Two Worlds II - TopWare Responds

TopWare has hit back at Southpeak's inference Two Worlds II needs more time, telling GameSpot the team at Reality Pump has moved on to post-release support and the real reason for the NA delay is the crowded release landscape:

TopWare today told GameSpot that development on Two Worlds II had finished, and that SouthPeak's decision was actually made due to an "exceptionally crowded" 2010 holiday season of RPGs.[…]
The TopWare statement went on to call SouthPeak's assertion that the game wasn't finished "factually incorrect." All production, bug testing, and localization work was finished in mid-September, the company said, adding that this year's and next year's Two Worlds II launches will contain the same content (except for patches or updates released in the interim, which could make it onto the 2011 retail launch disc). Instead of working to finish up the core Two Worlds II game, Reality Pump is instead readying its post-launch support and downloadable content plans.

Thanks to Zloth on our forums.
More information.

I thought as much. I'm guessing TopWare is the Euro publisher.

With A:G4 and F:NV comming out.

But judging by the reaction on this site, if going for a fantasy themed RPG TWII, people seemed to be looked forward more to TWII than A:G4.

Although RPGWatch crowd seems to be from all over the world.

There's also Fable 3 - remember this does come out on console!

The RPGs really are concentrated badly this year so I actually like this decision but the way they did it wasn't good. I know it's done all the time but I don't like publishers tossing the blame down to their development shop when they aren't at fault.

Actually, I felt the October release schedule was pretty well organised; if TWII kept its October 5th release, it'd have been:

October 5th - Two Worlds II
October 12th - Arcania
October 22nd - Fallout: New Vegas
October 29th - Fable 3

That's (more or less) one a week. Granted, I don't really pay attention to many release dates in other genres, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything which is released in the same week as TWII (even if it was, it'd probably be the Friday, whereas TWII was going to be Tuesday; it'd be released before other major titles). To cut a long story short (too late) I don't really see the logic behind the so-called "packed" release schedule. Maybe I'm missing something?

Don't forget that Divinity 2: Flames of Vengeance/Dragon Knight Saga is aiming for October/November, too.

I don't think it needed to be delayed, though. The number of people who would be getting all four is relatively small, but Fable 3 (PC version is December, I think) and New Vegas are huge hitters, with ArcaniA being a smaller hit. I can't see how Two Worlds 2 could, especially after TW1, really compete with those 3 releases.

I think TW2 can compete with Arcania, since I plan to hold off on the latter until I read some reviews (unless they send me a review copy) as I still remember the bugginess of G3 (and the others) on release!! F-NV is already pre-ordered.

Originally Posted by IbramSkyheart
Actually, I felt the October release schedule was pretty well organised; if TWII kept its October 5th release, it'd have been:

October 5th - Two Worlds II
October 12th - Arcania
October 22nd - Fallout: New Vegas
October 29th - Fable 3

That's (more or less) one a week. Granted, I don't really pay attention to many release dates in other genres, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything which is released in the same week as TWII (even if it was, it'd probably be the Friday, whereas TWII was going to be Tuesday; it'd be released before other major titles). To cut a long story short (too late) I don't really see the logic behind the so-called "packed" release schedule. Maybe I'm missing something?

If it takes only one week to finish a game, than indeed it is not 'packed'. But if you're like me, RPGs mostly take me a month to finish. And I don't get games because they come out first in the month if two weeks later a game comes out I like more. If one wanted to play all four, it would take four months to finish them. If they are all released in the same month, it is likely that 4 months down the line prices will have dropped. Publishers really want their games to sell supremely in pre-order or month of release since prices will be at the highest at that time.

I usually spend about a week playing through the average RPG, but when a new one is out I tend to replay them several times, so it'll usually last about a month.

Originally Posted by Dwagginz
Don't forget that Divinity 2: Flames of Vengeance/Dragon Knight Saga is aiming for October/November, too.

I don't think it needed to be delayed, though. The number of people who would be getting all four is relatively small, but Fable 3 (PC version is December, I think) and New Vegas are huge hitters, with ArcaniA being a smaller hit. I can't see how Two Worlds 2 could, especially after TW1, really compete with those 3 releases.

Ofcourse people won't be getting all four in October. But I like to play RPGs, so I probably will get all major releases at some time.

This brings me back to 2007.
Two Worlds was released in September, almost two months before the release of The Witcher. I had been following The Witcher more, so I got that one first (even had it preordered) (release: end of October). In September I was probably still playing Shivering Isles. I didn't get Two Worlds untill February 2008.

If a publisher would release a RPG in a barren month seperated from other releases by several months they could potentially get higher sales, or at least stand out more publicity wise. But this is true for most titles from smaller publishers.

By the way, it seems both A:G4 and TWII haven't gotten any mainstream press in the Benelux. The hype is much lower than for F:NV and FIII, maybe next month they'll get some coverage. Neither Topware nor Jowood seem to have a marketing presence in the Benelux.

Originally Posted by Maylander
I usually spend about a week playing through the average RPG, but when a new one is out I tend to replay them several times, so it'll usually last about a month.

Weeks? Yeah, I remember those times… (ah, the good old days…) Now it often takes me up to a year to finish a sizeable RPG, although I'll often have two or three going simultaneously or in rotation.

Ah, but perhaps Maylander doesn't have the same responsibilities as us old geezers. 50 hours for work, time set aside for family, etc. I loved the old days when I could squat at a pc for 10 hours sessions, but those days are long gone for me. Oh well

That said, TWII/F:NV are the ones I'm most interested in of the group that's being released, so I'll just order from abroad if it doesn't come to the States quick enough to suit me. I'd like to play Two Worlds a few weeks before I get lost in New Vegas. Of course, this assumes I can finish Nehrim before these hit the shelves. At the rate I'm advancing, I won't be done with Nehrim before Xmas

Right now I get up at 6 in the morning and play Gothic 3 until 8, wolf down a sandwich and then run to the subway. Sitting at my desk by 9 and wishing I was still at home playing G3… At night it's all about hanging out with the gf and our dog.

The heavy mainstream RPG's takes 60-120 hours to get through. I tend to save them until I have some time off, can't play them during my studies since I have troubles with breaking away from a game when I need to.

This October month is crazy for rpg lovers. Which games have you played this year until now? I've been playing these:
- Eschalon II: nice old school game, a bit empty but very enjoyable.
- Drakensang River Of Time: Excellent party RPG game, almost perfect. My only complain is that it's perhaps too short for my taste (20 hours more or less).
- Nehrim: What a surprise! Free, huge, interesting, immersive,… I'm playing it right now (30 hours) and I can say that it is far better than Oblivion. No stupid autolevel at all, hand made challenging dungeons, no useless dialogs and quests,… For example, yesterday, I was wandering in a crypt with very high level enemies and I finally could defeat the 35 level ghost boss (I am level 15) after a very hard fight, I could take its cool shield (with a value of 6000mo) and replace my old one (150mo). This is for me the best of playing a RPG, very rewarding.

When I finish Nehrim, I will surely go for Arcania and then perhaps Fallout3 NV, and finally TW2.

SOOO MANY RPG's I WANT TO PLAY!!! So little time. I'm having trouble finding time (or energy) to play games since my second baby was born (he's a month old and the first is 20 months) . Having a second is more draining than I thought
I started mass effect 2 a few months back and lost interest about midway. Still plan on finishing the game eventually. I actally lost interest in Mass effect 2 when I started playing U6P. Great game. I think I 'm about halfway through but have almost no time to play anymore. And I want to try Nehrim wich seems very good. For anyone who has played, is the game playable enough in the english version or should I wait a few months for the game to be patched more. Many more good rpgs are also coming out soon, not counting on everything at GOG… Will never have the time to play everygame I want…

Originally Posted by k1000
And I want to try Nehrim wich seems very good. For anyone who has played, is the game playable enough in the english version or should I wait a few months for the game to be patched more.

It's absolutely playable. As you know, the voices are in German but you are used to them in few minutes. Some german texts remain in some books or letters but they are not essential to continue the adventure. Although I'm Spanish, I've detected some English translations that could be better. Anyway, Nehrim is more about exploration the world and dungeons, combat, manage loot and skills, learning spells… There is no much dialog, not important NPCs only have three or four phrases, and in the rest of dialogs there is no much options. For me is better. I really prefer few but interesting dialogs than lot of boring npcs that ask you for tedious quests.

Originally Posted by petardo
This October month is crazy for rpg lovers. Which games have you played this year until now?

I've been on a retro/indie kick. I finally dived head-first into the Avernum series. Finished the first, and am now probably halfway through the second, with the third on the queue. It's possible I'll just keep going through four, five and six, which should carry me well into next year. Fallout: New Vegas? Who needs that?

I also have Risen, Dragon Age and The Witcher on my modern to-play stack. Yes, I'm behind the times. I'll catch up when I retire — that'll only take another 30 years or so…

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
Weeks? Yeah, I remember those times… (ah, the good old days…) Now it often takes me up to a year to finish a sizeable RPG, although I'll often have two or three going simultaneously or in rotation.

Same with me. I remember the times (when I'm in high school) finishing a hardcore RPG within a month (100+ hours). Now, it takes nearly my 4-6 months to finish one of them. For ex, I began playing Drakensang in April and still playing it (at least I'm near the end of it) Mostly, I can only play games in weekends.

Pththth, when I was in college it was all AD&D/Rolemaster/Arduin/Star Fleet Battles. I might wake up in the wee hours then sneak over to the computer center to play Empire or DND on the schoolds' mainframe.

(OK OK, so I also had an Atari 800 and plenty of games there - but the above sounds better so I'll forget that for a bit. )

Sigh…

What's with this clusterfuck PR, hurting the potential of games that might be fantastic.

It's the GAME that should be in focus - not the fucking publishers.

This kind of thing can't do anything but sow mistrust amongst the audience, and it certainly doesn't seem a particularly safe bet that the EU version will be technically sound.

I'm buying it sight unseen, but I'm sure many people won't now.