Geeze, DArt, you're usually a reasonable guy but that hurt my feelings ( don't worry, I'm a pretty tough guy, I'll get over it ).
Those were your own words.
I'm still quite reasonable, though
So…we're in a agreement then, the game does a poor job of explaining the combat to you, and throws you in expecting you to die multiple times until you get the hang of it. I previously likened it to being taught how to swim by being thrown in the water. Like I said, after I got a hang of the (IMO wonky) controls and learned the mechanics through trial and error I haven't had too many challenges since.
Agreement? No.
It would be a poor job of explaining the combat to you, if they were going for casual gamers. They use a very established approach, much like they do in Demon's Souls. That's another game known for its harsh difficulty, and in that game you will die over and over. It's not because they want to frustrate players - but because death is meant to be your teacher.
You may think the courtyard fight is tough, but it's completely trivial compared to fights later in the game. The reason you think fights later are much easier is…. Wait for it.
You learned something!
You can't "ease" players into a truly challenging game. Blizzard tried to do that with WoW - which was pretty easy and casual while levelling and then suddenly everything spiked. That's because true challenges WILL require an investment, and it WILL require a player who WANTS to make the effort.
Think about the true challenges you've faced in other games, or in life in general. You'll find that you almost invariably fail over and over - before learning the ropes.
That's actually an approach I'm really fond of. As long as they're FAIR about it. As long as you can learn from it, and then avoid death by playing smart.
Could their tutorial have been different? Sure.
But you must understand that the combat system isn't a simple one - like most modern CRPGs. It's actually quite complex in terms of the options available - and the abilities and items you can use to overcome challenges. It would be a sad thing to reveal the intricacies with hand-holding during the prologue. There's a sweet challenge to dealing with it in your own way, and as a player - develop your own approach within the system.
That's something The Witcher 2 does REALLY well. You can overcome fights in a variety of ways - suited for your own personal playstyle. I think it does this much better than the VAST majority of modern games.
We'll just have to disagree here, I'm one of those people that doesn't automatically assume the developer is infallible. I have tried to provide constructive feedback about the parts I think could use improvement, not that the devs will likely read any of it but I find it cathartic.
Cute strawman. There's a difference between considering them infallible, and trusting that they actually playtested the game and had an idea of what they were doing with their combat system.
I think CDPR would be pretty stupid if they don't care about casual gamers. As much as we all love these games enough to keep trying a game until we master it and spend some free time reading and posting on these boards, we're a pretty small percentage of the market. Casual gamers, who will default to the normal difficulty and probably not change it, that find a game too difficult won't buy the sequel.
They probably do care to some extent, and they'll most likely take a hit for this. But they're also trying something true to their hearts. That's what I respect and admire. They dare to challenge the casual gamer - and I'm hopeful that some of the whiners will come to appreciate the fruits of overcoming real challenges in a computer game.
Worse, CDPR doesn't want this game to get "too hard" negative press before the console release. You think the CRPG crowd is a bunch of whiners? Sheeesh, the console kids (the literal children) that don't have the experience of the good old days of CRPGs will blow a gasket.
There are whiners everywhere. It's a very common human response to whine when your ass is kicked. There are many ways to respond. Personally, I really enjoy a challenge - if I consider it fair.
Since you think of me as reasonable, why don't you ask yourself how come I'm claiming the system is fair? Is it because I'm a deluded fanboy - or is it because I really think so.
If I really think so, then is there a chance you may have reacted too strongly?
I disagree, most the of "whining" I've read about on this site, gog.com forums and the general internet, is about a select few fights and the console interface. Oh and crashes, performance and bugs, but that's to be expected with any new release.
I've read many responses to the game, and there are many who love the combat system and many who hate it. It means nothing. All I care about, really, is what I - personally - think of the combat system.
I found it refreshingly challenging - and VERY fair. That's because I can now play on hard - and only very rarely die. That's because I really invested in the game, and trusted in the developers. There was just something about the experience as a whole - that seemed to suggest the people behind it really cared about what they were doing.
Because the default controls for mouse and keyboard suck? Really, I think we're saying the same thing here, glass half full or half empty and all that.
I don't think we're saying the same thing. But we're probably responding differently to the same thing. I find the controls very comfortable - especially the combat controls. The UI in general has some issues - but not really serious ones, to my mind.
Thank you for the offer. I do my best to completely avoid any spoilers on my first playthrough of any RPG ( and then read every tip I can before playing again ). I, personally, haven't had too many problems since my first playthrough of the prologue (I also played it twice for the practice) but perhaps some others who are having problems might find help from your experience.
So, now that you can play without many problems - you still insist that the system is bad and it's just you who're compensating for the flaws?