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General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
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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d2t: And what is your problem with this? That they dared to remind people about preorder discount for game they spent years of their lives and millions of dollars to create? I guess in your opinion they should crawl on the floor and cry, begging the world for forgiveness that they dare to sell this surely horrible game which you don't even have to buy...
In my opinion it negates the point they made by quoting Marcin's words and makes the whole announcement seem disingenuous with the "preorder the game right now" so that you can then preorder the expansion message. Also, please take it easy with the hyperbole as no one here is forcing you to agree with anything that some people feel strongly about.
Post edited April 09, 2015 by stg83
Posted April 08, 2015
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darthspudius: Not quite, isn't Game of The Year editions a XBOX thing?
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geminidomino: No. Deus Ex and UT3 both had GOTY editions, back when the original XBox was still getting curbstomped by Sony.
Curb stomped... atleast their games ran at a playable framerate! lol
Posted April 09, 2015
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Davane: IIRC, DOOM was actually released as shareware, which used a different format. You got to play the first episode, and then paid for the rest IF YOU LIKED THEM. You can't really equate this to any form of DLC, per se, simply because it served as more of a playable demo.
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JMich: The original DOOM had 3 episodes, one of which was available in the shareware version. If you got The Ultimate DOOM, you had 4 episodes. "The Complete DOOM Accessory Pack" contained wad files to increase the number of available maps, though I think you needed to replace the current ones, or at least run the game with a parameter. So they did release map packs for DOOM, similar to DLCs.
I don't think that these were ever in doubt. In fact, DOOM is notable for spawning one of the earliest modding communities.

That said, were either Complete DOOM and Ultimate DOOM announced at the same time as the original DOOM?

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Davane: Your point? Yes, I am getting old for games...
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JMich: You said that "more of the same" is no longer perceived as being of value. For a teenager or a kid, more of the same is exactly what they crave. As you grow older, "more of the same" ends up boring, not exciting. Nostalgia is usually a case that ignores said point, mainly because we all have a game that we can play over and over again and not get bored by it.
Fair enough - but that begs the question of who the target audience for TW3 actually is.

It's right up there with those who consider the Sims not to be a "real game" - it's obviously not going to be targeted at the same people who would play Half-Life or Space Invaders.

The thing is that there is a significant difference between more adventures and the same adventures. Despite the predisposition for grinding, RPGs aren't actually valued for more of the same - their value comes from the moments that are different amidst the tedium of the same. Both need to exist - otherwise there's this seeming lack of balance in the game.

Of course, this is all subjective, because from a certain viewpoint, every game is more of the same at one level or another...
Posted April 09, 2015
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Lonewolf1044: [...]

I sure hope we get that 16 free DLC :)
Interesting that you should mention that, as I stumbled upon this piece here. While it confirms the 16 free DLC (also prominently mentioned on the TW3 official sales page), there's something that puzzles me:
The studio will release two downloadable content packs for free for the first seven or eight weeks after the game’s launch.
That sounds like there will be a fixed time period to get the first two DLC for free, which raises a number of questions:
- will they not be available at all afterwards,
- if yes, why;
- will they be available also later on, but not for free;
- if yes, why;
- will the rest follow the same release/ availability model.

Note that the date of the article is Apr 7, 2015, same as the announcement of the Expansion Pass pre-order.
Posted April 09, 2015
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Lonewolf1044: I sure hope we get that 16 free DLC :)
This PR-speak that converts "late additions in the last development phase" to "truckloads of free DLCs" is even worse than the constant reinvention of the words for addon/expansion/DLC because they get a worse reputation every time when the expansion isn't a later addition to the game but planned while the game is still under development.

GoG has a reputation for insulting PR-speech with all the Good news!™ by now and it's getting worse nearly every month.

The number of regionally priced games on GOG has risen from 132 to 930 and it was Good news!™ again too. -.-
Post edited April 09, 2015 by Klumpen0815
Posted April 09, 2015
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bigsilverhotdog: edit: Excellent, excellent post Davane. I'm not going to quote you but that's an excellent, fantastic summary of why so many people are pissed off. Not everyone, but definitely a lot of people are angry for that exact reason. And they've got good reason to be angry.
Thanks.

There's lots of reasons why people are reacting the way they are, whether it is expressed as anger or not. It's quite complex trying to cover them all, because a lot of them relate to each other, so trying to isolate any one argument as the sole cause for concern is futile.

It's all to do with how people think - and anybody who understands that people are entitled to their opinions, that we don't all have the same experiences and reactions, and that we value different things in life which directs our own individual principles - should understand this simple fact.

Likewise, making emotional judgements about the arguments of others is likewise, just as futile. There's no point expecting people to think like you, because they are not you. That's the point.

This goes for marketing too. CDPR might not have some grand scheme to cash grab and manipulate people into buying content of unknown value, but that is exactly what they appear to have done.

Unfortunately for CDPR and GOG, they don't have the trust that they once enjoyed. Thus, asking for things to be taken on faith isn't really going to work for them right now...
Posted April 09, 2015
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Lonewolf1044: [...]

I sure hope we get that 16 free DLC :)
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HypersomniacLive: Interesting that you should mention that, as I stumbled upon this piece here. While it confirms the 16 free DLC (also prominently mentioned on the TW3 official sales page), there's something that puzzles me:

The studio will release two downloadable content packs for free for the first seven or eight weeks after the game’s launch.
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HypersomniacLive: That sounds like there will be a fixed time period to get the first two DLC for free, which raises a number of questions:
- will they not be available at all afterwards,
- if yes, why;
- will they be available also later on, but not for free;
- if yes, why;
- will the rest follow the same release/ availability model.

Note that the date of the article is Apr 7, 2015, same as the announcement of the Expansion Pass pre-order.
That article is worded badly.
What it's meant to convey is that there are 16 pieces of free DLC coming out, and 2 pieces of DLC are being released each week, hence there will be free DLC coming out for the "first seven or eight weeks".
That's what it means, nothing else.
Posted April 09, 2015
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HypersomniacLive: That sounds like there will be a fixed time period to get the first two DLC for free, which raises a number of questions:
- will they not be available at all afterwards,
According to the official website's FAQ section for the 16 Free DLCs announcement:

Q: Do I have to pre-order to get the free DLCs?
A: No, each piece of content will be available for download regardless of you buying the game before or after launch on May 19th, 2015.
Post edited April 09, 2015 by stg83
Posted April 09, 2015
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stg83: According to the official website's FAQ section for the 16 Free DLCs:

Q: Do I have to pre-order to get the free DLCs?
A: No, each piece of content will be available for download regardless of you buying the game before or after launch on May 19th, 2015.
Sorry, don't follow - the mentioned time period is clearly set after the game's launch; what does pre-ordering, and the FAQ you've quoted, has to do with what the article mentions?
Posted April 09, 2015
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HypersomniacLive: Sorry, don't follow - the mentioned time period is clearly set after the game's launch; what does pre-ordering, and the FAQ you've quoted, has to do with what the article mentions?
I think it's just sloppy writing in the article. Reading the FAQ, the plan is to release 2 DLC per week, so for 16 total that would span 8 weeks following the game's launch.

Edit: whoops, already mentioned above...
Post edited April 09, 2015 by pablodusk
Posted April 09, 2015
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EnforcerSunWoo: GOG has 1000 games now! I know expansions, alt versions, etc. but the counter does say that it is at 1000. :P
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Maxvorstadt: Wrong, it has 998 games. At least in germany and that is what counts for me and all other germans!
Aside from the censorship of the Commandos games - which I dislike: I didn't allow you to speak for me

If I wanna, I CAN have all 1000 games here. Never heard of VPN? Well, then that's your private loss pal...
Be glad that you "only" have to go witthout these Commandos games and not plenty more...

PS: Did you get the irony in your post actually???
Posted April 09, 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.
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Dawnreader: Don't buy it then. What is problem ? Or CDPR oblige you to buy packs with base game?
Exactly. I don't buy. Which is what I was saying. Pre-order cancelled and I wait until these 'expansion packs' are added back to the 'base game' in form of some GOTY edition. No real problem there. I just find it sad, that GOG went this way. I used to like to support GOG and CDPR by pre-ordering, because they seemed less intent on milking every cent they could get from their customers. They were different from other producers/distributors. That changed. They are becoming indistinguishable from others and therefore will not get my support in the form of pre-orders any more. 'Problem' solved.
Posted April 09, 2015
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Maxvorstadt: Wrong, it has 998 games. At least in germany and that is what counts for me and all other germans!
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gamefood: Aside from the censorship of the Commandos games - which I dislike: I didn't allow you to speak for me

If I wanna, I CAN have all 1000 games here. Never heard of VPN? Well, then that's your private loss pal...
Be glad that you "only" have to go witthout these Commandos games and not plenty more...

PS: Did you get the irony in your post actually???
Well, I got the irony in yours! :-)
Posted April 09, 2015
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HypersomniacLive: Sorry, don't follow - the mentioned time period is clearly set after the game's launch; what does pre-ordering, and the FAQ you've quoted, has to do with what the article mentions?
I was actually just providing the official answer to "will they not be available at all afterwards". The article that you linked in the previous post is just conveying the same information that was announced in the official website news article for the 16 Free DLC since November 6, 2014. Here is another excerpt which confirms that the ibtimes article wording just wasn't clear enough regarding the release timeline of the free DLCs (as Salulu pointed out).

"Q: What’s the plan? When can I expect the DLCs to be released?

A: The plan is to release a new DLC bundle (each bundle contains two DLCs) on a weekly basis, following the game’s launch May 19th, 2015. The first DLC bundle will be released the next day on May 20th. The next bundle will be available for download a week after that, on May 27th, the next on June 3rd, and so on. The first bundle will contain the Temerian Armor Set and a Beard and Hairstyle Set for Geralt. The second bundle will contain an additional quest and an alternative look for one of the game’s main characters — Yennefer of Vengerberg."
Post edited April 09, 2015 by stg83
Posted April 09, 2015
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Davane: That said, were either Complete DOOM and Ultimate DOOM announced at the same time as the original DOOM?
Not to my knowledge. The DOOM add-ons are a case of mod work being sold for profit, whether it's a case of something promised to be free that it required payment (TNT: Evilution) or simply a "collect the wads from the internet and sell them" (Accessory packs).
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Community
General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)