The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |OT| "So they rode on..."

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Offizielle Ankündigung:

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CD Projekt RED announces The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

Designed to be the crowning achievement from the renowned RPG developers; for the first time will combine mature, nonlinear story with a vast, fully open world.

CD Projekt RED has officially announced the title of their next upcoming game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (VIDEO). Further, they've announced that this, the ultimate game in the series, will also be the final Witcher game from the studio. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt combines CD Projekt RED's trademark decision-based storytelling flair with a living open world larger than any other in modern RPG history.

"The captivating and nonlinear story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place in a rich, truly open world environment. A world which is thrilling to explore, full of daring adventures, momentous quests, memorable characters, and unique monsters. Players will freely travel through woods, lakes, mountains, cities, and villages. Each region is inhabited by distinct populations with their own customs, legends and problems. The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 30 times bigger than The Witcher 2," said Adam Badowski, head of the studio.

"Imagine playing a dark fantasy game with the same great nonlinear story as in the previous Witcher titles, but now told in a world you can explore freely with no artificial boundaries. The war-ravaged world is so huge that to reach further places you will need to ride a horse or sail a boat to get there. A world where your choices have truly epic consequences. From the development side, this goal is extremely demanding. Our team had to make significant design changes and our tech had to be rebuilt. But we believe that this will lead to a completely new level of nonlinearity and a whole new, richer gaming experience. As a gamer, I would love to play this kind of RPG and I think this is what many players are waiting for. This is our dream come true at CD Projekt RED, and we hope it will be the same for you!" adds Badowski.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final episode of the award-winning RPG series and the last part of the legend of Geralt of Rivia. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most robust and breathtaking game ever created by CD Projekt RED. Open world free-roaming exploration is an adventure in itself as the player will gallop through war-ravaged lands, sail misty waters and track down dangerous beasts for money. An improved combat system will allow players to feel like a real monster-hunter, a witcher who uses his superior senses and fighting skills to survive in a dark fantasy world--while he embarks on a quest to save his loved ones. The new core mechanics of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt immerse the player in the experience completely, with no Quick Time Events, only intuitive RPG gameplay.

Badowski continued, "People may ask if this is really going to be the last Witcher game. Yes, it is. Why? Because we believe that we should end the series on a high note. Technology has progressed to where we can finally tell the story the way we want, with the visuals we want, in the world we imagined. This will be the ultimate fantasy RPG experience, and while we're hardly out of stories to tell, we believe it's time for us to look to new worlds and new horizons to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can create."

For all of those who have never experienced the adventures of Geralt before, this will be their last chance. The game will be accessible all players--those who are fans of the series and those who just love RPGs--thanks to availability on all major high-end platforms and an introduction designed to smoothly introduce all those who visit the world of the Witcher for the first time."

The game will be released in 2014 simultaneously on all high-end platforms. Making use of the same remarkable art direction from The Witcher 2 combined with the support of in-house technology--the recently-announced RPG-oriented REDengine 3--The Witcher 3 will take full advantage of the technical capabilities of modern hardware and will set a new standard for RPG visuals.

[...]

Allgemeines:

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• Entwickler: CD Projekt RED
• Publisher: CD Projekt RED
• Distributor: 1C Company (CIS), Namco Bandai (EU, AU), Spike Chunsoft (JP), Warner Bros. (NA)
• Plattformen: Windows, PS4, XOne
• Termin: 19. Mai 2015

Systemvoraussetzungen:

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• Minimum Spec:
  - 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)
  - DirectX 11
  - HDD Space 40 GB
• Recommended Spec:
  - 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)
  - DirectX 11
  - HDD Space 40 GB

Downloadable Content:

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• Expansion Pass:
  - Hearts of Stone (Oktober 2015, auch einzeln erhältlich)
  - Blood and Wine (Q1 2016, auch einzeln erhältlich)

Bilder:

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• Screenshots 1
• Screenshots 2
• Screenshots 3
• Screenshots 4
• Screenshots 5
• Screenshots 6
• Screenshots 7
• Screenshots 8
• Screenshots 9
• Screenshots 10
• Screenshots 11
• Screenshots 12

Videos:

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• Announcement Teaser
• E3 2013 Trailer
• "Killing Monsters" Cinematic Trailer
• VGX 2013 Trailer
• "The Sword of Destiny" E3 2014 Trailer
• "The Trail" Opening Cinematic Trailer
• "Elder Blood" TGA 2014 Trailer
• Story Recap Trailer
• Gameplay Trailer
• "Precious Cargo" Gameplay
• "Rage & Steel" Trailer
• "A Night To Remember" Launch Cinematic Trailer

Bewertungen:

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• 4players - 90
• Destructoid - 8/10
• Eurogamer Italien - 9/10
• Game Informer - 9,75/10
• GameSpot - 10/10
• GamesRadar - 4/5
• GameTrailers - 9,8/10
• IGN - 9,3/10
• Meristation - 9,6/10
• OPM UK - 8/10

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Eine Zusammenfassung des Game-Informer-Artikels via NeoGAF:

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CD Projekt RED has provided the screenshots you see here from its current in-game assets running on its Internal PC development hardware. However, the renderer - the part of the engine that translates the game files into what you ultimately see on screen - is still in development and will boast significant improvements by the time The Witcher 3 ships. "Right now you see the game in the old renderer, but it's going to be taken to a truly next level," says gameplay producer Marek ZSiemak. In particular, the developers tell us that skin shaders and the dynamic lighting model will be markedly more advanced in the final version.

Ok wow, the text is small. I don't want to miss anything good. Here's a small few things I got that I loved.

World supposedly 20% bigger than Skyrim's, says development team. [Tentative, obviously]
30-40 minutes to cross world on Horseback
New streaming technology (CDRED Engine 3)
Geralt's Memory is restored
No chapters/acts
Dude is fucking DONE fighting for everyone else
Everything from solving MYSTERIES to slaying monsters
Coming out on "all top-of-the-line" consoles - I'd say that confirms next-gen is in.

I'll be back with more.

Next big update:

So it's saying that they had to change up their design philosophy when developing TW3, due to the open world structure. So NARRATIVE comes in three forms:

Lowest level = free form activities like crafting, monster slaying (seems to be much more extensive this time around) and questing.

Next level = Political situation of Nilfgaardian invastion is resolved through a core plotline for each area. These areas? -> Skellige, Novigrad and No Mans Land!

Final level = Geralt's main plot line, his search for his loved ones, and the chase of the Wild Hunt.

Sounds like a lot of interwoven plotlines, decision making. You can skip things if you really want, but there will be consequences to your actions if you do so.

So more about the monster hunting:

Clues build up information (like a Bestiary perhaps?)
Books garner information about monsters
Townsfolk provide information
Potions and such are important
Time of day and other conditions affect where monsters appear, and their abilities

[Some combat info]

Critical strikes in areas that matter depending on how much you learn about said monster
You can disable a vampires poisoning attack by hitting its venom gland (Vampires are poisonous?) or skewer BOTH ITS HEARTS with a thrust attack (instant kill)
Monsters drop loot like unobtainable alchemical and crafting ingredients for unique potion, mutagen and item crafting.
Provides income as well

Enemy AI completely rebuilt, scripted bosses out
Environmental combat 'contributions' (a dozen types of interactive objects)
---> Wasp hive irritated using Aard

Magical signs retooled
Igni = new flamethrower effect
The magic tree advancement allows secondary sign forms = ie. Igni and a 360-degree blast
Yrden = small trap can be modified into a larger field that slows any enemy

Other trees, Swordsmanship and Alchemy
New strikes under Swordsmanship, boosts like improved stamina and parrying
Mutation mechanic under a different development path
Not much information given about Alchemy path, other than it being based on potions

Horse could be used to access long term stash, as well as Inns
Team aware of frustrations of inventory management in The Witcher
Committed to a less tedious process

Crafting critical to maximize Geralts potential, but weapons and armor can be found in many ways
Players can customize their crafted weapons with some components, ie, monster scales for leather in armor

Each armor piece has unique appearance, new cloth simulation tech.
Barber is in from the get go. Dyeing hair is OUT OF QUESTION, White Wolf.

Edit:

Eine weitere Zusammenfassung des Game-Informer-Artikels via Gaming Everything:

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Update 2: We’re adding in our own details from the magazine as well. Keep checking back for more.

• The team felt it missed the huge freedom of open-world games like Skyrim
• Proper mounted combat still being tested
• Currently not a definite part of the game
• Horses will be in, though, since they’re important for navigation
• Ships float on the water in true physics interactions
• Team has doubled in size
• No chapters, acts, or any artificial break-points
• Geralt can seamlessly cross from one end of the world to the other thanks to REDengine 3
• No loading screens while traveling in the open world
• Can explore on foot, by horseback, and via boat
• Pursue yor long-lost love, play the game of empires on behalf of the northern kingdoms that still claim independence, and thwart the nefarious Wild Hunt
• Fast travel: instantly revisit any discovered location
• Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz: “A huge goal is to keep the high quality o four quests, with all the cinematics and impressive events and moments.”
• Point of interest will always be in sight
• Players will be beckoned to explore dank caves, embattled villages, decaying ruins, etc.
• Over 100 hours of hand-scripted quests
• Quests: help villagers, engineer the succession of the Skellige kings, etc.
• Use monster hunting for adventure, incoming, and unique rewards
• There are mini-games based on the area of the world
• Ex: Skellige has knife-throwing
• Gain exclusive rewards from mini-games
• Don’t have to complete mini-games to proceed in the story
• Monsters, bandits, traders, animals, and more will attack anyone they deem hostile
• Enemies don’t scale to the player’s level
• Slaying monsters, fighting hostile humans in the different forms they come in, collecting items, leveling up are in the game
• World 40 times larger than the last game
• Three different aspects to narration
• Lowest level: free-form activities like monster hunting, crafting, individual standalone quests
• Second step: political situation and Nilfgaardian invasion is resolved through the core plotline of the major areas (Skellige, Novigrad, No Man’s Land)
• Each land has its own storyline
• Can abandon the storyline, but will have repercussions later
• Not doing a plotline is a choice the player has
• Main narrative: search for Geralt’s loved ones and conflict with the Wild Hunt
• Multiple branches of narratives that feed into each other
• Don’t have to do anything outside the main storyline to beat the game
• Could have help in a main-line encounter from an ally you gained in the Skellige archipelago if you’ve completed certain quests in certain ways
• Major events in the main storyline are “gates” for the state of the world
• Ex: village threatened by bandits might be abandoned after certain events if the player doesn’t help
• Weather effects are dynamically generated and fully modeled as real volumetric clouds rather than being simply painted on the skybox
• In contrast to the last game, Geralt encounters communities and individuals with monster-related problems that need solving
• There aren’t contract-like assignments this time
• Press the left trigger to turn on Geralt’s witcher senses
• Can glean information from a crime scene upon discovering it
• Within range of a scene of interest, the mechanic conveys clues to the player through the witcher muttering to himself and/or visual depictions of past events that represent Geralt’s reasoning
• Time of day and other conditions determine where monsters appear and their abilities
• Can strike critical areas in combat based on how much you learn about monster anatomy and tactics
• The team is deciding between using a handful of in-combat special moves for particular attacks and a slow-motion quick-time event style
• Monsters you defeat leave otherwise unobtainable alchemical and crafting ingredients needed for making of unique items, potions, mutagens
• These allow Geralt to gain special powers and upgrades in the new mutation development tree
• These kills serve as the witcher’s primary method of income
• Moving more toward romance and away from shallow sexual encounters
• “We want to treat it maturely like we did in The Witcher 2. We are not bringing sex cards back.”
• Witcher 3 doesn’t have completely different environments based on singular choices due to the open world, but there are similarly impactful decisions
• You’ll be involved with mutually exclusive storylines and situations based on certain momentous choices
• Won’t be on the same level as Witcher 2, however
• Game mechanics based on previous games, but the team is revisiting many details
• Backward difficulty curve being addressed
• Reworking the flow of combat
• 96 animations for Geralt’s combat moves (last game had 20)
• Game has a “weighting” system for the camera to help keep the biggest threats in frame at all times
• Combat system: three big changes to solve the problem of being locked into long animations
• Every button press mapped to a single strike
• Each move takes a roughly equivalent time to perform
• Can always interrupt your current action to immediately dodge or block
• Can block/dodge when out of stamina, but you’ll be staggered
• Team wants to make the combat “more intimate”
• “You don’t run – in the Witcher 2 you were running constantly. You walk, but your attacks are very fast. Your opponents also walk but they have charges and things like that.”
• Geralt’s dodge roll replaced by a pivot move
• It retains its defensive utility without game-breaking mobility
• Attacks faster than in The Witcher 2
• Enemy AI completely rebuilt
• No scripted boss encounters
• One boss: ice giant
• Roughly a dozen types of interactive objects
• Ex: Can irritate a wasp with the telekinetic Aard sign to make a damaging distraction for his foes and disperse the swarm with the fiery Igni sign once the wasp swarm becomes a problem
• Magical signs are retooled
• Each of the five signs has a basic form such as Igni’s new flamethrower effect
• If the player advances down the magic tree as Geralt levels up, can unlock a second form of the sign
• For Igni, would unlock a 360-degree blast that immolates anything close
• Yrdren’s small trap can be changed into a bigger field that slows enemies
• Player retains the use of the basic form
• Other two trees are based on swordsmanship and alchemy
• Swordfighting: can unlock new strikes and boosts such as improved stamina and parrying
• Alchemy: mutation mechanic moved off to a separate development path, independent of the level-up process
• Alchemy specialization is based more on potions
• Improvements available for the horse and boat
• These aspects are still in development
• One idea: players could access their long-term storage stash from their horse as well as from inns
• Team knows about frustrating inventory management in Witcher 2
• Crafting still important for enhancing Geralt’s capabilities
• Can customize crafted items
• Some components are can be substituted for similar things
• Ex: monster scales instead of leather in a piece of armor
• This affects the properties of the final item
• Can find unique components as part of monster hunts or questlines
• Combine these with special recipes to make artifacts of immense power
• Each armor piece has a unique appearance
• Armor has improved presentation and new cloth simulation
• Can visit a barber to change Geralt’s hairstyle

[Readler]

Da fällt mir ein, dass ich noch die anderen Beiden spielen muss. Doof nur, dass mein PC zu schwach ist.

Hört sich aber wirklich klasse an. Bin aber nur etwas überrascht über CDPs Kapazitäten. Hätte nicht gedacht, dass sie zwei sehr ambitionierte next-gen Open World Spiele handlen können.

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Haben sie auch (noch) nicht.

Deswegen hieß es in der im Cyberpunk-2077-Teaser versteckten Nachricht auch...

"Oh... And may you wonder why we announced our game so early before the release. The reason is that we're still building our dev team. So if you are a talented dude or dudette, willing to work in a really different company (gamers rule & boring coporate stuff drools!) on a super ambitious project, send us your application right now!"

[DextersKomplize]

Kommt sicher als Lauchtitel für irgendeine neue Konsole. Soll das wirklich 2013 erscheinen?

Bliebe ja fast nur die neue XBOX als Lauchtermin, wenn die PS4 erst 2014 in Europa erscheint ...
Wäre zumindest ein krachender Launchtitel ...

Mal ganz davon ab, *haben will* ^^

edit:

The game will be released in 2014 simultaneously on all high-end platforms.

thx@impu
Ahjo alles klar, wie kam ich jetzt auf 2013? *kopfkratz*

Dann könnte es ja bei der PS4 noch hinkommen, wobei ich auch weniger glaube, dass die das genau zum Start rausbringen.
Die machen sicher ihr eigenes Ding und releasen es wann se wollen ...

[ImperiuDamnatu]

The game will be released in 2014 simultaneously on all high-end platforms.

Edit:

Die ersten Screenshots sind jetzt im Eingangspost verlinkt.

[Alking]

Das klingt alles schonmal richtig gut. Aber für mich zählt das Kampfsystem, welches ich bei TW2 wirklich katastrophal fand. Daher hoffe ich auf eine Überarbeitung, etwas weniger Tempo und mehr fordernde Kämpfe mit weniger Gegnern. Und das Tranksystem gehört überarbeitet!

[Ernesto Heidenreich]

Das Kampfsystem kam geradewegs aus der Hölle!
Hätte Witcher 2 wirklich gerne gespielt,die Grafik war auch auf der 360 top,die Soundkulisse fantastisch und der Held ne coole Sau,aber mit dem KS konnte ich mich einfach nicht arrangieren.
Hoffe daher beim dritten Teil auf eine wesentlich bessere Zugänglichkeit und Entschlackung des KS.

[Alking]

Das Kampfsystem kam geradewegs aus der Hölle!
Hätte Witcher 2 wirklich gerne gespielt,die Grafik war auch auf der 360 top,die Soundkulisse fantastisch und der Held ne coole Sau,aber mit dem KS konnte ich mich einfach nicht arrangieren.
Hoffe daher beim dritten Teil auf eine wesentlich bessere Zugänglichkeit und Entschlackung des KS.

Es fällt aber auf, die Diskussion gabs ja schon im TW2 Thread, dass vor allen Dingen Dark Souls Jünger wie wir uns über das KS beschweren.

[Oynox]

Ich finde, die Infos hören sich verdammt cool an. Aber irgendwie auch utopisch, für jetzige Konsolenverhältnisse... vielleicht bringt die NG ja wirklich mehr. Ich bin richtig gespannt drauf!

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Ich persönlich war froh darüber, dass das Kampfsystem von The Witcher 2 mit dem von Demon's Souls und Dark Souls rein gar nichts zu tun hatte. Versteht mich nicht falsch! Ich halte das, was From Software in beiden Spielen erschaffen hat, für nahezu perfekt. Aber ich arbeite mich IP-übergreifend viel lieber in neue Systeme ein, als mehr vom Gleichen zu konsumieren.

[Oynox]

Das stimmt auch. Man stelle sich mal vor, jedes RPG hätte das Kampfsystem von Dark Souls... wäre ja langweilig.

Die Screens sehen jetzt leider nicht so bombastisch aus.. kommt aber wohl wegen geringer Qualität schätze ich. Mal abwarten, bis CDProjects die Bilder offiziell veröffentlicht.

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Die Screens sehen jetzt leider nicht so bombastisch aus.. kommt aber wohl wegen geringer Qualität schätze ich. Mal abwarten, bis CDProjects die Bilder offiziell veröffentlicht.

CD Projekt RED has provided the screenshots you see here from its current in-game assets running on its Internal PC development hardware. However, the renderer - the part of the engine that translates the game files into what you ultimately see on screen - is still in development and will boast significant improvements by the time The Witcher 3 ships. "Right now you see the game in the old renderer, but it's going to be taken to a truly next level," says gameplay producer Marek ZSiemak. In particular, the developers tell us that skin shaders and the dynamic lighting model will be markedly more advanced in the final version.

[Oynox]

Ah, danke für die Aufklärung. Habe sie auch nur bei AGB gesehen, ich weiß jetzt nicht, ob es die in noch größere Auflösung oder Qualität gibt.

Bin aber von dem dreigliedrigen Konzept begeistert. Andererseits ist es hohes Risikopotential... und wenn sie schon damit anfangen zu werben, dass die Welt 20% größer ist als die von Skyrim, bekomme ich Muffensausen, dass sie ZU groß und dann evtl. leblos wird... Im Kontrast dazu steht, dass die Welt von The Witcher 2 einen unglaublich tiefen Eindruck macht und die Jungs damit Erfahrung haben.

[ImperiuDamnatu]

Stolperpotenzial ist hier definitiv genügend vorhanden. CD Projekt RED gelten ja im Allgemeinen als überaus detailverliebt. Allerdings haben sie nie zuvor einer offenen Welt Leben einhauchen müssen. Von daher wird es schon spannend sein zu beobachten, wie gut oder wie schlecht das Team dieses Unterfangen bewältigen wird.