@illegal_peanut: Oh interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

@guitarwarrior66: The characters actually look much better in the rest of Witcher 3 than in the early cut scenes. They are very generic in and have less "character" in the opening scenes.

Respectfully, I don't have the harsh assessment that you have for this. Especially when you say things like "their rubbish" for a game that has won dozens of awards and is one of my favorite games of all time.

From what I have read it can be VERY difficult to determine what final visuals they will be able to hit in 5 years, for any dev. I exect this is ESPECIALLY true when using their own engine. Things like improved graphic card drivers, how much optimization they will be able to do, and unforeseen complications (see Skyrim's ants problems). The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of money on a demo that actually looks worse than your final game. So I get that they err on the side of making it look a bit better than they may be able to hit.

And it is clear in this video that this will NOT be what the final game looks like. It is a promo video to sell the world, the storytelling. It is not game play.

I appreciate companies like CD Projekt Red that take great pains to say: This may not represent the final version. We just have to listen to that.

I have seen this type of change before many times. As one of many examples, look at the cut scenes at the very beginning of Witcher 3, where Geralt and Vezimier are scouting the area where Yennifer came into conflict with soldiers. All three character models are decidedly different than they are in the rest of the game. It's not ideal, a little immersion-breaking, but having worked on somewhat complicated projects (much less complicated than a AA or AAA video game) I can easily understand the many ways this might ave happened.

Oh sweet! Can’t wait to watch this! Love Johnathan and this series AND have always wanted to see devs respond AND I have great respect for the Hunt Showdown devs, that game is so well designed. Alas, can’t keep my eyes o-en, but look forward to watching tomorrow with coffee. Thank you!

Sad but understandable that this is the only planned DLC. Ah well, I’ll be grateful for it and look forward to jumping back in.

@tbird7586: agreed. This is just what I need to jump back in for a 3rd play through.

@joecollin: gotcha, thanks, that is super-useful info. I totally get what you mean re: the nonsensical and what a let down that can be. For me, I don’t need the series to be ultra realistic, but prefer at least a GTA level of seriousness realism. This goof ball stuff just doesn’t fit with the tone of far cry storylines. Totally conflicts with it. i enjoy goofball in saints row, for example, because it goes with the rest of the game’s elements.

So for me this seems more like a deep sale when I feel just like blowing stuff up for a bit.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, very helpful. (I think 5 was the worst far cry as well).

@off3nc3: Oh really? Cool! Well... now I have a decision! Lol! Thanks for the comment. I might just grab it on sale. Is it true that the storyline is not so good? Do you mostly like it because of the gameplay?