Game News The Witcher 2 Release Date Announced

[VentilatorOfDoom]

NWN had clone-like character models.

An aweful lot of games had clone-like character models, including Bloodlines or DAO. The Witcher guys just made the error of using clones even for significant characters.

 

[Ancient]

 

[DraQ]

I've heard that game reviewers receive a special version of the bust of Geralt's head.

Do I want to know, I wonder?

I don't think bad dubbing, bad translation and clone-like character models were effects of using aurora engine. These are the things corrected in EE, right?

NWN had clone-like character models.

The only game I have ever played that didn't have clone characters was Azrael's Tear.

 

[Ancient]

Oblivion didn't

 

[DraQ]

Oblivion didn't

If you've seen one potato, you've seen all of them.

 

[MetalCraze]

NWN had clone-like character models.

Which were made out of various parts and had different colours for them. Plus their faces weren't seen and they had distinctive avatars. And main characters did have unique models.

In Twitcher models are literally the same, same clothing, same colours, same faces, same everything.

 

[1eyedking]

Fallout had only a handful of models and no one complained.

 

[DraQ]

Fallout had only a handful of models and no one complained.

I feel discomfort agreeing with 1ek, now that he has lost his mind, but this.

 

[Murk]

Is the number of models even something to complain about? aren't there more pressing concerns? Like shit combat, constant running around and a loading screen between each area, and choices that seem like they matter but don't?

Witcher was fun and all but number of character models is the last thing to bitch about. Not to mention that they actually looked decent.

 

[1eyedking]

Fallout had only a handful of models and no one complained.

I feel discomfort agreeing with 1ek, now that he has lost his mind, but this.

Lost it? No, my friend, I've actually found it!

Is the number of models even something to complain about? aren't there more pressing concerns? Like shit combat, constant running around and a loading screen between each area, and choices that seem like they matter but don't?

Witcher was fun and all but number of character models is the last thing to bitch about. Not to mention that they actually looked decent.

Loading screens were actually pretty awesome.

Ah, why do I kid myself. We'll never get a game as immersive as the Witcher again.

 

[Metro]

Witcher was a decent ARPG... just without loot, classes/specialization, or any meaningful attributes/leveling process. Do they rectify any of that in the sequel?

 

[Ruprekt]

I liked everything about witcher except the combat. It's the first RPG I've seen that gets the european-fantasy-setting looking right (the castles actually look like real castles etc).

The combat really was fucking awful tho

 

[Darth Roxor]

Still, the combat was better than in Arcanum

 

[made]

The combat really was fucking awful tho

And yet it was better than other modern arpgs like 2worlds2 and Div2.

 

[CreamyBlood]

I liked everything about witcher except the combat. It's the first RPG I've seen that gets the european-fantasy-setting looking right (the castles actually look like real castles etc).

The combat really was fucking awful tho

I agree, the combat sucked. I've never been able to finish Diablo and I never got past the first level of the Witcher with all of those spectral dogs. At least I made it to the Butcher level in Diablo a couple of times before giving up. I even enjoyed Divine Divinity (after being told that I'd have to make it through the first five-level dungeon) and eventually loved it, because it turned into an RPG.

One day I'll give The Witcher another chance, I didn't mind the tutorial level but just thinking about all of those glowing dogs and whack, whack whacking my simon says sword makes me cringe.

 

[Ancient]

what's so bad about combat it looks p.good
and timed inputs make it more thrilling
or are you just lazy ?

 

[Irxy]

Witcher was a decent ARPG... just without loot, classes/specialization, or any meaningful attributes/leveling process. Do they rectify any of that in the sequel?

Looks like it, at least according to bits of info we can get from faq and interviews.
Armor now consists of several parts, like boots, gloves, etc. No classes, but there are 3 more or less independent trees of skills (swords, signs and alchemy), designed so that players could focus on one of them for a distinct build or combine them.

 

[made]

what's so bad about combat it looks p.good
and timed inputs make it more thrilling
or are you just lazy ?

Mash a single button as fast as you can = immersive fast paced combat
Time your swings to form combos and mix them up with magic and other abilities = LOL SIMON SAYS QTE WTF IS THIS SHIT

It's like that thing the Twilight Zone was talking about.

 

[Ancient]

Mash a single button as fast as you can = immersive fast paced combat

no you have to press it at the right time , if you mash button you'll just break your combos and end-up in a ditch

 

[MetalCraze]

Is the number of models even something to complain about? aren't there more pressing concerns? Like shit combat, constant running around and a loading screen between each area, and choices that seem like they matter but don't?

Repeating the same shit for 1000th time gets boring even for me

what's so bad about combat it looks p.good
and timed inputs make it more thrilling
or are you just lazy ?

More like not stupid enough to just sit looking at a screen and pushing a single button every 2 seconds all the time in every single fucking combat encounter. TW has the worst combat I ever seen in a game. Arcanum's combat seems like a tactical simulation compared to it.

 

[Rhalle]

NWN had clone-like character models.

An aweful lot of games had clone-like character models, including Bloodlines or DAO. The Witcher guys just made the error of using clones even for significant characters.

NWN used a character generator, where bodies scaled but were essentially the same. The Witcher developer tools did not have a character generator; all the models had to be made individually, which is why they kept repeating NPCs. It's also why, however, there was such variation in the ones you got. Zoltan the dwarf was not just a short version of a human, Luevarden did not have just a scaled-to-be-fat Geralt body and Sir whats-his-name was not just "male body 1" with an armor mesh on it. They were all basically unique.

I don't know what they've done this time around-- it looks like they've done the same thing; but I think it would be a good idea to used a scalable generator for non-essential NPCs and unique models for the main characters, perhaps something like DAO.

One day I'll give The Witcher another chance, I didn't mind the tutorial level but just thinking about all of those glowing dogs and whack, whack whacking my simon says sword makes me cringe.

Yeah, it's excessive before you get to the last battle, all the spawning Barghests. The Drowners in the next chapter get to be pretty excessive too, to be honest. Don't ignore alchemy, build up the wind sign and frankly just view combat as a sort of chance at a performance in which you can show how cool and balletic you can look while taking on multiple enemies, stunning some and spinning away to kill others and building up the combo chains and that sort of thing. Some of it-- like stunning an enemy and spinning around to decapitate him and his head goes rolling-- moments like that-- arguably is some of the most visceral combat ever in an RPG, despite the unusual one-click way you have to get to it.

More like not stupid enough to just sit looking at a screen and pushing a single button every 2 seconds all the time in every single fucking combat encounter. TW has the worst combat I ever seen in a game. Arcanum's combat sims like a tactical simulation compared to it.

Not that it's a great system, but it's much better when you work to make Geralt do more than just stand in one spot and click. The acrobatics and switching up styles and weapons for different enemies and casting the signs and doing combos to get the kill animations is where it's at.

 

[MetalCraze]

I just wish it wasn't an eastern european game so it had combat like in good console slashers. If you are making it a multiplatform hack'n'slash at least add cool combos to it so the combat will be fun.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Well, does anyone feel like jotting down a list of the 'features' that are new to the sequel? Anything that comes across as consolisation? A feeling of Deus Ex Invisible War?

Oh, and while I think of it, has anyone tried The Witcher 1 on new systems? Specifically systems with new ATI cards? From reading forums, it seems there has been quite a few problems with it now.

 

[Rhalle]

There's apparently some stealth sections; it looks like it focuses on some pretty detailed multiple story-paths, ones that depend on particular actions and not just on dialogue choices; the area transitions are seamless; they've dumbed-down the alchemy with an optional minigame; they got rid of the levelling system with the 'coins' to purchase skills at level-up and have implemented some dumb-sounding Witcher classes so that the 'tards wont get confused about what sort of character they are making; you can now meditate anywhere (which, come to think of it is just more dumbing-down for casuals).

Supposedly it (at least the combat?) is heavily influenced by B:AA. But I dunno.

If they don't fuck it all up trying to imitate Western DLC-platform dev-- er, I mean game companies-- I think they'll do well. They obviously have more soul and technical skill than Bioware does at this point.

 

[MicoSelva]

has anyone tried The Witcher 1 on new systems? Specifically systems with new ATI cards? From reading forums, it seems there has been quite a few problems with it now.

My wife is replaying TWitcher now on Radeon 5850 (Win XP) and there are no problems. Of course, there's a chance You mean Radeon 6000 series or Win7.

For me, the first game was a decent RPG/Action-adventure hybrid. Repetitive combat didn't bother me - many RPGs have this 'feature'.
I'm looking forward to expanding the RPG elements in the sequel. Stats that have some meaning outside of combat would nice, for starters. For such a dialogue-heavy game, this aspect was really underdeveloped.