The Witcher 2 - Patch 1.1 Released, Now DRM-Free
 

Might as well keep the Witcher 2 news torrent going. CDPR has finally released the v1.1 patch - GOG users need to access their account (go to "additional content" for the game), Steam users will autopatch and everyone else should head here and look through the lengthy list of different versions.
Here's a snip from the release news that explains the removal of the DRM:
More information.

Very nice on the DRM removal. I'd find DRM much less distasteful if I trusted developers to remove it shortly after shipping, when the pirates have moved on to the 'next kewl thing'. Most developers haven't earned that trust. CDProjekt may be doing so, what with having removed the DRM from the original Witcher in the 1.5 patch and now this with TW2.

Kudos to a company that treats its customers like customers instead of criminals.

Unfortunately it does not seem to matter what a company's DRM policy is. I think it has little effect on piracy while strong DRM may indeed help sales by preventing piracy(even if only temporarily).

We'll see once sales figures are released a month down the line… my money's on TW2 beating DA2, even with little DRM.

Just an FYI… the patch also puts everything back to default settings. I had to re-tweak my graphics, audio, etc.

Also, you still can't map anything to the numberpad. >:O

That is why I bought it on GOG, if as PC gamers if we don't support companies who have good customer service and make a good product they move to the console side and we get crappy ports DRMed to hell.

Well that tells us nothing.

I based my drm conclusion off tweakguides.com piracy article, it gives many examples of high levels of piracy for games with out drm, while also giving example of DRM that has keep illegal copies off the net for a few week and disucssion with devs on how even a few days that DRM works help boost sales.

Amen to that.
And add to it all future DLC for free…

Seems TW2 is the best buy of a new game I've made in a past few years.

Installed patch…. Same problem. No matter what graphical options I enable/disable, interior locations give me freeze-frame rates. Even pausing and switching to the menu takes about 30 seconds to input the command. Ridiculous.

I don't think anybody expects the lack of DRM to increase sales. But what we're looking for here is little to no negative impact in sales numbers when DRM is removed. If a game without DRM sells as well as another game in its genre with DRM, then the argument can be made: Why have DRM at all? Why punish paying customers if the end result is the same?

I know there are two sides to this argument, and many folks think that no DRM will reduce sales dramatically (this is certainly the stance of every other publisher on the planet). But what's really admirable about what CDPR is doing is that they are willing to take a chance on the other side of the argument and provide a tangible data point that will go a long ways in either confirming or refuting the notion that the presence of DRM has anything at all to do with the sales numbers of a AAA PC game.

I applaud them for taking on this grand experiment…

Installed the patch. It made it worse… Now it looks like crap and it hangs when I try to leave the Inn where my last save was. Wish I would have backed up the previous witcher.exe and configuration as that looks like about the only thing that was changed and I have the gog.com version so dlc was already removed. I'm happy for getting the troll dlc now but I'd rather be able to play the game. I tried to reconfigure it again but not having much luck. Bummer. Status changed to waiting for patch 1.2.

Edit: My complaints may be a bit early. After killing the process and changing settings again and reloading I was able to get out of the inn without crashing. Needed to mess with brightness and gamma substantially to make it look like it did prior to the patch. Lighting is still somewhat off but I can live with it now. Also the troll contract really is available so I will back off for a little and continue to play.

The patch actually broke my game, I couldn't even launch it after I applied it. And it had been working perfectly until then. A complete reinstall with automatic patching to 1.1 as it installed and it's working again.

Not a perfect launch, but what a game. It's up there with the best in my opinion. I can't see myself bothering playing or buying anything else until Skyrim in November.

Important note for anybody who's using a gamepad: Do NOT install the patch. The analog sticks are now non-functional in all menus in the game. Not a huge deal in most cases since the D-pad still works, but the big thing you lose out on is the ability to scroll journal entries to read all the text.

This has been reported on multiple forums.

I have uninstalled my game and am re-installing back to my downloaded GOG.com 1.0 version, since I never had any major problems, and I wish to continue playing on my projector TV (which is totally, totally awesome, if anybody cares :D)

This is the value of reading the forums - thank you for the dire warnings on the patch. My game's running just fine as it is!

I had most difficulty finding the correct patch to download :)

The launcher needs to be manually closed before applying, which is very clumsy - as a lot of people go to the patch site directly from it.

The patch itself, however, seems to have improved my framerate a bit - and the game is more consistently smooth. Not a biggie, as it was already pretty smooth - but it no longer "hitches" slightly when turning. Yes, it resets everything - which is stupid. I also had to manually reset "Ubersampling" to 1 in the config file again - but that was expected.

Apart from the framerate and a somewhat more logical menu layout - I've noticed no difference. I still don't get that link thingy under "extras" as mentioned in the patch notes - and I did beat the guy at poker. Probably have to do it again after patch, but I don't feel like searching for the appropriate savegame.

All in all, a pretty underwhelming patch for one such as myself, who had no serious issues with the game. But a framerate boost is always nice. My number one issue is the low voice volume - and that's still not fixed. Not sure it will be.

I was hoping for an inventory solution regarding weight - but I've gotten so used to the weightless mod - that I don't think I can go back to anything else. Gothic spoiled me in this way, and for games without quick travel and such - gameplay is just much smoother without the inventory juggling.

Oh, I use Mouse/KB for this game - and I consider people who prefer a gamepad in The Witcher 2 insane :)

You play with übersampling on!?

I don't really have a problem with the voice volume. I did lower the music volume a bit and I play with subtitles. There are just so many names that get dropped that I wouldn't be able to follow everything that is said.

I just hit the inventory limit last night in Flotsam. Very annoying, yes. I hate it when a game slows you down when encumbered—it breaks the flow of the game and you have to drop your shit right then and there (or slow walk to the nearest merchant).

I'm considering using that mod myself or try to manage my inventory more intelligently.

That's okay, I consider you insane. ;) I tried keyboard/mouse this week and the only thing that felt much better was looking around with the mouse (naturally). But it's not worth the repetitive strain injury and inconvenience of having a keyboard on my lap. I play games for relaxation, not to tease myself.

To be honest, I'm not really sure. It was a tip I read on some forum. If you manually set Ubersampling to 1 - instead of 2 (which is the default for "on"), you're supposed to get a less advanced version of it.

I haven't been able to see any difference either way, not even with 2 - apart from a much lower framerate. Also, I've never heard of Ubersampling before - so I don't even know what to look for.

It's primarily Geralt's voice that I can't hear during scenes with background noise/music. I've set the music lower - but it's still very hard to hear, and background sounds also get in the way. It's particularly bad during the battle in the prologue. Maybe it's a soundcard thing, though I've tried adjusting volume in Windows every which way. Nothing has helped. But it's not THAT bad, and I can live with it.

Yup. Quick travel would probably ruin the flow of the game - and I don't mind having to travel for roleplaying purposes. But in terms of inventory juggling, it's a travesty that they didn't implement easy ways to either sell or store loot.

I highly recommend it.

I don't have my keyboard on my lap :)

That said, I've had my PC hooked up to my projector on occasion - and I can recommend a light wooden board for KB/Mouse - as it works very well. A light board on your lap isn't an inconvenience. Well, it hasn't been for me.

I relax when I play as well, but I prefer sitting at my desk in front of a large screen and full controls. Some games are enjoyable with a gamepad - but not a complex game like The Witcher 2. I find myself much more immersed when I'm focused and I find it counterproductive to play such a game on the couch with a console controller. I tend to relax TOO much in that position, and then I lose focus and have a hard time investing myself. I'm conditioned against the "couch experience" when I'm playing a game that really enthralls me.

I love games that reward investment like this, and I love that I have to pay close attention during combat and conversations. I guess that's my way of "relaxing" :)

Overall, I don't play game to relax - but to entertain myself. I got rid of my TV many years ago - because I didn't like what it did to my brain, and I didn't enjoy the shit on it :)

My brain likes to be engaged, I guess.

Really? Still not very interested, though. I couldn't see the difference either and it killed even MY framerate (although my GTX 470 wasn't the ultimate card even when I bought it six months ago). The game looks fine on Ultra with no ubersampling and flawless smooth framerate (no hitches at all).

From what I read, it's some sort of advanced rendering that resembles what some professional 3D apps do. It renders every scene multiple times (4-8 probably), each with some jitter or something and determines the best way to render every object, shadow, etc. It's supposed to minimise artifacts and everything and provide something superior to anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering. You've never heard of it, because it's CD Projekt's proprietary tech.

Technological stuff that I do not fully understand but do find fascinating. :)

Yeah, I think I'd have a hard time understanding what was said without the subtitles. But I still have background music pretty loud. It could be your sound card, actually, as some filtering may make voices sound louder. I do this on my surround sound system, I actually set it to Pro Logic usually (even though I don't think the game does Pro Logic) and I can hear everything fine.

It's not that inconvenient for me either, but I like the freedom of being able to move my legs, or lie back in a really lazy position. ;) I sit at a desk all day already. Since I've connected my PC to the TV, I'm *never* going back! This is how I will play games forever or until I get something bigger!

And ironically, that's how I am able to immerse myself more, since there isn't a keyboard and mouse to get in the way. During cutscenes, I even put the controller down, so I there is nothing between me and the story. Ah, it's hard to understand. :)

I never watch TV, unless it is something I choose to watch. No pollution from commercials, no stupid programming and no filtered and selected news reporting. The only time I watch TV is the 5-10 minutes of cartoons before I leave for work. :)

Yeah, I did read that part about it - but it still doesn't really make sense to me :)

Yeah, that's the kind of thing I considered. I've got the sound hooked up to my LCD TV speakers - so it's not surround. I tried disabling the "simulated surround" on the TV - and that seemed to help slightly.

But there REALLY should be a separate volume setting for speech.

I also sit at my desk all day, sadly. But when gaming, I'm in heaven this way.

You seem to mention the story as the key thing, and that makes sense. If you primarily go for the "experience" of the story - then I can definitely understand a more relaxed position being preferable. Personally, I consider a good story "icing on the cake" - and I'm generally much more into the gameplay and the immersion of "being there" as that character. I like to "pretend" I'm the one in the world, and I prefer being as active a participant in the story as possible.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one hating most stuff on TV :)

Do Greece count as western?
what a mess

So what you are saying , should or i should not install ? i am having no issues so far playing on low settings but the game fails to identify my system ( says 0 cores)