It's been 4 years since the last major update of The Witcher 3 and while this update doesn't include a story expansion it does feature some fairly significant tweaks to both visuals and gameplay. To modernize Witcher 3 for the new consoles and the latest PC hardware the update will make the following changes when it drops next week:
- Improved visuals: Support for RTX, SSR, FSR 2.1 and DLSS 3 have been added to the engine and combined with improved models, textures and foliage giving the game a massive facelift.
- Ultra Plus Settings: For players with the beefiest rigs, there will be new options to add even more detail if your PC can handle it.
- Cross-Progression: As seen in Cyberpunk 2077, you'll be able to sync your progress across multiple devices more easily than ever before.
- New UI and control options: There will be configuration options out the wazoo in the update including a new "over-the-shoulder" camera angle, quick sign casting, filter options on the world map, subtitle font scaling and options to hide the minimap/objectives dynamically. You can also now pause the game while a cutscene is playing.
- Photo Mode: Screenarchers rejoice! You can now use a dedicated photo mode to bring your artistic visions to life. Don't forget to share your best screenshots in the image share.
- Integrated Mods: CDPR has collaborated with the authors of several popular mods to rework and optimise some of their more popular creations and integrate them into the base game - more on that later. There are also some extra mods made by CDPR's own developers built in too!
- Quest Fixes: What's an update without a few bug fixes? The update includes fixes to From Ofier's Distant Shores, the Wolf School gear questline and more. What's even better is that these fixes have been designed to be retroactive. Meaning if you have an old save with bugged quests, the fixes should work there too.
The Netflix-themed DLC content comes bundled with the game update and includes a new scavenger hunt-style quest that takes place inside The Devil's Pit in Velen. Completing the quest unlocks schematics for the Forgotten Wolven Gear, a new set of armour that looks like Henry Cavill's armour from Season 1 of the TV show. Mastercraft the armour set and it will change its appearance to look like the Season 2 set too.
Players can also toggle new appearances for Jaskier/Dandelion and the "wrinkly" Nilfaardian armour from the show with new options in the settings.
You can grab a copy of Witcher 3 GOTY Edition on GOG.com or if you're a mod author we also have a few copies available in the Donation Points store.
Modding the Next-Gen Update
With that out of the way, you're probably wondering "what does this mean for modding?". Well, in short, if you're currently playing through the game with mods, you should avoid updating until you're finished. This update has the potential to break some of your mods, especially script or character mods. CDPR have made an effort to test some of the most popular mods and you can see their compatibility results here. The good news is that the way mods are installed hasn't changed so once existing mods are updated they should be compatible again.
To that end, we've added two new tags for Witcher 3 "Next-Gen Update Compatible" and "Next-Gen Update Incompatible". You can help keep this information up to date by voting for the relevant tag on mods which do or do not work after the update. This option can be found underneath the images on a mod page.
As mentioned earlier, several existing mods have been integrated into the base game. CDPR have posted a statement about that (and other changes) on their forums.
We obtained permissions from their creators, reimbursed them, and they’ll be featured in the credits of the updated game. The mods were reworked and assets optimised as needed, and the game adjusted to run with them. There was even a case when a dev got so engrossed in tinkering when including a mod that he ended up simply remaking that particular aspect of the game. So, in a way, the game comes with some mods already included.
The mods that were included in or that gave inspiration to the update are:
- The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project by HalkHogan
- World Map Fixes by Terg500
- Nitpicker's Patch - Various Visual Fixes by chuckcash
- FCR3 - Immersion and Gameplay Tweaks by Andrzej Kwiatkowski
- HDMR - HD Monsters Reworked Mod by Denroth
- Immersive Real-time Cutscenes by teiji25
CDPR has said an updated version of the Official MODkit will be released for mod authors to help with adjusting their mods for the updated game. The WolvenKit tool will also receive an update in the new year - you can stay updated on the progress of the new release by tracking this ticket on GitHub.
Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get access to the build ahead of release so if Vortex requires any changes for the new version we'll do our best to get an update out before the holidays.
If you're playing Witcher 3 modded right now, we'd recommend making an effort to prevent the game from updating. If you have the game on GOG it's super easy but for Steam, Epic or Xbox you might have to get creative.
Will you be playing Witcher 3 once the Next-Gen update drops? Let us know your thoughts below.
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A moderator has closed this comment topic for the time beingCDPR has published the full changelog for the Next Gen Update: https://www.thewitcher.com/en/news/47105/next-gen-update-list-of-changes
On the other hand i really wanna experience the new content, ie, new quest, armor sets and weapons.
So my question is this: Is it going to be possible to mod the new content from next gen edition to classic edition of the game?
Everyone has been talking about the dilemma of upgrading to NGE as if rt and other visual upgrades are the only things added in NGE. Many people don't care about rt (modded game can look much better than NGE if done right imo) but the new content.
Every mod that has come out since next gen update has been for next gen edition only with a focus to bring popular classic mods to next gen. Instead can we not bring the new content to old 1.31 version of the game?
Sorry if it's a dumb question and if it just isn't possible for some reason that i don't know.
Thid this mod can be much more convenient than mods for loot, money, etc.
(link for old mod)
https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/2539
I guess people that are Happy about this update don't really mod their game too much.
My Experience is Horrible. I was playing a game I had been working on for a long time. Finally, everything was running smoothly. Hardly ever a CTD. I was actually enjoying the scenery and the seemingly built-in LOD. I'm usually so busy playing and hoping mods don't crash and hoping it's all working that I hardly ever take too much time to enjoy the surroundings. Almost every day I played I kept coming to the conclusion that this game was indeed a Masterpiece, no matter what little flaws were present. None of those bothered me anymore. Just seemed like part of the game after all these years. i don't know why devs forget that mods are the only thing that keeps these games playable for years and years after the Hype goes away. But I also hear people saying that CDPR really cares about modders. I'm still conflicted about that rumor.
Hearing about the Update I was very surprised that a GOTY game was being updated. Never heard of that before, Has that ever happened before? And when I saw Ray Tracing (The same Devil that screwed up mods for Resident Evil Remakes 2 & 3 which I had recently modded) I knew beyond a doubt that it would screw EVERYTHING up.
So, I proceeded to backup the game folder and Mods folder. Turned off Steam Auto-Update (well, you can only tell it to only update at launch) and also left it on "Never Allow Background Downloads". But stupid me, I didn't think to play OffLine.
Then, I'm playing my smooth modded game on Dec 13th. All of a sudden CTD....and there it was ...The Update from Hell Ruining all my Fun in moments. None of the precautions worked. They Got Me.!
Of coarse I immediately tried overwritng with my Backup files. Thought I was real smart. Failure guaranteed. Next, I roll back like they let you do with Resident Evil Remakes. Plenty of waiting. No go for Mods because while the game runs ver 1.32, you still get a bunch of extra files from Next Gen. The essential mod that rolls back 1.32 to 1.31 wouldn't work so NO MODS.
Next I remembered reading that GOG lets you roll back to older versions. But nobody mentioned that you can only go back one version. So I buy the game for a third time (I played it on Playstation first) to find out I can only get v 1.32. And wouldn't you know it? The rollback Mod was only made for Steam versions Exactly because GOG lets you rollback. Another Failure.
GoG has a way to download offline installers to play without someone watching over your shoulder. I saw that the last file was an update for 1.31 to 1.32. Ignorance told me if I didn't run it I would end up with V 1.31. No, No, No! You end up with 4.0 even offline and still a bunch of Next Gen files and that stinkin' pre-launcher. Another massive Failure and a waste of two days downloading useless files.
So, I'm back on Steam with rollback Classic 1.32. Trying to make it work but after all the prepping--rollback to 1.31.+ASi Loader +Mod Limit Adjuster +Community Patch +Load Order Config.....Launch Game, get CDPR Red Screen that checks Scripts. They seem to compile without errors. But then you launch the game again and nothing happens except thumb twiddling.
So I have no choice but to swallow the Shove-It-Down-Your-Throat-Forced Update and start modding the game from scratch. BUT, now there are no modding tutorials for 4.0 and a lot of the mods I use most likely won't be updated. So my only real choice is go play another game so I can cool off and just keep waiting for a 4.0 Modding Tutorial which I was searching for and ended up on this Page.
FREE Update you say? The cost is your Game out the window and there's no getting it back.. Wish they would have charged money then we'd be alright. Or learn from Bethesda (Skyrim or SSE) and offer a free W3 Remastered or Witcher 3 SSE free to game owners then sell it to next Gen Consoles which is really the ultimate goal here Don't you like the way they think everybody owns a next gen computer? I tried playing 4.0 at the beginning in Kaer Morhen and the frame rate went out the window. Awful stuttering and didn't really see anything looking better than what I had modded. On top of everything else, they force Integrated mods on me that I would NEVER use because modding is very personal and indidvidual. Also if I buy an old game I want the OLD Game not the next gen. I played Skyrim on PS3 and SSE on PS4. When I finally got a computer and started modding I chose Skyrim so I would Never fear Updates. I exclusively buy old games for modding for that very reason.
Have no use for God Rays or Ray Tracing or Photo Mode (have no idea how to shoot photos of any of my games) or mods forced on me. This is now a Different game and should have been sold as such. I feel like I lost my best friend or somebody died. Disappointed doesn't cover it.
If CDPR put out a Witcher 3 Game (NO NEXT GEN FILES) that only contained the Original version 1.31 and can actually be played on STEAM right now, I would pay again 50/60 dollars for it. Matter of fact, I would pay DOUBLE to get my game back.
Really feels like Death in the air. The fact that a Video Game can affect me this much is very concerning. Maybe I should quit Gaming out of fear of Addiction. I give UP!! Modding is Wonderful and Wicked simultaneously. Conundrum?
Some people spend thousands of hours to make a stable version of 100-200+ mods game, that is just broken here... and can't revert properly. It's like when Skyrim SE coming, I have to wait like 2 years before coming back to because mod community is still present, but here on TW3, the best mod will never see update anymore.. :'(
Sorry for my poor English, I'm not a native speaker. Hope it's helpful to you.