Game News The Witcher 2 is Here

[Jason]

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher 2, The

<p>You can now pick up <a href="http://af.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_witcher_2/?as=1649904300" target="_blank"><strong>The Witcher 2</strong></a> DRM-free and kick a little change towards the Codex at the same time.</p>
<blockquote>DRM FREE Digital Premium Edition! Exclusively on GOG.COM!<br />The second installment in the RPG saga about the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. A new, modern game engine, responsible both for beautiful visuals and sophisticated game mechanics puts players in the most lively and believable world ever created in an RPG game. A captivating story, dynamic combat system, beautiful graphics, and everything else that made the original Witcher such a great game are now executed in a much more advanced and sophisticated way.</blockquote>
<p><br />Boobie cards not included.</p>
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[Spectacle]

I pre-ordered it using the codex link, then bought it when it became available. Do you get any cash for that?

 

[J_C]

Sorry, you will only get some Kool Kodex Kredit.

 

[Jason]

I pre-ordered it using the codex link, then bought it when it became available. Do you get any cash for that?

We should. Only Tal can say for sure, though.

 

[Trash]

Been playing it for awhile now. It's difficult, beautifull, charming, mature, rewarding and fun. Last best hope that hardcore rpg's have at staying a mainstream thing imo. Hope this puppy sells.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

where are the exclusive items

 

[MMXI]

Been playing it for awhile now. It's difficult, beautifull, charming, mature, rewarding and fun. Last best hope that hardcore rpg's have at staying a mainstream thing imo. Hope this puppy sells.

So The Witcher 2 is a hardcore RPG now? It's the Pool of Radiance of 2011?

 

[commie]

Well it's certainly the most hardcore ARPG to have come out in a long while, and certainly the most mature. Agree entirely with Trash about its quality, game's got me grinning in anticipation every time I load it up.

 

[Taluntain]

I pre-ordered it using the codex link, then bought it when it became available. Do you get any cash for that?

We should. Only Tal can say for sure, though.

Not even I, unfortunately. GOG's reporting tools are out of the stone age. I can see a number of how many games were purchased every week and that's it. I don't even know if the Witcher 2 preorders really count as I've got no way of checking what was ordered.

 

[turul]

been playing for 2hrs. The mouse coding needs work, it's horrendous. Graphically impressive, but I have to turn down many things in it, even though I got a 4GB RAM ,Quad Core Intel with ATI 4580/Igig .

My graphics card is now showing its age. It ran everything so far, with fairly high qual settings, the Twichter brought it to its knees.

There are also some mini-games needs to be thrown out of the game, (arm wrestling, and certain tasks wanting me to click the mouse button at super speed) and the way things to be picked up or activated also needs a work. Otherwise the story is good so far, not totally happy for the combat system, although I don't want to judge too early yet, as I said, I'm 2hrs into it and I'm still discovering how this game works.

Did I mention the mouse control needs to be fixed?

 

[Arcanoix]

been playing for 2hrs. The mouse coding needs work, it's horrendous. Graphically impressive, but I have to turn down many things in it, even though I got a 4GB RAM ,Quad Core Intel with ATI 4580/Igig .

My graphics card is now showing its age. It ran everything so far, with fairly high qual settings, the Twichter brought it to its knees.

There are also some mini-games needs to be thrown out of the game, (arm wrestling, and certain tasks wanting me to click the mouse button at super speed) and the way things to be picked up or activated also needs a work. Otherwise the story is good so far, not totally happy for the combat system, although I don't want to judge too early yet, as I said, I'm 2hrs into it and I'm still discovering how this game works.

Did I mention the mouse control needs to be fixed?

The mouse control was programmed before everything else, hence it lags with 60hz displays as it's a 120hz engine (capable of running 60+ FPS, on the right settings of course) and a lot of things (notably SpeedTree) were integrated poorly. SpeedTree's leaves are rendered 2D, thus they ALWAYS face the camera. That shits annoying.

 

[Spectacle]

a lot of things (notably SpeedTree) were integrated poorly. SpeedTree's leaves are rendered 2D, thus they ALWAYS face the camera. That shits annoying.

That's just how speedtree works, you haven't noticed before?

 

[commie]

a lot of things (notably SpeedTree) were integrated poorly. SpeedTree's leaves are rendered 2D, thus they ALWAYS face the camera. That shits annoying.

That's just how speedtree works, you haven't noticed before?

When everyone has ATI 9990's with 6 gb ram, Eight-core processors and 16 gb ram, then maybe they'll make proper foliage in games.

 

[Twinkle]

It has nothing to do with hardware.

Every game nowadays uses some form of sprites to render foliage. But only Speedtree still has crappy in-your-face rotating leaves from Daggerfall era. Bethesda opting for custom foliage system should be telling, really.

 

[commie]

Yeah and almost every game developer uses speedtree, so what's your point against The Witcher using it?

Bethesda can afford to make everything in-house if it chooses to, though it still relied on Gamebryo for all it's games this decade.

The Witcher 2 had barely a 10 million dollar budget and used it among other things to make a custom engine and probably to save time and development costs went for the off the shelf solution with Speedtree.

 

[J_C]

a lot of things (notably SpeedTree) were integrated poorly. SpeedTree's leaves are rendered 2D, thus they ALWAYS face the camera. That shits annoying.

That's just how speedtree works, you haven't noticed before?

When everyone has ATI 9990's with 6 gb ram, Eight-core processors and 16 gb ram, then maybe they'll make proper foliage in games.

That would be great. But just check the Witcher topics in GRPG, lots of people lack a strong PC.

 

[commie]

a lot of things (notably SpeedTree) were integrated poorly. SpeedTree's leaves are rendered 2D, thus they ALWAYS face the camera. That shits annoying.

That's just how speedtree works, you haven't noticed before?

When everyone has ATI 9990's with 6 gb ram, Eight-core processors and 16 gb ram, then maybe they'll make proper foliage in games.

That would be great. But just check the Witcher topics in GRPG, lots of people lack a strong PC.

Me included . That's why I don't mind this compromise to allow catering for older hardware and understand why they went with one thing and not another.

 

[Angthoron]

Been playing it for awhile now. It's difficult, beautifull, charming, mature, rewarding and fun. Last best hope that hardcore rpg's have at staying a mainstream thing imo. Hope this puppy sells.

Pretty much this, I'm quite impressed with combat difficulty, anything higher than three heavy-armored knights in the prologue was a challenge, and the final courtyard fight actually made me think that Alchemy and Shield (Yrden?) will be very, very useful in this game.

I'm also satisfied with the amount/level of dialogue for a change. Enjoying this so far, and my CE is on the way, too, so, yay.


Only problem I have is, at the moment, I have some weird graphical artifacts on the screen in the outdoors (Flotsam), there's clear pixelated lines visible, almost like my screen has gone fucked, or the GPU is broken, but this disappears indoors, and isn't occuring in other games. Any ideas? I thought it might be bloom, since I didn't turn it off at first, but I've not checked it since disabling, so, could be anything.


Speaking of it doing well: Two local stores were out of CEs and PEs at 12PM on Day 1, and as I stepped in, a shop assistant was wishing a customer fun time with Witcher 2, telling "Hope it's good", to which the guy replied "I know it will be". Yeah, it's doing quite well.

 

[Hirato]

Pretty much this, I'm quite impressed with combat difficulty, anything higher than three heavy-armored knights in the prologue was a challenge, and the final courtyard fight actually made me think that Alchemy and Shield (Yrden?) will be very, very useful in this game.

Quen is the aforementioned shield; Yrden places an immobilizing trap on the ground.
The latter of which I used to get past the fight in the monastery courtyard on my 4th attempt.

 

[Angthoron]

Ah, yes, thanks, it is Quen indeed. All in all, of what I've seen so far, magic and alchemy play a much bigger role than before, which is a definite plus.

Was amusing to see dialogue options that use particular spells or skills, looks like Witchers get a Force Persuade now.

I also think that you get those dialogue-related skills upgraded the more you use them? At least I got something for using "Witcher Mind Trick" several times in a row.

 

[Delirius]

Ah, yes, thanks, it is Quen indeed. All in all, of what I've seen so far, magic and alchemy play a much bigger role than before, which is a definite plus.

Was amusing to see dialogue options that use particular spells or skills, looks like Witchers get a Force Persuade now.

I also think that you get those dialogue-related skills upgraded the more you use them? At least I got something for using "Witcher Mind Trick" several times in a row.

Yeah, the more you use a speech skill the higher level you have in it. Personally I specialize in Intimidation.

 

[CSM]

No support for 4:3 and "smaller" screens.

That means black bars, and an UI that doesn't scale and is unreadable (especially at lower resolutions).

Game shouldn't have been released.

 

[Pablosdog]

No support for 4:3 and "smaller" screens.

That means black bars, and an UI that doesn't scale and is unreadable (especially at lower resolutions).

Game shouldn't have been released.

You are not mastermind

 

[turul]

No support for 4:3 and "smaller" screens.

That means black bars, and an UI that doesn't scale and is unreadable (especially at lower resolutions).

Game shouldn't have been released.

The minimum system requirements for Witcher 2 lists graphics cards, that all have the capability of scaling. It's under their properties setup, so as scaling goes, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[commie]

Some English language reviews for what they're worth:

From bit-gamer which gave it 95%:

The Witcher 2 is one of the most exciting and involving RPGs we’ve seen in a long, long time. It forms a logical competitor to more action-orientated titles, such as Mass Effect, and succeeds where previous pretenders, such as Dragon Age 2, have failed. Those who can bear the QTEs and practice finding hotspots, who take the time to immerse themselves in the world and understand the characters will find an experience that’ll be tough to beat - not just for future RPGs, but all future titles.

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2011/05/17/the-witcher-2-review/1



From Gamereactor which gave it 9/10:

It looks great, it sounds great and the story and the universe are both well crafted. It should appeal to all fans of the genre. It's a game with some huge ambitions, and CD Projekt RED has managed to pull them all off. This is roleplaying games at their best.

http://www.gamereactor.eu/reviews/7420/The+Witcher+2:+Assassins+of+Kings/


Cue the haters.....