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CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

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Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#31

Post by serf »

4pkjai wrote: post #6

I don't know why, this makes me a bit sad. You can sort of feel a game engine when you're playing a game. The GTA trilogy lost a lot when they did their remastering project with a different engine. Although I'm sure it can be done well. StarCraft remastered was done really well, but I believe they built on top of their existing engine.

>don't know why, this makes me a bit sad. You can sort of feel a game engine when you're playing a game.

absolutely. whenever a friend is playing anything with specific shader/specular/lighting styles I always yell "Unity!" while watching him. I'm generally dead-on accurate with those guesses. It's definetly not coincidence at this point; there is some default behavior or lighting gimmick I can generally always cue in on with regards to Unity. I think it's their style of specular lighting glow that gets painted onto way too many things by most creators.

I don't use the engine myself, so I can't tell you exactly what it is I hone in on, but I can for most titles.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#32

Post by entropicdrifter »

verst wrote: post #14
dragontamer wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who played a few hours of the 1st Witcher Game... Good. No one seems to care about Witcher 1's engine, because it was hot garbage. Any engine (even an off-the-shelf one like Unreal5) will be grossly superior to the trash that the original game was. This remake can have slow, barely workable controls and pretty bad graphics and still be far better than the original game. They really just need the Witcher 1…

I played the Witcher 1 when it came out and thought it was a brilliant game. I haven't tried going back to it ever. It felt quite polished to me then. I'm curious what people feel isn't approachable for today's audiences. Is is merely that we are used to different visuals now? What are these engine issues in Witcher 1 you speak of? As a player I did not notice them back in the day.

Not the person you're replying to, but the original Witcher felt fine to me too, but I'm a lifelong PC gamer and the interface/controls reminded me of older PC-only CRPGs like Summoner or even Neverwinter Nights. I love those games, but in terms of their control schemes they do feel clunky compared to the more visceral controller-optimized and streamlined Action RPG controls of The Witcher 2 and 3.

In other words, the first Witcher game is in more of a niche genre with significantly less mainstream appeal in terms of gameplay and UI.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#33

Post by giobox »

Tade0 wrote: post #21

> Now we know that it's a ground-up remake of the game that introduced Geralt of Rivia to Witcher fans outside of Poland. I was always of the impression that it was Witcher III that achieved this. I'm Polish so I genuinely don't know. Were the previous two installments popular outside of Poland?

Witcher 1 not so much, but Witcher 2 had a pretty good 360 port that a lot of people played in the West, and PC version did well too - across all platforms 1.7 million copies sold by 2012, another article I saw suggests 8 million by 2014.

I think thats getting towards very roughly ~1/4 the success of Witcher 3, volume wise. Not bad, considering Witcher 3 volume includes a portable Switch release.

> https://www.eurogamer.net/the-witcher-2-sales-top-1-7-millio...

etc.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#36

Post by moron4hire »

wiseowise wrote: post #15
wilg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GTA remaster issues were hardly due to the engine. People over-focus on the engine. I wouldn't worry about this.

The graphics look plastic. Is it not because of an engine? Serious question.

I don't know of any engines that dictate material properties. There are some where the default settings on the default materials are questionable coughUnity3Dcough. But a big studio game shouldn't/wouldn't be using the defaults on just about anything.

One of the biggest things indie game developers can do to not look like an indie game is to stop using the default settings on the default materials. Not necessarily even using custom materials. Just don't use the default settings.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#37

Post by cardanome »

dragontamer wrote: post #9
4pkjai wrote: post #6

I don't know why, this makes me a bit sad. You can sort of feel a game engine when you're playing a game. The GTA trilogy lost a lot when they did their remastering project with a different engine. Although I'm sure it can be done well. StarCraft remastered was done really well, but I believe they built on top of their existing engine.

As someone who played a few hours of the 1st Witcher Game... Good. No one seems to care about Witcher 1's engine, because it was hot garbage. Any engine (even an off-the-shelf one like Unreal5) will be grossly superior to the trash that the original game was. This remake can have slow, barely workable controls and pretty bad graphics and still be far better than the original game. They really just need the Witcher 1…

My first attempt didn't go well either but I am glad I gave it a second chance. Once it starts winning you over, it is really good.

The fighting system is pretty old-school but once you get used to it, it is quite fun. It is very authentic to how Geralt is fighting in the Witcher books. It is simply more about rhythm and tactics than one might be used to.

Just because Witcher 1 is kind of hard to recommend for a casual gamer in 2022, does not mean it is garbage. It is just different. It has more of a niche appeal.

I am absolutely glad I got to play the original and some of its charm are the things are probably going to be modernized away in the remake.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#38

Post by haolez »

I've played Witcher I a lot and it's really fun, but I gave up on finishing it after I got stuck in a quest where I was in a cave fighting an infinite horde of enemies (with infinite respawn) and nothing happened no matter how many of them I killed.

I hope they fix these kinds of glitches as well.

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#39

Post by Woeps »

Tade0 wrote: post #21

> Now we know that it's a ground-up remake of the game that introduced Geralt of Rivia to Witcher fans outside of Poland. I was always of the impression that it was Witcher III that achieved this. I'm Polish so I genuinely don't know. Were the previous two installments popular outside of Poland?

The first game was rough but very enjoyable, And I actually liked the second one a lot as well. (even have the special edition with the coin/maps/booklets and all that jazz)

Still haven't finished the main story of the third game tough...

Re: CD Projekt is remaking the first Witcher game in Unreal Engine 5

#40

Post by exeldapp »

wiseowise wrote: post #15
wilg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GTA remaster issues were hardly due to the engine. People over-focus on the engine. I wouldn't worry about this.

The graphics look plastic. Is it not because of an engine? Serious question.

I would say yes and no. Yes, obviously the renderer is there but at the same time it's only doing what it was told to do. Taking Unity and Unreal as examples, you can make something look plastic, cartoony, realistic, a mixture, or really anything you want. Usually there will be art director(s) (or a someone with a similar title) that make sure the art/graphics stick with a certain look and feel so I would put the blame more on them than the engine.
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