Cut Quests I Never Knew Existed: Boat Races in the Witcher 3

[@mersey1693]

Hi xletalis, Mersey here. Thanks for covering the boat races. To answer your question in the video, there is no clear indication of what CDPR's original plans were. We recovered only the script and the entities for the race track, so we esentially knew how the dialogues should go and how to set up the flaming buoys. Everything else was recreated from scratch based on the dialogue script. I agree with you about the racing part, unfortunately it's a little boring which might've even been the reason why CPDR got rid of this idea in the first place. Making the actual races to the point where they are now was incredibly difficult and we had to face many technical issues, as boats were not really meant to be raced, that part was never finished by CDPR. Hands down the most interesting thing while working on the mod was to uncover the story and characters, which also was the main reason why we tackled this. We think it fits well within the game and there's some interesting lore stuff that you already covered. A shame it was all cut out.

[@AnmolKumar-bi7wp]

Great Work Mersey

[@Daniel-im6ox]

Very nice

[@Elvis.D99]

legend

[@Lazy-connection]

Soo, the mentions of storms in skellige.. Is this somehow connected to the rough sea you can spot in one of the first trailers? The one where Vesemir talks about witchers being "the ultimate killing machine" Or maybe it was the debut trailer from 2014

[@declanmorden]

Were the Geralt voice lines hidden in the game's files or was AI used? (really hoping it is the former and not the latter)

[@jcksparrowfan]

"Always wanted to be a philosopher" is the most Book Geralt line XDXDXD

[@xLetalis]

indeed :)

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

The era of Witcher 3 moding will be wonderful.

[@saladinbob]

As we've seen from games that support modding, it increases their lifespan considerable, even infinitely if you look at the undying Skyrim.

[@xZFeroxZx]

I mean... Can you call it an era when console players (a big part of the player base) have nothing of it except for videos to look at?

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

@@xZFeroxZx I have it on PC so not my problem.

[@xZFeroxZx]

@@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658 yeah Okey calm down keyboard warrior...

[@Watcherobot]

Yeah but there will always be some modder who says "I'm going to make some wierd shit"

[@xLetalis]

Was away from home for a bit, but I'm back :)

[@Anomalyresearchlabs]

Got a question, I’ve seen if you abandon yennifer during the last wish, but what you abandon triss (and djikstra) midway through now or never?

[@DC9V]

Welcome back!

[@markstott6689]

Welcome home 😊❤😊

[@xLetalis]

@@Anomalyresearchlabs I think I've shown that in one of my Details about Triss videos, the 2nd one I think.

[@Anomalyresearchlabs]

@@xLetalis I looked but didn’t find it, also I mean if you outright run away at the docks or on the way to the kingfisher not if you you will leave.

[@The_Caledonian]

It's quite nice. Imagine being a voice actor in a game only for all your lines to be cut. Thank god for modders restoring content I say.

[@piotrporwo6176]

I think they wanted to add rowing mechanics - the race name "regatta" and Geralt's words about muscle strength and tendons - that would be more useful for rowing than sailing. This would allow you to use stamina and overtake your opponent.

[@xLetalis]

makes sense!

[@CrutchCricket]

A sailing race is still called a regatta. Technically a regatta is a series of boat races, could be rowing, sailing or even motorized in the modern day.

[@K-Nyne]

Just watch the Olympics to see how much muscle sailing requires. I'd say at least as much as rowing

[@eldibs]

I like how you mentioned horse races and fistfights as side activites, but not Gwent, because Gwent isn't a side activity. It's the main activity.

[@MissSimsalot]

Yeah he could also have mentioned the side quest about finding Ciri. But everbody knows gwent is the main quest in this game.

[@xLetalis]

indeed!

[@h4nv]

Exactly!

[@toomanyhobbies116]

"Hey Witcher, don't look down, but your dingy's hangin out" is the the sole reason they SHOULD have included these quests 🤣

[@xLetalis]

Exactly :D

[@grelopsgops2383]

We gettin Years of xLetalis content with the REDkit release xD

[@Ben-311]

Still the greatest game of my lifetime in my opinion that I’m almost 50

[@markstott6689]

I agree, and I am 56. 😊❤😊

[@Octoberisms]

@@markstott6689I also agree , master mirror made me immortal 🎉

[@markstott6689]

@@Octoberisms 😂😂😂

[@saladinbob]

Would have been funny if in the epilogue it said Novigrad's independence was decided by Geralt's boat race result. No pressure Geralt.

[@xLetalis]

[@karl-dimitriosherler5405]

I think with not huge effort , CDPR could release an extra DLC and have commercial success

[@josebrito3248]

as they should to be honest

[@navarro4043]

I'm really glad CDPR released the REDkit for this game, it's an absolute goldmine for stuff like this and other cut content

[@richtea615]

This game is like a pocket universe.

[@RubenKelevra]

5:42 Master Yossarin is a gwent card trader found in the city of Novigrad, specifically in the vicinity of Hierarch Square

[@Beatrixacs300]

Me, sitting at home, reading Blood of Elves while listening to The Witcher 3 soundtrack and xLetalis comes and drops a new vid... The world is healing 😊

[@heiker1351]

I would love it if the witcher would be able to heal the world. Nice thought. Hope never dies ....

[@xLetalis]

Remember the part where Eskel turns into a Leshen? :)

[@petrsvoboda1895]

@@xLetalis is that you Gaunter

[@heiker1351]

@@petrsvoboda1895 🤣🤣🤣

[@heiker1351]

@@xLetalis Healing the world? Entangle the hissing rich would be a good start I think. 😎

[@regis6669]

As a little addon, It would have been nice if some of the characters commented on the fact that Geralt basically became an "student", especially Dandelion. I can imagine the way he would piss off Geralt would be pretty hilarious.

[@arthemis_vallado]

I absolutely LOVED this quest. The way it intertwines with political and cultural events in the world, and adds a wide array of interesting dialogues and insights. I especially like the idea of Oxenfurt student race - I too feel like the academics weren't really "exploited" in the game; moreover Geralt's philosophical lines are gold. Such a shame regattas were not implemented in the end. I started to wonder why CDPR decided to leave them - since this quest seems to be perfectly synced with the ongoing circumstances and the plot? Maybe they thought that just sailing would not be attractive for gamers, and lacked the time and resources to develop obstacles, "boat stamina" etc, to add the spice. Anyways, thank You for another wonderful video!

[@xLetalis]

well said, and ty :)

[@Jerald_radanian]

Your videos are the best expansion to the game ❤

[@sellingCiriasajob]

I am really looking forward to whatever the modders are cooking, ty u guys. And xletalis too ofc 🥰

[@CoconutChriss]

I must say, I also really like the conversation with the Oxenfurt scholar and the quotes from the "Witchers are monsters" book - whos knows how many quests with awesome dialogues such as this got cut ... but I guess we will soon know thanks to the modders.

[@jcksparrowfan]

Honestly, I want a mod that lets us get inside the Academy itself. With rows upon rows of bookshelves and long tables.

[@theXdestroia]

The king of witcher is back! Nice to see new vids again!

[@deadlyydude5522]

this is awesome!! crazy how much effort went into this and it still ended up being cut. big shoutout to the modders for restoring this stuff

[@grokashrimp]

Welcome back and thank you

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@diyeana]

This is so cool! I'm excited for someone to fix the races. I'll happily play. Thanks for covering this. I found it very interesting.

[@Chocoboy_James]

These little golden treasures of deleted content are amazing to see! Thank you so much for covering this! I am now hoping there's someday something about Blood and Wine. Keep up the good work Letalis! Love your Witcher content!

[@Perdita25]

There is a mod that aims to make sailing realistic in the game - you control the speed of the boat by changing sails position, the speed of the boat depends on the force and direction of the wind, you can't sail directly against wind and so on. I wonder what would be the interaction with this one. It could make the races very interesting if it turns out that this mod affects both Geralt and the opponent.

[@williamwallace4080]

I guess I know what i'll be doing for a few weeks during the holidays

[@markstott6689]

Your videos are never boring. In fact, I'd say a new Xletalis video is a highlight of the week in which they were released. The boat racing would have been a nice addition if CDPR had finished working on it. The horse races especially became a little repetitive. So did the fist fighting until you reached Skellige. Then, it became rather wild. The best part of Redkit is that it's giving you new topics to cover. I do hope that more unfinished business is found for you to play with. If you get bored, you could try starting a brand new game from Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine. In effect, doing the main game last. Unless, of course, I've forgotten that you have already done that? The wait for Witcher 4 is still a long one, and the wait for the Witcher 1 remake is even further out. I'm still expecting nothing before 2027 in that department. Having said that, if it's sooner, I'll be giddier than a drunken kipper. In the meantime, I'll try to be good and do a few hundred more hours with Geralt.

[@xLetalis]

Thank you :)

[@markstott6689]

@@xLetalis You're welcome as always.

[@Lafuerza_V]

Can’t be worse than the horse racing, could actually be fun

[@xLetalis]

yeah, horse racing ain't that great ;]

[@makenaiyomi1083]

@@xLetalisThe final horse race bugs sometimes since the new console update. One time when I finished the race, it loaded forever (like several minutes) and then the game crushed and one time I kinda glitched through the map after reaching the goal.

[@wildhunt6350]

@@makenaiyomi1083Crashed not crushed :D you have crush on someone but you CRASH into a car :D there is a difference.

[@makenaiyomi1083]

@@wildhunt6350 I'm aware but it was around 3 am so I didn't notice.

[@egcm3]

​@@makenaiyomi1083That happened to me as well. Maybe is a ps4 bug idk, after some tries i completed the mission

[@ronsalimi5631]

This was super interesting! It's so cool to see the hidden layers of the game like that. Kinda like a witcher archeologist 😅

[@dask0bii]

Dude, I realy enjoy your videos. Good job

[@xLetalis]

happy to hear :)

[@MrCoolAttitude]

Bless redkit for bringing so much more new content for Witcher 3.

[@wearsjorge55]

I love the way the academy dialogue is written. Im so used to ubisoft style sandboxes where everyone is basically the same

[@Kyriakos095]

Damn this game would be even more epic than it is already... and with the whole modding it will be even more worth playing

[@MrAndreferrari]

Hey y’all. Thank you for the Contant. I’m always amazed how this game can keep giving. I would have loved to see all these cut content.

[@robertlane1195]

Cool video. I've wondered for years why there weren't boat races, why you couldn't OWN a boat, why you couldn't trick out a boat with custom equipment like you do Roach, etc. Interesting to know that the race part at least was something they had planned.

[@nerdoutreachprogram5358]

First time I’ve ever heard “Novigradders” lol

[@xLetalis]

indeed

[@Watcherobot]

That thumbnail😂 Has Geralt ever... You know... With a mermaid? This is a genuine question

[@Elvis.D99]

Not really. But a Mermaid got into a romantic relationship with some randon king in the Sword of Destiny so I'm not entirely sure how that works

[@westrim]

There was the Lady of the Lake in Witcher 1, if you want to cast a wide net,

[@TheGirlChris]

​@@westrim Casting a wide net is a good way to catch a mermaid

[@agent3269]

It’s notable that the Oxenfurt races are referred to as the Oxenfurt races because for most of development that Oxenfurt was White Bridge; which is why Oxenfurt doesn’t really resemble Ocenfurt from the books apart from the slapped on academy. Thus, we can assume the races were still being worked on as late as when they changed White Bridge to Oxenfurt.

[@HaiseSasaki-p2u]

I love you and your Witcher videos xLetalis

[@tomasz7950]

Great video as always

[@genesisosuna]

New xletalis video let's go

[@elc2k385]

Thank you for another well made video.

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@landismithCOJ]

I'd love the boat race segment. A Witcher 3 Director's Cut would be beautiful. Thank you, xLetalis.

[@christophermzdenek]

looking forward to this getting expanded!

[@glassfish777]

Yeah the actual sailing mechanics were never really developed for anything beyond basic exploration. The bonfire gates you see in the mod were marked as placeholders by CDPR. For technical reasons we are quite limited on what we can do with sailing because the NPC sailing AI was built for the 2 quests were Yen and Lambert control the boat for you and not for racing. It's a miracle we got a basic race out of it. CDPR did have much bigger plans for sailing including boat builders who you could talk to buy new boats and upgrades.

[@xLetalis]

You guys did well all things considered :) And boat builders would've been a great addition

[@mata308]

Yesterday i watched almost half of your playlist, just for the nostalgia of w\3. Seems like it worked somehow. Hats off to you, sir.

[@xLetalis]

Thanks for watching

[@CamilleChauTempsDesCerises]

Wake up babe, there's a new xLetalis' video about cut content in The Witcher 3

[@Faikitty]

I love the detail that the two departments that stayed after Oxenfurt was shut down were the medics and the philosophers. The medics likely the safest of the bunch, given Radovid would need a steady supply of people to treat wounded shoulders... And the philosophers probably one of the most endangered but being the right people to know that if freedom can only be obtained by running for your life, it isn't truly freedom.

[@dramonmaster222]

The Witcher Detective is at it again.

[@jasondetilly5647]

Really interesting stuff! Love how the conversations expand on the lore. Things like that and world-building are some of the reasons I fell in love with The Witcher world. Thank you for showing that to us!

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@arpansaha5638]

I wish CDPR made the boat races officially part of witcher 3. The dialogues are really cool

[@xLetalis]

indeed

[@primalspongebob6144]

Shame, I feel like joining the oxenfurt academy could lead to a funny little interaction with Shani during the quest with shakeslock.

[@WFASPigeonGang]

The regata is a traditional competition in Venice that still takes place every year. The "Regata Storica" takes place every year and basically consists on a race made by many differently sized galeas and the prizes are divided based on the ship classes. One of the most spectacular aspects of nowdays Venice.

[@Synthia17]

Remember how one of the early trailers had a siren waving at Geralt? And not like the screeching, flying bitches but a Sh'eenaz kinda siren. Can't wait for modders to find that one somewhere in the files!

[@xLetalis]

Hah indeed :)

[@jcorbett9620]

It may be of inport, it also may not, but Yossarian (rather than Yossarin - maybe an intentional miss-spelling to avoid copyright) is the main character and protagonist of the novel "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. Not sure what the link (if any) is between the idea of the character being named as such, but it's such an unusual name that it made me think of the novel straight away.

[@markstott6689]

I knew it rang a bell, although I might not have ever remembered where it came from. It must be 25+ years since I read Catch 22. More since I last saw the film. 😊❤😊

[@warlordofbritannia]

Live forever or die trying!

[@انا_ابراهيم_البناوي]

I think it would have been a nice addition to the game

[@saltydog9321]

wonder why they cut it

[@JTS1128]

The Legend is back.

[@DaveyBadass876]

from the bottom of my heart thank you modders!!!

[@bernardvc5820]

just in time for a witcher fix before vacation. thanks :)

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@charlottexx2638]

I‘m looking forward to the next videos in this series 😁 I hope there will be more quest we didn‘t know existed!

[@Philipp2968]

That boat races are very unexpected but very interesting too, or at least the dialogue around it. But I understand why CDPR left the boat races out of the game eventually... But Oh someone put a Witcher 1 soundtrack behind the Oxenfurt race. I am not sure about the first line of Iver of Kaer Trolde, but I am quite sure that I often heard at least a very similar line to the second line, after Yen destroys the garden of Freya, from regular NPCs but mostly from priestesses and very religious folk I think. And it’s also very interesting that the first Witcher game was supposed to play around the earlier books initially. I just learned about that in your videos recently. I wonder (and maybe even hope) if or what changes they will make, now that they can, to make it line up better with the second and third game to bring this great story even closer to perfection. And good to have you back again and you sound better. I hope you doing well.

[@darko-man8549]

Cool. Another piece of content another life may have blessed us with

[@SamButler22]

Geralt is absolutely a philosopher

[@bepstein111]

Not boring at all! thanks for more witcher content!

[@montblanc6982]

Nice Dialogue for additional Worldbuilding, but rather lackluster Mechanics from the Looks of it. Understandable that this didn't make the Cut. But given the last Time, now im curious if the restored voiced Dialogue was already dubbed.

[@mikael_Engstrom]

I would honestly love to see a video (or video series) of all cut content from The Witcher 3. Not sure if you've done a video like that already and I've just missed it

[@wape14]

Can't wait to see what other cut content gets restored with the new tools.

[@cstains5543]

Wouldn't be surprised if they cut it because they didn't want to put a huge amount of time in developing a different sailing system just for the handful of boat races and the basic boat races were pretty unentertaining.

[@Atomicjedi]

Enrolling in Oxenfurt, and then actually walking around in there, following courses and getting all sorts of quests... Also expanding the map north and eastwards, with more quest areas and new things to discover. please CDPR, make it a DLC! I'm willing to pay for it!!! I've got more than 1000 hours in this game! Imagine having Dandilion there!!! And perhaps Dijkstra

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

These side quests were needed

[@tiagorodrigues515]

I don't know much about game development, but I'm curious: why leave the cut content (and so much of it) there? Wouldn't it make more sense to try to keep the game files as light as possible, for optimization and to avoid performance issues? Or does it make no difference at all? Or did the devs leave it there on purpose, already anticipating that modders might do something with that stuff? I'm obviously not complaining at all, and I'm glad they left there, but it would be cool to know why.

[@xLetalis]

that's a good question, it seems they may have purposefully put some left-over stuff with the release of the redkit

[@LeutnantJoker]

Speaking as a former game dev: yes you want to keep files small bit.. cleaning out all unneeded stuff when you're already struggling to release on time is just a hassle. And you always run the risk of deleting something that is used for something else you forgot about,accidentally breaking something. And files are loaded on demand, so the only thing impacted is installation size, which is minor for mainly script content. So better to leave it in, save the time and not break anything

[@mandboat]

Redkit - the gift that keeps on giving.

[@Faikitty]

Irrelevant to the point, I know, but I feel the need to share since you played the clip... If I need cheering up, I run to Lugos and ask why they call him madman. I bust out laughing every time I hear that scream.

[@diim9867]

The game was really planned to be endless) An undisputed masterpiece. The Mona Lisa from the world of games.

[@juhaaavalaakso455]

Ah gonna make some coffee with this.

[@ingydegmar2060]

Bit of Aard in those sails should help.

[@xLetalis]

indeed :D

[@AnmolKumar-bi7wp]

Wow Boat races, they could have easily added them in Toussaint as it would have been Unique. Also, the monotonous nature could have been easily altered by adding enemy such as harpy and story elements (like your opponents getting attacked by harpies and you choosing to save them or not). The boat race could also take you around Beauclair adding upon its Beauty. Nonetheless, good video hope to see more Cut Content!!!

[@gaborkallai2112]

Nice video!

[@xLetalis]

Yeah, now that you mentioned it I do recall that it was another studio, but as you say, most of them are supposedly ex-Witcher devs :)

[@kenshin304]

I am going to play this again, have a save in Blood and wine on new game plus and will struggle a bit but will play again. Just love this game so much i never forgot about it when I played two years ago. Nothing else touches how IMMIERSIVE and well done this game is. Polish is an understatement.

[@yudhapratama1300]

I always love your videos! Please keep it up. Anyway, I've just found a new conversation with the Ealdorman of Downwarren. I've found it while doing the whispering hillock quest, agreed to help the spirit, and while I'm collecting the raven feather, I go to the Downwarren and speak to the Ealdorman. You'll argue with him about which is better, the crones or the tree spirit. You can choose a few interesting convo lines too, regarding the argument with him.

[@Lui-td6kb]

Sea and rivers monsters are needed in this game. I mean something what can only fight in water and it's powerfull. In books we have a lot monsters like this. Ichtyovorax bumbleri (w St. Cinerea) or Amphipoda. Imagine yourself quest before race in river in which you must kill one of this monster...

[@_MaZTeR_]

Oh boy fighting that octopus monster from Witcher 2 again

[@Lui-td6kb]

@@_MaZTeR_ Maybe, Kejran was good, but fight with Kejran was on land nor in Water or sea or not on boats.

[@moatezmoussi9751]

The legend is here

[@preyscalling]

Don’t know if you’ve covered this in a witcher 3 details missed video but just in case. Right outside of the cave where you find wolf school gauntlets(enhanced) and hunt the forktail with Eskel you can find what looks like a picnic spot with bread, cheese, table wear and some other things. Not sure of it’s meaning but perhaps someone else can figure it out

[@xLetalis]

I think I can remember the place but I haven't brought it up specifically

[@preyscalling]

@@xLetalis You’re actually the first KZbinr to comment back on one of my comments. Keep up the amazing content😁👍

[@makenaiyomi1083]

That's kinda cool but I already see myself getting annoyed by the boat's physic and cursing when I lost to do all of it again XD

[@dmytro_berbets]

Imagine being able to create mods and ALSO generate voice lines with AI for them... Omg I am excited

[@CoolGuyJ84]

Gotta say, this is a really cool find. Here's hoping the modders can make the races more interesting, and I'm curious as to what else the RedKit can restore.

[@yairsofer8933]

Vivaldi was changed after B&W? I thought they changed his model after Hearts of Stone came out for the heist quest where you spend alot of time with him, but you probably know better than me lol (I ONLY have 1300 hours on Witcher while I know you have more than 3000 at this point so I bow before you sensei). Also I find it interesting that Whoreson is sponsoring Novigrad when we know he is actively helping Radovid take the city but maybe I am looking too much into it. Also I wonder if Dandelion had any extra dialogue if you actually do become a student of the academy (Shani almost certainly doesn't because this was scrapped before the game released) anyways great video can't wait to see what else people dig out or even what story mods they create that would be interesting to see. I also have to say that incredibly sarcastic delivery of the "Lovely Tradition" line at 20:21 made me choke of laughter it was impeccable damn Doug Cockle is so iconic I honestly do not see anyone else as Geralt but him (and of course the iconic look CDPR gave him in Witcher 3 which should not change AT ALL for the Witcher 1 remake because Witcher 3 main characters have the most realistic looking faces I have seen in a video game they look like real people and changing them would be like switching actors which we know from the Witcher show always goes very well) Also as a small sidenote as a Jewish man I could never help but notice the similarities between the Blood Libels and the Pogroms against Jews that happened from 1880s all the way to the 1950s and the Witcher's universe "monstrum or a portrayal of witchers" and the pogrom of Kaer Morhen. I personally had my family affected from these in the Farhud in Iraq where 3 of my grandma's uncles were killed alongside almost 1000 Jews, as well as my father's grandfather in Tunisia was murdered by a lynch mob, which is why The Witcher and the treatment of them in the world always felt personal to me which is one of the many reasons I love it so much.

[@Tomcat_Centauri]

CDPR releasing the RedKit ensuring xLetalis still has content to talk about for the next decade 😆 My hopes is that Modders will manage to dig as much as they can about the Catriona-Nilfgaard-Iorveth arc that was completely removed from the Game and patch together something. To each their own, i know, but personally i'm bummed that we get to see so little of the Nilfgaardians when they're supposed to play such a large role in the overall Franchise, but especially in The Witcher 3.

[@Liangjq-h4s]

After playing The Witcher 3 in 2020, I recently started reading the original novel, which is also great.

[@ThePariahDark]

Yes, Geralt was quite the philosopher ... but then CDProjekt decided to lean more heavily into MURICAN-ization. Thus Geralt went from gaunt to muscular, from philosopher to superhero ... and born was TW3 Geralt.

[@Setnja92]

Oh, you don't know master Yossarin? He is the maker of the green soap!

[@xLetalis]

[@warlordofbritannia]

The boats feel a bit…slippery, so I understand why they were cut, especially with horse racing already in the game.

[@jerearema]

Hey Xletalis. I found a curious detail from beginning of the game, where you go to the Inn at the crossroads. When you drink and talk to the Innkeep the barons men come in. then you have three options, two good one bad. (good if you dont kill them, and bad if you kill) If you choose good option, and after the cutscene interact with the barons men sitting in the table they attack you once you interact with them enough.

[@xLetalis]

I'll give it a try

[@daniel-swimmin]

maybe they planed to use rowing boats but had no time to make the models for it, that would make it interesting as stamina would matter and maybe you could upgrade your boat or parts of it

[@xLetalis]

that is an interesting idea

[@edi9892]

If I had to implement the boat race, I would let you choose different sail configurations, which have different properties: Speed, time to adjust, degree the boat tilts (can capsize!), and obviously preference for a wind direction.

[@TheMbangel]

I’m glad the boat races were cut. I hate riding the boats, especially in Skellige.

[@xLetalis]

[@YABBAHEY1]

Always wished they had sail trimming & directional wind influence on speed. As it is you go the same speed whether your luffing or not. Tacking up wind would've probably been tedious for most but I would've appreciated the 'immersive-ness'. I usually leave the majority of ocean treasure hunting to the end so I can relax & just enjoy sailing & the scenery. If you repetitively double tap the "go" key/button while simultaneously holding it down, you pick up speed quickly & end up planing on the surface. Also jerking the tiller for short course corrections shifts the sail to the opposite tack for better vision. If you want to keep at sea for any length of time, jump out & swim to treasure spots before 75' & crossbow the creatures under water. The green temp map marker will give a count down when placed over ? marks. I can take or leave the racing in the Witcher but a cross the entire map horse race would be cool