I was never a fan of the Elder Scrolls games, but I would say Witcher 3 is definitely more open world than the previous titles. In fact, it's probably the best open world game I've seen, and one of the best ever made, period.

Now, if you're somehow mistaking open world for sandbox RPGs such as Bethesda's titles, then, no, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt is not that kind of game. It is open world, indeed, but far from being a sandbox game. It has huge focus on narrative and storytelling, much like the previous iterations, and some areas are cut off from the main world (meaning you get there via a loading screen), so, if you're one of those people that thinks loading screens means no open world, Witcher 3 has them -- then again, Skyrim is largely considered the open world game to define sandbox open world games and even that one is riddled with loading screens: when you enter a dungeon, a new part of a dungeon, some houses, some towns, etc.

It is a great game but if you're expecting it to be exactly like Oblivion you're probably going to get a little disappointed. I would say it's a bit more like The Witcher 2 with some RPG elements brought back from the first Witcher set in a living open world in which your choices, albeit small, matter.

The first two were available when the game was launched:
https://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_free_dlc_program

... yeah, they're having a big sales push for their new flagship product. Fairly standard commercial practice, so ... get over it?
Centre/mousewheel button for your crossbow my good sir. Hold it down while aiming, then release to fire.

I got the physical DVD copy of the game. Are the files on the disks (.exe and .bin) the same ones I would download from Galaxy? If so, can I just copy them off the disk? It'd save me a lot of time downloading the files for my backup archive.

Thank you!
I didn't know that, because I've read somewhere else the first 2 DLCs would be released 20th May, and the others would be released in intervals of 7days: 27th May, 3rd June, etc.

Maybe CDPR just changed their schedule.

Apparently there were 1.5 MILLION pre-orders in total. Nice result of all the hard work by CDPR!

The first two free DLCs of the 16 free ones are the beard and hairstyle set and the horse armour, the rest will come out in intervals over the next few weeks/months https://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_free_dlc_program

The two paid DLCs (Hearts of Stone + Blood and Wine) will come out in October and next year https://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_expansion_pass

Wait, people are having problems with the game playing?

I've had quest bugs, and a few crashes, but it's much better than something like Skyrim was at launch.

I'm playing it, primarily, on a gaming laptop with an i7 4710HQ 2.5(3.5)GHz and an 8GB GTX 980M in it, plays perfectly on Ultra (though the Nvidia hair thing looks wonky and I turned it off) and the fans barely even kick on at all as it has never passes 70C. I also tested it out on my old desktop, a 2GB GTX 760 and an AMD FX 4100 in there, and it plays nicely on Medium settings with no heat issues or framerate drop.

I love it i already regret sooo many things..!

There is (actually are quite a bunch of) totally boring reviews on this site about Witcher 3:

"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a thoughtful, diverse, and frequently awe-inspiring adventure. Its stories are deep and satisfying, unafraid to touch on themes of personal character, presenting players with choices and consequences that aren’t about turning into a hero or a villain. In the end, it’s quite simply one of the best RPGs ever made. Its shockingly cohesive world is as beautiful as it is demanding, and it's packed full of mature content that throws you from one emotional response to the next. Its storytelling is superb, its combat is grippingly refined, and its often unforgiving nature only lends itself to a brilliantly rewarding experience."

Full or marketing speech and praising to the skies. This is not really helpful. A more detailed and balanced review would be necessary.

I clicked on "not helpful" and I wonder - who is with me?

http://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_preorder

Such bad reviews help noone. Just clutter.

I wholeheartedly concur and wonder why ppl feel the urge to review an alleged 100h+ game after a couple of minutes. Basically all they seem to be saying is "it's the best game in the world. It looks great".
Besides, gog still doesn't even offer a simple edit option for reviews...

So does Geralt bang Ciri in this?

You know, I've been wondering about the same. What a love quadrangle it would make with Ciri, Triss and Yennefer...

Tried that after seeing it in the keyboard/controller config options but middle mouse button is doing nothing for me so far. It'd sure be handy though.

In order to get Bombs, Crossbow or even the lamp later on to work you have to use the TAB key to select the item in the lower quickslots to place in a pocket, your sighs are at the top. Once the item has been selected you can then use your middle mouse button hold an aim for crossbow and bombs and release to fire. Once you aquire the lamp select it using the Tab key and then hit middle mouse button once and he will carry it around and hit it again to put it away.

Needs better instructions the tutorial doesn't fully explain this properly.

Hope this helps!

An I finally figured out why Geralt's horse is name Roach after Vernon Roach in TW2 hehe.