The Witcher

[Thrawn]

oh for sure, that's probably the case for the alot of people who pirate. They've just got no intention of actually buying the game in the first place.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I haven't tried it, but there is a mod for The Witcher called Full Combat Rebalance that's supposed to make the combat more challenging.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

I haven't tried it, but there is a mod for The Witcher called Full Combat Rebalance that's supposed to make the combat more challenging.

Boy howdy does it ever. I was never able to get farther than chapter 4 with that mod on hard difficulty because the Giant Centipedes just kept absolutely destroying me. If you really want a challenge, this mod on hard is tough, tough, TOUGH.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Ahhhhhhhhh FFS I just spent a week of my life spending every non work moment playing through the first game so I could import into The Witcher 2 and it is not seeing my saves at all even though they are in the right place, VERY frustrating and not the kind of first impression I enjoy getting from a game.

 

[Maniacal]

Finally (EDIT: The Witcher 2) arrived in the mail (regular Premium Edition). There is so much stuff in it

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

Finally arrived in the mail (regular Premium Edition). There is so much stuff in it

I think you're better off playing Fable III. Game is similar, and extremely a lot better I think.

 

[Rub'Rum]

I think you're better off playing Fable III. Game is similar, and extremely a lot better I think.

My sarcasm detector machine is confused.

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

It isn't broken.

 

[Maniacal]

Patch 1.1 for The Witcher 2 is out, amongst other changes which I have yet to read it removes the DRM, includes the first free DLC (all DLC will be free) and improves game performance (which is already good). I'm really enjoying this game

2) Patch 1.1 Corrections

1. The process of installing and activating the game is now easier and more stable. SECUROM copy protection
has been removed entirely, making the game DRM free!
...
4. Game efficiency has been improved. Game now runs 5-30% more efficiently and game loading has been
accelerated. Efficiency increases will vary depending on system configuration and game version. Owners of
boxed versions of The Witcher 2 are likely to notice the greatest improvements.
5. Bugs causing the game to crash, especially while saving game progress or loading saved games, have
been corrected.
...
9. The hardware configuration auto-detect function has been corrected, resulting in improved game
efficiency.

Press release spoiled for size:

Spoiler :

CD Projekt RED announces the release of Patch 1.1, which brings important improvements to The Witcher 2, the highly acclaimed game released a week ago. The most noticeable change is the removal of the DRM protection world-wide. This gives players the freedom to install and play the game on any number of computers, and no activation code is required.

Other notable improvements include frame rate increases of approximately up to 30%, especially noticeable on DRMed versions and low spec systems, better stability, and non-problematic installation of free DLCs (the first free DLC, the "Troll Trouble" quest, is incorporated into the patch), the possibility of inverting the mouse and re-mapping directional control on the keyboard, and more.

Adam Badowski, CD Projekt RED Development Director, commented, “Our goal is to make our fans and customers happy and to reward them for buying our game and DRM schemes does not support our philosophy as they might create obstacles for users of legally bought copies. Our approach to countering piracy is to incorporate superior value in the legal version. This means it has to be superior in every respect: less troublesome to use and install, with full support, and with access to additional content and services. So, we felt keeping the DRM would mainly hurt our legitimate users. This is completely in line with what we said before the release of The Witcher 2. We felt DRM was necessary to prevent the game being pirated and leaked before release. This purpose has been served, so we are pleased to let our users enjoy the full freedom of game usage they deserve.”

Badowski also explained CD Projekt RED’s stance on DRM from another perspective, "It’s important to remember that the PC platform is far more complex than consoles. DRM adds another layer of complication and potential problems. We saw this clearly in our game. Pre-release tests showed only small performance differences compared to the DRM-free (GOG.com) versions. We were unpleasantly surprised when some of our fans reported much larger differences, up to 30% lower framerates. This was another clear signal that we had to remove DRM as soon as possible – the quality of our users’ gameplay experience is absolutely our number one priority!"

Regarding the other fixes and improvements, Badowski further stated, "Patch 1.1 is also very important because it overcomes the major technical obstacles some of our customers encountered with installation and activation. We believe that after installing the patch, practically all users will be able to enjoy the game without flaws. At the same time, I would like to assure everyone that we will continue working on post- release support. Therefore, if there are things that still bother users with certain system configurations, they can expect them to be resolved soon as well. What is equally important, we are constantly reviewing feedback from our fans and looking through their requests and we will be adding new functionality and enhancements to the game to make sure gamers can enjoy the most out of the Witcher 2. We are also pleased to advise our fans who purchased the Russian-language edition that (contrary to what we communicated earlier) Patch 1.1 will function for them.”

The Witcher 2 users may download Patch 1.1 only via manual download from here (Patch 1.1 will not download through auto-patching system from the game Launcher).

 

[Disgustipated]

When did the Witcher 2 come out? I thought it wasn't until the end of May?

 

[Maniacal]

May 17th. I ordered off of Amazon though so my copy took longer to arrive.

All of the pre-order DLC is free, courtesy of CDProjekt themselves!

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_wit...e_dlc_all_of_them_here_for_free_legally/page1

EDIT: First batch of screenshots of The Witcher 2 in DX9 although I upped some of the graphical options yesterday to make it even prettier

Spoiler :

Into the breach men! Oh that looks like it hurt.

Ayran is such an eloquent and creative Lordling, oh wait.

Spoiler :

Minor spoiler:

Spoiler :

You don't have to kill him, although I did.

Oh, its a drowner >.> Bloody things were as numerous as flies in the swamp in The Witcher.

Got to punch a nobleman who is apparently some guy Geralt beats and scars in a fight in one of the novels.

What a wuss. I doubt he'll survive to become King. Especially with a silly name like that.

I'll post some more later, its 5:30 AM >_<

 

[Say_my_name]

The game looks gorgeous, even at the lower settings.

 

[Disgustipated]

Hopefully they fixed the camera angle problems. I think a lot of that was because it was taken from the NWN engine which also had camera angle problems. It was about the only thing I didn't like from The Witcher.

 

[Oruc]

blows that piece of crap Dragon Age 2 right out of the water PEOPLE
THE MUTANT'S PURSUING MEEE

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Actually finished the game yesterday, overall it's quite a good game but without spoiling anything I will just say that Chapter 3 is quite a bit shorter than either Chapter 1 or 2, I felt like the end of the game was slightly lower quality wise than the beginning-middle.

 

[Maniacal]

blows that piece of crap Dragon Age 2 right out of the water PEOPLE
THE MUTANT'S PURSUING MEEE

One of my favourite random lines so far, mostly because of the way it sounds I guess. Though that is all that bloody merchant will shout now. The only thing I wish they had included that Dragon Age 2 did right was a "sell all junk" button, though there aren't a lot of junk items in TW2 so I don't know why they even included them (bits of wire, rope ladder plank sections, rags and a couple of other items).

Hopefully they fixed the camera angle problems. I think a lot of that was because it was taken from the NWN engine which also had camera angle problems. It was about the only thing I didn't like from The Witcher.

What camera angle problems?

Actually finished the game yesterday, overall it's quite a good game but without spoiling anything I will just say that Chapter 3 is quite a bit shorter than either Chapter 1 or 2, I felt like the end of the game was slightly lower quality wise than the beginning-middle.

That's what I've ehard too, I'm still on Act I though. However, there are 16 endings and some of them are very different too, apparently Act II can be incredibly different depending on your actions and choses in Act I.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

My understanding is that there are about 4 actually different endings and the other 12 or whatever are just minor variations on those. Not sure I'll have the patience to get all 4 major ones, I'm working on a second playthrough now and already I'm finding my mind wandering towards wanting to play other games. I really liked Witcher 2 but there are a lot of design decisions they made that I'm not a fan of and I can't honestly say I like it more than the first game.

 

[Maniacal]

More screenshots:

Spoiler :

Poor guy should invest in some spectacles.

Going for a stroll through the woods along the river towards Flotsam after disembarking down river.

Forget DX10 and the joke of a DX11 (all that seems to do is make your FPS go down), DX9 is still beautiful.

Minor spoiler:

Spoiler :

Triss is not amused by the local informing us about the brothel.

One of the main streets in Flotsam.

And now because X-Fire stopped taking pictures for no discernible reason:

Spoiler :

Well, at least it looks like they died drunk.

Picturesque waterfall.

Probably a statue to an old god of protection.

Friendly troll, albeit rather drunk.

Die foul nekker!

Geralt emerging after several brutal fist fights in which he beat the crap out of the local fist fighting scene.

Fighting the kayran. I'm not fond of this attack.

Visiting some elven ruins with Triss.

How romantic

The most beautiful place and scene yet in the game and hey Triss, I think you could use a bath

 

[Thoughtful Thug]

http://torrentfreak.com/witcher-2-drm-dumped-but-cd-projekt-is-watching-torrents-110527/

Following reports that security features were damaging the playing experience of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, today CD Projekt will release an update to remove all DRM from the game. But while the company informs TorrentFreak it was pleased to avoid a pre-release on this major title, as promised it will monitor and go after illegal file-sharers.

&#8220;To me it was quite some news that our lovely DRM, in this case SecuRom, can screw up game performance so much. Would you like a little taste?&#8221; a TorrentFreak reader reported to us this week.

He was referring to the DRM present in certain versions of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the hot new title from CD Projekt. His calculations revealed the following:

* With SecuROM: 41 sec game launch, 16 sec savegame, 16-43 fps
* Without SecuROM: 9 sec game launch, 8 sec savegame, 24-73 fps

Although the performance hit is dramatic, only retail versions of the game are affected since Steam versions and those from GOG.com are supplied DRM-free.

&#8220;I bought the game from Amazon,&#8221; said our concerned reader. &#8220;I am an idiot, apparently.&#8221;

However, after listening to complaints like these around the web, today CD Projekt will release a patch which will remove DRM from all versions of the game.

&#8220;Our goal is to make our fans and customers happy and to reward them for buying our game and DRM schemes does not support our philosophy as they might create obstacles for users of legally bought copies,&#8221; reports CD Projekt&#8217;s Adam Badowski, refreshingly.

&#8220;Our approach to countering piracy is to incorporate superior value in the legal version. This means it has to be superior in every respect: less troublesome to use and install, with full support, and with access to additional content and services. So, we felt keeping the DRM would mainly hurt our legitimate users.&#8221;

Interestingly, TorrentFreak had already been in contact with CD Projekt who told us their main concern was avoiding a pre-release situation, something they achieved.

&#8220;Nowadays most PC games are available for download with a working crack at least couple of days before official release,&#8221; Agnieszka Szostak of CD Projekt told us. &#8220;We&#8217;re happy we were able to avoid it with our game.&#8221;

While CD Projekt&#8217;s approach to DRM in this instance is to be commended, and piracy can indeed be deterred by making it more worthwhile to get the official copy, this announcement should perhaps not be read in isolation.

As reported last year, CD Projekt already warned that DRM aside, they might take another and even more controversial approach to dealing with piracy.

&#8220;Of course we&#8217;re not happy when people are pirating our games, so we are signing with legal firms and torrent sneaking companies,&#8221; CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski explained at the time.

&#8220;In quite a few big countries, when people are downloading [The Witcher 2] illegally they can expect a letter from a legal firm saying, &#8216;Hey, you downloaded it illegally and right now you have to pay a fine&#8217;,&#8221; Iwinski added.

A couple of weeks ago TorrentFreak heard rumors that a pre-released but uncracked version of a Witcher 2 torrent on The Pirate Bay had been put there as &#8220;a trap&#8221;. Our investigations didn&#8217;t show any evidence to back up that claim. So, along with a link to the company&#8217;s earlier statements about getting law firms involved, we contacted CD Projekt and asked them outright &#8211; is this torrent a trap and do you still intend to go ahead with tracking illegal file-sharers?

We received no answer on the first question, but we did on the second.

&#8220;Yes we will track illegal file-sharing hoping people will find the game good enough to actually change their mind and be willing to pay for it,&#8221; Agnieszka Szostak told us.

If CD Projekt do indeed go ahead with their threats, this will be the second time that a Witcher title has been involved in these so-called &#8220;pay-up-or-else&#8221; schemes. In 2008, large numbers of Internet users started receiving letters from notorious file-sharing lawyers Davenport Lyons in the UK demanding cash settlements. Among those letters were demands for payment on an Atari game with a familiar title &#8211; The Witcher.

We asked CD Projekt if that scheme had been successful. We received no response.

It will be a waste of money on their part if they go with the "pay or else" scheme.

 

[Maniacal]

All old news, I already posted about the DRM removal.