The Witcher 2 - Roundup #2

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
I'll probably still be getting the boxed copy anyway, I don't think I'm ready to crack the habit. I just wish I wasn't supporting Atari to do so.

Surely it's a good thing to say to Atari 'this is the kind of game I will buy from you' so they do more of it in the future?

Originally Posted by kalniel
Surely it's a good thing to say to Atari 'this is the kind of game I will buy from you' so they do more of it in the future?

True, true… I just think the developer deserves the real profit. All Atari are doing is taking CDP's game, putting DRM on it, then shipping it to retailers.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Hmmm… I received the order summary email with my CD key immediately after pre-ordering, but there's no link to any bonus game.

Oh well.. I'm not going to worry about it. Considering what the choices are, it's not a big deal to me.

When they first sent the emails out there was a mistake where the part about the free game didn't show in the HTML version of the email, only the plain text. They re-sent the emails again today, but if you still don't have it you can go to this page and there should be a link from there to redeem your free game:

http://www.gog.com/en/page/my_tw2_info

Thanks Motoki, that worked.

Now I just need to decide between Realms of Arkania 1+2 or RoA 3. I already own the other choices.

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
True, true… I just think the developer deserves the real profit. All Atari are doing is taking CDP's game, putting DRM on it, then shipping it to retailers.

They're a distributor, that's what distributors do. But they're also a publisher, and if they see TW bringing them volume they're more likely to fund development in similar games.

I do agree with you that the developers deserve the real profit, but until we get to a point where game development is a lot more affordable, we need to direct the finance guys to the games we like too.

Sounds good EXCEPT for the limited inventory and no stash. Yucky inventory management minigames are fun killers for me. Hopefully someone will have a mod that grants unlimitted inventory.

I was thinking of breaking my rule and play it ASAP, but now, I think I'll wait…

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Sounds good EXCEPT for the limited inventory and no stash.

Don´t remember where, but I´ve read somewhere that inventory is actually relatively unlimited - you can exceed the encumbrance limit, Geralt will just run slower and be unable to roll.

This is correct, although it's annoying to move so slowly. You can carry a crap-load of stuff, so I don't see it as an issue at all.

I like that sort of inventory system, it kinda self-regulates my hoarding nature. I can still carry a ton of stuff, but if i get too greedy or inefficient it slows me down and makes me pay for it w/ annoyingly slow travel.

That's better than no moving at all, but I still want a stash. A need a place for my STUFF.

Originally Posted by kalniel
They're a distributor, that's what distributors do. But they're also a publisher, and if they see TW bringing them volume they're more likely to fund development in similar games.

I do agree with you that the developers deserve the real profit, but until we get to a point where game development is a lot more affordable, we need to direct the finance guys to the games we like too.

I guess I am looking at it from the perspective that current PC gaming trends mean we are at or heading to a place where developers sell games directly to their customers, no publisher required. CDP made The Witcher 2 all by themselves and I could pay them $45 directly for it, which is lovely. Atari is really completely unneeded because the boxed copy is completely unneeded.

And yet I love boxes and want to keep supporting that because I think they are cool to collect.

So I am of two minds on the subject!

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
I guess I am looking at it from the perspective that current PC gaming trends mean we are at or heading to a place where developers sell games directly to their customers, no publisher required. CDP made The Witcher 2 all by themselves and I could pay them $45 directly for it, which is lovely. Atari is really completely unneeded because the boxed copy is completely unneeded.

And yet I love boxes and want to keep supporting that because I think they are cool to collect.

So I am of two minds on the subject!

Heh yeah it's a really interesting time. What I worry about is the situation where only self-funding studios can afford to make an AAA game, so the vast majority of developers have to make do with spare time indie efforts or head to console. You're probably right and we're heading there anyway, but I like to support sales via a traditional publishing model in the (maybe forlorn) hope that the publishers will hang around and continue funding new games from new developers.