The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Release date: TBA 2014 or when it is done
Platforms: PC, PS4 and XBone
Basic info: The Witcher 3 is the final chapter of CD Project REDs The Witcher series of RPGs and will be powered by the new and improved RED Engine 3. TW3 is a fully open world game full of over a hundred hours of quests and minigames, that also seeks to maintain the series trademark mature branching plot with shades of grey moral choices and colourful characters. The plot is said to be a more personal afair this time round, tho the larger political ranglings will still surve as the backdrop for the story. On top of the main quest line which will feature Geralt's quest to track and combat the Wild Hunt and recover Yennefer (who was taken by the Wild Hunt) there will also be many optional quest lines that deal more with reigonal issues. Monster slaying which is a Witcher's bread and butter (and main method of earning coin) will be more organic this time round. Instead of being simple quests to kill a bunch of a certain monster the player will encounter people and vilages with monster problems that will often involve a bit of detective work to figure out what kind of monster is causing the problem and where they live. Monsters and bandits etc can also be found wondering around the open world.
On the gameplay side combat has been reworked to be more responsive and "intimate" compared to TW2. With more than 4 times the number of animations as well as a new animation system combat should look smoother as well. The AI system has also been reworked and improved over the last game. The dodge roll of the second game has been replaced by a more fiction apropriate pivot move to allow the player to avoid attacks. The Witchers trademark magic signs have been reworked yet again, with new effects and augmentations. The enviroment will also play a bigger part in combat this time round with various elements like wasp nests that can be desturbed to deal with enemies, but enemies will also use the enviroment to combat the player with cave trolls knocking down stalactites or throwing objects.
Of the open world it is said to be vary large (20% bigger than Skyrim, but we shal see about that) and take 30-40 minutes to cross from one side of the map to the other on horse back. To navigate the world in adition to horses there will also be boats and a fast travel system. Unlike games like Skyrim TW3 will not have enemy scaling based on the player level, instead it will use a system closer to the gothic series so certain enemies and areas will be much more dangerous than others. Steps have also been taken to deal with the backwards dificulty curve and lack of explenation for key systems that plagued the second game.
The new RED engine 3 will offer a next generation DX11 enhanced renderer with even better lighting than the Witcher 2 as well as new effects such as HDR and improved skin rendering. Other new features include a brand new animation system, new streaming tech which will allow players to cross the entire game world without seeing a loading screen, and a dynamic weather system with procedurally generated volumetric clouds.
Press release can be found here http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e44aa774fbc4ca04a704d673a&id=8f352aeb3d&e=f41493ceef
Official site http://www.thewitcher.com/
RED Engine 3 details here http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e44aa774fbc4ca04a704d673a&id=f04f975c81
Detailed info can be found here http://gamingeverything.com/39177/witcher-3-confirmed-is-next-gen-featured-in-game-informer/ lots of details
Relevant links
Video interview on how they are addressing feedback in TW3
@TheVoxelman on twitter
