So I figured out one of the weird things that has been stopping me from enjoying this game and maaaaybe someone here has had this issue in the past. It's probably not Witcher 3 specific.

The game has a constant stutter at about 1 second intervals. It doesn't seem to do it while standing still, although it would be hard to tell, and it's most noticeable while riding the horse around or just walking I guess.

I don't know what it is or what's causing it. 4.4Ghz CPU, a 980, 8GB of ram. I've dropped the graphics down to High and tried with V-Sync on and off. Still does it. My best guess at this point is it has to do with loading in stuff and thus, hard drive or something. I can't think of any solutions other than wiping my HDD and starting clean just to see but I don't want to do that. Norton does a regular disk defrag I guess so I can't do that. Perhaps Norton itself is causing it, as it seems to be at the same "tick" rate as like other stuff happening on the PC. I tried turning Norton off but I don't think I can completely. Also have newest drivers.

Any ideas?

@seikenfreak: What hard drive are you running?

I've got the game on an SSD and haven't noticed any hitching like that. If it's a mechanical drive, maybe time for a defrag?

man now i want to play as ciri all the time. dat dodge move.

@dave_tacitus: Just some standard WD or Seagate HDD. 7200 rpm probably. I mentioned the Norton software I have apparently does regular disk defrags. I just went through the Norton settings and turned off anything that seemed to run in the background as maintenance and doesn't seem to have made a difference. Or at least I don't notice it.

SSD is on my future purchase list.

@seikenfreak: I've no idea how good Norton's defrag stuff is. Maybe try one of the standalone programs like Ultradefrag (my favourite currently), MyDefrag or Defraggler. All freeware.

Are you running onboard sound or a separate soundcard?

EDIT - You could also try disabling Norton completely when playing.

@tennmuerti: Maybe he just looks a bit weaker, because he'd come on some hard times. Having to constantly flee can be draining.

But yeah, don't like his look much either.

@nardak: I think the combat is extremely clunky. It's not because there a lack of option but simply because it does not feel good to use them.

Geralt always take some time to react, which doesn't make for a very responsive experience. Often my hits don't land when I felt like they should and sometimes they when I felt like they shouldn't. The roll make you go too far for a counter-attack, but the dash is useless against swipe attacks or enemies with bigger reach. Also, I don't know how the game choose how much distance Geralt will cover in his attack animation, but sometime he would hit just right in front of an opponent, missing it, while he could've just used an attack with a longer reach with no problems.

I know they were going for methodical combat but I don't think they nail it at all. I just finished Dark Souls for the first time and while the animations are super slow in this game, I always felt in control of what I was doing.

Then again, I think the movement in general in the game is extremely poor and count me as one that hate the momentum of Geralt. I love the rest of the game, so I'm still happy with it. Sorry if I've been overly negative hehe :)

Out of curiosity Ten.... who was it? Feel free to side IM it. I am concerned cause I don't think the import fully works correctly. The game has already implied I was friends with someone from a path I didn't even take in Witcher 2 so I literally never met them in my save.

Only contact I have had with a character I DID meet was... all these hilarious postings on notice boards about Odrin.

@fear_the_booboo: I know exactly what you mean by Geralt not choosing the right animation at times, it feels especially jarring when coming from something as precise as the Souls games.

I felt the same way about the combat in Witcher 2. Never got past the prologue for that very reason until like 2 weeks ago when I finally committed to it. Once I got used to the flow of combat and learned to not expect it to be like Dark Souls, it actually became a lot of fun. And therefore I didn't feel at all uncomfortable now with Witcher 3.

I totally understand how frustrating this combat system can be, but I think if you give it time and try not to expect it to be something else, it'll grow on you. At least that's how it was for me.

@karkarov: It was Letho. There was a full side quest involved, pretty neat one too.

His character model is kinda bad however nowhere near as good looking as in W2, or compared to other characters in W3, was really surprised by that, considering how much work and craft was paid to even the basic of side quest characters in W3. It's a weird outlier.

So far I have noticed quite a few references to the decision made in Witcher 2 actually and am not that far into the game. One other example being the choice to help Triss vs. Saskia at the end of 2 which results in slaughter of Loch Muine and mass witch hunts if Triss doesn't testify, both noted in lore books and characters mentioning such events when relevant and affecting their quest lines (recursing the plagued tower on the island). Another one being Radovid battling king Henselt between 2 and 3 since I did not kill Henselt in 2.

@loafsmooch: I'm 10 hours in and as I said I'm enjoying the rest of the game a lot! So for sure I'm gonna stick with it :).

I have never finished the Witcher 2. I've stopped playing it after 10 hours or so, which might explain why I'm not used to the combat.

Maybe it'll grow on me. Worst case scenario it doesn't and I still enjoy the game for its other aspects.

I'm only 5 hours in, enjoying the game a ton for the quests and world, but dear lord is it a mechanical mess with some obvious flaws. Movement is clunky and unresponsive, combat is likewise unresponsive and cumbersome, targeting things to pick up is annoying as hell, the UI/menus are fairly bad with unreadable text on my TV, and the minimap is often useless to the point where you have to go in and out of the pause map to find anything of distance.

Nothing gamebreaking (except for the UI/menu text), and it probably suffers coming after a Souls game as opposed to the even clunkier Dragon Age which is a more direct comparison. Mainly annoying because most of those things seem to have fairly obvious fixes and it all takes me out of what otherwise is a great experience and amazing world when I have to go into a menu three times to find something on the map or spend half a minute finding the precise angle I need to target something. And that's ignoring the technical flaws, which I have less an issue with but do crop up.

Great game with a lot in there that is well made, but very rough.

I find it crazy that aside from targeting loot boxes/corpses being a tad annoying, I am not having any of those problems. On a side note, I don't consider opening the world map an annoyance, I enjoy it personally.

I don't want to sound rude but perhaps you should watch some gameplay videos of how to fight, because I literally feel a rush of excitement every time the next fight happens, the combat is too good, sharp like the end of a dagger, "responsive" would be one of the first words that come to my mind.

Then again I'm playing with a mouse and keyboard on a monitor, so IMO we're not playing the same game per-se.

Am I the only one who thinks that Novigrad's scope is a bit ridiculous? Took me over 3 hours to run through the whole city, checking for sidequests and open houses, where something or someone of interest might be (and I'm bound to have missed a ton of stuff still).

I also have no idea just where Triss is supposed to live exactly. "Somewhere in The Bits" isn't saying much, honestly.

Man the narrative, the quests, the voice work, the animations, the choices - everything story focused in this game is just fantastic!

I keep getting impressed time and time again.

Can't remember the last time a game enthralled me to this degree. Finally found myself in a convenient position to hop in a boat and subsequently sailed around just in awe of the world, and I'm nowhere near max settings. It's a sign of good art direction if the game can be stunning on just about any settings (Well maybe not low, but any rig meeting the minimum system requirements should run above that, it seems). I won't be upgrading my rig anytime soon, but when I do this will be the game I come back to. Combat feels responsive and satisfying (although I can see how some might think the opposite). There's something lovely about using well-timed dodges to maneuver through a group of badies while chopping them down.

It's not all sunshine and roses, naturally. The movement controls definitely have their quirks, and sometimes can be frustrating. It's quite similar to a game like GTA where the character's momentum will often have you running into objects repeatedly when trying to navigate tight quarters (the price of having natural looking movement, I suppose). Horse combat is neat I suppose, but the fact that I have to hold "A" to canter and need to use another face button to attack is sub-optimal. It would feel better if you could attack using the triggers on horseback since you can't cast signs then anyway. Mounted combat will always feel wonky to me, hell, the only game that it feels good in is the Mount and Blade series.

Not sure I how I feel about having to repair my equipment, but that's largely because I prefer to stay out in the wilderness for as long as possible. I guess it makes sense that I'd have to occasionally head back to civilization for supplies. Also not sure how I feel about potions restocking when I meditate. In theory it encourages less inventory clutter and hoarding as you won't have to hang on to ingredients, but that would require me to actually take inventory of my . . . inventory. Also, the nights are super bright, although I'm assuming that's because you play a witcher and have sweet cat eyes. Interiors can get nice an dark, however, and I do love using torches in caves/dungeons.

Also, the beard growth is awesome. It's such a tiny, insignificant feature and yet it adds so much. But yeah, I love this game.

I've put about 15 hours into the game thus far, but one thing has been bugging me.
So you've got all these regions, like White Orchard, Velen, Novigrad etc. But there's also the world map. Am i right in thinking that you can't directly explore the world outside of the regions? I'm not saying that the game is small (seeing how big the regions actually are), but shouldn't an open world game have a single, big open area, instead of several ,er, smaller ones?
That said, i love... well, pretty much everything thus far. The combat - the best the series has seen, the alchemy, the story... i felt really sad for the Bloody Baron - especially thanks to the guy who did the voicework for him in the Polish version.

I kinda doubt that this will be the a GOTY, though. Can't properly articulate why, but i just have this feeling that it won't.

Yeah, the UI is a direct result of playing it on a TV from what I've heard. But it's practically enough to make me stop playing until they fix it because the text is so hard to read. And like I said the combat might be more of a result of coming from Bloodborne than anything else. It just doesn't feel as fluid, even if it's better than basic hack and slash like Elder Scrolls. I'm sure I'll get more used to it. And the movement in general is more what I have a problem with. It's filled with open-world issues of terrain, combined with the weird momentum of starting and stopping running and the targeting issues it makes for a lot of unneeded frustration and lack of control.

And looking at the map isn't a problem, it's more having to look at it several times to find any one object of interest since the minimap is so tiny and lacks pointers to nearby points of interest. It doesn't feel well-designed for exploration in the same way Skyrim did, where you can just take off and check out the question marks on the edge of your minimap and get lost for an hour without having to constantly go into menus.

So I got through this dungeon which belonged to a mage. Apparently he had filled it with poison made out of cheese. At the end I got some loot and Geralt, the pun master, truly shows what he's capable of..

"If this sword is as deadly as Aeramas' cheeses, it's worth taking. Maybe I'll name it... The Emmentaler."

Too bad no one was around to hear it.

Yeah well... Spoilers!

It seems like if you went Roche's path, ESPECIALLY if you gave Anais to Natalis, you are basically screwed on your witcher 2 import as Temeria is basically wiped out before the game even starts. The only mentions I got to past games is Redania is a lot stronger now because Henselt WAS dead so Kaedwen put up almost no fight at all and Natalis is in hiding. I killed Letho so.... yeah! Roche and Iorveth haven't heard a word and get a bad feeling they may not show up at all. Both of them are still alive in my import though. Same with Sile, she is alive... "somewhere". It would be nice to run into Lady LaValette since in my game she went to Nilfgaards protection but I don't see it happening.

Anyone having any trouble with the PS4 version causing their disc drive to constantly rev up? I'm guessing it's installing something in the background, but the damn thing is chugging.

@karkarov:i went iorveth/triss in 2 and it was basically the same end result. They told me Aedirn put no resistance whatsoever up (which made me doubt if i actually let Stennis live or i just misremembered), Radovid made a surprise attack on Kaedwen, Henselt was killed and his troops united with the army of Redania, Temeria had no authority figure so they fell easily and were divided between Redania and Nilfgaard.

I didn't kill Letho and he showed up for a quest, although differing from @tennmuerti I still find his model still well done and quite menacing

T_T waiting for the game to get delivered today

I'm liking everything you're writing :D Can't wait for my copy.

Also, does anyone know which feels more responsive on a PC? KB+M or a X360 controller?

Man this is the first time in any game where im listening and exploring all the dialog, reading everything i come across, just paying attention to it all unlike other RPGs of this kind where i just didnt care about anything that was going on (grhmm Skyrim). I only just fought the griffin but im finding everything about this game amazing.

Addicted to this game, loving it.

Menus are pretty much made for the controller. You can also check out here http://www.giantbomb.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/3030-41484/forums/pc-version-to-wasd-or-not-to-wasd-that-is-the-ques-1772099/#30

After having put in way too much running around doing non-story stuff in this game I just came to a strange realization, this game is the AC game people have been aching for. It's been compared to a lot of games, and fallen short of many of them, but when compared to AC it's actually strikingly fitting and superior in almost every way. It's basically the game Ubisoft should've been aiming for instead of doubling down on their existing flawed systems.

Ah thanks! I had actually read that thread but somehow forgot about it :P Thanks for reminding me

Edit: Now I see that I'd even posted on that thread. Silly me -_-'

Pun master with a straight face.

Broken Flowers is one of the best quests in any RPG ever from a pure story/humour perspective. Geralt's reaction to the cross-dressing elf is priceless as is the picture of Dandelion slaying a wyvern, or the horse poetry by one of the women.

The song by the bardess(?) about Geralt's love life is also great.

Just fought a lvl 26 katakan for a bounty in a tiny space (Oxenfurd Drunk contract) ... at lvl 12. Holy shit that fight was exhilarating when I finally beat him!

So uuuuh anyone remember drinking that potion for a couple of scientist dudes in Flotsam in W2, the ones that ask you to keep a diary?

I just discovered their notes in the disbanded university, and it's um interesting what they are trying to do, hmmmm. Really interesting, here's hoping they succeed :P

Sometimes the dialogue options can throw you for a surprise. At one point I clicked "That's none of your concern." and Geralt is all like "That's none of your fucking business! Fuck ya mother too." I'm like "woah, that's not the tone I was going for!". RIP everyone in this random bar. Didn't mean to start a fight.

Having a tough time getting into the game, it feels too...much. If the combat and general movement was snappier and more enjoyable, I'd be happy to wander around the 500000 gazillion square miles going after side quests. As it is, it's just kinda frustrating. I love the writing and I want to see all the quests, but there's no way of telling which of them are worth the effort.

I was wondering if that would pop up. I am still busy mucking about, I haven't even finished the Velen quests yet and I am already level 11 cause I keep doing POI's and side quests like all of Kiera Metz extra stuff. Maybe one day I will get into the Oxenfurt college!

*My best Vaas voice* Did I ever tell you the definition of a sequel? Behold:

The discussion worth of my post: Hey, you can wear simple clothes and un-equip some or all of your gear while exploring the world on Roach's back! And you can do it wearing Geralt's original white shirt! Video games.

Just noticed that one of the quests failed for me, without any indication as to why and when. It's the one about a lady who's chicken got stolen, so beware, you might have to do that one immediately.

Anyone else notice some timed quests? Really hate shit like that, since I don't want to miss out on anything. (I know it's impossible for one playthrough anyway, but still.)

@sessh: There is a timed second part to one of the monster bounties, but in a positive way, dude asks you to come back in a week for double gold if you let him pay later.

Not timed quests per se but if you run into a caged person and you don't do it IMMEDIATELY when you come back they might be dead or gone sold into slavery or something.

Cross Dresser Surprise was pretty funny.

There are plenty of quests which depend on time in different ways. You just gotta pay attention to what quests you actually pick up. I find it refreshing. I've never had a problem with having too many timed quests at once though.

Is anybody else having troubles finding the red basic mutagen? I got tons of green and blue, but only 2 reds dropped for me. I have more red wyvern mutagen than the basic ones :(

Dude totally!

12 pm Friday - "Well it's the weekend I'll cram in some Witcher 3 before sleep."

"Shit why is it light outside" - Saturday 6 am :(

Hehe, it's been the exacting same for me these past 2 days, same time even. Looks out the window, "holy shit it's light out."

Still haven't gotten around to getting draconoid or insectoid oil. Hasn't been too much of an issue without them but I would like to find out where the recipes are

Oh man just one more quest and I'll go to sleep. I really want to finish tracking this wyv... is that a bird chirping... oh no not again.

Love this game. It's something special.

@tennmuertin Okay, good to know, but that's something good at least.

@karkarov Yeah, which isn't stupid at all, considering you can run into enemies a hell of a lot of levels above you.

@loafsmooch I don't mind timed quests at all (e.g. I'm a huge Dead Rising fan.), but I want to know if a quest is timed or not. 90% of the time in this game you actually do get a note in the questlog, when something is actually timed, but apparently there are a few were you don't get notified and that just sucks. How would you ever know what quest to prioritize if things are so "random" like that.

I hope it's not just because it's all new and exciting, but this game has been fantastic. I think they made smart changes to the various systems in the game. Now that I have a better understanding of the expanded alchemy and crafting systems, I think they're very well-designed; the character progression too. I'm also glad I was wrong about the combat; it has substantially improved from the previous game. There's more emphasis on positioning, and the blocking and parrying is more useful now that it doesn't consume stamina. The world has a lot of personality and I like that the consequences of your choices are underscored. However, now that I'm past the smaller prologue area, I'm experiencing more slowdowns, which is a real shame.