The Original Story and Endings of the Witcher 3 from 2012 (A Time of Sword and Axe)

[@glassfish777]

Thank for making a fantastic video and including me in your video development process! It was a pleasure to collaborate with you once again. I know this was the hardest video you've ever had to make and you got through with pretty much everything on point. Of course not every single detail could be included and some things had to excluded from the video or else it could've been 10 hours long! I'll add any clarifying notes here but I'd recommend that anyone wishing to know more download our document linked in the description(which includes a Part 3 document preview!). Prologue: - My opinion: I think the opening scene with Yen giving Geralt a "massage" in the tub is a bit more sexual than my collaborator Crygreg interprets it. I only say that since the rest of this version of the story seems to have the sex cranked up to 11. - I'm like 99% sure that the drinking minigame they had planned here was actually the precursor to gwent. We have all the scripts, animations, and models for it and it appears to be a game that involved something call "drinking cards" that the player could collect and customize decks for. Sounds familiar. Restoring it would be a major undertaking since it depends on an ancient UI system that has long since been removed from the game's native code. - You had to get boat in order to sail to the griffen's lair in the ruins on an island. As Letalis mentioned swimming was limited by a "swimming stamina" stat so Geralt had to find a lot of boats. Fun fact, this swimming stamina stat is still being tracked by the final game in the background but doesn't actually affect anything and the HUD element for it has been removed. The Killer Whale potions actually still boosts it. - There are references to Gors Velen in the dialogue with Emhyr and Yen. It was intended to be the major city featured in the game instead of Novigrad during the pre-production stages but was changed to Novigrad by this point in development. Act 1: - The Hendrick dialogue despite being long is actually pretty cool and I like him as a character. I wish he was alive in the final game. - We don't think Geralt actually enters Velen at Hanged Man's Tree. That scene was added in 2013. - The pre-2014 version of the Baron portrayed him as a character with two sides: The warlord and the failed father. The post-2014 version of him seen in the final game was rewritten to exclusively focus on the failed father side. The Baron "blood debt" quests that were cut fleshed out the warlord side of the Baron showing his men as fisstech addicted rapists and thugs causing problems for people in Velen. While they may have slowed down the pacing a lot, they could have easily worked as side quests in the final game. - The scenes with the Baron and Geralt performing the ritual to transform the Botchling into a Lubberkin are 100% the same as the final game. The dialogue was word for word unchanged from 2012. It was clear they knew they had something special with this and wanted it to be their flagship questline. - Keira's 1st house was actually built into the side of a rock and had golem guarding it like a fairytale witch's house. Definitely not conspicuous at all. - The cave that Geralt and Keira explore is both a salt mine and an elven necropolis. Not surprising at all since salt is used to preserve the dead. It actually had some interesting features inside like an underground river, unique architecture, and some more puzzles to solve in addition to the Vyyper fight. - Apparently something very unusual happens at the end of Geralt's first encounter with the Crones that terrifies Geralt from ever wanting to return there until later in the game. Unfortunately, we don't know what this is. - The brothel Geralt talks to Corrine at is the Passiflora. - Roche had a house in Novigrad rich district and it's still there in the final game. You can enter it too. It's the one house that you can enter but isn't used for anything. - Bart was probably changed to a Troll from a Cyclopes as the dialogue camera angles for a Cyclopes would have been weird. - There was a mechanic where Geralt could buy property and invest in businesses in Novigrad. - Gnomes were an actual race you could encounter in the general Novigrad population and several characters were indeed gnomes. Gnomes and Halflings both co-existed at this stage of development. Later in development all Gnomes were changed into Halflings for unknown reasons. Several halflings in the game still have the voicetag GNOME. - Skellige's map is completely different in 2012. The island called Undvik in the final game is actually called Ard Hugtand in this version as Letalis mentions. However, there is a seperate island that no longer exists in the final game that is called Undvik. This is island the Thralls live on that Yen teleports Geralt to. Faroe was also located north of Ard Skellige instead of southeast and everything was much bigger and farther apart. Please see the downloadable map for more details. - The Nereids and Mermaids were probably changed to the Sirens and Echidnas - The Faroe section at the start seems unnecessary but honestly Faroe serves no main quest purpose in the final game so I don't mind it. - My Opinion: I actually like Becca over Cerys. I understand and respect the other opinion and think its perfectly valid too. However, making her one of the Skellige ruler choices over Ceyrs actually gives the choice of Skellige's ruler some weight and you really feel it's effects in Act 3 where Kaer Trolde is completely under siege if Becca is on the throne. In contrast, Hjalmar helps Skellige fight back against Nilfgaard but is a terrible ruler in all other areas. In the final game, the obvious choice is Cerys and there is no impactful downside to picking her that's seen in game. Pawel Sasko himself admits in his GDC 2023 talk that they screwed up the Cerys vs Hjalmar choice and an overwhelming number of players picked Ceyrs. Could there have been a better way to fix it without Becca? Maybe but based on what CDPR developed I prefer Becca. - The Ice Giant quest was the first quest CDPR developed for the game. It really shows as they were really experimenting with nonlinear gameplay. The Ard Hugtand/Undvik map is definitely built in a more Witcher 2 style. - If you choose to fight the Hym it actually transforms into Yen, Triss, and Ciri during the fight to torment Geralt with some interesting dialogue. - The Thralls quest serves a similar purpose to Witcher 1's Act 4. Idk if it was executed as well though. - In order to find a cure for Uma Geralt had to find a book in the Kaer Morhen library that described his curse. This involved a book sorting minigame. - The cure for Uma requires restoring his mind, body, and soul. These correspond to the Honey of Heroes, Dudu showing Uma his true form, and Forfather's Eve recall his lost soul

[@glassfish777]

Act 2: - The interactions with Yen during Act 2 Skellige were very unclear to our team. They may not have happened if she came to Kaer Morhen and Geralt forgave her there but we are not sure. - Haalkatla makes here second appearance after/if Geralt chains Yen to the bed. - q207(the Velen Raid) is really underdeveloped/unfinished - Geralt actually follow Ermion to An Skellie and find Nithral's body being kept in the Temple of Leib-Olmai which has a massive underground network of caves. - The teleports(Menhirs) to the top of Vigur Hill are actually on Ard Skellig. Getting to the top of the mountain requires the Menhir teleport. The view is absolutely stunning and the place should seem surreal. - Completing the ravens quest does unlock the Menhir teleport system in general gameplay. This is NOT a replacement for the traditional fast travel system. This system allows Geralt to access hidden areas to find treasure and stuff. This is meant be similar to and to supplement the Eye of Nehelani illusions system. - The Carnal Sins quests actually has seven different murders rather than the at most four that are seen in the final game. The quest's reference to the seven deadly sins actually makes sense now. - The idea of having a Heist quest was reused in HoS but the HoS heist doesn't have much in common with the Eternal Fire Heist. - There were rumors that the Heist had to do with the plague. This isn't true at all. The plague wasn't even a thing in this version of the story. - There was a scene during the Triss romance where Geralt can to get up and take a piss - The southern Velen map was significantly changed from 2012. Fyke isle was in a completely different place. The old Fyke isle is actually still on the final game's map but is out of bounds. See the document for details. - The Forefather's eve sections were actually all replacers meaning that the player would actually control all the different flashbacks like with Avallac'h's self discovery with Uma and the mage Alexander's experience on Fyke Isle. Act 3: - The top of Bald Mountain where Imlerith and the Crone's are hanging out is actually the site of a massive orgy. Yes there were actual peasant model with sex animations. - This Sabbath is actually the first of six(!) different iterations of this quest. The last thing to be removed from it was the mountaintop orgy which is only kinda implied to have happened in the final game. - My Opinion: The Sabbath had a really unique and wild atmosphere and lived up to all the hype in the rumors I had heard over the years. - The final battle in Novigrad was surprisingly really unfinished. Details are scant and it was clearly they were having technical issues with getting to run at a reasonable frame rate. - The loading screen detail pointed out by xLetalis is a good catch. The loading screens are actually based on the 2013 version of the game which had the same ending as 2012. They will be covered in more detail in the Vol 2 2013 document. - The music for the Avallach boss fight was actually composed and still exists in the game files. Ferroxious extracted it and uploaded it to his channel. That's all for my not so quick notes and clarifications. Please checkout our document for more details and again thank you xLetalis for the great work. Looking forward to sharing the next document in the series which will cover the 2013 version of the story.

[@Turance]

Wow, your text is almost as long as the video 😊 But good job and thanks!

[@xLetalis]

Such a great comment, thanks for posting it, and for all the time spent answering my questions! Some of this information is so interesting, despite already having read the whole thing. The part about the Hym transforming sounds awesome especially. Was that in the document btw? I can't remember it. Also, despite saying that I think Cerys works better than Becca for a queen of skellige, it does seem like the original Becca was overall even more interesting than Cerys and I suspect that the overwhelming majority of people would have picked Becca over Hjalmar anyway :)

[@SMiki55]

​@@glassfish777 where's the map? I only see the two docs and a readme in the repo 😭

[@glassfish777]

@SMiki55 Check the releases

[@GildorSokołowski]

>the original plot was three times the length of the current one GOOD LORD, I WANT TO LIVE IN THE TIMELINE WHERE THEY STUCK WITH THE ORIGINAL ONE

[@xLetalis]

yeah it's crazy, 90% of the whole document is only main quests

[@Dadore17]

I got the feeling that happen with 2077 too, even after all the updates, dont get me wrong love both, but danm i wish we were in a timeline were we got both full games

[@dawidpotega882]

well, maybe someday in like 2077 year we can hope for a witcher 3 remake(after 1st and 2nd game get their 2nd remake) as a celebration for 27th anniversary for withcer 6(came out in 2050 for neuralink and wrapped up the trilogy of Ciri with playthrough spanning 2000 hours just for mainquests and infinitely generated world with sidequests to fit for sandbox players to live in Witcher world). Jokes aside, maybe someday when gaming industry gets even bigger and producing games gets easier, especially ones that are already made - thanks to AI powerful tools. Witcher 3 returning with all the uncut content restored and expanded. I believe they would start with witcher 1 and 2, and who knows? Maybe now with witcher 1 remake we are going to see major changes that will develop properly into witcher 2 and witcher 3. I imagine witcher 2 remake 2-3 years after the witcher 1 and then witcher 3 coming back for 2030 after 15 years? Either way we highly depends on future games to pay well for them to have resources to restore what's been cut from previous one. Let's hope new trilogy and spin-offs slap!

[@pipusmaximus189]

Being longer doesn't neccesarily mean better.

[@wes8723]

The main story in Witcher 3 is already 50 hours long.. you wanted it to be 3x as long? Are you insane ? :D it's already too long to begin with and many people criticized the main story for precisely that reason and besides, many parts of the earlier draft of the main story are still in Witcher 3 but are moved to be sidequests .. Scoiatel and Iorveth definitely should've been more in the game but IMO mostly in sidequests because even though I really love this game, the main story doesn't need to be longer

[@_MaZTeR_]

Was disappointed that Scoia'tael were cut pretty much completely from the game, aside from that one quest and seeing couple of NPCs here and there. Same with Iorveth.

[@xLetalis]

yeah

[@Diego-rt2ot]

They had 2 games to themselves. All in all, the world of the witcher is too interesting for Geralt to deal with them again

[@Szinczuch]

It is disappointing but on the other hand it kinda makes sense that there’s less and less of them. Iorveth was leading one of the last remaining organized units of the Scoia’tel. They lost.

[@charlespc]

Yeah, and the developers went with the classic card described by Roche: "Scoia'tael? Who cares about Scoia'tael anymore?"

[@_MaZTeR_]

The problem is that if you went with Iorveth in Witcher 2, Roache still acts like he's your best buddy in the world regardless. And the final game completely forgot about Iorveth, aside maybe from some written texts. The only difference if you went with Iorveth is that you get in easier to that one warehouse in Novigrad in one of the quests in W3. It'd make sense to give them a final conclusion, but it sadly never happened.

[@landismithCOJ]

xLetalis giving us an early Christmas gift. Thank you, xLetalis.

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure, hope it's good

[@Andrew-A159]

Right you are👍

[@flopus7]

87289 things you missed in witcher 3 development

[@antont4974]

Crazy work

[@fGlassmanN]

xLetalis somehow keeps getting content out of this nearly decade-old game and it somehow continues to be great.

[@AnthonyCarrick]

Helps when mods keep being released with new content. But still, very impressive!

[@wolfieodimm9151]

every great game deserves a content creator like xLetalis. 😭

[@kaushalsuvarna5156]

I don't know about every game but wish he gave some love to Cyberpunk

[@entl8319]

Witcher 3 is different. Aside from the open world nature, numerous side quests and friendliness to mod developers, It is based on a great novel and has been adapted to a Netflix show. I don't see many games, narrative wise, can reach its level and warrant so many high quality videos over 10 years. For example, RDR is a great game series in every aspect, but I don't find many endearing and peseverant content creators.

[@mitchconner2021]

Right?? He does amazing stuff and im glad we have him in the Witcher world. Maybe CDPR will honor him by naming a NPC after him in Tue Witcher 4

[@kaushalsuvarna5156]

@mitchconner2021 they honoured him by not sending him a code for Cyberpunk

[@mike15236]

As a long time fan, I have come to accept the current game for what it is over the years. Though I (and probably most people) still believe the cut of the entire Scoia'tael and Wild Hunt plotline hurt the overall narrative most and wish it could have remained in some forms. Original Ciri witcher ending is also the cherry on top as it was more true to Sapkowski vision for the books and its theme, while original empress ending surprisingly turned out to be the "happy ending" and added strength to the long rumor that CDPR vision for The Witcher seems to be more pro-Nilfgaardian than Sapkowski's. One crazy thing about the whole video is that you didn't have to go all your way to create those custom scenes to stimulate the cut contents. This video is truly a culmination of love and commitment to the series from you and we will always appreciate it

[@Hunt9-qb1if]

It didn’t do shit to hurt. Witcher three is arguably the greatest game ever nobody gives a fuck about the elves other then three people.

[@Hunt9-qb1if]

They are not pro black son because the black son is written to lose the war

[@mike15236]

@Hunt9-qb1if They spent a lot of time to build up the Scoia'tael and the Wild Hunt in the previous games, but in the final entry they ended up being a cardboard villain at best. Like I said, I have learned to accept the game for what it is, and TW3 is still one of the best games ever made, but you really didn't have to throw a tantrum to prove that it is. It makes people think less about the game and more about your mental state

[@roiking2740]

What are you talking about Nilfgaard were always the better faction. The northern realms are corrupt AF in comperison to Nilfgaard.

[@kryst8733]

I really wish they delayed the game for one more year so they'd time to include Iorweth and Wild Hunt plotlines. Or if they couldn't delay it more - release some kind of ultimate edition with cut contet like Larian did with D:OS 2. I hope that when we'll eventually get remake it will be treated the same way Dead Space was - with added content that didn't manage to be finished originally because of time and technology constraints.

[@xLetalis]

My audio quality is all over the place, especially in the first half, apologies for that. I was actually taking medication that affected my voice, surprisingly… But it gets better later on :) This video took an eternity to make and I hope it managed to do justice to the work of the people who put up this massive document. There are links to it and other relevant items in the description. Thanks once again to everyone involved!

[@_MaZTeR_]

Would've been nice to have some more consequences in the Battle of Kaer Morhen. I've only played it once earlier this year and managed to gather everyone for it, but does anything even change if you fail to recruit most of your allies?

[@sanjaychowdhury]

Wish you a happy health

[@brosisjk3993]

incredible video, the hand picked background footage and the custom player model stand ins were great additions. looking forward to seeing the 2013/2014 versions, and anything else these talented modders manage to dig up. huge respect to everyone involved!

[@JasmonTP]

I didn't notice that, you still sound the same. Good health on the path.

[@golas468]

Dude, what a size of a video! Insane dedication

[@xLetalis]

[@Geralttw]

Didn't expect a movie

[@1957DLT]

Bravo, xLetalis! This is a magnum opus of 10 things you might have missed++! Special thanks to Glassfish, Ferroxius, Moonknight and Crygreg for the monumental task of pulling together all the cut content and creating What Lies Unseen. Seriously, *chef's kiss*, everyone.

[@xLetalis]

thank you

[@billsmith5367]

I have nothing but respect for you XLetails. I love Witcher 3, probably my favourite game ever and have nothing but respect for the way you have shined a light on every aspect of the game. Peace to you and your family.

[@xLetalis]

[@m.thumper]

I’m about to board a plane with nothing to watch and you drop this? The impeccable timing. Can’t wait!

[@xLetalis]

have a good trip

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

F for the lack of Iorveth.

[@matebori7072]

Its crazy how much work you put into the scenes,gameplay and into this whole thing it is already amazing,we realy appreicate it

[@xLetalis]

Yeah I sort of replayed the game twice for this one

[@magean0301]

Oh nice, a new 10-minute video to watch before bedtime - wait, what? This is insane! Your and the modders' devotion to the game knows no bound. Thanks so much for sharing this!

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure

[@CrisM779]

You know a game will remain a classic in history when its community is so dedicated as to compile a 500+ pages doc on the original script it could have had. Doing the Lord's work as usual, xLetalis. This must have taken ages to put together! (And now I'm going back to watching the video because omfg this is amazing!)

[@xLetalis]

Yeah it took absolute eternity but I'm glad it turned out well :)

[@Philipp2968]

I was wondering when your next video would be uploded, but I wasn't expecting a whole movie. xD

[@Fyke816]

Huginn and Muninn are Odinn's ravens in Norse Mythology. And the whole stabbing the eye thing and hanging from a tree is also from Norse Mythology. The story is that those were the sacrafices Odinn gave for Knowledge. He sacrificed his eye, threw himself on his spear as suicide, and also hanged himself on a branch of Yggdrasil for 9 days. I actually really like this version of Skellige. I love the norse mythology references, and it's very fitting as well considering it's a land of Vikings. This version just seems to have more weight. Dragons, mermaids, rituals, hell even offering sex for support of your son - its so dark but fitting to the universe, and the level of desperateness to do such a thing add to the gravity of the quest

[@xLetalis]

That's really cool :)

[@FiladelP59]

This video is your magnum opus. Truly great job and I hope you continue to show love to this incredible game.

[@xLetalis]

Thank you

[@AnthonyCarrick]

Oh wow, 3 hours. I'll have to watch in parts. Amazing you digest the document and find illustrative scenes in the current game as you voice over!

[@elsali20]

Patiently waiting for the next video after the trailer drop 😌 love your videos!

[@GoldenRoyal5]

At 1:08:44 its a reference to how Odin in norse mythology gave up one of his eyes to the well of Urd for a drink of wisdom and hanged himself on the cosmic tree Yggdrasil for knowledge of the dead.

[@xLetalis]

nice!

[@selodio]

It's incredible to see just how much info is out there about what the game evolved from. Massive respect for putting together this masterpiece, can't even imagine how many hours you must have poured into this, but damn what a treat!!!! ⚔

[@xLetalis]

few hundred hours for sure :)

[@HEKVT]

When you said a 3 hour video, I thought maybe it's a collection of the best details we could've missed, I definitely didn't expect a video like this! I'm excited to check out and learn what could've been, shame that CDPR cut so much, Iorverth was definitely a much missed character.

[@moonknightish]

Things were cut for a reason (of which we can only speculate), but certainly in the interest of presenting the best possible version of the game. Keep in mind that when this story was being written and scenes were set up, the different parts of the game were still not complete and put together.

[@xLetalis]

I thought people would assume that :)

[@utzuckz]

Witcher 3 getting the sort of attention normally reserved for Shakespeare plays

[@zuzilichious]

I am so so excited to watch this over the next couple of days! Thanks xLetalis!

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure, hope you enjoy it ;]

[@eleimperator1855]

That thing about physical connection for a dreaming with Tilly is propably a reference to the last wish, in which Iola visits GEralt at night and Nenneke claims some time later their now linked physical and mental and now is the perfect time. I adore how many references there are to the books in that version of TW3. Thanks for this incredible video!!

[@Fyke816]

The original version almost seems on the level of Baldurs Gate in terms of scale. The super long in depth story, huge side arcs, so many branches, the whole evil fruit thing (which would have been insane). I can see why so much was changed and cut down, I can't imagine the same company that made TW2 make something like this on such a massive scale, while still creating something with an in-depth combat system, impressive visuals, etc

[@Beatrixacs300]

xLetalis and everyone involved, thank you and hands down for the work you did here. Those were one of the best three hours of my life. I love how this game that will turn 10 next year keeps surprising us even now. It was interesting to hear the original concept and imagine it thanks to the video. Some parts were perhaps better than the final product but in the end, I am glad the game is what it is.

[@xLetalis]

[@BigDaddyBland87]

Letalis just keeps being awesome! Wonderful video! There is just so much of this story I would have loved to have seen in the game itself. It's very ambitious. At the same time, it definitely feels like a draft that needed editing. Repetition of conversations or fetch quests, meandering side plots you're forced to undertake and kills the pacing of the main plot, odd arrangement of certain subplots (Geralt and Yen's relationship as you mentioned), and some things that stayed but just needed to be refined. What we got was still a terrific game.

[@PHENIX_GAMING663]

3 hours Witcher 3 video NEXT LEVEL

[@aesrenjoseph496]

I never thought I could spend 3 hours on a video again. As I grew, I spent less time following the things I love, yet this video really rekindled that feeling for me.

[@xLetalis]

I agree!

[@PhtCat]

XLetalis! So happy to see a video. Clicked straight away.

[@xLetalis]

hope you stick around for it :)

[@vera3147]

I'm surprised to say that it seems final game is more coherent and thematically whole than this. Oftentimes when I read about cut content for other games I felt the opposite lmao. Thanks for putting it into video.

[@kacperwoch4368]

It seems that in CDProjekt the writing team leads the production and the writers have pretty much full creative control over the story. So, instead of constantly changing the story to fit the game, the game is made to support the story.

[@reality_is_sin]

Most of the time cut content is cut for very good reasons

[@TheKarabanera]

This feels like a first draft.

[@yavoth5850]

There are also plenty of places in the finished game where it's obvious that stuff was cut for time or simplification of development, though, not for artistic reasons.

[@Mjolnirnephilim]

Thank you for such an amazing video!. Is mostly your channel which keeps me coming back to the witcher 3 over and over again. It feels like having a friend which whom you can talk about your hobbies. Thank you very very much for keeping with it!!!!

[@xLetalis]

[@TimmateusTwogg]

Incredible work! Your usage of cutscenes, characters and custom player mod really brings your well told story alive!

[@xLetalis]

glad it worked out

[@willian1917]

man, after the trailer of the witcher 4 I'm pretty sure you will keep doing those videos for at least the next decade. I will be here watching them.

[@FirstnameLastname-wm6bn]

A three hour video from xLetalis! This day has truly been blessed!

[@levkondratchik3979]

10% of the time he spent writing/voicing the script. The other 90% were spent getting all these cutscenes with doppler mode

[@antont4974]

Unironically might be true

[@Neev_Shah]

Thank you for staying so dedicated to this masterpiece of a game and gifting us so many great videos! Can't imagine how long it must've taken to make this

[@xLetalis]

yeah... it took frekin forever :)

[@Jeneric81]

Feels like it was a lot more Szapkowski-ish initially and it became more streamlined into a more traditional narrative. I do like how it was much more like Witcher 1 in that the line is blurred between side quest and main quest

[@zephyraticus5066]

This is absolutely awesome! Been enthralled for over 2 hours, thank you for all the work and dedication this must have taken!

[@xLetalis]

wonderful to hear :)

[@WhiteWolf-di2nh]

aahh baby, almost 3 hours of xletails - that made my day! Also greeting from a fella Bulgarian :) Keep up the great work cheers!

[@the_moto_monk_ey]

Over the past 11 days I have been watching small parts of your video and reading the document as well. Its overwhelming. To keep the comment short - Thank you. I hope and it would be cool if the original story gets created using red kit and presented as an alternate timeline

[@OzoneSeba]

Thank you, this had to be so much work to do this kind of video!

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@SingularityAli.]

great video, thank you for keeping this fandom alive for so many years

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure :)

[@jeffrobinson7338]

A 172 minute video. 😵. I hope you receive the attention you deserve for the time and dedication for this massive project.

[@ilmentore7]

Oh this is gonna be a watch and a half, thank you for bringing it to us you legend! The modding community is truly special.

[@mr.scavenger1914]

Thank you so much for this xLetalis and the modders 👏👏

[@rezonz3005]

Thank you xLetalis for putting so much effort into this video!

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure

[@tomrowell1558]

Love the use of all the standalone Gwent game card art in this, honestly has the best card art out there and for so many characters and monsters that aren’t really depicted elsewhere

[@pritomg.5932]

Amazing! Can't wait to spend several days watching this. You made my holidays!

[@xLetalis]

wonderful to hear :)

[@ElementX.]

I hope major gaming outlets cover this, because wow this is so well made and presented.

[@criacuervosproductions7115]

This is very interesting. Thank you all for your work!

[@bindair_dundat]

They robbed us of naked Triss eating ice cream. That's low...

[@xLetalis]

yeah :(

[@vladyslavnovikov2474]

Thanks for bringing each time some different topics related to the witcher lore with your passion and your energy,hope you won't never run of ideas,listening to your videos is absolutely amazing.

[@whyisthisaccountstillactiv6500]

3 hours for only volume 1? TRIPLE YES

[@Stonewielder]

I love your amazing dedication man! Every time I watch one of your videos I want to, and sometimes do, go back and play the game.

[@xLetalis]

That's part of the reason why I make them :)

[@stanisawjaskolski1832]

Great video! It is a pleasure to watch^^

[@lilaheminiak5410]

Thank you for this video, I can just imagine how much time it took to edit! With the help of the mods and your dedication to play out the scenes you are discussing, it really looks as it was part of the game but removed. Initially I wanted just to listen to it in form of a podcast but the video part was as interesting as the story. Thank you!

[@vincentdoest7238]

The only KZbin channel that keeps on giving!

[@richtea615]

This outstanding work needs to be preserved for future generations. Bravo, sir.

[@danilozxf]

I make a popcorn to watch, thanks bring more videos for us.

[@xLetalis]

my pleasure

[@Utopiaoveralt]

Thank you so much for this xLetalis! Your knowledge of the Witcher universe is insane. I lack words. Thank you ❤

[@willian1917]

I knew it. you will never stop doing those videos. hahaha thanks for that

[@xLetalis]

:) my pleasure

[@nevar23]

Thank you SO much for tackling this huge video, xLetalis! There's so much that could've been. Learning that Reason of State wasn't part of the game - wow! Those endings are all super interesting, too. Thanks again, to you and to everyone involved with uncovering this!

[@douwnel753]

1:23:08 I’d kill to have had Dandelion quizzing the courtesans in the final game

[@xLetalis]

[@francismendiola5057]

Man, i remembered this youtuber if hes still making witcher 3 content in 2024 and hes still at it. GOAT

[@sweatybawls]

Would’ve been cool if Geralt and Avallac’h had to hurry and get out of Night City to escape the blast radius of Arasaka Tower from Johnny Silverhand

[@fazemxzyy6008]

Great video watched the whole thing in on sitting I’ve been watching your videos since way back and seeing that u still pump out 3h long bangers almost 10years after release really excites me. Looking forward to the next vid much love man

[@xLetalis]

Thank you

[@freeAEgraphics]

Masterpiece of a video. Thank you.

[@xLetalis]

oh I hope so, my pleasure :)

[@truffelnootje]

Thank you so much for this awesome vid!

[@xLetalis]

My pleasure :)

[@szoti8496]

Is this a dream? A 3 hour long xLetalis video? We are truly blessed.

[@xLetalis]

a good one I hope ;]

[@nanodrummer]

The game, and the content creator, that keep on delivering. I love this game so much!

[@goozgaming9940]

Great video Natalis

[@MxA1527]

This is insane! Thank you for this gift of a video😍

[@makenaiyomi1083]

Great stuff! I understand that it might be too long for some people but I would've loved to play all of that. Also I appreciate the work you did with this video 🙏🏻

[@Ziutu01]

Whoah! Such a nice summary of the long document that I didn't know existed. From watching most of your videos throughout the years, I understood that much stuff have been cut out for reasons and time. Myself, recognize plenty pieces of story that were not finalized in the final game. This is something else :O

[@m_yna_st]

This is pure class again, Letalis 🙏

[@xLetalis]

glad to hear, I tried...

[@leroviten]

what a great and hard work! thank you!

[@chiefdeez6425]

God it makes me wish they kept even half of this. Would’ve made an incredible game even better somehow. Awesome video!

[@jaspergill8820]

thank you so much for this, you clearly put a ridiculous amount of work into it and it’s turned out beautifully

[@xLetalis]

happy to hear

[@mr.wilson9178]

I must take a knee down a Big thanks to you... I was already amazed that a little studio made a awesome game like this, was already a fan, but folloWing your Channel brought another depht into the game for me. So thanks to you sir! And thanks for all your work and entertainment that you bring to us! Sorry for my Bad english...

[@xLetalis]

no problem, thank you for the comment!

[@Ophmar4]

It's so interesting to explore what Witcher 3 began as, and what it could have been... Great video! I like 'A Time of Sword and Axe' a bit more, but that could be because I knew nothing of The Wild Hunt when I first played the game and kept thinking it was more of a "man... this hunt sure is wild, huh?" type of thing.

[@Jaydencordetta-u5o]

I'm glad to see more Witcher content after almost 12 years, i was beginning to run out of things to watch while i play

[@rfreidel]

Thank-you for posting this, I had thought that it was my memory in error, but I have been thinking that the game ending used to be much different than it is now.

[@serjofcinder8925]

I'm about half way through the video and I was really worried about this. So far this sounds so much better. It's sounds a lot more similar to the books

[@Zariel_VIII]

Amazing video! Love your work Letalis💪

Thank you very much for this great gift! Will love you and the witcher 3 forever

[@samd7003]

There is something so comforting about hearing xletalis talk about TW3 with the soundtrack in the background. Thankyou for another incredible video 🖤

[@xLetalis]

:) Yeah I find my voice weird to listen to without Witcher music behind it

[@Luca_Borgini]

What an amazing job you did!! I can't imagine how many hours you put into this video 😅

[@xLetalis]

I've lost count :)

[@chinanoodle1739]

Holy shit! Recently re-read the books so this timing is amazing! Didn't even know a lot of this info was publicly available. Gonna watch this in parts over the coming days but I can already tell it's gonna be a banger! Awesome job Letalis! Also, I think you just single handedly delayed the Joseph Anderson video by like a month lol. You know what, scratch that, I got five minutes in and let's make that multiple months haha

[@xLetalis]

[@TheClubbster]

wut. 3 hours? i didnt know i was ready for this.

[@timestamppatrol]

Thank you so much for this, literally watch the whole video wasnt expecting it 3 hours video tho. I also love you fav ending btw, sad it doesnt make it. Cant wait for the next 10 hours video lol

[@crygreg8484]

Haven't watched everything yet but this is awesome work, man. It is really shortened (and still 3 hours long, Jesus Christ 😂) but also covers the important aspects. Really impressive that you tried to provide somewhat fitting visuals as well. There are a lot of prerelease screenshots, trailers and such too (or even mods like two mods for the Witcher 2 Geralt which was used at that point in development), in case you want to use those in the future. I think the whole love story with Roche was something I didn't have on my bingo card during the compilation of the document. Additionally, there is a very length, very interesting Yennefer dialogue occuring during 2012 (but later on) that you've mentioned and also Volume 2 (but during Vyzima and mostly similar to the one in Volume 1), so I'm quite excited about your potential reaction to that one in the future.

[@xLetalis]

Hey there, nice to see you! And I'm looking forward to seeing more. About the Witcher 2 mods - are you saying that CDPR used Witcher 2 mods during the earliest stages of development of the Witcher 3?

[@crygreg8484]

@@xLetalis My bad, I meant more along the lines that they were using Geralt's model from Witcher 2 (with slight alterations like the beard added) and probably the same for Triss and other recurring characters at first. Yennefer too was firstbased on a model (2014 Swords of Destiny trailer) but later changed to their own interpretation, basically (or at least that's my theory). That and that the Witcher 3 has mods available for those things (like two mods that make Geralt more alike his Witcher 2 appearance, same with Triss ("Legacy Triss")).

[@xLetalis]

@@crygreg8484 ah I see what you mean now. It makes sense, I should look into these mods!

[@MrLimo217]

Great video as always- keeping the game alive. It’s cool and honestly, I still absolutely love what we got in the end.

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

You know when I obsessively played the game first time all those years ago I was impressed with the high quality of almost every quest but I felt that a lot of them had room to be expanded. It's nice to know I was right.

[@NV..V]

Great videos my friend. Another banger. Thank you.