The Witcher 2 Has Gone Gold, Releases In 3 Weeks

[gorcorps]

They aren't similar at all.

Everything Geralt does (swordplay wise) is semi-realistic. He is just rolling, which, you know, is possible to do in real life. He isn't moving around at really that high of a speed, and his sword attacks are also semi realistic.

Compare this to DA2, where warriors pretty much teleport, spin their around around in circles like barbarian whirlwind in DA2, and slam their sword into the ground causing earthquakes, all while wearing full plate armor.

Geralt is meant to be agile - this is why he wears leather. Still, he is orders slower than warrios in DA2, which are wearing full plate and a shield (comparable to the very slow knights in Witcher 2).

Combat animation wasn't even a complaint from me in DA2, but I don't see how anyone could say they were that similar between TW2 and DA2. Have you played both?

Nobody in this thread seems to read... as I've said 3 times now, I've only played the DA2 demo (and DA1) and I JUST started W2. It's also laughable to compare realism in worlds of elves, magic, dragons and the like. This is what I don't get about fantasy settings... everything is completely off the wall, yet there's somehow an expectation to obey some laws of our normal earth world? Why? Why can mages shoot fireballs out of their sticks and it's fine but if a dwarf isn't weighed down exactly like a normal human it's wrong?

Are there things wrong with DA2? Yes. The list is apparently a mile long, but the combat complaint I just don't get.

 

[Dumac]

Are there things wrong with DA2? Yes. The list is apparently a mile long, but the combat complaint I just don't get.

The combat animation of DA2 is a non-issue compared to the many other gaping flaws of the games. When

However

It's also laughable to compare realism in worlds of elves, magic, dragons and the like. This is what I don't get about fantasy settings... everything is completely off the wall, yet there's somehow an expectation to obey some laws of our normal earth world? Why? Why can mages shoot fireballs out of their sticks and it's fine but if a dwarf isn't weighed down exactly like a normal human it's wrong?

I never get this arguement.

1. There can be different levels of fantasy or realism. This in just in regards to how dramatized the fantasy elements are. For example, the Witcher's world is almost realistic. The fantasy elements are rather mute at times, and magic takes a more subtle role. For example, roaming around Flotsom, you would just think of it as a poor village. "Everything is completely off the wall" is not really true a lot of the time.

The Witcher 2 can be considered more realistic in that the way Geralt fights with his sword in closer than DA2 to the way an actual being in our world would fight with a sword. Geralt uses some standard sword moves, rolls in a realistic manner, parries in a realistic manner, while in DA2 warriors perform grand movements that would never happen in real life. They simply take blows with no response, tanking the damage in an unrealistic manner. They swing swords in humanly impossible ways, and teleport across the map, causing enemies to explode unrealistically into bits of meat.

I wouldn't say one level of fantasy is better than the other, but saying they are the same is a exaggeration that I do not agree with.

2. There has to be realism within a fantasy world - the laws of the world must be continuous and sensible. For example, if Frodo suddenly grew wings and flew away, this wouldn't be realistic in context of middle earth, as Frodo should not have these abilities.

In this regard, DA2 retconned what is realistic in the dragon age universe. Fights do things in DA2 that would seem unrealistic in the setting of DA:O, where warriors were slightly more like the warriors of earth.

 

[KaOTiK]

Nobody in this thread seems to read... as I've said 3 times now, I've only played the DA2 demo (and DA1) and I JUST started W2. It's also laughable to compare realism in worlds of elves, magic, dragons and the like. This is what I don't get about fantasy settings... everything is completely off the wall, yet there's somehow an expectation to obey some laws of our normal earth world? Why? Why can mages shoot fireballs out of their sticks and it's fine but if a dwarf isn't weighed down exactly like a normal human it's wrong?

Are there things wrong with DA2? Yes. The list is apparently a mile long, but the combat complaint I just don't get.

Easy, it is called suspended disbelief.

A game has to have a certain amount of realism when it deals with stuff that is real otherwise it breaks the immersion and makes the player question it. All the fantasy stuff/fire/whatever is accepted because it isn't real to start with so people mentally (most the time unaware) file it under believable for the setting.

It is the same thing with movies. Unless it is just a crazy off the wall type of game or whatever that is obvious from the get go, people will relate things that are in real life as well as in the game and expect similar behavior of said things. It is just the way our brains work. It becomes most evident when games go for the look of realism instead of doing its own art style.

 

[gorcorps]

The combat animation of DA2 is a non-issue compared to the many other gaping flaws of the games. When

However



I never get this arguement.

1. There can be different levels of fantasy or realism. This in just in regards to how dramatized the fantasy elements are. For example, the Witcher's world is almost realistic. The fantasy elements are rather mute at times, and magic takes a more subtle role. For example, roaming around Flotsom, you would just think of it as a poor village. "Everything is completely off the wall" is not really true a lot of the time.

The Witcher 2 can be considered more realistic in that the way Geralt fights with his sword in closer than DA2 to the way an actual being in our world would fight with a sword. Geralt uses some standard sword moves, rolls in a realistic manner, parries in a realistic manner, while in DA2 warriors perform grand movements that would never happen in real life. They simply take blows with no response, tanking the damage in an unrealistic manner. They swing swords in humanly impossible ways, and teleport across the map, causing enemies to explode unrealistically into bits of meat.

I wouldn't say one level of fantasy is better than the other, but saying they are the same is a exaggeration that I do not agree with.

2. There has to be realism within a fantasy world - the laws of the world must be continuous and sensible. For example, if Frodo suddenly grew wings and flew away, this wouldn't be realistic in context of middle earth, as Frodo should not have these abilities.

In this regard, DA2 retconned what is realistic in the dragon age universe. Fights do things in DA2 that would seem unrealistic in the setting of DA:O, where warriors were slightly more like the warriors of earth.

:hmm: I suppose you have a point. DA:O was slower, so the change to something faster is the bigger issue than the system itself. That plus the game had many other problems that sure didn't help matters. :awe:

 

[JimmiG]

Just got the game off Steam. It was a *big* download. Two Worlds 2 is 3.5 GB. This is like 16GB

I'm wondering whether I should start the game at Easy or Medium. I normally play games at the medium setting, but some reviewers noted that the game is frustratingly difficult.

I hate having to constantly save and reload. Saving should not be a gameplay mechanism, it should be something you do before you exit the game so you can return later.

 

[Mem]

I hope they consider bringing out an expansion pack to W2 ,it would sell well.

Too bad W2 was a short game especially when compared to W1.

 

[terry107]

I hope they consider bringing out an expansion pack to W2 ,it would sell well.

Too bad W2 was a short game especially when compared to W1.

CDPR is holding a conference today where they will make "a big announcement about their next upcoming title, and will also have some other exciting things to share during their livecast. CDP RED will discuss some of the successes of the recent launch of The Witcher 2, and will also map out a plan for continued support for the new title."

Details here.

 

[Demo24]

Just got the game off Steam. It was a *big* download. Two Worlds 2 is 3.5 GB. This is like 16GB

I'm wondering whether I should start the game at Easy or Medium. I normally play games at the medium setting, but some reviewers noted that the game is frustratingly difficult.

I hate having to constantly save and reload. Saving should not be a gameplay mechanism, it should be something you do before you exit the game so you can return later.

Initially it can be difficult on medium, I've found this is because the enemies don't necessarily scale that well for your 'rank'. f5 is quicksave, so I just got in the habit of doing that fairly often. Annoyingly you can't seem to go back 2 or 3 quicksaves ago.

 

[gorcorps]

Initially it can be difficult on medium, I've found this is because the enemies don't necessarily scale that well for your 'rank'. f5 is quicksave, so I just got in the habit of doing that fairly often. Annoyingly you can't seem to go back 2 or 3 quicksaves ago.

It seems to autosave enough though that going back to one of those might not be too bad either.

I started on medium and haven't found it too hard, though again... just a couple hours in. I just took a boat ride to a new jungle type area so I'm not sure where it's supposed to get difficult. IMO with the "quel" sign (if that's the right one, the defense one) you can make it almost TOO easy. You're invincible for a good chunk of time. Every time you get hit the timer goes down, but it's still 15-30 secs of invincibility. I can usually retreat just long enough to reuse it again too.

I'm also a little confused as I've been finding loads of items and such, yet no place to sell stuff yet. They exist right? I mean each item has a value so I assume so. Just odd to have so much stuff to find in the prologue but nothing to do with it.

 

[exar333]

Just got the game off Steam. It was a *big* download. Two Worlds 2 is 3.5 GB. This is like 16GB

I'm wondering whether I should start the game at Easy or Medium. I normally play games at the medium setting, but some reviewers noted that the game is frustratingly difficult.

I hate having to constantly save and reload. Saving should not be a gameplay mechanism, it should be something you do before you exit the game so you can return later.

I would suggest medium to start with. If it is too easy, switch to hard (or is it called difficult?) or switch down to easy if you cannot get by a certain part.

I started with medium as well, and I find myself using signs semi-regularly but not all the time. When I re-play the game, it will definitely be on hard difficulty so it is more of a challenge. This forces you to use signs and alchemy a lot more and be more strategic.

This game reminds me about what I liked from combat in DA:O. You can set traps, funnel enemies, be stealthy (or not). If this launched before DA2, I would not have even touched that game until I was done with a couple playthroughs of this. :biggrin:

 

[Attic]

Any CPU or GPU benchmarks for this game? I'm wondering if I can get a more consistent 40-60fps with an upgrade to a 6970 on my system.

The game takes good advantage of quad core. What would be the best way to get an idea of my maximum frame limit for my CPU? Keep my current graphical settings, high, and drop res as low as possible? Do the grpahics options also take a noticable jab at CPU cycles or are the exclusive to GPU horsepower?

I'm seeing 50-70% usage across my 4 cores and getting 30-40fps at 1920x1080 with the high spec config.

 

[sigurros81]

Came back from lunch and trying to load up GOG.com to see what CDP's announcements are, but looks like their site is down? Anyone know what they announced?

 

[Dankk]

Came back from lunch and trying to load up GOG.com to see what CDP's announcements are, but looks like their site is down? Anyone know what they announced?

In regards to The Witcher 2, they're releasing patch 1.2 tomorrow, which includes literally dozens of fixes. Also some new DLC that allows you to change Geralt's hair style. (Although personally, I'm fine with the default)

 

[terry107]

In regards to The Witcher 2, they're releasing patch 1.2 tomorrow, which includes literally dozens of fixes. Also some new DLC that allows you to change Geralt's hair style. (Although personally, I'm fine with the default)

They're also including all previous DLC that came from purchasing from specific places.

 

[sigurros81]

I have a feeling that when CDP said that all of Witcher 2's DLCs will be free and the expansions will be the ones costing money--the DLCs they're refering to are dinky little pieces of armor and haircuts that are free. Any actual serious content will cost money.

 

[gorcorps]

I have a feeling that when CDP said that all of Witcher 2's DLCs will be free and the expansions will be the ones costing money--the DLCs they're refering to are dinky little pieces of armor and haircuts that are free. Any actual serious content will cost money.

Still... other companies would charge for those little dinky pieces of armor. Didn't Bethesda charge for horse armor?

 

[Dankk]

I have a feeling that when CDP said that all of Witcher 2's DLCs will be free and the expansions will be the ones costing money--the DLCs they're refering to are dinky little pieces of armor and haircuts that are free. Any actual serious content will cost money.

To be fair, there are additional quests too.

 

[sigurros81]

To be fair, there are additional quests too.

If you're referring to Troll Trouble, I hope you're right. I hope that future free DLCs will have new quests as well. But Troll Trouble was free only to those who pre-ordered the game if I remember correctly.

 

[Mem]

1.2 patch notes (available 3rd June).

Patch 1.2
Patch will be available on 3.06.2011
New DLC!
"Barbers and Coiffeuses"

Some traders also provide barbershop services. For a small fee, Geralt can get them to change his hairstyle. Search notice boards for information about barbers and coiffeuses offering services of this nature in a given location. In Flotsam, in Chapter 1 of the game, these services are available from the antique book dealer Einar Gausel. In Chapter 2, look either for Sambor in Henselt’s Camp or for Felicia Cori in Vergen. This apprentice sorceress also provides hairstyling services in Loc Muinne, in Chapter 3 of the game.
Patch 1.2 Corrections/Amendments (June 3, 2011)

All previously released DLC packages are installed with Patch 1.2:
"Blue Stripes Combat Jacket"
Ultimate Alchemist's Outfit"
Ultimate Mage's Outfit"
"Ultimate Swordsman's Outfit"
"Finisher Pack"
"Mysterious Merchant"
"Troll Trouble"
Patch 1.2 adds a new free DLC package titled “Barbers and Coiffeuses.” To take advantage of barbershop and hairstyling services, look for Einar Gausel in Chapter 1 of the game, Sambor in Henselt’s Camp in Chapter 2, Felicia Cori in Chapter 2 if you travel to Vergen, and Felicia Cori once again in Chapter 3.
Game saves are now compressed automatically, lowering the amount of disk space they utilize.
An option has been added to the game menu allowing game saves to be deleted. To delete a game save, highlight the relevant item and press the ‘Delete’ key.
The game menu now loads at a markedly accelerated pace.
The game now supports Logitech G35 headphones and other USB headsets with on-board sound cards.
A number of fixes have been added to the key binding functionality (actions can now be mapped to number pad and cursor/arrow keys).
Analog sticks on gamepads now work correctly in the GUI panels.
A number of game balance fixes have been introduced in the Prologue.
Lock on targets is not lost when the distance to targets increases.
A number of fixes have been made in blocking functionality during combat. Also, player character responsiveness in combat has been improved, and Geralt can attack more than one target during normal combat.
A number of corrections have been made in the statistics displayed in item diagrams in the Crafting panel.
The Witcher 1 saves are now imported correctly.
An auto–save has been added before the fight against the draug.
Flare bomb duration is now 2 (two) minutes.
Issue involving the equipping of bombs (or other items) even if they were not present in the character Inventory has been fixed.
Islamic–themed and similar textures have been deleted and/or replaced.
A number of fixes have been made in game dialogues.
Issue that blocked advancement to the next level at the start of Chapter 3 has been fixed.
Issue involving the occurrence of T-poses upon the destruction of nekker nests has been corrected.
Guards can no longer block Geralt when he is on a ladder.
Knives no longer affect friendly NPCs.
Bug related to using some containers has been fixed.
Ostmurk (an ingredient required to complete a quest) can no longer be sold.
Ingredients required to complete the “Melitele's Heart” quest have been added to the game.
A fix has been introduced in the “Troll Trouble” quest whereby the she–troll’s head can be won in a game of dice poker.
The Ghost of the Banner can no longer be killed by wraiths.
Issue involving the Operator being neutral and thus susceptible to being killed before any conversation occurs has been fixed.
A number of fixes have been introduced to prevent selected NPCs from being blocked (king in siege tower, knights when destroying a gate in the Prologue, etc.).
The “Three Sisters” quest has been fixed so that the door does not remain locked forever once the quest has been completed.
A number of progression breaks have been fixed, including instances of blocked meditation, inability to save game, and blocked combat after use of static cameras (e.g. game could not be saved after completion of the “Indecent Proposal” quest).
The progression break during the fight against the dragon in Chapter 3 (exploration not working properly) has been fixed.
The progression break during the fight against Dethmold (whereby he sometimes remained behind his barrier, doing nothing) has been fixed.
The progression break (black screen) in the "Little Shop of Dreams" quest has been fixed.
The progression break following failure to complete the ritual with Anezka has been fixed.
The progression break during the dialogue on the beach in the “Hung Over” quest has been fixed.

 

[Mem]

Btw for those that wanted to play the first Witcher game but had registrations problems,

Studio CD Projekt RED is happy to announce that version of the patch 1.4 without registration requirement is available for download. Owners of premiere edition of The Witcher, which had a problem with installing Enhanced Edition because of registration process during patching, can download new version of patch 1.4 from this site,
http://pl.thewitcher.com/the-witcher/1/

 

[GrantMeThePower]

I was going to start playing this tonight. Is there any reason why i should wait until 1.2 comes out and is installed to play?

 

[gorcorps]

I was going to start playing this tonight. Is there any reason why i should wait until 1.2 comes out and is installed to play?

I don't think any of the content is unlocked from the start, so I doubt it.

 

[sigurros81]

I was going to start playing this tonight. Is there any reason why i should wait until 1.2 comes out and is installed to play?

Unless you're a vagina and thinks that the prologue is too hard, then no reasons to wait, you should play it ASAP.

 

[Phobic9]

The game now supports Logitech G35 headphones and other USB headsets with on-board sound cards.

Finally. I can play again. although I may wait a couple of weeks until my new PC arrives.

 

[Attic]

I was going to start playing this tonight. Is there any reason why i should wait until 1.2 comes out and is installed to play?

Na, i'd just play.

Game gets good after prologue. Though the prologue I found frustratingly difficult at points. The patch will make parts easier I believe when they say more well "balanced".