Game News In 2008 his swords become sharper still!

[DarkUnderlord]

So why are loading times reduced by 80% in the Enhanced Edition and why is it a "core feature"?

I already replied to this, but you conveniently forgot to quote my response

Actually all you've been doing is speculating on how you've never encountered any such problems (even mentioning your 1 - 2 seconds loading times before any of the patches), therefore the game is fine. Unfortunately, even if you care to read the official Witcher forums, you will notice both load times (even with 1.3) and desktop crashes still occur. These issues make the game unplayable for the people who experience them. CD Projekt recognise that. It's why they're including a bunch of "stability fixes" in the Enhanced Edition and why loading times are a big focus. Just because you say it's a non-issue doesn't mean it's true. Otherwise, they'd be out there saying "download patch 1.2 right now!" wouldn't they? Or are they really just performing a marketing driven hype-exercise, like I referred to in the opening news post?

TW took a lot of flak for it's loading times when it first came out, so it comes as no surprise that they would advertise improved loading times in the EE even if it's already been fixed. If they increased the loading times again, then that's even better, but as it stands now the loading times are already quick with the current updates.

In which case this entire Enhanced Edition (of which loading times is a big focus in every interview) is just a pure marketing exercise designed to gain more money by selling the GOTY Edition.

that wonderful link that Mareus gave, that the Enhanced Edition "first and foremost" fixes bugs (including new bugs). Secondly, it addresses issues which "really hindered gameplay". So which is it? Is the game "really hindered" by all these issues or isn't it?

As I said before, all games have bugs, no matter how polished, and there will always be new bugs to squash.

So you admit the game causes crashes then and has stability issues for some users? That just because you don't have any problems, other people don't either?

As for issues that hindered gameplay, they're probably talking about the new alchemy and inventory screens (the previous alchemy screen was pretty unintuitive) and the new combat system.

Actually the first thing he says when talking about "hindered gameplay" is "faster loading times". If you'd actually bothered to watch the video, you'd have noticed that. So either they're conducting a giant hype exercise to sell more copies of their game by talking about fixing a problem which has already been fixed (and which the game was widely derided for) or :shock horror: loading times are still an issue. Given you claim to have never had issues with loading times even with the unpatched version of the game, why do you consider it an issue that's been fixed? How would you even know?

Everything in the Morrowind GOTY that wasn't an expansion pack was available for download for free (IE: The patches and game editor).

And everything that was offered for free pales in comparison to what CDPR is offering in the EE update.

I don't view new voices which you can't even really tell the difference between (Before / After) as a huge update. But hey, maybe that's just me. If these changes really are so significant though then again, it means the original game can't have been that good, unless of course this is just a hype-driven marketing exercise.

mondblut was talking about companies milking their games with the GOTY release, dummy (just like The Witcher is doing).

And that doesen't change the fact that you're comparing apples and oranges. Releasing a free mega-update and putting new versions of the game on store shelves isn't the same as taking a full priced failure of a game, adding a couple new game modes and a shitload of maps, and rereleasing as a completely new game for full price without any kind of upgrade path from the original game. It's not even close. One is rewarding the consumer, the other is shafting him. That you would even think such a comparison is valid says a lot about your intelligence.

That's not the comparison I was making, so I guess that says a lot about your own intelligence and lack there-of. We're talking about companies milking the hype train for their GOTY release. UT2004 milked that train with the cash back offer. CD Projekt are milking it with a brand new release and "fixed loading times" (which are already fixed, right?).

Don't forget all the additional content like map, music CD, etc. if you actually buy the TWEE for which the price is also symbolic.

So people who bought the game when it came out are screwed because they missed out on all the awesome stuff and have to buy the game again if they want it? Nah, that's not a marketing exercise. No way.

 

[Helton]

No other company around today would put this much work into a product and release it as a free update.

Stardock
Illwinter/Shrapnel

 

[made]

"it was all an evil coup to oust VD!" crowd come out of the woordwork.

Never forget, never forgive!

 

[Trash]

Down with the tyrant!

 

[Jeff Graw]

Actually all you've been doing is speculating on how you've never encountered any such problems (even mentioning your 1 - 2 seconds loading times before any of the patches), therefore the game is fine. Unfortunately, even if you care to read the official Witcher forums, you will notice both load times (even with 1.3) and desktop crashes still occur.

No shit sherlock. Desktop crashes occur for every PC game that's ever been made, and you'll be hard pressed to find a support forum that isn't full of bug reports. It might not even be the fault of the coders, it could very well be a driver bug, a hardware bug, a virus, corrupted system file, general system instability due to overclocking, etc. As for loading times, people with shitty computers will generally always have bad loading times, period. I've always had good loading times, but I have a lot of memory and a quick, defragmented RAID array. Even then, I still found that loading were faster with the latest patches. I also remember when the performance patch came and out the forums were filled with people singing its praises. I can't really recall many people at all who didn't see a huge improvement. You've got to stop doing this DU, since you're making a huge fool out of yourself. You can't say "Some people have problems therefore the game has serious problems and is flawed!" It just doesen't work that way.

In which case this entire Enhanced Edition (of which loading times is a big focus in every interview) is just a pure marketing exercise designed to gain more money by selling the GOTY Edition.

Of course it's a pure marketing exercise, meant to sell more copies but mainly to establish CDPR as a quality development studio and to establish a loyal following. Some of the developers might have romantic ideas of creating a "more perfect" game, but in the end it's a business and money rules. There's nothing wrong with that though, since we're still getting a greatly enhanced version of the game for free regardless.

So you admit the game causes crashes then and has stability issues for some users? That just because you don't have any problems, other people don't either?

Yes and no. A game always has bugs, remember? I don't know where you got the second one from though. You're the one saying that if some users experience difficulties then there's some huge flaw in the game, remember? That's an ignorant and unrealistic standard if I've ever seen one.

If these changes really are so significant though then again, it means the original game can't have been that good, unless of course this is just a hype-driven marketing exercise.

We're done here. Anyone with half a brain can see through that retarded fallacy and I'm tired of debunking it. Just because object B is an improvement (no matter how small or vast) over object A in no way proves that object A is substandard. If you can somehow get that very simple bit of logic through that thick skull of yours we can talk again. Until then you aren't worth my time and anyone who reads this will know that you've auto-lost anyway.

No other company around today would put this much work into a product and release it as a free update.

Stardock

Really? The last two expansion packs for Galciv 2 didn't really do much for the cost and the changes could have been patched in pretty easily. I wouldn't be surprised if TW:EE was more of an improvement.

 

[Solohk]

VD will rise again!

 

[DefJam101]

You like The Witcher ----> You think it's the best RPG in 2007.

You think that EE is a good thing ----> You think the game shouldn't have launched this way.

1 game does this ----> 'Industry trend'

Free ----> Milking the customers

You make a trailer, despite companies making trailers and even commercials about shitty GOTY editions that essentially change NOTHING about the game and cost money to buy since, ya'know... the year 2000 ----> Hyping the game

No dialog stats ----> Automatically a shit game*

The Witcher is being improved. ----> The Witcher sucked before it was improved.

* TW is a pretty bad example of the CRPG genre. I would say it's more of an advanced JRPG, in that it merges action/adventure railroading with some C&C.



@ this thread.

 

[Helton]

No other company around today would put this much work into a product and release it as a free update.

Stardock

Really? The last two expansion packs for Galciv 2 didn't really do much for the cost and the changes could have been patched in pretty easily. I wouldn't be surprised if TW:EE was more of an improvement.

Well there's some patented shitty logic. If The Witcher ever releases an expansion does it negate this free content? When Stardock releases an expansion does it negate the years of free support and total overhauls to their games?

The point was there are a few companies who have done similiar things. Not a terribly important point, it's just the original statement didn't sit well with me.

 

[Brother None]

Good things come to those who wait. Now, being that I was one of those who waited, I see no problem with this. My only dilemma now is; do I buy the Enhanced Edition, or do I wait for the Ultimate Edition?

Heh.

Y'know what this reminds me off? The Rerelease Hook. I can remember the first times I saw this technique applied to films and I was amazed that it worked then. First Lord of the Rings individual DVDs, everyone bought them, then the trilogy box, bought by a section of group 1, then the trilogy extended edition, bought by a section of group 2, then the kamehama edition, bought by a section of group 3. With the price steadily rising throughout as these saps scooped up new edition after new edition.

String them out long enough, and you can keep selling the same film over and over again to the same people for 2-3 years.

'cor, this works less in games with the high turnover rate due to graphics dating so fast, meaning only GotY edition is viable now, but who knows, perhaps TW:EE will get a GotY edition.

Gotta catch 'em all.

 

[Shannow]

"it was all an evil coup to oust VD!" crowd come out of the woordwork.

Never forget, never forgive!

Water sleeps... Although I generally like DU a lot more than VD, even if he's being a stupid dick in this thread.

The HYPE TRAIN's a-coming. CHOO-CHOO. I mean, wow. I make a post talking about the potential for this to become an industry trend (which quite frankly, we would all rage against if as I said, Bethesda started doing this)

Most of us always hate hype, but would we criticise Beth for saying: "We realized that our implementation of level scaling was bad, so we have reworked it and rebalanced the whole game accordingly. We have also worked on dialogue issues. Voices for characters will now stay the same during dialogue. They will not change pitch or mood either. Mini games are out. More VO work was done. We have 20 new voice actors who helped us diversify charaters' voices. We added new lines, you will now hear more random remarks not related to mudcrabs. There are improvements to RAI. We've put this update together with DLC up for a free download and re-released Oblivion with the CE content+previous patches+update+DLC for a low price." WE might, but more because of Beth's bad track record than real criticism with the product.

Shitty, unfinished crap released the first time around with the marketing band-wagon being fired up again for the Game of the Year Edition.

You've been told again and again, so pull your head out of your arse: TW was playable and finished by itself and especially compared to other games. Update/patch is free, GOTYEs aren't.

We wouldn't tolerate it for Oblivion but for an action-RPG with an incredibly boring main character and plot and unacceptable loading times, it's somehow fantastic that they're doing it for free. God bless 'em!

See above and if you don't like TW, fine. Nobody asks you to, but don't project your dislike on this patch/update.

All you guys being so impressed that they're doing it for free need a reality check. Doing it for free isn't an option. It's mandatory. If they weren't fixing this shit up for free, the game would simply remain unplayable.

See above. Repeating lies and letting your dislike for TW (aRPGs) cloud your judgement really makes you look stupid.

EDIT:

Y'know what this reminds me off? The Rerelease Hook. I can remember the first times I saw this technique applied to films and I was amazed that it worked then. First Lord of the Rings individual DVDs, everyone bought them, then the trilogy box, bought by a section of group 1, then the trilogy extended edition, bought by a section of group 2, then the kamehama edition, bought by a section of group 3. With the price steadily rising throughout as these saps scooped up new edition after new edition.

Compares really well to free downloads. I salute your logic

 

[Silellak]

Good things come to those who wait. Now, being that I was one of those who waited, I see no problem with this. My only dilemma now is; do I buy the Enhanced Edition, or do I wait for the Ultimate Edition?

Heh.

Y'know what this reminds me off? The Rerelease Hook. I can remember the first times I saw this technique applied to films and I was amazed that it worked then. First Lord of the Rings individual DVDs, everyone bought them, then the trilogy box, bought by a section of group 1, then the trilogy extended edition, bought by a section of group 2, then the kamehama edition, bought by a section of group 3. With the price steadily rising throughout as these saps scooped up new edition after new edition.

String them out long enough, and you can keep selling the same film over and over again to the same people for 2-3 years.

'cor, this works less in games with the high turnover rate due to graphics dating so fast, meaning only GotY edition is viable now, but who knows, perhaps TW:EE will get a GotY edition.

Gotta catch 'em all.

I wasn't aware I could buy the theatrical versions of the Lord of the Rings and then upgrade to the Extended Editions through a free download.

 

[Silellak]

You like The Witcher ----> You think it's the best RPG in 2007.

You think that EE is a good thing ----> You think the game shouldn't have launched this way.

1 game does this ----> 'Industry trend'

Free ----> Milking the customers

You make a trailer, despite companies making trailers and even commercials about shitty GOTY editions that essentially change NOTHING about the game and cost money to buy since, ya'know... the year 2000 ----> Hyping the game

No dialog stats ----> Automatically a shit game*

The Witcher is being improved. ----> The Witcher sucked before it was improved.

* TW is a pretty bad example of the CRPG genre. I would say it's more of an advanced JRPG, in that it merges action/adventure railroading with some C&C.



@ this thread.

You win.

 

[Silellak]

Look, it's pretty clear what's going on here.

DU hates the Witcher, because it's "unplayable" - apparently having a very odd definition of "unplayable" considering how many people finished it - so anything CD Projekt does sucks.

It doesn't matter how many times you prove him wrong, or bring up the fact it's a free update with new features above and beyond a standard "patch". It has bug fixes, so it must just be a patch, nothing more, right? And how dare they hype a simple patch to their crappy game?!?

He hates the Witcher, and by extension, CD Projekt, so he will find a way to twist anything they say - or you say - to something negative. Because that's what he does here.

Hating things is the only way to be "cool" on the internet, and in that regard, DU is the coolest person on the site.

 

[Serious_Business]

He doesn't hate shit, he's just whining for the sake of whining. Madness? This is Codex. (You have to picture a fat faggot yelling you in a high pitched voice 'THIS IS CODEX' and miserably trying to push you with feeble arms, not the 300 movie, for this one)

 

[DefJam101]

He doesn't hate shit, he's just whining for the sake of whining. Madness? This is Codex. (You have to picture a fat faggot yelling you in a high pitched voice 'THIS IS CODEX' and miserably trying to push you with feeble arms, not the 300 movie, for this one)

In before Kingcomrade picture.

 

[Mareus]

I think DU just stuck his head too deep into his own ass to admit this thread was a bad idea to start with and now he is trying to find a way out of this little predicament with a clean face. Wish I knew how he's gonna manage to do that. I mean the clean face part

 

[Brother None]

I wasn't aware I could buy the theatrical versions of the Lord of the Rings and then upgrade to the Extended Editions through a free download.

The Rerelease Hook was never about content. Notes how it starts not by releasing extended editions, but by putting all three films in one trilogy box and rereleasing it as that. Also, trilogy editions with gollum statues. Also, trilogy editions with replica swords.

The actual extendedness of Extended Edition is a footnote. It's about that "gotcha" fandom, the way companies love exploiting dearhearted fans by making them buy stuff they don't really need.

Shiny new boxes.

Amusingly enough, tho', I wasn't actually making an argument about EE, just saying this has elements of that gotta catch 'em all shininess. No need to spit your reflex bile on me.

 

[Shannow]

Then you should have made a thread in GD. Telling you that the comparison (and you know that everybody here would see it as such) stinks isn't spitting bile on you.

And on a side note: My girlfriend has the extended trilogy box, another friend has the extended versions in separate boxes with Gollum statues and I have copied versions. I don't see your "gotta have all versions" in real life at all.

 

[Brother None]

Then you should have made a thread in GD. Telling you that the comparison (and you know that everybody here would see it as such) stinks isn't spitting bile on you.

And on a side note: My girlfriend has the extended trilogy box, another friend has the extended versions in separate boxes with Gollum statues and I have copied versions. I don't see your "gotta have all versions" in real life at all.

Then I guess you never worked retail?

Jeesh, I was commenting on being reminded of something by a humorous remark by another poster. I realise this ongoing "debate" is so mind-bogglingly irrational that you all got seriously engaged in it the way only internet people can to stupid debates, but...

 

[Elwro]

I'm going to pay $10 for CDP to send me the 3 new DVDs (patch, films[?], additional materials), a CD with game-inspired music (will probably be shitty), together with a new guidebook I won't read not to spoil myself and two stickers I won't stick anywhere. ($5 for the pack and $5 for postage. This is for Polish registered customers.)

I don't care about the hype even if the guys go too far sometimes; this is a good game and I want to support it. And this way I will have a shiny DVD witht he patch, too; my connection still isn't that fast.

 

[ghostdog]

I'll be waiting for the Bioshock : Enhanced Edition (tm) review , from DU. Good CRPG reviews are hard to find these days.

 

[Ander Vinz]

I'll be waiting for the Bioshock : Enhanced Edition (tm) review , from DU. Good CRPG reviews are hard to find these days.

ha

 

[barker_s]

It's the first time I'm so fucking ashamed of being a part of the Codex. I mean, there was nothing to be proud of in the first place, but now it's become fucking pathetic.

You guys get a polished up + about 5 (not sure about exact number) hours of new adventures for free and you're whining about it? Unbelievable...

 

[Elwro]

Read BN's posts in this thread. Free stuff is good. CDP are trying really hard to establish their new brand, great, it's our gain. Hyping it to the sky is NOT good, though, because this may be a beginning of a new trend: companies releasing unfinished games and hyping 2+ GB patches as 'Enhanced Editions'. Why work hard on completing your game when you can get money for the initial release and do an EE later on? Such thinking (which is absolutely NOT CDP's thinking) could only lead to failure.

 

[LarsTheSurly]

So I'm confused.

Is the negativity coming from the fact that the Enhanced Edition fixes bugs? Or is it coming from the fact that CD Projekt is advertising it?

I think bugs are bad, and I like when they are fixed for free.

Also, if they didn't "hype" it... I WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT.