Witcher 3 Some personal Witcher 3 reflections.

Maylander said:

TW3 is a completely different game.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that at all! TW1's areas are far smaller (I think it used Neverwinter Night 2's engine, didn't it?) but it's still the same basic formula you see in most RPGs.

Pladio, I'm not really sure what you're after. These are computer RPGs, after all. The Witcher games are good at giving you choices (Witcher 2 has a huge divide depending on choice) but there's only going to be one overall story. If you really want to have a say in the overall story, you need to play pen & paper games with a live game master that can make things up as s/he goes along. That's how it's always been. You aren't going to play Baldur's Gate and find some alternate main quest that never takes you near the city of Baldur's Gate, for instance.

Zloth said:

I wouldn't say that at all! TW1's areas are far smaller (I think it used Neverwinter Night 2's engine, didn't it?) but it's still the same basic formula you see in most RPGs.

Click to expand...

That's the thing though: One is divided into small areas, lots of loading screens, no z-axis (jumping etc), very timing based (almost tactical) combat and the other is a massive, open world action RPG. TW3 like Skyrim with a better story and more interesting characters, but with slightly less options (Geralt being Geralt and all that). Of course, they're both RPGs, but I think it's entirely possible to enjoy TW3 without having enjoyed TW1.

And yes, TW1 used a heavily modified Aurora Engine. I never liked that one personally. Didn't have the smooth touch of the Infinity Engine, nor the freedom of more traditional 3D engines.

TW1 kind of sucks from an engine/mechanics standpoint, but it's definitely worth playing for the story and characters. It also has some of the most atmospheric music I've ever heard in an RPG.

It has to be played on the hardest difficulty though for maximum enjoyment. The normal difficulty is far too easy, and playing on hard also removes that stupid icon that makes combat feel like a QTE.

Pladio said:

Couldn't get past chapter 1 in the witcher 1….
Tried it three times.

Click to expand...

Ehhh, isn't that Azar Javed? Similarity is uncanny.

I don't know - Witcher 1 was zoned but they were pretty big zones. Exploration didn't seem to be that big of a deal in either of them. It could have been in W3 but they plopped ?'s down on every point of interest.

The combat was different with its timing based attacks, wasn't it? I didn't even remember that and wondered what Padio was talking about "QTE combat". You were supposed to click the attack button in rhythm with the actual swings instead of just mashing away and, at lower difficulties, they popped up an indicator to help you do that. I guess you could see that as QTE combat. (There's no cutscene playing and, to me, that's a critical part of the definition.)

People often forget that the first game actually had a modifiable stat system and I still actually quite like the skill-tree for differentiating stance styles and signs, something which didn't feel quite as engaging in the two later games. I barely used the mutagens in W3 or found the skill/talent tree especially compelling either to be honest. There was also a degree of inflexibility of the first few levels in the Witcher 2 for adding skill points which I also didn't especially like.

So for me, the first game still stands out in some further ways from a role-playing and character building point of view. I like its soundtrack the most as well.

Pladio said:

Combat qte is a turnoff for me. Playing as Gerald, the old white dude with scars who apparently is very strong and likes to find every woman to •••• is not super compelling either.

Click to expand...

I remember you told me off once for accidentally calling you "Plaudio'. Well, here's my chance for some karmic revenge. It's Geralt!

Also, your comment is unfortunately stereo-typically inaccurate about him, as there are various ways to interpret and play his character - "finding every woman to ****" as you put it, is simply not necessarily one of them.

Zloth said:

I wouldn't say that at all! TW1's areas are far smaller (I think it used Neverwinter Night 2's engine, didn't it?) but it's still the same basic formula you see in most RPGs.



Pladio, I'm not really sure what you're after. These are computer RPGs, after all. The Witcher games are good at giving you choices (Witcher 2 has a huge divide depending on choice) but there's only going to be one overall story. If you really want to have a say in the overall story, you need to play pen & paper games with a live game master that can make things up as s/he goes along. That's how it's always been. You aren't going to play Baldur's Gate and find some alternate main quest that never takes you near the city of Baldur's Gate, for instance.

Click to expand...

I like games like gothic where there's a feeling of choice during different quests.

When I was playing the witcher 1 I felt like I was simply going from place a to b to kill something then that was it.

I know gothic had a lot of fighting too, but I can still remember deciding whether to help that guy with his ornamental sword or taking it and running away

I didn't have that feeling in the witcher.

It's also very much that the combat in the witcher felt boring to me.

That's why I was asking if the second and third game made sense to try.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BoboTheMighty said:

Ehhh, isn't that Azar Javed? Similarity is uncanny.

Click to expand...

No, although I did have Azar as an avatar for a while too.

It's a character from age of decadence.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pessimeister said:

I remember you told me off once for accidentally calling you "Plaudio'. Well, here's my chance for some karmic revenge. It's Geralt!



Also, your comment is unfortunately stereo-typically inaccurate about him, as there are various ways to interpret and play his character - "finding every woman to ****" as you put it, is simply not necessarily one of them.

Click to expand...

Lol

Poor me.

Yes, I know it is a choice but it is pushed on you quite strongly since the first conversation with a female character and then again in the first chapter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember some choices in the game with respect to humans vs. non-humans but they may not have started up until you got into town, which would have been Chapter 2 at least. Oh, and one that seemed kinda obvious to me toward the end of Chapter 1.

Pladio said:

I like games like gothic where there's a feeling of choice during different quests.

When I was playing the witcher 1 I felt like I was simply going from place a to b to kill something then that was it.

I know gothic had a lot of fighting too, but I can still remember deciding whether to help that guy with his ornamental sword or taking it and running away

I didn't have that feeling in the witcher.

It's also very much that the combat in the witcher felt boring to me.

That's why I was asking if the second and third game made sense to try.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Sorry I have to disagree with some of this. Even if you just play up until you get in to the first town (vizima) you have a number of choices.

- fight frightner or go to the laboratory
- let Scoia'tael take weapons or kill them
- help zoltan or not when he's being attacked
- save abigail or turn her over to the villagers

I'm sure I'm missing something, but all these have consequences small and large such as items, weapons you get, amount of experience you get, wether certain npc lives or dies, how your first boss battle before you enter vizima goes down, even wether a character shows up all the way at the end game to assist you.

That's just decisions in the first few hours of the game. The witcher 1 is full of C&C like this. The thing is though at the time you make the choice you really don't know you're even making one until you see the consequences later. So if you quit shortly after you'd never know all the choices the game offers.

I actually like the witcher 1 combat but I understand people that don't. Be aware though that the game has 2 combat systems. It has a point and click system ( which imo was terrible) but it also has an OTS system that I thought while not great was quite serviceable.

Oh, so you do deal with the Scoia'tael in the first chapter! Abigail was the 'obvious' choice I was thinking about.

I did like seeing the Witcher 1 references, particularly around Kaer Morhen. Heck, the fortress itself was *very* much like I remembered it! Oh look - there's the table where Eskel told me about the gnome that made gunpowder. And that's the ledge along the wall where the tutorial taught me about fast vs slow attacks. And the stairs up go to Triss' old room where… <ahem> which I remember, too.

Zloth said:

And the stairs up go to Triss' old room where… <ahem> which I remember, too.

Click to expand...

and when Yen arrives in TW3 she promptly tosses the bed in that room off the balcony....heehee......