I add mods manually, merging scripts if needed. I don't use many of them so it's not a big deal for me.

What mods have you used? It was easy with 'smaller' mods, but some of them have in-game menus and the like, or need to alter a settings file, so then it is a more involved process. The mod manager does all of that automatically, so I found it was better (well, once I got the darn thing running properly, that is). A mod like FriendlyHUD for example has in-game settings for what part of the HUD you want to remove or alter. At least for some of the mods like that, it's required to add a shortkey to one of the settings file, or other small bits of code.

Not started playing yet, but this is the lot I set up in the dark hours of yesterday.


Here is an example of FriendlyHUD options.



Not played around with it yet, so many options. Generally I kinda like having a HUD up, but it does perhaps impact immersion. Though if the minimap is removed entirely, I'll probably have no idea how to get anywhere :D

I only have a Nvidia 770 card, so it's possible performance takes a hit from some of these mods, but we'll see. I want to try it out.

Here are my mods:

* Friendly Meditation
* Han Fiber fix
* More quickslots
* No Talk icon
* Sensible Map borders (I contributed a fix for this mod for the author)
* Thaler fix

I just merged what's needed manually. But yeah, if you get a lot of mods its starts getting tedious.

Last edited by Shmerl on 13 June 2021 at 8:05 pm UTC

Quoting: The_Aquabatno I did not do Blood and Wine, though, I bought it. Took me a good 70hours to finish the main story plus the Hearts and Stone, it's Ok for now, but might come back later.

Blood and Wine is very good, so give it a try.

This will probably sound dumb, but have you guys always seen the videos in the opening section of the game?

After starting anew with these new mods, I suddenly get a video of Yennefer and the skull we find early in the game dropping to the ground. Never seen it before.

During the Ciri at Kaer Morhen section, there is also a video of her going over a wall to fetch something, Geralt checking out a dummy, and then the Wild Hunt showing up. Never seen that one either.

It always did feel like something was missing, based on conversations in that early stage of the game, but I'm dumbfounded as to why I've never seen those bits before.

I've seen all the other bits. The game always opened with Geralt in the tub and so forth. But these two sections... nope, never

You mean the main intro? I've always seen it. Possibly some older versions of Wine had broken video for you?

Haha, I can't see that video because YouTube are idiots now. Need to sign in. Don't have an account.

Anyway, I've seen most of the video that is probably shown there, but apparently not everything. I was rather shocked by it, and now I wonder if there can be more I haven't seen. I started playing the game quite late, but probably around when you did (or after tbh) so I would think Wine versions at that point had everything working well, but hard to know for sure. That section with Yennefer, the flaming arrows and such I hadn't seen before, nor the part where the Wild Hunt shows up in Kaer Morhen. Geralt refers to it in the coversation with Vesemir, but I hadn't seen it. That's why that conversation always felt a little odd to me, like something was missing.

Quite excited to start up another playthrough. I'm using a mod that prevents most of the quick travel, which I hope will increase immersion. It's allowed when crossing regions, but probably only from a few select signposts.

Finally managed to set up this HUD business too. It was a little complex, but I got it now. For example, when hitting M you get the overview map, but if you HOLD in M for half a second or so, the minimap shows up. Release the button again, and the minimap disappears. And the mod have these crafty 3D markers when using Witcher senses, to help with orientation without the minimap (which can ofc be on all the time, but I've turned it off here). Should mean I can play most of the time with just about all HUD elements off. The health bar should show up when combat initiates, but I've not gotten to combat yet to check.

It doesn't show in these pictures because I don't have any bombs or potions yet, but it is also possible to get easier access to move potions and suchlike with this mod. Which looks fairly similar to what the "More slots" (or some such name) mod does. Picture 3 through 5 shows it in the mod's page. I'm really impressed so far, and can't wait to get into the thick of it.







As an aside, a few of the fixes that you put in your game, shmerl, are also part of the Besserwisser patch. I noticed Han fix is there, and also the Thaler monocle. I haven't played with that one before, so it should be interesting when I find Thaler :) Tons of other small fixes in that mod too, like graphical clippings, see-through clothes and so on.

Last edited by Pangaea on 14 June 2021 at 5:47 pm UTC

Wanted to make an update about the new playthrough, because it almost feels like a new game, with a totally clean screen unless I'm in combat. I'm exploring more and enjoying the scenery more. Means White Orchard took maybe 10 hours, but I rather enjoyed it :) Ghost Mode on B&BB difficulty is also much more difficult than vanilla, probably more so than vanilla DM too. Enemies are a bit more clever. I've genuinely struggled with groups of drowners, wolves and nekkers, and died several times.

I also highly recommend trying out Preparations + Friendly Meditation mods. The game now is much more similar to the first Witcher, where you made all the potions and oils you used (instead of refilling everything with a single piece of alcohol, which the game throws at you). Combined with the new loot tables and better itemisation of Ghost Mode (it has nothing to do with ghosts, but the author's nickname is Wasteland_Ghost, or wghost81), the economy is much tighter. I've been hovering on 0 crowns, and frequently buying Dwarven spirits or the ingredients to make it (yes, we can make alcohol now, and some food types). That is required to make more potions, and especially Swallow is going down more often than I'd like. It's been a hoot, and I'm loving it.

Now I'm off to talk to the twat, and then into the giant area of Novigrad and so forth. Will be very interesting to see how it pans out there, without any quick travel. I did adjust the weight limits, because with swords and armour weighing considerably more, 60 kgs is nothing. And I'm honestly not interested in playing Inventory Management: The Game. 50% weight and a little more carry capacity on Geralt + Roach, and it has been reasonable so far. Probably won't be in Wandering in the Dark, because Roach won't be available and Geralt can barely pick up a drowner tongue without overloading :-/

I heartily recommend trying out these mods, especially if you have played through the game once or twice, and found the difficulty too easy (at least once you get 5-7 levels under your belt). The short of it is that I feel much more immersion to the world, as if I'm truly in it, and not just controlling some guy that is going from mark to mark while mostly looking at the mini-map. It has been a considerably more fun experience

The main annoyance so far has been that Roach is a complete and utter idiot. Both when I'm trying to navigate the world, and when I'm waiting for Roach to show up, and he (she?) constantly get stuck behind a fence, or half-way through a building.

Last edited by Pangaea on 16 June 2021 at 3:55 pm UTC

Not your typical "clear skies" nature shot, but I still like it. Gives a nice mood, and has many layers.




The Crones. Some details and foreshadowing here that I hadn't noticed before. Good to spend a bit more time wandering around :)



(but please don't ignite Geralt's butt)

Last edited by Pangaea on 22 June 2021 at 8:31 pm UTC

July 9th.
https://www.witchercon.com/en

But sadly...

Spoiler, click me

no new Witcher game will be announced :(