Game News Ther Witcher site opens

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher, The

The <a href="http://www.thewitcher.com/main_eng.php">official The Witcher site</a> has been openned and is ready for viewing. Just for kicks, here's a clip from <A href="http://www.thewitcher.com/articles_ang.php?articleId=2">the FAQ</a>:
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<blockquote><b>Will the story be linear?</b>
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Even though the main plot will be linear, almost every quest can be completed in many different ways. Of course, there are some quests that must be accomplished in order to push the plot further or get important information. </blockquote>
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You can also find <A href="http://www.thewitcher.com/articles_ang.php?articleId=4">wallpapers</a>, <A href="http://www.thewitcher.com/articles_ang.php?articleId=3">screenshots</a>, <a href="http://www.thewitcher.com/articles_ang.php?articleId=18">game information</a>, and a <A href="http://www.cdprojekt.info/forum.asp">forum which I can't read</a>.
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[Ryslaw]

And a forum which I can't read.

Sorry for that. As I wrote in the news, currently only the Polish CD Projekt forum is open. However we plan to open "The Witcher-Exclusive" forum probably next week (also in English).

 

[Lemon]

Toss in a bit of AA for those screen captures?

I like the visual style.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Sorry for that. As I wrote in the news, currently only the Polish CD Projekt forum is open. However we plan to open "The Witcher-Exclusive" forum probably next week (also in English).

Don't mind me, I was just making a joke.

Good to hear there will be an English forum though, since there will also be some short stories in English for people to get a grasp on the setting.

 

[Barghest]

Is it my imagination...

Or is there a heck of a lot of bump-mapping going on?

 

[Fallen Zen]

Re: Is it my imagination...

Or is there a heck of a lot of bump-mapping going on?

To answer your question I'll quote the official "The Witcher" game info:

Implementation of Bump-Mapping
Modern graphic cards give means to apply Bump-Maps in the game. The effect of Bump-Map is a perfect solution to increase visual quality of almost every surface. We are going to exploit this option fully and prepare many attractive effects, such as for instance water waves

Implementation of environmental bitmapping
Environmental bitmap is a supplement to the Specular Highlights type of lighting, however in some circumstances (mainly during visualization of open spaces) it provides extraordinary aesthetic quality. It is also a very simple way to present pseudo-mirroring surfaces. Our software enables the use of environmental bitmaps, which increase authenticity of a presented scene and at the same time do not require the processor’s power as much as specular lights or real mirrors do.

The game itself will be using also Hyper-threading technology, Vertex Shader and Pixel Shader Technologies, T&L Technology and Anti-aliasing and that's not all. The whole text You can find here: http://www.thewitcher.com/articles_ang.php?articleId=29

 

[huh]

another action-rpg, eh? well, at least the story won't suck. if it's anything at the level of Stanislav Lem's sci fi I might just get it for the story, since the books aren't available in english.

[edit] p.s. please don't take this as a critisism, I sincerely wish the developers all the success with the game. knee-jerk reaction after reading many 'rpg light' announcements. don't know your definition of 'action-rpg' yet.

 

[Ausir]

Well, the story is not directly based on the plot of Sapkowski's books, just set in the same world. As for action, well, as you can see in the website, almost all of the stats and skills are physical/combat oriented, so i guess you shouldn't expect too much hard-core roleplaying....

 

[huh]

fair enough. I just read the short bit about the premise of the setting and it seems like it'd be a great set-up for an rpg with how the witchers are created, and all the factions and things like that.

 

[Ausir]

The books are great, and they would be a very good setting for a hard-core RPG. Too bad CD Projekt decided to make an action-RPG instead. But it can still be a fun one .

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

?The Witcher? is an Action RPG game for PC platform, which combines the features of such games as Dungeon Siege, Baldur?s Gate: Dark Alliance, Gothic and Neverwinter Nights.

This has me worried about this title because there's only one game in that list that was even remotely decent and that sure as hell wasn't because of the action part of the game, it was because of the setting and the interactivity.

Personally, I think it's foolish to make this game an action game like the ones mentioned for a few reasons:

• Everyone's making action CRPGs, so what would be the actual draw to this one as opposed to Zippy Entertainment's Swordmulcher 3: Die Tree, Die?
• Based on a popular book series in Poland but you're scared of making an actual CRPG for these people? If they're fans of the books, that means they can read, so having something as simple as Dungeon Siege, BG: DA, and NWN probably won't give anything new to those fans, since they can pretty much picture a Witcher smacking setting based monsters in their heads already.
• The books aren't in English yet, so there's not much to base the setting on for those of us from English speaking countries. To most people, this will be just another fantasy setting action CRPG, and like I said, there's dozens of those out and in the works.

It just seems to me that trend chasing, which is what this appears to be based on the games you claim this is like, is an even more risky gamble than what your marketting people would probably tell you is a risky gamble.

 

[Ausir]

Not to mention that there;'s also a PnP RPG based on Sapkowski's books (The Witcher: Game of Imagination), so an actual RPG would attract the PnP fans more.

 

[Sol Invictus]

It's pretty stupid of them to chase the trend despite the strong backing that the books and the PnP game have. Oh well, the least I can do is hope that the game will be as good as Prince of Qin or Diablo 2, if not better.

 

[Elwro]

Too bad the PnP game has so simplistic (and silly) mechanics it seems to be created for children from kindergarten.

 

[Ausir]

Well, that game is more about storytelling than mechanics..
Although there's a 2nd edition of the rulebook in the works, where the mechanics will be changed a little.

 

[Elwro]

Well, that game is more about storytelling than mechanics..
.

Sorry, but it sounds like "Well, NWN is more about MP than SP...". If the game was published as a well-described world with some loose ideas and clues for storytelling, OK. But instead the game pretends to have some true mechanics, making e.g. hitting the witcher by a goblin impossible - if they didn't change anything, the goblin would have to roll 7 o 8 on a single roll of a d6. The same was with a poet character trying to hit a goblin. If you don't play a witcher in this game, you can't pass most of the tests - not that you have a low chance, but the probablity is ZERO.
I didn't buy the book edition; I perused it in a bookshop to see if they didn't change these rules and it seems to me that they didn't. "Man, a rule allowing people to roll a second time if they rolled '6' and than add the results would be too complicated... let's skip it".

 

[Ausir]

Actually, it was going to be just that - the mechanics was initially meant to be only optional, in a small font, at the back of the rulebook, because they wanted a non-mechanics game, but the publisher changed it. I'm not saying that i agree with it, cause i prefer good mechanics, but you can't blame the authors for that - blame the publisher .

But that's not the point - i'm just saying that an actual RPG instead of an action one would attract the PnP fanbase more (since there's quite a big Witcher PnP fanbase out there).

 

[Elwro]

I agree totally. The intrigues of the wizards would by themselves be sufficient for a long and interesting CRPG plot. And imagine having Yarpen Zigrin as a follower... or the other dwarf with his parrot .

 

[Sol Invictus]

You know, they could just hire out White Wolf to come up with something for the PNP game. I hear they're cheap.

 

[Ausir]

Not nearly as cheap as any Polish PnP company.

 

[Istredd109]

Witcher

I've been trying to make this point for a while but none of my Polish buds believe me. I've read the saga and I think that it should be translated as the:

Saga of the Warlock

not

The Witcher's Saga (?)

Which sounds better? I think the answer is obvious

 

[Ausir]

Well, a warlock is a male witch, just like the Polish wiedzmin, but keep in mind, that, while etymologically correct, wiedzmins don't really fit the common image of a warlock, and the word was a neologism in Polish, which warlock is not. Besides, Sapkowski himself, says, that the best translation, in his opinion, would be "hexer" ,

 

[Jed]

Well, a warlock is a male witch, just like the Polish wiedzmin, but keep in mind, that, while etymologically correct, wiedzmins don't really fit the common image of a warlock, and the word was a neologism in Polish, which warlock is not. Besides, Sapkowski himself, says, that the best translation, in his opinion, would be "hexer" ,

To these native English ears, "hexer" sounds way cooler than "witcher." "Witcher" distracts me because everytime I read it, I can help but think it would better read as "Bewitcher."

 

[Spazmo]

And even Bewitcher elicits images of the old 60s sitcom. Hexer is probably best, what with the nice X sound.