris, who are not at all happy with your actions. Before you can Igni them to ash they’ve captured you.

Those unfortunate events send Geralt haplessly towards the crux of the Hearts of Stone campaign: Gaunter O’Dimm (or the Merchant of Mirrors) helps you escape the Ofieris, but he’s none too happy with your taskmaster. Due to some arcane high fantasy reasoning though, the dubious O’Dimm is still bound to fulfil three duties for Olgierd and, well, that’s what you’re doing—helping him perform those three tasks or, as it turns out, doing them for him.

[...]

The Witcher 3 has an unusual problem to overcome: in a game with an abundance of sidequests most players will never experience, what’s the appeal of this particular one? I hear these concerns, and felt them going into Hearts of Stone. I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent with the von Everec saga, though it did serve to reinforce some awkward truths about the core game, namely, that the combat and character progression really needs the epic scope of a 100 hour campaign to sustain them. Oh, and there really is a lot of running back and forth in this game, isn’t there? As a new self-contained saga though, Heart of Stones is unparalleled RPG storytelling. Just make sure you bring an investment in the fantasy.

Score: 82

A satisfying, self-contained adventure that plays to the series' strengths, but doesn't add anything novel outside of its storytelling.

Wednesday - October 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Review @ VG24/7

by Hiddenx, 23:19

Brenna Hillier (VG24/7) recommends the new Witcher 3 expansion Hearts of Stone:

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone may be better than Wild Hunt

If you liked The Witcher 3, come on in to Hearts of Stone: the water’s fine.

If you finished The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and thought to yourself “Dang, I wish there were more games like that,” then Hearts of Stone is here to save the day. It’s more than just a game like that, it’s more of the same game.

Except for the fact that Geralt’s not constantly under a cloud due to the looming end of the world, Hearts of Stone feels of a piece with Wild Hunt. That’s not to say it feels like a missing piece, something that ought to have been in the main storyline from the get-go; it is entirely discrete, telling a self-contained story with few ties to the rest of the game’s content.

But despite its standalone nature, it’s very much embedded in the world. The quality of the storytelling and mission design ranks alongside that of the main game. At no point do you feel like you’re playing something developed by anybody other than the original creators. The same loving fingerprints are all over it. Every time somebody made a reference to someone else having a stick up their arse, it was like coming home.

This is an elegant and unusual feat, and speaks well of CD Projekt RED’s development approach and project management, but it’s doubly impressive in that it manages not to be boring. Too many expansions and DLC packs add in more of the same, with the unfortunate consequence of making you realise you didn’t want it. You didn’t want to tick off another 45 fetch quests or collect another 150 figurines. Too many add-ons just feel like padding, filler content, non-essential, missable; an invitation to keep playing, without providing any motivation to do so.

I never stopped wanting to play Hearts of Stone. At no point did it stop pulling me along, seducing me into pushing on to see the next set piece, face the next challenge, solve the next puzzle. Although the mystery at the heart of the story is only shallowly buried, it remains a pleasure to dig up. If you are the kind who listens closely and pores over optional materials, you’ll likely be even more intrigued by the tangled flurry of plots and subplots that Geralt navigates, either subtly and with cunning or with the slicing edge of a blade. [...]

Tuesday - October 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine Expansion Might Come Later

by Myrthos, 23:24

We were send a press release from CD PRoject RED for the Hearts of Stone expansion for The Witcher 3, which has a remarkable sentence about the next expansion Blood and Wine. This was originally set for release in the first quarter of 2016, but is now set for the first half of that year.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Hearts of Stone Expansion Out Now!

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, announce the release of Hearts of Stone, the highly anticipated expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Hearts of Stone will take Geralt on an all-new adventure into the wilds of No Man's Land and the nooks and alleys of Oxenfurt, where he'll try to complete a contract from the mysterious Man of Glass. Caught in a thick tangle of deceit, Geralt will need all his cunning and strength to solve the mystery and emerge unscathed.

Available now on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4, Hearts of Stone brings over 10 hours of new adventures and introduces new characters, powerful monsters, unique romance, and a brand new storyline shaped by gamer choices.

Visit buy.thewitcher.com for details on how to obtain the expansion.

Also available, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Expansion Pass

The Expansion Pass secures your access to two epic adventures set in the vibrant world of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia.

Along with Hearts of Stone, the Expansion Pass contains Blood and Wine -- a 20-hour tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint and will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret.

Blood and Wine is slated for release in the first half of 2016.

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Reviews

by Myrthos, 23:02

Here are a couple of reviews that Eye has found.

Venturebeat, 88/100

Hearts of Stone is a collection of some of the best quests The Witcher 3 has to offer. Its story is cohesive; its characters are worth meeting; and the thematic diversity is worth seeing. If you’ve already beaten the original experience, these quests are worth checking out. If you haven’t, make these quests a top priority.

They feature some of the best writing in fantasy games, period, and make the expansion more than a worthy addition to one of the best releases of the year.

Gametrailers has a 5 minute video review.

Gamesradar, 4.5/5

It's a testament to how good The Witcher's world, characters, and stories are that all of these issues - especially the combat, which is a core pillar of its gameplay - are worth dealing with to experience. While Hearts of Stone doesn't fix Wild Hunt's biggest problems, it provides a hell of a reason to hop back into this perpetual short story machine. It's the video game equivalent of a novella, fleshing out a little bit more of this fascinating world and the people who inhabit it by providing more of the superb storytelling we've come to expect from CD Projekt Red.

Witcher 3 - Bugs, Problems and Fixes after Patch 1.10 @ IB Times

by Hiddenx, 07:42

IB Times reports about the bugs and problems that come with Witcher 3 patch 1.10 and some possible fixes:

The Witcher 3: Full list of bugs, problems and fixes after patch 1.10

Developer, CD Projekt RED recently released a new patch 1.10 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but sadly, the patch has been noted to have "major/minor bugs" according to Reddit thread. The launch of the new patch has not been smooth for the developers.

Several players have faced errors and freezing issues, with many forced to quit the game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released on 19 May, 2015 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Below are the bugs that have been listed on the Reddit thread:

  • Completed quests are marked as failed.
  • Minor UI bug in settings menu that some strings of text do not appear.
  • Found on the armourer dismantle Tab that no stats are displayed for selected items.
  • Noticed a new problem - some of my non-set items become very high level (71-80), before 1.10 they was 60-70.
  • The quest Scavenger Hunt Wolf School Gear Upgrade Diagrams - Part 1 is bugged. Chests are there, Wolf markings are on the walls but can't open them. Maybe it's happening with another set quests. Also the objectives duplicate in the quest log, simply 1 says complete the other is not.
  • In DLC quest Where the Cat and the Wolf Play, the girl's footprints end where they begin, even after you pick the doll. The prints are missing therefore I can't continue the quest because the girl does not "spawn."
  • HUD Toggle (listed in patch notes) does not appear to be implemented. The promised markers for missing gwent cards don't appear for me (Xbox ONE).
  • I've got an oddly specific bug, in gwent, ending the first game in a draw disables my left mouse button in the subsequent "card swap segment."
  • Achievements on Galaxy still not working. I've just tried getting "Killed it", wouldn't work. Other achievements haven't been activated retroactively (e.g. Dendrologist, Gwent Master, Munchkin).
  • Yennefer is missing from the game. She's present in cutscenes, but outside of them she's just gone (no model, no sound, no sign of her where she's supposed to be). Probably has something to do with all this DLC related bugs and with the fact that I never had Yen's alternate look DLC installed. Triss and Ciri show up fine (never had their DLCs installed too).
  • Just updated and i still can't complete the nobleman and soldier statuette. I'm coming from a fresh install. Triss just sands there after getting to the bits from dandelion's inn.
  • I got to the end of "Where the Cat and Wolf Play.." and the other Witcher is completely frozen when I enter combat with him.
  • The resolution bug: Going from a higher resolution (4K) to a lower one (1440P) will make the screen difference between the two "black" so you are playing only in a small quarter of the screen. Fixed by saving settings and running the game again.
  • A weird mouse bug in the menu, where If I hover the mouse in upper-middle of the screen vertically It will switch between tabs/modules.
  • NG+ entered combat in the sewer under the Rosa Var Attre house in Novigrad. Ran from the water hag. Combat music wouldn't end, people would run away from me in the city. Went back killed the water hag, this happened (combat music then ended and everything back to normal).
  • I've just installed (on Xbox One) and aren't getting any quest markers on the world map if it's outside the region I'm in. i.e. if I'm in Novigrad and have a quest in Skellige selected, if I go onto the map for Skellige no quest markers appear.
  • I have random visual bug after patch 1.10. In legs Geralt has red box. Update: Problem is with Nilfgaardian Gloves. When u wear them, then red box appear. It must be problem with DLC's then. [This might have been fixed by a hotfix].
  • When starting NG+, some potions/oils duplicate. I have both superior tawny oil and the regular one at the same time.
  • I have encountered another thing, Shadow's seem A LOT worse even on the highest settings.
  • Character is floating above the ground in a crouch position. It started on the 2nd floor of the Witcher hunter barracks.
  • Steam version: All the icons keep completely disappearing on every item in the game, both in loot windows and in my inventory. There's a colour stripe indicating the items quality where the picture should be but no actual icon there.
  • On PC, if you have both delusion and puppet skills equipped, the alternate Axii skill casting is VERY buggy. You can hold down the cast button, but it will only cast puppet about 30-40% of the time.
  • Several players have reported that after leaving a conversation, world becomes blurred for a short period of time.
  • In Xbox One consoles, Merchants - pressing left trigger to compare items no longer works on armour and saddles in shop inventory.
  • Skellige's Most Wanted is still bugged on PS4 in 1.10 (Werewolf won't die).
  • After starting 'Little Red', and talking to the main bandit, when the cutscene ended and switched to battle, the game froze, and I had to force quit.
  • After the 1.10 patch, my screensaver kicks in and takes focus from the game after the allotted time if I go AFK.It's not that big a deal to move the mouse and select resume, but this is definitely something different.

Here are possible fixes if the players are unable to run the game on Steam:

 

  • Go to your Witcher 3 directory, search for the "vcredist.exe"(usually found in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt__redistMSVC2012_x64), launch it, and select repair.
  • Delete "d3d11.dll" and "dxgi.dll" in The Witcher 3 Wild Huntbinx64. Advisable to cut these files and paste them into a backup folder in case something goes wrong.

Meanwhile, Vinthir, a developer from CD Projekt RED posted in the forums that they have released a hotfix for Steam and it will follow shortly for the PC platforms. [...]

 

Sunday - October 11, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Review @ IGN

by Hiddenx, 20:58

IGN reviewed the Witcher 3 expansion Hearts of Stone:

A lengthy adventure that bares the heart of the wolf.

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone introduces its intriguing antagonist Olgierd von Everec by having him insightfully critique a stone sculpture of a famous artist, only to tip it over and watch it shatter to pieces. It’s a great introduction to a great character, but it also serves as a thematic jumping-off point for this excellent DLC chapter. Hearts of Stone is about taking the stoic, stone-like wall Geralt has always presented to his compatriots and to us, and bringing it crumbling down. The result is a Geralt quite unlike the one we’re used to, and one of the warmest, most human story threads in all of the Witcher 3. [...]

The Verdict

The story in Hearts of Stone alone would make it worth getting, but it succeeds on other levels as well. The fun new enemies and bosses, along with the customization potential of Runewords make Hearts of Stone a very well-rounded package that shouldn’t be skipped.

Score: Amazing

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone wraps an interesting story and great gameplay additions into one well-rounded expansion.

    + Great characters
    + New side of Geralt
    + Runewords
    + Enjoyable fights

    – Few new assets

Thursday - October 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Review @ Gamespot

by Hiddenx, 22:55

Gamespot reviewed the first paid expansion for The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone:

A motley crew.

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone is at once a horror story, a romance, a character study, and a classic fairy tale. And somehow, these disparate parts mesh to form a cohesive whole.

This is CD Projekt Red's first paid expansion for its masterful RPG, and it fits seamlessly into Geralt's narrative. Although it's meant for late-game characters around level 30, it's available at any point in your playthrough. And like many experiences in The Witcher 3, the expansion's main draw is its twisting storylines and vivid inhabitants.

It's difficult to talk about these elements without ruining the experience as a whole. CD Projekt Red presents its own dark take on weddings, haunted houses, and the story of the prince and the frog. Quests never resolved how I expected them to, and seldom how I hoped. They even ventured into metaphysical environments, and gorgeous as they were, there's a haunting presence to them. Hearts of Stone runs the gamut of fantasy tropes, but subverts every one. It's this willingness to take successful risks that sets these quests, and the story they compose, apart.

Many of these storylines trace back to one man: Gaunter O'Dimm. Geralt calls him the Merchant of Mirrors. Others know him as the Man of Glass. He's a character who makes you feel uneasy with a glance and, even when he seemed relaxed, I always had my thumb hovering over the attack button. You get the sense he knows far more than he lets on. Hearts of Stone paints him in a complex fashion, melding his odd behavior with a strange charm, thereby creating someone who doesn't fit any archetype.

[...]

For all of its storylines, and all of its varied combat, Hearts of Stone houses deeper themes. Matters of regret, apathy, death, and the passage of time pervade every character's motivations. One woman laments the monster her husband turned out to be. "I've stopped wondering what you feel about me anymore," she says. "I don't feel anything," he replies. And in an intimate moment between Shani and Geralt, the former asks the Witcher if he worries about never falling in love. The response is up to you.

This thematic pulse elevates an already great batch of content. Hearts of Stone feels just as much a part of the narrative as any of the main game's quest lines, but stands on its own as a memorable adventure. It may have its negative moments and the pacing may be broken at certain intervals, but The Witcher 3's first paid expansion is well worth the return to the Northern Kingdoms.

There's a point when a character whistles the boss fight music. And just when you're sure one such encounter is coming, he walks away to that haunting tune, without so much as a fistfight. This is what Hearts of Stone does best. It takes our expectations and runs with them.


The Good:

  • Clever dialogue and cinematic storytelling
  • Shani is a bright point among a cast of vibrant characters
  • In combat and out, the quests are engrossing
  • Deeper themes permeate character actions and plot points

The Bad:

  • Obtrusive mini-game and detective sections

Score: 9/10 - Superb

Tuesday - October 06, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Launch Trailer

by Myrthos, 22:18

Here is the launch trailer for the Hearts of Stone DLC for The Witcher 3.

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Step again into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer, this time hired to defeat a ruthless bandit captain, Olgierd von Everec, a man who possesses the power of immortality. The expansion lets you choose your own way through an adventure that includes recruiting a crew of break-in artists, spending a night partying with a ghost and outsmarting the most bizarre creatures Geralt has ever faced.

Launching October 13th, 2015, Hearts of Stone packs over 10 hours of new adventures and introduces new characters, powerful monsters, unique romance, and a brand new storyline shaped by gamer choices. The expansion also introduces a brand new system of Runewords that significantly affects gameplay. Each Runeword will impact a different aspect of in-game mechanics and will allow the players to experiment with various strategies and tactics.

Tuesday - September 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone Screenshots and Video

by Myrthos, 00:36

We received some screenshots and a video for The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone.

   

 

 

 

loading...

Eye also located this article about why Gamespot's Mike Mahardy can't wait for it.

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone is full of varied quests to follow, and striking characters to meet. There's so much I can't share, but only because the expansion is so story driven, and laced with powerful moments throughout my two hours. It's also well paced, a facet that's hard to come by in an open-world RPG, wherein players have every chance to venture off the beaten path. There's no shortage of promising games releasing this fall. But judging by the time I spent with it, Hearts of Stone deserves just as much attention on October 13.

Wednesday - September 09, 2015

Witcher 3 - Made for $81.000.000

by Myrthos, 18:23

Gamespot informs us that the development and marketing of The Witcher 3 has cost $81 million.

CD Projekt Red has announced exactly how much money it spent to make the celebrated open-world role-playing game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Speaking during CD Projekt Red's latest financial briefing, the English translation of which was published today, CEO Adam Kicinski revealed the game's total budget--including development and marketing costs--as 306 million złoty or about $81 million USD.

lso during his presentation, Kicinski says CD Projekt Red conducted 40 different marketing campaigns in parallel for The Witcher 3. He described this as a "daunting task," noting that the region-specific marketing campaigns were accompanied by a global campaign, too.

Kicinski also revealed that The Witcher 3 was developed over the course of 3.5 years by a team of professionals that "know how to develop games efficiently." A total of 240 in-house staff worked on The Witcher 3 (most were Polish, but a "considerable" number were foreigners), while 1,500 people in all around the world were involved in the game's production.

Thanks lostforever

Tuesday - September 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - Heart of Stone Release Date and Trailer

by Myrthos, 16:55

The Heart of Stone expansion for The Witcher 3 will be available on the 13th of October and there is also a boxed version of Gwent coming.

loading...

Step once again into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer, now hired to defeat a ruthless bandit captain, Olgierd von Everec, a man who possesses the power of immortality. The expansion lets you choose your own path through an experience that includes recruiting a crew of break-in artists, spending a night partying with a ghost and outsmarting the most bizarre creatures Geralt has ever faced.

Launching October 13th, 2015, Hearts of Stone packs over 10 hours of new adventures that introduces new characters, powerful monsters, unique romance, and a brand new storyline shaped by player choices. The expansion also introduces a brand-new system of Runewords that significantly affects gameplay. Each Runeword will impact different aspects of in-game mechanics, allowing players to experiment with various strategies and tactics.

Along with the digital release, gamers will also be able to purchase a special, limited boxed edition of Hearts of Stone (SRP $19.99) available at selected retailers worldwide. The box contains a digital download code for the expansion, two masterfully crafted physical decks of Gwent, the card game set in the world of The Witcher, as well as a detailed manual explaining the rules. With two unique sets of cards, Monsters and Scoia'tael ready to go, you and your friends can now engage in tactical combat on a grand scale outside of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt!

The studio launched a special initiative for owners of the digital Expansion Pass that will enable them to purchase the cards separately. All information about the initiative can be found at redeemgwent.com.

Thursday - September 03, 2015

Witcher 3 - Discounted at GOG

by Myrthos, 12:42

If you don't have it yet, you can get The Witcher 3 with a 30% discount now at Good Old Games. You can get The Witcher Enhanced Edition, The Witcher 2 and The Witcher Adventure Game, with discounts up to 85% (depending on the game).

Wednesday - September 02, 2015

Witcher 3 - PAX Panel and More

by Myrthos, 22:56

If you want to learn a bit more about The Witcher 3 from the devs, you can watch this video from PAX Prime in which they talk about it.

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Furthermore if you want to read a lengthy fictional article on what The Witcher 4 can be like (a game that is likely not to be made), you can check out this 3 part editorial at Nerd Rock from the Sun.

Thanks Couch.

Monday - August 31, 2015

Witcher 3 - Expansion Artwork and Gwent

by Myrthos, 17:00

At Gearnuke, Eye spotted this bit of information on the artwork for the upcoming two expansions for The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s latest expansion is Hearts of Stone. It is currently planned for a release this October and will take atleast 10 hours of gameplay to finish.

In their financial report detailing the budget and sales of the game, CD Project Red also revealed the official artwork for the two expansions that will be released in the future. You can check out the artwork below.

the-witcher-3-expansion-artwork-1 the-witcher-3-expansion-artwork-2

Here is the official description of each of the expansion.

Hearts of Stone will take Geralt on an all-new 10-hour adventure into the wilds of No Man’s Land and the nooks and alleys of Oxenfurt, where he’ll try to complete a contract from the mysterious Man of Glass. Caught in a thick tangle of deceit, Geralt will need all his cunning and strength to solve the mystery and emerge unscathed.

Blood and Wine, a 20-hour tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint, will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Expansion  Pass will cost you $25 and contains both of these expansions.

Also Dualshockers suggests that Gwent might become available as a stand-alone game, in case that would be something you like.

Secondly, asked if CD Projekt would ever release a stand-alone version of the in-game collectible card game Gwent, Currit mentioned that he’d pass that request to the development team, but then he teased that there are “good news” coming for those who love Gwent.

Wednesday - August 26, 2015

Witcher 3 - Open Letter From Adam Badowski

by Myrthos, 22:34

Adam Badowski, head of the CD Project Red Studio has published an open letter about The Witcher 3.

Hey Gamers!

Time does fly! These few months since launch passed faster than you can say potestaquisitor. We've been hard at work delivering you new content, fixing what needed to be fixed, and secretly plotting how to rock this boat we call the RPG genre even more. We've just concluded our shareholder conference where we announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt family got a bit bigger -- we sold over 6 million copies of the game in six weeks since launch. Worry not, I won't discuss any financial stuff here. I would, however, like to give you some insight on what that means to us as game creators.

One could think we have six million reasons to be happy and that's it. We do, but that number is also a big responsibility and I want everyone to know that we, as a studio, realize that. For us, all your high praise, all the positive reviews, are also an obligation -- we've made a really good game but there's still a long road ahead of us. Everyone here in CD PROJEKT RED is really attached to their work and how you, the gamers, perceive it. RED is full of artists, wild dreamers and people crazy about what they do (and sometimes just plain crazy). We lose sleep over that particular color the sun has when it sets over Velen, and argue over arranging the furniture in a house the majority of gamers will probably never see. We're not the kind of people who are easily satisfied and we always strive for more. I'd like you to know that.

Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, picture and text - you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there's no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That's why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you.

Monday - August 17, 2015

Witcher 3 - Free Game+ DLC released

by Hiddenx, 18:27

Play it again Geralt - the Game+ DLC has been released.

Friday - August 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - Mod Tools: What Can We Expect? @ Gamespot

by Hiddenx, 21:36

Randolph Ramsay (Gamespot) interviewed CD Project Read about the upcoming mod-tools for The Witcher 3:

[...]

Let's go into some detail. What will players be able to do with the mod tools? Does it go beyond the cosmetic?

First of all, the modding tools we are releasing are not an editor. They’re meant for people who are somewhat experienced with modding software and are designed to make creating mods easier. They give access to game files and allow for easy extracting, compilation, and decompilation of resources. Beside visual changes, like modifying textures and models, they will allow to change UI assets and script files. The majority of gameplay-related mechanics are written in scripts. Having access to these scripts will allow to create even more ambitious and complex modifications. If you’re not a modder and you’re wondering about real life applications, in short, all this means that from now on, people will be able to put their own textures on models to make them feel more personal (or cool, or whatever they wish!), or, say, substitute Roach’s model with a unicorn (and ride it towards the setting sun). You will be able to use these mods when they get published. Also, we hope the community builds on these resources and, who knows, maybe some people who haven’t ever dreamt of modding will start doing so? There might be future devs among you!

Let's talk about how people will be able to share/access mods. How will they be able to do that? And why did you decide to do it in that way?

There are several places on the web gamers can access The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt mods. Nexus Mods is what we see as a very prolific community right now--you can download Wild Hunt mods from there already and we hope more will come after modders get to play with the tool.

[...]

Friday - August 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.08 out now!

by Hiddenx, 22:44

CD Project Red has released Patch 1.08 for The Witcher 3:

The patch is now available and can be downloaded across all platforms. The update introduces many quest fixes as well as improvements in the gameplay mechanics. You can find the full list of changes below:

PERFORMANCE:
  • Overall improvements to performance, including some issues that may have been caused by 1.07.

UI:
  • [Japanese Only][PS4 Only] Fixes an issue where the background text of certain books would flicker.
  • Fixes an issue where part of the Kaer Morhen map would not display properly.

GAMEPLAY:
  • Fixes a rare issue where items would disappear from the stash.
  • Fixes a very rare issue which would cause Geralt to get stuck when trying to run.
  • The interaction pop-up will no longer appear on lootable objects that are empty.
  • Fixes an occasional glitch in one of the dwarf combat animations.
  • Heads chopped off during finishers will no longer disappear.
  • "Players can perform a roll just before landing to significantly reduce the damage caused by falling.
  • We've added a tutorial pop-up window explaining this to make it clearer."
  • In patch 1.07, the level requirements for certain items were scaled up, leaving some players stuck with only unusable gear. With patch 1.08, we are introducing the Wolven Hour potion. This potion will be available in everyone's inventory once they install the patch. It will reduce level requirements on all gear for a period of one hour. This will give players time to level up or find alternative equipment using the gear that was available to them in patch 1.05 but became unusable after patch 1.07. After one hour, the potion's effects will cease and the requirements for all gear will revert to their original, pre-potion values.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to compare their items with ones sold by merchants.

ACHIEVEMENTS:
  • Players will now be able to complete the Card Collector achievement.
  • Achievements are now working properly again and will be unlocked if players meet their requirements after installing this patch (PC version).

GRAPHICS:
  • Fixes an issue where interiors would sometimes not display properly on the minimap.
  • Fixes an issue where certain world elements would sometimes be missing and noticeable visual glitches would be present while in Novigrad.

QUEST:
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "It Takes Three to Tango" quest, even though they had obtained wine at the Kingfisher.
  • Fixes an issue where Geralt would sometimes die after traveling to Velen in the quest "Something Ends, Something Begins."
  • The entrance to the area where the Sunstone is obtained will no longer be blocked off if the player exits it prematurely during "The Sunstone" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to complete the "Get Junior" quest on certain occasions.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "Scavenger Hunt: Viper School Gear" quest due to a closed gate.
  • Fixes an issue where some players were unable to investigate rooms during the "Family Matters" quest, effectively blocking their progression.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "Hey, You Wanna Look at my Stuff?" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to talk to Roche during the "An Eye for an Eye" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where Roche would stay at his camp instead of going to the Oxenfurt Bridge in the "Get Junior" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where, under certain circumstances, Yennefer would not appear in Oxenfurt during the "The Great Escape" quest.
  • Drowners will have a harder time killing Nidas during the "Black Pearl" quest.
  • Fixes an issue which led to an infinite loading screen during the "To Bait a Forktail..." quest under certain circumstances.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the basement was locked during the "King's Gambit" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to free the merchant during the Person in Distress event in the Claywich area.
  • The trolls at the Circle of Elements will no longer attack Geralt if he opts for a peaceful resolution.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to talk to Roche during the "Brothers in Arms" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where Zoltan's card was unobtainable.

GENERAL:
  • Preparatory features paving the way for the introduction of New Game + in the future.

 

Wednesday - August 05, 2015

Witcher 3 - Economy was saved by polynomial least squares @ Ars Technica

by Hiddenx, 07:40

Mark Walton (Ars Technica) reports how the the devs programmed the economy of The Witcher 3:

How The Witcher 3’s economy was saved by polynomial least squares

Amazingly, up until just a few months before release, the game didn't have an economy.

For a game as complex and as huge as The Witcher 3, it's hard to imagine one of its core gameplay elements—one that ties the entire game together—didn't actually exist until mere months before its release. And yet, according to senior gameplay designer Matthew Steinke speaking at GDC Europe, that's exactly what happened with The Witcher 3's economy, crafting, and inventory systems. These three core elements of the game were "fragmented and incomplete" to the point that "there was no time left in the project to accomplish everything by the deadline."

But as is so often the case, a complex task and a rapidly looming deadline can lead to some great innovations. For Steinke and The Witcher 3, that meant coming up with an entirely new way to create and maintain an in-game economy; one that was reactive to the player and the world around it. Steinke started with the basics, noting that The Witcher 3's economy is based around money, or rather the concept that money is simply anything in the game that can be traded for something else.

"I had specific goals for the economy," said Steinke. "I wanted players to need money for purchasing food, ingredients, and upgrades, to explore the world around them for new items, earning money from combat, and collecting loot along the way. I wanted them to buy better items to improve their stats. Additionally, I wanted these items to cost more, so that players felt like they were earning lots of money by the end of the game. To visualise these goals, I sketched out a higher-level state diagram to illustrate the system interactions. Defining system interactions in this way, it's easy to see what kind of relationships created between the player and the economy."

Steinke's simple diagram (pictured below), which outlined the flow of money from one area of the game to the other, proved useful for mapping out potential gameplay paths. For instance, one of Steinke's goals was to have the player explore the world for new items. The economy facilitates this by providing loot from fights and random containers scattered throughout The Witcher 3's open world. Players can then use those items as cash to buy other items like better swords and armour from merchants without having to go out and find them.

[...]

Saturday - August 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.08 Changelog

by Hiddenx, 07:25

CD Project Red released a list of changes coming with patch 1.08:

The next patch will be arriving quite soon. Please check the list of changes below.

PERFORMANCE:

  • Overall improvements to performance, including some issues that may have been caused by 1.07.
UI:
  • [Japanese Only][PS4 Only] Fixes an issue where the background text of certain books would flicker.
  • Fixes an issue where part of the Kaer Morhen map would not display properly.
GAMEPLAY:
  • Fixes a rare issue where items would disappear from the stash.
  • Fixes a very rare issue which would cause Geralt to get stuck when trying to run.
  • The interaction pop-up will no longer appear on lootable objects that are empty.
  • Fixes an occasional glitch in one of the dwarf combat animations.
  • Heads chopped off during finishers will no longer disappear.
  • "Players can perform a roll just before landing to significantly reduce the damage caused by falling.
  • We've added a tutorial pop-up window explaining this to make it clearer."
  • In patch 1.07, the level requirements for certain items were scaled up, leaving some players stuck with only unusable gear. With patch 1.08, we are introducing the Wolven Hour potion. This potion will be available in everyone's inventory once they install the patch. It will reduce level requirements on all gear for a period of one hour. This will give players time to level up or find alternative equipment using the gear that was available to them in patch 1.05 but became unusable after patch 1.07. After one hour, the potion's effects will cease and the requirements for all gear will revert to their original, pre-potion values.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to compare their items with ones sold by merchants.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
  • Players will now be able to complete the Card Collector achievement.
  • Achievements are now working properly again and will be unlocked if players meet their requirements after installing this patch (PC version).
GRAPHICS:
  • Fixes an issue where interiors would sometimes not display properly on the minimap.
  • Fixes an issue where certain world elements would sometimes be missing and noticeable visual glitches would be present while in Novigrad.
QUEST:
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "It Takes Three to Tango" quest, even though they had obtained wine at the Kingfisher.
  • Fixes an issue where Geralt would sometimes die after traveling to Velen in the quest "Something Ends, Something Begins."
  • The entrance to the area where the Sunstone is obtained will no longer be blocked off if the player exits it prematurely during "The Sunstone" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to complete the "Get Junior" quest on certain occasions.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "Scavenger Hunt: Viper School Gear" quest due to a closed gate.
  • Fixes an issue where some players were unable to investigate rooms during the "Family Matters" quest, effectively blocking their progression.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to finish the "Hey, You Wanna Look at my Stuff?" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to talk to Roche during the "An Eye for an Eye" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where Roche would stay at his camp instead of going to the Oxenfurt Bridge in the "Get Junior" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where, under certain circumstances, Yennefer would not appear in Oxenfurt during the "The Great Escape" quest.
  • Drowners will have a harder time killing Nidas during the "Black Pearl" quest.
  • Fixes an issue which led to an infinite loading screen during the "To Bait a Forktail..." quest under certain circumstances.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the basement was locked during the "King's Gambit" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to free the merchant during the Person in Distress event in the Claywich area.
  • The trolls at the Circle of Elements will no longer attack Geralt if he opts for a peaceful resolution.
  • Fixes an issue where players were unable to talk to Roche during the "Brothers in Arms" quest.
  • Fixes an issue where Zoltan's card was unobtainable.
GENERAL:
  • Preparatory features paving the way for the introduction of New Game + in the future.

Monday - July 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - Is Getting A New Game Plus Mode

by Hiddenx, 21:34

The last free DLC will be a 'New Game Plus Mode':

Already finished The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt multiple times?
We’ve got something coming up…
New Game+, the final DLC, is on the way and, of course, it’s completely FREE!
Stay tuned for more info regarding the release. It won’t happen this week though - we need a little bit more time to finish it.

Thursday - July 23, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Finisher Animations

by Hiddenx, 07:34

The free DLC #15 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is released:

The double helix triple backspin stab to the face DLC.
With the just released, highly anticipated Patch 1.07 our hunt is more accessible, more convenient and all around better. But while business is business for professional Witchers, it's also high time for something with a bit more... pizzazz. Forget Wolf School, here comes the Cool School, and Geralt just picked up a few new tricks at Kewl Morhen. Today's DLC introduces a pack of all-new combat finishers to truly take your sword skills to the next level of badass. Blood, guts and gory… It's the White Wolf now with more bite, in this week episode of the FREE DLC Program! INSTALLING THE FREE CONTENT: Here is how you can grab and install your new DLC in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Add the 16 FREE DLC Program to your account from its product page. It's like buying a game, but free.

A) If you're using GOG Galaxy:
  • Select The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from the sidebar to open its game page.
  • Click on the drop-down labeled "More", (located next to the PLAY button) and choose "Configure".
  • The Configure page will feature all available DLCs listed towards the bottom.
  • Select each DLC that you want to install, and GOG Galaxy will do the rest. If you want to remove the DLC from your game, simply uncheck the selection box.
B) If you're using the website:
  • You can download installers for each DLC pack manually. Simply head to the Library section of My Account, locate The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and download the files you want.
  • Afterwards, run each one as if you were installing a game or patch.

Steam users find the DLC here.

Monday - July 20, 2015

Witcher 3 - Alternative Look for Ciri

by Hiddenx, 08:10

Another week - another free DLC: An alternative look for Ciri on GOG and Steam.

 

Sunday - July 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.07 released on GOG and Steam

by Hiddenx, 08:27

The big patch 1.07 is out now - but PS4 and XBOx one players get some performance hits according to Eurogamer.

The full changelog is listed here.

 

 

Friday - July 17, 2015

The Witcher Series - Developers Interview @ RPS

by Myrthos, 12:31

Rock, Paper, Shotgun have talked with long time developers at CD Project Red about the development of the three Witcher games.

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, another CDP Game Director, explained, “It was our first title, a project we actually used to learn how to develop games. On top of that, we had huge ambitions that extended well beyond the capabilities of BioWare’s engine. Above all, we wanted to push the envelope graphically, so we rebuilt the renderer from scratch and created our own means for displaying visuals.”

One of the unique things about The Witcher, back in 2007, was the way it was brimming with life-like details. I remember being floored when the skies opened up over a tiny village center and everyone started running for shelter, clustering under eaves and awnings while waiting for the storm to pass.

“Since BioWare’s engine didn’t support large in-game communities, we had to create our own tools that would let us generate populations that would be satisfactory in size and follow a daily life cycle,” Tomaszkiewicz said. “It wasn’t easy, but ultimately we managed to produce something that truly resembled a living world, where folk had their jobs and lifestyles. They’d leave their homes in the morning, visit the local tavern after work to unwind, then go home to their families come evening. Merchants would hawk their wares, guardsmen would patrol Vizima’s back streets.”

Sunday - July 12, 2015

Witcher 3 - Best Detective Game Ever Made @ Extra Credits

by Hiddenx, 23:32

Extra Credits thinks The Witcher 3 is like Raymond Chandler's pulp fiction transferred into fantasy medieval times:

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Witcher 3 - Patch 1.07 - Full Detail Changelog

by Hiddenx, 08:21

CD PROJECT RED released a full detail changelog for the upcoming Witcher 3 patch 1.07:

  • Introduces an alternative movement style for Geralt. To enable, go to the Gameplay\Movement Response submenu.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the player's horse would not fall to the ground properly.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the player could be locked into the aiming animation if hit while throwing a bomb on horseback.
  • Fixes a rare issue with an infinite loading screen in the Ladies of the Wood quest.
  • Includes a variety of collision fixes.
  • Fixes an issue where Wild Hunt warriors would remain present even after the player completed the main storyline.
  • Fixes an issue where players could repeatedly buy foreign currency from a loan shark and sell it at the Vivaldi Bank.
  • Fixes an exploit whereby players could loot gold from a single chest more than once.
  • Fixes an issue whereby some skills were not properly removed after the player used the Potion of Clearance.
  • Fixes an issue with target locking, which should now be more responsive.
  • Introduces a number of changes in selected game-world areas to prevent players from unexpectedly progressing quests or leaving the playable area by climbing certain elements of the landscape.
  • Fixes an issue where sometimes players could not use Signs after reaching Skellige for the first time.
  • Fixes an issue where damage from certain sources was incorrectly calculated.
  • Fixes an issue where the durability of alternative weapons did not drop as intended.
  • Fixes an issue where the game would remain in slow motion if the player had used manual targeting.
  • Fixes an issue whereby meditation could be blocked by certain quests.
  • Fixes an issue where Stamina did not always regenerate properly.
  • Fixes an issue where Geralt's statistics could be multiplied if the player stood in a Dimeritium bomb cloud while the Cluster skill was activated.
  • Introduces a number of fixes, improvements and clarifications in the map-pins and objectives for multiple quests.
  • Fixes an issue where in certain circumstances gravity ceased to apply to the player's horse.
  • Adds a stash for player convenience. Players can now store loot in their stash, access to which is available in different parts of the world. Stash locations are marked on the map.
  • Fixes an issue whereby the player's horse would often stop abruptly before bridges or other narrow passages.
  • Fixes an issue whereby encumbrance was not updating correctly, resulting in players being overburdened where in fact they were not.
  • Fixes a rare issue where players were unable to choose different Signs.
  • Fixes an issue where the player was sometimes unable to craft glyphs.
  • Fixes an issue where not all merchants would accept junk loot.
  • All crafting components and alchemy ingredients now weigh nothing.
  • Fixes an issue where certain armor/hairstyle combinations interacted incorrectly.
  • Fixes an issue where instances of the Quen Sign would occasionally burst during dialogue scenes.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the player could not play gwent with Madame Serenity at the Passiflora.
  • The Zoltan gwent card should now always be present beneath the Hanged Man's Tree if the player does not win it earlier in White Orchard.
  • Fixes a rare issue where players could not talk to, or play gwent with, the innkeeper at the Inn at the Crossroads.
  • Includes a number of wording and spelling fixes in multiple localized versions.
  • Introduces a number of improvements in the game streaming system. Players should experience fewer blurred textures, NPC spawn times should be markedly reduced, and there should be an overall improvement in the speed with which game assets are loaded. Streaming system improvements should be most noticeable on consoles and systems with non-SSD drives.
  • Improves performance in the swamps of the No Man's Land region.
  • Fixes an issue whereby the presence of fog could adversely affect game performance.
  • Optimizes various FX which should result in improved performance during the Battle of Kaer Morhen quest.
  • Introduces a number of optimizations that improve overall performance throughout the game.
  • Improves overall game performance.
  • Fixes an issue where Keira's magic bubble could adversely affect performance.
  • Fixes an issue whereby the mouse cursor would remain visible during in-game video playback.
  • Adds a warning if the user runs out of disk space and wants to crate a new game save.
  • Fixes an issue whereby Colorblind mode was not properly saved.
  • Fixes an issue whereby Zoltan would sometimes appear in the incorrect location after the Novigrad, Closed City quest.
  • Fixes an issue during the Last Wish quest whereby Geralt would continue his conversation with Yennefer after they parted.
  • Fixes an issue where two simultaneous instances of some characters would appear in a scene in the Broken Flowers quest.
  • Fixes an issue whereby some objectives were not available to the player and would be automatically failed during the Battle of Kaer Morhen quest..
  • Fixes an issue where in certain circumstances Lambert did not board the boat during the Final Trial quest.
  • Fixes an issue where in certain circumstances Madame Serenity was improperly placed during the Deadly Plot quest.
  • Fixes an issue where the Fake Papers quest would be failed if the player did not mention that one of the brothers was dead.
  • Fixes an issue whereby players would sometimes be unable to start the final horse race, The Heroes' Pursuits: For the Goddess' Glory! in Skellige.
  • Fixes an issue where unintended objects were present in Novigrad after the Battle of Kaer Morhen quest.
  • Fixes an issue where a progression break could occur if Geralt was knocked out by guards while following the Bloody Baron during the Family Matters quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were sometimes unable to interact with a torch in the Get Junior quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players could sometimes experience an infinite loading screen during the Iron Maiden quest.
  • Fixes an issue where in certain circumstances players could encounter a blocker during the Contract: The Apiarian Phantom quest. Players who have encountered this bug need to backtrack to the frozen hive and examine the footprints around it again.
  • Fixes an issue whereby the player could get locked inside a room during the Through Time and Space quest.
  • Fixes an issue where on rare occasions players were unable to progress the game after the Get Junior quest, specifically upon reaching Vernon Roche's camp.
  • Fixes an issue whereby purchasing wine during the It Takes Three to Tango quest would not always progress the quest properly.
  • Fixes an issue where the In Wolf's Clothing quest did not progress properly after the player read Morkvarg's journal.
  • Fixes an issue where on some rare occasions players were unable to interact with the Wild Hunt soldier's body during the Echoes of the Past quest.
  • Fixes an issue whereby Keira would not always properly use the portal during the For the Advancement of Learning quest if asked to go to Kaer Morhen.
  • Fixes an issue where the Scoia'tael from Novigrad was not always available to play in the Gwent quest.
  • Fixes an issue where the player could get blocked inside a cellar during the King's Gambit quest.
  • Fixes an issue where in certain situations the player was unable to find Triss during the Final Preparations quest.
  • Fixes an issue where occasionally the Kingfisher tavern was left without an innkeeper after the Now or Never quest.
  • Fixes an issue where Yennefer was not spawned in Oxenfurt during the Great Escape quest.
  • Fixes a rare issue where Captain Wolverstone was not at the Golden Sturgeon when intended.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the bodyguards in the Reason of State quest were not hostile.
  • Fixes a rare issue where the griffin would not always appear in the Contract: The Creature from the Oxenfurt Forest quest.
  • Fixes an issue where the wyvern would not appear in the Contract: Phantom of the Trade Route quest.
  • Fixes an issue with enlisting Sukrus from Skellige to be Hattori's bodyguard in the Of Swords and Dumplings quest.
  • Fixes a rare issue whereby the visions in the Echoes of the Past quest were not displayed.
  • The Contract: Devil by the Well quest no longer counts towards the Geralt: The Professional achievement.
  • Fixes a rare issue when the player could not speak with Lambert at Kaer Morhen during the Final Trial quest.
  • Fixes a rare issue where players could not always complete the Hey, You Wanna Look at my Stuff? quest.
  • Fixes an issue where players were sometimes unable to summon a horse after the Fencing Lessons quest.
  • Fixes an issue where in the Scavenger Hunt: Viper School Gear quest the gate to the mausoleum was locked.
  • Fixes an issue where players could not use Signs or swords after the fistfight at the Rosemary and Thyme during the Broken Flowers quest.
  • Fixes a rare issue whereby players could not examine the source of interference during the Disturbance quest.
  • Fixes an issue with the Dirty Funds quest.
  • Fixes a rare issue with a loading screen in the Contract: The Phantom of Eldberg quest.
  • Fixes a issue with a loading screen at Aeramas' residence during the Of Dairy and Darkness quest.
  • Fixes an issue where quest givers for the Deadly Delights and Jenny o' the Woods contracts would disappear.
  • Introduces a number of improvements to overall game stability.
  • Fixes an issue where the Potion of Clearance would pop into the quick slot if the player ran out of food.
  • Adds a Books tab to the Inventory panel.
  • Introduces a number of additional loading screen hints.
  • Introduces a pinning feature for formulae and diagrams. Ingredients and components for pinned formulae/diagrams are highlighted in the shop view. This should greatly facilitate the purchase of currently needed elements.
  • Introduces a feature whereby currently equipped items are highlighted in the Repair panel, facilitating prioritization of items needing repair.
  • Adds a feature whereby read and unread books are marked differently in the Inventory panel.
  • The list of all available DLC packages is now displayed in the Main Menu/Options/Downloadable Content submenu for better clarity.

There's still no release date for this major patch.

Saturday - July 11, 2015

Witcher 3 - About the upcoming Expansions @ GameSkinny

by Hiddenx, 08:20

GameSkinny reports that the combined size of the upcoming Witcher3 expansions will equal the size of the The Witcher 2:

In an interview with Gamereactor, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the game director for Witcher 3, provided some insight on the upcoming expansion packs on the already massive RPG. The first expansion is about 10 hours, and the second one is 20 hours--so far. This can still change, as they add more content. To add some perspective to just how large these expansions will be, Tomaszkiewicz said the size of both combined will amount to the size of Witcher 2

The first expansion, Hearts of Stone, is set to be released in October this year for $9.99. The Second expansion, Blood and Wine, is set to be released within the first 3 months of 2016 for $19.99. They can be purchased separately or part of the expansion pass for $24.99.

As far as paid DLC goes, fans are always a bit tentative. That being said, these massive expansions are said to be story heavy. Included will be brand new cutscenes, charachters, items and of course, Gwent cards. Tomaszkiewicz said the new stories will be emotional and feels like fans will be happy.

CD Projekt RED has been doing a great job as far as DLCs go. The free DLC packs that were available as the game was released were a definite crowd pleaser. They had a solid amount of quests and armot sets, all for free. It'll be interesting to see what they have in store as far as paid content goes. By the sounds of it, the expansion packs will be game changing and will definitely enhance your adventure.

 

Tuesday - July 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.07

by Hiddenx, 06:29

There will be no free DLC for The Witcher 3 this week, because CD Project Red is working on the 1.07 patch:

As some of you may know, we are finishing up work on our next big patch, Patch 1.07. It’s a very large update introducing some key changes, including:

  • A new, alternative (optional) movement response mode for Geralt.
  • A player stash for storing items, available in various locations throughout the game. Stash locations are marked on the player's map.
  • Crafting and alchemy components no longer add to the overall inventory weight.
  • Books are now placed in a dedicated tab in the Inventory and books that have already been read are properly grayed out.
  • Multiple sorting options are now available in the Inventory.
  • Alchemy formulas and crafting diagrams can be "pinned", meaning all components and ingredients required to make them will be conveniently marked in the Shop panel.
  • Dozens of fixes for quest related issues, both major and minor.
  • A few performance enhancements, including the optimization of FX, scenes and general gameplay.
  • Various improvements to horse behavior.

Since it's been all hands on deck working to finish and release this patch on time, we won’t be publishing a free DLC this week (don’t worry - free content comes back next week). We hope you understand our decision. We’ve gathered so much feedback from you over the past couple of weeks and we want to implement as much of it as possible. The full change list for the patch 1.07 will be coming later this week. Stay tuned for info about the release of the update itself.

Thanks henriquejr & BrianOConnell for the info!

Sunday - July 05, 2015

Witcher 3 - Triss Romance Will Be Modified

by Gorath, 16:48

CM Marcin Momot posted in the CD Project forums that CDPR is going to re-work the Triss content in The Witcher 3 based on the user feedback in this 900+ pages long thread.

Just to let everyone know. We pay very close attention to everything you guys write in this thread. We will be addressing this situation by adding/changing some dialogue stuff in the future - more info on this will come later so pardon my scarce input for the time being. This should help with the immersion. And once again, thank you all for your valuable feedback.

 And when asked about new content:

I wouldn't go as far as calling it new content. We will be implementing small additions and tweaks in character dialogues that should please many folks in this thread. :)

Tuesday - June 30, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Free Quest

by Hiddenx, 07:19

Later this week one new DLC will be released: Where the Cat and Wolf Play

Spotted by henriquejr

 

Saturday - June 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ RPG Codex

by Hiddenx, 08:18

The Codex is able to review a mainstream game: Angthoron about the Witcher 3:

What can be said about the writing of Witcher 3, then? Well - simply put, it is one of the best-written games to have come out in well over a decade. Perhaps even the best-written RPG since Torment, tackling serious topics and pulling no punches, placing the player in a position of one of the last sane men in an increasingly insane world and never shying away from showing what insanity actually is while avoiding the pitfalls of cheap shock value. The mundaneness of cruelty; the commonness of greed, treason, cowardice; the quiet acceptance of murder, rape, despair, racism and hate - Witcher 3 is all about that. Witcher 3 is about total war without its typical glamor.
(...)
The atmosphere of Witcher 3 does its best to support the writing - and succeeds to do it almost perfectly. Visual and audio design serve to reinforce the writing and create a sense of place. The world hardly feels like a theme park - instead, it is a fairly logical, if occasionally repetitive.
(...)
Still, the world is realistic and rich with detail - from the finally realistically depicted outskirts of a major medieval-like city (undesireables and underclass living outside the city walls, miles and miles of farmland all around - thank you CDPR, I wanted to see this for nearly two decades) to tiny shrines to a deity or to Eternal Fire seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the minute details are what makes the world stand out and feel lived in. Tiny hamlets full of peasants going about their business, refugee camps full of the sick and the hungry, city squares bursting with activity - the developers spared no expense in making the world of Witcher 3 feel alive - thankfully, remembering that ambient sound is an important part of game's atmosphere, too.
(...)
Witcher 3 does not invent the wheel with its quests or their structure. Just as before in the series, the game's quests divide into main quests that are dedicated to the development of the characters as well as to the major changes in regional politics, and into the side quests and monster hunts, the smaller, more localized affairs. Curiously, the side quests, an item that has drawn my ire for years in the products of AAA industry due to the great levels of half-assedness, are actually very well fleshed out in Witcher 3.
(...)
Choice and consequence are frequent in both the main quest and the side/bounty quests - the options rarely break the limit of being binary, perhaps, but the strength of Witcher 3's C&C is not in per-quest variety or material reward - it's in the writing and acting dedicated to the choices; it's in the frequently interesting morality issues, and it's in the short-term and long-term consequence, and as such, it is a great deal more satisfying than a simple reward of a pile of gold coins a-la BioWare's masterful prose-crafting, or Pillars of Eternity's wondrous infodumps. The game's quests feel like dealing with an actual situation that affects actual people rather than helping a humanoid quest-loot-information dispensers. The quests are also usually logical, though an occasional cultural reference or a bit of silliness (like having to find a goat) do slip through. Still, even such quests are not without a place, providing a bit of a chuckle or a change of pace in an otherwise grim world.
(...)

Thursday - June 25, 2015

Witcher 3 - Marcin Iwinski interview @ GameTrailers

by Myrthos, 12:40

Gametrailers talks with Marcin Iwinski about what he is doing at E3 and what's next for The Witcher 3 (DLCs, Expansions). In the very last minute they ask if Cyberpunk 2077 will be shown at the next E3 and there is no answer on that.

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Monday - June 22, 2015

Witcher 3 - More DLCs

by Aries100, 20:31

From the Witcher's Facebook site comes news that there will be 2 new DLCs released for this game this week:

Two new FREE DLCs coming out later this week are:
- new quest - "Contract: Skellige's Most Wanted",
- Skellige Armor Set.
Last week's missing DLCs will be also released with this upcoming pack.

You can discuss this on the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt forums here.

Sunday - June 21, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ gamesTM

by Hiddenx, 08:31

Another favorable review for The Witcher 3 - gamesTM:

The Witcher 3 surprised us. Sure, we had been primed to expect to find ourselves let loose in a gargantuan open world, but we can’t be the only ones who, calloused by the characteristic bombast of triple-A marketing, were at least a little cynical about how the fantasy we were being sold ahead of release would look in reality. As it turns out, the game is startlingly close to being everything CD Projekt Red claimed it would be.

That’s most obvious when it comes to the game’s sheer scale. Travelling through thick forests and open plains, small villages and huge cities, you gradually begin to appreciate how staggeringly colossal Wild Hunt’s world is. To say we are impressed by the scale of The Witcher 3 doesn’t quite capture what it is that makes it so brilliant, however. The fact that a game is big does not in and of itself make it compelling. The trick is to leverage that scale in such a way that it impacts on your relationship with the world that you’re exploring in a meaningful way – that is what Wild Hunt achieves and that is what makes it such a fantastic game. (...)

Final Score: 9 - Unquestionably a Game Of The Year contender

Tuesday - June 16, 2015

Witcher 3 - DLCs

by Hiddenx, 23:41

With most bugs fixed in version 1.05/1.06 the Witcher also has got two new free DLCs according to Gamespot:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's free DLC campaign rolls on with two new pieces of add-on content, comprising a new quest and an alternative costume for Triss.

Check out the chart below for a full breakdown of the new content.

You can also watch a video that shows you exactly where to find the content and how it looks in the game itself.

This content is the latest in CD Projekt Red's plan to release 16 free add-ons for The Witcher 3. Last week's free content took the form of new Gwent cards and a pig quest. More add-ons will be released through June and into July.

The Witcher 3 is also getting paid DLC later this year with Hearts of Stone, which launches in October. Another expansion, Blood and Wine, is coming in 2016.

Treasure Hunt Quest around WOLF set - upgradable (4 lvl) armor + set of upgradable (4 lvl) swords - silver and steel th1009 Adventure awaits! Embark on an epic treasure hunt and get your hands on a long-lost elite set of Wolf School witcher gear! quest phase activation You can buy maps from Lindenvale merchant, Hattori, Kaer Trolde armorer, Kaeir Muire smith, armorer in Novigrad main square or just find places of treasure hunts in Kaer Morhen
Triss alternative costume Love to play dress up? Now you can with this exclusive new look for Triss Merigold. menu option will switch Triss basic costume with all variations (e.g. blood, hood etc.)

Thanks, henriquejr!

 

Sunday - June 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - And the Budget Was ...

by Gorath, 05:30

GamersGlobal.de pulled some info about The Witcher 3's budget out of a Polish interview with the CDPR CEO. The official numbers converted to EUR are 29M€ for the game and another 31M€ for marketing.

Wednesday - June 10, 2015

Witcher 3 - 100 Word Review @ The Sydney Morning Herald

by Hiddenx, 08:02

Tim Biggs reviewed the Witcher 3 in just 100 words:

A triumph of open-world roleplaying, the Polish, literary origins of this complex, sexy game make for a stark contrast against its bawdy American and bombastic Japanese contemporaries.

Part detective story, part sprawling European fantasy, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is dark, grounded, and contains a dangerous amount of lore and land to explore. It's violent, but also unafraid of broaching themes of war, racism and sexuality in a genuinely mature way.

Protagonist Geralt is quietly heroic and refreshingly complex, his foes vile and deadly, but morality is never black and white. This is a game where even the monsters and your enemies have complex stories and motivations.

 

Tuesday - June 09, 2015

Witcher 3 - DLC Rumors @ Irish Examiner

by Hiddenx, 20:34

henriquejr found this interesting rumor based on SteamDB entry for The Witcher 3:

CD Project RED has done an amazing job of keeping The Witcher 3 in the news post-release. Whether that's by responding to player issues with quick patches and a strong social media presence or with their planned 8 weeks of free DLC, keeping up an impressive two new pieces a week.

And we might have an idea of what's coming up next week - which is week 4 of 8 if you're keeping count. SteamDB has an info sheet which reveals some interesting details, including a breakdown of the size and titles of the DLC to date, as well as a couple of extra pieces we haven't seen yet.

The data is incomplete, probably because they aren't quite ready for release yet, but it looks like we're getting a new mission next week, as well as some extra Gwent cards. We haven't spent much time with the made up card game Gwent yet but by all accounts its quite good fun as a bit of a copy of Magic The Gathering. And any new free content is a thing to celebrate.

As ever, this information shouldn't be taken as any kind of official confirmation of the DLC, and we wouldn't be surprised if CD Project RED swap some of the content now that it has been leaked.

Witcher 3 - Open Letter From Marcin Iwinski

by Myrthos, 16:48

Co-founder of CD Project Red, Marcin Iwiński, has written an open letter in which he thanks the players of The Witcher 3.

Dear Gamers,

May 19th was a crucial date for all of us here at CD PROJEKT RED -- we released The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, our open world role-playing game that we had been hard at work on for over 3 years. Since day one, you have given us tons of positive feedback and support -- the sheer volume of emails we’ve gotten since launch simply congratulating us for our efforts is both epic and heartwarming, and I wish every developer comes to have such a fantastic community. In terms of media reception, we’re really humbled by the scores the game has received all around the world. With an average of 90+ on every platform, Wild Hunt is our dream coming true.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the four million gamers worldwide who bought The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the first two weeks from launch. Four million RPG fans spending their hard-earned money on our game is a sign that we did something right, and you can be sure that we’ll harness all that positive energy and make the upcoming expansions worthy of the grand adventure that you’re telling us Wild Hunt already is! Until then, keep on enjoying Wild Hunt, do not forget to grab your weekly set of free DLCs, and stay tuned for constant updates and enhancement to the game we are continuously working on.

Dandelion once said to Geralt that the world is changing, the sun is setting, and vodka’s running out -- go, play, and have fun!


All the best,
Marcin Iwiński
Co-founder, CD PROJEKT RED

Witcher 3 - The Women of...

by Hexprone, 05:22

At Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Richard Corbett considers the role of women in The Wild Hunt, which he finds has deepened quite a bit since the "porny little cards" of the first game.

One of the best things about The Witcher III is that it shows how far CD Projekt has come in just a few short years. We see it in world and quest design, in writing, in graphical technology and in scale, and all those speak for themselves. One of the biggest surprises though is how far it’s climbed in terms of female representation over the years – from one of the industry’s biggest targets to a high watermark others would be well advised to treat as the new baseline. 

[...]

The skill with with The Witcher III does all this is all the more impressive for the fact that it sits comfortably next to so much stuff that might otherwise start feeling icky – the constant hookers and strumpets for instance, or at least a couple of villains whose evil is shown using the Tortured Naked Lady School of Exposition.

And if you do still want pretty ladies on cards, hey, at least there’s always Gwent.

keira

Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Monday - June 08, 2015

RPGWatch - The Witcher 3 Review

by Myrthos, 12:54

After finishing The Witcher 3, Maylander was conviced to write up a review about the game for us. So here are his thoughts.

All in all, I would actually have preferred if they had cut down the scope a little in order to enhance the main quest or side quests even further, or to increase the amount of major C&C (choices and consequences). There is quite a bit of C&C in the game, and CDP proves yet again that they’re very good at such implementations, as the C&C are excellent. There’s just not enough of it, especially related to the save game import feature: The C&C in The Witcher 2 was among the best I’ve ever seen, with loads of political implications, yet hardly any the decisions have an impact in The Witcher 3. In fact, that’s probably my biggest disappointment with the game: I really enjoyed that aspect of The Witcher 2 and was hoping to see what they’d do with it. Ah well. If anyone’s going to get it right at some point, it is probably CDP, as their C&C implementation in The Witcher 2 really is second to none. Alpha Protocol, Arcanum and a few others are on a similar level, but I can’t think of any game that’s actually better.

He scores the game with, the not often reached, 5 stars, which for the record in our reviewing system means:

An outstanding game that will be remembered as a classic. A score of 5 indicates a game that is equal to the best gameplay available in the genre at the time of writing. It is, however, important to understand this does not represent an absolutely flawless game.

Saturday - June 06, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ GameBanshee

by Hiddenx, 23:37

GameBanshee likes the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, too:

Introduction

I have never been as glad to eat crow as I am now, as I write this review for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the threequel that puts the cap on the videogame saga of Geralt of Rivia, the monster slayer originally created by renowned Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkwoski.

Back in March of 2013, when the title was announced as an open-world game, I immediately lowered my expectations. As talented as the folks of CD Projekt RED are, open-world games tend to be massive undertakings that require sacrifices compared to more linear titles. The bigger they are, the bigger the sacrifices, and The Witcher 3 promised to be a very, very big title.

In my mind there were two, very likely possibilities: The Witcher 3 would come out as either a massively unpolished, nigh-unfinished title, CD Projekt's own Gothic 3, or as a game that sacrificed the focus on storytelling and quest design of the first two in favor of cookie-cutter, easy-to-design quests.

And yet, somehow, CD Projekt has managed to pull it off. A few small sacrifices might have been made along the road, yes, but this is still a Witcher title through and through, only on a massive scale that rivals big AAA productions. And it's very, very good.

Witcher 3 - Game of the Month @ GameSpot

by Hiddenx, 11:48

GameSpot declared The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to 'Game of the Month May 2015':

In May of 2015, it was The Witcher this and The Witcher that. All Witcher, all the time, it seemed, and for good reason: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a phenomenal role-playing game and a worthy recipient of the public's attention.

(...)

Alas and alack, Geralt's silver sword has vanquished these monsters in the race for Game of the Month of May, 2015. You can nitpick its specific elements, but it's hard to deny that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a great accomplishment. Geralt, the witcher of the game's title, is a stoic presence in an unwelcome world. As he navigates one of gaming's exquisitely crafted lands, he witnesses couples finding love amid horror and politicians enduring the turbulence of unhappy citizens. Choice and consequence take on new meaning as you alter the course of people's lives, all while galloping across mysterious bogs and battling ferocious, awe-inspiring monsters.

No game has it all, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has an air of totality, giving you everything you might want in an open-air RPG, feeling simultaneously enormous and intimate, thus creating personal connections in kingdoms that stretch on for many miles. Congratulations, The Witcher 3, for inspiring in us a great urge to explore--and for earning GameSpot's award for May 2015's Game of the Month.

Friday - June 05, 2015

Witcher 3 - What Bethesda Can Learn

by Hexprone, 20:01

It's not news, but I think Alistair Pinsof at TechRaptor makes some good points in this editorial about what CD Projekt Red got right in Wild Hunt that Bethesda often gets wrong. This is all feedback Bethesda has heard before, but as they're gearing up for FO4 I hope they're hearing it loud and clear.

Recognize player choice in small moments, not just big ones

Open world games tempt us to see where we can go and what we can we get away with, but for all our silly crimes and antics it seems these virtual worlds rarely recognize our curiosity. [...] Yet, Witcher 3 — a title by a relatively small Polish studio and featuring state-of-the-art graphics — brings this back to the open world game.

We see major story moments recognized by characters in Mass Effect and Skyrim. It’s expected at this point. What’s unexpected is a character sending me on a mission to an area and my character commenting I previously went there — even though I did this out of my own curiosity with no attached mission. 

Give enemies a variety of strengths and tactics

Bethesda has come a long way from the stiff combat of Arena, but the developer still struggles to provide combat that remains engaging from a game’s beginning to end. [...] After 20 hours in Skyrim, I was on autopilot. [...] In Witcher 3, you’ll be forced to face enemies that will demand you use of spells you might not regularly use or play in a defensive style that doesn’t suit the aggressive one you used on ghouls early on. 

Pace the journey; don’t frontload the most exciting moments

Bethesda has a habit of providing the most memorable moment of its games within the first 3 hours and never having an equal moment again. Whether its blowing up Megaton or escaping/battling a dragon, Bethesda seems more interested in bringing in players via a press-conference-friendly opening than giving a narrative with an ebb-and-flow.

In contrast, Witcher 3’s opening is quiet, subtle and true to the focus of the game: letting the player explore the countryside at a leisurely place and make discoveries off the beaten path.

Give romance sub-plots nuance and depth

The Witcher series has come a long way from the controversial collectible sex cards in the original that limited romance to a crude novelty.  

Gating world exploration by difficulty

As the market for open-world RPGs grew, Bethesda decided to make games more accessible by easing the difficulty and letting players explore its game worlds freely without higher level enemies getting in the way, with few exceptions.

It’s humiliating charging into a small group of bandits in Witcher 3 and dying without even getting a hit in [...] but I came to appreciate this aspect ofWitcher 3 in time. CD Projekt Red tells its player to respect the world and its obstacles, while Bethesda prefer to provide a sandbox where the world must respect the player’s incompetence and naivete. Maybe with Bethesda’s upcoming title we can have both. 

Source: TechRaptor

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.05 for PC Released

by Aries100, 19:08

From GearNuke comes news that patch 1.05 for PC for this game. 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Patch 1.05 is now live on the PC for Steam and GOG Galaxy users. The patch is about 248.4 MB in size and contains the fix for the XP bug that rendered player's progress useless by giving them no experience points after completing quests. If you have The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Steam, the latest patch should have started downloading automatically on PC. If you want to manually download it, you can check out the link below.

Here are some of the changes - you can view all of the changelog here.

Geralt will not longer interact with candles near chests and other interactive elements.
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 

Wednesday - June 03, 2015

Witcher 3 - 10 Ways to Waste Time

by Aries100, 14:41

Red Bull has penned an editorial on the 10 best ways to waste time in this game. One of the more alcoholic one is this one:

Go on a pub crawl
........ Skip all of that and just take Geralt on a wild pub crawl instead. Start at the Seven Cats Inn (which has, surprise, seven cats loitering outside) in Novigrad, then pop to the The Kingfisher and grab a few tankards before making your way to several more inns in the city, including the Rosemary and Thyme (and leave the Gwent battling for later). And that's just Novigrad. With such a huge world, and so many cities and towns with inns and taverns, you'll spend plenty of time venturing from one to the next, swigging a tankard of ale between each venue and attempting to not get into fights with the locals. Just remember: don't drink and ride...

Another suggestion is this one:

Play detective Many of the quests that you're saddled with throughout the game need you to make full use of your Witcher Sense; an innate ability that Geralt is able to tap into to discover hidden things. Whether that's finding keys stashed away, footprints in the mud leading to loot or even strange smells in the air, you can use your Witcher Sense to put you on the right track to the unknown.... We don't think Geralt would rock a fedora though.

Tuesday - June 02, 2015

Witcher 3 - This Week's Free DLC

by Myrthos, 16:02

This week's free DLC for The Witcher 3 consists of a Nilfgaardian Armor Set for Geralt and an Elite Crossbow Pack.

CD Projekt Red has announced the contents of the fifth and sixth free DLC bundles coming to The Witcher 3 later this week.

So far we received a Temerian Armor Set and an array of additional beards and hairstyles for Geralt in the week following launch. This was then followed by a new Witcher Contract quest and skin for Yennefer.

Now we've got a new Nilfgaardian Armor Set for Geralt, along with an Elite Crossbow Pack. The armor and one of the crossbows come from the Baron's Quartermaster in No Man's Land, with more crossbows found at the Skellige Kaer Trolde Castle Blacksmith and the Novigrad Fancy Shop Owner.

Thanks henriquejr.

Monday - June 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ Danish Newspaper Berlingske

by Aries100, 16:37

Danish mainstrem newpaper Berlingske has written a very positive review for this game. The score is 6 out of 6 stars. The link will for obvious reasons go to the Danish review, but here's a link to translation done via Google Translate. You can go to either of the links, but you use the link to Berlingske, be sure to open it an either privacy or incognito state. The text is the same, of course, but you might want to check out the layout of the original article.

The review is entitled A Bewitching Masterpiece: 

There are moments in the best game I can not possibly describe. These are the moments when the experience is moving away from the good, the alluring and toward the unbelievable, the all-consuming. I feel always when it happens, though conscious thoughts about it first materializes later.Maybe I keep physically weather during the fighting.Maybe I leave the game due to history and start exploring the world, I have moved myself into, for that reason alone, that's fantastic to be.Maybe start some of the game's themes and game alter ego to sneak into my real life.It's not as scary as it sounds - it is contrary energizing. In other words, I love to give myself completely to the sublime computer games, and "The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt" is one of them.

Sunday - May 31, 2015

Witcher 3 - The 10 Worst Features

by Aries100, 15:50

GameReactor has written a very interesting editorial about the 10 worst thing they see in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A quote on the Inventory Management:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt offers an almost overwhelming number of items. There are lots of herbs, potions, useless objects, and an endless number of additional items that will end up filling your inventory. The problem comes when you try to decide what to do with all your accumulated trinkets. Should you sell them and become rich, dismantle them in order to get raw materials, or perhaps simply just keep them for nostalgia's sake? The easy option is to walk around like a kleptomaniac collecting every single object on the way, because you never know if you'll need it later.

A quote about the horse:

Roach, the loyal steed Geralt rides through swamps and forests, can be a total pain sometimes. It's obvious that CD Projekt Red have been inspired by Read Dead Redemption and Shadow of the Colossus, two games with excellent mechanics when it comes to horse riding, but we've still found some control issues. The first one happens when you call Roach. If you call her in the middle of a city, she will dodge most obstacles by jumping or walking round them, but she will take a while to work out how get past them and thus to your position. The second and most remarkable problem occurs with all the horses in the game, and it happens when you go into battle. 

Saturday - May 30, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Hiddenx, 11:55

Another favorable review for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This time Richard Cobbet of Rock, Paper, Shotgun praises the game. A snippet:

I could talk for hours about all the great bits I found. Geralt’s awful sense of humour, where every joke falls flat until he meets Yennifer and the two end up having a pun-war about werewolves. The many weird and wonderful characters, important and throwaway. The Bloody Baron storyline that takes on some savagely heavy themes with surprising skill, not forgiving the unforgivable, but still finding a degree of sympathy. The way that the combat, while seemingly simple and clumsy at the start, grows with you over the game to become something of a ballet by the end, as well as the options to approach things more tactically by gathering various oils and potions in advance – though to be honest, I came to wish that this was more core to the game, rather than it always offering the out of just earning a few more levels and button-mashing away. You shouldn’t be able to out-level something like a werewolf or an ancient god, and being able to feels like a betrayal.

(...)

Not a single one of those things, nor all of them put together in one great big failblob manages to tarnish what a wonderful time I had with The Witcher 3. None of it stopped it being one of the most exciting, varied, warmest, funniest RPGs that I’ve ever played, where I wanted to do every mission that came along just to see what it wanted. None of them, nor even the fact that by the end I was getting desperate to finish the damn thing, stopped me being sad when it was over and thrilled to know that there are two big expansions coming. I absolutely adored The Witcher 3. I wish I could wipe my memory and play it again from the start with more time, and no memory of what was coming. But maybe a Post-It note to say ‘increase the difficulty a bit, you wuss.’

Rating: (flawed) Masterpiece

Witcher 3 - 15 Things to love about it @ Kotaku

by Hiddenx, 07:14

Kirk Hamilton (Kotaku Australia) tells us 15 things he loves about The Witcher 3:

There are a lot of big things that I like about The Witcher 3. But this game is full of charming moments and cool little details, too.

As I’ve been playing through for a second time, I’ve been paying closer attention to the smaller things. I thought I’d share some of my favourites.

Friday - May 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - How to Go to 1080p60

by Myrthos, 12:38

In Digital Foundry's guide the configuration of your CPU and graphics card is given, based on tests, which are needed to run The Withcher 3 at 60FPS and 1080p.

Here is what you get using a GTX 750 Ti:

Time after time, in game after game, two entry-level enthusiast graphics cards have proved their worth in supplying ballpark PlayStation 4-level visual quality and performance: AMD's Radeon R7 260X and Nvidia's GTX 750 Ti. Both of them have the mandatory minimum 2GB of VRAM, while the price vs performance ratio here is extraordinary - particularly in the case of the 260X, which is often found on sale for as little as £80.

For our tests with The Witcher 3, we worked through each visual setting in the PC game, aiming to achieve as close a match with the PlayStation 4 version as we could. After that, we ran through our benchmark sequence using two different CPUs - the Core i3 4130 and the Core i7 4790K. The idea is relatively straightforward: with the faster quad-core chip, we get to see how these graphics cards perform at their absolute best. When paired with the i3 though, we see a slightly different picture - GPU performance in combination with a more price-appropriate processor.

The results here are fascinating: AMD's Radeon R7 260X is the better, slightly faster, and cheaper card. However, owing to the less efficient driver, the card performs under-par when combined with a budget CPU. This is most noticeable in the third segment of the benching sequence, where we see noticeable stutter. Meanwhile, performance between i3 and i7 when paired with the GTX 750 Ti sees no material difference. This strongly suggests that the Nvidia card will provide the best overall sustained performance throughout the game.

Thursday - May 28, 2015

Witcher 3 - The Witcher World Video

by Myrthos, 22:48

Here is another video for The Witcher, which this time shows scenes from the game world.

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Witcher 3 - Review @ TechRaptor

by Hiddenx, 20:15

Andrew Otton (TechRaptor) has written an excellent review for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Some snippets:

The Witcher 3 may offer you the opportunity to kill or let someone live, but they are for Geralt’s reasons. That doesn’t mean you aren’t playing some part in the story, as your decisions do have great consequences plenty of times. You’re the one setting the tone and deciding which way Geralt leans, but it is still ultimately Geralt giving you the options to choose from. Most of these decisions are difficult, have unforeseen effects, and may even crop up in other quests down the line. You’re often unaware of the power of those decisions until later down the line.

The exploration becomes even more compelling when you choose not to have the game guide you by turning off the minimap and other directions. Every quest will give you directions like “go West until you hit the lake, turn until you find the big rock and then head into the trees.” You can use the guiding system if you’d like, or you can try and figure it out for yourself which will really help engage you in the world. This is also great for randomly stumbling onto something out in the world as you guide yourself with nothing but the map.

One of the great things about the exploration is the lack of cookie cutter designs. Many of the caves you explore will be unique and often geared towards whatever resides inside. That is also true for buildings throughout The Witcher 3. Obviously, some of the smaller ones will be similar, as they are simply just four walls, but you’ll still be hard-pressed to find others with more complex designs sharing similar layouts. Taverns have a wide range from massive three story buildings filled with dark wood, to small ones with just a few tables and some planks for walls. The only similarity, again, you may find is in the simpler taverns that have little to work with. For the most part though, everything you run into will be unique.

Final Score: 10 = Classic

Summary : The Witcher 3 is one of those games that both meets expectations in most areas and surpasses it in some, leaving behind one of those games that will have a huge impact on all of gaming.

 

Wednesday - May 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - This Week's Free DLC Revealed

by Hexprone, 03:04

CD Projekt Red plans to release sixteen different little free DLC packages every week through the summer. The second of them was announced today. It ain't fancy, but it's free.

  • Contact: Missing Miners - Miners from a small Skellige village are disappearing. Investigate and find out what's happening.
  • Alternative Look for Yennefer - Check out this entirely new look for the mighty sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg.

The first paid expansion, Hearts of Stone, is expected in October.

Source: GameSpot

Tuesday - May 26, 2015

Witcher 3 - The Wolven Storm Localization Video

by Myrthos, 22:18

A new video for The Witcher 3 has been released, named The Wolven Storm. The video is made to showcase the localization into 15 languages. 7 of them with full voice-overs while 8 offer subtitles.

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Witcher 3 - News Roundup # 2

by Aries100, 16:05

TechRaptor has done an analysis of the Wicther 3:Wild Hunt's opening, calls it brilliant. There will be some spoilers for the opening, so please read this at your own risk. A quote on how Geralt apparently is a father figure: 

Geralt's position as the father figure is most evident here as he scolds her some over leaving the work and discusses the blade work she had done. Given that a lot of the game centers around searching for Ciri as Geralt (and part of it is playing as Ciri), this is a hugely important relationship to set up. Many games have stiff dialogue here, but the down to earth dialogue along with movement during the tutorial manages to capture the feel perfectly and show you how they regard each other.

Worthplaying has written a PS4 review with a score of 9/10. The review is mostly positive, so here's a quote what the reviewer is not satisfied with in the game:

If I had one complaint about the open-world system, it's that there are a number of tiny nagging flaws that make it less enjoyable. The game does have a fast-travel system, you often end up far from a marker and need to hoof it a while to warp to where you want to go. You can speed this up as the game progresses, and when using a boat, you can warp to a fast-travel boat marker at any time. 

From Eurogamer comes news that Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been the biggest launch of 2015, at least so far:

Open-world role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has scored the biggest UK release of the year so far, smashing Battlefield Hardline's week one sell through by an impressive 53 per cent. Launch week sales were up 608 per cent on its predecessor The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which came out in 2011, although only for PC and then later on Xbox 360.

Monday - May 25, 2015

Witcher 3 - News Roundup

by Aries100, 21:19

GameRanx brings news that the next two free DLCs for this game will be released on May 27th. A quote:

This DLC includes a new contract for players to take up that is appropriately named "Missing Miners" and sends players on a mission to locate and rescue a group of miners that have gone missing. The second DLC item for this week will be an alternate look for Yennefer, one of the game's primary NPCs. 

VG 24/7 reports that the problem with saving games on Xbox One will be adressed in 
a patch.

According to a post on the official forums, Cd Projekt RED quest designer Philipp Weber said the team is "aware of the issue" and is treating it "very seriously." "We hope to put the fix in a patch as soon as possible," he wrote.

GameTrailers has made a review with a score 9.8/10 for this game.

Shacknews has an editorial about five things to be loved about the The Witcher 3, ranging from Geralt's beard to the Gwent game. A quote then, about bandits fighting in their underwear:

We get that times are tough, but at least put on some pants. The land is full of bandits that love fighting in little more than their skivvies, shoes, and a helmet. This is either an audacious act of intimidation to show that they don't need armor to fight you, or it's a clear sign that there's not much on them worth looting. Either way, naked bandits are abound, and it's up to you to teach them the merits of wearing pants. Then again, there's a scene where Geralt fights wearing just a bath towel, so maybe we shouldn't be so judgmental.

Kotaku's Phil Owen has written an editorial on how the longer he spends time with the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the faster he moves in it:

Once I became absorbed in The Witcher 3's main plot, I started sprinting more and more and now, even with a ways to go, I've irrevocably shifted into fast-and-furious mode. Unfortunately for me, that meant I spent nearly all of my weekend alone in my apartment playing this game, and I'm still not done yet. Hopefully I'm close, or else I'm going to lose tonight and the next couple days to it as well. This is a key reason why I've often harped on game length. It interferes with my life! It's not CD Projekt's fault I am what I am, though. 

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.04 Released

by Aries100, 17:26

Marcin Momot from CD Project RED announced today that Patch 1.04 for PC has been released. and is availble for download. A few quotes from the changelog.

-Rebinding of all keys is now available after switching on the ‘Unlock Bindings' option in the Options\Key Bindings submenu.-Corrects an issue in the dialogue system that might have caused dialogue looping in certain scenes.-Fixes an issue with incorrect behavior of Wild Hunt warriors after they were affected by the Axii Sign.-Corrects a bug that caused spontaneous combustion of gas clouds.-1280 x 720 resolution is now properly displayed as a valid resolution option.-Fixes boat stuttering in cutscenes.-Texture rendering quality for the high and ultra presets has been improved.-Further improvements made in NVIDIA Hairworks performance.

You can read the whole changelog here

According to Gameranx

The patch is out now and will automatically download on GOG and Steam.

Source: CD Projekt

Witcher 3 - Review @ stuff.co.nz

by Hiddenx, 08:20

Lee Henaghan (stuff.co.nz) says: "The Witcher 3 is raising the bar for epic Adventures".
A snippet from the review:

There are plenty of scantily-clad characters, but just as many are intelligent, strong and independent. Sections where you play as Ciri feature a powerful female lead and Geralt is rescued, protected or saved by female allies on several occasions.

In any case, using sexual imagery doesn't make fiction inherently sexist, in the same way that using racial imagery doesn't make it racist. Twelve Years a Slave featured some horrific scenes of racial violence, and was full of disgustingly bigoted characters but nobody would dream of calling it a racist film. Dismissing the Witcher 3 as sexist because of some revealing costumes and relatively tame sex scenes is just as ridiculous - there's so much more to it.

The game's morality, or lack thereof, is in the eye of the beholder. Several moments require you to make a make a judgment call on how to handle a situation, with your decisions having long-lasting effects on how the story plays out.

Score: 9.5/10

Sunday - May 24, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ AttackOfTheFanboy

by Hiddenx, 19:55

AttackOfTheFanboy loves The Witcher 3 - A snippet:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt expects and rewards preparation above all else. Anybody who plays it like an Assassin’s Creed title or other action game will find themselves reloading frequently — I should know, because that’s how I initially approached it. Mashing attack might kill a few stray dogs, but that’s about it, as I found out. Side quests are all but mandatory, as enemies do not scale to the player’s level. It’s one among many ways that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt makes you feel like one man in a very large world. That’s one of the things I really appreciated about the game. The tutorial, if enabled, will nudge you once or twice, but afterwards will leave you with plenty of rope with which you are free to hang yourself with. Multiple save files are a must for this reason.
(...)

That’s where Gwent, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s amazing minigame, comes in. Gwent has its roots in games like Goofspiel, being a simple game to learn but a complex one to master. Supposedly an analogue for how a battle unfolds, Gwent sees players placing numbered cards across three different zones. The first player to have the highest numbers on their side of the board for two rounds wins. It’s not as crucial a part of the game as Triple Triad was for Final Fantasy VIII, but it was compelling enough that I had to force myself away from it, lest this turn into Gwent: A Review.

Final score: 4.5/5 - "loved"

Witcher 3 - Video Review @ Worth A Buy

by Hiddenx, 07:02

The Witcher 3 is a story-driven, next-generation open world role-playing game, set in a visually stunning fantasy universe, full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. In The Witcher, you play as Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter tasked with finding a child from an ancient prophecy.

The Youtube channel Worth A Buy criticizes the game hard:

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Final rating: Thumbs Down - Not worth a buy!

 

Saturday - May 23, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review @ ActionTrip

by Hiddenx, 18:12

Uros "Vader" Pavlovic (ActionTrip) has reviewed The Witcher 3. A snippet:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt continues the tale of the Witcher, Geralt, goes on a personal quest to find Ciri, a friend and an extraordinarily gifted swordfighter. On his travels to locate Ciri, Geralt stumbles upon on a mysterious force known as the Wild Hunt that had begun to ravage the Northern Kingdoms, laying waste to every town or village. During his journey through perilous lands, the Witcher now must face this formidable new foe as he heads out to search for Ciri.

So when they said that the map in this game is 20% bigger than Skyrime and both of the previous Witcher games, they weren’t fucking kidding. To put it as briefly as possible, I’ve been playing The Witcher 3 for well over 5 days. My attention was focused on one very large area, where I explored, went on random side-quests, and of course, tried to complete as much story-related quests as possible. After that, I was shocked to find just how insanely large the world in this game is. Initially I was overwhelmed by the kind of experience I haven’t felt since Skyrim, or to be fair, the more recent RPG, Dragon Age: Inquisition. However, The Witcher 3 has more appeal to me – certainly more so than both DAI and Skyrim. So, again when the developers said a few months back that the in-game world is huge, they were serious. It could take you anywhere up to 200 hours of play time to finish it, providing you stick to cleaning up every single quest that comes up.

Final Score: 9.4 Excellent


Friday - May 22, 2015

Witcher 3 - Patch 1.03 Released

by Gorath, 12:25

CD Projekt Red released patch 1.03 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Here's the patch log:

This update introduces a range of stability and performances ehancements as well as allows users to take advantage of some additional graphics settings. 

Please find the detailed list of fixes below:
Improves stability in gameplay and the UI
Improves performance especially in cutscenes and gameplay
Fixes grass and foliage popping that could occur after density parameters were changed
Improves Nvidia Hairworks performance
Boosted texture anisotropy sampling to 16x on Ultra preset
Sharpen Post-process settings extended from Off/On to Off/Low/High
Blood particles will now properly appear after killing enemies on the water
Corrects a bug where player was able to shoot bolts at friendly NPCs
Improves menu handling
Corrects an issue with Stamina regeneration while sprinting
Fixes a cursor lock issue that sometimes occcured when scrolling the map
Generally improves world map focus
Improves input responsiveness when using keyboard
Corrects some missing translations in the UI
Corrects an issue in dialogue selections
Rostan Muggs is back
Minor SFX improvements

Thursday - May 21, 2015

Witcher 3 - CD Projekt tackles downgrade issue [Update]

by Hexprone, 04:29

Apparently there is some kind of controversy about the graphics in the commercial release of The Witcher 3 not matching a promo video from a couple of years ago. What do the people at CD Projekt have to say for themselves? They've talked with Eurogamer:

Eurogamer: Did the console versions restrict the PC version?

"If the consoles are not involved there is no Witcher 3 as it is," answers company founder Marcin Iwinski. "We can lay it out that simply. We just cannot afford it, because consoles allow us to go higher in terms of the possible or achievable sales; have a higher budget for the game, and invest it all into developing this huge, gigantic world.

"Developing only for the PC: yes, probably we could get more [in terms of graphics] as there would be nothing else [...] But then we cannot afford such a game."

Studio head Adam Badowski confirms that the trailer shown at the VGX tradeshow was captured PC footage of the game as it existed at that time, but that the rendering system was changed after the creation of the trailer, partly to avoid the demands of dynamic lighting in a huge open world.

Also , Eurogamer reminds us that:

a big patch with 600 changes - including improvements to graphics and graphical settings - was sent to certification today (Wednesday 20th May), and will take between five and seven days to clear. 

In addition, CD Projekt Red will patch the game to allow editing of .ini files on PC, to push graphical settings even higher. You will be able to tweak grass and vegetation density, post-processing effects such as sharpening, and draw distances.

"And we think about some other tricks but we need time," Adam Badowski says.

Update: It turned it this was a misunderstanding. Said patch was the day one update.

Witcher 3 - review @ PC Gamer

by Hexprone, 04:04

Well, PC Gamer also likes it: a 92/100. Shaun Prescott writes

On my way to the witch I stumbled upon a typically destitute Velen village. I didn’t care about the village at all, [...] But something—maybe the sun setting so amber on the horizon, or the children dashing frantically through the muddy streets—made me stop. I was curious.

It probably goes without saying, but if you’re in a hurry, never get off your horse en route in an open world RPG. This is especially true for The Witcher 3. Several hours later, once I’d cleared out some monsters for a desperate peasant in her far-off stable, and made preliminary moves to slay a beast haunting the town, I forced myself to leave.

I didn’t really want to leave, though. It’s not that I liked the town [...] I was just curious about the villagers’ circumstances. [...] How did they get so poor and wretched? [...]

Straight up, this is the most remarkable thing about The Witcher 3. Its writing isn’t perfect—it still bears some of the familiar trappings of being a video game—but it almost always rewards curiosity, big time. [...] The Witcher 3 achieves something very few video games do: when I’m engaged in a peripheral mini-narrative I’m not necessarily thinking about its game aspects. [...] I’m not grinding. I just really want to know, and understand, what’s going on.

In this game, distractions overwhelm you. For mine, the game’s distractions are where its most engaging stories are found.

Source: PC Gamer

Wednesday - May 20, 2015

Witcher 3 - Drivers & Tuning

by Gorath, 15:54

A lot of gamers in our forum and at other places on the interweb are having fun tuning The Witcher 3. I'll post a couple of random infos and links to support you in your quest.

  • nVidia released a new optimized driver 
  • You own a GTX Titan X? Congratulations, nVidia has a free The Witcher 3 for you!
  • An optimized driver by AMD should come out this week
  • GameStar's technik check (->traffic light system) gives you a good idea whether your PC can run the game. Just go through (1) graphics card, (2) CPU and (3) RAM. The weakest color counts.
  • PC Games Hardware analyzed the performance of 22 graphics cards and the CPU scaling. Surprising result: If you have a decent CPU with at least 4 cores, The Witcher 3 is graphics card limited even on 1280*768 without AA/AF and post-processing!
  • nVidia published a very detailed tuning guide
  • The first dozen SweetFX profiles for W3 have been created. Here's one random video to get you started.

Witcher 3 - Preorder Numbers

by Gorath, 15:27

The number of The Witcher 3 preorders got a boost in the last week before release, says Videogamer based upon a Polish interview. They actually grew another 500k to 1.5M units.

Witcher 3 - Gamasutra On a Successful Open World

by Gorath, 15:17

Gamasutra author Phill Cameron analyses why the CD Projekt Red's implementation of a believable open world in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a smashing success. A random snippet:

It makes sense that villagers wouldn’t know the technical name for a monster, especially if it isn’t a common one. It makes sense that a big portion of a Witcher’s job is actually dealing with superstitious, uneducated townsfolk rather than necessarily monsters. There are multiple occurrences of Geralt needing to counter ignorance rather than a blade, which often could be interpreted to be cheating you out of a combat encounter. Combat which itself is diffident to the world far more than the player.

Witcher 3 - Review @Eurogamer

by Gorath, 14:31

Eurogamer's Oli Welsh gives The Witcher 3 the verdict "essential".

This is why I love The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is crass in some places and overreaching in others, but despite its grandeur and its fantastical setting, it is a game made by, for and about human beings. It's lewd and perverse and poetic and hot-blooded. It's huge yet crafted; its systems are purposeful and it doesn't have a whiff of design by committee. It will last you months, yet not waste your time. Above all, it has a vivid, enduring personality, something that is exceedingly rare among its breed of mega-budget open-world epics (and that will probably be rarer still once Hideo Kojima and Konami part ways later this year). For my money, it's the greatest role-playing game in years.

Witcher 3 - Comparing PS4 Agains Xbox One

by Myrthos, 12:20

Eurogamer compares the PS4 version of The Withcher 3 against the Xbox One version, including a frame-by-frame comparison video.

To start with cut-scenes, a firm 30fps line is held on PS4 during an early griffin encounter, and in practice this gives us smoother motion compared to the 35fps read-out on Xbox One (higher frame-rate does not automatically mean a better experience overall, something we've covered in-depth before). However, the problem here is that if the PS4's frame-rate drops below this number, it instantly locks to 20fps. It's an instant switch, much like the double-buffer method of v-sync seen in Metal Gear Solid 4 on PS3. In one later scene involving heavy ice effects, it's notable that Xbox One does glance this 20fps figure at a similar moment, but unlike PS4 it's able to waver up and down the scale more freely. Meanwhile, Sony's platform is stuck at this value for long stretches of a scene.

Witcher 3 - Beginner's Guide

by Hiddenx, 07:59

Tech Times gives you 5 tips for the start of a new Witcher 3 game.

Example:

When It Comes To Combat, Take Your Time

With games like Bloodborne, players are expected to attack enemies as quickly and frequently as possible. In The Witcher 3, that's just not going to work: when in combat, make sure to take your time.

Why?

The Witcher 3′s combat is vastly different from most action games out there: it's not so much about mashing buttons as it is carefully planning and executing your attacks. There are a lot of different combat options right out of the gate, so you're bound to go through some trial and error - just make sure that you're not trying to mindlessly wail away on a single enemy, or you'll spend more time respawning than exploring.

Instead of button mashing, take the time to learn your enemy's tells and how to counter them, and always make sure to test out spells on new enemies - some elemental weaknesses aren't quite as obvious as others. Bombs and oils don't appear until later in the game (save for the opening tutorial) so spend your opening hours mastering the parry system, your spells and ranged attacks - it'll be an immense help once the game really gets going.

Mashable is listing another 7 essential tips to get you started.

Tuesday - May 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - First Impressions @ Techraptor

by Myrthos, 18:24

Also Techraptor comes with some first impressions of The Witcher 3 and not a review as the review keys came available just yeasterday.

The Witcher 3‘s combat relies on preparation and playing smart. Just like in the video, for the bigger monsters you’ll likely need to prepare some potions, bombs, and maybe some special bolts for your crossbow (though I have only seen just the plans of those). You may even need to do that for some of the more difficult packs of enemies as well.

This design lends itself to the middle of combat as well. You can try to spam buttons, swinging wildly, but that will only work very rarely. Just like Geralt, enemies can parry, counter, dodge, and roll away. So you have to be very careful with your movements and choices in terms of combat. You could easily get caught mid-swing by a second enemy or have them parry your attack causing you to have to change plans quickly.

Witcher 3 - PCWorld: First Impressions

by Hiddenx, 07:59

The Witcher 3 is released.

PCWorld talks about their first impressions with the PC version:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC) review impressions: Smoothly slaying monsters

I was worried.

After months of excitement about The Witcher 3, it seemed like it was falling apart in the run-up to launch. All of the reviews that went up last week were conducted on debug PS4 consoles. PC codes, meanwhile, were pushed back time and time again until finally I was told we’d receive code on launch day, probably. And all this from a PC-friendly developer like CD Projekt.

When a game’s coming in that hot on PC, we’re right to be worried. Mortal Kombat X, Assassin’s Creed Unity—these are just two recent examples where the PC version came at the last minute and featured huge problems not caught on consoles.

So yeah, I was worried about The Witcher 3. For no reason, it turns out.

NOTE: All tests in this article were conducted with Nvidia’s latest Witcher 3 game-ready driver installed, which was provided to us prior to release.

Monster slayer

To be fair, I’m only ten-or-so hours in at the time of writing, which is why you’re getting impressions today instead of a full review. And I plan to experience all The Witcher 3 has to offer, so who even knows when a review will hit?

But from that ten hours, The Witcher 3 seems to be an amazing accomplishment. Much of what I’ve played so far I already covered in my preview of the first four hours—You’ll start in the small town of White Orchard for a massive, three-hour long “tutorial” area and then head to Vizima to meet with His Imperial Excellency Emhyr var Emreis. If you’ve never played a Witcher game you might feel a bit lost, but your companion Vesemir will help you through the worst of it with some subtle flavor text.

Yada yada yada. This is all fodder for a real review. Let’s talk about how it runs. That’s the big concern here, what with people dissecting old E3 demos on YouTube to see whether the game’s graphics have been “downgraded.”

Downgraded or not, the graphics in The Witcher 3 are gorgeous. However, I would say The Witcher 3 certainly isn’t the graphics card-punishing beast that Witcher 2 was. Running at 1080p I was able to max out most of the (extremely granular) settings except Nvidia HairWorks and maintain a steady 60 frames per second…on a single GeForce GTX 970. The only things I dipped were grass density and crowd size, and I left those on High.

(...)

Monday - May 18, 2015

Witcher 3 - Launch Trailer: Go Your Way

by Hiddenx, 20:42

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In Wild Hunt, you as Geralt embark on your most epic and dangerous journey yet. Your mission -- to find the child of prophecy, an ashen-haired girl, a living and highly volatile weapon everyone wants to control. The stakes have never been higher: the Elder Blood flowing in the child’s veins can bring about a final end. The fate of worlds lies with you.

-> TickCounter

Sunday - May 17, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Videos @GameStar.de

by Gorath, 22:57

GameStar.de uploaded a couple of new videos based upon the Witcher 3 PC review version with one patch. Another patch was announced by CD Projekt for Monday.

GameStar also thinks the PC version is slightly better.

Witcher 3 - Review Updated for PC Version @GamersGlobal.de

by Gorath, 22:46

German site GamerGlobal updated their very detailed The Witcher 3 review with impressions of the PC version and a couple of comparison screenshots with a slider. Here's a babelfished excerpt:

 The PC version, which is before us in version 1.2 expected to show that visually better experience: The textures are sharper and straight particle effects such as smoke and fog contributing to a small atmosphere-increase. A dense vegetation, there are only here and there, even if the level of detail in most places fails clearly higher than on the consoles, which provide roughly the graphics quality on medium details. A reasonably current computer with 2 GB graphics card provides high settings with relative ease in 1080p, at least if you want to have not necessarily constant 60 frames. The frame rate can PC players on request, of course, choose complete without speed limiter also.

PC-exclusive features, such as increasing the number of NPC are also beautiful. The effect could but be greater, since only the number, but not increasing the diversity of the figures. [..] Despite sharper textures, higher smoothing of edges and a bit more foresight, the PC version is not free of defects. Also on PC humping again details in the picture, as we move through the landscape. Currently the framerate is collapsing here always times significantly, if not quite as strong as on the consoles.

The biggest advantage of the PC version, however, is the significantly shorter loading times and the much lower lag when you call the individual menu items such as the World map, inventory or character screen. Especially the transition from cutscene to shorter waiting times of atmosphere conducive, since there are fewer situations where we are torn out of the event. When control also are slight advantages. [...] but above all the inventory management is via point and click considerably more comfortable than with the gamepad despite the lack of sorting functions. [...]

Witcher 3 - Character and Story Recap

by Aries100, 17:38

If you have forgotten how the story in the Witcher went or who's who in the Witcher series, Game Informer and Gamepur has informative editorials about this. Game Informer concentrates on who the characters are while Shacknews has an overview of the two previous games. If you havent played the original Witcher or Witcher 2: Assasins of Kings, please read the Shackews article at your own risk.

A quote from Game Informer about Emhyr var Emries:

Emhyr was cursed as a kid by some jerk wizard, which caused him to turn into a monster hedgehog during the night - a werehog, if you will. Unlike Sonic, however, Emhyr bounced back from his damnable transformation, getting Geralt to reverse the curse and eventually becoming emperor. You'd think being a freaky mutant hedgehog would give him some compassion for other people, but apparently it just makes you the kind of person who dances on your enemy's graves/neutered pigs. Go figure.

A quote from Shacknews about the start of Witcher 2: Assasins of Kings.

Geralt is held in a Temerian Prison for the assassination of King Foltest. Here he is interrogated by Vernon Roche, the commander of the Temerian Special Forces (known to most as the Blue Stripes). Geralt confesses that he witnessed Foltest's assassination at the hands of another witcher, who managed to escape with the help of some Scoia'tael. Roche believes Geralt, and helps him escape with Triss Merigold to the nearby city of Flotsam.

Thursday - May 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - A Beginner's Guide To The World Of The Witcher

by Hexprone, 22:37

Kotaku has posted a primer on the world of The Witcher for newcomers to the series. I never got more than twenty minutes into the first Witcher game, but Wild Hunt has me hyped, so I think I'm going to need to consult this fairly often.

kotaku witcher thing

Anyway, it turns out that:

A “Witcher” doesn’t actually have that much to do with witches. Rather, Witchers are a rare breed of genetically mutated monster-killer. They were born as ordinary humans, and were taken in at a young age and more or less forced to undergo years of intense mental and physical training before eventually undergoing a mysterious ritual known as The Trial of the Grasses.

During the Trial of the Grasses, potential Witchers imbibe a mysterious alchemical concoction that mutates their genes and makes them more dangerous and harder to kill than ordinary men. The Trial kills the majority of those who attempt it—six or seven out of ten candidates die in the process.

Hey wait a minute. This sounds an awful lot like the Joining ritual in Dragon Age. Is David Gaider a big notion-snatcher? Hm.

More here.

Witcher 3 - Launch Cinematic Trailer

by Myrthos, 19:05

Today the launch cinematic of The Witcher 3 has been released. Check it out here or below.

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Witcher 3 - Review @ The Telegraph

by Aries100, 15:20

The british newspaper The Telegraph has a review 5/5 for this game. A quote, then:

You're chasing down leads, not racing to stop the apocalypse, and leads take time to develop. In fact, most of the time, the leads themselves create a time-buffer, with whoever you need information from giving you a quest that, by its very nature, takes time to complete. The second is that it serves as a clear entryway into the world that you're stepping into. It's made clear at the beginning of the game that Geralt is not incredibly familiar with the physical and political geography of the places he's searching for Ciri in, through the lands of Velen, Novigrad and Skelliga, and so in your investigation you are able to discover how these places work and what makes them interesting without feeling as though your character knows more than you. 

Wednesday - May 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - Insider on the Graphics Downgrade

by Gorath, 21:58

WhatIfGaming used an inside source to obtain information on the alleged The Witcher 3 graphics downgrade. Please take their article with a grain of salt. Nothing is confirmed. Here's only their intro:

It seems The Witcher 3 graphics controversy never ends, and it is for good reason. Recently it has been quite apparent to a lot of people with footage showing up all over the web of newer PC build gameplay demos supposedly running on ULTRA on the PC (Poland preview event) which pales in comparison to the 2013 gameplay trailer. We contacted our insider who provided us information on The Division downgrade and apparent delay into 2016 months ago – who managed to connect us with someone in the know-how at CD Projekt RED last night to further explain the situation and set the record straight.

Here is simply what they had to say in regards to the whole thing (we advise everyone to take it with a grain of salt, despite having vetted their identity ourselves):

Witcher 3 - Day 1 Patch Improves Performance

by Gorath, 21:53

CD Projekt Red's community coordinator Marcin Momot posted on his twitter that the day 1 patch will improve performance and frame rate.

 Marcin's answers are in bold.

Some PS4 reviews (IGN, Kotaku) mention framerate problems. Any chance for day-one improvements?

Yes. We've already addressed this issue. Framerate will be better once we official launch the game. 

Hey Marcin. Congrats on the amazing game. Will the Day One Patch fix some of the bugs and performance drops on the ps4 version?

yes. Framerate and performance have already been improved.

Although Marcin only talks about the PS4 version, it's pretty safe to assume the other platforms have been improved too.

Source: Gamestar

Witcher 3 - Misc. Videos

by Gorath, 21:29

The two big German print mags uploaded a couple of interesting The Witcher 3 videos. In most cases not German language isn't needed to get an idea what's going on.

Witcher 3 - CD Project Explains Changing Weather in Wild Hunt

by Aries100, 21:13

In an interview with Game Informer, Kimberly Wallace talks with art producer, Michal Stec on how The Witcher 3's changing weather came to be:

What went into creating the weather and environments for The Witcher 3?

Hundreds if not thousands of hours of browsing through references: paintings, pictures, films, photos - everything, really. I remember this one time, Lucjan (one of the leads) and I were on our way to some party and he suddenly stopped the car, pulled a camera out of the glove box and started taking pictures of the setting sun to use as a reference. We drew a lot on photographs and movies. 

A quote on when the weather wil change:

How often will the weather change as you play?All the time - the weather is constantly changing. This is a randomized mechanism; working it out took us quite a while, since it required a lot of testing, checking if how it felt in the game was okay, or if it was too much. The weights given to particular weather conditions change depending on the region - in the swamps of No Man's Land it's practically always foggy and rains a lot, whereas in Skellige you can expect more thunderstorms near the coasts and sunshine up in the mountains.

Witcher 3 - Review @ Ausgamers

by Aries100, 21:02

Ausgamers has a review for this game. The score is 10/10. 

A quote about the story:

It's a story worthy of a place in the more accepted subculture of dark fantasy ruled across media by Game of Thrones. First-timers will easily love this facet but may also be surprised to learn that this series, and the books it's based upon, have been the at the fore of adult and mature storytelling for a long time. Wild Hunt is both at times brutal and sexy, with a juxtaposition of hard-edged steel (or silver), blood and death being met with soft, naked skin; passion, lust and even love.

Ausgamers mentions that one of the things they liked in this game are boats.

 



Tuesday - May 12, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review Roundup # 1

Witcher 3 - Preloading and Unlock Time

by Myrthos, 13:02

As several have already commented on our forums The Witcher 3 is now available for preloading from Good Old Games and Steam. The following is the press release for that, which also shows at what time the downloaded game can be unlocked.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now available for preload on GOG.com and Steam, with the Origin release following on the 14th.

Everyone who pre-orders the highly anticipated, next-generation RPG, can choose to preload the game and be one of the very first to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt when it goes live on May 19th.

At GOG.com, the simplest way to preload the game is through the recently announced GOG Galaxy client. GOG Galaxy is fully integrated into the DRM-free release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and includes convenient auto-updates, game time tracking and achievements.

The game is also available for preload to gamers who purchased Wild Hunt on Xbox Live, and will be available for PlayStation Network users soon.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be officially released and unlocked on May 19, at 1:00 AM CET (Warsaw time), i.e:

May 18th, 4.00 pm PT (Los Angeles)
May 18th, 7.00 pm ET (New York)
May 19th, 00.00 am BT (London)
May 19th, 2.00 am UT (Moscow)
May 19th, 8.00 am JT (Tokyo).

 

Monday - May 11, 2015

Witcher 3 - Sells 1 Million Preorder Copies

by Aries100, 17:01

Gamepur has news that this game has sold 1 million copies in pre-orders.  From the press release issued by CD Project RED:

"We've crossed the one million pre-order milestone and it's all thanks to you guys! We would like to thank all the gamers for their trust and support."

In other news for this game, the review embargo ends tomorrow:

According to report, the revivews for The Witcher 3 will go live TOMORROW (May 12 "Tuesday" at 7AM).

Witcher 3 - About the Downgraded Visuals

by Myrthos, 11:34

Discussed on various places on the internet as it has here, but Lostforever has pointed us to Dark Side of Gaming, that shows some of the differences between 2013 and now.

As we can see, the amount of particles on-screen has been decreased, the environmental LOD has been severely reduced, the lighting system seems weaker than the one featured in the oldest build, textures look blurrier (this could either be due to the absence of CDPR’s sharpening filter or due to the presence of Chromatic Aberration. Regardless of the real reasons, textures are not as crisp as they were before).

We’ll definitely give CD Projekt RED the benefit of doubt, however it is pretty obvious that the final game won’t look as good as its in-game 2013 reveal trailer. And that’s a real shame.

Obviously, this does not mean that the game won’t look good or that it won’t be fun. CD Projekt RED has been releasing lots of screenshots from the game’s latest build these past days, so we all know that the game still looks great.

There is a range of annotated screenshots that show the difference.

Saturday - May 09, 2015

Witcher 3 - Leaked in Middle East

by Aubrielle, 19:16

As we count down the days until The Witcher 3 is available for download, some jerks in United Arab Emirates got their hands on it and are leaking spoiler footage.

More information.

Source: Pixel Dynamo

Friday - May 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - Win A Free Pre-Order Copy!

by Anonymous, 18:05

Hey everyone! Laughing

I have officially started a giveaway for the Pre-Order version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt + DLC! It is a GOG key, and to enter, all you have to do is follow the link here and tweet the giveaway message!

You can tweet the message once a day to enter. You have 7 days left, so tweet early and tweet often! Cool

Good luck!

Win The Witcher 3! - a Rafflecopter giveaway

Witcher 3 - Conan O'Brian Review

by Myrthos, 13:09

Yesterday Conan O'Brian reviewed The Withcher 3 on his show. He is the first, so if you  want to learn what it is about from a clueless gamer, this is your chance.

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Thnaks Lostforever

 

Witcher 3 - Rage and Steel Trailer

by Myrthos, 12:10

We can't have a day without news of The Witcher 3, so here is a new trailer showing a lot of people dying or just being dead. It is age restricted, so here is a link instead of an embedded video.

Thursday - May 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - Create Fan Art to Win Prizes

by Aries100, 14:44

Game Informer brings news that you can now try out your artistic talents and create fan art for this game. In doing so, you can even win some prizes. A quote, then.

CD Projekt is inviting fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to put their artistic skills to the test. Your efforts even have the chance for reward, as the developer is offering up a number of prizes.CD Projekt is leaving the medium up to entrants, but lists "digital, paint, and clay" as three options. We confirmed that this contest is for visual art only.

You can view the full list of prizes here.

 

Source: Game Informer

Witcher 3 - About Speedruns and Completion

by Myrthos, 13:06

Gamepur informs us about what a 25 hour speedrun in The Witcher 3 actually means and what it takes to reach 100% completion.

We've said recently that a rushed playthrough of The Witcher 3 takes our testers around 25 hours. However we didn't explain what it actually means. This information sparked debates on various discussion forums. People were confused. How could a 200-hour game be beaten in only 25 hours?", said an executive from the development team.

A speed playthrough is skipping everything that's skippable. You just rush through the game content to test whether the main questline has bugs that prevent it from being completed.
Speedrunning the main questline of The Witcher 3 takes 25 hours.

They also mention it will take the average gamer 2 months to complete the game.

Witcher 3 - GMG keys are not authorized

by Myrthos, 13:05

Shacknews has the news that the pre-order keys of GreenManGaming are not legit.

If a deal sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is. Yesterday, one of our Chatty posters found an amazing deal from Green Man Gaming that's offering The Witcher 3 for a staggering $38.99. For a pre-order deal, that falls under the "too good to be true" category.

The problem is, CD Projekt RED doesn't know where these codes are coming from.

Earlier today, a CD Projekt RED representative indicated to GameSpot that any keys Green Man Gaming is offering are coming from an "unknown source." What this means is that since these keys are essentially unauthorized, none of the revenue from these sales will go towards the developer.

GMG has responded to this:

Green Man Gaming (GMG) has an official contract with, and has been an approved retailer of CD Projekt S.A. (CDPR) products since 11th August 2011. Following a 6 month dialogue with CDPR about the launch of The Witcher 3, we were disappointed that despite the offer of significant cash advances, and other opportunities to officially work together, (we even offered to fly to Poland to discuss in detail how we could and wanted to support this launch), CDPR chose not to engage with a number of significant, reputable, and successful retailers, including ourselves, as they instead focused on supporting their own platform GOG.

We at GMG sincerely believe in getting games to gamers, and offering them a range of buying options to suit their preferences is critically important to this industry; we often go above corporate profits and commercial gain to make this happen. We, like millions of customers, are huge fans of The Witcher series, and have been eager for the launch of this amazing title. We believe that CDPR’s desire to support their own platform by working with retail outlets that would not conflict with their own is greater than that of meeting the demands of their audience, therefore we made the decision to indirectly secure the product and deliver it to our customers. To do this, we reached out to third parties and retailers that were approved by CDPR, to legitimately pass these keys onto our customers. This means that at some point, revenue has been passed directly onto CDPR, and any additional discount on the title is absorbed by us, as we want as many people enjoying The Witcher 3 as possible.

We would heartily welcome a renewed dialogue with CDPR, and are keen to continue to not only support the launch of The Witcher 3, but to keep celebrating and bringing the whole catalogue of CDPR titles to a worldwide audience, as we have done since 2011.

Thanks lostforever

Witcher 3 - Dev Diary and Q&A Gameplay

by Aries100, 00:24

Eurogamer has a short article about a twitch stream for this game, published on May 6th.
You can watch the video from the Eurogamer site here. A quote, then:

Yesterday's live Witcher 3 gameplay session focused on combat and how different character builds approach it. It gave a real, in-depth look at the game's different sets of perks and how you can customise your Geralt hero to suit your style. The game's difficulty was also demonstrated, the same monster encounter being played on the game's most difficult setting and then the game's easiest setting. Incidentally, I played the game on a normal difficulty setting earlier this year and it was challenging.

A quote on Dice Poker:

Towards the end of the video, during the Q&A, level designer Miles Tost talked about the disappearance of the Dice Poker mini-game, which was in the first two Witcher games. It won't, he confirmed, be in The Witcher 3 - instead the game will have a new card game called Gwent (and fist fighting).

Source: EuroGamer

Wednesday - May 06, 2015

Witcher 3 - Retail PC Version FAQ

by Gorath, 04:21

CD Projekt published a FAQ for the retail PC version of their highly ambitious soon to be relased The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Here a sample:

Q: Do I need Internet access to install the retail PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
A: The initial, pre-premiere retail PC batch of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt needs to download a file from our servers to allow play. This file will either be downloaded automatically during installation process or you can choose to download it manually from a dedicated website. Since we have no DRM in the game, this is a security measure we needed to incorporate so the game doesn’t leak during the production process. No worries, the file will not be big. Copies of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt produced after launch will not contain this security feature.

[...]

Q: Can I install and play the game without the GOG.com game code?
 A: Yes you can install and play the game without the [included GOG key for a digital backup - ed.] game code. 

Q: Will I be able to install updates and the free DLCs without using the GOG.com game code?
We decided to offer software support, DLCs, and extra goodies only to gamers who confirm their purchase with the provided game code on GOG.com. This is the only way for us to differentiate between you, honest gamers who bought our game, and pirates who snatched it from the Internet.

Some of this will probably provoke discussions.

Sources:
PCGames.de
Gamestar.de

Tuesday - May 05, 2015

Witcher 3 - Monsters video

by Myrthos, 19:14

Can't have a day without news about The Witcher 3, so here is the latest video with talk about the monsters in the game.

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Monday - May 04, 2015

Witcher 3 - Q&A and Gameplay @ Twitch

by Myrthos, 12:57

Tomorrow on GOGs Twitch channel, 45 minutes of gameplay is shown of The Witcher 3 followed by a Q&A.

We will be showcasing 45 minutes of live gameplay with Łukasz “LUq” Wnęk, Counter-Strike 1.6 legend currently working at CD PROJEKT RED, taking control of Geralt. He will be joined by Level Designer Miles Tost, who will provide developer commentary for the new footage focused on combat and gameplay mechanics including melee and long-distance combat, alchemy, exploration, monster hunting, and means of travel.

Once the gameplay portion of the stream is finished, we will hold a live Q&A session on the air. Miles Tost will take the time to respond to live comments coming in via Twitch chat, as well as to select questions from the GOG.com community forums! It's a rare opportunity to ask about all the saucy details of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt development.

During the event, you can expect a Witcher lore contest, in which you will have the chance to exchange your Geralt-related knowledge for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt t-shirts, with a little help from Twitch chat and your friendly neighborhood postal worker.

If you have questions for the folks at CD PROJEKT RED about the upcoming Witcher game, you can submit them right here in this thread on GOG.com forums. You have until Monday, May 4th, at 10:59AM GMT to submit your questions - we'll need some time to select the most interesting ones to throw at the devs during the live chat!

The live event will begin on Tuesday, May 5th, at 6pm GMT / 2pm EDT / 11am PDT at Twitch.tv/GOGcom. Follow the channel to get an email alert when it goes live. See you there!

Saturday - May 02, 2015

Witcher 3 - Geralt’s Past, Present and Future

by Couchpotato, 05:53

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launches next month, so we thought it was the ideal time to take a look back at Geralt of Rivia's shadowy exploits in the previous two games, as well as mull over where the enigmatic protagonist is headed in this latest adventure – and where the series could go next on next-gen consoles.

Super-human warrior Geralt has starred in two video game escapades so far, but what you might not be aware of is that his origins lie in literature. The work of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher series of novels and short stories were first published back in 1986, and has since been translated into several languages as well as being adapted for film, television, comics and even a board game. The video game trilogy is based on the books but features all-new storylines set later in the narrative. Sapkowski considers them to be non-canon, despite the fact that their popularity has led to a massive spike of interest in the original books.

Friday - May 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Footage of Ciri @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 05:47

IGN has some new footage this week of Ciri the Witcher 3's first heroine.

"Basically, Ciri is a totally different character than Geralt," Lead Quest Designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz told IGN. "She’s inherited this very powerful magic force that she can use when she needs to. She can travel between worlds, she also [has] some more hidden powers that she can use."

Tomaszkiewicz continued, "We didn’t want her to be too overpowered, so we wanted to put limitations on her. Because of that, we have decided that we will do completely different abilities for her so she doesn’t use any of Geralt’s abilities; she has her own unique combat style."

CDProjekt Red is deliberately trying to defy player expectation that Ciri is a "Mary Sue" sort of character. It isn't as though "everybody likes her, that she’s good at everything and all that," Tomaszkiewicz said. "I think we will have some things that will be surprising, and she has weaknesses as well that, aside from having all these superpowers that were described in the book, she’s also a normal human being [who] feels and has needs."

Wednesday - April 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - World of the Witcher Trailer

by Couchpotato, 07:10

IGN has a video that takes a look at the The World of Witcher book from Dark Horse.

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Tuesday - April 28, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Another Short Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:33

The amount of links for more videos and articles for Witcher 3 have popped up today. I will just list some of them today as I don't  have time to round them all up.

So the first link is for a new audio podcast on Gamertag Radio.

This week on episode 478 of Gamertag Radio, we sit down with CD Projekt Red to discuss The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. During our conversation we go over introducing new players to the Witcher franchise, how your choices will matter and affect the story, the importance of potions and crafting, along with changes to the combat system.

Next Gamebolt has a new preview about the games map size.

When CD Projekt claimed that The Witcher 3 will be absolutely massive in scale, they weren’t joking. Thanks to a few NeoGaf users we can finally compare the map size of The Witcher 3 to several other open world games. So far the Witcher 3 map is around 136 km2 which only includes Novegrad, No Man’s Land and Skellige Islands. There are are around 4-6 regions more who sizes are unknown at this point.

That means The Witcher 3 is at least 3.7 times bigger than GTA: San Andreas (36  km2), 1.5 times bigger than GTA 5 (81 km2), 3.3 times bigger than Red Dead Redemption (41), 3 times bigger than Far Cry 4 (46 km2) and 3.5 times bigger than Skyrim (39 km2). In short, the final map will be absolutely massive in scale.

Followed by Twinfinite with a preview about the games narrative.
This week the developer treated us to the first images of the game’s map, and as you can see below, it’s pretty damn huge. Take a closer look, and you’ll notice that The Witcher 3 isn’t just one big map; instead, it’s split into two maps: a smaller Prologue map and the larger Northern Realm. The Witcher 3 also has an archipelago destination, which you’ll only be able to visit by boat, or fast traveling to this location. While this means you’ll encounter a loading screen and a break in continuity, it is fortunately one of the few instances where you’ll be pulled out of the action.
I will end the news-bit with a few videos thanks to danutz_plusplus for the links.

Monday - April 27, 2015

Witcher 3:Wild Hunt - More Interviews & Videos

by Couchpotato, 05:57

Welcome back to another roundup of new interviews and videos for the Witcher 3:Wild Hunt this week, So lets get started with the three new videos from GameSpot.

The Map of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Revealed

In this clip from our three-part feature on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we enjoy a quick horse ride with Geralt, and take our first look at the map of the open world.

Murdering Humans in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

In this gameplay montage from our three-part feature on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we check out combat against humans. Fisticuffs outside the pub in White Orchard, and swordplay from atop Geralt's trusty steed.

First Look at The Witcher 3's Card Game Gwent

In this extended gameplay clip from our three-part feature on The Witcher 3, we show highlights of your first game of Gwent - a brand new collectible card game available in Wild Hunt.

GameSpot also published three new written intereviews this week.

How the Side Quests in the Witcher 3 Can Change the Whole Story

In this interview we discuss why a choice that sounds good can be terrible, how leveling works in the Witcher, and why Gwent replaced Dice Poker.

The Witcher 3 is an Open World With No Loading Times

In this interview we discuss creating an open world that lets you walk anywhere without loading and the game's dark humor.

Witcher 3 Dev Explains How to Turn a Nation of Pirates into Purchasers

In this interview we discuss the creation and history of developer CD Projekt, how the first Witcher game got started, and how to turn a culture of pirating games into a culture of buying them.

And for last I have another interview from IGN about embracing new and old players.

 

Sunday - April 26, 2015

Witcher 3 - Behind the Scenes Video

by Couchpotato, 05:53

Graphic  card maker Nvidia released a new video for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I'll be frank it's just a publicity video showing off their exclusive GamesWorks program.

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We took the GeForce video crew for a tour of the CD Projekt Red studio in Poland to meet some of the talented folks behind this The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt uses NVIDIA GameWorks, HairWorks, HBAO+, Destruction, and PhysX Clothing to take their amazing game to new levels of realism.
Join Executive Producer John Mamais behind the scenes as he shows you the work that has gone into the PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Saturday - April 25, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Interview & TV Commercial

by Couchpotato, 05:20

Well another day and  I found more news for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first one I found  is a new four monute video interview on XBox UK with Damien Monnier.

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CD Projekt RED also released a short 35-second TV commercial today.

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Friday - April 24, 2015

Witcher 3 - Does it Live up to the Hype?

by Couchpotato, 06:08

Gamespot seems to have copied my question off our sites new poll in a video about whether The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will live up to it's Hype on release next month.

Danny & Andy give their impression of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt after a combined twelve hours playing this exciting open world role-playing game.

Thursday - April 23, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - More Video Updates

by Couchpotato, 05:59

Well another day and I have two more videos for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to share with everyone. The first video spoils a prologue quest called "Precious Cargo".

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Watch the new The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video featuring a quest from the prologue, where Geralt helps a merchant retrieve a mysterious box from the swamps.

 GameSpot also posted the third and final documentary video.

The world of The Witcher is huge, but what is there to do? In the final part of our series, we explore the wild variety of quests and activities in Wild Hunt. It's level-based quest system, branching story-lines and hilariously deep card-collecting game.

Wednesday - April 22, 2015

Witcher 3 - Two New Video Updates

by Couchpotato, 06:04

CD Projekt released a video with Charles Dance the voice actor who voices Emhyr var Emreis who is the ruthless Emperor of Nilfgaar in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

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Watch Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, Dracula Untold, The Imitation Game) perform in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for the first time as a video game character: Emhyr var Emreis -- ruthless Emperor of Nilfgaard.

 Gamespot released the second video about exploring the world of the Witcher 3.

In part two of our three part series we explore the world of the Witcher 3. We detail its multiple open areas, and reveal its vast map. We tell you how it runs on consoles and give you insight into the types of monsters you'll be slaying in this varied open world RPG.

Tuesday - April 21, 2015

Witcher 3 - Combat & The Wild Hunt

by Couchpotato, 05:15

IGN has another article/video this week about the combat of Witcher 3.

Combat in The Witcher 3 is, as expected, considerably improved over The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which shed the original game’s rhythmic slicing and dicing in favor of more action-oriented engagements. It worked, but The Witcher 2 was hard, meaning players had to rely heavily on dodge-rolling before mashing the attack buttons. In The Witcher 3, evasion is equally important during challenging combat encounters. The way in which you let loose on some poor soldier, drowner, or griffon, though, requires the sort of care, patience, and precision usually reserved for Dark Souls or Bloodborne.

Gamespot also released part one of a new video trilogy about the Wild Hunt.

In part one of our three part series, Danny investigates the history of this beloved RPG franchise and introduces how Wild Hunt's prologue area attempts to introduce newcomers.

Saturday - April 18, 2015

Witcher 3 - Should You Replay Witcher 1&2?

by Couchpotato, 04:34

Oscar Lee of Game Idealist wonders if gamers should replay The Witcher, and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is released next month.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most anticipated games that will be releasing in 2015. Due to the first two games of the series being lesser known, a lot of gaming enthusiasts will be getting his or her first experience with The Witcher gaming franchise in the third installment. So should newcomers play The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings before jumping into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? Let’s take a look at a few factors, including the quality of the two prequels and their connections to the third game.

Friday - April 17, 2015

Witcher 3 - Gone Gold & New Interview

by Couchpotato, 05:49

CD Projekt RED sent information Witcher 3 is ready for release on May, 19th. 

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, announce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt going GOLD

“We worked so damn hard over the past three years to bring you this game,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD PROJEKT RED. “From the corrupt nobles in Novigrad to ancient monsters lurking in deep forests, to the bustling cities, colorful ports and breathtaking vistas; all the people, all the places - we literally spent tens of thousands of hours to turn all that into an adventure that will kick your ass and make you want to come for more,” adds Badowski. “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has gone GOLD and will soon be yours!” he concludes.

Garnering over 200 prestigious awards before launch, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CD PROJEKT RED’s most ambitious endeavour up to date. Set within a truly open world, the game puts you in the role of a wandering bounty hunter and monster slayer, Geralt of Rivia. In The Witcher, you take on the greatest contract of your life - tracking down the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.

Watch the Official Gameplay Video: LINK
Watch “The Trail” Opening Cinematic: LINK
Watch the Wild Hunt Recap Video: LINK

The game is scheduled to launch May 19th, 2015, on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC, and PlayStation®4. Visit www.thewitcher.com and buy.thewitcher.com for more information about the game and pre-order availability worldwide.

Also CD Projekt RED's Damien Monnier did a new video interview on Escapist.

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Damien Monnier stops by to give us the inside scoop on Witcher 3 game design, complete with a fascinating conversation on animal AI. We also get an extended look at Mortal Kombat X and discuss what makes a good side quest

Thursday - April 16, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Short Article Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:11

I found a few more articles for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt this week as the game is entering full PR mode for launch next month. So lets get started.

The first article is a new interview from Polygon about game length.

Armed with insider knowledge that most players won't have, it still took The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's most experienced playtester 25 hours to complete developer CD Projekt Red's upcoming role-playing game — but that's not the whole story.

Fabian Mario Doehla, CD Projekt Red's studio communications manager in Germany, told Polygon that the playtester skipped all dialogue and cutscenes and was privy to the game's tricks, secrets and critical paths. Playing as he did, he turned The Witcher 3's layered narratives and interactions with non-playable characters into straightforward events. Without the nuances that players will experience, the playtester took a machete to branching paths to create straight lines.

In other words, he was speedrunning The Witcher 3, playing only in the most mechanical sense. And it still took him 25 hours to shepherd Geralt of Rivia through the trilogy-closing adventure.

The second article IGN who has another exclusive article/video about monsters.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is wonderfully obsessed with monsters, despite focussing on a protagonist who’s main calling is the extermination of such hideous beasts. It raids various mythology, theology, folklore nature, and literature, with a keen eye for the weird and hideous; it steals from all of them and blends them together, producing a rich and unusual bestiary.

And for last GameInformer talks about when Geralt overdoses on toxins.

Recently, a neat detail about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was revealed for the first time. CD Projekt Red has figured out how to dynamically grow Geralt’s facial hair during the game.

While this may seem like a small feature revealed by German magazine Gamestar, details like this enhance the immersion and help sell the reality of a game world. And, if you’d prefer to style Geralt’s hair yourself, CD Projekt told Eurogamer the free “Beard and Hairstyle DLC” will let you do that. Once you download it, Geralt's beard will stop growing.

We reached out to the developer to find out if this bit of immersion would be extended to other parts of the game. It turns out that Geralt’s face isn’t just good for telling time between shaves.

Wednesday - April 15, 2015

Witcher 3 - Some More Twitter Updates

by Couchpotato, 04:42

DualShockers put together a short article with a few Twitter replies from some CD Projekt developers. They talk about optimizing the game, and answer other questions.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is speeding towards its release next month, and the developers are providing more information over Twitter.

Tuesday - April 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - Slaughtering With Signs @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 04:47

IGN has another article/video for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt this week about sign magic. So just a quick warning it will contain more spoilers so you have been warned.

Signs the spells used by witchers to disable or destroy their opponents often felt inessential in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The utility magic certainly served its purpose in numerous situations, but those encounters rarely required much more than sword slashes between dodge rolls. I used them when I remembered I had them, and forgot shortly after. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt of Rivia lives and dies by both the sword and the spell. Even on the easiest difficulty, ignoring Signs is the quickest way to lose in battle.

Monday - April 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - First Six Hours @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 05:10

IGN is back again with another video/artcle about the first six hours of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt . So only read the article, and watch the video if you don't mind spoilers.

We'll have much more in-depth pieces on the combat, magic, and monsters in the game throughout April. Below are two different takes on those opening sections: one by an editor who is well-versed in all things Witcher, one by an editor who barely knows the difference between his Igni and his Axii.

Sunday - April 12, 2015

Witcher 3 - Q&A Quotes @ DSO Gaming

by Couchpotato, 04:24

A site called DSO Gaming has a few quotes from various CD Projekt RED employes about the Witcher 3 downgrade, the games delay, and horse slow-mo & finishers.

First things first; the Frost effect has been replaced with a higher quality one. As CD Projekt RED’s Benzenzimmern said, that frost effect is already changed. Moreover, that character’s textures are promised to be ‘as sharp as ever’.

Later on, CD Projekt RED’s MilezZ said that their environment artists has tinkered a bit with all of the brick walls in order to further improve them (visually). MilezZ also added:

“Of course we keep going over assets and polishing them, it’s among the reasons we pushed the game back – we see this as much as a bug as, say, a gameplay glitch. I can not really give you a clear answer as to the case with the bricks. They did look very out of place though so it is very likely that they were on someone’s task list and had just been bumped up in priority, because it was shown that it was seemingly more apparent than assumed.”

CD Projekt RED’s developers have also shed some light on the game’s delay, and whether it was caused by a particular platform. As CD Projekt RED’s TheEvilChris said, the game was delayed because it was not ready yet, and not because of any specific version.

“When we polish a game, we fix bugs and issues for all 3 platforms, PC and consoles.”

Benzenzimmern also confirmed what MilezZ said, adding that CD Projekt RED postponed because it had to polish the game itself, no matter the platform. Moreover, Benzenzimmern claimed that this scene looks much better in the latest build of the game.

Friday - April 10, 2015

Witcher 3 - Official Gameplay Trailer

by Myrthos, 16:25

CD Project Red have released the official gameplay trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so enjoy!

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Witcher 3 - Top 5 Most Anticipated Features

by Couchpotato, 05:34

Well if your in the mood to read another top five list for the features in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt then head on over to a site called GotGame who has a new article week.

In a few weeks, after numerous delays, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will finally hit the shelves. The final installment of CD Projekt Red’s Witcher franchise looks like it will be a fantastic, transcendent and immersive role-playing game experience unlike anything that has ever been seen or played. All the materials and videos released by CD Projekt Red definitely whet my appetite for the game. With the release coming right around the corner, I want to take a look at the features I am most excited about for the game’s pending release.

Wednesday - April 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - Expansion Pass Announced

by Couchpotato, 00:57

CD PROJEKT RED announced today you can now buy an Expansion Pass to pre-order two new digital game expansions for The Witcher 3 to play after it releases next month.

Here are the details straight from their GOG website.

Two full-blown expansions for the epic RPG.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost here. That means the game is pretty much finished, and the devs are about to take a deep breath while CD-presses and hype machines slowly wind up to take things through the home stretch. It's not gold yet, but now that development is coming to an end, the CD PROJEKT RED team is ready to start their work on two new, ambitious monster-hunting expansions.The expansions will be called Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine.

Combined, they'll offer over 30 hours of new adventures for Geralt, and the latter introduces a whole new major area to roam. More items, gear, and characters (including a few familiar faces) will all be crafted with the same attention to detail as the game itself.

Hearts of Stone is a 10-hour adventure across the wilds of No Man's Land and the nooks of Oxenfurt. The secretive Man of Glass has a contract for you - you'll need all your smarts and cunning to untangle a thick web of deceit, investigate the mystery, and emerge in one piece.

Blood and Wine is the big one, introducing an all-new, playable in-game region to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It will take you about 20 hours to discover all of Toussaint, a land of wine, untainted by war. And to uncover the dark, bloody secret behind an atmosphere of carefree indulgence.

Tuesday - April 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - First 15 Minutes @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 04:41

So let me start by saying the following video will contain spoilers. Now if you are still reading the news-bit here is the first fifteen minutes of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

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Wednesday - April 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Q&A & Game Length

by Couchpotato, 05:53

XBOX.UK had the chance to talk with Community & Website Coordinator Marcin Momot of CD PROJEKT RED about the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt in a new video Q&A.

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I also found a new Twitter post about game length from Damien Monnier.

Hard to say, if you do everything I d say 200+ hours.

Tuesday - March 31, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamingBolt

by Couchpotato, 06:13

Gaming Bolt's Rashid Sayed posted another interview for Witcher 3 with Senior Art Producer Michal Krzemiński who talks about finishing the game, and other topics.

Rashid K. Sayed: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is only a few months away from the launch. Are you changing any core gameplay mechanics at this moment or is it simply polishing a few loose ends?

Michał Krzemiński: It’s the latter – we’re polishing the game so it shines in May, when we launch.

Rashid K. Sayed: Recently there was a lot of controversy regarding Witcher 3’s requirements for PC. The recommended settings would the run the game at 30 frames per second. Having said that what kind of a build do PC gamers need to have to have a full 60 fps experience?

Michał Krzemiński: They need to have a pretty high-end PC, but I won’t give you the details now, as we’re still optimizing the game and anything can change. Having said that, the game won’t kill your PC if you have a lower end machine — we want all gamers to have fun, not only the ones with the most beefy specs.

Rashid K. Sayed: You guys have taken a stand against DLC which is unheard in today’s age. In my opinion, even if you made paid DLC, people are going to buy it without asking questions. I am sure you are the not the ones to milk content and your DLC will be amazing regardless of whether they are free or no. So don’t you think that paid DLC will eventually let you make better games? You know you can make use of that money and drive it to make more awesome games.

Michał Krzemiński: First of all, thanks for your kind words! As for DLC, simply put, if we ever decide to release paid content, we’ll do above and beyond to make it so awesome that gamers will deem it worthy of purchase. Several hours of gameplay, a lot of new stuff to play with and so on. But, in all honesty, I don’t want to talk about that – it’s Wild Hunt that we should be excited about.

Sunday - March 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - Mod Support Tools Confirmed

by Couchpotato, 05:54

Seems the Witcher 3 will also have Mod Support Tools as CD Projekt RED CEO Marcin Iwinski confirmed this week on a site called idigitaltimes. Here are the details.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will almost certainly be one of the best RPGs of this console era. Of course, The Witcher 3 is also launching on PC. With any open world title of this magnitude the anticipation is that the mod community will make a significant contribution to the game. During a demo event Thursday, CD Projekt RED CEO Marcin Iwinski confirmed mod support, including a toolset like REDkit, will be coming to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

“Yes, yes, yes we will. There will be an editor,” Iwinski said. “For Witcher 2 we released it quite late. For Witcher 3 it will be faster.”

The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings received the REDkit, an official modding toolkit released by CD Projekt RED, two years after the release. There’s no word yet on a timetable for The Witcher 3’s REDkit as Iwinski and his team have other commitments to honor with gamers before modding enters the picture. Namely, that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt releases on time, in working condition and delivers one of the most epic RPG experiences possible. Of course, Iwinski knows it’s impossible to guarantee perfection with an open-world game.

“Look at Skyrim, the last patch was like two years after the release,” Iwinski said. “We want to make sure people have a great experience out of the box and I’m sure we’re going to deliver that. People are working around the clock to make sure everything works great.”

Tuesday - March 24, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Screenshots & Q&A

by Couchpotato, 03:30

Level Designer Miles Tost of CD Projekt Red answered a few questions on the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt forums in a new community Developer Spotlight.

Hello everyone. So the dev spotlight is finally here! "Took you long enough Kinley." Yes, yes. Turns out putting something like this together takes longer than I thought, but I promise the wait was worth it.

DSO Gaming also posted some new screenshots of the game.

Lately we’ve been getting a lot of screenshots from CD Projekt RED’s upcoming RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Following yesterday’s story, today we present you three new shots from it, as well as the game’s map.

Sunday - March 22, 2015

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ Fanboy Attack

by Couchpotato, 04:18

A YouTube channel called Fanboy Attack interviewed CD Projekt RED at Pax East.

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Saturday - March 21, 2015

Witcher 3 - Review Scores & Gamers

by Couchpotato, 04:31

Gamingbolt has a short quote from CD Projeckt Red about the Witcher 3’s post launch marketing campaign, and whether review scores are important for the game.

Here was the response.

“I think that if a game is good, players will know that regardless of anything. If you play The Witcher and you think it’s good, just tweet or facebook or whatever about it to your friends. If you think we deserve it after you’ve played the game, we’d be honored. Scores are important, that’s true, but at the end of the day, we’re doing it for gamers,” Michał Krzemiński, Senior Art Producer said to GamingBolt.
Another plus in my book for CD Projeckt, and I hope the game lives up to the hype. Also in-case you missed it today azarhal posted more details about the game on our forum.

Friday - March 20, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Updated FAQ

by Couchpotato, 04:12

Gamepressure has new FAQ with answers from the devs of CD Projekt RED. So if you still a question about he game the answer might be in the new FAQ so read on.

We’ve collected the most frequent and important questions about The Witcher 3. The answers to the most difficult ones were given by developers from CD Projekt RED – these answers were marked with the symbol [RED]. For obvious reasons, most of the questions about the details of the story were avoided. With the exception of the information about the locations in which the plot will be set, the article contains no spoilers.

Thursday - March 19, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Interview @ IBTimes

by Couchpotato, 03:35

A web news site called IBTimes had the chance to interview CD Projekt RED's CEO Marcin Iwiński about sexism, free DLC and Game of Thrones in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

IBT: It's safe to say anticipation for Wild Hunt is far greater than for previous games. What are the team's feelings about that hype and how has it affected development?

Marcin Iwiński: It's very flattering and humbling at the same time. The team feels that pressure, but I think it's very uplifting and it's not a bad kind of pressure - we know we're making something really big, we have a plan and we're sticking to it. Hopefully, there will come a time for popping champagne, but it's all sweat and tears now.

You announced that all DLC for Wild Hunt would be free, which was obviously news welcomed with open arms by the community. Do you have a particular stance on paid DLC, or was this a move made simply to garner good press?

We wanted to send a clear message that what is currently happening with DLC is, in a lot of cases, a stretch... and that's me being polite here. We are gamers and whenever we buy a full price new release, we really expect that we will not be treated like milking cows and be charged a few bucks for every tiny thing, be it a sword, horse armour or hairstyle.

The release of Wild Hunt was the best opportunity to put the money where our mouth is and show that we really mean it. We do believe that when gamers buy our game we form a long-term relation and we owe them our care and support, hence the 16 free DLCs. It is our way of saying 'thank you' for buying our game and we would love to see other companies follow this trend.

Wednesday - March 18, 2015

Witcher 3 - Pax East Preview @ Twinfinite

by Couchpotato, 02:46

Well here is another Pax East preview for Witcher 3 from a site called Twinfinite.

I got about an hour with it at PAX East 2015, and was able to get a decent feel for the storytelling. As I mentioned above, the voice acting is great, making following along a lot simpler than what I remembered in the first game. However, there seems to be a lot going on from previous games that I don’t know about.  The Witcher has primarily been a PC series; this time though, The Witcher 3 will be launching on consoles alongside the PC version, meaning there may be a lot of players giving it their first go with the series with this one. If that’s you, I’d highly suggest finding a nice wiki to read up on so you have a better understanding of what exactly is going on.

All I can aadd is to say the game better not get delayed again this year.

Tuesday - March 17, 2015

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Entertainment Buddha

by Couchpotato, 03:43

Here is another preview I found this week for Witcher 3 from Entertainment Buddha.

With two months until the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, it seems that everything is in order to make the game one of the biggest and most exciting role-playing games ever. The Witcher 3 may be Geralt’s final chapter, but at least it will be his biggest, best-looking, and most immersive yet.

Monday - March 16, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Impression & Video Interview

by Couchpotato, 03:17

Analog Addiction published a new hands-on preview of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

After playing the demo and talking with Damien Monnier about Wild Hunt, I can honestly say that my excitement for this title has shot up even more. It looks amazing, it plays smoothly, Geralt is still as rough around the edges as ever, and we are introduced to more characters like Ciri. The sheer volume of content is going to blow both of the previous Witcher titles out of the water, and it became evident after meeting Monnier that the team is entirely dedicated to bringing gamers the best possible experience both before and after release.

That's not all as GamerHubTV released another video interview with Damien Monnier.

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CD Projekt Red developer Damien Monnier explains how the Nvidia Shield opens up complex RPG experiences like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to everyone in this exclusive interview from GDC 2015 in San Francisco.

Sunday - March 15, 2015

Witcher 3 - Yennefer's Profile @ VGamerZ

by Couchpotato, 03:19

VGamerZ posted another charter profile for Witcher 3 this time for Yennefer.

Yennefer of Vengerberg is a sorceress and the main protagonist Geralt of Rivia’s lover, even though their relationship is somewhat complicated. She act’s as a motherly figure towards Ciri and looks at her as if she was her own daughter. Yennefer, like all sorceresses, is sterile, meaning that she cannot have children although she has attempted many times to find a away to become fertile, but all to no avail. She is also a close friend of Triss Merigold, who also loves Geralt and acts as his canon lover in the previous Witcher games, but not in the books.

Friday - March 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Game Pressure

by Couchpotato, 04:52

Here is an interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from a site called Game Pressure with Adam Badowski, Managing Director of CD Projekt RED. He talks about PC vs Consoles.

How did the development team respond, when during that key phase of the development, a period of another three intensive months was added? Were they relieved, or would they rather already be done with the game?

Honestly, I really enjoy talking about the atmosphere within our studio, and have nothing to hide. Surely, the entire team is working really hard, and with such a large group, despite what you may think, not many people have direct contact with the final version, nor do they have a time to play it. Basically, the team is consumed with fixing bugs, and doesn’t really know about the actual phase of the production. When the delay was announced to the developing team, the first reaction was the fear of letting our fans down. However, the disappointment didn’t come from the fact that we have more months of hard work ahead, as many believed that we would make it in time. Obviously, there were some who were tired, as a delay meant more months to be spent working on the project. Everyone wants to do their best, but with such hard challenges it’s not merely a matter of wishful thinking – it means that even more effort must be put in. What is more, the state of the game is unpredictable, the Witcher 3 is so complicated, that we get surprised on a daily basis. Even presentation to the press has revealed to us several things we have yet to improve.

How many people are working on the game?

At the moment, it’s about 230 people.

The process has reached its’ pinnacle?

Yes. As of now it’s a ‘all hands on deck’ kind of stage, so even the developers that aren’t involved in specific tasks, became testers. They are the best for verifying, as they now really their stuff. Graphic artists and designers notice different things.

As it has been officially stated, Your delaying the game to ‘limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly’. Does experience with previous Witchers and Enhanced Editions change the initial state of your game?

Obviously, we are making the product available on all platforms, including consoles, that can work offline – so the player doesn’t have to download a day one patch to run the game. We are trying to solve as many problems as possible until the release date. We will also use that time to send the game to certification, and we intend to work on patches, but when it comes to those, we are talking about minor repairs, if any at all.

Thursday - March 12, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ New Game Network

by Couchpotato, 03:53

Well here is another interview for The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt this week from a site called New Game Network with Damien Monnier of CD Projekt RED. Here is a short sample. 

NGN: You've worked exclusively on The Witcher 3, correct?

Monnier: I arrived shortly after The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. Actually, that was one of the reasons I joined the company. I was very impressed with the way The Enhanced Edition was free for the people who had already purchased The Witcher 2 on the PC.

NGN: It feels like there is a very consumer-friendly culture at CD Projekt RED. Do you feel like there's a particular reason for that?

Monnier: I mean, I know that we're all gamers. I know that for me it was a combination of working for companies before that really screwed gamers a bit. I didn't join the industry to do that. I could see myself being jaded by that. So I found CD Projekt and I thought, "Alright, let's give it a shot." And it's worked. I think there's a lot of people in my position, quite a few boys and girls who have been in the industry for quite a while now who can't see themselves working for anyone else.

NGN: Are you exhausted or excited?

Monnier: I am totally exhausted. Especially with all of the trade shows because I still have to go back and I have to work. But I'm super pumped. I can't wait because I want to see what people think.

When you're so deep into a game, you see what it could be instead of what it is and you're never, ever happy. I would quite happily take an extra year and a half to work on [The Witcher 3] and add more things. Things like- - well, we don't have squirrels in the game because I needed more time to come up with the systems so the little squirrels could climb up the trees. There are monsters which are attracted to dead bodies. Animals are attracted to things, like goats are attracted to the bushes where they can go and eat. I thought maybe squirrels could be attracted to nuts. You loot some nuts, drop them on the ground and the squirrels would come. There's always more stuff you could put in to make the world more believable. As silly as it sounds to have squirrels, it's probably the next step when you think about all the animals we have. But we don't have squirrels yet...I think we might add them at some point.

Tuesday - March 10, 2015

Witcher 3 - GDC Interview @ GamerHubTV

by Couchpotato, 04:39

GamerHubTV posted a new videio interview this week for GDC 2015 with CD Projekt Red developer Damien Monnier about the size, and scope of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt.

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Sunday - March 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - PAX East Gameplay Trailer

by Couchpotato, 04:06

CD Projekt relesed a new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gameplay trailer from PAX East 2015.

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Narrated by Peter Gelencser, Senior Level Designer, the new 7-minute gameplay video takes players on a guided tour of parts of No Man’s Land, one of the giant regions available for exploration in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Watch Geralt discover the secret behind the phantom of the trade route and see him fight a Royal Wyvern to save members of a remote village in need of help.

Saturday - March 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - More Screenshots Released

by Couchpotato, 05:16

PC Gamer posted a few new screenshots for Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt has released a handful of new screens from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, in which our hero Geralt once again finds himself mixed up in a mess of zany new hijinks!

Friday - March 06, 2015

Witcher 3 - What Is The Wild Hunt?

by Couchpotato, 05:23

VGamerZ has a new article this week that talks about The Wild Hunt in Witcher 3.

The Wild Hunt is a cavalcade of spectral horseman who terrorize humans and it is said that they are an omen of death and misfortune. The sight of the Wild Hunt is also known as an omen of war. They abduct people and force them to join them on their ride, and only a few of those who have been abducted have managed to escape, however they were all considered mad and their stories considered nothing but the ramblings of madmen. It is said that they abduct more people during winter and war time, and during the last great war they abducted over twenty  people in Novigrad once they had passed through. The abducted can also reappear many years later, without having aged at all, this is because they are from another world and their time flows differently from the human world.

Sunday - March 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Screenshots Released

by Couchpotato, 05:01

Dual Shockers posted news about some new screenshots for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt Red released two new screenshots of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the game’s official Facebook account giving us one more glimpse on the game’s characters and environments.

Thursday - February 26, 2015

Witcher 3 - More Character Profiles

by Couchpotato, 04:28

VGamerZ released two more Character Profiles for The Witcher III this month.

Triss Merigold

Triss Merigold of Maribor is a sorceress and the main protagonist Geralt of Rivia’s close friend, and lover in The Witcher games. She is also a close friend to Geralt’s main lover through the books, Yennefer of Vengerberg. Triss is in love with Geralt and is very jealous of the relationship which Geralt has with Yennefer, even though the bond they share is very complicated.  Triss took it upon herself to act as a motherly/sisterly figure to Ciri during her time at Kaer Morhen (the witcher stronghold), where she looked after her and helped the others there to treat her as a growing woman, as opposed to a witcher-to-be, because of this Ciri wasn’t subjected to any mutations.

Ciri

Princess Cirilla, better known as Ciri, is one of the main characters in Andrzej Sapowski’s novels.  She is the daughter of Duny and Pavetta, and grandchild of Queen Calanthe and King Roegner

Thursday - February 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Interview & Game Details

by Couchpotato, 04:15

Gamepressure interviewed Adam Badowski, the Managing Director of CD Projekt RED.

How did the development team respond, when during that key phase of the development, a period of another three intensive months was added? Were they relieved, or would they rather already be done with the game?

Honestly, I really enjoy talking about the atmosphere within our studio, and have nothing to hide. Surely, the entire team is working really hard, and with such a large group, despite what you may think, not many people have direct contact with the final version, nor do they have a time to play it. Basically, the team is consumed with fixing bugs, and doesn’t really know about the actual phase of the production. When the delay was announced to the developing team, the first reaction was the fear of letting our fans down. However, the disappointment didn’t come from the fact that we have more months of hard work ahead, as many believed that we would make it in time. Obviously, there were some who were tired, as a delay meant more months to be spent working on the project. Everyone wants to do their best, but with such hard challenges it’s not merely a matter of wishful thinking – it means that even more effort must be put in. What is more, the state of the game is unpredictable, the Witcher 3 is so complicated, that we get surprised on a daily basis. Even presentation to the press has revealed to us several things we have yet to improve.

I also have some new gameplay details from the games forum.

I gathered a new info from this polish Q&A (made by the guys who played the game, without RED's participation) and articles from unrelated websites for the sake of clarification about certain subject matters. Some of it you may already heard about, but I'm sure there will be some new things for you as well.

Wednesday - February 18, 2015

Witcher 3 - Aims to Be Better Than Skyrim

by Couchpotato, 04:49

Well if you feel like reading another article that claims The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be better than Skyrim then head on over to GamesRadar for a new opinion article.

CDP RED has a near-mythical status as an RPG developer for delivering on the kind of promises it’s been making throughout The Witcher 3’s development. In seven years and two games, it’s grown from an unknown game dev arm of a localisation company to a triple-A studio with teams in both Warsaw and Krakow, working on two hugely anticipated titles (Cyberpunk 2077 is still a relative unknown) across three platforms. That wouldn’t have been possible if it didn’t have the talent to deliver its bold claims. Watch out, Dragonborn: Witcher is coming.

Saturday - February 14, 2015

Witcher 3 - Is Hype-Proof @ Examiner

by Couchpotato, 05:32

The Examiner has a new article that calls The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Hype-Proof.

It is full steam ahead for developer CD Projekt RED. Loyal fans of the series and curious newcomers should be excited about what is coming. From what I've experienced, it seems impossible for the studio to drop the ball on this game. Every decision they've made has been passed with the upmost care and concern.

The amount of passion and diligence the studio has poured into this world is staggering and simply inexplicable. Hype hurts some games because they can't measure up to what fans expect. CD Projekt RED has laid out their expectations for what this game will be and that bar is higher than any fans can set. Come May 19, expect the absolute best from CD Projekt RED.

Can you call an entire website a fanboy?Cool

Wednesday - February 11, 2015

Witcher 3 - Can it Get Side Quests Right?

by Couchpotato, 05:04

Eurogamer is back again with another video this week talking about whether CD Projekt RED can get all the quests done right for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

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With Bertie and myself both having played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at a recent preview, we thought it might be fun to sit down and share our (surprisingly different) stories of adventure and optional side quests. Join us as we discuss the level of detail on display outside of the main storyline itself and whether CD Projekt RED will need to sacrifice detail just to fill their gigantic world.

Monday - February 09, 2015

VGamerZ - Profile of Geralt of Rivia

by Couchpotato, 04:31

VGamerZ posted a profile of Geralt of Rivia from the first two Witcher games.

Geralt of Rivia is the main protagonist in Andrzej Sapowski’s The Witcher books, and CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher games. He goes by multiple names, these include The White Wolf (because he has pure white hair and is from the Wolf School), Gwynbleidd (Elder Speech for White Wolf), and Butcher of Blaviken (he thwarted the secret plans of Renfri and her bandits to kill Stregobor and the innocent but as this was not known to the general public it looked as though he killed them for no reason). Although being known as Geralt of Rivia, he isn’t from Rivia. This is because Master Vesemir encouraged all Witcher apprentices to adopt and create a surname so they sound more approachable and trustworthy.

Sunday - February 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - Hands-On Video @ Game Informer

by Couchpotato, 05:45

Game Informer released a new six minute YouTube video where they share their hands-on impression of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from last months press event.

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Kimberley Wallace returns from playing the first three hours of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and has much to share with Andrew Reiner.

Friday - February 06, 2015

Witcher 3 - Dark Difficulty & Permadeath

by Couchpotato, 00:29

Brenna Hillier of VG 24/7 talked with CD Projekt about Dark Difficulty & Permadeath.

At the end of my time with The Witcher 3 and CD Projekt RED earlier this month, I decided to nail down precisely how hard the RPG is. Pulling out my notebook and a pen, I drew a simple chart and labelled the Y axis with “Skyrim” at the bottom and “Dark Souls” at the top.

“I don’t know what the X axis is,” I apologised, “But let’s say the Y axis is a difficulty scale. Down at the bottom here is the toughest challenge in Skyrim. Up the top here is the hardest thing in Dark Souls – something really life destroying, you know?”

Weber caught on immediately. “First of all, Dark difficulty would be somewhere over here,” he said, indicating a space on the other side of the table from us. We both laughed.

“So where’s normal?” I asked, handing him my pen.

He only hesitated for a moment before drawing a line exactly in the middle of the two extremes. So there you have it.

Monday - February 02, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Short News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:25

Lets get started with a new video from Eurogamer about why the site thinks the Witcher 3 is the  Game of Thrones of video games. Sounds crazy right?

Well give a watch then decide for your own.

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If you've looked at the thermometer lately, you will have noticed winter isn't coming, it's well and truly here. That's why the outside has turned into a bleak wasteland reminiscent of the North of Game of Thrones' Westeros, or the frostier realms of The Witcher 3's similarly brutal fantasy world.

Where the recent RPG based on George R.R. Martin's brutal fantasy world was deeply disappointing, Telltale's ongoing effort is a definite improvement. Still, it doesn't give you the freedom to wander off exploring. For an experience that blends the elements of Game of Thrones that make it so popular with a fully fleshed-out fantasy world, The Witcher 3 may well be the answer.

Next I have another interview this time on a site called State of Play.

What are you working on right now?

Jakub Szamalek: Right now the story team is adding the finishing touches to the game. We are doing some onscreen text, some letters and documents. Basically we are wrapping up the entire story part of the game. There a lot of polishing, that’s actually what we are using this time for.

What’s the biggest departure from The Witcher 2?

Jakub Szamalek: I think it’s the open world- it changed everything. It’s a matter of scale, things are much bigger. But it’s also changed how we create the game and how we make quests work.

In The Witcher 2 the structure was linear. There was a lot of non-linearity in the choices you made and the paths you chose, but basically the quests were aligned in a nice neat line. In The Witcher 3 you can do them in whatever order you please and they still have to connect and make sense.

The other thing is that we had to make this huge world interesting. The Witcher 2 had a number of side quests, but since the world was much smaller well could get away with fewer of them. Whereas this time we have built a world that is forty times bigger and so we had to put a lot of attention and time into making the world interesting.

There’s lots of points of interest like ruins, caves, abandoned building and whatnot. We have to make each of these places worth visiting. So there a little bits of back story, there’s someone to meet, a story to discover and a secret to find. There has to be a reward. So we spent a lot of time with that.

From a story perspective there’s this extra layer on non-linearity because you can do the main quests in the game in different orders. Depending on the order in which do them you actually get a slightly different story. So this is really a game changer- opening up the world and making it so big.

Sunday - February 01, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Play Station Lifestyle

by Couchpotato, 04:27

Play Station Lifestyle's Dan Oravasaari had the chance to with speak with CD Projekt RED’s Level Designer Miles Tost, and VP of Global Marketing Tomasz Jarzbowski.

PSLS: Given the amount of optional side-quests available, how are you approaching them so that they do not become repetitive?

M: The cool thing about how we design quests is that you would think that there would be a team for main-quest and a team for side-quest, but that is totally not the case. We spend equal amount of time and effort on making the side-quests as we do making the main-quests, they get the same treatment, they are not lower or anything. That also applies to quests that are much smaller than you average side-quest, we have them on all scales. So, none of them feel repetitive. If you think about it, its not like we came up with a huge world and then decided that we needed to fill it with content and half way through decided that that we are really done now, but we still have this part of the world left and we need to fill it.

No, basically, what happened was that we made the story and the quest and everything, and that basically dictated the size of the world. So, the size that we have in the game is really out of necessity, this is how large we wanted it to be. So, you shouldn’t find a lot of repetition, but what you do find is something different, while it may sound like a weakness, it really is a strength. You may find quests that do start out as something you may recognize from other games, like where you go ‘oh yeah, this is a typical fetch quest, I have to find this guy’s hidden treasure’, but when you do it, it kind of takes this twist and something absolutely different happens. At the end of it you may get to make some morally ambivalent choices, where you are unclear as to how it manifests.

Saturday - January 31, 2015

Witcher 3 - Pronounce These Difficult Words?

by Couchpotato, 05:23

Gamespot has a new video where they try to pronounce some difficult words from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with CD Projekt Red Quest Designer Philipp Weber.

CD Projekt Red quest designer Philipp Weber challenges Daniel Hindes to pronounce the tricky names of people and places from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt!

Thursday - January 29, 2015

Witcher 3 - Another Short Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:59

Well another day and here is more links to various articles for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. So lets get started with a new six minute video interview on GamerHubTv.

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Jonas Mattsson, environmental designer at CD Projekt Red, talks about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in this exclusive interview from the San Francisco press review event.

The second interview is on Gamasutra about growing a studio in a sustainable way.

One of the most interesting traits of CDPR is the studio's penchant for sustained growth -- it's gone from roughly 100-strong at the outset to a headcount of 350 or so, growing steadily beyond "mid-size" during a time when so many mid-size independent studios were collapsing. What can other developers learn from CDPR's success, and how can they avoid repeating the studio's mistakes?

And for last a new article on the Guardian about why sex matters in the game.

The development team behind forthcoming fantasy adventure title The Witcher: Wild Hunt seems unfazed by either moral or technical concerns. The game, due for release in May, contains sex scenes constructed from over 16 hours of motion capture data. There may not be any of Houser’s dildo sex in the George RR Martin-esque fantasy plains, but there is a Hugh Hefnerian amount of lovemaking. It comes quickly, too. Within the first 15 seconds the camera droops to linger on a woman’s fulsome posterior, moments after dismounting the protagonist, the white-haired monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia.

Wednesday - January 28, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Small News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:17

Here is another small news roundup from today for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Up first I have a new YouTube video with more gameplay that was releasd today.

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New Witcher: Wild Hunt gameplay video featuring segments from the game prologue and Skellige islands.

Next I have a new interview from PC Gamer with Level Designer Miles Tost.

PC Gamer: From your perspective, what needs to be done before you sell The Witcher 3?

Miles Tost, Level Designer: There are some small hiccups here and there that still need to be addressed to make for a thoroughly smooth experience. One of the bigger things we’re aware of is the horse, which is probably our main thing that we are working on. Actually, the cool thing about that is that this is one of the main complains of the people, and not, for example, the story. People are not saying, “Alright, the story sucks.” They’re saying the horse controls could be better, which, for us, that’s something that’s perfectly manageable to fix within the time that we have. Like, revamping the entire story or something? That would not be really possible.

Another thing is, of course, the performance hiccups you can see time to time. Those are basically—they’re no-brainers, essentially, right. They need to go. And that’s something we should also very well be able to deal with until launch.

And thanks  to Thrasher I have another article from PC Gamer about DLC.

CD Projekt Red announced in November plans to release 16 pieces of DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at no charge. Nothing too big—horse armor (seriously), alternate beards and hairstyles, that sort of thing—but according to co-founder and CEO Marcin Iwiński, enough to make a "statement" against the trend toward high-priced, low-content DLC.

Tuesday - January 27, 2015

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Digitally Downloaded

by Couchpotato, 06:37

Matt Sainsbury of Digitally Downloaded notified me of a new preview for Witcher 3, and writes he tried to do the preview differently than others sites this week.

The media was recently afforded the opportunity to sit down for a couple of hours to experience the opening sequence in The Witcher 3 ahead of its February release. We were ushered into a room, given controllers and set down to play through the opening tutorial and visit the game's first tiny hamlet to complete a few missions and side quests.

At the end of the time I looked around, and everyone else had made far more progress through the story than I had. It wasn't because I found the game difficult, though it's clearly going to be able to offer a sharp challenge to experienced players. It wasn't because I was too busy soaking in the atmosphere, though to be sure the environments were gorgeous and demanded more than a few slow pans of the camera.

Monday - January 26, 2015

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Massive Hype Roundup

by Couchpotato, 17:25

Yes you read the title right as I lost track of the amount of articles, and other media related news-bits over the last year.  So if you have time here is a new roundup.

So to get started here is a list of links to a bunch of new previews.

  1. PCWorld
  2. Rock,Paper, Shotgun
  3. GameTrailers
  4. Destructoid
  5. GameSpot
  6. IGN
  7. Stevivor
  8. Eurogamer
  9. GameInformer
  10. VG247
  11. Gamereactor
  12. Hardcore Gamer
  13. OnlySP

Next DSO Gaming has three new gameplay videos to watch.

YouTube’s ‘GohaMedia’ has shared three videos from the latest build of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, showing off 15 minutes of new gameplay footage. Our guess is that this is the gameplay footage CD Projekt RED promised to share today, therefore go ahead and enjoy the videos while you still can!

Lets not forget two more interviews I found this week.

  1. Connecte Digital World
  2. Hardcore Gamer

And to complete the roundup here is more screenshots.

Saturday - January 24, 2015

Witcher 3 - New Gameplay Trailer

by Couchpotato, 05:56

CD Projekt Red released a short Gameplay Trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt today in anticipation of the their new Live Q&A later this week on GOG on Jaunuary 26th.

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NEW! The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Gameplay Trailer 2015: Combat, Fighting, Horses & Release Date (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Stay tuned to Open World Games for more The Witcher 3 walkthrough, let's play, free roam exploring gameplay, weapons, bosses fights and battle, hunting monsters, and much more!

Friday - January 23, 2015

Witcher 3 - Live Developer Q&A on GOG

by Couchpotato, 16:19

CD Projekt Red announces on the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt webpage they will be hosting a new  live Q&A on GOG's Twitch channel on January 26th. Here are the details.

Together with our friends from GOG.com we would like to invite everyone for a live session at Twitch.tv/GOGcom, with 15 minutes of gameplay highlights from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and live developer commentary accompanied by a Q&A session.

Damien Monnier - Senior Gameplay Designer, and Miles Tost - Level Desinger, will respond to live comments coming in via Twitch chat, as well as select questions from the GOG.com community forums. If you have some questions you’d like answered head on over to GOG.com and ask away!

The live stream will be hosted on Monday Jan 26 7:00 PM GMT / 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST at Twitch.tv/GOGcom.

Wednesday - January 21, 2015

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Geekbomb

by Couchpotato, 04:19

If you can tolerate the pink layout then a site called Geekbomb has a new interview with CD Projekt Red’s Quest Designer Philipp Weber to talk about The Witcher 3.

Has there been any huge changes in the gameplay or the mechanics from the previous titles?

“The biggest change for us is that we now have an open world, so many of the quests actually work differently. You won’t have the case anymore where people talk about a monster roaming the forest and it’s like ten metres away from you – that will not happen in this game. In general, and as an example, the combat system is a very refined version of The Witcher 2. Its combat system wasn’t perfect. There were some complaints and we listened to them. I personally think that gameplay wise this is my favourite [of the series] and it works very well. I have a lot of fun with the combat system, which I always like to compare to a dance. You move a lot and there’s a rhythm – it’s pretty cool.”

I actually did find it to be a bit like that, and it was really fun! Speaking of combat, one of the things that I really enjoyed was that there was no level adjustment when it came to fighting monsters. You actually had to level up a little bit before taking on certain foes. What was the inspiration behind this move?

“We always liked that in old school games you always felt a sense of accomplishment after you overcame a certain monster that you maybe couldn’t defeat in the beginning. In many games that have been released in the last few years, monsters are always exactly as strong as you are at the time. For me personally it defeats the purpose of a role playing game because you improve your own skills but you also improve your characters. As an example, if the wolves in the prologue level give you issues, it’s a nice feeling that twenty hours later you can return, do that [he snaps his fingers] and they all fall down and die.”

Being the last title in the series, I’m sure a lot of the fans will be desperately wanting some DLC. Can you reveal if there is going to be any at this stage?

“We’ve announced that we are going to be having some free DLC! We don’t really believe in giving you something like an armour pack where we give you the armour and ask for $5.99. Basically we want to treat players like we would personally like to be treated as players.”

Is that part of the reason that you will be providing free DLC – to give something back to gamers?

“Yes, exactly. And if we were to ever charge for DLC then I think it would be more like what we used to call an add-on in the good old days. I think that’s the only way we could imagine making DLC that you would have to pay for – so you actually get your moneys worth.”

Thank you azarhal for the link.

Monday - January 19, 2015

Witcher 3 - Big Reveal This Week

by Couchpotato, 06:07

It appears CD Projekt is getting ready for another big reveal for Witcher 3 based on a new Twitter post. As usual here is the information if you're interested.

Busy day packing getting ready to fly to San Francisco for our big press event next week. Gonna blow some minds.

Tuesday - January 13, 2015

Witcher 3 - Will Be A Top Game of 2015

by Couchpotato, 04:36

A game website called Game Criticism calls Witcher III one of the top Games of 2015, and list a few reasons why they think it will be, I for one agree with those bold words.

The Witcher 3 has been made perfect and it justifies delay of one of the best RPGs till now. Series of Withcher games are actually based upon Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. That is why the setting of these games is of medieval era filled with imaginary. A monster hunter with unimaginative powers is one of the few witchers that managed to survive. First game of this series was released in 2007 then the sequel came in 2011 and rated as one of the top Role Playing Games ever made.  Let’s explore why it will be hot favorite game of 2015.

Thursday - January 08, 2015

Witcher 3 - A Little Background on Ciri

by Couchpotato, 01:03

Neo Heresy of XP4T posted a new article with information on The Witcher III’s newest playable character Ciri. If you read the books you should know who she is.

On December 16th Bandai Namco Games and CD Projekt RED revealed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will feature a second playable character, in addition to Geralt of Rivia – the gaming franchise’s headline star. That new character will be Ciri, the ashen-hair Surprise Child who was promised to Geralt by her father, Duny (future emperor of Nilfgaard). As you should already have figured out by now, Cirilla’s no random addition to the world of The Witcher, but a very important character in Geralt’s life as her existence is connected with Geralt’s by a powerful bond of fate and ancient laws. But who exactly is she?

Wednesday - January 07, 2015

Witcher 3 - System Requirements Released

by Aries100, 19:51

CD Project RED has announced the system requirements for this game - on Facebook,
it seems. The requirements for your system will be these:

Minimum System Requirements
Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz
AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 660
AMD GPU Radeon HD 7870
RAM 6GB
OS 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1)
Direct X 11
HDD Space 40 GB

Recommended System Requirements 
Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3,4 GHz
AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 770
AMD GPU Radeon R9 290
RAM 8GB
OS 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1)
Direct X 11
HDD Space 40 GB

Is it just me or do games these days really have delusions of grandeur) I mean, 40GB?

 

Wednesday - December 31, 2014

Witcher 3 - Steelbooks Coming Soon

by Couchpotato, 05:32

Hardcore Gamer has news about the Steelbooks for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

We still have a few months before we can get our hands on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. However, we can catch a glimpse right now at some beautiful art for upcoming steelbooks. The amount of intricate detail is spectacular. The world they’ve traveled and journeys they’ve endured are etched forever on their faces. You can actually see cities and forests on their cheeks. It’s quite breathtaking, just staring at them.

Tuesday - December 23, 2014

Witcher 3 - Final Bugs & Extra Dev Time

by Couchpotato, 05:44

An editor named Mansoor on a small site called Nerdacy had the chance to ask a question of CD Projekt RED CEO Marcin Iwinski about the delay The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Shortly after the announcement of the delay, I emailed CD Projekt RED co-founder and CEO Marcin Iwinski to find out a few intricate details on the matter. Here’s what he had to say when I asked him about the specifics of what they will be addressing with this extra development time:

“We are removing the final bugs and still running optimization in various areas. What it will result in is a smoother and more engaging experience and, yes, the game looking better across all platforms. The content is locked, so no content changes are being made at this point. The scale of the open world in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is unprecedented, so fear not – there is enough gameplay to keep you playing for weeks.”

When we last spoke with Iwinski, he said the game holds about 120 hours of gameplay, which is equivalent to BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. That is a lot of gameplay and story.

Thursday - December 18, 2014

Witcher 3 - Badly Polished Games

by Couchpotato, 04:08

Eurogamer's polish site had a chance to talk with a board member of CD Projekt named Adam Kiciński about the extra delay for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

"Gamers ..." he said (in a translation supplied by Eurogamer Poland), "took our decision very well. [The] market is afraid of badly polished games on next-gen platforms."

Undeniably, the faulty releases of games such as Assassin's Creed: Unity, DriveClub and The Master Chief Collection are still fresh in people's minds.

"We want to disarm the opinion that [The Witcher 3] doesn't exist," he went on, tackling another concern. "It will be closed by the end of the year in line with the schedule.

"There's a lot of small errors though, because the game is huge. It's the only reason behind the delay. We didn't assume it will be this big. Only after putting all the pieces together it turned out it's bigger than the two first put together. Let me remind you: it's open and not linear. We are just learning how to play it and we have to catch the little pieces. We know what to do, we just have to do it. We don't want to release the game with bugs that undermine the gameplay."

Tuesday - December 16, 2014

Witcher 3 - Second Playable Character Revealed

by Aubrielle, 12:32

The second playable character in the Witcher 3 has been revealed.  Her name is Ciri, she's quick, she blinks around, she's prominent in the lore, and she's got white hair.  Killer.

Earlier this month, CD Projekt Red teased a second playable character in its upcoming RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. My fingers were crossed for Yarpen Zigrin, but it will actually be Ciri, an "ashen-haired girl from an ancient prophecy," and a prominent character in the Witcher novels and television series.

Ciri is a talented swordfighter, possesses great speed and agility, can "blink," and will unlock several unique abilities over the course of the game. There's also a "mythical power" lying dormant within her that CD Projekt will shed more light on in the future.

"A descendant in a long-lost Elven-blood lineage, Ciri plays an important role in the Witcher lore—a powerful, living weapon capable of both healing and destroying the world she inhabits," it said. Her presence will allow the studio to dig into some different narrative angles, but it emphasized that the game remains entirely about the Witcher, Geralt.

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More information.

Source: PC Gamer

Monday - December 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - Delayed (again) to May 2015

by Hexprone, 18:24

Geralt of Rivia will not be yours for Valentine's Day next year after all, PC Gamer reports:

Yes, CD Projekt's RPG sequel has been delayed. Again. It's being pushed back a further three months, with the new release date set for May 19, 2015.

According to an open letter published by The Board of CD PROJEKT SA, the delay is due to the "sheer size and complexity" of the game. "Now, nearing the end of our work," they write, "we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio’s history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly."

Disappointing, but I'm always happier to see a delayed game than a rushed release.

Source: PC Gamer

Saturday - December 06, 2014

Witcher 3 - Now with 100% More Playable Characters

by Hexprone, 08:56

So far, the Witcher series has been centered on the character of Geralt. He's still got the lead in The Wild Hunt, but apparently one of the other characters from the preview that debuted at tonight's VGA awards will be playable as well. But they haven't said which one.

There's no confirmation of whether this is really an alternative choice of hero throughout the game, or whether (more likely) you'll just take control of the character during their own set of sidequests.

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My guess it's the white-haired, elder-blooded woman referred to as Siri in the video.

Thursday - November 13, 2014

Witcher 3 - CD Projekt Helps Disabled Fan

by Couchpotato, 03:55

Eurogamer has a new article that will probably get called a pr stunt again about CD Projekt helping a disabled fan get his likeness added to an NPC in Witcher 3.

So just let me say bravo CD Projekt you did a good thing today.

"Some time ago we got an email from this guy. He described his situation and wanted to let the studio know what he thinks about our games and what they mean to him. That was a very kind and touching email. He didn't ask for anything, just to pass the message to others in [CD Projekt] Red.

"Over the weekend we exchanged a couple of emails and finally came up with an idea to put his face in The Witcher 3. Let me quote one of these emails: 'It is great that we can do something to make him feel better :)'. I think that sums it up pretty well."

Wednesday - November 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - The DLC Plan @ Techraptor

by Couchpotato, 02:28

Don Parsons notified me once again of a new opinion article on his site Techraptor where he talks about why he doesn't like the new DLC plan for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt Red is clearly trying to get the hype going for this January’s release of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt as every week or two there’s been an announcement. And this week, as covered by our own Andrew Stretch, it was revealed that they will be having 16 Free DLC released.

First, I do want to say that I respect most of CD Projekt Red’s policies. Their no DRM set is a rare bit of sanity, their games are well designed and their DLC is more like older style patches with free bonus things they’ve done. As a fan of older games, I also love CD Projekt’s gog.com which has allowed me to play these games easier optimized for new pcs and to discover ones I had missed.

The plan for The Witcher’s 3 DLC goes as follows: there will be 16 of them. They will be released in groups of 2 – with 2 on Day 1 and 2 more each week. We don’t know the majority of these (Leaks will probably continue over the next few weeks sprinkling out) but the first four (day 1 and week 1) DLC were announced. They seem to be in a pack of one cosmetic and one gameplay thing based on the pattern we see so far.

These sound fine, but let’s discuss the issues here and why I believe it is nothing more than a marketing tactic.

Thursday - November 06, 2014

Witcher 3 - 16 Free Dlcs for Everyone!

by Couchpotato, 18:36

CD Projekt Red announced on the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt webpage that every buyer of the game will be getting sixteen free dlcs on the games release.

Open Letter from Marcin Iwiński, co-founder and Joint CEO of CD PROJEKT RED.

“We love games. We love collecting them, playing them, and everything connected to that experience. Every time we reach out for a new release, we expect to be taken care of. We expect support if we encounter any problems, we love updates constantly improving the experience, and we feel really special when we receive free content that gives us more than we initially paid for. It doesn’t have to be huge, it can be an awesome skin for a character, or an extra sword, or armor.

Unfortunately this treatment is quite rare these days. As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached. Haven’t we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?

As CD PROJEKT RED, we strongly believe this is not the way it should work and, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we have decided to do it differently. Cutting to the chase, everyone who buys Wild Hunt will receive 16 specially prepared DLCs absolutely for free, regardless of platform. You don’t have to pre-order, you don’t have to buy any special edition to get them -- if you own a copy of Wild Hunt, they’re yours. This is our way of saying thank you for buying our game.”

Thursday - October 30, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Music Trailer

by Couchpotato, 16:09

CD Projekt released a new music trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt called, "The Trail."

Tuesday - October 28, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GameZone

by Couchpotato, 04:44

I found a short interview on a site called GameZone with CD Projekt Red's Studio Communications Manager Fabian Mario Doehla who answers a few questions.

How has the leak affected the game?

"It has gave away some of the monster designs. The world map leaked. We always talked about how big the game was. It sounded really bad but it wasn't that bad.  You've got a plan when to show people and what and when the plan gets messed up it's a little upsetting. We were upset for a few days and then we kept on. I even heard that we leaked it on purpose to generate PR and show how big the game is, but seriously, if you work so hard you don't leak anything on purpose. The good thing is we still have much to reveal. Not everything is leaked. There willl be some interesting things coming up."

In what way is The Witcher 3 going to be more than the first two games?

"It's open world. People like talking about the size of the game, and yes it's bigger than other open world games. Yes, it's also 35 times bigger than The Witcher. It's based on a novel which helps a lot with story writing. It's always cheesy to talk about great graphics, but it's been a while since The Witcher 2, don't forget. We focused working on next-gen, which is now called current gen and that's made quite a different."

How do you differentiate console development and PC development?

"It's quite similar. You have to put in more work to make your game work on different hardware and operating systems. Xbox One and PS4 require harder work to get more out of your game, because of set specifications. Luckily enough we never had to deal with less powerful platforms so there won't be too much of a difference between the PC and console. If you've got a high spec PC you can push up the resolution. I'm not saying we can run Witcher 3 on 4k on console, but you probably will on a good enough PC."

Saturday - October 25, 2014

Witcher 3 - Opening Cinematic Released

by Couchpotato, 05:20

As promised from CVG here is the Opening Cinematic for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Here's the EXCLUSIVE full opening cinematic of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, shown at the Golden Joystick Awards 2014.

The Golden Joystick Awards was the first place in the world to see this trailer. And, if you missed the awards, don't forget that you can catch up on the full event by going here:

http://www.twitch.tv/goldenjoystickaw...

The Witcher 3 was one of several big video reveals on the day, so it's worth tuning in for that alone. You can also see all the big winners in the world's oldest gaming award ceremony, awarding the best home computer and video games of the year, as voted for by the general public.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an upcoming action RPG set in a lavish, open world environment - an open world, in fact, bigger than any other in modern RPG history.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is developed by CD Projekt RED and is due for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac on 24 February 2015.

Friday - October 24, 2014

Witcher 3 - Golden Joystick Awards Teaser

by Couchpotato, 05:26

CVG released a short teaser trailer of the of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt opening cinematic.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Teaser Golden Joystick Awards 2014

Here's an EXCLUSIVE teaser video of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt opening cinematic. The opening will be premiered IN FULL at the Golden Joystick Awards on Friday 24 October.

This will be the first place in the world to see it, and you can join in via the Golden Joysticks Twitch live stream, which starts at 15.40 BST, 10:40 EDT.

Watch the awards livestream here!
http://www.twitch.tv/goldenjoystickaw...

The Witcher 3 is one of several big video reveals on the day, so it's worth tuning in for that alone. You'll also get to see all the big winners in the world's oldest gaming award ceremony, awarding the best home computer and video games of the year, as voted for by the general public.

Wednesday - October 22, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Play-Mag

by Couchpotato, 05:49

Play-Mag has a short preview of a new interview with CD Projekt Red.

You might remember The Witcher 2 taking a sly dig at Assassin’s Creed by including a dead Assassin lying next to a hay bail.

Well, CD Projekt Red has taken another cheeky dig at their rivals when talking about The Witcher 3′s side quests.

“Yeah, it’s definitely difficult to do that,” said The Witcher 3 producer Stan Just in an interview with Play in issue 249, when we asked about the difficulty of telling a story in an open world setting.

“What’s also difficult is to fill out the world with enough quests to do, while also making sure that those quests feel related to one another in some way. You have a lot of choices that you can make in the game, and they come in all shades of grey, so it’s difficult for us to work out all the intricacies and the relationships between those decisions,” Just explained.

Just said that even when you stumble across a side quest, it’ll be grounded in the the overarching story of the game.

“What you need to remember,  is that the world in Wild Hunt is experiencing political turmoil,” Just said. “A side quest about a force occupying a village might be a separate plot in itself and have a beginning and an end, but it’s also a plot that is grounded within the bigger storyline and the war.”

“These things are optional to do but if you do them you will find they are still part of the bigger picture,” Just continued.

We asked Just if this means The Witcher 3 won’t include sidequests that are no more than meaningless distractions.

“No,” he says,  laughing, “you won’t be doing things like searching for feathers”.

Monday - October 20, 2014

Witcher 3 - Various Website Updates

by Couchpotato, 06:50

CD Projekt RED has a bunch  of new updates on the Witcher 3 this month , So in-case you missed any of them just follow this link to the website. Here is the latest one.

Foglets can appear wherever thick fog arises: swamplands, mountain passes or the shores of rivers and lakes. If no fog is forthcoming, they can create or summon it themselves. By manipulating fog they can separate travelers from each other, hide trails and deafen noise. You can learn more about this mysterious creature here.

Sunday - October 19, 2014

Witcher 3 - Sex, Story & Open Worlds

by Couchpotato, 04:08

The EGMR staff talk with CD Projekt RED Communications Manager Fabian Doehla about sex, story, and open worlds in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

There are few games that we at EGMR love more than The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on its way, we were eager as beavers to get talking about the game with one of CD Projekt’s own.

We really love CD Projekt RED and getting to personally speak to Communications Manager Fabian Doehla (sorry for the misspelling in the video) at rAge was an absolute honour. Watch our interview above together with Marko Swanepoel where we ask Fabian about what you can get up to in the third game in the trilogy — and yes, we go there.

Our sincere apologies for the sound quality in the video which was due to last-minute audio hitches that were out of our control. Still, we hope it’s mostly audible to you and if not, perhaps consider how lucky you are to be alive in this day and age and not during the times of the bubonic plague.

Saturday - October 18, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ VG 24/7

by Couchpotato, 03:37

VG 24/7 has a new interview with CD Projekt Red’s Mical Gilewskito to ask him a few questions about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt this week.

Despite the open nature of the setting, Gilewski said that Wild Hunt will still feel like a Witcher game, even though the developer hopes to attract a new audience to the series.

“For me this game is a little bit more like The Witcher 1 – the whole story revolves around you,” he offered. “With The Witcher 2 it was more about politics. Here, everything revolves around The Witcher character. It will appeal to all the fans – this focus on Geralt and making him the real protagonist of the story.

“One of the lessons we learned from the Witcher 2 was that people didn’t have to have played the previous game but they got the impression that they should have.

“We are starting from scratch but at the same moment making sure all the fans are going to find a lot of familiar elements – NPCs, places, story – some connection. We are introducing them in a way that if you don’t know them you will not feel that you’re missing something. If you do know them, it it’s us winking at you.”

As a bonus here is a short video recap of EGX 2014.

Friday - October 17, 2014

Witcher 3 - Golden Joystick Awards

by Couchpotato, 08:51

CD PROJEKT RED announces they will releasing the full opening cinematic for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at the Golden Joystick Awards. So look forward to the YouTube video.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at Golden Joystick Awards

CD PROJEKT RED, the developer behind the critically acclaimed Witcher franchise of games, is gearing up to unveil the opening cinematic from the studio’s flagship open world RPG fantasy adventure-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

On the 24th of October, 15:45 BST, tune in to the Golden Joystick Awards Ceremony and be among the first people on the planet to watch Geralt of Rivia following The Trail, in an epic intro foreshadowing the main storyline of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

After the world premiere at Golden Joystick Awards, The Trail Opening Cinematic will also be made available on thewitcher.com/thetrail for everyone to enjoy.

Additionally, the studio is proud to inform that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been nominated in the “Most Wanted” category. Gamers eager to help the game win can cast their vote here.

Wild Hunt is a story-driven, next-generation open world role-playing game, set in a graphically stunning fantasy universe, full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. In The Witcher, you play as Geralt of Rivia, one of a dying caste of monster hunters, and embark on an epic journey in a war-ravaged world that will inevitably lead you to confront a foe darker than anything humanity has faced so far—the Wild Hunt.

The game is scheduled to launch February 24th, 2015, on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation®4. Visit www.thewitcher.com and buy.thewitcher.com for more information about the game and pre-order availability worldwide. For more on the Golden Joystick Awards and to be first to see the trailer, make sure you stay tuned.

Thursday - October 16, 2014

Witcher 3 - Video Inteview @ GameranX

by Couchpotato, 07:58

GameranX has new video interview with CD Project RED's Damien Monnier.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is a mind blowing game from polish game developer CD Project RED based on famous books by Andrzej Sapkowski. At the interview we've asked Damien Monnier about open world, armor, weapons, exploration and many other interesting things.

Wednesday - October 15, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ International Game News

by Couchpotato, 05:28

International Game News has a new interview with Art Producer Stan of CD PROJEKT RED to ask a few questions about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

You added a tutorial in the ‘Enhanced Edition’ of The Witcher 2; has that made you think more closely about how you teach players the mechanics of The Witcher 3 ?

Definitely it has, yes. Last month the studio was dedicated specifically to tutorials, so we know that’s something we need to include and it’s something we’ve developed heavily. From the very start, as far as I’m concerned, the way we teach players has been vastly improved. I was guilty of the opposite on The Witcher 2. I was too static when it came to talking about including a tutorial system.

Are there a lot of new things that returning players will need to learn?

I would say that the controls themselves have changed a little bit because the combat system has been revamped. Still, despite that, I think it will be rather easy for returning players to learn the new controls. I guess I would describe the combat as easy to learn and hard to master.

In the demo it was said that getting between the two places shown would take around 20 minutes on a sprinting horse…

Yeah, that’s right. Unfortunately, we haven't tasked anybody on the testing team to find out how long it would take to get across the entire world that we’ve built. For a start, you couldn’t get across all of it just using a horse at times you would have to climb a mountain and at other times you would have to sail a boat or dive through underwater passage ways. It’s huge, really. It's massive.

Tuesday - October 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Game Plane

by Couchpotato, 04:59

A site called Game Plane.de has a new inteview with Miles Tost the Level Designer at CD PROJEKT RED to talk about secret characters, challenges and mud wrestling.

This time, your collector’s edition is a really awesome package. How long did it take you to determine the content and who was involved in designing and selecting its contents?

The Witcher 3 Collector's EditionOh, this is a complicated process that takes a really long time. First of all, CD PROJEKT RED always tries to push this aspect of publishing to the limits, I mean, our standard edition contains items that are normally reserved for limited editions of other games, and we’re releasing them for the standard price. The Collector’s Edition content was squeezed in up until the very last moment–we wanted every centimeter of the huge box used, hence the signatures of the entire team printed on the lid. Also, the Geralt Battling a Griffin figure, that took a long time to prepare, and is nicely illustrated by the making of video we released some time ago. It’s a real sculpture, created by real sculptors, and not a 3D printed model from the game. It’s really unique.

What has been your biggest challenge during the development process of The Witcher 3?

It’s really hard to answer that question because every department faces different challenges. In general, I think that maintaining the creative vision behind the game, and keeping everything coherent was a very difficult part. I mean, it’s a HUGE game, and it’s super important to always have a bird’s eye view and constantly check if we haven’t veered off course.

 Talking about locations, which is my area of expertise, I think it was coming up with interesting and fresh places for players to visit, while keeping things believable in good old Witcher fashion. With a world this big it’s easy to fall into patterns that get repetitive real quick. However, thanks to an incredibly talented and creative team, I believe we hit a pretty cool sweet spot, which results in the world holding many surprises for players to find and explore.

How long would it take me in real time to travel through this vast games world? Hours, days or even weeks?

It’s definitely not weeks and days, even MMOs aren’t that big *laughs*. I don’t know to be honest, I haven’t tried that. Covering every inch there is would take you quite a while, especially if you roam the world unprepared. There’s plenty of stuff to keep you busy. We’re 35 times bigger than The Witcher 2, and that was a pretty big game after all. Our goal is for completing the game to take you roughly 100 hours, 50 hours of the main story, and about 50 hours of side-quests. And if that’s not enough – play it again, see what else could’ve happened if just your choices had been different.

Sunday - October 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - EGX 2014 Developer Session

by Couchpotato, 09:04

Hee is a new video from CD Projekt at EGX 2014 giving a new Developer Session for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Thank you danutz_plusplus for the link.

Using the latest video and gameplay stills, CD Projekt's Damien Monnier presents the various mechanics which combine to create the living and breathing world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Saturday - October 11, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ The Examiner

by Couchpotato, 04:15

The Examiner posted a new interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with Michał Krzemiński the games Senior Art Producer at CD Projekt Red.

Examiner: What is the story structure we will be looking at for The Witcher 3? Multiple arcs? Twists and turns?

Michał Krzemiński: It’s pretty complex. We don’t make the mistake of swamping gamers with a ton of info and leaving them to deal with it, instead, we’re unveiling parts of the bigger story as they proceed. You can expect a lot of twists, yes, but you can also count of a myriad of side stories, we give you with each side-quest. These might not be related to the main story arc directly, but they greatly enrich the general experience, give the world a ton of credibility, and provide further information about what you experience in the main story arc.

Examiner:  Does the entire world allow CD Projekt RED to explore all of the lore in The Witcher series or are there still things that will miss The Witcher 3?

Michał Krzemiński: I think it’s not like that. The Witcher lore is not something finite, it’s not a set of tales, rules, and characters. It’s a world, with its own myths and tales. Geralt is the central character of the games and books, but the world dates back so long that you could go back a thousand years and spin a totally different tale if you wanted. In Wild Hunt we’re taking on one of the most predominant forces of that universe--the Wild Hunt.

Examiner: How long will it take to traverse from one side of the world to the other on foot? How long on horseback?

Michał Krzemiński: I don’t know, as I haven’t tried to measure that by myself. But you’re essentially asking about the world size, right? Wild Hunt is 35 times bigger than The Witcher 2, and, with all the points of interest and quests we put around the world for you to explore, visiting every place and finding everything will take a long time.

Examiner: Have you given any thoughts as to whether or not you'll release a demo?

Michał Krzemiński: Currently we’re focusing on polishing the game itself. Talk to us about a demo closer to the launch date.

Also as a bonus CD Projekt Red has a new Teaser page called “Follow The Trail”.

Tomorrow around 4PM (Polish time) you might wanna follow THE TRAIL on thewitcher.com. That's all I'm gonna say for now;)

Thursday - October 09, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:13

I found a few more article that post a few quotes from CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3. Most of them are just parts of a different interview, but may be interesting to read.

Examiner -"World of The Witcher 3  on track for 2015 release"

When compared to previous games, Wild Hunt is much bigger in terms of world size. When asked if the world of the game allows the development studio to explore all the lore of The Witcher series, Krzemiński shared that while Geralt is the central character, the world itself dates back a thousand years and numerous stories could be told. As such, the development team chose to tell the tale of one of the biggest forces in the series’ universe; that being the Wild Hunt. Find Krzemiński’s full comment below:

"I think it’s not like that. The Witcher lore is not something finite, it’s not a set of tales, rules, and characters. It’s a world, with it’s own myths and tales. Geralt is the central character of the games and books, but the world dates back so long that you could go back a thousand years and spin a totally different tale if you wanted. In Wild Hunt we’re taking on one of the most predominant forces of that universe--the Wild Hunt."

While discussing the development of the game, Krzemiński shared that the title remains on track and that the game will be launching on Feb. 24, 2015. The game will face tough competition that month as Sony releases two major PS4 exclusives: The Order: 1886 and Bloodborne. You can read Krzemiński’s statement regarding the release date below:

"Yes, we’re on track with everything and launching February 24th, 2015."

Lazygamer - "Is The Witcher 3 going to be be a disappointment?"

As I’ve been saying for just about ever, The Witcher 3 is sitting pretty, right at the very top of the increasingly large pile of game’s I’m terribly excited for. It’s been delayed once or twice now, and will finally be upon us in February next year, a week or so before my Birthday, if you had any gifts in mind. According to a random person on the internet though, those of us eagerly awaiting the second coming in RPG form might be setting ourselves up for disappointment.

Worldsfactory - "CD Projekt: There Will Be No Downgrade For The Witcher 3"

Even though CD Projekt enjoyed a full fledged honeymoon with both the press and the community so far, the last few days have sparked somewhat of a commotion in the community, particularly on the official forums and on Neogaf.


Wednesday - October 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - Complex Plot & Twists

by Couchpotato, 01:31

The Examiner has a few quotes from CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3 plot. The article is very short, but might be of interest to some of you.

Like any well told story, CD Projekt Red doesn’t want to overwhelm players with too much information. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, Krzemiński says that the bigger parts of the story will be disclosed to the player as they advance through the game. One of the reasons behind this approach is because the game’s story is said to be “pretty complex”. Find Krzemiński’s full comment on the story and its structure below:

"It’s pretty complex. We don’t make the mistake of swamping gamers with a ton of info and leaving them to deal with it, instead, we’re unveiling parts of the bigger story as they proceed."

In addition to a complex main story arc, The Witcher 3 will throw a lot of twists and turns at players. Apart from these unexpected storyline twists, players can also expect numerous side stories featured in each side-quest. Some of these side stories and quests may not be tied to or related to the main story arc directly, but they will deepen the overall experience one has with the game. Krzemiński says that the side-quests and side stories will give the game’s world greater credibility and offer extra material about what you experience from the main story. Find his full explanation below:

"You can expect a lot of twists, yes, but you can also count of a myriad of side stories, we give you with each side-quest. These might not be related to the main story arc directly, but they greatly enrich the general experience, give the world a ton of credibility, and provide further information about what you experience in the main story arc."

Sunday - October 05, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - New Screenshots

by Couchpotato, 05:31

Playstationing posted some new screenshots for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a story-driven, next-generation open world role-playing game, set in a fantasy universe full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. In The Witcher 3, you play as Geralt of Rivia, one of a dying caste of monster hunters, and embark on an epic journey in a war-ravaged world that will inevitably lead you to confront a foe darker than anything humanity has faced so far—the Wild Hunt. You can view the newly released screenshots below.

Thursday - October 02, 2014

Witcher 3 - Impression @ Gamer Attitude

by Couchpotato, 03:00

Gamer Attitude's Thomas Ellis posted his impression of a recent The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt presentation where he was shown a short demo of the game at EGX 2014

I missed out on the first 2 instalments of The Witcher being a PlayStation owner but the third one will be multi-platform. I heard good things about the series and as details and trailers started coming out, I started getting excited and what better place to see the game in action played by the developer than EGX.

Wednesday - October 01, 2014

Witcher 3 - DLC & DRM Interview @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 05:13

IGN posted a short sample of a new interview with developer CD Projekt Red that talks about DLC, and DRM for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Speaking to IGN during last week's EGX convention, head of marketing and PR Michal Platkow-Gilewski revealed it ultimately comes down to what they want to encounter in releases from other developers.

"We don’t want to assault anyone," he said. "Each time we are thinking about a decision, the first rule is we have to treat gamers like we’d like to be treated. We don’t believe in DRM because we hate DRM. It also doesn’t protect, not really. Games are cracked in minutes, hours or days, but they’re always cracked. If you want to pirate you’ll find a way. But if you’re a committed gamer and are buying the game why should we place a barrier on you?

"Then, with DLC, it’s small content. Like one-thousandth of the whole game. Why should you charge for that? If it’s small, give it for free. I know it’s not always possible or easy but this is what we want to give gamers; a little bit of love, which we’d like to get from other developers as gamers ourselves."

Monday - September 29, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Character Models

by Couchpotato, 05:19

Turin Turambar on NeoGAF uncovered two high-resolution images for Witcher 3.

I had to look at some details like the low-poly fingers to know it was actually the ingame assets (or at least for real time cutscenes).

Sunday - September 28, 2014

Witcher 3 - Geralt A Handsome Man

by Couchpotato, 12:52

Eurogamer posted a silly article for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt about the leading actor of the series Geralt being a handsome man. Read it if you dare.

Two important questions for a Friday: is Geralt too handsome in The Witcher 3 - a genuine concern - and what more can we do while sailing in the game?

In The Witcher 3, Geralt is ruggedly good looking, humanised by a beard and only marked as different by his cat-like yellow eyes. In previous games he was more angular, alien.

For here is a man considered non-human - a man mutated by procedures to make him a super-human monster killer. It's a process that left Geralt with no body pigmentation, with pale skin and white hair. Is handsome what Andrzej Sapkowski, creator of The Witcher fiction, had in mind?

"The truth is, [Geralt] was a relatively handsome man," CD Projekt Red's Michal Platkow-Gillewski told me at EGX. "He could have love affairs with a lot of women - that's in the books, and the same happens in our games. Looking as a monster, you couldn't achieve that.

"Maybe we were looking for a perfect proportion of his face and in previous instalments we weren't there. This [Witcher 3 portrayal] is my favourite, and there is no canonical Geralt face. It's the first time I heard that someone doesn't like someone because he's too handsome - but if he's so handsome, I'm not so sure."

I wonder if it's a way of attracting more people to the game - newer audiences.

"Hmm, no," he pondered, "but if you think he's more handsome, maybe that will help us. But it was not like, 'Hey guys, let's make him super-handsome.' We were just looking for this look where he is strong, he looks like a predator, especially with his eyes. Maybe the beard is doing the job."

Friday - September 26, 2014

Witcher 3 - Traveling Monster Hunter

by Couchpotato, 02:41

CD Projekt RED released a new five minute video development diary for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt today called the,"Traveling Monster Hunter."

Listen to Wild Hunt developers talk about the dangers, challenges, and adventures that await you in the vast, open world of The Witcher.

Friday - September 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Hype Production

by Couchpotato, 05:17

Art Producer Stan Just of CD Projekt Red is interviewed in a new video from Hype Production this week to talk about The Witcher 3 The Wild Hunt

Monday - September 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamerHubTV

by Couchpotato, 06:07

GamerHubTV has another video interview for The Witcher 3 with VFX Artist Jose Teixeira while he was at GamesCom 2014 last month.

CD Projekt Red VFX artist Jose Teixeira discusses the latest revelations about the epic action RPG, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt in this exclusive gameplay preview interview from Gamescom 2014.

Wednesday - September 03, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Games Reviews

by Couchpotato, 02:47

Games Reviews Mat Growcott has posted a new preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 3 is looking like it’ll be well worth your time. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the developers are not only going for depth, but also for ease of access that’ll make exploring the wealth of features that much more enjoyable for the majority. Slap on beautiful graphics and a dark fantasy story, and this is easily the most exciting RPG on the horizon.

Monday - September 01, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Gamers Post

by Couchpotato, 05:53

A small site by the name of Gamers Post has a new preview of The Witcher 3.

The game is coming out next year, 2015 on 25th February, because of the delay by the studio. CD Project wanted to make the experience deeper and richer and that’s why they wanted to have more time for working on the game.

The game looks really fantastic and the dynamic combat looks awesome too. All the characters in the world react similarly as the ones in Skyrim, they have day and nighttime activities. The graphics looks beautifully crafted.

We are really looking forward for this one! Maybe an upcoming Masterpiece?

Monday - August 25, 2014

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ PakGamers

by Couchpotato, 06:04

PakGamers interviewed CD Projekt Red to ask a few questions about The Witcher III.

Wajhi Jafri from pakgamers.com interviews Polish developer CD Projekt Red about their upcoming action RPG The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.

Questions:

  1. How does the underwater exploration work? Is it quest based or can we explore at will like when we’re using the boat to travel?
  2. Can we expect similar choice based consequences of playing completely different chapters like we did in The Witcher 2?
  3. Are there boss fights like the Kayran in The Witcher 3?
  4. Any details on the Skill tree? Is it like the one in The Witcher 1, The Witcher 2 or something new altogether?
  5. Check point system or save anywhere? Or both?
  6. Will some quests be cancelled if others are completed before it or if a certain amount of time has passed like in The Witcher 1?
  7. Can we expect further changes to Geralt’s model by the time the game ships?

Sunday - August 24, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - New Q&A Video

by Couchpotato, 06:06

CD Projekt Red released a new Q&A video yesterday for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Will there be gnomes in the game?
Does the horse have its own inventory?
Are there NPC monsters that you can talk to?
How much coffee do you drink each day at CD PROJEKT RED?

These are just some of the many questions you’ve recently asked us. We picked 20 - the list was long and we couldn’t answer everything, but rest assured, the following months will bring you a lot of new information about the game.

Now, the time has come to bring you the answers! So sit back, relax, sip your favorite beverage, and enjoy our short Q&A session.

Saturday - August 23, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:33

A site called T4Mag talks about the impressive visuals in The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt Red, the team behind the Witcher 3, believes that the game will take over a 100 hours to complete – half of which will be on the main mission alone. But, what’s more impressive is how the team were able to drastically push the graphics on current generation of consoles along with a marked increase in the size of the game environment. With a world that big, fast travel will be making its way since transport can be essential and you can expect to ride horses or take a sailboat alternatively to traverse its many swamps and villages.

Next DSOGaming has information The Witcher 3 won’t have branching stories, grid-based inventory, and my favorite no auto-scaling for monsters.

CD Projekt RED has unveiled some new interesting details about its upcoming highly anticipated RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. According to the company’s community managers, Marcin and Tadek, The Witcher 3 will not feature auto-scaling for monsters, meaning that players can face enemies that may very well kill them in their first hours if they wander to really dangerous places.

And for last I found news about a new Witcher film.

Although there’s already been a film based on the book, there hasn’t been a Witcher film since the video games propelled the IP to international acclaim. That’s going to change over the next year, with news out of the Oscar nominated animator Tomasz Bagiński is working on an adaptation.

Friday - August 22, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Interview Roundup

by Couchpotato, 06:28

I managed to roundup three new interviews for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first interview is from Gamingbolt with Lead Engine Programmer, Balazs Torok.

Rashid Sayed: Are there any plans to use Mantle or DX 12 features in The Witcher 3? May be post launch?

Balazs Torok: There are definitely plans for exploring different graphics APIs, post launch. Right now we are concentrating on providing the best possible game for the majority of our players.

Rashid Sayed: One of the major challenges in creating a vast, expansive world is loading of distant objects. How are you handling the streaming and memory management so that the world loads in seamless manner?

Balazs Torok: After the Witcher 2, we completely rewrote the streaming system. The new system is loading the resources in a way so that the player can walk around in the world without any loading screens. This is a very big change in the engine and in the gameplay too.

The second interview is from Worlds Factory with Visual Effects Artist Jose Teixeira.

I think CD Projekt said that they’re trying to release the modding kit along the game, is that confirmed?

I don’t know if it’s coming out at the same time, but we’re going to release it. The modding kit is one of those things, we have to make sure that it’s user friendly, because it’s going to the public. Right now, the engine is great, as you can see there’s really nice graphics, but it’s messy since there are a lot of tools. For The Witcher 3, they needed so many new features, because this game was so much bigger; actually right now we’re making changes to the engine, making sure that it’s easier to understand. We will do that, and then we’ll release the mod tools.

Are these mod tools going to be deeper than the ones released for The Witcher 2?

I think so, just because there’s so much new stuff that you can do, so many more options. It’s going to be significantly deeper I think. People might have fun with it, if we get the tools right.

The last one is a new video interview on Gamereactor with CD Projekt Producer Stan.

CD Projekt producer Stan Just has discussed what the team are doing for Witcher 3's cinematic intro, stating that those working on it are "striving to do their best", when we caught up with him at Gamescom.

"We're cooperating with one of the best CG companies in the world," said Just, who supervises the character artist team and the cinematic designers. "So definitely, they're striving to do their best and I think you'll really, really enjoy the new intro."

We also asked how the team are future-proofing the game on the visual side.

"We are constantly being harassed by our tech team," Just laughed, "to decrease the resolution of the textures and be careful about the optimisation. But we do have the uber settings and we do have next-gen equipment right now, so we can go a little wild with this."

Thursday - August 21, 2014

Witcher 3 - Standard Edition Unboxing

by Couchpotato, 06:11

CD Projekt RED released another video that unboxes the standard boxed version for the PC. This follows the last video that unboxed the collector edition for consoles.

An engrossing, mature, decision-based storyline that tells a non-linear narrative in a completely open world environment for the first time in gaming history. This last part of the adventures of Geralt of Rivia draws on events from the previous titles, but is a separate tale, even more captivating, epic and full of surprises.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt box contents:
- A Blu-ray™ Disc with the game (DVDs on PC)
- An exclusive CD with the official soundtrack
- The official, developer-created "Witcher Universe - The Compendium"
- A beautiful, detailed map of the in-game world
- A set of unique stickers
- A stylish, protective sleeve

The release date of the game is set for the 24th of February, 2015. The game will be available in the following languages: English, Polish, German, French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese (full voiceover); Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Latin America Spanish, Korean (subtitles).

Wednesday - August 20, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Demo Video & Interview

by Couchpotato, 06:48

Well here is another 35 minute gameplay demo for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Now a warning for all of you watch it at your own peril for it has spoilers.

I also found a video interview with Visual Effects Artist Jose Teixeira on Dual Shockers.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt VFX Artist Jose Teixeira talks about the technomancy that is going on behind the scenes to make the game look awesome on all platforms.

Saturday - August 16, 2014

Witcher 3 - Collector's Edition Unboxing

by Couchpotato, 13:53

CD Projekt RED released a new video that unboxes the console version of the Collector's Edition, and they seem to have started an uproar on the games forums.

The game is scheduled to launch February 24th, 2015.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a story-driven, next-generation open world role-playing game, set in a fantasy universe full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. In The Witcher 3, you play as Geralt of Rivia, one of a dying caste of monster hunters, and embark on an epic journey in a war-ravaged world that will inevitably lead you to confront a foe darker than anything humanity has faced so far—the Wild Hunt.

Friday - August 15, 2014

Witcher 3 - Extended Gameplay Demo

by Couchpotato, 06:42

If you haven't spoiled the game by watching the other trailers in the last few months then head on over to IGN who has a new Extended Gameplay Demo from Gamescom.

CD Projekt Red stops by the IGN booth with a brand new demo of The Witcher 3, live from Gamescom.

Thursday - August 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Interview & Trailer

by Couchpotato, 03:31

Well here is the promised trailer from CD Projekt from Gamescom 2014. So sit back and relax as you watch six minutes of the next game of the year on RPG Watch for 2015.

“The war awoke an ancient power. An evil one that feeds on bloodshed. Nightmares haunt our nights and days”. Will Geralt help solve the mystery of the Whispering Hillock and find out what’s killing villagers from Downwarren? See our newest The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gameplay video!

I also have another video interview with Senior Gameplay Designer Damien Monhier.

1985FM sits down with Damien Monhier, the senior gameplay designer for The Witcher III : Wild Hunt

Wednesday - August 13, 2014

Witcher 3 - Gamescom Dev Diary

by Couchpotato, 02:33

Instead of releasing the new video demo to all of us from Gamescom CD Projekt has instead posted a new video Dev Diary about the games setting.

From the murky reaches of No Man’s Land to the harsh climate of the Skellige Islands, to the vibrant metropolitan of the north, Novigrad--behold, the gritty and diverse universe of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Watch our newest “World Setting” video and let us know what excites you about it the most!

Tuesday - August 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamerHubTV

by Couchpotato, 06:05

GamerHub TV has another video interview with the English voice actor Doug Cockle who talks about his role as the voice of Geralt in the Witcher Games.

Doug Cockle (Captain America: The First Avenger), the actor who has brought CD Projekt Red's The Witcher's protagonist Geralt of Rivia to life over three games, discusses the evolution of the character and the advances that fans will see in The Witcher 3: Witch Hunt in this exclusive interview from San Diego Comic Con.

Saturday - August 09, 2014

Witcher 3 - Audio Interview @ 1985 FM

by Couchpotato, 07:01

1985 FM did a new audio interview with CD Projekt RED, and talk about what to except in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt when it's released in February 2015.

 

On this week’s 1985FM Podcast, the crew discusses the Destiny beta, and nothing about Evolve, although they played it for hours. On the second half of the show, 1985FM sit down with the developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and asks some of the finer details about what to expect this February.

Also check out this funny video of Doug Cockle—the voice of Geralt—overdubbing audio for The Witcher 3 at SDCC.

Thursday - August 07, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Gameplay Footage Next Week

by Couchpotato, 05:42

According to dsogaming CD Projekt RED will be releasing a thirty minute gameplay player from Gamescom for everyone to watch. So be prepared to watch more spoilers.

Last month, we informed you about a ‘behind closed doors’ demo that CD Projekt RED has prepared for the press at this year’s Gamescom. And while the Polish company showed The Witcher 3 to the public at this year’s Comic-Con, there is still no gameplay footage to drool over our monitors. Did CDPR lie about sharing the gameplay Comic-Con demo after the end of that event? Apparently not as the team will reveal that video next week.

As CD Projekt RED informed us, it will release next week the ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ gameplay footage that all of its fans have been asking about during these past days.

CD Projekt RED also revealed that at this year’s Gamescom attendees will be able to enjoy – every 30 minutes – gameplay from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in a special cinema located in its booth (Hall 7.1, Aisle B, No. 32).

Do note that the gameplay that will be shown to its booth will most probably be the same with the Comic-Con demo. Moreover, our guess is that the ‘behind closed doors’ demo will show a different area (otherwise there wouldn’t be any point at having such an event).

Monday - August 04, 2014

Witcher 3 - Comic Con Roundup

by Aries100, 17:35

Gamerhub has posted another video interview for this game. This time they talk to Franchise Director Rafi Jaki, They discuss what next gen means for this game; they also talk the expanding franchise for this game.   You can view the video interview here.

GameTrailers has a video where they show what's going o behind the scenes when  Project Red presents this game at Comic Con 2014.   You can  view the video here. 

Thursday - July 31, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - New Video Interview

by Couchpotato, 06:45

GamerHub TV has posted another video interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt this week with senior gameplay designer Damien Monnier of CD Projekt Red.

CD Projekt Red Damien Monnier, senior gameplay designer on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, talks about what's new in the game in this exclusive gameplay preview interview from San Diego Comic Con.

Tuesday - July 29, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamerHubTV

by Couchpotato, 17:33

GamerHub TV had posted a new interview with Doug Cockle the voice of Geralt of Rivia in the English versions of The Witcher games at Comic-con 2014.

Doug Cockle, the voice of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, discusses bringing Geralt of Rivia to life in all three games in this exclusive interview from San Diego Comic Con 2014.

Monday - July 28, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview & More Previews

by Couchpotato, 21:17

Analog Addiction has a new interview with CD Projekt RED’s Senior Art Producer Michał Krzemiński, and talk about sea monsters & crossbows for Witcher 3.

Does The Witcher 3 feature different types of horses and boats? Are there other modes of transportation? Maybe teleporting?

No, unfortunately no teleporting for Geralt. As for the horses and boats, we’re continuing the tradition of Roach (the fish, not the bug!), which is a name Geralt gave to each of his horses. Regarding the boats, we’re still tweaking and finalizing that part so I’ll remain silent for now.

Speaking of sailing, will gamers engage in combat while at sea? Maybe against different kinds of sea-monsters? Sirens, perhaps?

Yes, Geralt will engage in combat with sea-monsters. This is another reason why we decided to introduce the Gabriel crossbow, a weapon able to deal ranged damage to enemies out of sword range (flying creatures, too!).

How has the delay of The Witcher 3 helped development? What is your focus during this extra time?

Polishing the game. We really think that it’s better to postpone the launch of a game and give gamers an experience we’re proud of instead of launching it just for the sake of sales.

Will Gerat make use of other ranged weapons, besides the crossbow that we’d seen during your E3 gameplay?

No, we have only one ranged weapon type in the game. But don’t worry, there will be plenty of diversity connected with it, i.e. you’ll be able to craft an array of bolts with different effects on monsters (you could have seen an example of this in our E3 stage gameplay where we shot the griffin with bolts that cause it to bleed so we can track it better). Come to think of it, it’s not a weapon per se, but there are witcher Signs you could use to deal ranged damage. There’s ten of them (an alternative for every classical Sign known from the previous game).

And here are the new previews from Comic-con.

IGN

Members of the team behind the upcoming The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt flew all the way from Poland to San Diego this week to deliver a full 30-minute live gameplay demo to the crowds at Comic Con. The demo opened up with the Witcher himself, Geralt, riding through the large town of Novgirad. He’s on the trail of Ciri, an ashen-haired woman fans may remember from the original Witcher who is now being pursued by the Wild Hunt.

The Game Fanatics

Spoiler Alert: This summary of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Panel will have spoilers for a few quests and gameplay elements. I’ve intentionally avoided some key plot narratives but still read ahead at your own risk.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Free Game Contest

by Couchpotato, 15:54

If you want a chance to win a free copy of the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt then watch the video below as LUGO Entertainment is holding a new giveaway.

Free Giveaway Of The PC DRM-Free Version Of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt!

You Must Sign Up For GOG.COM in order to get the PC DRM-Free Version Of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt said to Release on the 24th of February, 2015!

ENTER HERE: https://gleam.io/v7uwf/free-giveaway-...
CraigheadPros Channel: http://www.youtube.com/Craigheadpro
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ZachSharpes
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/LUGOentertain...

Sunday - July 27, 2014

Witcher 3 - Comic-Con News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 16:27

CD Projekt was at Comic-con 2014 and showed off a new demo. Unfortunately no video of the demo are available, but a few sites have news about the demo.

Up first I found two video impressions, and the first video is from IGN.

The second video is from a site called Polaris.

I also found a few previews based on the demo.

Nerdist

CD Projekt Red brought a bunch of Witcher to Comic-Con this week, showing off half an hour of largely unseen gameplay in a live demo for next year’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.

Damien Monnier, senior gameplay designer, Doug Cockle, who voices Geralt in the games, Dark Horse’s Nick McWhorter, and The Witcher comic writer Paul Tobin were on hand to talk about all things Witcher during the first day as the show.

Cockle, who’s been the voice of Geralt since the first game, thanked the fans for coming out, boasting that the audience would be impressed with what CDP had in store with The Witcher 3.

Games Radar

Every time we see The Witcher 3, it looks better and better. The demo shown today at a San Diego Comic-Con panel picked up right where the E3 press demo left off. Geralt had just restored Johnny's voice; in return, he leads Geralt to a decrepit-looking hut housing an equally decrepit woman. Turns out, she's actually a medium for a trio of witches, who are trapped inside a tapestry and possess the old woman to communicate. They point Geralt in the direction of a tree where they say a great evil resides, and give him a ritual dagger.

Friday - July 25, 2014

Witcher 3 - Cosplay Competition

by Myrthos, 14:41

Here is your chance to dress up in one of The Witcher characters and win yourself $1000, fly all over the world with Team RED, cosplay at various events, get some of the jewelry worn by a character of the game and get a signed copy of the CE version of the game.

CD PROJEKT RED, the creators of the open world fantasy adventure, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, are thrilled to announce the start of The Witcher Cosplay Competition.

“Without a doubt, The Witcher has always had the most talented community out there. Each month you guys send us tons of great fan art, musical tracks, fanfics and stuff so amazing that we sometimes decide to hang it on the walls here in the studio. The time has come to give you a chance to create something really amazing and get rewarded for your hard work,” said Marcin Momot, Community Manager, CD PROJEKT RED.

With all-star professional cosplayers invited to help pick the winners, the studio is offering the victor $1000, custom Witcher jewelry, and a unique chance to fly all over the world with Team RED and cosplay at the gaming industry’s biggest events, all expenses paid.

“The competition starts on the 24th of July and ends on the 30th of October, so there’s plenty of time to create something that will blow us away”, adds Momot.

The jury of the competition consists of:

-Eve Beauregard,
-Nadya Sonika,
-LeeAnna VAMP,
-Shappi,
-CD PROJEKT RED team members

What they will be looking at:

- Likeness to character
- Craftsmanship
- Presentation (i.e. how you look in the costume or how your photographs present it)
- Wow factor (overall impact of the costume, i.e. how low did our jaws drop)
- Originality

Details can be found here. I'm sure there is no specific reason why all the example images are of women and men will have a fair chance of winning as well, so there is no reason to not put on those clothes you always dress up in when you play one of The Witcher games and take a picture of it.

If you are afraid to send it to CD Project Red, you can always post it here, we won't tell anyone.

Monday - July 21, 2014

Witcher 3 - GOG Paper Toys & Contest

by Couchpotato, 14:25

GOG.com has a new announcement about some new paper toys for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and a new contest for the game on site.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Paper Toys + Contest

New GOG.com-exclusive bonus content for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt + hot photo contest!

GOG.com digital edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt just got even more extensive than it already was! We've just added six templates for papercraft toy figurines of Geralt of Rivia, Triss Merigold, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Ciri the Lion Cub of Cintra, Eredin of the Wild Hunt, and Leshen the Forest Spirit. They've been designed exclusively for GOG.com by the top paper toy artist Tougui, and are available with every DRM-Free copy of CD Projekt RED's upcoming RPG epic. If you've pre-ordered The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on GOG.com, you can download the PDF figurine templates right away!

We do hope you'll enjoy our official Witcher 3 paper toys. You can expect more GOG.com-exclusive bonus content to be added to our digital edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, before the game's launch on February 24th, 2015. Now, since these here are paper toys not paper ornaments, let's have some fun!

What you can see above, is an unexpected encounter between Geralt the Witcher, the Sorceress Yennefer, and Leshen, the elder forest demon. You can feel the tension in the air, as Geralt readies his silver sword, Yen gathers her mystical powers, and the beast slowly draws near. If you can take the paper toys and arrange an exciting scene (or a funny one, or beautiful, or…), you'll get a chance to win one of three amazing prizes! A wolf head medallion, a gorgeous Artbook, and for the first place - a sculpture of Geralt battling the mighty griffin! Each of the prizes will come complete with an official Witcher 3 T-shirt.

Now, wouldn't it be amazing to get your hands on that fantastic Collector's Edition figure before anyone else? How to enter? How to win? Just follow these simple guidelines:

1. Download and assemble the paper toys (templates are now available with your GOG.com pre-order of the game).

2. Arrange them into a scene that will capture our attention, and snap a photo.

3. Give your photo a title and tweet it with the #PaperWitcher hashtag (just a general tweet, please--don't start it with "@GOGcom). Multiple entries are allowed.

4. Not a Twitter user? No problem. Post your entries below, right here in the GOG.com forum thread.

5. Your photo will be added to a curated gallery that will launch as soon as we get enough photos. The gallery will be updated periodically. By submitting your work, you grant us the right to re-post it in the gallery and CD Projekt RED / GOG.com communications channels.

6. Post-processing is allowed. Adding elements in PhotoShop (or equivalent) is fine, as long as the final effect still looks more like a photo than computer graphics.

7. You have to enter the contest before Thursday, July 31, at 9:59AM GMT.

Once the submissions are closed, a joint-team of CD Projekt RED and GOG.com judges will pick the winners. We reserve the right to award any additional number of honorable mentions. The winners will be announced and the prizes will be shipped within 3 weeks after the submissions are closed.

We wish you all a good time in the fantastic world of The Witcher paper toys, and best of luck in the contest!

Friday - July 18, 2014

Witcher 3 - Designed As Standalone Game

by Couchpotato, 05:09

Gamerant's Andrew Dyce is back again with another article for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and talks about the game being designed as a "Standalone Game’ For New Players".

Speaking with CD Projekt Red studio head Adam Badowski at E3 2014, he explained that The Witcher 2 didn’t just bring the studio more attention, but lessons as well. Those will have a serious impact on the structure of The Witcher 3‘s campaign, meaning that although the game is closing a trilogy, it won’t be throwing players into the deep end from the start:

“The Witcher 2 starts… maybe it’s too intense? The very first part of [The Witcher 3] is very slow-paced, you don’t need to know the characters. We provide some details about Witchers, about the crucial elements of who ‘The Witcher’ is, what is the meaning of monster-hunting, and then some small portions of the storyline… of course you can expect some epic moments, but you need time to be sucked into the story.”

We previously explained how Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz feels that Geralt of Rivia is as well-established as Batman at this point, making it possible for each game to truly stand as a separate chapter. Despite promising “an epic ending” to the trilogy with Wild Hunt , the developers claim that not only will the game be playable for newcomers, but may be the entry in the series best designed to welcome in the unfamiliar:

“It’s true, actually, we are sure of that. We want newcomers to the series, that’s why we made it in a way that it’s a standalone game. So all newcomers can enjoy this game right from the beginning. Even more, I think it may be be the best game to start with. We want people to enter the game, and we made it quite smooth. There’s no wall of…’pure-blood-ish’ RPGs straight at the beginning.”

“We’ll see in the end how you judge it, but I’m expecting that people will enjoy being a real Witcher, and they will be able to do whatever they want, because this is role-playing. On the other hand, they will know what they want to do because that’s important as well. We don’t want to just throw people somewhere into a huge war.”

Thursday - July 17, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Reason for Delay

by Couchpotato, 05:01

Gamerant's Andrew Dyce posted a new article for The Witcher 3 that talks about the delay, and quotes the developer saying it's because "The Open World Was Missing"

As one of the very first games confirmed to be coming only to next-gen home consoles, CD Projekt Red set expectations for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt even higher than they may have been on their own. But after putting on an impressive show at E3 2013, the developers announced that the game would be delayed from its initial release date, hitting store shelves on February 24, 2015. So why did the team need the extra time? According to the heads of development, the game’s open world just wasn’t up to the level they demanded.

Sunday - July 13, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Tech Analysis Report

by Couchpotato, 13:54

Eurogamer is hosting a new Tech Analysis Report for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that was done by Digital Foundry. So if your curious about the games tech give it a read.

Ranking among the cream of the crop of PC developers working today, CD Projekt RED has shown a no-compromise approach to every project it's set its mind to. Case in point: the sublime Xbox 360 edition of The Witcher 2 didn't simply cut back the original PC code, but instead had code rewritten from scratch to push the console aesthetic in a new, arguably improved direction. But with The Witcher 3 being developed on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, can we once again expect an off-shoot of the PC experience, or something closer to parity? And indeed, how is the team looking to get the most out of PC development?

Saturday - July 12, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - The Next Skyrim?

by Couchpotato, 05:31

Seems Hardcore Gamer's Adam Beck is the next editor to write an article for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,  and talks how the game will be the next Skyrim.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was one of the biggest western RPGs ever released. It sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and swept many Game of the Year awards back in 2011. With the next proper Elder Scrolls game years away (setting aside the MMO), role-playing gamers are left with a growing wanderlust and nothing to quench it. While many RPG developers have tried to craft a living open world, most have fallen tragically short. One series has managed to achieve similar acclaim, though, and its latest outing introduces a world brimming with possibilities.

Friday - July 11, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Comic Con 2014 Demo

by Aries100, 17:04

CD Project Red has announced that they will present a gameplay demo at
Comic Con 2014.

According to CD Project Red

Attendees will be treated to "30 hot minutes of live Witcher 3: Wild Hunt unpublished gameplay", promised the developer in an announcement on Thursday.The event will feature a Q&A session with The Witcher developers, including Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt of Rivia. The demo will be presented to a limited crowd of 1000 people on Thursday July 24, although it's unclear how entry into the event will be handled.

Source: CVG

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Player Attack

by Couchpotato, 04:41

Player Attack has new preview of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt based on a new Bandai Namco press event in Dublin. Here is the attendees impression of the game.

This week I had the awesome privilege of attending a Bandai Namco press event held at the world famous Jameson Distillery in Dublin. I had been to a similar event back in 2012, where the company showed off world exclusive footage of Dark Souls 2 and I remember being absolutely blown away by the sheer scale of that at the time. Well, this year the company have outdone themselves, by showing an EXCLUSIVE nine minute gameplay trailer of The Witcher 3, with commentary from the guys at CD Projekt.

The first thing I need to say is that I can completely imagine getting lost in this game for hours, days and probably weeks. The nine minute trailer went by in the blink of an eye and I was left hungry for more. The game world is simply staggering, but unlike other action RPG's that feature huge robust game worlds, The Witcher 3 also boasts a strong, engaging main narrative, unique characters and real motivations to get behind.

Tuesday - July 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Interview & Preview

by Couchpotato, 10:06

Kotaku had the chance to interview CD Projekt co-founder,and CEO Marcin Iwinski during E3 last month. They talked about how to do DLC right in Witcher 3.

Downloadable content (DLC) is often a sore subject, with some gamers feeling shortchanged by map and weapon packs that cost too much, DLC that was originally meant to be main game content, and things of the like. The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt doesn't think it needs to be that way. They want to show everybody how it's done.

The term DLC has a lot of meanings these days. First, there are generally good (sometimes even great) add-on chapters like we saw with The Last of Us and BioShock Infinite. Then there are "explandalone" expansions like Assassin's Creed IV: Freedom Cry and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon that don't require the base game to play. And of course, there's the nickel-and-dime stuff, smaller map, weapon, item, and costume packs that are sold for debatably worthwhile prices in free-to-play games or full-price games like Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's real and what's a joke. It's a mess, and it can be a pricey one.

CD Projekt isn't pleased. All the muss and fuss, all the costly inconvenience? To hear them tell it, they hate that as much as you do. I sat down with CD Projekt co-founder and CEO Marcin Iwinski during E3, and he explained why he feels like DLC shouldn't be so complicated and gamer-unfriendly. It doesn't need to be this way, he contended, especially if developers are really bent on offering up their games as ongoing "services," a popular refrain from many companies these days.

"When we make a game and ask people to pay money for it, we sign a long-term agreement with them," he said. "We owe them. They paid us money, whether it was a full-price purchase or a bit later, we owe them support of our game. So people will get a lot of support with Witcher 3, and we're preparing some cool stuff."

Next Gamereactor has another preview of the game they released last week.

The demo gave us of good idea of the tough choices we'll be faced with in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In this case it seems we were left with two poor choices - one would perhaps slow progress in our main quest, while the other meant a number of orphans disappeared and a village elder lost his ear. How these choices affect the greater story like rings on the water remains to be seen as we eagerly await the February release date.

Sunday - July 06, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 11:46

XONE has a short blurb from a recent interview with CD Projekt RED’s Community manager Marcin Momot about no repeated quests in the game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most impressive looking games coming to Xbox One in 2015, but with its 50 hours of story and additional 50 hours of side quests we were concerned that repetition and dull fetch quests may end up dominating our time. We spoke to CD Projekt RED’s Community manager Marcin Momot and he assured us we have nothing to fear.

“We just don’t repeat quests. Everything is handcrafted and there’s no automatic quest generator in the studio (although some people in quest design/story departments could have a nickname like that). We try to make everything as unique as we can.”

If anything, that just makes us more impressed with what the Polish studio is putting together.

Also dsogaming has a new image made with the unreal engine.

Polycount’s member ‘Tepcio’ has shared some new images from a map he has just finished. This map is based on The Witcher Saga, and gives us an idea of what that a desert region (a region that CD Projekt RED never included in its games) could look like in Unreal Engine 4. As Tepcio noted, the ‘The Witcher’ book series reach far beyond what CDPR has featured, and is inspired by the Korath desert.

Anyway it's Sunday so don't complain as the news is in short supply.Cool

Saturday - July 05, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:23

Here is another batch of interviews, and one preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Let's get started with the new preview from Dual Shockers.

Although I’m sad that I won’t get to play the game this year, I know that the extra development time will be used to make it that much better. This preview can only convey a small part of what it felt like to see this game in motion. I can only imagine what it will feel like to actually have a controller in my hand and be free to explore this gigantic and beautiful world. As far as I’m concerned, The Witcher 3 could be the first truly “next-gen” title; a game that demonstrates the power of the current-gen systems and a benchmark for developers of what to strive for. If this game isn’t on your radar now then it should be.

Next we have a new video interview from Gamereactor with executive producer John Mamais. He talks about Novigrad, and all the choices you can make while playing.

"How do you do a 5 minute demo of a hundred hour game. It's just crazy," says executive producer John Mamais. "So the Griffin thing [demo at Microsoft's press conference] was a hard thing to pull off. But it made sense to do a monster hunting quest for that."

One of the highlights of the extended E3 demonstration behind closed doors was a brief tour of Novigrad - the largest town in the game.

"There's going to be some politics going on," says Mamais of Novigrad. "Some witch hunting stuff happening there. There's going to be some dungeons that you have to go down into and explore. And that's really all I want to talk about right now."

And for last Ausgamers has a new interview with Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. 

AusGamers: This genre is a pretty competitive space at the moment, and a lot of that is due to the success that the first Witchers have had. Now you’ve got an open-world, which is responding to a lot of demands you’ve had. Is there any feature that you have that you feel really sets this game apart compared to everything else?

One of the things I noticed is that obviously the storytelling is really key, but is there anything that you personally think stands out?

Konrad: For me, there’s always -- because I am an old RPG player, I played adventure games on the Atari and so on -- and for me, the combination of the story and the gameplay is the most important. Because if the game has an immersive story, the game can trick you that this is happening now and you feel that you’re making real choices and there are emotions that impact other people.

This is the most important thing in a game, and I think that we achieve it; it’s the most important for me. And of course there’s the horse combat! But we didn’t show it in the demo.

Friday - July 04, 2014

Witcher 3 - Learn From Its Predecessors

by Couchpotato, 04:58

Stephany Nunneley of VG24/7 has posted a new article where she gives her opinion on what CD Projekt RED can learn from the older Witcher games for Witcher 3.

I love The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. It should be no surprise then that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt one of my most anticipated games in years.

But just because I am a huge fan, it doesn’t mean I can’t see past some of the flaws in the original Witcher or its sequel. Nor does this mean I cannot hope for the third outing to be a mesh between the two previous entries. Here then, is what I hope will be included and excluded in what CD Projekt RED states will be Geralt’s last hurrah in The Witcher game franchise

Wednesday - July 02, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:51

Well here is another roundup of news for CD PROJEKT RED, and The Witcher 3. So up first I have a press release about a new mobile game called The Witcher Battle Arena.

CDP RED enters the world of free mobile gaming with The Witcher Battle Arena

CD PROJEKT RED, creators of the critically acclaimed Witcher franchise of games, and Fuero Games are proud to announce The Witcher Battle Arena, a bold extension of the series into the realm of mobile entertainment.

“With mobile devices as powerful as they are and the graphics they offer being so beautiful, we can finally plunge into mobile gaming and deliver our take on free gaming to gamers worldwide,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD PROJEKT RED.

The Witcher Battle Arena is a fast, fun and accessible MOBA game based in the Witcher universe. Designed with mobile devices in mind, Battle Arena combines great accessibility and a balanced learning curve with complex tactics and a limitless array of skill-based strategies gamers can deploy during each battle. Designed with fairness in mind, the game features no pay-to-win elements and allows players to unlock every piece of in-game content entirely via gameplay.

In the Arena, six heroes battle it out to the death, trying to capture and hold three conquest points in short, intense and action-packed skirmishes. The intuitive system of character progression allows you to create player-tailored character builds and unique item configurations to surprise your friends and stagger your foes. Become legendary characters such as the witcher Letho of Gulet, dwarven adventurer Zoltan Chivay or the mighty sorceress Philippa Eilhart and use their diverse skills to gain the advantage and crush those foolish enough to cross your path.

“In a world full of enter-your-PIN-number-to-win mechanics, what we value above all is well-balanced and honest gameplay,” said Tadek Zieliński, Creative Analyst, CD PROJEKT RED. “Battle Arena is all about skill and dedication, and we’ve spent hundreds of hours planning to make it a paragon of fairness in mobile gaming,” Zieliński added.

Designed by CD PROJEKT RED and developed by Fuero Games, The Witcher Battle Arena is scheduled to launch sometime in Q4 2014 on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows (Tablets), with free future updates planned to expand the game both in terms of number of characters, gameplay modes and more.

“The whole team here at Fuero Games is really excited at the prospect of developing a game for such a big and engaged community as that of The Witcher. I’m convinced that our skill in mobile multiplayer game development, combined with the creative flair of CD PROJEKT RED, will produce an experience Witcher fans will want to come back to again and again,” said Stanisław Fiedor, CEO, Fuero Games.

See The Witcher Battle Arena Teaser Trailer here.

For more information about the game please visit www.thewitcher.com/twba

Next I have a new video interview I missed with Angry Joe.

AngryJoe Interviews the Witcher 3 at E3 and asks your community submitted questions! Sorry for the Audio Quality - their booth was really busy, should have used the handheld microphone!

For last we have a new music video from Miracle of Sound.

A musical tribute to Witcher 3 and Geralt Of Rivia!

Tuesday - July 01, 2014

Witcher 3 - Collector's Edition High Demand

by Couchpotato, 04:02

Hopefully you ordered the Collector's Edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as Bandai Namco warns there will be shortages. Especially in the UK.

Bandai Namco Games is warning U.K. fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that its recently-announced Collector’s Edition is likely to be in short supply, following an impressive pre-order sales.

Amazon U.K. and GAME both launched pre-order campaigns for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which have apparently been met with great enthusiasm from British gamers.

“We always expected a good response for such an amazing game but the fact that the Collector’s Edition is in such high demand shows the accreditation that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt deserves, said Marketing & PR Director Lee Kirton in a press release.

“E3 was yet another great example of how CD PROJEKT RED hold nothing back when it comes to quality. We want fans and newcomers to get as much out of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as possible and be part of the history that this title has already made, and that this small souvenir represents, for the future of our industry. It’s important that fans looking forward to this epic release take advantage of the incredible collector’s edition on PC, PS4 and Xbox One and the outstanding additional content that will feature in the standard edition of the game too which includes, the soundtrack, the game, game map, stickers and Witcher universe compendium with no additional cost ”.

Thanks go to PSU for the information.

Monday - June 23, 2014

Witcher 3 - Design Documents Leaked

by Couchpotato, 05:34

Seems a few people couldn't wait till next year to see how the game end. It seems they hacked a few Design Documents about the endings, stats, and boob physics.

Warning: I will not host any of the images on our site, but the following two sites have all the details. So if you want more spoilers go on, If not move on.

Dual Shockers/ Dual Shockers

Today a large batch of design documents for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have been leaked, apparently taken from the Google Drive account of a developer at CD Projekt RED. 

While we won’t publish most of the specific contents of the documents, as they include really big spoilers (which means that we also have to caution you against looking for them, unless you want to spoil the endings for yourself like I had to do), they include a lot of interesting data that can give us an idea of the scope of the game.

PS4 Daily

With eight months until the game’s launch, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has encountered a colossal leak. According to Reddit user Kromgar, the design documents for the game were accidentally leaked by a CD Projekt Red developer, revealing much of the game’s assets. How do we know he’s telling the truth? Well, he has picture proof to go along with his story. In the gallery below, you’ll find concept art for various masks, Geralt’s hair, Triss in new clothing, and three monsters from the game’s bestiary.

The good news is none of the images we were able to find spoil anything too important, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some more spoiler-filled ones out there. As the Reddit user notes, the design documents contained the game’s endings so it’s only a matter of time until somebody uploads those as well.

Sunday - June 22, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ The Sixth Axis

by Couchpotato, 05:00

The Sixth Axis has a new interview with The Witcher 3's Lead Producer Piotr Krzywonosiuk from E3 , and talk about the games challenges & open world.

TSA: What can you tell us about the plot of Wild Hunt? Does it follow on directly from The Witcher 2 or is it a separate story?

Piotr: The game starts roughly six or so months after the events of The Witcher 2, and basically that’s all I can tell you…

Not without spoiling it, anyway… this time it’s small, close and personal, and all about Geralt. In The Witcher 2 it was all about events, war was about to happen, and that’s basically how we leave the game. And in Wild Hunt it’s more about Geralt and his personal story, about the search for his loved ones.

TSA: And this takes place on the backdrop of war, which is ravaging this land?

Piotr: That’s right.

TSA: Is the world going to be fully open world – no load times?

Piotr: No load times when you’re travelling normally.

TSA: So no barriers, nothing?

Piotr: That’s what we’re working on right now, it’s again a challenge, but that’s the foundation of our open world: no barriers, no loading times and so on.

TSA: Part of the presentation we saw was centred on a new sense of freedom with getting around the world. Is it literally a case of anywhere you see you can go?

Piotr: Basically, yes. You can climb mountains, you can jump on things if it makes sense for you, horse riding, sailing boats, swimming, diving as well – that’s it.

Thursday - June 19, 2014

Witcher 3 - Another News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:46

Yes it's time for another roundup of news for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first article is a new interview on RPGSite who talked with Senior Visual Effects Artist Jose Teixeria.

RPG Site: With such a huge open world, how do you ensure vast amounts of geometry - from smaller things like formations of rocks to larger things like houses - aren't repeated?

Teixeria: So here's the thing... of course, there is some hopefully clever repetition of assets because we simply can't do everything bespoke and custom, but having said that... in my view...

Well, I highly oppose this. I'm not brave enough to make this kind of decision - I would highly advise them to make few assets and then repeat them cleverly to hide the fact that they're being repeated or something... but instead, the environment team just said 'Nope, we're going to make almost everything custom'. 

So... almost everything is custom. The whole of the city you saw in the demo, all the streets... everything is custom. Which is... it's not very advisable! [laughs] It's just so much content. It's all custom made! It's a little bit mindblowing.

RPG Site For those on the PC, can you give any sort of idea - even vague - of what sort of hardware they'll be looking at to run the game?

Teixeria: Ah! Well, that's a very good question, as we still don't have an official sort of outline for that sort of thing. Hrm. Well... [laughs]. That's very tricky.

I was going to talk about when we run the game, but when we run the game it's different because we're running with the engine open. We don't just load around us - we load the whole world. Those machines are pretty big!

Having said that, we do have people in the office with machines with mid-range cards, and it works, it works at a reasonable frame rate. It might not look quite as good - but you won't have to empty your pockets to be able to play this game! The official settings will come down the line.

Next DSOGaming has news the game on consoles is the Equivalent To PC High with Ultra Settings. Sounds strange but here is the information.

After what has happened with Watch_Dogs, a lot of PC gamers are a bit skeptical about all the upcoming PC releases. One game that has amazed everyone with its visuals is The Witcher 3; a game that puts Watch_Dogs to shame and is considered as a ‘true’ next-gen game. But will CD Projekt RED pull another Watch_Dogs on us? Apparently not.

And for last Eurogamer has infomation on the gameplay demo form E3.

Some who caught The Witcher 3's gameplay demo during Microsoft's E3 press conference were a bit worried by what they saw.

During the five minute demo, set about 10 hours into the game, series star Geralt is off on a griffin hunt in the No Man's Land wilderness. He prepares for combat, in classic Witcher fashion, by equipping a set of buffing potions and a small crossbow.

It's not long before Geralt comes up against a number of bandits, and easily dispatches them with a combination of magic attacks and devastating sword strikes. Geralt eventually tracks the griffin down, and takes just a few attacks to kill his quarry.

If you think it all looks a tad easy, then you're right. But don't expect the final version of the game to offer such an easy ride, executive producer John Mamais told Eurogamer.

"The combat is complex," he said.

"What we showed at the Microsoft conference was the easy way to play. We only had five minutes to show, so we had to play on easy and make the fights go really fast. You saw lots of dismemberment. It's not going to be so easy to cut somebody in half when the game comes out. We were showing off some features there.

"I was reading some feedback after the conference and people were saying, 'oh, that looks so easy,' but it ain't gonna be that easy."

Wednesday - June 18, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:50

Wel look like it's time again for news about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As I said earlier this week the news never seems to stop. So here we go.

Select Button has posted a new Interview & Gameplay video.

Marcus chats with Jose Teixeira from CD Projekt Red about the upcoming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, revealing a juicy secret about the game’s multiple “endings”.

Gamezone also posted some news about post-game content after release.

CD Projekt RED isn't ready to talk specifics regarding downloadable content for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt just yet, but lead producer Piotr Krzywonosiuk did say the developer is preparing "some really cool stuff" for the game post-launch.

What that means exactly is still unclear, but Krzywonosiuk was sure to point out that the DLC -- or whatever type of post-launch content is offered -- won't be a continuation of Geralt's story. 

"I can't talk about DLC," he told us, "but I can assure you we are preparing some really cool stuff."

Krzywonosiuk was sure to point out that Wild Hunt will mark the end of the series featuring Geralt. When asked if he meant the entire series or just Geralt's trilogy, he replied, "Both really. This is the closure of the series. This is the final adventure of Geralt. We're closing the plot here."

Having said that, there should be plenty of content in the base game to keep you invested for quite a while. "It's about 100 hours of gameplay. It has multiple endings," he said. "I think a lot of people are going to want to play it again."

And for last Gamezone also shared a new preview of the game.

It’s easy to get excited about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and that excitement is easily justified. It’s everything that’s so great about the series but improved and expanded upon. It’s shaping up to be an epic ending to Geralt’s story, and I’m confident this early on saying that CD Projekt Red has done it again. Get those ‘Game of the Year’ awards ready next year when it releases on February 24, 2015 on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Tuesday - June 17, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:27

Time for another round of news for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The news just never seems to end these last two weeks. So lets get started.

Up first I have a new Preview and Impression article from Entertainment Buddha.

In the demo, Geralt slays the spirit with little delay and returns towards the Ladies in order to collect his hard-earned payment. Upon collecting his payment, Geralt is granted the ability to see the true form of the three Ladies. More monster than woman, the grotesque Ladies finally reveal the location of the original woman Geralt seeks in a flashback.

Visually, the flashback is a cinematic treat. Once more, the game’s visuals steal the show, fully immersing the viewer into what is on the screen. The flashback reveals a white-haired woman, with a scar on her face, before sizzling into blackness, signifying the demo’s end.

All in all, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s demo was one of the lengthiest and most impressive on display during E3 2014. It is clear the CDPR is attempting to outdo themselves once more with Wild Hunt, something that seems like a very real possibility.

Next Gamezone has information from E3 about remakes of The Witcher 1 or 2.

Unfortunately, as of right now there are no plans to bring the previous two Witcher games to Xbox One or PS4.

"I don't think so," lead producer Piotr Krzywonosiuk said when I asked him if they are considering a remake of the first two games. "All of our focus is on [The Witcher 3] Wild Hunt."

"And then we have some other things going on," he said, "one of them being Cyberpunk. So I don't think it's in the plans."

And for last another Preview/Interview video from Twinfinite.

Even though I’m not a fan of the first or second (not that I think they’re bad, I just never got into them), I’m really looking forward to Wild Hunt. I think it’ll be a great treat for fans of the series as well as those of us that love fantasy adventures. Check out my preview above as well as my interview with the game director for The Witcher 3.

Sunday - June 15, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - New Gameplay Video

by Couchpotato, 05:54

Dual Shockers has news on another high quaility video of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

If you want to see over three minutes of amazing gameplay footage of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you’re in luck, as a new video has surfaced, showing off the game in shiny 1080p with an extremely high bitrate.

Since the video weighs a whopping 1.63 GB (quality comes with its weight), you’ll have to download it in order to watch it on your own PC. You can find the file here. You can also view it on Onedrive, but that’s definitely hit and miss, depending on your browser.

Since it’s a .MOV. your best bet for watching it without downloading Quicktime (which can be annoying) is VideoLAN.

The footage showcases the swamp demo available at E3, and really gives a great glimpse on the game’s stunning visuals. February 24th can’t come soon enough.

Update: added an embedded version of the video if you don’t want to go through the enormous download, but of course the quality is much lower. If you want to see it in high quality, you’ll have to download it.

Saturday - June 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - Editorial @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Couchpotato, 05:52

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Nathan Grayson has posted a lengthy article about the few things he is worried about based on the demo of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Oh, I do so love a good disclaimer. Why, I think I see one galloping over the hill right now! Look at it go, diving in to interject just as I was about to say something ill-conceived/stupid. So: I largely think The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks excellent. I got to watch (though not play, sadly) a new 45 minute demo of it during E3, and it encouraged me to peel off another layer from my carapace of hardened skepticism. There were bustling towns, bizarre characters, and beardly moments of derring do. In the spirit of SENSATIONALIST FEAR, however, I did notice a few cracks in the game’s lovingly rusted witcher armor.

Friday - June 13, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - More E3 Interviews

by Couchpotato, 05:34

Seems the news for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt never seems to end this week. So for today I have some new video interviews for anyone who needs more information.

RedditGames

Witcher 3 takes the series to a whole new level, introducing open-world
gameplay. Witcher's project lead answers Redditors questions and gives
us a feel for the next installment.

Video Game Sophistry

How do you romances work? How long will it take to get from one side of
the map to the other? WILL DICE BE BACK!

GamerHubTV

At E3 2013 at the Microsoft booth, CD Projekt Red developer John Mamais
explains what Xbox One opens up for The Witcher 3 in this exclusive
interview.

PlayStation Access

Hollie tries desperately to contain her excitement as she chats to
executive producer John Mamais about what players can expect from The
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

As a bonus I also have some new screenshots from RPGamer.

Thursday - June 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - E3 News Roundup

by Myrthos, 12:37

Her eis another roundup of news for The Witcher 3.

Outside Xbox is talking with Executive Producer John Mamais about the influence Game of Thrones had on The Withcer 3.

IGN has a gameplay demo combined with an interview with the same John Mamais and Senior Level Designer  Peter Gelenser.

Gamespot does the same with the same.

RPGamer interviews Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz.

Joystick summarizes a hands-off demo they watched.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Video Roundup

by Couchpotato, 04:50

I managed to roundup three more videos from E3 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first video is from Game Trailers who takes a look at the E3 demo.

We got a look inside the demo of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt! Join us for a recap.

Next IGN has a ten mintue clip that explores the city Of Novigrad.

We Go On A Wild Hunt With The Highly Anticipated Third Installment.

And the last video is the sondtrack from the Sword of Destiny Trailer.

Tuesday - June 10, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 01:56

I have more infomation to share about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as it seems ro be a busy week for CD PROJEKT RED. Up first I have the new E3 presentation from today.

Next I found a new video interview from E3 at Gametrailers.

CD Projeckt Red's Executive Producer stops by All Access to talk about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Then I found a new article on Dual Shockers with a few twitter replies.

Following the reveal a few days ago CD Projekt RED is disseminating more information about the upcoming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt through its official Twitter account.

We learn that the developer is “looking into” cross-platform save import, even if they can’t make any promise yet. It might prove rather relevant considering that The Witcher 2 was on PC and Xbox 360, while its sequel will be on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The developer also mentioned that we’ll get more gameplay footage “sooner than we expect,” which probably means that we’re going to see some at E3.

Finally, they also confirmed that horse racing, portrayed in the screenshot below, will be one of the minigames included in the game.

And for last I have five resons why you should buy the game from crashwiki.

With The Witcher 3 pre-order announced nearly a year before the game hits store shelves a lot of gamers are wondering if it’s worth it. While the first Witcher was innovative, and the second one amazing, what’s in store for the third? We’re taking a look at a few good reasons to buy, or not buy.

Monday - June 09, 2014

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:51

Well I found a few more updates to share with you all for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The first item of interest is Steam is now accepting pre-orders.

The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt is Now Available for Pre-Purchase on Steam and is 10% off! Save an additional 5% if you own The The Witcher: Enhanced Edition or The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition on Steam.
The second item of interest is the game will be released on SteamOS.


And for last I have a new interview from Nerdacy who asked a few questions at the live event about the games Beta, Delay, and Open-World.

First off, we asked about The Witcher 3‘s delay since the game was originally supposed to release this Fall (I know its Autumn, but I’m an American. We say Fall.):

“You know, the reason in our case is always the same – we want to make the game better. We want to make the game perfect; but that’s never possible because if you tell developers to make a perfect game they’ll never release it. So, we thought we could release it this Fall, but we would like to polish, we would like to work on it longer.

“I think the motivation is simple – we want to make the game better. And we are a publicly traded company, so believe me–I’m actually one of the owners–so from the investor-side there’s always a push, but as we control the company, we are gamers, we say, ‘Hey guys, sorry, but the game has to be great,’ and that’s what people are waiting for.”

Sunday - June 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - Next-Gen Visual Comparison

by Couchpotato, 03:49

WCCF Tech has posted a new article that compare the visuals of all three Witcher games. Of course the new game beats them all in the end.

CD Projekt Red has just announced the release date of its upcoming next-gen exclusive open-world action role-playing video game called The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Being third installment in the game’s series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features almost all the characters that were present in the previous games in the series. Here is a screenshot/GIF comparison showing how the characters of The Witcher 3 look like in next-gen visuals compared to the characters in the previous games.

Saturday - June 07, 2014

Witcher 3 - Hidden Message & Figure

by Couchpotato, 05:01

Seems I missed two more items of interest from the Summer Live event yesterday. The first one is a new hidden message from the E3 trailer.

The message was found and transcribed by Reddit user 'xylempl'.

"We've missed you!

"Today you got a look at the third trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We hope you liked it!

"There's so much more in this game that is's just impossible to show everything withing two and a half minutes. Still we tried :)

"More importantly we just showed you some of the main characters

"Geralt's close friends and some of the last witchers remaining in the world - Vesemir, Eskel and Lambert - will play a big part in the game, as well their famous fortress Kaer Morhen.

"You also got a glimpse of the renowned bard Dandelion and the sorceress Triss Merigold.

"Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, the most powerful man in the world of The Witcher also made an appearance. Recognize his voice?

"And then there was Ciri!

"And Yennefer!

"By the way, if you're new to the series, don't worry, the game will introduce you into all you need to know, and you'll start loving (and hating!) characters in no time!

"Also, you've been asking us many questions about gameplay features and we're finally ready to answer some of them - so here it goes:

  • "Yes, you will be able to fight while on horseback
  • "The crossbow. Yup, Geralt can use ranged weapon. Because sometimes monsters fly and you can't reach them.
  • "Remember swimming and sailing. You'll be able to dive and search for a lot of hidden stuff too. There's a whole underwater world to discover.
  • "Horse racing anyone?

"You also got to hear more music from the game. This particular track was composed by Marcin Przybyłowicz & Percival. We'd love to hear your feedback. Fire away in the comments or on the game's Facebook/Twitter/forums. Remember, we're always listening, even if we're not getting back to you.

"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Team, CD PROJEKT RED

"PS. If you're still waiting for more (you are, right?), please be patient. We're just warming up.

"PPS. Have you seen the Collector's Edition video? What do you think about the figure?

"PPPS. We've just announced a closed multiplayer beta of The Witcher Adventure Game -------- & let the GOG.com guys ------ you."

Next I found a new video that shows the making of the Collectors Edition Figure.


Friday - June 06, 2014

Witcher 3 - E3 Game Trailer & Adventure Game

by Couchpotato, 04:33

Well the summer live event is over and CD Projekt RED has released two new videos. The first video is a preview of the E3 event that has a few minutes of game footage.

Be prepared to be amazed, and see a few spoilers. Fans of the books will be happy as a certain character finally makes her appearance.

The second video is for a new digital board game for The Witcher. Probably not as exciting as the news above, but it may interest some of you.

But wait thats not all I have you can also watch the recorded live event on GOG, and they have news you can now pre-order the game for up to 20% discount.

Saturday - May 24, 2014

Witcher 3 - Editorial @ Cheat Code Central

by Couchpotato, 06:40

Contributing Writer Jason Messer has a new article on Cheat Code Central where he talks about how the ESRB rating of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt should be Adult rated.

Don’t get me wrong; blood, violence and nudity can sometimes be a perfect recipe for a fun experience (God of War or GTA anyone). Frankly, I hope Witcher 3 makes its money back ten times over! The take away from this article shouldn’t be that I’m in any way calling for the removal or censorship of its artistic expressions. Quite the contrary. I say if it fits with the creator’s vision…add more for all I care! The point is it once again reflects our broken rating system that needs to be fixed ASAP. “Not tomorrow. Not after breakfast. NOW!” as the warden of Shawshank would say.

However, giving Witcher the legit AO rating it deserves would result in certain death. It would have a hard time finding space on store shelves, and would ultimately doom the title to failure. It’s the worst scarlet letter that can possibly be given in our industry. So am I to honestly believe there is not SOME happy medium? Are we forever destined to live with these skewed labels which result in games being sold to inappropriate audiences on one end of the spectrum, vs. bankrupting the company who made them on the other?

Friday - May 23, 2014

Witcher 3 - Gameplay Preview For E3

by Couchpotato, 05:57

Thanks to DSO Gaming I found information that CD Projekt RED will be showing a new 45 Minute Gameplay preview Event at E3 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

So look forward to next month when the video might make it online.

CD Projekt RED has informed us about its E3 plans. According to the company, a 45 minutes gameplay preview event is scheduled for this year’s E3, in which the Polish company will show off a new scene/sequence from its title. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is currently planned for an early 2015 release and promises to be one of the best RPGs to date. Enjoy the teaser image and stay tuned for more!

Wednesday - May 21, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Eurogamer

by Couchpotato, 00:50

Eurogamer released a few more tid-bits of information from their interview with CD Projekt Red's Co-Founder Marcin Iwinski. He talks about platform exclusives this time.

 

Last year Microsoft featured The Witcher 3 on the biggest gaming stage: a platform-holder E3 conference at a time when both big new consoles were unreleased. There couldn't have been a clearer statement that this game was a big deal.

E3 2014 is nearly upon us now, and there's talk that CD Projekt Red - and The Witcher 3 - will be on stage again. "Hopefully," said company co-founder Marcin Iwinski, talking to me in Poland recently.

But whose stage, and why?

It's no secret that exclusives are gold at the beginning of a new console cycle. But whereas Sony tends to look to inwards to a solid stable of internal studios, moneybags Microsoft tends to spend. And it needs to spend to propel Xbox One out of its rut.

Is CD Projekt Red about to announce a Witcher 3 exclusivity deal with one of the platform holders?

"

"We are treating all gamers equally," Iwinski answered me.

"We'll not deliver exclusive content to any of the platforms, nor will we artificially delay release of the game on any of the platforms because somebody's paying us money for that. It's definitely against our values. We are not doing that."

And breathe.

"What we are doing in terms of marketing cooperation," he added, "you'll see that at E3."

Iwinski also suggested we have more to learn about online connectivity in The Witcher 3. There's, hands down, no multiplayer, and we knew that, but it sounds like there could be some kind of social sharing online.

"We will be talking about it when the time comes," he said, which could mean E3. "It's too early right now."

Friday - May 16, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Eurogamer

by Couchpotato, 06:01

Eurogamer has a new interview with CD Projekt Red's Co-Founder Marcin Iwinski who talks about the delay of The Witcher 3, and promised it will not happen again.

Polish developer CD Projekt Red has promised "no more delays" for massive role-playing game The Witcher 3.

The move from autumn to February was a one-off, company co-founder Marcin Iwinski told me at Polish conference Digital Dragons. If CDPR needed more time, it would have taken it then. In other words: you can bank your house on that February date.

"This is not our first game; we are not newbies," he said. "It's not like 'hey we are delaying and we'll keep on delaying'. If we would think we need more time we would say 'hey we'll release it not in Feb but, I don't know, June'. We made the decision at the moment we were able to judge how much time we needed, and we planned it well and it works well for us. So, no more delays."

The reaction to the delay surprised CD Projekt Red. Iwinski knew it was bad news his company was announcing, knew he was letting people down who - like him - had expected to be playing a big and long fantasy adventure during their Christmas holidays, on their new machines.

"But we were really positively surprised with the response," he said. "It was 'hey guys, great that you have the balls to say that you take your time and you spend money on it'. Because it's not happening for free. That's a really important thing to mention."

It's not like the decision was made lightly; not only was fan-reaction a concern but CDPR also had to justify the delay and extra expenditure to its shareholders, which heaped on "an additional load of pressure".

Wednesday - May 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - What to Expect From E3

by Couchpotato, 06:25

Game Trailers has posted as new video on their site where they talk about what you can expect from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at this years E3 in June.

Our wolf medallion trembles as E3 approaches, reacting to exciting new revelations for one of the show’s most anticipated RPGs.

Saturday - May 10, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Reuters

by Couchpotato, 08:36

Reuters has a new press statement they call an interview from CD Projekt where they talk about the budget, and the expected returns for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt says sure of return on Witcher 3

WARSAW, May 8 (Reuters) - Poland's largest video game maker CD Projekt has no risk of losing money on Witcher 3 because of the money distributors have agreed to pay for selling the new game, CD Projekt's chief executive said.

The company's shares dropped sharply in March after it postponed to early next year the premiere of Witcher 3, its largest project ever.

"Regarding the business side, there is no risk of a loss on the Witcher 3 game," Adam Kicinski told Reuters in an interview. "This is one of the most awaited games in the world and every distributor wants to have it in its catalogue."

The company, established in 1994 in a small attic in Warsaw, has grown to a market capitalisation of $450 million.

Kicinski said distributors of the role-playing game include Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in North America and Namco Bandai in western Europe.

"The value of minimum guarantees from distributors in the case of Witcher 3 is many times higher than in the case of the previous editions," he added.

CD Projekt, which also has an online games distribution platform called gog.com, has so far sold more than 7 million copies of the two previous editions of Witcher.

Kicinski said Witcher 3 had a much larger sales potential, adding that the game's marketing budget was many times larger than those of its predecessors.

Kicinski also said the company was working on a new mobile game, which it is developing with an external partner and planned to launch later this year. ($1 = 3.0099 Polish Zlotys) (Reporting by Marcin Goettig; editing by Keiron Henderson)

Wednesday - May 07, 2014

Witcher 3 - Video Interviews

by Couchpotato, 07:08

Power Unlimited has the first video interview for everyone today with one of CD Projekt Red's Level designers Miles Tost to talk about the delay, and state of the game.

The second video interview is from Game Reactor with Level Designer Miles Tost, and Marketing & PR Chief Michal Platkow-Gilewsk.

We caught up with level designer Miles Tost and marketing and PR chief Michal Platkow-Gilewski at Level Up in Berlin. During the interview, where story in an open-world environment was discussed, we asked whether the studio had any plans for the IP once they've concluded The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Miles Tost was fairly definitive, Wild Hunt is going to wrap things up for Geralt: "So far, we really honestly don't have a clue what will happen after we release Witcher 3. We know that it will be the end for us and Geralt's story, right? The trilogy of Geralt's story will end..."

Michal Platkow-Gilewski then explained how Cyberpunk 2077, the other major game in devlopment over at the studio, will take up most of their attention once The Witcher 3 was out in the wild, and that once that happens, that's when they'll consider the future of the Witcher IP.

Saturday - May 03, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ PC Gamer

by Couchpotato, 00:24

PC Gamer has posted a new preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that talks about how CD Projekt Red built an RPG with 36 different endings.

Four quest designers worked on the original Witcher. Its more refined sequel had six. The conclusion to the trilogy, which promises 100 hours of content and a 50-hour story, has more than doubled that. “We have about 14, I think,” says lead quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz.

Nor have CD Projekt Red simply padded out The Witcher 3’s Skyrim-exceeding open world with unimaginative busywork. They’ve systematically banished fetch quests from the game—or, at least, as much as a team can when making a high-fantasy RPG. It’s one of the ways the Polish developers are refining their identity through the creation of The Witcher 3, where quest and narrative design is being meticulously worked and reworked right up until release. The philosophy is, if you need to have a fetch quest, make sure the story does a damn good job of hiding it.

“When we do have these situations, which is rarely, we compensate for it with the narrative,” writer Jakub Szamalek explains. “It’ll definitely be an interesting story in itself – you’ll be intrigued by the NPC’s motives, and where this is all leading. Even when you have a simple structure it’s something we’re compensating for in the story.”

The reason for abolishing fetch quests? CD Projekt Red don’t like them much either. “We are trying very hard to limit such interactions of structures to a minimum because we don’t think they’re interesting.” Instead, they want to be radical.

The studio’s ambition is to further the RPG on all fronts – from big, sprawling decisions that impact the world to the very basic principle of handing an item from one NPC to another. It’s a sign that The Witcher 3 could complete the developers’ ongoing evolution from rough RPG debutantes to best-in-class.

Thursday - April 24, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview/Preview @ RedBull

by Couchpotato, 05:13

RedBull has posted a new Interview/Preview article with Level Designer Miles Tost to talk about The Witcher 3, and compare the game to Skyrim once again.

“We knew we had a really good RPG on our hands and a really dedicated fanbase to support that, but we still wanted more. That’s where the open world element kicked in – we always wanted to make a truly open world RPG but, for various reasons, we couldn’t fully accomplish that goal until now,” Tost says.

“We want to combine the strong pull of closed-world RPGs story-wise, with a world where you can go anywhere and do anything you want. It makes the whole experience more lifelike. Geralt’s a witcher, a travelling monster hunter for hire – there’s nothing more exciting that letting him loose in an open world and giving him a meaningful and captivating story to be part of.”

How big are we talking? Try 35 times bigger than the world of The Witcher 2. That’s what all those hundreds of developers and creatives are needed for: this isn’t so much a canvas they’re painting this time around, but a mural – the size of an aircraft hangar. And they’re not taking any shortcuts doing it either.

“The team are actually making everything by hand. Yes, we do use middleware to help us with certain aspects of the game, but quests, for example, are always done by hand – special cells within the studio create them, test them and see how fun they are. There’s no random generated Fedexing in the game, everything is as meaningful as it can.”

That’s also likely part of the reason for the game’s delay. After targeting a 2014 release, CD Projekt Red pushed the game back to February 2015, but Tost says it had to be done to clear the high bar the studio has set for itself. “Quality is something that we put a lot of focus on. Releasing a game that might not represent that quality, just for the sake of releasing it, well, it’s not us.”

Friday - April 11, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Screenshots & Videos

by Couchpotato, 05:03

Dual Shockers has a new article for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with new screenshots, and two videos that show off The World & Advanced Occlusion Tech.

At the Games Developers Conference CD Projekt RED Engine Programmer Przemysław Czatrowski held a panel titled “Solving Visibility and Streaming in the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with Umbra 3” explaining how the developer used the Umbra 3 middleware to help building the world, and its advanced ambient occlusion culling technology to render only the objects that are actually visible on the screen, massively reducing the load on the video card.

The presentation slides are now available, and Umbra Software published a recording of the presentation.

Here’s how the occlusion process works:

  1. The world is split in tiles, and for each tile a “tome” data package is built, including the occlusion data. The engine determines which tomes are needed to be shown depending on the camera position and direction.
  2. If the newly determined set of tomes differs from the previous set, an asynchronous compitation process starts, creating a new tome collection, that is sent to the renderer to replace the one previously rendered.
  3. Tomes that are not used anymore are removed from the stream to free up memory.

Monday - April 07, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gamestm

by Couchpotato, 04:47

Gamestm interviewed Senior Art Producer Michał Krzemiński of CDProjektRED, and talks about the graphics of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

In a lot of other RPGs, part of the appeal to players is the ability to create their character in their own image. Geralt is as rigid in his design as they come – how do you think offering the one, definite player character sets you apart from other RPGs?

Ha! I could turn the question around and say that in a lot of other RPGs, part of the appeal to players is a strong, well-defined character, who is so awesome, you just don’t want to change anything (well, some small cosmetic changes, maybe). Think Batman, think Lord Vader, think Lara Croft… We see Geralt as a guy who’s so cool because of who he is; he’s a witcher, an elite warrior who hunts big-ass monsters and is second to none when it comes to solving problems.

People often compare the Witcher series of games to the Elder Scrolls – do you think these comparisons are relevant? Do you think your series appeals to the same audience of Bethesda’s?

 That’s a tough question. At their core, both games are RPGs and there is a big number of similarities between them. However, the deeper you go, the more differences you see. Ultimately, I think that Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are entirely different games. Skyrim is a sandbox set in an open world. You get a set of game mechanics and you play with them. The Witcher 3 is all about the story, it’s the core of the whole game and around this core, you get a huge, open world with a ton of things to do. In terms of audience, well, I think that it’s not the case that if you like The Witcher, you can’t like the Elder Scrolls (or the other way around). You can like both games for what they offer and get a different kind of buzz from playing them.

What has the next-gen hardware allowed you to do specifically that was unobtainable on previous generations?

There’s no one specific thing that next-gens allowed us to do. There’s a whole ton of them. Essentially, the game can look mind blowing, we’ve got seamless gameplay with no loading screens (almost everything is streamed during gameplay, cutscenes etc.), we can add visual effects unavailable to us because of performance issues and so on, the list is huge. All this constitutes a giant, lush open world with a myriad of things to do, quests, adventures, monster hunts, events and so on.

Tuesday - April 01, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Sydney Morning Herald

by Couchpotato, 05:37

The Sydney Morning Herald watched a hands-off presentation of Witcher 3, and got the chance to interview Tomasz Jarzębowski the Head of Marketing for CD Projekt RED.

CD Projekt has created a fine niche of beautifully designed games from just one property, Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher fantasy novels. The unnamed continent that the six Witcher books (only three of which have been translated from Polish into English) are set in lends itself perfectly to their brand of RPG-making; in particular, their take on the importance of moral decisions. Jarzębowski attributes much of the series' success to this very idea. "This is how we see this world, nothing is good or evil, just different perspectives or your choices," he says. "Sometimes a human being can be a bigger monster than the actual monsters. [The protagonist]Geralt prefers, if the monster is not a direct threat to people, to not kill it."

Witcher 3 ignores much of the political machinations of its predecessor, instead focusing on Geralt of Rivia's personal mission to recover his memory and save Yennefer, an ex-lover taken by the Wild Hunt. The Hunt are the main antagonists in this game, as Geralt chases them to the bleak and frozen Northern Kingdoms, but they're like no monster he has faced before. More like a force of nature than an actual beast, they consist of huge, marauding suits of armour that pillage and kidnap their way across the world with impunity. Zipping around in intimidating flying war barges and razing villages overnight, they've become more myth than reality. But Geralt has a bone to pick with them, and he's a hard man to dissuade.

Even in our short demo (40 minutes is a short demo for a game of this size) we're given a perfect example of the complex morals at work here. During his pursuit, Geralt happens upon a village being terrorised by a monster that lives in a nearby forest. In any normal RPG this would be a simple find it and stab it mission, but this is Witcher. One group, the elders, want to appease the beast: it's been living in the forest for as long as they can remember and they don't see a reason to anger it. The younger group has had enough and want the monster gone. It's entirely up to you who you listed to, and neither option is the wrong or bad one. For the purposes of the demo, we chose to kill the monster. First things first, Geralt needs to know what he's up against so he heads into the forest to investigate. As many monsters have weaknesses and strengths that can be the difference between success and reloading a save, it's best to know what you're walking into. Hunting a werewolf? Probably best not to do it on a full moon, or you're in for a bad night.

Tuesday - March 25, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Gamespot

by Couchpotato, 05:15

Gamespot has posted a new preview/interview of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that talks about how the game handles sex , alchemy, and monster hunting.

Less ugly is CD Projekt Red's approach to the series' depiction of sex. Geralt is defined in the Witcher books as a good lover, and he'll have his fair share of sexual adventures in The Witcher 3, though Platkow-Gilewski says that all of these romances will be strongly connected to the story. "It will never happen just for the sake of having more sex in the games," he continues. "That's not our point. It's not a Pokemon way, like 'collect them all.'"

Given The Witcher 3's focus on open-world monster hunting, Platkow-Gilewski didn't rule out the possibility of a monster encounter becoming more intimate. "It happened in the past," he hints. "It depends what kind of monsters Geralt will have to face. But it's not a way of beating the monster." Regardless of how monstrous Geralt's mistresses may be, CD Projekt Red is keeping The Witcher 3's sex scenes free of interactivity, avoiding the use of quick-time events in them--and in the rest of the game entirely.

CD Projekt Red has also overhauled the series' alchemy system, although Geralt won't be brewing any love potions. Platkow-Gilewski says that alchemy in The Witcher 2 was "not rewarding," because you had to somehow know in advance the type of enemies you were about to face in order to imbibe the right cocktail of magical buffs. "Now, you will have a few charges of the effect of the potion," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "It's not like you're drinking and have a certain period where you have to act really fast. You can use the specific effect of this potion when it's needed." CD Projekt Red believes this makes investing in the alchemy skill tree more viable than before, whilst the other two skill trees--sword mastery and magic--will be filled out with more active abilities rather than passive skills.

Monday - March 24, 2014

Witcher 3 - NVIDIA Demonstrates Hair FX

by Couchpotato, 05:06

CD Project RED  was at GDC 2014 and previewed the new Hair Simulation technology used in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.I mentioned the tech last year, and you all laughed at it.

WCCF has the videos and information from the conference.

Even though the RPG release was delayed to 2015,  at the GDC today Balázs Török Lead Engine programmer CD Project RED gave important insights into it’s development process. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the first games that relies on the GameWorks tools for programmers released by NVIDIA , particularly the Hair Works component.

Thursday - March 20, 2014

The Witcher - House of Glass Comic

by Myrthos, 11:46

Just read a tweet from CD Project Red that the House of Glass comic featuring The Witcher's Geralt is available now.

Travelling near the edge of the Black Forest, in the land of the Angren, witcher Geralt meets a widowed man whose dead and murderous wife resides in an eerie mansion known as the House of Glass. With its endless rooms and horror around every corner, Geralt will have to use all his witcher prowess to solve the manor's mystery and survive.

There is also a trailer of the comic book, which obviously contains a lot of stills.

Can't wait to get your hands on it? Here are the links to the digital version of the comic for your favorite platform; MAC/PC, iOS and Android (the latter two link to the Darkhorse App allowing you to get the comic).

 

Wednesday - March 19, 2014

Witcher 3 - Status and The Witcher Mobile Game

by Myrthos, 12:39

GameBanshee brings the news that a NeoGaf forum member translated CD Project Red's 2014 financial report, in which they mention the current status of The Witcher 3, work on a mobile adventure game of The Witcher.

About their plans for 2014 with respect to new developments:

  • Witcher comics - digital and paper
  • Continuous intensive marketing action for TW3
  • Witcher 3 preorders
  • Release of The Witcher Adventure Game (board game) - Q3 2014
  • 2 mobile titles: The Witcher Adventure Game and a new multiplatform project.
  • Together with an external development studio we are working on the multiplatform mobile game, which uses advanced features of tablets and smartphones
  • We are entering a completely new territory, both in terms of gameplay and business model
  • Work on the project began over a year ago, independently from TW3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
  • The game will be announced together with beta sign-up.
  • Commercial release this year.

And about The status of The Witcher 3:

Finished:
  • Dialogue lines are closed & implemented
  • They are currently recording voice overs for each language version of the game
  • The world of the game is completed - locations are finished, all important gameplay mechanics are already implemented
  • Graphic assets and animations are nearing completion
  • The game can already be played in full
  • REDengine 3 supports all 3 platforms
  • The physical elements of the collector's edition are in production


What's left:

  • Implementation of the remaining side quests
  • Importing voice overs and testing their quality/changing them
  • Gameplay testing and balancing
  • Continuous work on improving the quality of graphic assets, animations, effects and sounds - this will last until just before going gold
  • REDengine3 optimization

The reasoning behind the 2015 release:

  •  Less competition
  • Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers.
  • Better polished game: the last 20% of time stands for 80% of the game's attractiveness.
  • More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Monday - March 17, 2014

Witcher 3 - Editorial @ Pixelgate

by Couchpotato, 04:51

Pixelgate has a new article for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt where they write the delay is a good idea, and that we should all appreciate CD Projekt for doing so.

Normally video game delays come with a sigh of disappointment along with the despairing thought of yet another game in developmental hell. Truth be told, however, some delays are just what a game needs. The latest Thief, for example, stinks of a game that could have done with a good few extra months of polish before it was released. The point, then: delays may have a negative impact on the consumer, but the product benefits from it.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the latest game to be delayed (now set for release February 2015), but I, as a Witcher fan, am utterly delighted by this. Why? Simply because it comes down to the talent, class, and relationship CD Projekt has with its franchise and its fans. They’re a studio whose attitude is both commendable and human–a rare thing in the video game industry.

In the face of heavy piracy, and during the days when DRM was a hot topic, CD Projekt’s refusal to incorporate harsh DRM into their games commanded a lot of respect. They trusted their fans, and that, today, reflects their dedication to producing quality games.

Saturday - March 15, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Otaku Dome

by Couchpotato, 05:02

Otaku Dome had the chance to interview CDProjekt RED about The Witcher 3, and talked about Geralt’s story, the REDEngine, and the upcoming graphic novels.

With the story of Geralt coming to a close, were you surprised at how successful the series got over the years?

We put a lot of hard work into making The Witcher a truly global and acclaimed series. Were we surprised? At the beginning, definitely. But it was hard work and listening to gamers right from the beginning that brought us where we are today.

What has been your favorite moment while developing The Witcher trilogy?

The moment we release the game and can take a breather *laughs*. Seriously though, everyone in the studio loves to see how gamers react to what we’ve been working on for the past years. It’s the most rewarding moment of the whole development process.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done something differently with the trilogy?


There’s always something that you might have done differently, but, in the grand scheme of things, no, we don’t regret anything.

What gave you the idea to opt for an open-world for The Witcher 3?

We always wanted an open world in our games but you have to have the resources and the experience to do it and uphold the quality you came to expect of RED. Now we have both and we’re going for it!

Thursday - March 13, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ TechRaptor

by Couchpotato, 05:20

Michał Krzemiński the Senior Art Producer of Witcher 3 was interviewed on TechRaptor. As usual here is small part of what the site calls unique, and exclusive questions.

The Witcher 3 will revolutionize the action RPG-what was the hardest part of creating such a vast world?

There’s no single thing I could point at and say, yes, this was the hardest. Making games as big as The Witcher is a bit like designing a spaceship, there’s a gazillion things to do and they can all be the “hardest parts” in their respective fields. Remember, CD Projekt RED consists of over 230 professionals and they all play a role in delivering the final game. Come to think of it, from a bird’s-eye view, maintaining coherency and creative direction, putting all this together, that’s difficult. But is it the hardest part? I don’t know.

The voice of Geralt- can we know a little about him?

In the English version of the game, Geralt is played by Doug Cockle, a fantastic actor, who’s been with us since The Witcher 1. Doug has managed to infuse Geralt with a lot of personality and continues to do so in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

If anything what do you want the players of the Wild Hunt to appreciate the most about this amazing game?

I think the really revolutionary thing is how the game makes fantasy grow up, how it enters the realm of the mature. Our game reflects problems that are not detached from our everyday lives, it tackles issues such as terrorism, ethnical diversity and political struggles, and puts them in a context that allows us to look at them from a greater perspective. The game is not mature because it features blood and sexual intercourse; it’s mature because of how it portrays them and how it treats the gamer. For me, this is the most important aspect. Others may see a plethora of different stuff, from tactical combat to exploring the unknown; it’s all here.

Wednesday - March 12, 2014

Witcher 3 - Delayed to February 2015

by Couchpotato, 04:55

In case anyone missed the news today CD Projekt RED announced today in a new press release that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been delayed to February 2015.

An Open Letter from CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Release Date

Ever since we started working on the third installment in The Witcher franchise, it has been our aim to produce a title that would take our 11 years of experience in creating RPGs and distill them into a quintessence, into a game that would effectively crown those years. At the same time, we have wanted The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to expand creative boundaries, set new benchmarks, develop the genre as a whole. Ultimately, you, the players, must get an unforgettable adventure to experience in a vast, open world – and that’s most important.

We’ve created a story that flows naturally, cinematically, rendered it in amazing sound and visuals, while preserving full freedom of choice – all for you. We knew this to be an ambitious plan, but believed we could achieve it by bringing together our team with its creative energies and current gaming platforms with their technical capabilities. A project this vast and complex would inevitably require special care in its final stages, manual fine-tuning of many details, thorough testing time and again.

We recently reexamined what we had achieved thus far, and faced a choice about the game’s final release date. The decision we made was difficult, thoroughly considered, and ultimately clear and obvious. We could have released the game towards the end of this year as we had initially planned. Yet we concluded that a few additional months will let us achieve the quality that will satisfy us, the quality gamers expect from us. Consequently, we have set the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for February 2015.

Dear gamers - we know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even. We’re sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment.

Dear shareholders – we are aware of the responsibility that rests with us and thank you for the trust you have granted us thus far. We firmly believe that quality – more than any other factor – determines a game’s success, and that the decision we have made is thus equally valid in business terms.

Tuesday - March 11, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ VG 24/7

by Couchpotato, 05:04

VG 24/7 has a new preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. While the preview may not contain any new information it's stll might be worth a look for some of you.

I don’t have candid screenshots or footage to show you what I mean, and I lack the language of graphics tech to explain the differences, so let me just break it down – The Witcher 3′s landscapes make Skyrim look extremely last-gen. The Witcher 3′s ocean makes Assassin’s Creed 4, heretofore the acknowledged king of beautiful oceans, look distinctly cross-gen. The Witcher 3′s character animations – well, actually, okay, apart from the sizzlingly attractive fencing, the animations look a little rocky at this point, while largely static and stone-faced characters suddenly pinwheeling their arms in gestures and throwing facial expressions around like they have sudden itches. I don’t know how much of that is CD Projekt RED’s dramatic European style and how much is work in progress.

Monday - March 03, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ IGR

by Couchpotato, 05:55

I Game Responsibly had the chance to interview CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3. The interview focuses on the games visuals, and frame rate.

When I asked Krzemiński to describe the visuals of The Witcher 3 and which platform is currently performing the best, he replied,

"Oh, I don’t like creating such dichotomies between platforms. Imagine we’re making an airplane instead of a game – we finished the left side of the plane, and we’re just starting work on the right side. A person comes by and asks which side has better aerodynamics at this point in time. Well, the obvious answer would be “the left one”. Is that the right answer, though? The process of developing a game is a complicated thing (more complicated than most gamers think), at this point in time differences in performance may stem from the fact that we haven’t finished a segment of code and not because a given platform has less potential. We treat both platforms equally and both the PS4 and Xbox One will blow you away in terms of visuals."

Historically, the visuals of The Witcher have always managed to impress the gaming community, and I have no doubt they will continue to do so as the book closes on Geralt’s journey. Lastly, I wanted to know what the studio hopes will cement the legacy of The Witcher trilogy,

"That’s a really tough one to answer. I think that we’ve already managed to set a trend for maturity in games. The way we tell stories, and what these stories are all about, seems to have hooked gamers and left them wanting more. All the shades of gray in The Witcher games, operating on the edge of morality, and meaningful choices and consequences – if we left a mark on the genre, I think these things are it. Having that said, I think, as a studio, we’re too humble to talk about legacies or heritage, we just try to make the best RPGs and gamers seem to resonate with what we do."

Tuesday - February 25, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Ausgamers

by Couchpotato, 06:10

Ausgamers talks to CD Projekt RED's Michal Platkow-Gilewski to ask a few question in a new video interview about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Can you talk to me about… you guys are masters at RPG, but this is the first time you’ve gone open-world. Can you talk about that evolution from The Witcher 1, to 2, to 3; what you’ve learnt as RPG makers, and what has changed in terms of how you approach an RPG now that you’re going open-world?

Michal Platkow-Gilewski: Sure. So at the beginning when we started The Witcher 1, we knew that we wanted to create a mature role playing game for a mature audience -- by this I mean, people who would expect to have a believable story. At the beginning we [said] that we needed around 17 people to accomplish that, and we ended up with 100 working on The Witcher 1.

The game was cool; it was good, but in The Witcher 2, we wanted to go a step further: we wanted to have more consequences of your actions in the game, and we wanted to excel in the storytelling, because we think this is what’s important for us and where we are quite good. That was The Witcher 2, where choosing different factions [means] you can affect how the world and the gameplay could be exposed with different gameplay even, because big parts were unique and dependent on your choices.

In The Witcher 3, we came to a moment where we were experienced enough, we had our own technology which was good enough, we are in the moments when the next-gen(s) and quite powerful PC systems are on the market, and at that moment we feel that we can use the last missing part to tell the immersive stories, and this part is the open-world. Because only in an open-world we can truly enjoy the story which we are shaping. So you can go back and check what consequences your actions brought on the world, or you can just go wherever you want, and behave like a real character.

So that was the evolution. Right now, we are over 220 people in our studio. Out of those about 180 are working on a daily-basis on The Witcher, so it’s a big evolution in terms of who we are. We started 12 years ago, working on The Witcher 1, so we are all more mature as well, and I think that you will be able to feel that in the games.

I also couldn't resist posting this. Looks like nudity will be back once again.

AusGamers: You guys are also notorious for bucking the trend and making your games quite adult; very mature. You treat them like the literature that they’re based on. Can we expect the same thing here with things like nudity and stuff like that?

Michal: There will be nudity, yes. But how we approach that: we create what we think is real, as far as fantasy games can be real. So if there is a possibility in the story to have romance, it makes no sense to skip it because there may be nudity in that, so we’re just not afraid of that. But on the other hand, we know that we can just overdose with this, because it’s not a game about sex, it’s just like real-life.

Sunday - February 23, 2014

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ Ausgamers

by Couchpotato, 05:22

Ausgamers has a new video interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you don't want to watch the video a written transcription is provided.

AusGamers chats with CD Projekt RED Head of Marketing Michal Platkow-Gilewski about the forthcoming hotly anticipated open world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Saturday - February 22, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Analog Addiction

by Couchpotato, 04:43

Analog Addiction interviewed CD Projekt RED to talk about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Topics of the interview include the game’s objectives, back-story, and gameplay.

It only took a trailer and a few details to make The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt one of the most anticipated games of 2014; almost every RPG on the horizon is being compared to it. How do you feel about being the standard for RPGs at the moment?

Are we the standard? Thank you for the compliment, it’s really flattering.

Andrzej Sapkowski is the brilliant mind that has created Geralt in the first place. Was he ever involved in creating any of the Witcher games?

Mr. Sapkowski created Geralt and the world that he lives in, but it’s CD Projekt RED who created the games. We treat his books as a reference point, an anchor of sorts. There’s a whole lot of places and concepts that Mr. Sapkowski left untouched or vaguely described and this is where our creativity kicks in.

These days, many RPGs seem to “hand everything on a dish” to the players, telling them what to do, where to go, with exploration and free-play being more of an option. That said, the Witcher games have traditionally been more player-dependent, and much less “hand-holdy.” Can we expect a transition to the more current-style in The Witcher 3, or are you sticking to the original recipe?

I wouldn’t call that “hand-holding” but we have to introduce some sort of a system that helps us push players in the right direction. I know the concept of “the place is called XYZ, go find it” might seem appealing but in such a big world it would cause frustration, rather than enjoyment. Having that said, we’re not planning on showing you a giant neon arrow saying “go here” either. The game will balance out the challenge of exploration and subtle hints in a way that everyone should be OK with.

 

Thursday - February 20, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Stevivor

by Couchpotato, 05:11

If you feel like reading another preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt then visit Stevivor.

As I said at the beginning of the article, from just the 30 minutes of gameplay we were shown, The Witcher 3 is shaping up to be truly amazing title. The new world looks absolutely amazing and the level of detail is quite simply, fantastic. The draw distance is solid and the sights are just jaw-droopingly beautiful. I didn’t pick up the last title because I feared it would be too difficult, but after this preview, I’m pegging The Witcher 3 as a definite day-one purchase.

Wednesday - February 19, 2014

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Stevivor

by Couchpotato, 05:05

CD Projekt Red’s Michał Platkow was interviewed by Stevivor to talk about Witcher 3.

Stevivor: One thing that people really admired about the past two The Witcher titles was their difficulty, and that you couldn’t just breeze through them. Will The Witcher 3 continue with this tradition, and will there be a ‘nightmare’ difficulty in this game as well?

Platkow: I don’t know yet what will be the name of the difficulty levels, but for sure you can expect several levels, with something easy (where maybe ‘easy’ will be even easier than what it was for The Witcher 2), but you can also expect something hard. As I said before, we wanted to create it so that it would be easy to learn but difficult to master, so it will be easy to survive, but if want to do cool stuff or advance relatively faster it will be harder. We don’t have a monster scaling level, which means that if something is too easy for you, you can always look for a more challenging monster and try to beat it if you are a veteran of the franchise. I guess everyone will enjoy the game.

Stevivor: We recently learnt that two gameplay designers had left the studio to join a smaller indie studio. Has this had any impact at all on the development of this game?


Platkow: The big impact was that they were both friends of mine, so I’ve been missing them. A good thing was that they didn’t move too far, they left for a really nice company which is, I would say, our friends, so we aren’t working too far from each other and are still in contact. They were responsible for parts of the game which were already done, or at least planned, so I would say ‘no’. The other thing is that we have over 220 talented people from 19 countries working on the game, so we shouldn’t worry about it. I wish them luck though, because they were seeking new challenges and they wanted to have a bigger influence on smaller games. They both loved indie games so I wish them the best.

Stevivor: An interesting thing about The Witcher 3 is that it features no loading screens. What kind of work or changes have been made to the game to make that happen?

Platkow: OK, so to avoid loading screens in such a big world we had to work more on our engine, to develop it further. We are using the Red engine, which is our own technology, that is adopted to the next-gen and to role-playing games. We  designed that from scratch while working on The Witcher 2, so it exactly matched our needs and there’s nothing on-top that we don’t need. With this technology, and the power of the next-gen consoles and PCs, we can achieve that. That said, it’s not so easy – I’ve made and put it simply, but there’s guys responsible for things like edging and programmers who could talk for hours on how they did it. Good work guys!

Monday - February 17, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Digitally Downloaded

by Myrthos, 12:46

A preview of the Witcher 3 combined with questions answered by CD Projekt RED's head of marketing, Michal Platkow-Gilewski, can be found at Digitally Downloaded.

In the live gameplay demo I saw this rich mythology and theme in action where Geralt fought against a creature based on the Slavic Leshy. In one particular instance that was shown in the demo, Geralt entered a small village looking for some information for the main quest. On obtaining that information he could have left the village to continue on with the main story, but a side quest pops up - murder's been done in the village and the people think they're haunted by a malicious spirit (this being the Leshy).

Geralt, should he decide to help (and he does in our demo) is provided with two alternative ways to deal with the problem, presented by different, opposing villagers. Both options have a certain degree of moral ambiguity to them, but after choosing one, playing through an investigation sequence (where Geralt follows a series of clues to three totems that need to be destroyed), the monster emerges and the big fight happens.

Then Geralt returns to the village to find that the villager he sided with took the opportunity of the disruption created by the monster to slaughter his rival and his allies. So much for picking sides.

Sunday - February 16, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Capsule Computers

by Couchpotato, 05:38

Capsule Computers has a new preview of Witcher 3 based on a live demonstration.

Seeing the game in person and coming to understand what kind of herculean effort goes into creating a game of this scope and ambition is a treat. CD Projekt RED had to write new streaming technology, and adopt a more capable middleware to optimise memory use, and facilitate the humongous world, which I must reiterate is 35 times larger than that found in The Witcher 2: Assasins of Kings… an open, persistent world! It’s beyond impressive, and being a fan of the franchise, I can’t wait to actually get my hands on the title, although that may have to wait until E3.

Friday - February 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - Preview @ GamesTM

by Couchpotato, 04:07

GamesTM has a new preview of The Witcher 3, and calls the game a Skyrim killer.

While most developers eagerly create choices, CD Projekt RED has created a world, the state of which organically moulds itself around the consequences of the player’s actions. You will never see everything that the Witcher series has to offer, but then, your journey feels uniquely your own.

“You don’t even want to know how much work that takes,” laughs Maciej Szcześnik, lead gameplay designer on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. “Really. We’re making a game with 36 different possible endings, 12 world states and three fully playable epilogues. And all this is powered by your choices and is interconnected. If you want to get the scope of it, picture this: 100 hours of gameplay, a ton of quests and decisions to be made. Imagine the time needed to put all this into one coherent piece. Yes, you don’t even want to know.”

As the last part of the trilogy, it promises a fittingly epic conclusion to Geralt of Rivia’s story, not to mention the journey taken by the studio itself over the past decade. The independent Polish studio has grown enormously from its inauspicious origins as a distributor, branching into videogame development in 2002 after dalliances in the localisation market and a brief flirtation with porting console games to PC (the predominant format in Poland). 2007’s The Witcher was CD Projekt RED’s inaugural release, the most expensive game developed in Poland at the time, using BioWare’s Aurora Engine and with the majority of the development team learning the ropes as it went along.

Saturday - February 01, 2014

Witcher 3 - Armor Concept Art

by Couchpotato, 03:59

DualShockers has some new artwork for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The previous Witcher games were awesome, but the visual variation in the armor Geralt of Rivia could wear wasn’t exactly amazing. This is apparently going to change with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as you can see in the artwork by CD Proket RED Concept Artist Jan Marek showcased below.

While we don’t know if the concept art showcases only part of the armor sets that will be available or all of them, visual variety seems to be guaranteed, alongside a grim and rugged look for our favorite Witcher.

They’re also a further testament to Geralt’s athletic abilities. Try to roll as he does while wearing a full suit of chainmail down to your knees if you can.

Thursday - January 30, 2014

Witcher 3 - New Forums & Screenshots

by Couchpotato, 00:33

CD Projekt announces the launch of a new forum for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. They have also released some new screenshots on facebook.

CD PROJECT RED LAUNCHES A NEW FORUM EXPERIENCE

WARSAW, POLAND – January 29th, 2014 – CD Projekt RED, the creators of the eagerly anticipated RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, are thrilled to announce the launch of a completely redesigned forum experience.

The revamped RED forums combine new and exciting user functionality with the passion of The Witcher community that made them a special, one-of-a-kind place on the Internet.

“The brand new thewitcher.com forums are something we’ve been working for a while now. I think that our wonderful community deserves an experience as amazing as the game itself”, said Marcin Momot, Community Manager, CD Projekt RED. Besides the completely new forum engine, we are very happy to introduce additional features like one account for all of our services, i.e. thewitcher.com, cyberpunk.net and REDkit, seamless navigation between each room and an achievement system, Momot added.

To celebrate, the studio released three brand new The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in-game screenshots portraying the diversity of the game world.

Monday - January 27, 2014

Witcher 3 - CENEGA Publisher for CZ-SK-HU

by Couchpotato, 04:27

CD Projekt RED has a post with information on the publisher for the CZ-SK-HU version.

We are proud to announce our cooperation with Cenega to bring the eagerly anticipated fantasy RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The game will be released for Windows PC, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. All platform versions will contain Czech subtitles.

“We’re thrilled to gain the trust of CD Projekt RED and have the opportunity to release this massively anticipated game in our market. We’re confident that our team members who had the opportunity to work with the franchise before are going to significantly bolster the marketing and sales of The Witcher 3”, said Chalid Himmat from Cenega Czech.

Sunday - January 26, 2014

Witcher 3 - Editorial @ Gamespace

by Couchpotato, 01:58

Gamespace has a new article with eight details that you didn't know about Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - an upcoming action-RPG from CD Projekt RED - is one of the most anticipated games of 2014. Recently, Marcin Iwinski - the company's cofounder - has answered on lots of interesting questions of IGN journalists, revealing exciting The Witcher 3 news.


Friday - January 24, 2014

The Witcher 3 - Interview @ OnlySP

by Couchpotato, 01:47

OnlySP has a new interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt carries the weight of expectation, considering the strong, story focused, really good previous installments in the series. With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt coming out sometime this year, we took the opportunity to speak to Michał Krzemiński, senior art producer at CD Projekt RED about how the game plays, how monsters play a part in the open world, and what it’s like developing for next generation platforms.

Wednesday - January 22, 2014

Witcher 3 - Two New Interviews

by Couchpotato, 04:48

Here are two new interviews I managed to roundup for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

IGN India

Marcin Iwinski, co-founder of the CD Projekt group, was in town this week, and we caught up with him to talk about their ambitious project, dealing with worldwide accolades, game mechanics, and lots more.

OnlySP

Speaking exclusively with OnlySP, Michał Krzemiński, Senior Art Producer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt told us a few new details about their upcoming open-world RPG.

Sunday - January 19, 2014

The Witcher 3 - Preview @ OPSM

by Couchpotato, 05:10

The Official Play Station Magazine has a new preview for The Witcher 3.

It remains to be seen if Wild Hunt will be bigger than Skyrim commercially, but CD Projekt RED spawned many a web article when it confirmed that its open-world is roughly 20% bigger than Bethesda’s epic RPG in terms of sheer size. That’s an impressive statistic, but it could easily prove a liability if Wild Hunt doesn’t furnish that space with enough excitement to make it feel dense and alive.

“We fill each region with stories that are just around every corner,” Szczesnik assures us. “It’s something very characteristic to Slavic mythology that partially inspires the game. In Slavic mythos, you don’t need to venture to far away lands to experience adventures – something really amazing can live in a nearby forest or hide deep in the cave you pass by when you travel. We populate the world with adventure and this glues everything together.” Huge worlds also mean big commutes, but in addition to your own two feet, Wild Hunt gives you the option of horseback, fast travel and even a boat for traversing its frigid oceans. We’ve been told those bodies of water are treacherous “and not only because of the weather” either…

CD Projekt RED claims that the game will redefine the genre, but haven’t we killed monsters and completed quests many times before? Szczesnik claims it’s what we haven’t seen yet that makes the difference, the way the game manages to weave the plot intensity from closed-world RPGs with the freedom of a dizzyingly vast open-world. That’s a lot of space in which the Fiend can hide, but we’ll hunt him down eventually. Those giant antlers will look amazing on the wall of the OPM hunting lodge.

Saturday - January 18, 2014

Witcher 3 - Publisher for Asia Pacific Area

by Couchpotato, 01:44

If you live in Australia and New Zealand the following news might interest you. It seems Namco Bandai will be publishing the game in your area.

CD Projekt RED, the developer and publisher behind the highly anticipated fantasy RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is excited to announce that NAMCO BANDAI Games Australia and New Zealand.

“We’re really excited to continue to develop our relationship with NAMCO BANDAI Games and, as a result, introduce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to even more gamers across the globe. Thanks to our shared passion for games and our partner’s understanding of what core values constitute The Witcher series, I’m confident we can make the launch of The Witcher 3 something really special,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD Projekt RED.

“CD Projekt RED is a world class developer that cares passionately about its games and its fans. We are therefore delighted and proud to again be their chosen partner in Australia and New Zealand and we are very excited to add the eagerly awaited ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ to our 2014 line-up." said Gerard Noonan, SVP, NAMCO BANDAI Games Asia Pacific. “The Witcher series is one of the industries most revered video game franchises and with the power of the new generation of consoles we expect CD Projekt RED will take the series to even greater heights”.

The first installment in the Witcher series was released in 2007 for the PC. The second installment hit the PC market in 2011 and was released for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft a year later. The two games received over 200 awards. In February 2013, CD Projekt RED announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is scheduled for a 2014 release and has garnered over 88 awards so far. The game will be released simultaneously for the PC and next-generation consoles: PlayStation®4 and Xbox One.

Friday - January 17, 2014

Witcher 3 - A Musical Tribute by a Fan

by Aries100, 15:18

A fanof The Witcher series, named RadogosT, has made a musical tribute to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game. You can view the tribute here.

Tuesday - January 14, 2014

Witcher 3 - Most Anticipated RPG @ TechRaptor

by Couchpotato, 05:55

TechRaptor has a new article were they write that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most anticipated game of 2014. This makes the second article in one week to say so.

With all of these new features, not only will fans of the series be excited, but I believe there’s some groundbreaking technology here and could bring in new fans of the series. Wild Hunt is definitely my Most Anticipated for 2014.

Wednesday - January 08, 2014

Witcher 3 - Most Anticipated RPG @ IGN

by Aries100, 22:55

IGN bears the news that Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt has won most anticipated RPG or 2014.
Dragon Age: Inquisiton came in third. The Witcher's Facebook page also has this story.

Saturday - December 28, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ TheGameHeadz

by Couchpotato, 08:20

TheGameHeadz has posted a preview of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from VGX 2013.

Much of what made Geralt what he is today involves the Wild Hunt. They were referred many times in the plot and Geralt has even fought some of them before. What sucks is Geralt never seems to get to meet the leader himself but The Witcher 3 finally gives you and gamers that humble chance to beat down the leader… if you can of course.

The Witcher 3’s combay system has been overhauled, making it more immersive and tactical than ever before. If you thought the combat in the first two games were awesome, you’ll definitely have glee all over you with the final game’s combat system. It takes the many elements from the first two games and improves them, making it adaptable to your playing style. Whether you like it to kick ass melee-style, magic-style or both, the combat system is yours to take. You, as the first two games let you, still have a choice of what powers your Geralt will have, so your choice may not be the same as the other players, which gives you a unique experience everytime. The trailer already showed that the tactical combat system has been overhauled beautifully.

Thursday - December 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Holiday Card from CD Project

by Aries100, 14:22

The team behind The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Project RED, has made a Christmas card for the Holidays:

 

Sunday - December 22, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ PC-Gaming

by Couchpotato, 04:01

CD Projekt RED's chief programmer was interviewed by an Italian site called PC-Gaming.

What are the key differences between RED Engine 2&3?

We have a lot of new systems rewritten as rendering using DX11 or the new streaming system and many new features integrated. We changed several middleware in many cases, and began to use them in new areas. We have also developed a lot of new tools for designers and artists potergli allow you to more easily create a game of this magnitude.

What is your opinion about Windows 8 and DX11.2? Have you been experimenting with DX11.2?

The market share of Windows 8 is still quite low when compared to Windows 7. This means that we can not afford to implement functionality that only run with DX11.2 and at the moment we do not see any particular features that pushes us to do something that would give more value to the game.

Tuesday - December 10, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gamasutra

by Couchpotato, 00:32

Gamasutra has a new Q&A interview with CD Projekt RED about The Witcher 3.

Most games are very system-driven, but RPGs in particular have a lot of gameplay systems. How do you scope?

Marek Ziemak: Woah! That's a tough one, because there's a huge amount of different systems. It's very easy to overdesign, or spawn too many ideas. Because basically, I think RPG is a genre that can have an unlimited amount of features and it will still be okay for the whole game -- because it's this type of a game.

The more options you have, sometimes, the more fun for some players. Except 90 percent will not use half of them. But still, the game will not be broken because of the new options you have in the game.

I think it's difficult, but we have some experience. We always base it on the experience from our previous titles. It was much tougher in the times of Witcher 1, when we had to experiment a bit, when we had to create our own way of thinking. Now we have a basic amount of features that we know we must and we want to deliver. We are always adding a bit more, a bit more, a bit more every installment. So that's how we're working.

How do you protect against feature creep in those instances?

MZ: To be honest, we are not a very big studio, but we are doing a massive game. Feature creep is usually a feature that is not absolutely needed, but someone wants it. And once we get delayed with something that's really important, feature creeps are the first ones to get out of the plan. So, actually, life is making a decision here.

So if we set the priorities well, the feature creep thing will always be at the bottom of the backlog. And it will instantly jump out of the backlog at the first delay. It's impossible to plan everything perfectly, so they're constantly being cut here and there.

You also alluded to the possibility that you might put in features that 90 percent of the audience might not use. I know that's something you want to avoid, but how do you determine that?

MZ: Whenever we're deciding on delivering a feature, we want to connect it to other game elements. If it actually creates some coherent experience, if you're reminded that you're using it -- it's useful here and there, and it's quite cool -- then it probably increases the amount of players using these features.

And of course it has to be usable. If it's not balanced well, if it just makes no sense to use a feature, then players will just not use it. Usually feature creep features are useless most of the time, or they just fit a particular situation, so we're trying to get them out of the scope. And the ones that we are leaving in the game are supposed to be fun, and that there's a big budget to develop them, so they're not being perceived as something not worth using.

It would be much tougher if we had all the manpower in the world. Because then we'd be creating dozens of features, and we would have to have some sophisticated mechanisms of controlling it. But because we don't, we focus on the things that are really important.

Sunday - December 08, 2013

Witcher 3 - VGX 2013 Trailer

by Couchpotato, 05:00

As promised here is the short one minute trailer for The Witcher 3 from VGX 2013.

 

Monday - December 02, 2013

Witcher 3 - Fan Kit Released

by Couchpotato, 05:01

CD Projekt RED released a new updated version of the The Witcher 3 Fan Kit that contains wallpapers, screenshots, concept art, and other goodies all in one zip file.

Whether you are running a fan page, a gaming blog or simply would like to enhance your desktop or social media profile with some Witcher themes, you might want to check out our newly released Fan Kit. It contains a collection of art from all three games from The Witcher franchise, including official wallpapers, promotional art, game logos, screenshots and forum/social media avatars. It also includes a document highlighting the most important features of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Download it now and let us know what you think about it in the comments below! Thanks to your suggestions, we will be able to release an improved version in the future with even more goodies available to you!

Friday - November 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Eurogamer

by Couchpotato, 02:40

Eurogamer continues their interview from last month on their visit to Poland with CD Projekt Red. This segment deals with answers gathered from a few employees about what makes Witcher 3 a next-gen RPG.

Quests and hidden consequences

 

"The consequences in our games are not immediate," said Szamalek, "so when you do something you learn about what happened because of that later on, so that you cannot simply reload and try a different option. We definitely want players to take responsibility and feel responsible for what they do in the game."

I saw this first hand in a demo, when Geralt sided with a faction only to witness an unforeseen and significant twist later on. I'd have picked differently had I known. Will people wanting to pick a very deliberate line through the hazy-grey morals of The Witcher 3 feel this is unfair?

"You're correct that some players like to control everything," lead quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz (Konrad's brother) responded, "but because some things are unexpected you feel like this world isn't just a schematic. It's not a mechanical world where you only choose obvious things and you are always in control. People who live in it have their own motivations; factions go their own ways and things change. That is more realistic. It's just the approach we chose in our game."

No paid DLC, no multiplayer, maybe an Arena

 

"No. No no no," was Adam Badowski's emphatic answer to whether The Witcher 3 will have paid DLC. "Not for small DLC or something like that.

"Maybe there's an option to have a huge expansion pack or something because of the size and scope of the game. This is the only option [for paid DLC]. But small DLC and DLC packs: it's not big enough [to charge for]."

There will be some online features because of the online nature of the platforms the game will be released on, but not multiplayer. "None. At all. We had some rumours about it but that was just a misunderstanding," Badowski said.

How about an Arena mode like The Witcher 2 had? "Arena mode was a kind of an experiment, quite cool. We don't know yet," he shrugged, "and this is true. We have other plans.

"When we are saying 'we don't know' don't get me wrong: we know, it's just that the decision is not made because the market is changing, the situation is changing. The game is set in stone but all other surroundings are fully dynamic."

"It wasn't my intention to say that Skyrim was a poor game," he added, "because it's not. It's a great game; it's got different advantages than The Witcher. That's all."

The Skyrim comparison

All that stuff Konrad Tomaszkiewicz said about Skyrim, about how the quests and story were "generic" - that was a "misunderstanding", he told me.

He wanted to say that he loved Skyrim but it wasn't a game about story. "This is the game about the exploring of the world, about finding the items, upgrading my character." There is a story that's "quite entertaining" but short. "They don't even try to make these characters very memorable ... It was some simple story."

He mentioned it to highlight how CD Projekt Red is doing something different - taking a different tack.

Consider Grand Theft Auto 5, he said. "It's good to compare these two games. GTA is not RPG, but if you took the storyline, which is movie-like in GTA, compare it with the world of Skyrim and the open-world game where you've got a lot of things to do - you've got character development, you can kill the monsters and so on - and add to this choices and consequences: this is what I want to achieve with The Witcher 3. That was my point.

So anyone want to ask me why I prefer this game over anything Bioware makes? Cool

Tuesday - November 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Connected Digital World

by Couchpotato, 01:43

Connected Digital World finally posted their video interiew for The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt from Gamescom 2013. Well as they say better late then never.


The world is in chaos. The air is thick with tension and the smoke of burned villages. The fearsome Nilfgaardian Empire has struck again, ravaging the hapless Northern Kingdoms. The once mighty who tried to use Geralt are dead or gone. These are uncertain times and no one can say who will rise or fall, who will bring peace to the world and who will bring only misery.

But a force darker and deadlier has appeared. Little do the petty men and women moving their tin-plated armies across the Northern Kingdoms know that their conflict is mere child’s play compared with another otherworldly danger which now looms closer than ever. This brooding danger lusts after one thing: that which matters most to Geralt, that which is dearest to his heart.

I sat down with the story writer to learn more about The Witcher 3.

Saturday - November 23, 2013

Witcher 3 - VGX 2013 Teaser

by Couchpotato, 03:54

CD Projekt RED has released a short trailer of their upcoming VGX 2013 Witcher 3: Wild Hunt presentation. So be prepared to be teased and left wanting more.

Saturday - November 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GameStar

by Couchpotato, 03:49

GameStar interviewed CEO Marcin Iwinski of CD Project RED about the developers future goals, and of course they talk about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

You always emphasize the size of The Witcher 3 and I guess the Cyberpunk should be about the same scale. In the future you’ll be striving to make bigger and more mature games?

There’s always question «What is more?» Like, if we make a game five times longer than usual will gamers enjoy it? I think it’s all about the story, the characters, their development and how you go through it, so definitely we’ll be experimenting with new ways to tell a story. Cyberpunk definitely will  be offering a lot of new ideas. But we’re working on that really hard already in The Witcher 3. The game engages the player much better. We really wanted to improve on what we did in The Witcher 2 in terms of the initial immersion for a gamer, though. In Russia, in Poland, in Germany gamers are different, we are more hardcore. If it’s a hard game it only motivates us. But if you look at Western Europe and especially US, which is a very important market, if a gamer feels that the immersion is steep, the game is hard and you die a lot at the beginning, people will most likely drop the game and say that it wasn't good enough. We don’t want that to happen. «Easy to play — Hard to master» is what we are after. And I draw a lot of comparisons between games and TV series — for example Game of Thrones…

So when both games, The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk, are done, are you going to focus on a next big RPG or maybe something different?

I can tell you one thing for sure: we’ll be doing story-driven mature RPG and this is what we think we’re pretty good at. It’s really very early to say and we’ll see when the time comes, but right now we really want to focus fully on The Witcher 3 and take all of our skills to a next level, so that we can really deliver a multiplatform story-driven RPG in an open world. That’s the main goal. After that we’ll probably set a new goal that is even higher to achieve!

Do you think that games heavily relying on realism have a future? Not combat simulation games like ArmA but very complex games that would, for example, simulate a life in a metropolis where you could enter every building and talk to every citizen? Would it make sense to try to recreate our life with such precision in a computer game?

Yeah, this question is always opened, isn't it. If it’s boring simulator — I would totally not be interested. There has to be something more to it. A lot of people play games to relax, so the main question should be whether it's relaxing or entertaining you?

And again, our profession is to tell great stories. Whether I’m watching TV or reading books I generally want to have a bit of fun with that or I want the medium to make me think about certain things. Maybe something important that you don't think about every day in your usual life. If it’s a part of the game — it’s cool. If it’s just a simple simulator you have to ask yourself what is the goal? Of course, there are games like SimCity, for example, where there is a kind of economic model and management system and there’s always a certain goal. That works well. Everything could work as long there’s a certain group of gamers that finds it cool. As for us — we’re all about story.

Saturday - November 02, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ GOG

by Couchpotato, 02:30

CD Projekt Red was interviewed on GOG.com about DRM, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt being pirated on release.

Yesterday, CD Projekt RED announced that The Witcher 3 would be released 100% DRM-free on PCs. Since we're near the RED offices, GOG.com interviewed joint CEO and co-founder Marcin Iwinski about his recent announcement and asked something that a lot of gamers want to know: why?

Thursday - October 31, 2013

Witcher 3 - No DRM on Release

by Couchpotato, 03:39

CD Project Red has released an open letter to the Witcher community with a promise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will have no DRM on release.

Hey, following our recent announcement of the distribution deals of The Witcher 3 in North America and Europe, there have been some concerns regarding DRM and previous legal issues with The Witcher 2. We’ve seen a lot of comments in various places around the web and we would like to join in on the conversation.

I’d like to say it loud and clear: The PC version of The Witcher 3 will have absolutely no DRM from day 0. Zero. Zip. Nada. It doesn’t matter if you choose to buy it on GOG.com and support us directly or buy the game in box format, you’ll still get the 100% DRM-free experience. And this goes for the whole world.

We’ve fiddled with DRM in the past (Oh boy! How young and naïve we were;)) and that’s enough. Lesson learned.

Having said that, I’d like to thank you for your continuous support. You’ve bought six million copies of the Witcher games so far. Whoo-hoo! Let’s celebrate. Here, have some cake!

UPDATE: 

It’ll be on Steam; the team isn’t going to exclude that community by any means. Gamers have a choice in where they buy their games, but where CDPR does have control — like GOG.com — there will be absolutely no DRM.

Cheers,

Marcin Iwinski
co-founder / Joint CEO

Tuesday - October 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Namco Bandai To Distribute

by Couchpotato, 03:58

Namco Bandai annouces in this new press releases that they will distribute The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in Europe.

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES TO DISTRIBUTE THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT IN EUROPE

PARIS, FRANCE – October 28th 2013 – CD Projekt RED, the developer and publisher behind the highly anticipated fantasy RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is excited to announce that NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S, a leading video game publisher, developer and distributor, will distribute the third part of The Witcher saga and join the studio in bringing the series to key markets in Europe.

We’ve worked with NAMCO BANDAI Games before, so our partners there know both The Witcher and the ideals that drive us as a studio. We’re convinced that they understand our vision for the game and that they will do a great job at letting gamers know how the game’s open world and great story are going to change the next-gen RPG landscape,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD Projekt RED.

NAMCO BANDAI Games will be responsible for the distribution and promotion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in Europe and will bring the game to PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. The full list of countries includes: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Malta, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. 

“CD Projekt RED has well earned its marks as a premier, innovative studio and it is with extreme delight and pride that we are today confirming we will be adding the eagerly awaited Witcher 3 to our line-up next year” said Alberto González Lorca, VP Third Parties, NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe. “We look forward to being once again the European partner of CD Projekt RED, and providing first-class service to one of the most revered video game franchises as it is coming to next-generation consoles in 2014.”

Saturday - October 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Anniversary & Release Date

by Couchpotato, 01:11

CD Projekt Red celebrates The Witchers sixth anniversary, and announces they have sold six million games in the series.

Six million Witchers for Geralt’s Sixth Birthday! We are proud to announce that Geralt of Rivia, as known from your favorite video games, is now six years old!

Six years have passed since we’ve embarked on the magical journey of bringing one of the most unique and recognizable fantasy worlds into the realm of video gaming. We’ve started with a dream and a few rough ideas and today we’re on the forefront of the next generation of role playing games.

The continued support of gamers worldwide has been one of the keys to our success and a reason we have such a strong foundation to build from. We’d like to announce that six million copies of The Witcher games have been sold up to this day and our community is growing into one of the strongest RPG fandoms in the world. It is because of your dedication and constant involvement that the Xbox 360® version of The Witcher 2 has achieved “Classics” status in Europe and we are able to grow as a developer and bring you games that we hope will stay with you for years.

“CD Projekt RED was built on the idea that giving gamers more is always worth it. Since the very beginning of our journey we have seen that the approach of inviting gamers into a dialogue with the developer is really important and can shake up the - sometimes self-destructive - business side of games. We hope you’ll stay with us for the years to come and that we will continue to make these changes together,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD Projekt RED.

We’ve prepared an infographic to show how The Witcher series evolved during the years. You can download it here.

Next Amazon has posted a release date of September 30, 2014. for Witcher 3, but we all know how they change easily. It's subject to change as they say.

Friday - October 25, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ PC Gamer

by Couchpotato, 01:17

PC Gamer has posted a new preview of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

There’s a creature in the woods slaughtering villagers. The elders want to appease the gods in the hope that it will move on. The leader of the village’s young upstarts disagrees, and wants you – a professional monster slayer – to bring him the beast’s head for a bag of gold. What do you do?

The best fantasy RPGs serve up the juiciest dilemmas, and the Witcher series has form for throwing up quality let’smake- a-cuppa-and-think conundrums. Slaying the monster seems like the obvious option here, but if The Witcher 3 is anything like its predecessors things are going to get complicated fast.

The hands-off demo I saw was being controlled by CD Projekt Red. For the first time in the series, the game lets players potter about an open world full of incidental missions like this. The devs could just as easily steer Geralt elsewhere and go exploring, but they opt to side with the youngster and venture into the woods, using Geralt’s ‘Witcher sense’ to find the monster. A dull red haze highlights important clues in the environment, some scratch marks here, some tracks there. Geralt soon concludes that the boogeyman is a Leshen – a spooky, antlered humanoid of great power.

Thursday - October 24, 2013

Witcher 3 - Raptr Q&A Recap

by Couchpotato, 01:14

Corrupted Cartridge has a review from yesterdays Raptr Q&A with CD Project Red.

Have you changed the combat system?

“Yeah, the combat system is greatly evolved. It’s more intimate and fluid – one button press now translates to one sword swing. Each witcher Sign will now have an alternative form, for example, the AARD Sign can be both a directional attack and an area-of-effect attack. The camera system is also enhanced and now shows everything players need to see to get the most out of combat.”

What is the length of the story, time wise?

“The main story arc is about 50h of gameplay. The side quest part of the game should take gamers roughly the same time to max out although this is really dependant on your playstyle and the way you approach the game.”

Will you be showing more trailers, or an extensive gameplay video?

“Yes, Definitely! The closer are are to the launch of the game, the more awesome assets you’ll see! Stay tuned for more soon!”

Will you be returning back to The Witcher world after you have released The Witcher 3?

“Oh come on! We haven’t even released The Witcher 3 and you’re already asking about what’s next?! In a nutshell, yes, this is the final installment of the series but it’s not necessarily the last game in the universe.”

We know that there will be mini games. Is arm wrestling among them?

“There will be several mini-games including fist fighting and knife throwing. We can’t reveal everything yet though:)”

The improvements to so many features when transitioning from The Witcher to The Witcher 2 is astounding. The Witcher 2 in my opinion is nearly perfect. Without mentioning the obvious changes like the open world and new engine, what kind of improvements have been made in The Witcher 3 that will help continue the trend set by the first two games in the trilogy?

“The open world we’re introducing is not as “obvious” as you think. Our main objective is to maintain the intensity of the plot while allowing gamers to traverse the realm as they please. Combining these two elements is really hard work and it’s not just a case of removing the virtual borders – it’s a different approach to quest design and to many more aspects of development.”

Wednesday - October 23, 2013

Witcher 3 - Raptr Q&A

by Couchpotato, 01:07

CD Projekt RED hosted a Raptr Q&A earlier to answer any questions fans had. By now it's over but you can still read the questions, and their responses.

Hello Raptr members -- this is the CD Projekt RED team, makers of The Witcher series. Let’s talk about RPGs, The Witcher in general, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, coming in 2014 to next-gen systems and PC (of course). We’ll be here this Tuesday, October 22, from 8AM to 1PM PDT -- which is quite late where we are, in Poland!

You can start leaving your questions below right now; “like” the ones you’d like to see answered the most, and we’ll try and get to those first. The top 20 questions (as determined by Raptr staff) will win codes good for both The Witcher 1 and 2! We will also give away one of 10 Witcher Wolf medallions!

UPDATE: CD Projekt RED participants:
Marcin Momot (community manager)
Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz (lead quest designer)
Marcin Blacha (lead writer)
Michał Platkow-Gilewski (head of marketing)
Przemek Wójcik (QA manager)

Thursday - October 17, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gamestm

by Couchpotato, 00:14

Gamestm has posted a new interview with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt writer Jakub Szamalek about setting the standard for next-gen role-playing game.

The Witcher 3 is being outlined as leading the vanguard for role-playing titles on next-gen hardware. Was that part of the mandate as development begun on the sequel?

We had that in mind because we brought the Witcher 2 to Xbox 360, which was at the time already 6 years old. That was everything we could squeeze out of the console. We needed to take the next step, we want to have more possibilities and the better hardware would allow more space to do things. Everybody knew more or less how far the new consoles were in development and we took that into consideration.

You’ve previously spoken of how the studio has developed its storytelling voice over the last decade. With that in mind, how CD Projekt RED approach The Witcher 3 from a narrative perspective?

We’re trying to go down the same path but developing it further. We still have mature themes when we design quests and the storyline, and we make sure there are not any good or bad decisions. The player always has to make a choice and face the consequences. This is a very important element of our games and we’re focusing on that but it’s also a more personal story and we’re really trying to make something that is considered nasty. There will be some parts that will make you go ‘Oh fuck. What have I done? I would have never imagined my decisions would result in something like that.’ Like in real life, we can’t always predict everything. We can’t always have wings for a good decision and horns for a bad decision. We’re avoiding that and sticking to this grey area. It’s really exciting because it allows us to develop this story in interesting and not so cliché way.

Will that result in multiple endings?

It will lead to multiple endings. We also want to show the players the smaller consequences to each decision and how they influence the world. We had that a little bit in The Witcher 2 already, so we want to stick to that and illustrate the impact the player’s actions had on different locations and characters.

Wednesday - October 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Using SpeedTree For Forests

by Couchpotato, 01:29

Well this story might interest a few it's an announcement that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be using SpeedTree for its vast forests.

SpeedTree® to Build Vast Woodlands in Gameplay of Next-Gen The Witcher ® 3

COLUMBIA, SC – In the highly anticipated RPG, The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt, monster slayer Geralt of Rivia will journey through an open world of unparalleled scale, diversity and realistic ancient woodlands created with the help of SpeedTree® for Games.
                                                               
Concluding the riveting story of the widely-acclaimed Witcher game franchise from CD Projekt RED, The Witcher 3 is due out in 2014 on PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. This will be the third title in the series to integrate SpeedTree middleware into the story-driven experience and natural environments that have become a trademark of the franchise.

“We’ve created really stunning ecosystems in The Witcher 3. Vegetation and trees in the game are a really important part of the overall experience,” said Michał Stec, Art Producer at CD Projekt RED. “Without the SpeedTree library, tools and SDK, it wouldn’t have been possible to include this level of detail and interaction with such intricate, woodland environments,” Stec added.

SpeedTree’s advanced SDK and real-time support of next-gen platforms played an important role in developing the expansive and open world of The Witcher 3, where creatures and characters interact with vast natural surroundings seemingly at will. “SpeedTree provided precise modeling and randomization tools to build the unique look we wanted for our massive forests,” noted Stec. “With The Witcher 3 set in an open world that will be about 35 times larger than Witcher 2, SpeedTree middleware greatly facilitated development and made the environments look really complete.”

SpeedTree developer IDV shared the company’s delight with CD Projekt RED’s implementation in The Witcher 3. “Our early involvement with next-gen platforms allowed us to provide the CD Projekt RED development team with the right tools at the right time,” said IDV President Michael Sechrest, “We’re looking forward to the release of the The Witcher 3 to showcase SpeedTree’s expanded capabilities, particularly on the new consoles.”

Sunday - September 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Eurogamer Expo Presentation

by Couchpotato, 00:48

Eurogamer has posted a video of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt presentation from the Eurogamer Expo 2013.

If you just want a written version US Gamer has a preview based on what was said.

Friday - September 27, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Leviathyn

by Couchpotato, 01:01

Leviathyn interviews Mikołaj Szwed with a few quick questions about Charles Dance, next gen, and game canon.

I know you either must be sick of hearing about the more “adult” nature of the games or must be proud that you handled it so successfully that people actually took it seriously and didn’t blast the game, but The Witcher 2 was praised for handling adult sexuality and romance in a mature manner that contrasted greatly with the first game’s sex cards. We know that the cards are out, but how will The Witcher 3 handle relationship dynamics? Do we get a choice between Triss, Yennefer and other women? Or is this choice out of the player’s control?

We want to continue in the vein of TW2, though I can’t tell you anything specific about the female companions that will appear in The Witcher 3 yet. We want to shape the relationships Geralt will have with various women in a mature way, that the player can feel a natural flow to the relation and at the same time still have different choices on how to approach this or that specific character. The romances will definitely not be linear.

Charles Dance will be the Nilfgaardian emperor in the game. How did that come about? What traits did he bring to the game that another actor may not have been able to? Are there many Game of Thrones fans on the team?

When we were doing research on potential candidates to voice Emhyr var Emreis, Mr. Dance was always someone who came to mind. Each group of people that was consulted on the matter somehow ended up saying that we should try to reach out to him. So… we did. And he agreed to lend us his voice. As for the specific traits of his voice, what I personally like is its commanding tone. You hear a sentence and you immediately treat it as an order. This and the beautiful accent make him a splendid Emhyr! As for Game of Thrones, it’s a great show and it has a lot of fans in the studio.

Lastly, can you tell us ANYTHING about Cyberpunk 2077. I mean, at all? Pretty please?

I’d love to, but that could anger the Psycho Squad representative pointing a gun at my back.

Tuesday - September 24, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview & TGS Video

by Couchpotato, 00:12

The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed Peter Gelencser the Senior Level Designer at CD Projekt RED.

Such a large project obviously has a huge number of people working in many discrete teams, so I was curious as to how they all work together to make a cohesive whole. Gelencser's response was typically practical and simple: "We talk lots."

I replied that this seemed obvious, but he shook his head. "This you think would come naturally, but having worked at game studios I know it's not a standard thing," he said. "We spend a lot of time walking about the office, trying to get more information about where things are. That ultimately shakes things up."

"This is how levels are born. We, the level designers, will design something that we are thinking about, and then validate it with our visionaries: our leads and producers, who maintain the big picture," he explained. "If the major locations, landscapes, landmarks, and so on are approved, we create a rough sketch of them. So, this is what it would look like with streets, that kind of thing."

"Then we ask the gameplay designers if this will be compatible with what they want, how much space they need between houses, and so on. We then get that rough sketch to the environment artist, who will make it look nice, really put the details in there, like putting in the vegetation, painting the grass, the trees, and everything. It may come down to the artist saying, 'I want this rock to be right... here.'"

"So yeah, even though we have this huge landmass, it will come right down to placing individual rocks, individual plants," he said.

I also have the TGS 2013 video trailer if your interested. It's nothing new just has a few seconds of added footage. So it's up to you.

Friday - September 20, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamingBolt

by Couchpotato, 01:11

GamingBolt interviewed Senior Level Designer Peter Gelencser to talk about the games comparison With Skyrim, random encounters, and customisation.

Skyrim’s kind of an obvious comparison that everyone draws. As designers, what game would you like The Witcher 3 to be compared to? I mean any games or television programs…

To be honest, itself. Because we don’t create properties to be compared and to be based on other values. It should be good on its own. We are iterating, basically, the feedback we got on The Witcher 1 and 2. We want to make it comfortable and accessible and efficient for you guys. So it’s your game. That’s why it’s not like it’s better than Skyrim or better than something. It’s good for you and you like it, and that’s it.

Is there any customization of Geralt himself?

I mean, we’re trying to maintain the standards we’ve established with the RPG features in the previous games. So customization will obviously include customization of items and equipment and all that. Other than that, we’re considering many possibilities, of course, and if we come to terms with any of them, we will probably feature them in one of our later presentations.

The Witcher 2 wasn’t exactly open world. Do you think going open world in TW3 presents a risk of losing what made The Witcher 1 and 2 so concise?

Actually I don’t think so. Because it was the story that came first, and then it kind of pushed out the environment. Because again, as I said, basically the vastness of the open world is there for you to explore the story. We really mean that. It’s going to be better than this. The vast open world is going to be full of opportunities and chances. So it’s not like everybody said “oh, let’s make an open world game and let’s fill it with chickens and whatever.” We came up with a huge story, that we have to put in some sort of a box. And this box is going to big.

Monday - September 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview & Interview @ Dealspwn

by Couchpotato, 01:07

Dealspwn has a new preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from GamesCom 2013.

The world is in chaos. The Empire of Nilfgaard ravages the kingdoms to the North and, worse still, there's talk of the Wild Hunt -- a ghostly, ghastly, spectral, deadly force of myth and legend -- being seen, though few have lived to tell of its sighting. The trail goes colder by the day and a grizzled Geralt has little time to tarry or delay. The renowned monster hunter leads are slipping away and the hunt for the Hunt is becoming more and more difficult.

He comes across a cluster of armed men preparing to string up a frail, seemingly innocent woman. His companion urges that they push on. Geralt has other ideas. The men die quickly; the woman is set free. Geralt's response to his questioning companion is simple: "I'm killing monsters," he growls.

Choice and consequence, the uneasy balance balance between morality and necessity, these are the foundations upon which CD Projekt RED's outstanding RPG series -- The Witcher -- has been built. That means choice in combat, choice in exploration, and choice when it comes to dealing with problems, interacting with characters, and often deciding the fates of those you meet, shaping the world around you with your decisions. CD Projekt understand the unique potential of this medium far better than some.

I also have a video interview with Producer Marek Ziemak.

Friday - September 13, 2013

Witcher 3 - Gamescom 2013 Backstage Video

by Couchpotato, 01:33

A new video from CD Projekt Red shows the Witcher 3 booth at Gamescom 2013.

Gamescom facts, off the record statements, cheeky Instagram selfies and the-Ice-Giant-riding-the-escalator-prank are all included in this short sumup movie from the expo. We hope you'll have as much fun watching as we had making it.

 

Thursday - September 12, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GameReactor

by Couchpotato, 01:20

GameReactor posted a new article style interview with story writer Jakub Szamalek  about story, surprising the player, and saying goodbye to Geralt.

We caught up with Witcher 3: Wild Hunt writer Jakub Szamalek between the team's Gamescom presentation of the title, to discuss with him the challenges of adapting the franchise's rich story as the series shifts from a linear progression into an open world structure.

"We spend a lot of time in pre-production period figuring out how to approach it. In Witcher 2, the story had a linear structure - a lot of branching - but it was linear in the end. We'd move the player from location to location when they completed the main quests.

"Whereas in Witcher 3, they will have complete freedom over where they go and when they do it. So we have less control over what the player does and have to take into account many more options. So the problem of pacing is much more difficult here; we really don't know what the player will do. But we've figured out a few ways to cope with that, the main one being that the story in Witcher 3 isn't linear at all; it's a collection of elements, that you have to find and collect them piece together to get a full picture."

And while this is the last chapter in Geralt's story, CD Projekt may not be done with the world just yet.

"This is the last instalment of Geralt of Rivia. That's not to say we don't want to make any more games in the Witcher universe, because it's such a great world, so many interesting NPCs and great places we haven't shown yet. We do hope we'll have the opportunity of maybe revisiting it at some point in the future.

"But we had to say our goodbyes to Geralt. It was a pleasure and honour to do stories for him, bur each character reaches a point were you should leave them alone, close the door and say that's it."

Monday - September 09, 2013

Witcher 3 - Nvidia's Fur Tech

by Couchpotato, 00:26

A new article on DSO Gaming talks about new Nvidia tech that will render animal fur in The Witcher 3. From the looks of it you will need the latest video card to barely even render it.

During this year’s PAX Prime, Nvidia showcased its Fur Tech that will be used in The Witcher 3. In this demo, Nvidia showcased what its latest tech looks like, however it seems that this particular technique will require a really high-end graphics card in order to be enjoyed. In fact, Nvidia demoed its Fur tech at a mere resolution of 1024×768 and the Titan card was able to only push 65fps when there were two wolves on screen.

Saturday - September 07, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ EuroGamer

by Couchpotato, 00:51

EuroGamer has a new video interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that hunts down new game details.

Find out all about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's huge open world, it's monster hunting quests and why everything isn't always black and white in this exclusive interview with Jakub Szamalek, one of the games lead writers!

Tuesday - September 03, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ El33tonline

by Couchpotato, 01:15

El33tonline has a new interview with Story and Quest Designer Mikołaj Szwed from GamesCom 2013.

Tom: With it being a multi-region, open world – what does this mean? Is it a set of islands or a big landmass – are there very different locations?

Mikołaj: At this point I can tell you that there will be three regions in The Witcher 3, so basically there are the Skellige islands – the location you actually saw in the presentation – this has a Nordic/Celtic feel to it so this is an archipelago – a couple of islands. And you’ll have Novigrad which is the biggest city in The Witcher world with its surroundings – it’s inspired by medieval Amsterdam and has a similar role to Venice during the 15th and 16th century. So it’s a very powerful, free city – richer and stronger than many of the kingdoms in the south. Then we’ll have Vellin – also called the No Man’s Land. So basically this is the area where the Nilfgaard clashed with the northern kingdoms and the front went north and south, and north and south, and what lies between is a desolate, destroyed land. People were killed, raped and hung there – everything that’s worst – that’s Vellin, that’s No Man’s Land.

Tom: I noticed just from the presentation that it seems like there’s a greater focus now on hunting beasts?

Mikołaj: Monster hunting was always a very important element of the Witcher games – it was already present in the Witcher 1 – in The Witcher 2 not so much but there were still side quests where you had to hunt the Endregas or the Nekkers or the Harpies. So basically we wanted to give it a more prominent place in The Witcher 3, so basically now that we have an open-world game there will be far more places to put all this stuff there. We also have this new system – like these Witcher senses – which will be used to investigate both cases connected with monsters as well as not. So basically you’ll be able to track the tracks of the monsters in the forest – not only visual tracks but also you’ll be able to listen to sounds. And there will be different types of monster hunting – for example, sometimes you’ll be able to come across a monster yourself without even knowing that there’s a side quest for this monster – you can kill it and then take the trophy and then it turns out that someone will pay for your trophy. In other situations you’ll have to, for example, gather information from witnesses about the monsters, so actually you’ll get to know what monster type it is and ferret it out just like the Leshen. So basically you have to know what the monster is in order to lure it out because some of the monsters – it won’t be possible to find them until you get to know how to lure them out from their lairs.

Saturday - August 31, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gematsu

by Couchpotato, 00:47

Gematsu interviewed CD Projekt RED Studio Head Adam Badowski at GamesCom 2013.

I was delighted to read your consistent anti-DRM stance, as I’m personally not a fan. And that’s why I feel as if CD Projekt RED is presented as sort of a ‘superhero’ to the development community, and just one of the reasons why you’re extremely popular with consumers. You come off as very nice people who are passionate about making games, and it shows in your products. Now that you are producing multiple games simultaneously, was it difficult for you to transition from a single-project studio to a multi-project one?

Badowski: Well, the most difficult time was when we grew from 50 members to 100 members. Once we learned that we should not run the company as a corporation, but rather as a nice place to develop games at, everything went much smoother. Now growing another 50 to 100 people should not be an issue anymore. We know how to make games and Cyberpunk [2077] is developed within a smaller team with core members from The Witcher team (Roland’s note: The Witcher 3 is being developed first, then focus changes to Cyberpunk 2077]. Thanks to that we are researching a new, improved approach to game development: we would like to develop the game so it can enter full production once we have all the details finalized and know everything about it.

What I saw during the demo looked fantastic. It’s difficult to believe you are focusing on content over technology. At E3, you already gathered many awards (best RPG, best visuals, game defining the next generation, etc.), but we’ve only seen a few trailers. This was the first time I’ve seen it running live and it looked, again, fantastic. So, naturally I was shocked to hear that comment.

Badowski: I do not want to have an exaltation, but right now this is not the final state and we already know that we can still keep on going and pushing to further improve [the final product].

Friday - August 30, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ PC Gamer

by Couchpotato, 00:52

PC Gamer has a new interview with story writer Jakub Szamalek at GamesCom 2013.

What we’ve seen of The Witcher 3 looks breathtaking, but it’s also only a tiny part of the game. The trailers and screenshots coming out of CD Projekt RED have all been taken from the Skellige Islands, just one of the many and varied locations Geralt will be witching through. Talking to us at Gamescom, story writer Jakub Szamalek revealed some of the massive RPG’s other regions, as well as the stories to be found in them.

Thursday - August 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ PlayStationAccess

by Couchpotato, 00:41

PlayStationAccess has a video interview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with Gameplay Producer Marek Ziemak. The topics include combat, the morality system, and the open world size.

Wednesday - August 28, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ TPReview

by Couchpotato, 00:04

TPReview is the lastest site to post a new preview from GamesCom 2013 for Witcher 3.

The gameplay we got to see opened with Geralt in a huge open world. Gone are the instanced-off areas of the Witcher 2, replaced with a world 36 times as large. We were promised that every time you seen an incredible vista, you can go anywhere you see. The world looked beautiful, mostly in line with The Witcher 2 (which is no slouch at 1080p even by next-gen’s standards) but with a huge new raft of graphical effects such as the grass blowing when a storm picks up and all of the trees moving realistically. Water too looked much more impressive (which appears to be a theme with next-gen games) and sailing is one of the new transportation options, with Geralt simply hopping in a boat and carrying on his merry way during the demo (oddly no-one seemed to notice he’d taken it). Meditation is back and now as you sit there time passes quickly in front of your eyes, with the hours ticking by and daylight giving way to sunset and nighttime in an incredibly realistic and dramatic cycle that showed off the capabilities of the new graphics engine.

Tuesday - August 27, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ PCGMedia

by Couchpotato, 00:49

PCGMedia inteviewed the game’s Executive Producer John Mamais, and one of the question asked was about sabotage quests.

Talking to Mamais, we asked that if an NPC “really dislikes” Geralt, could that person then send Geralt on a quest that would put his life in danger, when Mamais posed the idea that NPC’s will dynamically react to Geralt.

Mamais said “that’s a good idea,” when we pressed on the notion that raising and lowering prices based on reputation might not really be enough of an innovation.

“It’s a good idea, but it’s not in there yet?” we replied, at which point Mamais said “I don’t know if it is or not actually,” joking that “if it does get in there, you can’t take credit for it.”

Monday - August 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Couchpotato, 00:47

Rock, Paper, Shotgun  has a new preview about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The rise and rise of CDP has been a remarkable thing to watch. What we’re seeing is a studio spooling up to full power. The enormous ambition of The Witcher failed to really hit its mark, but the intention was clear. The even greater ambition of The Witcher 2 revealed CDP to be an RPG creator that was hitting its stride, as well as achieving its ambitions, and now the third game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, threatens to outshine an entire industry with its technical and artistic prowess. Full power, I suspect, has been reached.

There’s every reason for scepticism at this early, hype-manufacturing stage, but what we saw at Gamescom this year suggests that The Witcher 3 could be the most important mainstream game of 2014. If nothing else the rather blunt claim of “a world thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2″ should get our attention.

What was shown to press audience at Gamescom was a 45-minute sequence played and narrated by the developers. It was as staged as all such demos are, but there was no doubt that this was the actual game (mistakes in combat revealed that, and we’ll come back to that), running as intended.

Sunday - August 25, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ Game Informer

by Couchpotato, 00:27

Game Informer has a new video interview were CD Projekt talks about The Witcher 3, and it's fans.

Gameplay producer Mark Ziemak from CD Projekt RED talks about showing off The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and gauging fan reactions to the new RPG as well as staffing up at the studio to finish off the upcoming game.

Saturday - August 24, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interviews

by Couchpotato, 01:44

Today I have two more video interviews for The Witcher 3. So sit back and relax cause it will take a while to watch both. Enjoy everyone.

Dual Shockers is the first video interview with Story and Quest Design Producer Mikołaj Szwed.

In the next video interview from The Gamers Hub Vaughn and Finn interview writer Jakub Szamalek.

Friday - August 23, 2013

Witcher 3 - News Roundup

by Couchpotato, 01:10

The next article and video ask the one question on most gamers mind. Just how big is the open world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?

Destructoid  

How's 100 hours of gameplay for huge? We were told that The Witcher 3's world is 35 times bigger than that of The Witcher 2. In fact, just one of the islands in the world of The Witcher 3 is bigger than the whole world of its predecessor.

In this world you'll find a blend of their main story, sidequests, varied encounters, and vast lands. Main character Geralt will walk, run, jump, climb, and swim through his freely explorable environment, and if that doesn't take him far enough, he can ride horses, take boats and more. There are no artificial barriers -- if you can see it, you can go to it. 

But a big world is pointless without something to do in it. The developers have spent a lot of time making sure that this world is dotted with enough encounters and points of interest that you'll always have something to do. In a live demonstration, we saw that at any one point there's always at least a few things in the distance you can run up to and interact with.

Next Gamespot interviews Jakub Szamalek to discuss the specifics of the open world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

And for last DSO Gaming has news of a possible Witcher adventure game. Oh and I almost forgot dont miss the new screenshots.

Friday - August 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Did CD Projekt Cross The Uncanny Valley?

by Couchpotato, 00:13

Forbes has a new article about the latest trailer killing monsters, and asking did the game cross The Uncanny Valley?

I’ve talked about realism and the Uncanny Valley in the past plenty of times, and always as a skeptic. Today I may have to change my opinion.

Before we begin, a quick definition:

The Uncanny Valley is a concept used in both robotics/AI and computer graphics. The theory posits that the closer we get to realism in graphics—to a human face, for instance, that looks like it was filmed rather than programmed—and the closer we come to human-like intelligence in robots, the more perturbed these creations will make us.

We begin to feel repulsed by the small details that still aren’t quite human, that jar us back and forth between the manufactured and the illusion of reality—by those haunting, inhuman eyes in the recent animated Beowulf film, for instance.

Today, Polish developer CD Projekt RED released a cinematic trailer for their upcoming RPG The Witcher 3 that, at first blush, I thought was live-action.

On closer examination, the fact that this is CGI becomes much more apparent, but for a moment there—when the woman’s face (pictured above) first comes onscreen—I thought it was real.

 

Thursday - August 15, 2013

Witcher 3 - Charles Dance to Voice the Emperor of Nilfgaard

by Couchpotato, 01:19

CD Projekt announces that Charles Dance is to voice the Emperor of Nilfgaard in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Charles Dance, the British actor and screenwriter best known for his roles in Alien 3, The Last Action Hero and Game of Thrones, will voice Emperor Emhyr var Emreis in The Witcher 3.

“Charles Dance is the perfect candidate to play the mighty Nilfgaardian emperor in our upcoming title. It’s a dream come true for the team here at RED to be able to work with such an accomplished actor and magnetic personality, said Marcin Blacha, Lead Writer for the title.

Wednesday - August 14, 2013

Witcher 3 - Killing Monsters Cinematic Trailer

by Couchpotato, 10:41

Well the countdown is finished can you guess what it was? No well let me tell you.Cool

It seems CD Projekt Red has a new cinematic for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.  It highlights the morally ambiguous tone of the game.

Warning: Video is not for the faint of heart I mean it.

CD Projekt RED is proud to present The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt "Killing Monsters" cinematic trailer to the public for the first time, offering a thrilling glimpse into the morally ambiguous universe of Geralt of Rivia.

"Killing Monsters" portrays the cruel and gritty world of The Witcher and foreshadows the mature mood of the upcoming story-driven RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, set for release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2014.

Tuesday - August 13, 2013

Witcher 3 - New Counter On Website

by Couchpotato, 01:03

A new count down has been appeared on the official Witcher website. This may have something to do with Witcher 3 being shown behind closed doors just for the media at Gamescom .

They also have a goodies download button that will give you a few wallpapers, screenshots, and two soundtracks. Enjoy

Saturday - August 03, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ GamingLives

by Couchpotato, 00:23

GamingLives interviews Gameplay Producer Marek Ziemak with some questions about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

With The Witcher series, the lead character is taken from one featured in a series of novels. Are you given free rein of what you can do with him?

As a whole, we have absolute freedom with what we are doing with the franchise and what we are doing with Geralt at this stage. We feel quite comfortable with it, but I guess we are controlling ourselves, we are not abusing the system because we believe that the books are really great, the storyline was impressive, the way Sapkowski was creating his world was really interesting, and we don’t want to change the shape of it too much.

There’s an incredible level of detail, even in the pre-alpha build. The man asking Geralt to stay and have a few drinks, with the fur on his shoulders you could see every single hair. How do you manage to fit in so much intricate detail without sending any computer or console screaming?

We are working hard on our brand new technology, REDengine 3, and it’s still not optimised, so I guess it’s going to be much better, both in terms of the quality and the speed it’s running on PC, but it’s hard to say. We’re just trying to do our job and get the best we can get out of a specific architecture and out of a specific machine, and it looks good. I guess we’re quite experienced at this stage!

There’s over a hundred hours of gameplay, how big do the scripts get when you’re in development?

I’d have no idea, it’d be really hard for me to give you an exact number of quests, because it’s just massive, I usually operate in numbers. The rough estimate right now is that we are delivering about fifty hours of main storyline and fifty hours of side-quests whilst exploring the world and all of those different events happening in the world.

There’s around thirty-six endings to think about as well, is that correct?

Yeah, but we refer to it as “the state of the world”, so at the end of the game the world can be in thirty-six different, meaningfully different states, and these are all reflective of your decisions and the consequences of the world that happen because of those choices.

Wednesday - July 31, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Examiner

by Myrthos, 16:28

Examiner has finally published the interview with CDP Red's Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, they have been hyping for the last two days. The interview is more about open world gaming in general and less about The Witcher 3.

Examiner: As we end this current generation of gaming, how has the genre of open-world gaming evolved?

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz: Game worlds have gotten really big, immersive and, most importantly, detailed. There was a time when open world gameplay meant that you just had to travel from point A to point B with nothing to do in between. The surroundings tried to emulate the wilderness, clumps of polygons were meant to look like animals and so on. The big difference is that, nowadays, there’s like a second game between point A and B. If you want, you can forget that point B even exists. It happened slowly, so many gamers just take it for granted. But when you think about it for a while, it’s really a magnificent thing!

 

Witcher 3 - Interview @ PCGAMER

by Couchpotato, 00:18

PCGAMER interviews Executive Producer John Mamais to ask a few questions about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

PC Gamer: Does Geralt have any leisure activities—more of The Witcher 2’s minigames?

John Mamais, Executive Producer: We’ve mentioned knife throwing before but TW3 will include additional mini-games that we don’t want to reveal just yet.

We have, though, introduced something entirely new to the series in The Witcher 3 that needs mentioning here—Monster Hunting. It’s not exactly a leisure activity but it is an engaging new feature outside of the main quests, something that bolsters the RPG feel and plays into the hardcore nature of the game. Geralt is a witcher and hunting monsters is his main source of income—but in the previous games he was swept from place to place by urgent affairs and didn’t really have the time to take on a lot of extra monster-slaying jobs. In The Witcher 3, we’re on the road again and hunting monsters is back in the spotlight. The leshen sidequest is a great example of what monster hunts look like—you gather evidence as you try to determine what kind of monster are you dealing with and what its weak spots are. Then, depending on the type of beast, you find its lair or lure it out. We tried really hard to embed each and every monster hunt in the world so they emerge naturally—quite often the monsters are worshipped or feared, there are local legends about them and so on.

How persistent is the world? If Geralt returns to that village after the leshen quest, will we see how our actions changed it?

Yes. After you make your choices and complete the quest, you can revisit the village and see the impact your actions have had on it. At E3 we showed this in the form of an instant flashforward, but normally that’s something players would see after several hours of play. Geralt’s actions (or his inaction) will visibly impact various NPCs and communities.

Do any sidequest encounters involve large-scale events, such as a town under siege?

We’ve got quests that cause ripples on a really large scale but these are usually part of the main story arc. Sidequests will resonate with the world on a more intimate level—depending on our decisions villages or specific districts of a city may be affected.

Monday - July 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Angry Joe Interview

by Couchpotato, 12:43

Angry Joe has a new video interview with CD Projekt RED's Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. Also for any Polish watchers I have a seven-minute video interview on TVN CNBC.

 

 

Friday - July 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Warner Bros To distribute in NA

by Couchpotato, 02:01

CD Projekt RED announces they have partnered with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to North America.

  Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be responsible for the distribution and promotion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in North America.

    “The premiere of The Witcher 3 is the most important event in CD Projekt’s history. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is an extremely valuable partner for us because of their experience and established position on the American market, which is crucial to CD Projekt’s further rapid development. We’re very happy that our partners share our faith in The Witcher 3’s success and are ready to become fully engaged in providing promotion and sales support for the franchise in North America” - said Adam Kicinski, President, CD Projekt.

    “The Witcher 3 is among the most anticipated games of 2014 and one of the most promising RPGs scheduled for release on next generation hardware,” said Kevin Kebodeaux, Senior Vice President, Sales, Americas, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are very pleased to continue our partnership working with CD Projekt on the Witcher franchise, which aligns with our goals to deliver quality experiences to gamers.”

    The third installment of the Witcher saga will be released in 2014 for the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One all-in-one gaming and entertainment system.

Source: CD Projekt

Sunday - July 21, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ StickSkills

by Couchpotato, 01:14

StickSkills interviews Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz on topics such as the games  comparisons to Skyrim and next-gen challenges.

StickSkills: We keep hearing about Wild Hunt’s open world, and how the geography players will be able to explore is more than 30 times bigger than what was seen in The Witcher 2. Does that mean the game’s quests and personality might be more dispersed, or will The Witcher 3 continue the series’ trend of being a “dense” RPG?

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director: The quest per pixel (we should trademark this!) metric is as high as it’s humanly possible in The Witcher 3. We’ve added quite a few people to the departments responsible for quest design and writing – we’re willing to go very far make side-quests seamless and coherent with the whole world you’ll get to explore. Nothing is generic; we try to avoid clichés as much as we can. There’s a lot of hard work involved as everything is being done by hand, we try to give every NPC a convincing backstory and every part of the land a bit of their own folklore. If you remember our E3 demo, where we showed the Leshen and the monster’s impact on the local folk who build something of a ritual around it, yeah, that’s what we mean. And it was “just” a side-quest.

SS: At this point in development, are you sick of hearing the Skyrim comparisons? What do you think sets your game apart?

KT: Skyrim is a great game and it’s always a good thing when people think well of your game. Having said that, The Witcher 3 is a story-oriented experience. What we excel at is reaching that center of the brain that’s responsible for evoking emotions – we constantly put stuff in and observe a full palette of gamers’ reactions. Sapkowski created a really believable and dark universe and this is something really unique to us. In this regard, adding the open world to The Witcher is just another step to make it a more complete experience and not the main feature of the game. We’re still focusing on the narrative, the world just got a lot bigger and the borders within it disappeared.

SS: Does The Witcher’s narrative priority at all hurt the combat? This is a franchise built on its story, but what are you doing in this third game to keep players interested in the mechanics?

KT: It’s not like the narrative ever hurt the mechanic, or at least we hope so! To cater to the needs of those who prefer a good brawl, we’ve completely redesigned the combat while retaining the things that gamers told us worked in The Witcher 2. The fighting will be more intimate and the pace will be a bit slower making the whole experience less chaotic and more tactical. We’ve had several approaches to what we thought would be the sweet spot of a superior combat mechanic and this time, with all lessons learned, we think we nailed it.

 

Source: N4G

Saturday - July 20, 2013

Witcher 3 - Audio Interview @ VGS

by Couchpotato, 00:25

Video Game Sophistry has posted their latest weekly podcast. In the podcast they interview Marek Ziemak the Gameplay Producer from CD Projekt RED.

How do you romances work? How long will it take to get from one side of the map to the other? WILL DICE BE BACK!

Source: N4G

Friday - July 19, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ OXCGN

by Couchpotato, 00:19

OXCGN has the latest preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The site ponders the question is the game,"The most advanced RPG yet?"

It seems lately that we, the gaming population, are a sucker for massive open-world adventures.

While we also love well-crafted stories, they are sometimes sacrificed in favour of a gigantic world that players can seamlessly explore. For example, there’s no argument that Skyrim had a beautifully detailed world, but many felt the storyline wasn’t befitting the world.

On the other hand, some games focused on narrative can tack on a somewhat empty world to present a larger environment. Take L.A. Noire  for example, a large game world that featured little to do outside the main storyline.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, aims to rectify this matter, and is already shaping up to be one next year’s most anticipated titles.

During this year’s E3, CD Projekt Red were on deck to personally show off their progress on Geralt’s latest adventure. I was lucky enough to be able to check out firsthand what lies in store for fans of The Witcher series, through an in-depth 45 minute gameplay demo.

CD Projekt Red have claimed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be the genre-defining RPG, one that utilises true Next Gen technology, combining both massive open worlds with a deep, branching narrative framework.

Sure, it sounds very ambitious, but from what I saw first hand at E3, and knowing the quality of their previous work, I’ve got to say, they might just do it.

Source: N4G

Thursday - July 18, 2013

Witcher 3 - Redefining the RPG

by Couchpotato, 03:17

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has a new video from VG247 with Designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, and Lead Gameplay Designer Maciej Szczesnik.

The topic of the video is about claiming the game is going to redefine the RPG. That is a bold claim indeed, and I really hope it comes true.

Wednesday - July 17, 2013

Witcher 3 - Concept Art Released

by Couchpotato, 03:18

DSOGaming has a post showing a never before seen concept art for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. So without wasting any more of your time go bask in the glorious artwork.

And it’s that time of the week again. Although CD Projekt RED has not revealed any new information about The Witcher 3, the Polish company has released a new concept art for it that can be viewed below. What’s really surprising here is that the game’s visuals come really close to that piece of concept art, so kudos to CDPR’s artists (at least the overall atmosphere is similar). We’d love to share more about The Witcher 3 but at this point… let’s say we can’t. Still, you can enjoy this new concept art below.

 

 

Monday - July 15, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ PSU

by Couchpotato, 00:26

PSU is the lastest site to interview Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz on various topics for The Witcher 3.

What opportunities for domestic role-playing will be offered in The Witcher 3? Stuff like tavern games, home building, relationships, property, etc.?

At this point I can confirm tavern games and mini-games in general (e.g. axe throwing in Skellige). As for home building, I think we won’t go in that direction--the world is in turmoil as Nilfgaard invaded the Northern Kingdoms and you’ll see more houses burning than being built. That said, we probably will introduce a place or two to keep property in, but that’s to be determined in the future. Relationships will be present in the game but I don’t want to go into details now.

What’s most important, however, is Monster Hunting. Calling it a “mini-game” would be a major injustice so we’re treating it more like a new game mechanic. Geralt is a witcher--he basically hunts monsters for gold. Imagine this: you’re passing through a village and you hear in a tavern that the locals have a problem with people disappearing in the forest. People are desperate so they decide to hire you.

First you’ll have to find clues to determine what kind of monster menaces the villagers, then find the monster’s vulnerability and then the monster itself. The best part of it all is that all these stories are well-rooted in the local folklore--the villagers will tell tales about the monster from their youth, for example. This creates a feeling of a coherent world and it’s one of the things we’re extra proud of.

During the E3 gameplay demo, I saw cliffsides and forests that reminded
me of similar areas in The Witcher 1 and 2 where invisible walls or environmental walls kept players from entering inconvenient areas. Will the same walls guide exploration in The Witcher 3, or can I, say, jump off a 200-meter cliff into the ocean on a whim?


The short answer is: you can go everywhere within our huge game-world without invisible walls. If jumping cliffs is your thing, you can break your neck as many times as you wish! The world you see is as seamless as we can make it.

How will NPC violence be handled this time around? Am I free to attack townspeople, attract guard attention, and the like?


We’re exploring many options at this point. Currently, you won’t be able to attack townsfolk, but this may change depending on the direction the team finally decides to take. It’s a question of the universe itself--Geralt has been trained to protect people from monsters and killing them would mean he’s becoming a monster himself. Killing townsfolk breaks immersion and derails the narrative. Since we deeply value storytelling, we will always go with the option that supports it rather than giving you a choice that the world doesn't benefit from. If we choose not to give you the option to kill NPCs, it's not because we can’t do it, it’s because the overall gameplay experience will benefit from it in our opinion.

Thursday - July 11, 2013

Witcher 3 - More Interviews

by Couchpotato, 01:28

StructureGaming brings us another interview among dozens with the developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

JC: Will The Witcher 3 maintain its adult rating? Will nudity, excessive violence and strong language still be a major part of the game? Will it be softened up for the next-gen consoles to cater to a larger player-base?

DG: Stories in the Witcher games have always touched upon mature themes and we’re sticking to that tradition in the latest installment of Geralt’s adventures. These elements are inherited from the books and the universe that Andrzej Sapkowski has so skillfully created. We can’t change course just to cater to a larger player base – that would go against all we’ve stood for over the years.

JC: With The Witcher and The Witcher 2, the enhanced content was released to gamers free of charge, as well as all subsequent DLC. With most developers & publishers moving towards “Day 1” DLC, as well as considerable amounts of post-release DLC, will CD Projekt continue to offer extended content free of charge, or will we see paid DLC in the future?

DG: “Some things never change, some things do” – wise words from a great film, and also quite applicable here: this is one of the former. We didn’t build a close relationship with our fans just to abandon it now – our policy concerning the release of additional content has become a part of who we are. I mean, we simply don’t understand how someone could expect payment for adding two new swords and some shiny armor to a game. That would be totally against our DNA.

We plan on continuing this trend in the case of The Witcher 3. Having said that, as of now, we still don’t have all the details on how the new consoles will tackle these issues. We’ll try our best to stay true to our traditions on these platforms. Fortunately on the PC we’re free to do as we choose in this matter.

Next I have another interview from Games.on.net.

“We don’t create the game with any specific rating in mind,” said CDPR’s Agnieszka Szostak to games.on.net. “We implement in it things we believe will create the best gaming experience. Whether those are meaningful choices, deep relationships between characters, sex scenes, bloody combat or curses.”

“If we think they are needed there to make the game world living, breathing and believable they will be there. Rating of the game is a secondary thing really.”

Szostak said that the only time they’ll know whether or not The Witcher 3 fits into the new R18+ category will be when they actually submit it.

“The fact that there’s a higher rating now available in Australia might potentially mean we won’t be forced to do any changes to the game to release it there and that’s a good news of course for both us and Australian gamers. But we’ll know that for sure once the game will be sent for rating.”

“If the game is good and gamers will enjoy it money will follow,” Szostak concluded.

“Putting money, wide audience, ratings, sales charts on the first place is a wrong way of doing it.”

 

Tuesday - July 09, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ DualShockers

by Couchpotato, 00:03

DualShockers has an interview with Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz on various topics for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Giuseppe: The Witcher‘s saga now counts two games and a third is coming, and you’re sitting on top of an amazing success story after starting with a small studio and an engine borrowed from BioWare. How do you feel about it? Did you ever imagine, back then, that the project had the potential to gather this much support and fans?

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz: Thank you for the kind words! We had a vision and we always wanted to make the best games out there. I know it may sound a bit cheesy for someone outside of RED but if you ask anyone in the company, we actually believe in the games we make – everyone’s a fan and we’re all supercharged with even the tiniest news mention about our game. Even despite there’s 200+ of us! Did we imagine this would happen? Does dreaming count?

G: Several people at CD Projekt went on record saying that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be completely seamless, with no loading screen at all. Is that limited to exteriors, or we’ll see absolutely no transitions between exteriors and interiors as well, and within interiors?

K: Since streaming such a big and detailed world may prove difficult, please do not treat this as a promise but…yes, at the moment, that’s the plan. We’re working very hard to make exteriors to interiors transitions fluid, without any loading screens. We want to give gamers a truly immersive world.

G: Combat and progression have undergone a lot of streamlining in the latest patch of The Witcher 2. Can we expect this trend to continue with the next chapter? Will there be major differences?

K: The Witcher 3 approaches combat in a very evolutionary way, despite the system being totally redesigned, it still retains the spirit of its predecessor – it’s much more fluid and responsive and less chaotic but still incorporates what players loved in TW2. Players will now feel each swing and the camera will complement each move. Each press of a button represents one swing (i.e. one animation) – there’s no button mashing hack and slash here – this system makes the combat in the game super responsive and the skirmishes themselves very intuitive.

We’ve added a ton of new action sequences when compared with TW2, Geralt can adopt various stances in combat (that totally changes the way the skirmish looks like). There’s no Quick Time Events and no scripted combat. Additionally, the Signs system is redesigned as well – every Sign now has an alternative form which allows a multitude of tactical options in combat. What’s more, you can combine different skills from every skill tree to make Geralt truly your own character. There’s a lot of new and awesome stuff coming your way and we’re still working on making it even better.

Friday - July 05, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ ClickOnline

by Couchpotato, 02:11

ClickOnline has an interview with  Lead Gameplay Designer Maciej Szczesnik about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The interview even has a few Cyberpunk 2077 questions.

Click: Considering the improvements brought via REDengine 3, how will NPCs react if Geralt gets a reputation for being overly brutal?

MS: We work towards creating an open, living world and we put a lot of emphasis on the consequences of player’s actions. That’s why in some quests players will be able to pick between taking a brutal course of action and a milder, more pacifist one. We’re exploring a variety of ways of providing players with choices in order to avoid repetitiveness.

When it comes to NPC reactions - we’re working on a reaction mechanic that will determine characters’ attitude towards Geralt. Thus starting a brawl in a village will not only antagonize the town guards, but also scare off the local inhabitants.

Click: Will Geralt have more opportunities to resolve conflicts via conversation? Are we likely to see any light platforming or puzzle sections in Wild Hunt?

MS: Yes, Geralt will be able to resolve some conflicts just by talking to people. However, it won’t be a generic mechanic, available at your disposal automatically. Instead, it’s a part of our meticulous quest design process. We want to tell a story first and foremost, and hard choices that evoke strong emotions and have concrete consequences are a vital part of that.
I wouldn’t expect any platforming or puzzle elements in The Witcher 3, though. Such features are not exactly in line with the general theme of our games, which revolves around a complex storyline and tough choices.


Click: Reportedly, Monster Hunting is much expanded in Wild Hunt – what role will potions, poisons, traps and preparation play in this system? Will it be a more strategic affair than its predecessors?

MS: We’ve revamped combat to make it feel more tactical. Players will need to plan for each encounter in advance, for instance by learning which fighting style will work best against a given foe. Potions and poison will be an integral part of these preparations as well. Monsters will in general be more challenging - we want to make each encounter memorable and difficulty has a role to play in that. Having to brew the proper potions builds on this.

Click: Are there any multiplayer plans for Wild Hunt? Assassins of Kings offered an arena mode, will this transform into a multiplayer option?

MS: Our focus is on making The Witcher 3 a breathtaking, unforgettable experience, a true storytelling gem among video games. Hard choices, morally gray characters - that’s what will make the next installment of Geralt’s story a truly great RPG. Any multiplayer features would only break the immersion we’ve worked so hard to achieve. That’s why The Witcher 3 will be a single-player experience only.


MS:
Yes, Geralt will have new parry moves, counters and dodges at his disposal. Thanks to the 96 new combat sequences I mentioned, fights won’t come across as repetitive. Additionally, combat itself has been slightly slowed down, and in turn has become more tactical. Defense will play a crucial role during fights. You’ll now be able to block incoming attacks while moving - swing your sword, though, and you’ll create an opening for your opponent. Combat will thus require more planning and thinking. - See more at: http://clickonline.com/games/interview--maciej-szczesnik-%5Bthe-witcher-3-wild-hunt%5D/18544/#sthash.egqX7m1u.dpuf
Click: Modern Action Games, notably Arkham City, Dark Souls and Revengeance put a lot of stock in their counters-attacking systems. Geralt was a fairly aggressive fighter last time, but will he have a wider range of parries, ripostes, evades, backstabs and defensive manoeuvres in Wild Hunt?

MS:
Yes, Geralt will have new parry moves, counters and dodges at his disposal. Thanks to the 96 new combat sequences I mentioned, fights won’t come across as repetitive. Additionally, combat itself has been slightly slowed down, and in turn has become more tactical. Defense will play a crucial role during fights. You’ll now be able to block incoming attacks while moving - swing your sword, though, and you’ll create an opening for your opponent. Combat will thus require more planning and thinking.


Click: There were five major signs in Witcher 1 & 2 – are there more signs on offer in Wild Hunt? Will basic version of the signs be available from the start? Or will they need to be unlocked?

MS: At the beginning, Geralt will be able to choose from five signs. It doesn’t end there, however - in The Witcher 3 we introduce new casting modes which effectively double the number of signs at the players disposal. These “alternative versions” will be unlocked through character development, but don’t think of them as simply stronger versions of the same spells - they will offer different tactical uses. Let’s take Aard as an example. The primary version of this sign will send a telekinetic thrust to stun or knock down foes. With time, players will be able to unlock a secondary version of the sign and by pressing and holding the button, they will send out a shockwave that knocks down all surrounding enemies (you can actually spot this in our gameplay trailer). Similar dual modes are available for every other sign.

Click: Can you tell me anything about the reported weakness/vulnerability targeting system in Witcher 3? How is it triggered? Will it tie into normal combat? Will it open up non-lethal solutions to certain battles?

MS: Currently we’re still brainstorming different ways to implement this feature, so unfortunately it’s way too early to talk about it. Should it find its way into the game, we’ll most likely make use of it as part of the Monster Hunting mechanics.

Click: We’ve heard Geralt can talk his way out of certain encounters and even accept an opponent’s surrender – will non-lethal playthroughs be possible in Wild Hunt?

MS: We have to take two notions into consideration here. Geralt is a witcher, a monster slayer and a brilliant swordmaster. To get fully immersed in the character, players have to experience violent outcomes to certain conflicts. He’s not a murderer, though, and with all the weight we put on story, Geralt will definitely be able to solve some problems in non-lethal ways. The concept of choice is embedded deep within our code and is a crucial feature of the design of every single quest. At the same time, we draw a mostly grim picture of a gray, rather than a black and white, world. In this world, killing might not be the most cruel way of finishing some quests.

And that’s me told! Bloodlust satiated for the time being (or quite the opposite actually), I asked Maciej to open up about the nuts and bolts holding Wild Hunt together… - See more at: http://clickonline.com/games/interview--maciej-szczesnik-%5Bthe-witcher-3-wild-hunt%5D/18544/#sthash.qihF70SV.dpuf
Click: Modern Action Games, notably Arkham City, Dark Souls and Revengeance put a lot of stock in their counters-attacking systems. Geralt was a fairly aggressive fighter last time, but will he have a wider range of parries, ripostes, evades, backstabs and defensive manoeuvres in Wild Hunt?

MS:
Yes, Geralt will have new parry moves, counters and dodges at his disposal. Thanks to the 96 new combat sequences I mentioned, fights won’t come across as repetitive. Additionally, combat itself has been slightly slowed down, and in turn has become more tactical. Defense will play a crucial role during fights. You’ll now be able to block incoming attacks while moving - swing your sword, though, and you’ll create an opening for your opponent. Combat will thus require more planning and thinking.


Click: There were five major signs in Witcher 1 & 2 – are there more signs on offer in Wild Hunt? Will basic version of the signs be available from the start? Or will they need to be unlocked?

MS: At the beginning, Geralt will be able to choose from five signs. It doesn’t end there, however - in The Witcher 3 we introduce new casting modes which effectively double the number of signs at the players disposal. These “alternative versions” will be unlocked through character development, but don’t think of them as simply stronger versions of the same spells - they will offer different tactical uses. Let’s take Aard as an example. The primary version of this sign will send a telekinetic thrust to stun or knock down foes. With time, players will be able to unlock a secondary version of the sign and by pressing and holding the button, they will send out a shockwave that knocks down all surrounding enemies (you can actually spot this in our gameplay trailer). Similar dual modes are available for every other sign.

Click: Can you tell me anything about the reported weakness/vulnerability targeting system in Witcher 3? How is it triggered? Will it tie into normal combat? Will it open up non-lethal solutions to certain battles?

MS: Currently we’re still brainstorming different ways to implement this feature, so unfortunately it’s way too early to talk about it. Should it find its way into the game, we’ll most likely make use of it as part of the Monster Hunting mechanics.

Click: We’ve heard Geralt can talk his way out of certain encounters and even accept an opponent’s surrender – will non-lethal playthroughs be possible in Wild Hunt?

MS: We have to take two notions into consideration here. Geralt is a witcher, a monster slayer and a brilliant swordmaster. To get fully immersed in the character, players have to experience violent outcomes to certain conflicts. He’s not a murderer, though, and with all the weight we put on story, Geralt will definitely be able to solve some problems in non-lethal ways. The concept of choice is embedded deep within our code and is a crucial feature of the design of every single quest. At the same time, we draw a mostly grim picture of a gray, rather than a black and white, world. In this world, killing might not be the most cruel way of finishing some quests.

And that’s me told! Bloodlust satiated for the time being (or quite the opposite actually), I asked Maciej to open up about the nuts and bolts holding Wild Hunt together… - See more at: http://clickonline.com/games/interview--maciej-szczesnik-%5Bthe-witcher-3-wild-hunt%5D/18544/#sthash.qihF70SV.dpuf
Click: Modern Action Games, notably Arkham City, Dark Souls and Revengeance put a lot of stock in their counters-attacking systems. Geralt was a fairly aggressive fighter last time, but will he have a wider range of parries, ripostes, evades, backstabs and defensive manoeuvres in Wild Hunt?

MS:
Yes, Geralt will have new parry moves, counters and dodges at his disposal. Thanks to the 96 new combat sequences I mentioned, fights won’t come across as repetitive. Additionally, combat itself has been slightly slowed down, and in turn has become more tactical. Defense will play a crucial role during fights. You’ll now be able to block incoming attacks while moving - swing your sword, though, and you’ll create an opening for your opponent. Combat will thus require more planning and thinking.


Click: There were five major signs in Witcher 1 & 2 – are there more signs on offer in Wild Hunt? Will basic version of the signs be available from the start? Or will they need to be unlocked?

MS: At the beginning, Geralt will be able to choose from five signs. It doesn’t end there, however - in The Witcher 3 we introduce new casting modes which effectively double the number of signs at the players disposal. These “alternative versions” will be unlocked through character development, but don’t think of them as simply stronger versions of the same spells - they will offer different tactical uses. Let’s take Aard as an example. The primary version of this sign will send a telekinetic thrust to stun or knock down foes. With time, players will be able to unlock a secondary version of the sign and by pressing and holding the button, they will send out a shockwave that knocks down all surrounding enemies (you can actually spot this in our gameplay trailer). Similar dual modes are available for every other sign.

Click: Can you tell me anything about the reported weakness/vulnerability targeting system in Witcher 3? How is it triggered? Will it tie into normal combat? Will it open up non-lethal solutions to certain battles?

MS: Currently we’re still brainstorming different ways to implement this feature, so unfortunately it’s way too early to talk about it. Should it find its way into the game, we’ll most likely make use of it as part of the Monster Hunting mechanics.

Click: We’ve heard Geralt can talk his way out of certain encounters and even accept an opponent’s surrender – will non-lethal playthroughs be possible in Wild Hunt?

MS: We have to take two notions into consideration here. Geralt is a witcher, a monster slayer and a brilliant swordmaster. To get fully immersed in the character, players have to experience violent outcomes to certain conflicts. He’s not a murderer, though, and with all the weight we put on story, Geralt will definitely be able to solve some problems in non-lethal ways. The concept of choice is embedded deep within our code and is a crucial feature of the design of every single quest. At the same time, we draw a mostly grim picture of a gray, rather than a black and white, world. In this world, killing might not be the most cruel way of finishing some quests.

And that’s me told! Bloodlust satiated for the time being (or quite the opposite actually), I asked Maciej to open up about the nuts and bolts holding Wild Hunt together… - See more at: http://clickonline.com/games/interview--maciej-szczesnik-%5Bthe-witcher-3-wild-hunt%5D/18544/#sthash.qihF70SV.dpuf
Click: Modern Action Games, notably Arkham City, Dark Souls and Revengeance put a lot of stock in their counters-attacking systems. Geralt was a fairly aggressive fighter last time, but will he have a wider range of parries, ripostes, evades, backstabs and defensive manoeuvres in Wild Hunt?

MS:
Yes, Geralt will have new parry moves, counters and dodges at his disposal. Thanks to the 96 new combat sequences I mentioned, fights won’t come across as repetitive. Additionally, combat itself has been slightly slowed down, and in turn has become more tactical. Defense will play a crucial role during fights. You’ll now be able to block incoming attacks while moving - swing your sword, though, and you’ll create an opening for your opponent. Combat will thus require more planning and thinking. - See more at: http://clickonline.com/games/interview--maciej-szczesnik-%5Bthe-witcher-3-wild-hunt%5D/18544/#sthash.egqX7m1u.dpuf

Thursday - July 04, 2013

Witcher 3 - Behind The Scenes Look at The Beginning

by Couchpotato, 04:00

The development team at CD Projekt released a behind-the-scenes video showing exactly how the footage was actually created for the trailer The Beginning.

The making of video of the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt "The Beginning" gives you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the most epic developer diary CD Projekt RED has released up to date.

Wednesday - July 03, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #7

by Couchpotato, 03:10

Well here we are with round seven of previews for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. To start I also have a new interview video from E3 2013.

Gameplanet.co.nz

With technology catching up to the studio's vision, it seems a shame that the Geralt’s trilogy finishes here. “This is the last part of Geralt's adventures – we want to close his story here,” confirms Tomaszkiewicz. “And I can say that we have the best storyline so far. I’m very proud of it, and it will close every plot we opened from the first part, and plot that was opened in the Sapkowski’s books.”

That means The Witcher 3 will feature something like 36 different endings. But what about a game set in the same universe featuring a different protagonist? “Yes, maybe, says Tomaszkiewicz. "I hope we are not resigning from this franchise because the world of the Witcher is very rich – there are many characters and many stories to tell. I hope that we do.”

GameGrin

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was hands-down one of the highlights of this year’s E3. With such a vibrant, believable game world and rich, diverse gameplay it is hard to believe this is a product from a relatively small studio. The uniquely European flavour to the story, characters and game mechanics is a breath of fresh air that understandably has whipped journalists into a frenzy of enthusiasm. We cannot wait for more time with the game and hope to bring you more information and opinion from GamesCom later this year. With a release date of 2014 there is still a long time to wait, but it already feels like it will be worth it. Expect to be sat down and immersed on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC sometime next year.

Gamingillustrated

E3 aimed to build on this promise of the next generation with a few killer titles and some impressive new consoles. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gave many titles a run for their money by truly feeling like a game that is only possible on the next generation. Further proof? During the demo, the game was played on an NVIDIA Titan card. Only a few minutes into the demo it crashed. A few minutes later, after being booted up again, the computer playing the game crashed. This was in no way a bad thing. If anything, it made the game seem that much more incredible. 2014 can’t come quick enough for what is sure to be the definitive open world RPG experience.

Eurogamer

The Witcher 3, game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz tells me, will feature a much gentler prologue with a standalone story that introduces you to the character of Geralt of Rivia as well as the game systems. It's clearly intended to ease newcomers into both the gameplay and the lore - but perhaps not just newcomers, because The Witcher 3 is in several ways a clean slate for the series.

It's open-world, for one thing, clearly gunning for Skyrim (with a dash of Zelda: The Wind Waker) in its expansive world map which you must cross on foot, horseback and in your own boat before opening up fast-travel options. This change comes with the usual suite of rehearsed superlatives and feature soundbites: it's a "living open world", 35 times bigger than The Witcher 2, containing 100 hours of gameplay, the biggest RPG world ever created for a single-player; "if you can see it, you can go there" (that old chestnut). It has dynamic weather and time of day, characters that migrate from place to place and a trading economy that will, for example, adjust the price of fish according to how close you are to a shoreline.

The storyline is also a fresh start, discarding the tangled political machinations in which Geralt played a rather reluctant part during the first two games. Those warring kingdoms are crumbling, while Geralt is pursuing the mysterious, supernatural raiders called the Wild Hunt for his own reasons.

Witcher 3 - Main Theme Released

by Couchpotato, 02:41

CD Projekt RED has released the main theme for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The theme was composed by Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz. You can download it from the link here or here in two different versions.

They also released a video version of the Debut Gameplay Trailer Theme.

Monday - July 01, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ Edge-Online

by Couchpotato, 03:09

Edge-Online is the lastest site to write up a preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt Red claims there will be another 40 to 50 hours of gameplay in the wider world, and that all of it matters: there will be none of what Szczesnik calls “Fedex quests”. Much of it will come from the series’ stock-in-trade system of choice and consequence, which will now see the results of your actions ripple across the world. Local communities, each with daily and nightly routines, will react to you in different ways depending on choices made elsewhere. “You can expect that each of your decisions will have serious, meaningful consequences,” lead quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz explains, “but at the same time it’s not obvious what those consequences will be.”

It adds up to a series that only seems to be gathering momentum, with around 75 per cent of the team that worked on The Witcher 2 and a third of the original game’s development staff still on board. Meanwhile, Badowski is hiring from all over the world to help realise the team’s ambitions. And with mid-tier studios bearing the brunt of big publishers’ risk aversion globally, there’s an obvious attraction to a growing indie studio that owns its IP and is so confident in its abilities that it was among the first to tip its next-gen hand.

CD Projekt Red’s confidence also extends to its in-house tech. Badowski candidly admits that neither the BioWare Aurora engine used in The Witcher nor the RedEngine 2 that powered its successor were up to the demands of the job, but “now the technology is fully capable and it’s ready to create an open world”. There’s an improved facial system, with the addition of 40 bones to power more expressive NPCs; another in-house program gives artists the power to change the fabric, pattern and colour of NPC clothing with a few clicks. And how many indies do you know with a mo-cap studio in the basement? (“We do everything in here,” Badowski says, “except the horse. He wouldn’t fit through the door.”) Everything has been set up to enable CD Projekt Red to create content and make changes quickly. The day before our arrival, it upped and moved a mountain.

Yet the team is mindful of its roots. The Witcher 3 is, like the two games before it, an RPG first and foremost. Badowski sees all these improved elements – the gentler introduction, the combat, the climate and communities, the scale of it all – as a means to do one thing more effectively. “We don’t want to build a sandbox experience; we want to keep storytelling as the main goal,” he says. “This studio will develop RPG games forever. We are storytellers.” If CD Projekt Red can pull it off – if it can take on some of the biggest videogame companies in the world at their own game and create the next generation’s first great open-world game – it will be the greatest story it has ever told.

 

Saturday - June 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Fact Sheet and Interview

by Couchpotato, 03:08

CD Projekt RED has released a detailed fact sheet that covers many of the game's key design tenets and strengths on gamebanshee.

 

Friday - June 28, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gamingbolt

by Couchpotato, 01:41

Gamingbolt has the lastest interview with Jonas Mattson talking about Witcher 3.

Leonid Melikhov: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does look pretty good. Obviously what we have seen is the alpha footage and so I have a few concerns, like there were times where the frame rate was not stable.

Jonas Mattson: Yes, that was alpha footage. As we are going to release it in 2014 so we have all this time to truly polish all the loose ends. Right now we are focused more on the quality of the game and as usual in any development scenario you focus on optimization and we have pretty cool stuff to help with this i.e. Umbra. I won’t get too technical but it allows us to hide things that the player does’nt see automatically. We have this feature in our engine and it will be further optimized to improve performance.

Leonid Melikhov: Is Umbra a custom written or a proprietary engine?

Jonas Mattson: It’s like an addition to the main game’s engine. We have RedEngine 3.0 and together with that it’s our own stuff.

Leonid Melikhov: So it’s not like the Unreal Engine where some company buy licenses?

Jonas Mattson: No. Umbra is a separate company, the license and everything is different. I am not a programmer so I can’t go in to specifics but Umbra basically gives a boost to our own engine. So ye, there will be much better frame rates later on.

Leonid Melikhov: Is PC the lead platform for Witcher 3?

Jonas Mattson: We are targeting all high end platforms, so the Xbox One, PS4 and obviously the PC. We won’t absolutely forget our roots, absolutely not (referring to the PC).

Leonid Melikhov: So will the PC version be ported to the consoles?

Jonas Mattson: Right now what you see is running on the PC but we have development kits (for next gen consoles) so we are aiming to have an equally high quality experience with all the platforms. As you know the specs of next generation platforms, it really allows us not to hold anything back. When we were working on The Witcher 2 on the Xbox 360, it was…

Leonid Melikhov: Problematic?

Jonas Mattson: Not problematic, but we had to do a lot of work to get it running on a current gen console. But really, this time we can push the limits and hold nothing back.

Leonid Melikhov: So the PC architecture similarity and nothing like the PS3 which had a complicated Cell processor architecture where developers need to find a way across…

Jonas Mattson: Exactly, I personally think this new generation will make it easier for a lot of developers to release games on consoles.

Thursday - June 27, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview @ PCGAMER

by Couchpotato, 01:10

PC Gamer's Tyler Wilde has a new preview for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The writer sounds impressed with the game but comes across a little negative.

In line with the rest of the series, Geralt’s quest includes a morally gray decision. Once he discovers that a Leshen is to blame, he can choose to take the elders’ side or talk to the young upstart. We take the latter choice, and here’s the catch: the monster has marked someone in the town, and can’t be killed unless that person leaves or perishes. Using Geralt’s magic Witcher sense—something like Batman’s detective vision—to find the marked one, the player discovers that it’s an innocent girl. Before he leaves for the hunt, Geralt makes it clear that she’s not to blame for being marked, but that she has to go.

I hoped the player would now be trusted to figure out the monster’s weaknesses using Geralt’s encyclopedia, but everything except the actual fight is directed by on-screen prompts. We know from reading about Leshens, for example, that they create totems which must be destroyed to reduce their power, and we’re instructed do this as soon as we enter the forest, following a murder of crows to each of the monsters’ trophies and burning them—it’s possible this is just the player’s first introduction to the beast, though.

Once that’s wrapped up, the player is instructed to find the monster, and a few steps later we’re introduced to the creature, a gloriously creepy slender biped made of bone and bark. The fight is brief, again with great variety of animation as Geralt spins, swings, and burns the Leshen’s bark, but with some of that action RPG awkwardness that comes from misplaced combo chains.

With proof of the Leshen’s death, Geralt returns to the town and… uh oh. The kid did a bad thing—not only did he kill the marked girl, he killed the elders, too. We decide to condemn his actions, and Geralt gives him the most obvious line possible, paraphrased: There’s another monster in this village. It seems odd that any of this surprises Geralt, who saw the youth’s conflict with the elders, and pretty clearly, if not absolutely explicitly, told him to kill the girl.

It’s likely that there just wasn’t time for the demonstration to explore other possibilities, and even if this particular sidequest does turn out to be a binary decision, it’s boggling to think of how many decisions like this could exist in the game. How different will the world look after 100 hours of play?

Wednesday - June 26, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #6

by Couchpotato, 02:53

It's time for round six of previews for The Witcher 3. By now we probably have read everything about the game, but it never hurts to have more.

Siliconera - "Everything Matters. Everything"

The landscape, which in this case is the Skellige islands, is a sight to behold. We’ve witnessed medieval landscapes before (see: Skyrim), but never before have they been as vibrant, teeming top to bottom with life. Every cloud in the sky, every blade of grass on the ground, is beautifully crafted and stunningly visualized.

Nothing demonstrated the technical prowess of the game more than when Geralt went to meditate on a cliff side. As time is sped up, we see the sun go up, then down, stars appearing on a clear night sky, then storm clouds gathering during the day, bringing with them stormy conditions. And it’s all about as photorealistic as you can get.

The game’s developers, CD Projekt RED, state that if you see something, you can go there, period. Granted, it will take time to scale that mountain, or swim across that large body of water, but it is possible, with absolutely no invisible barrier. Lofty promises, ones that have been uttered countless times.

Dualshockers - "How The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Is Creating The Perfect Open World"

What makes Wild Hunt‘s world bigger and better is both a matter of size and quality. Not only is the world said to be so large that it would take nearly an hour of real-time to make it from one side of the map to the other on horseback (thank goodness for the Fast Travel option when mounts aren’t available), but The Witcher 3 will also have no loading screens or artificial barriers. Be it by foot, by horse, or by boat, Geralt can explore an entire world that lives and breathes like a real world. There’s even a full day and night cycle and a full weather system, both of which can affect gameplay. Fight a werewolf on a full moon at night, and you may want to turn tail and run; take a small boat or swim during a bad storm, and Geralt is vulnerable to shipwreck or dying due to cold.

This new emphasis on particular regions and realism also extends to the new economy system. Most games have players just go to a new town and buy new items. Here, where you buy certain items affects its price. Go to a community where bears are nearby, and bearskin items will be cheaper; go to a mountainous region far from the sea, and fish will be more expensive. Players could, conceivably, set up a whole business as tradesmen, traveling to and fro to gather items and resell them to different towns. But this realism with the new economy system works in other ways as well: like, for example, killing the merchants of a particular town could potentially cripple that local economy or cut off important contacts for particular goods. This is all comes down to the heart of the The Witcher franchise: consequence.

Gamereactor - "It's perfect for open-world"

The series' shift to an open-world setting will provide a big change. Mamais outlined some of the things that will be different. "We wanted to do the same kind of deep story telling, so that side's the same. Combat's a lot different there now, and it's set in an open-world environment so you can basically just go anywhere you want to play the game, so that's a big change."

With big changes come new challenges. We asked what some of these were for the studio: "Depth of storytelling and depth of character. This is important to people and you kind of lose that when you have a huge world to populate with so much content. So what we're trying to do is push the genre forward a little bit by really focussing on story and character, and I think that's how we're going to make our difference."

Geralt's story is set to a much more personal one, where he'll be free of the political machinations that he was embroiled in the Witcher 2.

"The guy's basically just a mutant monster killer, so we wanted to get back to those basics, but at the same time there's an epic story going on," said Mamais. "So it's perfect for open-world because we've got all of these monster hunting quests that we're building into the game, along the side quests and the random encounters. Then you've got this really killer, epic main story, but it's all set against this backdrop of this Nilfgaardian attacking the north. So for us it's quite layered, and deep storytelling, and really interesting gameplay. And of course, this monster hunting thing really brings back the core values of what The Witcher is."

Monday - June 24, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ GamerHub

by Myrthos, 12:44

John Mamais is interviewed by GamerHub on the Witcher 3 in this video interview.

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ Machinima

by Couchpotato, 02:42

Executive Producer John Mamais did an a video interview for Machinima about open world games, and loading screens.

 

We won’t have any loading screens at all, it’s all gonna be seamless. There are a lot of open world games that are trying to do the “no loading screens”. It’s  almost like a passé concept.

I feel pretty confident about it. It’s hard because because we have to retool our whole streaming system, and we’re actually still kinda working on it. There are some really brainiac dudes putting it together and reworking it. It’s almost like a mandatory thing for the team to achieve, so if they won’t do it, they’re probably gonna fire all the programmers involved.

Sunday - June 23, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Pixelitis

by Couchpotato, 00:32

Pixelitis has an interview with Konrad Tomaszkiewicz the Game Director of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt.

Will The Witcher 3 have any ties to the novels that [Andrzej] Sapkowski has written?

Yes, of course. We always based [the games] on the Sapkowski novels and we’re using characters he mentioned in his books. And of course, we’ve got some story/plots which we want to solve in this third part, because it’s the last one. The name of the game is the “Wild Hunt.” And Sapkowski described them very well. People think that they are the wraiths from [The Witcher 2's] nightmares but actually, they are not. They are very connected with Geralt and with Yennefer right now. Geralt in the second part of [The Witcher 2] remembered that Yennefer exists; he’s the woman he’s [in love with.] And now, he’s trying to find her. That’s how the story begins. It took you to a more personal adventure in his time.

So we’ll finally discover the mystery behind Yennefer? The Witcher 2 didn’t explain too much about it, it still kept it pretty vague.

Yes, of course. It was on purpose. You know, we [wanted] to only tease the subject and now we will explain everything.

Will the console version have a different sort of user interface from the PC [version]? Will it be optimized so that the menus are easier to navigate?

You know, I think that the UI needs to be very intuitive, and very easy to navigate. And, when we reach this moment, we will move it to PC and see if this is the same. If it will be, we will leave it this way. If not, we will make a change to fit it to the PC’s needs.

Going into The Witcher 3′s development, what have you learned from Witcher 2 in terms of fan feedback and things that you learned as you completed it?

We got huge feedback. First of all, we learned that the beginning of the game was too hard to get through. It was too many names, too many things going on, and people can’t learn the features [like] the combat and so on, and they were confronted with the dragon, for example, and were [getting] destroyed, and they were thinking “oh my God, this is no game for me.” This time, we created a block of the game this way that it’s a standalone quest, which in the end, pushes you into the main storyline. And it’s, you know, more calm, but also cool, and we slowly teach you how to use the mechanics, how to fight, and to introduce you to the world of The Witcher. The learning curve is better now, we don’t give you some many names to remember in the beginning, and I hope that every player will go swiftly into this world.

 

 

Saturday - June 22, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #5

by Couchpotato, 00:45

It's time for round five of previews for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CVGWorld

The Witcher 3 managed to position itself as one of the top titles of E3.

During E3 2013, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received countless nominations and 49 awards, including “Best Game of E3”, “Best RPG of E3” and “Editor’s Choice”, from gaming magazines and websites worldwide.

“Humble as we are, we were amazed by the volume of positive feedback we received during E3. That’s why we would like to sincerely thank everyone for taking the time to watch the Gameplay Debut Trailer! We want to promise you one thing – The Witcher 3 will rock and we’re making it rock for you!” – said Adam Badowski, CD Projekt RED Studio Head.

NewGameNetwork

In a similar manner that the Witcher 2 E3 presentation opened a couple of years ago, we started off by watching a brief animated short based on the game that saw Geralt encounter a woman and need and save her. The Witcher 3 will focus on Geralt's story and conclude his character arc - even as significant events that took place at the end of the last game continue to shake up the kingdoms. Wild Hunt is a new deadly force that has emerged and began sweeping the lands, and Geralt makes it his quest to follow deadly army and try to stop them for his own reasons. The developers say that gamers won't need to be familiar with the previous games to understand Witcher 3, as this is a personal story and a new adventure. There is a promised 50 hours of main story content in the game, and almost as much side content.

PCGAMER

While the connection between a game or a film and the books that inspired them can sometimes be problematic, it’s clear from The Witcher developers that the Andrzej Sapkowski source material does draw some lines for them in terms of their game design. So no harpy riding, apparently. “No, no. It’s not that kind of game,” Ziemak said. “I think we have a very defined setting, and Geralt always used a horse in the books. So, that’s all he can use in The Witcher 3. You can’t ride different animals.”

And for those of us who enjoyed multiple playthroughs of the first two Witcher games, each time in a different language, it appears the developers are working to bring back the same voice talent that made a playthrough in Polish or German so refreshing and different. “The actors are very important for us, since we want to have a feeling of continuity for the story between games, and that includes voices,” Ziemak said. “So yes, in many cases we’re working with the same actors.”

Ziemak also went into some depth regarding how the eccentric—and often challenging—combat system from The Witcher 2 might be updated in the new title. This was a system that eventually required a tutorial to fully sell itself to many players. “You have new ways to dodge enemies and parry their blows,” he said. “But also, for each magical sign, you can use two versions of it. One is extended. For example, the Igni sign has a constant flamethrower thing whereas there’s also single, more destructive blow of fire. This is one of the new elements. We’re also introducing new alchemical potions, and other minor elements that will change the experience.”

We again hear that there are numerous different endings in store for players who reach The Witcher 3′s endgame, possibly as many as 36, according to Ziemak. The open-world environment should also allow game saves at any point and will accommodate fast travel to locations that have already been discovered, Ziemak said.

And here is an interview from Gamesindustry.biz with Executive producer John Mamais.

"Basically, we've built an engine team. On Witcher 2, it was just one team. A few engine programmers were on there as well, but now we've split the team up. Now we've got a big core engine team. There's like 15 programmers working just on the engine to create a cross-platform solution for the game. These guys have lots of console experience," said Mamais.

"It's all about staffing and team organization... we're in new territory now. It's not PlayStation 3, it's not Xbox 360. It's new platforms, so it's still a learning experience for us. It's going to be a real challenge to do a cross-platform simultaneous release. First time for us, too. It's going to be hard. It's going to come down to the expertise on our programming team to get that right."

"We're still working on the tile-based streaming system. We don't want any load times. That kind of thing didn't exist in Witcher 2, and now you can go anywhere you want to. It's a huge change in the architecture of the system to make that work," Mamais added.

"It's also expertise that we've had to add to our locations team: how to make assets. We don't want to make a game that looks procedurally-generated. We don't want a game that looks the same everywhere. So we've had to create a bigger locations team. Bigger team, but we've also had to beef up our toolset, so it's easier and faster for those guys to work."

 

 

Thursday - June 20, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Gaming Illustrated

by Couchpotato, 00:27

Gaming Illustrated has a new interview with Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz on CD Projekt's upcoming game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Sean: I think the biggest thing I learned about The Witcher 3 from watching the presentation is how ambitious this project is, that you have a ton of story coming from great source material that you are going off of. You have incredible graphics and you are going to be going to Next-Gen systems, and on top of that I have been hearing approximately 100 hours of game play with 50 of that dedicated to the core main storyline. Talk a little bit about the story development and just how immersed it is … You touched on this already a little bit. How do you balance being able to put in great side quest with great mainline story?

Konrad: It’s really, really hard and putting it in an open world; it’s even harder. Because the main challenge is that you need to make intensity in the storyline. In the open world it’s harder because you got bigger disturbances and you can forget what you need to do from point to point. That’s why we put in quests that are longer and placed in smaller areas.

When we are telling players to move from point to point, through some other location or other area in the world, and you are going there, we are going to put points of interest in your way. We don’t want players to be bored, it’s not good when you’ve got an open world game with nothing between the points of destination. We’ve got these points of interest and these points are created to use a player’s inner motivation.

Sean: A couple of quick final questions here. In our demo it said pre-alpha but I will be honest it looked pretty good. It doesn’t seem like you guys are too far off.

Konrad: It’s like that because we knew that we need to do some presentations for E3 and we chose one [specific] quest from the game. It’s working very well because our programmers are really cool and very good. We got plenty of time to finish the game. We are still maybe in the half of the alpha.

Sean: A lot of Witcher fans out there very excited for 2014, what message would you like your company to give to them based off of what you are showing at E3?

Konrad: Support us and we will give you the best game possible and for sure we care about you, especially now that we got a cool huge game. Everyone knows it. We still remember all our fans, we will continue our work and after releasing The Witcher 3 give you enhancements to the game. If your choice is to play on the consoles you can buy the game and play on it, it’s your choice. We really appreciated your support because we are gamers and we love the games and we want to make games which give real entertainment.

 

Wednesday - June 19, 2013

Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #4

by Myrthos, 12:55

Here is a new batch of The Witcher 3 previews.

GameRevolution

Unsurprisingly, The Witcher 3 is a gorgeous game. You can even go as far as to say it’s one of the three best-looking games shown at E3. During action, the game’s attention to detail is noticeable immediately; enemies hit with fire burn into cinders and sparks leave the foliage below them aflame. One section of the demonstration placed Geralt at a campfire where the time around him passed at a quick pace. The game’s new weather effects and dynamic lighting were nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Canadian Online

As a monster hunter, Geralt has special senses that allow him to track down over 80 different monsters throughout the game.  In the demo we watched as he moved about the forest, noting footprints, downed trees, and claw marks to determine the beast that was terrorizing a local village. Once known, he must refer to the bestiary essential for survival and killing the monster he is chasing. For example, in the demo it was determined that beast was a Lechen, a horrific, horned, wood spirit. By looking in the bestiary, it was discovered that the creature bonds itself to a human and that human must be eliminated in order to defeat him. Interestingly, there are no bosses found within the game as each battle with these monsters should be considered epic and difficult, and they do not scale to the player’s level.

Gamesbeat

There he learns that not all of the world’s monsters have antlers or walk on four legs. While he was off dealing with the Leshen, the man who hired him decided to stage a coup, slaying the village elders in cold blood. Geralt calls the man a murderer but ultimately collects his fee and moves on. What else can he do? The world of The Witcher is dark and morally ambiguous, and sometimes picking the lesser of two evils is the best choice available.

Examiner

Most of the core mechanics of the previous Witcher games were demonstrated in our presentation, and according to Jonas (and the press materials supplied to us) they have been greatly expanded and refined in The Witcher 3.

Like previous Witcher games, combat is comprised of skillful dodging, fluid weapon combinations, and the use of Geralt’s signs (spells). According to Jonas, “the entire weapon fighting system has been overhauled and improved to provide better, more fluid combat.” The game also boasts a total of 96 action sequences, compared to the 20 in the Witcher 2.

NeoSeeker

Horse and boats aside, Wild Hunt also introduces a new economy, designed to suit a world as alive as this. The economy will change based on where you travel, which opens up opportunities to make money by playing the in-game market. Going to a coastal town means the fish will be cheaper, but other supplies like bear pelts might be more expensive. Alternatively, a mountain village might have cheap pelts, while fish are exceptionally pricey. As Geralt, you can buy low and sell high for a nice profit.

Polygon

Using the new fast travel system, the player teleports to a nearby location and quickly comes across a crew of bandits harassing a small house. Geralt briefly oversees the situation before drawing his sword and preparing for combat.

The Escapist (video preview)

As a monster hunter, Geralt has special senses that allow him to track down over 80 different monsters throughout the game.  In the demo we watched as he moved about the forest, noting footprints, downed trees, and claw marks to determine the beast that was terrorizing a local village. Once known, he must refer to the bestiary essential for survival and killing the monster he is chasing. For example, in the demo it was determined that beast was a Lechen, a horrific, horned, wood spirit. By looking in the bestiary, it was discovered that the creature bonds itself to a human and that human must be eliminated in order to defeat him. Interestingly, there are no bosses found within the game as each battle with these monsters should be considered epic and difficult, and they do not scale to the player’s level. - See more at: http://canadianonlinegamers.com/preview/e3-2013-the-witcher-3-preview/#sthash.YYaARG7H.dpuf
As a monster hunter, Geralt has special senses that allow him to track down over 80 different monsters throughout the game.  In the demo we watched as he moved about the forest, noting footprints, downed trees, and claw marks to determine the beast that was terrorizing a local village. Once known, he must refer to the bestiary essential for survival and killing the monster he is chasing. For example, in the demo it was determined that beast was a Lechen, a horrific, horned, wood spirit. By looking in the bestiary, it was discovered that the creature bonds itself to a human and that human must be eliminated in order to defeat him. Interestingly, there are no bosses found within the game as each battle with these monsters should be considered epic and difficult, and they do not scale to the player’s level. - See more at: http://canadianonlinegamers.com/preview/e3-2013-the-witcher-3-preview/#sthash.YYaARG7H.dpuf

Monday - June 17, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ RPS

by Myrthos, 12:18

In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, CD Projekt's head Marcin Iwinski talks about free DLC and DRM concerns for The Witcher 3.

“A lot of people on forums are saying, ‘No, but you guys are anti-DRM,’” Iwinski admitted during an interview with RPS. “And we really are anti-DRM. But at the same time, there are people who’ll be fine with [Xbox One's online-heavy DRM]. They’ll buy the console and just want to play. Why should we not give them this option?”

“That’s our approach, but at the same time, we don’t know what the final policies are. Things might be changing. There’s a lot of heat right now. From our perspective, we’ll always choose the most gamer-friendly solution. And on the platform where we have control – which is PC – we’ll release on GOG day one and DRM-free.”

And

“We’ll be supporting The Witcher 3 for years after it comes out,” he said. “We’re also building the Redkit, and we’ll talk about modding Witcher 3 when the time comes. It’s all about a long-term relationship with our gamers. It even works from a business perspective. Abandoning our baby that we’ve worked on for several years would be crazy. The fact that we have a second game in development just gives us a better way to reallocate resources – QA and whatnot. It’s just a better way to manage the process internally. It’s better for the people and the team.”

Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #3

by Couchpotato, 00:53

Hopefully this is the last roundup of news from E3 for the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. First we have a full audio presentation from E3 from gamertagradio.

Now here are the previews.

RPGFan

After speaking with a jarl, the demo took Geralt to the seas, where he passed a raiding party's ship (the rowers' song reaching across the water). We then saw the fast travel option, which is quite appreciated in a game of this size. The game, which can occupy a thorough player for over 100 hours, is 35 times larger than The Witcher 2. Yes, it's also larger than Skyrim, although comparing the two misses a few points. Allegedly it takes Geralt 40 minutes to pass from one end of the world to the other. On a horse. The developers actually have tools to develop realistic geography. They have one tool, for example, with a single purpose: to measure where rain would gather on terrain and allow a forest to grow.

I later interviewed Jonas Mattsson, an environment artist, and he explained the construction of the world as "organic," a term I commonly use when critiquing level design and world building. He assured me that the player would encounter something interesting every two to five minutes, and I believe it. From a single vantage point, we could see a house on a little island cliff, a fallen ruin, roads leading away, farmhouses, mountains, a forest, and probably more things I missed. That I couldn't take control of Geralt and explore almost killed me. There are sure to be side quests, caves, monsters, and treasure along all these routes, and some of the quests randomly pop up, although none are randomly generated. The entire game is handcrafted, which gives it a feeling of immense authenticity.

When Geralt headed to some ruins, he discovered a Fiend eating a corpse on the ground. A Fiend is a hulking three-eyed antlered beast of terrifying composure — you can spot it in the E3 trailer. It immediately attacked and an intense battle unfolded. The Fiend unleashed its special attack: using its third eye to hypnotize Geralt, causing his vision to darken and blur. The effect was horrifying, exciting, and unique — probably the coolest single thing I saw at E3.

Rocket Chainsaw

Littering the landscape are mobs of creatures and monsters, small and large, as well as bandits, mercenaries, and other humanoid opponents. Like any good open world action game, whether or not you engage your opponent is entirely up to you. If you see bandits attempting to ransack a house you can, if you desire, keep on walking and let them go about their business. Or you can intervene. Doing so might give you access to secrets and lore about the world around you, fleshing out Wild Hunt‘s narrative, or may even open up an entirely new side quest story. Either way, if you do chose to engage opponents you find Wild Hunt has changed up the combat in a few ways from Assassin’s of Kings. Enemies are generally a lot tougher and methodical to take down, Geralt’s sword play faster, and sign powers like Igni easier to chain into battle (like incinerating your enemies). CDPR have also noted the negative reception from fans in regards to Assassin’s of Kings quick time events, removing all such things from Wild Hunt‘s combat.

International Digital Times

Graphically speaking, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt captures those little details beautifully. Although we were reminded that we weren't seeing a final version of the game, the graphics were simply stunning. One sequence showed Geralt meditating for hours, and as the sun moved around him and day turned to night and night turned to day, the complex weather system and dynamic landscape of The Witcher 3 really came to life. Rippling grasses, wispy clouds and impressive lighting effects looked as good as anything I've seen at E3 and the team at CD Projekt RED should be (and is) proud of their product. But it's more than just a pretty game. Mattsson reaffirmed the company message that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is about bringing an intense, gripping story to the open world genre.

"Story can be lost in the open world," said Mattsson. "We want it to make sense. There is no 'collect ten flowers' or 'take this package over there' type questing. We are eager to prove that we made an open world with a strong story."

And here is a interview from OnlySP.

Q: On that note, will there be multiple endings?

A: Yes, sure. We’re having around 36 endings, as far as I remember. These affect the state that you will leave the world in after your playthrough.

Q: Firstly, the loading times… how prevalent will those be? Do you have any idea how long they’ll be and how often you’ll encounter them?

A: Thanks to new technology on RedEngine3, we were actually able to create a world without loading screens as you travel across the world. This should answer your question. *laughs*

 Q: I did see a few framerate issues during the presentation. It was from a pre-alpha version, though, so I imagine those will be ironed out in the full release.

A: Yeah, definitely. We didn’t have everything fully optimized. It’s still very much a work-in-progress, so many elements, such as streaming, are still being created.

 

 

Saturday - June 15, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interviews And Artwork

by Couchpotato, 00:08

Now for the second part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt news. This time it's all about videos and artwork. Up first GameTrailers has a video preview and a video interview.

Next Techjeep has more screenshots and artwork. The pictures wont fit the post so visit the site to view them.

And lastly we have a E3 interview, and a cam video from E3 showing the graphic effects. That's all for today.

The Witcher 3 New PC Graphics Effects Detailed

E3 2013 - Witcher 3 Interview with CD Projekt Red


Witcher 3 - Preview Roundup #2

by Couchpotato, 00:03

Get ready for more previews for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. They keep multiplying everyday thanks to E3 and there is allot to cover so here we go.

VGRevolution

This morning, CD Projekt RED showed a 45-minute demonstration of The Witcher 3 to press behind closed doors at E3. I was lucky enough to be invited.

If there’s a game at this year’s show that is more impressive than The Witcher 3, I haven’t seen it yet. The demo showcased numerous improvements to the game, including a new open world and dynamic quest system.

Shacknews

The combat is very similar to that of the previous game, where the learning curve for swordplay was a bit steep and unrewarding. Ziemak said the combat is being redesigned with those shortcomings in mind, and said there will be attacks that can be unlocked and new, improved magical signs will be available. Unfortunately, he said he couldn't be more specific now as nothing has been finalized.

Players will now have plenty of extra room to explore, as CDPR has crafted an open world that is 35 times larger than The Witcher 2. Even the single island that was the focal point of the demo we saw was larger than the previous game. Whether larger equates to better remains to be seen, but at least players won't need to ride the whole distance as a new fast travel system will allow players to jump quickly to areas they have already visited. Ziemak said players will be encouraged to explore the huge world by offering plenty of new achievements and quests.

The Witcher 3 appears to be building on the successful formula of its predecessor while trying to add in new features to better flesh out Geralt's character in his journey. We can only hope that the demo is indicative of what the final game will be.

GameFront

The comparisons to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are unavoidable, and visually The Witcher 3 has very much that same Alaskan-national-park-postcard kinda feel. If you’ve added all of the many mods that max out Skyrim’s visuals, you’ve already got a great idea of how The Witcher 3 looks. She’s a beaut.

And she’s massive. Thirty-five times bigger than The Witcher 2 is CDP’s official claim, and filled with more than 100-hours’ worth of content. You’ll get around this world on foot, horseback, swimming, and even by boat. After chatting with the lord and agreeing to go after the Wild Hunt, Geralt went down to the docks and hopped in a small watercraft, raised the sail, and set off. While there is a fast travel system, this isn’t it. Players control watercraft, so you’ll be able to explore the seas much like you explore the land, travelling wherever your heart desires. And the sea looks just as alive as the land. Just outside the harbor, a whale surfaced, flapping its tail in hello before going back under. Nice touch.

TechnoBuffalo

It’s only day one, and I’ve already found one of the biggest standouts for my week at E3. I was fortunate enough to sit in on a private presentation of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from CD Projekt RED.

Fan of the old games? Good. Things have changed. Over the span of nearly an hour’s worth of live and uncut pre-alpha gameplay, I immediately learned that The Withcer 3 is almost wildly different from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher. This is an open world title. Completely open world, and that greatly affects the game’s immersive capabilities.

Sidequesting

If you’re less concerned about reading bestiary entries, and fictional political histories, I’m sad to report that combat seems a bit wobbly at this stage. Unfortunately, Geralt is still prone to lashing his swords about at random, unsure of where to strike, thanks to weighty animations. That was an issue in the last game too, and considering how much The Witcher 3 resembles its predecessor — both graphically and mechanically — it doesn’t seem like core play has seen a stark overhaul. You’ll still rely heavily on magic, traps, potions, and items to offset the wild sword swings.

ThunderboltGames

Every action has a consequence. The world is a morally gray place, where good and evil are merely two sides to the same coin. The lines blur together, and the decisions you’re tasked to make may have strange and unforeseen consequences a long ways down the road.

Pixlbit

As a fan of deep fantasy lore and RPGs that really let me soak in the universe, The Witcher 3 seems like it was made just for me. There’s no release date for this massive game as of yet, but I’m willing to wait. If CD Projekt Red can deliver on only half of what they’ve promised, I think next gen console and PC owners are in for a very special adventure.

Friday - June 14, 2013

Witcher 3 - Peview Roundup

by Couchpotato, 00:07

PCGAMER has two articles which are barely snippets of information on The Witcher 3.

"The Witcher 3 will utilize Witcher 2 save files"

“[It] will definitely impact your playthrough in The Witcher 3,” says executive producer John Mamais, speaking to Videogamer.

The extent of this impact hasn’t been revealed, but we can imagine that it’ll cover minor plot and characters details as the Mass Effect series’ save files did. If The Witcher 3 will be your first foray into the monster-hunting trilogy, or if you’re crossing over from console territory, however, know that the developers at CD Projekt RED are trying to figure out how to accommodate you too. “We might try to create some kind of game state even if you haven’t played,” says Mamais.

"The Witcher 3 is not necessarily the end of Geralt’s story, says developer"

“We are not killing the world and walking away from it,” CEO Marcin Iwinski told Polygon during an E3 demo, “but we will definitely want to make this game the finale in a big way.”

“We might even include Geralt in later games potentially.”

The gorgeous-looking Witcher 3—whose breathtaking E3 trailer we shared a few days ago—will wrap up monster-hunter Geralt’s story nicely, though it’s great to know that the keenly realized kingdom of Temeria won’t be forever banished to history.

GameInformer also has a preview that gives more information on the game called,"Five Promising Features Of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt"

The Witcher series has been lauded for its exceptional storytelling and challenging, multifaceted combat. For The Witcher 3, CD Projekt Red is focusing on adding a massive open world to the mix. Our demo showed off just a tiny corner of that world, but revealed five new facts that will please fans of the expansive RPG series.

Beyond The Horizon: CD Projekt Red states that the world of The Witcher 3 is 35 times larger than that of The Witcher 2, with different regions based on various cultures and mythologies. Our demo showed off forests, coastal regions, and a few small towns, as well as the dynamic day and night cycle and weather systems. Those systems aren't just cosmetic; for example, your boat can be smashed apart on the rocky coasts if you try to take it out during a storm, and werewolves pose a significantly greater risk during the night. Your exploration of the world will be driven by a wide variety of main quests, side quests, and random events, which CD Projekt Red is attempting to blur together.

Side Quests That Mean Something: The majority of our demo focused on an optional side quest that involves Geralt helping a town plagued by murderous creature living in the nearby woods. The townsfolk are split on how to best handle the beast, and it's up to Geralt to investigate the killings, deduce what type of monster is responsible, and choose the best course of action. The side story contains several twists and interactions with the townsfolk, along with a challenging battle against the culprit – a mystical, tree-like monster called a leshen. Geralt ultimately gets paid for his services, but true to the series' intricate storytelling, the outcome of the mission is far from black and white, and Geralt isn't entirely happy with how things turn out. This is just one of countless sidequests that the player can freely skip.  

The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf
The world is thirty-five times the size of The Witcher 2, but the developers at CD Projekt Red made sure to note that it isn’t “about the size, it is about the quality and intensity of the world”, and that is what makes it stand out among other things. They revealed their dynamic weather system that can bring storms, drizzle, wind, or even the rare bit of sunlight to this violent world and all of that affects AI behavior as well monsters, like if it is a full moon certain monsters may become stronger or more aggressive or if it is raining villagers may move indoors. - See more at: http://beefjack.com/news/the-witcher-3-isnt-about-the-size-it-is-about-the-quality-and-intensity-of-the-world/#sthash.giTOaG1l.dpuf

Thursday - June 13, 2013

Witcher 3 - Impresssion @ Destructoid

by Couchpotato, 00:42

Destructoid has a new impression article on the Witcher 3 E3 reveal.

Those of you who haven't really gotten into The Witcher series might not be too invested in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt yet despite how great it looks. That's something you'll want to change leading up to release across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next year. This third installment may be wrapping up Geralt's story, but it seems like the perfect opportunity to jump into the franchise (or keep playing, if you're already a fan).

By the end of CD Projekt RED's sizable hands-off E3 demo, I was so on board with the new installment. Much of the emphasis this time around is placed on crafting an absurdly large open world -- one that takes 40 minutes to travel across on horseback -- and filling it with interesting, often dynamic things. You can seamlessly jump on a boat and sail to distant islands in real time without coming up against loading screens. It's magical. Unless, of course, you attempt to sail when the weather is bad and the sea is rough -- your ship will go down, and the water is too frigid to swim in for long. It might've seemed like a good idea at the time, but don't do that.

As a bonus here is a polish translated article titled,"The Witcher 3 will cost more than 100 million zł." Lets just say $34 million in US dollars.

Wednesday - June 12, 2013

Witcher 3 - Xbox One DRM and The PC

by Couchpotato, 00:27

Eurogamer has a new article with CD Projekt Red on the DRM of the Xbox One. I like how the company responds to the topic.

"It is a good question," CDP co-founder and Joint CEO Marcin Iwiński told Eurogamer yesterday, "and, to be perfectly honest, we are eager to find our more ourselves.

"We have not received anything from Microsoft until today on this one and, before we form any definite opinions here, we would like to have this process explained in details by the platform holder.

"From our side, we will be of course looking for the most gamer friendly solution."

"We do not know anything definite, nor have we received any firm guidelines from Microsoft," responded Iwiński.

"Having said that, we strongly believe in the freedom of choice and voting with your wallet. I would disagree that it would do any good if we decided to abandon one of the platforms, especially when we have the capacity to create games for it.

"We have no influence on the decisions of platform holders, neither Microsoft's or Sony's, but there is a platform where we can decide what we think works best for the gamers, and that's the PC. "

 

The Witcher 3 will be the first game CD Projekt has simultaneously released on three platforms - The Witcher 2 appeared first on PC and then a year later on Xbox 360. "What it means for gamers is the previously mentioned freedom of choice," he said.

"I am sure that a lot of gamers will choose one of the consoles for its convenience and easiness of use - that's fine, and by doing so they will agree to whatever rules the platform holder will impose.

"What I can, however, guarantee here and now, is that if you want the 100 per cent DRM-free experience you will have it on the PC, the platform where we set the rules for our games. The Witcher 3 will be available 100 per cent DRM-free on our digital distribution platform GOG.com, and that's one thing I can confirm."

Tuesday - June 11, 2013

Witcher 3 - Hidden Message In Debut Trailer

by Couchpotato, 00:20

As usual CD Projekt RED left a hidden message in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's debut trailer. It directs you to this webpage were they will release free stuff every week.

Dear Gamers,

Once again, we're here with a super sneaky hidden message! We couldn't resist doing something crazy on such a big occasion! :) We're uber-excited to be a @witchergame and using the #e3witcher hashtag :).

Today, you got your first glimpse of gameplay footage from TW3. Though no developer was harmed during the making of this video, we did work ourselves to the bone and put a LOT of heart into making all this happen. There's still a long road ahead and your feedback, comments and love are needed to fuel our passion so that we can make The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a really great game. Head on over to our forums, hell, send us letters if you want to - just to be with us! We need you :).

The Debut Gameplay Trailer contains some hints about new game mechanics we'll be introducing in The Witcher 3. Manage to spot them? Go to the forums, there's probably many a discussion about them by now :).

By the way, notice the 4 CGI takes in the trailer? Yeah, their part of something bigger... Curious? Try here: www.thewitcher.com/KillingMonsters.

We released another video today. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - The Beginning, in which team members introduce you to the game, share a lot of their passion and give insight on some of the things that inspire us. Some breathtaking vistas and vivid landscapes in there - try to guess where we shot it.

Thank you for your support so far! Play video games, they're awesom!

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Dev Team

CD Projekt RED

Monday - June 10, 2013

Witcher 3 - Gameplay Footage

by Couchpotato, 20:12

CD Projekt RED has revealed the first gameplay footage of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt during Microsoft's E3 conference.

 

Friday - June 07, 2013

Witcher 3 - New Details Emerge From EDGE Magizine

by Couchpotato, 01:16

NeoGAF‘s member Detox  shared new information from an upcoming magazine edition of EDGE about The Witcher 3.

EDGE magazine had an extensive cover for CD Projekt RED’s third part in the The Witcher series, in which it revealed some new information about it. According to the magazine, CD Projekt RED aims for a 30fps experience on consoles, and will include a ‘Witcher sense’ that will be similar to Batman’s detective mode.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt EDGE Details:

-There will be no overt tutorial instead mechanics will gradually be introduced.
-Combat system now has dodge in order to be closer to the pirouettes found in the books.
-Geralt can choose to execute or spare bandits, though he can loot them either way.
-They are targeting 30fps on console.
-Geralt will change his stance according to the task he is faced with e.g. wary if surrounded by a pack of monsters.
-They added Witcher sense similar to Batman’s Detective mode so you can see weak points on monsters like The Fiend’s lungs, or outside of battle to re create events like tracking a murderer.
-Main storyline is 40-50hrs, and another 40-50 in the open world.
-No “Fedex Quests.”
-Choice and consequence will ripple across the world.
-Don’t want to build a sandbox experience, storytelling is still the main goal.
-Some locations: Skellige: Nordic-style archipelago, Slavic-like No Mans Land and city of Novigrad.
-Geralt can jump. In-house motion capturing, though the horse was done somewhere else.

Sunday - April 28, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview with Pawel Sasko

by Couchpotato, 00:47

Well we have another interview for The Witcher 3 this time from GamingBolt.

Ravi Sinha: Considering the amount of hype that it generated, superseding CD Projekt RED’s other big project Cyberpunk 2077, how did you manage to keep it under wraps for this long?

Paweł Sasko: I work as a game developer and know very little about PR and marketing. We have a small department of dedicated and talented miracle-mongers who know how to do such things. As a complete greenhorn, I can say that the hype generated around Cyberpunk 2077 served well as a distraction.

Thanks to that, we had time to prepare what we needed to confirm what some players had suspected for a long time – that we are creating the next-generation RPG, The Witcher 3.

Ravi Sinha: Considering the sheer scope of the game, it doesn’t seem possible that this will be the end of Geralt’s adventures. As a character, what is it about Geralt that allows for stories like the Witcher 3 to play out? How does he differ from other gaming “heroes”?

Paweł Sasko: Geralt’s legend was planned as a trilogy from the beginning. The story and its coherence are very important for us. We know the games are successful, but continuing this tale would water our initial message.

Ravi Sinha: Any lock on when exactly the Witcher 3 will come out in 2014? And can we expect some gameplay footage at E3 2013?

Paweł Sasko: We have something special planned for E3, so stay tuned.

 

Wednesday - April 24, 2013

Witcher 3 - Single-Player Only And DRM

by Couchpotato, 23:43

Forbes has a new article/interview about The Witcher 3. The article discusses why the game is single-player only, and why DRM is the worst thing in the video game industry.

Single-Player Only

To many fans of the series, the Witcher games are some of the last great single-player role-playing games being made. Recently there have been murmurings of a possible multiplayer mode in CD Projekt RED’s upcoming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This speculation has led to some understandable worry.

With companies like EA abandoning single-player games altogether, and many beloved franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect seeing tacked-on multiplayer elements, it would be pretty painful to see the same thing happen to the next Witcher.

Good news, then, for fans of Geralt of Rivia and the Witcher universe.

CD Projekt RED has told me in no uncertain terms that this is not in the works, noting that “the game will be an epic, story driven, single player, open world RPG experience” and that they “strongly feel that this final saga of Geralt has no place for meaningful multiplayer.”

Truth and Piracy

“In my opinion,” Tomaszkiewicz tells me, “DRM is the worst thing in the gaming industry. It’s limiting our rights to play games owned by us. Let’s imagine that you have a game that requires internet connection to prove that you actually bought it. What if you lose your connection because of your internet provider? You can’t play anymore. It is worth mentioning that many people in Poland or even in the US and other countries still don’t have an internet connection or have a very slow one. I was in such a situation once and I really didn’t understand why I couldn’t play games that I had bought. I believe that as long as people feel that companies are cheating them by selling games they cannot play freely, limiting their rights, and making unfair DRM, then they will fight against that.”

Piracy, he adds, “is often an example of trying to fight the system. Do you know that there are people on pirate forums raging on guys that downloaded Witcher 2 from torrents and didn’t pay for it? In fact, they try to convince everybody to simply buy the game. Our fans out there really appreciate that we trust them and that we treat them with honesty and respect. For us, they are friends and we treat them so. We believe that DRM is not stopping piracy but can be a real pain for legal users. And if this is the case, why would you want to punish your customers instead of supporting them? We are receiving a huge number of letters from people who think alike and support us. I believe that we are slowly changing the way the game industry thinks. There will always be people who don’t have money and will download our games from torrents. But I believe that if they will have more cash in the future, then they will buy our next titles to help us fight for gamers’ rights.”

Monday - April 22, 2013

Witcher 3 - First Look at CD Projekt's Answer to Skyrim

by Couchpotato, 04:14

OXM has a preview of The Witcher 3. Enjoy and yes I know the website is for the XBOX 360. The article is still informative.

What we've seen of it so far is impressive, straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies: huge draw distances, showing hills rolling down to the sea and high mountain passes covered in snow. Out there are distinct cultures, scattered across the land in villages and cities. In this world, like Skyrim and unlike Oblivion, enemies do not scale with the character - wander into a high-level area without enough tools or the right equipment and Geralt won't live to regret it.

So far, we've seen two travel systems that can be used to explore this huge area. First off, there's sailing. We've not seen how this works yet, or the mechanics of control, but the whole feel is that of a very dark Legend of Zelda, combining Windwaker and Ocarina of Time, with Geralt exploring the frozen seas of the North in a small dinghy, complete with other galleys and even whales. Second, Geralt is able to ride horses (which are probably the best-looking horses that we've seen in any game since Hudson Horstachio in Viva Piñata).

That's not all that's been changed though. There's a new tutorial system, making up for the incredibly irritating opening of the first game, a new targeting system, which makes combat slightly more friendly, and a brand new animation system that makes it easier for Geralt's combat moves to flow between styles, and gives you a chance to break off attacks that simply aren't working.

Beyond these changes, we're betting that The Witcher 3 will offer the same mix of slightly overlong dialogue trees, truly challenging monster-hunting and exploration. Each monster has to be tracked to their lair, a process that should teach you how to defeat it - information that'll be displayed in combat using a new 'Witcher Sense'. "Monster hunting will be the main source of income for Geralt," says Ziemak, "not only in terms of gold but also crafting ingredients which can be later used for crafting the most powerful items."

CD Projekt RED has also confirmed this is the final chapter in Geralt's story: there'll be three different epilogues, depending on how you've played the prior title, and how you end up playing this one. As Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz puts it, Geralt has to finally find and protect those who are "important to him in his tumultuous, grimy, morally-questionable life." In this moody open world, with its twisty morally-grey plot, we can't think that either the man or his kin have much of a chance for happiness - but we're looking forward to trying.

Sunday - April 21, 2013

Witcher 3 - “We Are Aiming for CG-Quality In-Game Graphics”

by Couchpotato, 05:27

Gamingbolt has a very small, but brief interview about Witcher 3.

We spoke only Quest Designer Paweł Sasko about how much better they look, especially in relation to the current crop of next-gen titles. He stated that, “It all comes down to the fact that CD Projekt RED loves challenges. With tunnel-like, linear levels created by a talented team, it’s relatively easy to deliver eye-candy graphics, because it’s always clear where player is looking.

“But when the game has the size of The Witcher 3 it becomes an incomparably bigger challenge and this is what makes our artists totally excited. Screenshots that we’ve shown are from an old build of the engine that ran using a dated renderer. Much of it is already rewritten and judging from the effects, we are aiming for CG quality of in-game graphics.”

“But this is not only an achievement of our programmers,” he says. “Our art team is one of the best staffed departments in the company, mostly because the guys and gals have been with CD Projekt RED since the beginning of The Witcher 1. We also know that in many cases with canny art direction it’s possible to do more than using monstrous textures and having them loaded and displayed flawlessly. We are aiming for the title of prettiest RPG of all time.”

So while The Witcher 3 will bring forth tesselation, improved multi-threaded and all the whiz-bang features of DirectX 11, CD Projekt RED wants it to stand out as an artistic achievement as well.

Saturday - April 20, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Pure Sophistry

by Myrthos, 00:42

Pure Sophistry have an interview with Jakub Rokosz about The Witcher 3.

Some quotes:

1:30: Romance options are limited- only if you did appropriate choices.

3:00: Most of the story arcs and side quests are accessibel to everyone- outcomes different.

3:30: Three completely different Epilogues

4:33: The Core of the RPG experience is the Choice- 1 final decision- leads to three different epilogues...
Sacrific Geralt, Selfish Geralt and mixture of the two.....this leads to hundreds of endings.



 

Thursday - April 18, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview with Jakub Rokosz

by Couchpotato, 12:06

The Koalition has a new interview with Jakub Rokosz, Senior Quest Designer for CD Projekt RED for The Witcher 3.

DJ: Can you first tell me a bit about where Geralt is at both in terms of the story and just mentally as a character, near the start of The Witcher 3?

JR: Geralt has grown up as the world changed around him.  He has seen a lot in his days – he helped kingdoms rise and fall, killed many enemies. He was forced into a lot of these events, now he is just tired. He wants to return to his occupation as a “simple” monster slayer and find his lost love.

The war changed everything. Those once in power have lost it and are no longer interested in Geralt. New players, however, arrived on the scene and have plans for the Witcher. Such transitional times are really dangerous, but at the same time there is a much greater threat looming above all nations.  A cavalcade of ghastly specters, the Wild Hunt, appears in the sky and will again cross its path with Geralt.

DJ: Which elements do you think The Witcher 2 was missing that held it back from being the fully realized vision that you're planning for The Witcher 3 to ultimately live up to?

JR: From what I’ve already mentioned we changed the difficulty curve. It doesn’t mean we’ve dumbed the game down, but we adjusted the difficulty curve so that it increases at a gradual and more natural rate. The last game started pretty tough, but by the end there was little challenge at all.

Also we designed the user interface with every specific platform in mind. Many players complained about the inventory system, and this time it will not be problematic at all we hope.

But I feel like the most important change is with the open world. At last we can fully show what being a Witcher - the monster hunter - is all about.

DJ: Are you making any major changes to gameplay that you want to talk about? The jump from Witcher 1 to Witcher 2, in terms of combat specifically, was very large.

JR: The open world is definitely something new in the franchise, so this introduces new gameplay mechanics and activities.

The game will have no chapters and you will be able to go everywhere all the time, with no loading times in between.  New means of exploration will be introduced. This doesn’t mean you should go everywhere all the time – some regions might be too dangerous when you start. But it means that if you want to check out new settings you don’t have to wait until a chapter is complete.

DJ: Do you plan to maintain the same mindset with DLC and additional content post release, or will you be changing your approach to DLC and DRM for The Witcher 3?

JR: We won’t do anything that tempers the experience of our fans. You can be sure that The Witcher 3 will have no DRM on PC, for example, thanks to GoG.com.


 

Tuesday - April 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview with Marek Ziemak

by Couchpotato, 20:22

Softpedia has an interview with Mark Ziemak the Gameplay Director of Witcher 3. The article discusses various topics of the game.

Softpedia: Will The Witcher 3 close all narrative threads for the series or will mystery persist in some instances?

Marek Ziemak: You’re asking us about the ending of the game. That’s called a major spoiler. We can just tell you that there are 36 different possible world states at the conclusion The Witcher 3. These endings are preceded by 3 different epilogue sequences.

Softpedia: The game is supposed to be more open than ever. How big will the consequences be for player choices?

Marek Ziemak: The game world is open – you can go anywhere you want from the beginning. In scale it will be 35 times bigger than the whole Witcher 2.

As for consequences, creating choices which result in world-changing events were always our focus. This won’t change in an open world. Every action the player takes will have its consequences and the world will not be a dead one but an interactive place in which you will be able to affect everyone and everything.


Softpedia: How will the game deal with those who are newcomers to the series and lack the lore info that veterans discovered in the first two titles in the series?

Marek Ziemak: The Wild Hunt is a separate tale and doesn’t require the player to be familiar with previous installments of the franchise or the books. Veterans will mostly find some old friends, but newcomers won’t feel alienated by these reunions. We’re also working on a new tutorial system that will allow all new players to more smoothly immerse themselves into the games world. This will definitely change the learning curve so all new players will enjoy the game from the very beginning, slowly learning all the basics and more advanced options.

Sunday - April 14, 2013

The Witcher 3: - PCGAMER First Look

by Couchpotato, 03:52

PCGAMER brings you a first look at The Witcher 3. Enjoy there humorous first play style preview.

I know this is exactly what a brooding fantasy RPG anti-hero would want you to think, but Geralt really is misunderstood. At first glance, The Witcher’s reticent protagonist is a walking cliché. He has silver hair, a scar over one eye and two swords permanently fastened to his back. If you asked an artist to sketch a typical troubled, dark-fantasy badass the results would look suspiciously similar, but these aren’t frivolous artistic embellishments – they’re the marks of a man who has survived for decades in the gloomiest of dark fantasy worlds.

The Witcher 3 is the final entry in Geralt’s saga. Freed from the political obligations and baffling amnesia that bound him in The Witcher 2, he’s searching for lost loved ones in a world on the brink of a calamitous war. But for all his vagrant tendencies, Geralt has a knack for becoming embroiled in the squabbles of the rich and powerful. He’s responding to a summons from Jarl Crach, who needs help with a personal matter.

Whether developer CD Projekt RED can master the world-building techniques that make Skyrim such a fascinating place to explore remains uncertain, but from what I’ve seen here, their huge open world setting has done nothing to dilute the intrigue, ugliness and dark humour that make The Witcher games so strange and memorable.

Tuesday - April 09, 2013

Witcher 3 - Confirmed to be DRM-free

by Couchpotato, 21:51

CD Projekt RED game designer Maciej Szczesnik has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the developer's ambitious open-world RPG will be completely DRM-free.



According to Szczesnik, “We are trying to get rid of DRM. If someone wants to pirate a game, eventually he will.”

Not that the developer wants or is even courting piracy. In fact, it's something they hope gamers won't do.

“Which is bad, of course,” managing director Adam Badowski stated. “But you can’t do anything about it, so. We want to give the best user experience possible. When we removed DRM, people on those torrents were actually asking people not to download our game, because we weren’t using DRM.”

Thanks go to Strategy Informer.

Friday - March 29, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ IGN

by Aries100, 14:41

IGN has talked to Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director as well and Thomas Tomaszkiewic,
the Lead Quest Designer at CD Project RED about Wicther 3.
   They talk about Geralt's motivations,   promote the new Witcher Senses, denounce level scaling, and talk how long
the game wil be - and much much more. As always a quote - this about Geralt's changed memories:

"Geralt has changed his priorities," says Mateusz. "He has regained his memory, so he remembers that he had a family once, he wants to find his long lost love - Yennefer, the sorceress. He doesn't care about politics any more - even less than in previous games. There will be moments where Geralt will get involved in [political] things, but this time we have divided the plotlines of The Witcher 3 into a few categories. The first category is the basic main storyline of the character, of Geralt - looking for his Yennefer, amongst much else. This is the plot that is very personal to Geralt, and this is the main driving force for the entire game.

 

Source: GameBanshee

Tuesday - March 12, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Eurogamer

by Woges, 22:52

Adam Badowski, managing director of CD Projekt Red, interviewed by Robert Purchese at Eurogamer. The interview includes info on the open world design, PS4, no QTEs and some possible multi-player.

"What's next?" he mulled. "I have a lot of thoughts in my mind, but for now we don't have any strict plan." Is it possible to continue without Geralt, I asked. "I didn't tell you that we want to kill Geralt!" he replied.

The Witcher 3 is due at the end of next year and there's still much we don't know about it. For instance, will it have multiplayer (a first for the series)? "We're thinking about something," Badowski answered, "but I cannot explain it now. You can expect some information later on. Sorry for that!" I probed about whether it could be something similar to the Dark Arena mode in The Witcher 2. "I don't think so," he said.

You can be fairly confident, though, that CDPR doesn't have MMO ambitions for The Witcher series. "The story is not perfect for MMOs," said Badowski, and joked about how out-of-fiction it would be for 10 white-haired Geralts to be running around before him. "There are many different types of games that can fit better to the universe or lore," he said.

Thursday - March 07, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview Part 2 @RPS

by Myrthos, 23:11

In the second interview on the Witcher 3 the focus is on combat, sex and choices.

RPS: In Witcher 2, especially before you patched it a lot, the combat was really hard. Witcher 3 sounds like it’s being designed to be quite empowering, to say the least. But are you still going to have that element of sometimes merciless difficulty? And what does all of this mean for the learning curve?

Michał Platkow-Gilewski: We learned a lot from Witcher 2. We know that our learning curve wasn’t the best in that game. This is one of the most focused parts of the development of Witcher 3, the learning curve and the difficulty curve for players. In many aspects. The combat was hard at the beginning and became too [routine] later on at the end. The plot could be, for some, a little bit too complicated at the beginning.

Right now we’re taking a different approach. For the quests, for example, I believe we can say that we have a kind of rocket science behind it. I’ve seen huge graphs showing how much information we can put into players’ hands at any given moment of the game. We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re overloaded with information, but on the other hand, we want to keep everyone interested. The same goes for the combat. You’ll learn some moves during the game that you wouldn’t ever think of at the beginning.

Wednesday - March 06, 2013

Witcher 3 - Interview @ Dagon's Lair

by Myrthos, 22:34

Dagon interviewed Maciej Sosnowski to talk about The Witcher 3. Scroll down for the English version.

Your previous games were quite rich, and were generating some reflections on our current society, but features also epic fights and were also technically impressive (especially The Witcher 2). Which way will you take for The Witcher 3 ? Is there a focus determined yet ? What sort of game do you seek to achieve in The Witcher 3 ?

Telling an epic tale is still the centerpiece of our game.  All gameplay elements serve this purpose, to present Geralt’s  legend. We won’t turn away to difficult, modern world problems in the fantasy setting and this won’t change. I don’t actually see the difference between the approachces you mentioned. Player immersion is achieved by presenting issues the player knows from the real world and you can tell a captivating plot only if the player is in the game and is emotionally engaged.

Since you mentioned boss battles from The Witcher 2, there won’t be any in the new part. I mean there will be pivot points, large enemies, but the gameplay won’t change. There will be no scripted events in those battles or QTEs. All such battles will be resolved with normal game mechanics and nothing unusual will occur. This reflects our return to core RPG mechanics, your stats and skills will be the most important thing during a fight and not a simple QTE.

Witcher 3 - Interview @ RPS

by Myrthos, 00:06

RPS interviewed CD Projekt senior quest designer Jakub Rokosz and Michał Platkow-Gilewski on The Witcher 3.

RPS: I’d like to start with the most important question. Why does Geralt have a beard now?

Michał Platkow-Gilewski: [laughs] That’s a tough question. When it came to redesigning the character, we made a survey of the company. We asked all the girls here, what’s the sexiest thing about the guys in the office? They all said the beards are the sexiest. So we came up with this breakthrough design change and added the beard. No, just joking. A few months have passed. Geralt is on the road, you could say?

Jakub Rokosz: Right now he’s pretty much a man left on his own, after what happened in Witcher 2. He basically wanted to get a little alone time. I think the beard signifies that, that he spent some time in the wild. He didn’t really have to worry about looking good for the ladies out there.

 

RPS: That’s interesting. I think a lot of games just treat quests as a checklist of things to do, and if you don’t do them, well, you just didn’t do them. It sounds like you’re focusing on having ramifications for inaction or indecision.

Michał Platkow-Gilewski: Yes. I don’t believe in a structure like A-B-C-D-E-F-G, you’re finished. The main storyline needs to be connected with everything that’s going on in the world, to a bigger and smaller extent. Of course, you just go out to somewhere in the woods, in the wilderness, and you can focus on monster-hunting. Maybe you as a gamer just love to hunt monsters, like the Witchers are supposed to do. You can focus on the undead if you want. So you can do whatever you want. For me, this is the definition of an RPG. Do whatever you want.

Saturday - March 02, 2013

Witcher 3 - 50 Hours of Playing Time or More?

by Myrthos, 00:30

The German Gamestar site has more info on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In this newsbit they state that the game has 50 hours of playing time. There are a total of 36 instances of the game world that will materialize or not depending on your choices with a total of 3 different endings. Also, depending on the instances that materialize in your game a selection of characters from previous Witcher games will be available.

Geralt can hunt animals and use their skins. Which animals are available depends amongst others on the day and night cycle.
The cities should have more people in them and they are watching your more closely. If they find you stealing from them the city guards will show up.

In this article on the same site it is stated that the side-quest alone will be 100 hours of playing time, which doesn't match the earlier mentioned 50 hours, but I guess both could still be true.

Friday - March 01, 2013

Witcher 3 - New Screens

by Myrthos, 23:46

Here are 12 screens of The Witcher 3. Click on any of the images and browse through the rest. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Friday - February 22, 2013

Witcher 3 - How to Hunt Monsters in Witcher 3 @ Game Informer

by Aries100, 17:15

Game Informer has done another video interview for the Witcher 3 game.   This time they've talked to gameplay designers Maciej Szczesnik and Marvin about how monster hunting works in Witcher 3.

RPG Codex has a summary of the interview:

The game will feature detective-style investigation of monster "crime scenes". Geralt will need to discover which monster from his bestiary is responsible for murdering townsfolk, before he can track it down to its lair and slay it.
There will be a greater emphasis on preparation before monster battles. The developers imply that there will be multiple ways to prepare for each monster, one of them being learning its internal anatomical details (which kinda reminds me of the alien autopsies in X-COM). Another way in which The Witcher 3 will be returning to the roots of the Witcher concept is that monster hunting will be your primary source of income, and also your primary source of crafting materials and mutagens. There will be unique "boss" versions of monsters in the game, like in the original Witcher. The developers are quick to reassure that there won't be any arcade-style "epic" bosses like Witcher 2's infamous Kayran, though.

Thanks RPGCodex :)

Source: GameBanshee

Thursday - February 21, 2013

Witcher 3 - 11 things CD Project Needs to do - editorital @ Strategy Informer

by Aries100, 17:17

Strategy Informer has penned an editorial about what they think CD Project needs to do in the Witcher 3 game.   They've made a list of 11 things they want to see, here's the second thing they think would be a good idea in Witcher 3

2: Don't try to be Skyrim

Frankly, I am terrified by the open-world concept. Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz comments in the announcement video, "everyone likes open-world games, we should go this way." Should they? I'm not so sure. Aside from the tremendous difficulties Point 3 brings up, there's the fact that while there's only really been one series that has truly made open-world RPGs work - the Elder Scrolls games - their exploration value hides a lot of flaws, most notably in storytelling. While I like the idea that CD Projekt have looked at Skyrim and gone "we want to do that", Bethesda have been perfecting the art of open-world RPGs since 1992 and they still haven't gotten it perfect. The idea of marrying the incredible openness of Skyrim to the attention to detail of The Witcher is an intoxicating idea, but only as long as CD Projekt know what they're getting into. In short: don't make another Skyrim guys, make your own great open-world game. And finally...

And here's their idea # 11:

9: Actually tell us about important Witcher things

Thanks to CD Projekt’s work I am now a fan of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s excellent original novels too, but you can’t assume that all players will be familiar with them. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films still tell and show us why Mordor is a threat, and HBO’s Game of Thrones has done a great job making sure TV viewers are scared of the White Walkers as George RR Martin fans already were.
Therefore, please CD Projekt tell (or better, show) us why we should hear the name “Nilfgaard” and shudder as we utterly failed to do in either of the games. Nilfgaard is a brutal empire that inspires fear and is regularly at war with the rest of Temeria in Sapkowski’s books, but they’re just a random location with an ugly ambassador in The Witcher 2. Let players know these things, and if Witcher 3 fails to explain who Yennefer is properly I’ll be cross.

Source: GameBanshee

Witcher 3 - Announced for PS4

by Gorath, 14:31

The next Witcher game will come not only for the PC but for the PS4 too, said CD Projekt. And of course for all next gen consoles. Simultaneously. So await an XBox 720 announcement soonish.

Current gen consoles aren't mentioned, but it would probably make economic sense to port it at least to the XBox 360.

Found on GamersGlobal, but other sites also ran this.

Tuesday - February 19, 2013

Witcher 3 - Art of Video @ GameInformer

by Woges, 00:43

Another video up for The Witcher 3.

The climax of the gameplay demo had CD Projekt RED showed us for last month's cover story had Geralt battling an ice giant in his lair. As the lead character artist, Pawel Mielniczuk leads the art team at the studio in the design of all the game's characters and monsters. Combining all disciplines within the studio, Pawel says that designing the monsters for the game is one of the team's biggest challenges.

Source: GameBanshee

Saturday - February 16, 2013

Witcher 3 - Open World Video @ GameInformer

by Woges, 16:58

The third installment of GameInformers's exclusive interviews is out. This one discusses the new open world design.

Some fans might be worried about The Witcher 3's leap to an open world, that the tightly-constructed narrative of previous entries might be sacrificed to appease a growing trend in the industry. Rest assured, the development team at CD Projekt RED is confident that they have created the perfect fusion of exploration and narrative.

Watch the video interview to hear the game's director and lead quest designer talk about converting the world of The Witcher and what lessons they have learned from games like Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, and Assassin's Creed 3.

Friday - February 15, 2013

Witcher 3 - The Story Video @ GameInformer

by Dhruin, 23:59

Earlier in the week GameInformer continued their Witcher 3 series with a video on the story. Spoilers from the first two games apply, so be warned if you haven't played them:

CD Projekt RED has been lauded for the studio's implementation of a mature and gripping storyline throughout The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Despite the new open-world structure for the third and final game in the trilogy, the writers behind The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are hoping to make the story in the new game the most satisfying yet.

Watch the interview below to hear the writers for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt explain where the story of the game begins and where Geralt's new perspective on life will bring him.

Saturday - February 09, 2013

Witcher 3 - Video Interview @ Game Informer

by Aries100, 21:15

Game Informer has an video interview with lead quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz as well as director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director for CD Project RED.  In the interview they talk about which features might make it into the game based on the feedback from fans who played The Witcher 2.  In the third Witcher game, we might then get  see this: a less, political story, a new tutorial which is part of they storyline, combat being more responsive, a not so steep difficulty curce as in Witcher 2, more side quest and much much more.

 

 

Source: GameBanshee

Thursday - February 07, 2013

Witcher 3 - To be the Final Game in the Witcher Series

by Aries100, 21:36

CD Project RED issued a press release a couple of days ago announcing this game, as we told you here.  Reading through the press release we learn that:

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.

Thanks to Lemonhead in our forums for catching this as well. 

Thanks also goes to our forumites who are discussing the features in the game here.

Source: GameBanshee

Wednesday - February 06, 2013

Witcher 3 - Dev Video, First Screens

by Dhruin, 21:18

Here's a trailer/dev video from GameInformer on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

...and Eurogamer has some screens.

Tuesday - February 05, 2013

Witcher 3 - First Details @GameBanshee

by Gorath, 18:16

Our friends at GameBanshee updated their newsbit with many details from the NeoGAF forum.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an open world RPG with 20% more space to explore than Skyrim!

Thanks to  Ball_Breaker for sending this in.

Witcher 3 - Officially Announced

by Garrett, 10:52

GameInformer will cover the now officially announced Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in their upcoming print issue. The title is slated for a release in 2014 for PC & nextgen consoles...

Information about

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Developer: CD Projekt RED

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Combat: Real-time
Play-time: Over 60 hours
Voice-acting: Full

Regions & platforms
World
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2015-05-19
· Publisher: CD Projekt RED