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General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)
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Posted April 07, 2015
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 <span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span>, and <span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span>. 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.
<span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span> 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.
<span class="bold"><span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span></span> 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.







There used to be a time when buying an add-on disk or expansion for your game really meant something. That's what CD PROJEKT RED are going for, it's about bringing that old feeling back. You can take it from our very own iWi, (that's Marcin Iwinski, co-founder of CD PROJEKT RED):

"We’ve said in the past that if we ever decide to release paid content, it will be vast in size and represent real value for the money. Both of our expansions offer more hours of gameplay than quite a few standalone games out there.”

Hearts of Stone is expected to premiere this October, while Blood and Wine is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016, so there's still plenty of time ahead. We're offering you the <span class="bold">Expansion Pass</span> now - it's a chance to pre-order the two expansions and even show your support for the devs. But we can't stress Marcin Iwinski's words enough:

“Don’t buy it if you have any doubts. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call."







The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is just over a month away, and you can pre-order the game right now - it's a particularly great deal if you own the previous Witcher games and take advantage of the additional fan discount (both The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings are 80% off right now!). You can also take a rather unique refresher course on the universe with The Witcher Adventure Game at a 40% discount, all until Thursday, 4:59 PM GMT.
Post edited April 07, 2015 by Chamb
Posted April 09, 2015
high rated
Hello Everyone,

First of all let me thank you for your feedback. Although a bit harsh at times, it is always very passionate, emotional and we really do appreciate it.

I wanted to add a few words to the original press release, which will hopefully shed some more light on the Expansions and the timing of the announcement.

Let me start with the Expansions themselves. The work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost done and we are waiting for the final certifications. Thanks to it we were able to allocate part of the team onto the expansions. Yes, we have been thinking about it for some time, as with over 250 people on the Witcher team good planning is essential.

Rest assured, there is no hidden agenda or cutting out any content from the game. Both Expansions are being built at this very moment, from the ground up – hence the release dates long after the launch of Wild Hunt. We develop them in-house by the same team, which was working on Wild Hunt. This is the best guarantee we can give you that our goal is to deliver both the story and production values on par with the main game.

Now, on the timing of the announcement - in other words “why now” and not - let’s say – “a few months after the release of Wild Hunt”. The reason is very simple: we want to get the word out about the Expansions to as many gamers as possible out there. There is no better time for it than during the apex of the Marketing & PR campaign of the game. Doing it sometime after the release would mean that our reach would be much smaller.

Yes, we are a business, and yes, we would love to see both the game and the Expansions selling well. Having said that, we always put gamers first and are actually quite paranoid about the fact that whatever we offer is honest, of highest quality, and represents good value for your hard earn buck.

Yes, these are just my words. So let me repeat myself from the original release: if you still have any doubts -- don’t buy the Expansions. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call.

Cheers,

Marcin
Post edited April 09, 2015 by Destro
Posted April 08, 2015
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Lifthrasil: Well, technically there is no sharp line between the two. It's just a matter of size. But I would think that there is a difference in intent: an expansion pack is intended to expand a game that already has been released. Which TW3 hasn't. So no, this are not expansion packs. This are not even Day One DLCs. This is just distributing the content of a yet unreleased game over more than one release to be able to charge twice for it.
Don't buy it then. What is problem ? Or CDPR oblige you to buy packs with base game?
Post edited April 08, 2015 by Dawnreader
Posted April 08, 2015
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IAmSinistar: The bonus content showing for me so far is:

artworks
avatars
comics (Reason of State - Part 1)
HD videos
paper toys
paper toy catalog
soundtrack - exclusive tracks (FLAC)
soundtrack - exclusive tracks (MP3)
wallpapers
free copy of NWN

Not sure what, if any, of that is truly exclusive to the pre-order (except of course the free NWN promo). I also got the cheaper pre-order price, which was a combination of the early deal and the loyalty bonus.

Given how often, and how drastically, the other Witcher games are discounted here, I think folks are probably fine waiting for TW3.
I'll pass on all those. If I feel the need of paper toys, I'll make my own, I'm reasonably decent with origami.

And yeah, it will probably be given for free by the time my laptop can actually run it.
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Dawnreader: Don't buy it then. What is problem ? Or CDPR oblige you to buy packs with base game?
Isn't that precisely what he's doing?
Post edited April 08, 2015 by P1na
Posted April 08, 2015
I don't have a problem with the expansions as such. The last true expansion I remember playing was NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer and it was really, really good. A new area, new story line and basically the same gameplay (except for the spirit hunger) but at a much higher class level. TW3 expansions remind me of that and if they were to release the base game and the expansion in one go, we'd never get the base game in the first place.

I think in the console space there is also a theory that promised DLC encourages players not to sell their copies and thus prevents sales from being eroded by second hand sales, from which CDPR would see no returns. I doubt the logic of this theory but I did read it somewhere and I presume they will be releasing this expansion for consoles too.

I also don't have a problem with the price for a couple of reasons:
1. If TW3 and the expansion are as many hours of gameplay, as good as advertised and as replayable as TW2, then you are getting way less than a dollar per hour of quality entertainment. I can't think of any other form of commercial entertainment that is that cheap. Furthermore, developing such a hugely ambitious gam has to have been really expensive. I imagine that the asking price for the base game is possibly too cheap compared to how much costs they need to recover.
2. I have previously been annoyed with the discrepancy between the price of a base game and DLC but that is because DLC is usually rubbish. In this case, being a true expansion, it promises to be far better. As such, I don't have a problem with a company essentially saying, hey, you can play the base game for Y dollars, which is already arguably cheaper than it should be, due to point 1 above, and if you really, really like it, please buy the expansion to support us and to acknowledge that the complete package is well worth your time and money.

What I _do_ highly question is the way they have marketed/announced the expansion. Why _sell_ it now, a full month before the base game release? What do they possibly gain from this except for bad press? It seems like it would have been far saner to quietly state that the base game has been finished and they can now start developing full expansions but not to announce any further details than that.

Then there is the "Expansion Pass" term. That surely has to conjure the spectre of lousy, expensive, bad quality DLC season passes that no upgraded Witchers silver sword can possibly disperse. Yes, disperse, not kill, for I am reliably informed by Geralt that all Witchers know that wraiths cannot be killed, only dispersed or something ... damn, have to play TW2 again to get the real quote.
Posted April 08, 2015
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feetjai: 30 hours of gameplay is what I call an EXPANSION. DLC is like horse armor, cosmetical, etc.
So all those people who are yelling, ohh no we are being ripped off again."

If you don't want to buy you don't, If you like the base game, then buy only the base game.
If you are fan, then buy them all. Everyone gets what he/she wants. No need to point fingers or
say anything negative.
Personally, it's comments like yours that I don't get. If you want to buy you go "awesome!" and buy, if you don't want to buy you go "darn!" and not buy. Is that wrong to you?
Posted April 08, 2015
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Aningan: Too many posts to find anything :)

But just so it's clear, I'm only talking about the time of the announcement since I did see some complaints about it. Everything else regarding this announcement, I'm not a fan of.
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Pheace: But... I linked straight to the relevant post :)
Haha,
Well yeah. I just meant seeing it before making my original post :))
Posted April 08, 2015
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P1na: I'll pass on all those. If I feel the need of paper toys, I'll make my own, I'm reasonably decent with origami.

And yeah, it will probably be given for free by the time my laptop can actually run it.
Yes, it's not exactly a bundle of "must-have" items, like a collector's statue or unlocked in-game item. I'm just not asking for a refund out of my feeling that I've already committed to the process now.

There's a touch of irony that I bought the pre-order largely as a show of support for GOG and CDPR, since I won't be able to actually run the game until I get the next-gen computer.
Posted April 08, 2015
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P1na: I'll pass on all those. If I feel the need of paper toys, I'll make my own, I'm reasonably decent with origami.

And yeah, it will probably be given for free by the time my laptop can actually run it.
Isn't that precisely what he's doing?
My post was not specifically addressable him, but in general for those who are whining and yelling so hard like the government issued a law that all of them will be slaves tomorrow
Posted April 08, 2015
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P1na: What did they bundle again? I just now finished canceling my preorder, not sure abut what I "lost".
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IAmSinistar: The bonus content showing for me so far is:

artworks
avatars
comics (Reason of State - Part 1)
HD videos
paper toys
paper toy catalog
soundtrack - exclusive tracks (FLAC)
soundtrack - exclusive tracks (MP3)
wallpapers
free copy of NWN

Not sure what, if any, of that is truly exclusive to the pre-order (except of course the free NWN promo). I also got the cheaper pre-order price, which was a combination of the early deal and the loyalty bonus.

Given how often, and how drastically, the other Witcher games are discounted here, I think folks are probably fine waiting for TW3.
i have all those apart from the free copy of NWN why would this be ! what did i need to do to get a copy of that other game ? i have the prorder obviously ! if an one could shine some light that would be awesome !
Posted April 08, 2015
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IAmSinistar: Yes, it's not exactly a bundle of "must-have" items, like a collector's statue or unlocked in-game item. I'm just not asking for a refund out of my feeling that I've already committed to the process now.

There's a touch of irony that I bought the pre-order largely as a show of support for GOG and CDPR, since I won't be able to actually run the game until I get the next-gen computer.
Same here, I bought it as a show of support. Since the reason to support has largely disappeared, I no longer feel the need to buy it. It makes me feel sad, actually. But hey, I'll look for another game to buy right now to get over it.

...Oh who am I kidding, too much work to play anything these days. I haven't even played one finger death punch for over a month.
Posted April 08, 2015
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P1na: I'll pass on all those. If I feel the need of paper toys, I'll make my own, I'm reasonably decent with origami.

And yeah, it will probably be given for free by the time my laptop can actually run it.
Isn't that precisely what he's doing?
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Dawnreader: My post was not specifically addressable him, but in general for those who are whining and yelling so hard like the government issued a law that all of them will be slaves tomorrow
No one forces you to buy EA or UBI Season passes either.
You might understand though that alot of people hold CDPR in somewhat high esteem.
If they do the same crap the other publisher do, while actually saying that's what they won't do, then it's quite a bit of a disappointment.

For me it's also compounded by alot of other disappointments on this site lately.
Posted April 08, 2015
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waldo1980: i have all those apart from the free copy of NWN why would this be ! what did i need to do to get a copy of that other game ? i have the prorder obviously ! if an one could shine some light that would be awesome !
The code should be in the email receipt you got when you bought the game. It's not available if you got the game as part of the NVIDIA promo though.
Posted April 08, 2015
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waldo1980: i have all those apart from the free copy of NWN why would this be ! what did i need to do to get a copy of that other game ? i have the prorder obviously ! if an one could shine some light that would be awesome !
Check your Gifts tab, I believe it should have shown up there. If not, then it would have been in a separate email from the time of purchase, so check your email for that as well.
Posted April 08, 2015
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waldo1980: i have all those apart from the free copy of NWN why would this be ! what did i need to do to get a copy of that other game ? i have the prorder obviously ! if an one could shine some light that would be awesome !
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JMich: The code should be in the email receipt you got when you bought the game. It's not available if you got the game as part of the NVIDIA promo though.
ah thats the issue then lol i got it with my new GTX 970 ! no problems cheers for quick answer dude !
Posted April 08, 2015
One other pre-order bonus I neglected to mention, as it's not available until the game is - High quality digital artbook.

I don't know if the aforementioned "16 free DLCs" are pre-order exclusive or part of the regular purchase, but I will assume the latter.
Posted April 08, 2015
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twistedpony: What I _do_ highly question is the way they have marketed/announced the expansion. Why _sell_ it now, a full month before the base game release? What do they possibly gain from this except for bad press? It seems like it would have been far saner to quietly state that the base game has been finished and they can now start developing full expansions but not to announce any further details than that.

Then there is the "Expansion Pass" term. That surely has to conjure the spectre of lousy, expensive, bad quality DLC season passes that no upgraded Witchers silver sword can possibly disperse. Yes, disperse, not kill, for I am reliably informed by Geralt that all Witchers know that wraiths cannot be killed, only dispersed or something ... damn, have to play TW2 again to get the real quote.
I agree with you for the most part, but there is a inherent problem to those passes, one you can't just solve by putting another name to it. Independent from the DLCs quality. Which we btw don't know, even the basegame could end up being a huge disappointment. We just don't know yet.

This is taking money for undone work, nothing else.
Furthermore, there is a difference between offering a choice and pushing one. Ads are always trying to be manipulative in one form or another, this one is also build on a pretty big hype. Aggressively advertising that form of sales is by itself questionable, but even more so, when we don't even know how the base game is.

Also clashes with CDPs own statements, the 'wait for the reviews' PR.
Post edited April 08, 2015 by Soyuz
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Community
General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)