The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been running extremely great since the 1.06 patch, but Polish developer CD Projekt Red wants fans to have even a greater experience with the game. So a new patch is on its way, which will make a number of changes such as “various improvements” to horse behavior, the introduction of an item-stashing system, numerous bug fixes, and an “alternative movement response mode” for Geralt.

Patch 1.07 was announced earlier today and will most likely come out first for the Windows PC version of the game. Expect the full 1.07 patch notes to be released later this week.

In the meantime, check out some of the big changes coming below.

Witcher 3 1.07 Patch

– A new, alternative (optional) movement response mode for Geralt.
– A player stash for storing items, available in various locations throughout the game. Stash locations are marked on the player’s map.

– Crafting and alchemy components no longer add to the overall inventory weight.
– Books are now placed in a dedicated tab in the Inventory and books that have already been read are properly grayed out.

– Multiple sorting options are now available in the Inventory.
– Alchemy formulas and crafting diagrams can be “pinned,” meaning all components and ingredients required to make them will be conveniently marked in the Shop panel.

– Dozens of fixes for quest related issues, both major and minor.
– A few performance enhancements, including the optimization of FX, scenes, and general gameplay.
– Various improvements to horse behavior.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still pretty glitchy for Windows PC, and CD Projekt Red is hoping to fix bugs for most players in a new major update, which rolled out earlier today. The newest PC patch, version 1.04, will improve the texture rendering quality and fix various bugs (full patch notes right below).

For those running the RPG game on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, expect a patch to come this week at the earliest, which will address frame rate issues and more.

The Witcher 3 PC Patch 1.04

– Rebinding of all keys is now available after switching on the ‘Unlock Bindings’ option in the Options\Key Bindings submenu.
– Corrects an issue in the dialogue system that might have caused dialogue looping in certain scenes.
– Fixes an issue with incorrect behavior of Wild Hunt warriors after they were affected by the Axii Sign.
– Corrects a bug that caused spontaneous combustion of gas clouds.
– 1280 x 720 resolution is now properly displayed as a valid resolution option.
– Fixes boat stuttering in cutscenes.
– Texture rendering quality for the high and ultra presets has been improved.
– Further improvements made in Nvidia Hairworks performance.
– A few additional gwent cards are now available in the Prologue area.
– Fixes an issue where users with usernames incorporating non-Latin characters were unable to import saves from The Witcher 2.
– Includes a series of overall stability and performance improvements.
– Fixes issues related to alt + tabbing and minimizing the game window.
– Updates the game icon.
– Enlarges the loot pop-up window in the UI.
– Fixes an issue where, in certain circumstances, the comparison window could extend beyond the game borders in the UI.
– Upgrading items included in gear sets no longer destroys rune sockets on said items.
– Introduces small tweaks in the UI for gwent.
– Corrects some missing translations in localized versions.

In addition, the trailer also gives fans a taste of the game’s new story, which pretty much touches on religious matters, racism, and war crimes. Plus, a look at the deadly creatures Geralt will face throughout his journey in the massive world of Witcher 3.

So hunt down that play button and watch the trailer now! The Witcher 3 hits store shelves on May 19, 2015, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Since some of you are probably still pissed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt got delayed again (by four months!) we have a new update on the game’s playable characters that I’m sure will help you forgive the Poland-based developer.

Earlier this month, CD Projekt Red teased that Witcher 3 will feature a female playable character. Her name has been revealed as Ciri, a “powerful, living weapon capable of both healing and destroying the world she inhabits.” Ciri is an “exceptional” sword-fighter with several unique abilities that players can unlock throughout the open-world role-playing game.

However, she won’t be playable in the same way as Witcher 3’s main character, Geralt, according to CD Projekt Red:

Adding Ciri as a playable character unlocks quite a few narrative possibilities for the team, though while Ciri is a major character, she is not a playable character in the same way as Geralt. The game is still about him, his story, and how you, as the player, choose to face the choices and encounters in front of you.

You should also note that Ciri has some form of “mythical power” that will be discussed in depth by CD Projekt Red as we get closer to the release date, which is May 19, 2015, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Seven months after announcing a deadline for Witcher 3 and promising fans in March there will be no more delays, CD Projekt Red managed to drop another bomb again for the games official release date. According to the Polish-based developer, Witcher 3 has been delayed a second time with a new launch scheduled for May 19, 2015 over the previously announced February release.

It appears the studio needs more time to correct key features in Witcher 3.

The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected.

You should also know that CD Projekt Red responded in October to the rumor that the studio was entering crunch to finish the game on time, and that its public demonstrations were overly flattering.

If you have any doubts about Wild Hunt’s quality, have a look at the 35-minute gameplay video we published some time ago, or check out gamers’ reactions to our public previews at Gamescom, San Diego Comic Con, and E3 (it’s all public and available on the studio’s YouTube channel), and decide for yourself.

The full open letter to the fans on the delay from CD Projekt Red can be found right below.

Open Letter To Fans

Dear Gamers, May 19th, 2015.

Thank you for the all support you show us on a daily basis. We truly do appreciate it. It has fueled us in our passion since the start and will continue to do so.

The Killing Monsters trailer was directed by Tomek Bagiński for Platige Image. Tomek’s other works include The Witcher, The Witcher 2, and Cyberpunk 2077.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is due out in 2014 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Rock Hard \m/

E3 2013: Best Of The Best – Day 2

Today marks the second day for E3 2013, and the annual event proves once again to be just as fulfilling as the last one. Year after year, video game publishers and developers do their best to showcase an upcoming game without any flaws, but in most cases the product isn’t complete.

Unfortunately, bugs happen and unpredictable errors cause games to crash or freeze, as was the case during the Battlefield 4 presentation on the Xbox One and the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag live gameplay demo for the PS4. Those are the ones that stand out the most this years in terms of “biggest fail.”

However, the show must go on for the fans. Plus, there were tons of other games presented at E3 to look forward, like the ones we listed for day one of E3 2013. And now, we bring you the “best of the best” of day two:

Check them out!

The Evil Within

Gameplay Trailer

Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within, a game that embodies the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and next-generation consoles. It’s slated for release in 2014.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Gameplay Trailer

Taking place in 1960, Wolfenstein: The New Order depicts an alternate timeline — one in which the Nazis won World War II and took over the world… and only B.J. Blazkowicz can stand up to them.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Gameplay Trailer

Visari is gone, but the war is far from over. Helghast forces have mounted a devastating counter-attack, prompting the ISA evacuation of planet Helghan. As new Helghast battalions appear, armed with more powerful weapons, ISA forces find themselves outmanned, outgunned, and surrounded.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Debut Gameplay Trailer

The debut gameplay trailer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gives you an exclusive sneak peek into the vast and gritty world of Geralt of Rivia, the witcher. Experience a realm where morality is not a simple choice between good and evil and where every decision ripples through the 100 hours of gameplay that CD Projekt RED has handcrafted to meet the needs of the RPG fan.

Bayonetta 2

E3 Reveal Trailer

The trailer for the upcoming game in the Bayonetta series: Bayonetta 2 being revealed at E3 this year!

The Dark Sorcerer

PS4 Tech Demo

The set in The Dark Sorcerer is composed of about 1 million polygons. Each character contains just under 1 million polygons, 350MB of textures, and around 40 shaders. The demo uses Physically Based Shaders, volumetric lights, full HDR, Color Grading, Physical Lenses, and translucence to render skin. Changes in lighting are rendered in real time, including during the “special effects.”

Are you ready for some ninja, zombie, and Spartan action? Get your fill after the jump…

Witcher 3

Fans of The Witcher video game series need to rejoice today because a mysterious announcement is coming your way on February 5 from the developers. If you aren’t aware that rumors exist on another installment in the series, well CD Projekt Red just added fuel to the fire by revealing a new image on their website that depicts the hilt of Geralt’s sword, and you undoubtedly know this is the protagonist of The Witcher series.

CD Projekt Red added the following message:

“If you are wondering what’s that in that picture above – well, we’ll leave it for your imagination to answer.”

According to Gamespot, a secret message also appeared last week in the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer that hinted at Witcher 3, which briefly spoke about a “fully open-world game with an intense story.” Apparently the message appeared at the end of the trailer and was deciphered by Reddit users.

So, in less than three weeks, CD Projekt Red will shed light on their upcoming title, which will most likely be Witcher 3.

As my teenage years dawned, I, like most other gamers my age, developed my first virtual crush on a certain saucy British archeologist.

“Hey baby, nice polygons!”

Yes, Lady Lara Croft was for many of us our first taste of true gaming hotness. Sure, her breasts were slightly…triangular…not to mention in defiance of several laws of physics but it was the 90s! Gaming hardware simply wasn’t capable of pushing around the huge number of pixels required to truly create an epic babe. But burn today’s date into your cerebellum, my faithful readers, for today is the day that the software as finally evolved to the point where you can now stare at virtual boobies without shame! Unless your mother walks into the room, at which point I recommend smashing the CTRL ALT DEL keys with reckless abandon.

Ladies and Gentlemen…

Oh who am I kidding?

Guys!

Behold!

The Witcher 2: Assasin Of King’s Triss Merigold in Playboy Magazine! (Poland edition )

“Homina…homina…homina…”

I admit it. I have a slight redhead fetish. If by slight you mean I’m beholden to stay 50 feet away from them at all times, which is just good advice for dealing with me in any situation.

But I digress.

So I’m the perfect audience for this sort of thing. (Also, I’m perverted. Sue me.) But you can’t look at that cover and tell me that’s not one finely crafted piece of Assassin Of Kings up there. Yeah, ok, the emphasis here is on “crafted”, since she’s nothing but a collection of pixels. But oh, what buxom pixels they are. Now, in The Witcher 2, Triss is a fine heroine. She’s a strong woman, loyal to a fault and can throw a mean fireball. She’s got a clearly defined personality and you’d be foolish to treat her as an object of… HOLY CRAP LOOK AT THIS SHOT!

Fine. I’m a pig. Hoink hoink! But if you can’t treat a virtual female as an object, what’s the point? She IS an object. An object with bountiful tracks of land who is apparently not afraid to wear a fetching one-piece outfit to bed: a knife. She’s the result of a programmer sitting down at his PC and having a whole lotta fun with polygons and dreaming up his ideal woman. Then taking her clothes off. We’ve all been there. Hell, that’s practically the whole plot of 1985’s Weird Science.

So enjoy Triss Merigold for what she is, folks: a truly stunning, virtual woman.

Who probably still won’t give you the time of day…

Unless there’s a cheat code for that.

The Matt,

 

•