On 7/20/2022 at 5:44 PM, Enrico_sw said:

 

Oh yes, Madison looks like Anna!

 

As for Triss, I don't know. 

 

 

 

Triss, in the Witch Hunters quest really won me over when I experienced it for the second time.  She sealed the deal for me in the escape from Novigrad quest.  Basically CPDR gave her character growth over how she was in the novels.

 

(123) the Witcher 3- Triss' Fingernails Ripped Out (Let her suffer the torture) - YouTube

 

maybe Masha Novoselova?

 

woah:

 

 

Geralt in Elden Ring mod:

 

 

 

I think anyone who plays this game should not use summons.  It is equivalent to cheating.

 

Finished reviewing the main quests. 

 

Overall, there is one significant flaw with Elden Ring.  The art direction for the first 2/3rds of the areas is simply not as good as the final 1/3rd.  The final 1/3rd is about as good as Dark Souls 3 and also where the developers put the most work in.

 

Lingrave, and the early areas feel too empty and are missing immersion.  Also, from an art point of view there is often the feeling that they randomly placed assets together (items, backgrounds, enemies, etc.) and it doesn't make a cohesive whole.   A lot of the enemy placement is odd- the enemies don't give the impression that they are naturally part of the environment. This was the big problem with Dark Souls 2 but the next 3 FROMSOFT games did not have this problem.

Fallout TV show started filming, here are some props:

 

 

 

Vesemir's 'friend' can be met before or after the battle of Kaer Mohren.  Love this insight to his life:

 

Spoiler

 

 

This is the full walkthrough of the fan-made 'final act' of the Witcher-Geralt story.  Many fans got together and made this, and they were very serious about it.  The writing is very detailed and 'Farewell of the White wolf" definitely requires the player to at least have played Witcher 2/3 and read the books to fully understand it.     2 of the 3 endings are entirely book based (books 7 and 8).  The Mod uses the Witcher 2 engine and Witcher 1 music.  It looks like an effort to provide closure for many of the key characters in Witcher 1, 2 and 3.

 

This expansion is based on the unofficial Sapkowski short story "Something ends, Something begins".  The author has said that it is not canon but fans thought otherwise:

 

(137) Farewell Of The White Wolf [The Witcher 2 MOD] - YouTube

(137) The Witcher: Farewell of the White Wolf - Geralt and Yennefer's Wedding | Full Walkthrough - YouTube

(137) The Witcher: Farewell of the White Wolf - All 3 different Endings - YouTube

Spoiler

(137) Ciri's Romance with Hjalmar & Galahad + Children Years Later | Witcher: Farewell of the White Wolf - YouTube

How to get the three different endings of Farewell of the White Wolf - O Megascópio (omegascopio.com.br)

 

 

Before watching, the Ciri/Hjalmar option requires some creative writing to get it done.  Overall, the premise is weird.

 

In the W3 the two characters do not interact at all.  Hjalmar only says a bit to Geralt about Ciri in the W3, recalling events from the novels where they had a childhood crush (around 12-14 yrs old..).  Sapkowski writes Hjalmar as a kid, nothing special really.

 

Then in the CDPR Skellige storyline the adult Hjalmar is revealed to be a dilemma- likeable in some ways, and a complete jackass in others.  His King ending is a bad one, due to his mad lust for violent honor.

 

Gallahad, the other option is from the novels.  It is canon.  But the problem however is that Sapkowski gave him very little characterization outside of being an average Toussant-like knight.  He is supposed to be an empty vessel for the Reader to imagine.   In a way I see the CDPR knight from the Tourney quests to be a slightly perverse interpretation of this character. 

 

Neither characters are compelling romantic interests for Ciri.  It would take some serious fan fiction to make it seem right.

58 minutes ago, tomasmz said:

Are there any strategy lovers here? 

 

I like real time strategy games like Starcraft, Age of Empires, etc.  However the genre has fallen out of favor.  There was no starcraft 3.

@Enrico_sw  @SympathysSilhouette

 

I'm doing Farewell to the White Wolf and find that it is actually really well researched and written.  It is fanfiction that makes sense.  If you guys are interested about the probable fates of many of the characters from the games, the footage can be skimmed around.  

 

As I'm reading the subtitles in the characters' voices, I find myself reasonably immersed into what's going on.  They also made Kaer Morhen with the W2 engine as a main setting.

(140) Critique of The Witcher: Farewell of the White Wolf - Geralt and Yennefer's Wedding mod - YouTube

 

Interesting critique, and he catches a few small inconsistencies.  This mod was in the process of being made before the W3 so it made some errors by the time it released in 2020.

 

I really like how the mod includes the missing content from the games- Geralt's time with the Wild Hunt.

 

 

chatting up friends from Witcher 1, 2, 3, and from the books....after the wedding ceremony.  30:30 has a chat with Keira and Lambert, which is well written and an interesting interpretation of what their relationship would be like.

 

 

Wow. just wow.  They wrote the missing pre Witcher 1/3 post-novels questline with Yenn/Geralt being captured by the Wild Hunt, Yenn's trek with Letho, and Geralt as a prisoner of a Wild Hunt.  It is terrific and is really well made.  This was the only quest that was missing from the games. Instead CDPR just alluded to it with dialogue and pictures.

 

(146) Farewell Of The White Wolf Episode 11 : The Last Sacrifice - YouTube

(146) Farewell Of The White Wolf Episode 12 : Beauty & The Viper - YouTube

 

 

I really like the expanded role Dandelion gets in this expansion, which is consistent with his roles in the games and the books as Geralt's biographer. The bromance is real here.

 

I enjoyed the stag night, the whole thing is very fun.  Zoltan is one of Geralt's most underrated bros.  He was with him in all 3 games and always delivers good company.   

The mod ends at Corvo Bianco. 

 

A marvelous 3rd expansion to the game.  For me it is 95% canon, it's that good.  

 

I think all fans of the Witcher should watch this after they finish Blood and Wine.  It enriches the experience and gives full closure to all of it.  It is approx. 7 hours of additional story with gameplay sections for party activities and flashbacks.   The expansion starts up with a stag night, then a wedding day, and the day after- with flashbacks throughout.

 

The team that made this was truly passionate about the subject and put a lot of soul into this work.  The writing here is easily as good as some of CDPR's material and most of all, it makes sense.  Loose ends that remained after blood and wine are plugged here with more story.

 

 

This is the fan translation of "Something ends, Something begins", which is referenced at the end of W3 and is the inspiration behind this fan made expansion.  Sapkowski is on record for saying that it isn't canon and was made for fun but the short story reveals his ideas behind a Geralt-Yenn wedding.

 

Something Ends, Something Begins (unofficial translation) | Witcher Wiki | Fandom

In the book "Anatomy of a Story", the author writes that a truly great story leaves all pressing questions answered and all emotions fulfilled.  With blood and wine I felt this sense of satisfaction but there were some gaps that I would have liked filled.  This mod fills them.  In particular the missing Wild Hunt questline and the final, expanded interactions with Yenn/Geralt at Corvo Bianco are vital stuff that the W3 didn't have.

 

The 5% of content that I don't find necessarily canon are the 1. Hjalmar and Ciri Romance. 2. Galahad and Ciri Romance. 3. Eskel and Triss (it is either the beginning of a long term or short term romance.  

 

All 3 romances don't get much screentime but are poignant for the small amount of content allocated to them.  Obviously, given the great scope of the expansion the team didn't expand these areas to a degree that would be typical in the CDPR games.

 

To make the Hjalmar and Ciri work, the Hjalmar character has to be expanded much beyond his personality in W3, and the player must be convinced that adventures of Hjalmar and Ciri could really work.  This would literally require a big side quest to establish.  The same thing with Galahad.  His relationship with Ciri must have an entire big side quest too.  Both are missing from the expansion so both romances fall flat.

 

The Eskel and Triss romance (or hookup?) makes sense as far as Eskel is a nice, reasonable guy and Triss is a nice too.  However there is always the shadow of Geralt, it is obvious that Eskel is a number two despite Triss/Eskel living at Kaer Mohan for so long in the books and the games.  Eskel also does not have anywhere the depth of relationship that Geralt and Triss have together.    I can accept this as a hook-up or even a short-term romance but definitely not a long one.

 

This brings a final gap that the expansion doesn't address- a Triss and Geralt wedding option.  Ultimately the team that made this would have to double their work if they included both Ciri romances, and the Triss marriage for all the Triss fans, so they chose to do only the Yennefer option (book friendly lore).

 

 

(146) The Witcher: Farewell of the White Wolf - Geralt and Yennefer's Wedding | Full Walkthrough - YouTube

 

4:31 has good ending conversations and closures for several characters.

 

(146) All Endings of Geralt and Yennefer's Wedding - Farewell of the White Wolf (The Witcher Epilogue Mod) - YouTube

 

There are 3 main endings to the expansion.  To sum things up these endings are must-sees for all fans and are superior to the ones in the novels/blood and wine.

 

I struggle to choose a personal favorite.  I would probably lean towards Corvo Bianco as the one I would choose.  However the most emotional one for me is Season of Storms.  Malus Island is the more mysterious and intriguing one.

 

Season of Storms (based of the ending of the 8th novel)

Malus Island (based on the ending of the 7th novel)

Corvo Bianco (CDPR Blood and Wine ending)

Spoiler

 

The Corvo Bianco ending is essentially a new epilogue to Blood and Wine, more complete and detailed.  It is very satisfying as it includes much needed Yenn/Geralt revelations that were missing from the CDPR game.  The other parts will depend on whether the player approves of the new romances.

 

 

The Season of Storms ending is amazing and moving.  They rewrote the ending of the 8th novel and made it more complete.  I like this ending better than the original one in the books.  This ending effectively gives the combined Novels + game trilogy an alternative ending.  I think many people could have appreciated if this ending was in the CDPR game, as not everyone wants to settle down on an estate.

 

The Malus Ending is an expanded ending of the 7th novel.  It is also a vital visualization of what was previously only put down on paper.  CDPR had one drawing of it in Witcher 2.  I would call this 3rd ending a "Nirvana" ending.  It is very Buddhist.  True peace, and eternal happiness in the here and now with no pressing desires to do anything.  This ending is not for everyone but is a philosophically very interesting one.