The Witcher 2 first impressions

Originally Posted by JDR13

I don't think so. At least I don't see it in the options.

Esc —> Options —> Gameplay —> Difficulty

You can change it at any time.

BTW. Easy is actually really easy, so if you do have a problem this is the simplest solution. Change it for a minute or two and "kill the bastards"

Originally Posted by kroto
Esc —> Options —> Gameplay —> Difficulty

You can change it at any time.

Unless your copy of TW2 is somehow different than mine, you can't change the actual game difficulty under options, only the QTE difficulty. I just checked it again.

Okay so got my Witcher 2 today and installed on my quad-core system. Both game graphics and memory requirements are well surpassed. All O/S updates in place. After waiting over a year…. here I go!

Read instruction manual and installed game via disks provided.

1st Issue: after game installs from second disc you are landed back at desktop. No "successfuly installed" or indication that all installed well.

So I double-click on the new Witcher 2 icon on my desktop and am asked for my "activation key". Being an old Q&A guy, I note there is no "activation key" but there is an "activation code". I grumble as I enter the code… company's should never use "8", "B", "1", and "I"'s together in activation codes.

Anyway… why am I writing this instead of playing this killer game I've been waiting so long for?

Because after entering my activation code, the window declares "checking for updates" and finally disappears. Then nothing… back to desktop.

Try icon again - re-enter activation code - same result.

Check task manager. Two processes running -

- PCHOOKLAUNCH32.EXE and PCHOOKLAUNCH64.exe

Cannot end these tasks. So disabled anti-virus and firewall and tried again. Same results.

Surfed over to the official Witcher 2 Forum only to discover this:

Dear Fans!

We ask for a little bit of your patience while we make some adjustments and optimizations to the servers hosting The Witcher 2.

Planned time of the downtime: 23:30
Planned downtime: 40 minutes

Problems that may occur:
- new users won't be able to register the game
- users won't be able to download the DLCs (lang packs, patch, addons)

Affected:
- all users

I don't suspect anyone here can assist (as it appears my install must validate with an offline server)… but am open to suggestions and/or workarounds!

Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by JDR13
Unless your copy of TW2 is somehow different than mine, you can't change the actual game difficulty under options, only the QTE difficulty. I just checked it again.

I have a GOG version (not registered yet) and I can change it. Strange…


Edit: I know what the problem is - you are probably trying to change it from the main menu. You would have to actually do it when you are playing.
Esc —> Options —> Gameplay —> Difficulty

Originally Posted by kroto
Edit: I know what the problem is - you are probably trying to change it from the main menu. You would have to actually do it when you are playing.
Esc —> Options —> Gameplay —> Difficulty

Ah… got it. Yep, that option only shows up if you're in-game. Thanks.

Starting to get the hang of combat now, I think I'm going to keep it on Hard for the time being. I'm having more difficulty with the quick time events than anything else.

Quick time events? Wtf? This marks the end of RPGs.

I'm hoping it gets better as I go along. I've been a little bored with it so far. There are a lot of fights and the time spent talking has been minimal. The amount of cutscenes are ungodly. It took me a bit of time to figure out how to interact with the ballista. You really just bang on left click until the bar fills up. Fights are all about pressing WSAD as they vaguely pop up on screen. I have a feeling Corwin will hate this game, as it relies heavily on good reflexes. Did anybody have any luck sneaking? The guards would see me no matter how dark it was and I never got a single sneak attack in. I ended up meleeing groups of guards.

ha, at my age, good reflexes are a distant memory!! Have it downloaded, but not installed yet; I have too many other games to finish.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Did anybody have any luck sneaking? The guards would see me no matter how dark it was and I never got a single sneak attack in. I ended up meleeing groups of guards.

I had the same experience as you.. the sneaking was pretty much useless. It didn't matter for me since I had to kill the guards to proceed anyways.

What really annoyed me were the torches in that area. They interfered with picking up loot, and in some cases, attacking guards. I couldn't highlight loot if it was dropped too close to a torch. Definitely a little buggy in places.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s…witcher2-1.jpg


Spamming mouse-clicks to operate a ballista. A mature game?

Originally Posted by Motoki
The official forum is coming back. It is only down temporarily. It would have been nice if they had it up for the release though.

Great at last I could spite my hate there, and if I get banned by those b…ds, I'll spam forums about them banning and then stopping me from updating their crap.

I'm pretty sure they won't be ready ban and allow the update process anyway.

Darn it still none has said much about the gameplay at all… I am suspecting DArt are too busy playing to post his usual long posts… a good sign I'd say….

Originally Posted by JDR13
Are you finding it challenging enough on Normal? I'm still thinking of restarting.

Yeah, it's a decent challenge.

In fact, I spent a lot of time dying at first - which surprised me. It's like the old-style normal

I'm still getting the hang of it, and it's getting better. I'm a little confused as to how the game expects me to handle 4+ enemies at a time, when 1-2 of them are "tough" ones.

I mean, it's doable with relative ease - but it requires a lot of dodging and drawing them away from each other. The right use of spells is key, and I really like how they're so different.

It just seems I'm doing something wrong, because I have a feeling I'm supposed to be able to handle multiple enemies without having to run away all the time.

It should be noted that I don't use potions, so far, because I like to conserve resources for really tough fights

However, for an enthusiast gamer - I feel "normal" is just right, at this point.

Maybe it changes later, but that's certainly my feeling now - at the start of Chapter 1.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I'm a little confused as to how the game expects me to handle 4+ enemies at a time, when 1-2 of them are "tough" ones.

Yeah..I've spent a lot of time using hit and run tactics so far. I really had to use everything at my disposal in some of the early battles as well. Like against that group of guards in the courtyard where you had to lower the gate for King Foltest and his men.

I was more than a little surprised when the first Drowner I faced killed me in two hits.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Yeah, it's a decent challenge.

In fact, I spent a lot of time dying at first - which surprised me. It's like the old-style normal

Great! Normal it is for the first playthrough then.

I'm still getting the hang of it, and it's getting better. I'm a little confused as to how the game expects me to handle 4+ enemies at a time, when 1-2 of them are "tough" ones.

I mean, it's doable with relative ease - but it requires a lot of dodging and drawing them away from each other. The right use of spells is key, and I really like how they're so different.

Sort of like the Gothics then. This is starting to sound really good.

It just seems I'm doing something wrong, because I have a feeling I'm supposed to be able to handle multiple enemies without having to run away all the time.

I would venture a guess that this is caused by your prior experience with the very easy #1. They seem to have changed their mentality a bit this time round (that Geralt should automatically plow through hordes of adversaries because he is a badass
witcher) ?

It should be noted that I don't use potions, so far, because I like to conserve resources for really tough fights

That may also be part of it ? perhaps they finally succeeded to make alchemy partially essential as was their target (at least for the hard setting) on #1

However, for an enthusiast gamer - I feel "normal" is just right, at this point.

I think this will turn out just like STALKER:shoc, we will be pummeled a bit on normal
during the first playthrough (or part of it) until adjusting to the gameplay demands and
subsequent runs will be simply challenging on Hard. Those are the games that stick with me and Get replayed again and again for Years to come (as in the Gothics too ofcourse
minus the adjustable difficulty).

Anyway I will have to wait quite a few days still to get my copy and verify my conjectures,
but I get a very good feeling from your early comments people. Thanks!

Got to play some more yesterday after work and made it to the beginning of Chapter 1. I'm liking the game a lot, but there are a few things bothering me. First, the QTEs are something I wish they would have left out all together. So far they've all been pretty pointless and quite annoying. I wish they could be turned off completely, but alas it's not possible. Second, I'm a bit disappointed by the character stats and skills in TW2. It's not that different from TW1, but it seems much shallower and tightly limited. Third, I like the fact that you cannot drink potions in combat, but the I do NOT like the fact, that they put in areas where you cannot meditate (drink potions) when you're in a relatively safe location and there is a major fight coming up (e.g. the temple courtyard fight).

Be warned folks, some of the fights in the Prologue are really tough even on Normal. Sure, I'll be the first to admit I'm not the greatest virtual swordsman that ever lived, but nevertheless, some of those fights with massed enemies against just you were surprisingly tough.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
I'll have to check if I should turn QTE off or leave them in.

AFAIK, you cannot turn them completely off, but instead you can turn "Difficult QTEs Off" (I think that's the phraising in the options). No idea what that does though, but I'm guessing it makes the QTEs easier (less accuracy needed or something).

Originally Posted by Lurking Grue
AFAIK, you cannot turn them completely off, but instead you can turn "Difficult QTEs Off" (I think that's the phraising in the options). No idea what that does though, but I'm guessing it makes the QTEs easier (less accuracy needed or something).

Yes that is the one thing that really bothered me from the previews.

Still scratching my head with bewilderment from this design decision…

Guess we'll have an option to make them go away in the EE

Havent played that much, but what I see so far I like and seems to run well.

It is one of those annoying games that kills some audio controls, you cannot adjust the volume in-game, I really hate that. You can reach over and physically turn the knob if you want I guess, but audio controls on my keyboard dont work. Screws up all my sound settings after I start messing w/ the knob.

I hear ya on the QTE's. One question - does anyone even like those damn things? Seriously, any game in any genre that has them, all I see are people compaining about it. Theyre universally despised.
Worst. game. design. idea. ever.

I'd like to go back in time and strangle the numbskull that came up w/ that brilliant concept.

GG - what do you mean by "gameplay" exactly?

Yes, the QTE are dumb. I like them as interactive events, but they should have simply been activated by a single click, OR they should be based on at least somewhat more interesting minigame mechanics. But on the other hand they don't bother me much, now that I figured out how they work. It's dumb but a very minor problem.

The keys in fighting against multiple enemies (or at least the strategy that I found) are smart use of signs, and movement. E.g. Ard is great in the beginning to knock one opponent out, which gives you enough time to engage another for a couple of strikes - OR to finish the knocked out guy before the others can rush you. Disengage (roll) when they have you surrounded. Roll or circle around shield guys, or block them to get an opening. When you have wittled them down a bit, use the shield sign to finish off the rest.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
How so? A little more would (in this case) be appreciated…. what? a Dart post less than 3 pages?

Darn it still none has said much about the gameplay at all… I am suspecting DArt are too busy playing to post his usual long posts… a good sign I'd say….

Hehe, I'm sorry people. I don't have much free time these days - so I've been trying to play the game as much as possible.

Now I'm at work, though, so I have time

Anyway….

It's still very early - and I'm still rather enthralled with the "experience" part of the game. I've been trying to avoid the trap of speaking too soon, and I'm far from being able to give an objective opinion at this point.

One thing I will say, though, is that VERY few games make a serious impact these days. This game did.

But just remember that everything below is based on my current enthusiastic disposition.

First, what I DON'T like:

It's NOT a freeform CRPG. I know people following development realise this, and I know the first game wasn't freeform either. I was just hoping for it, because the first things I heard about the game seemed to suggest it would be a lot more freeform than the first game. The jury is still out - but it seems like it's pretty much the same structure - with infinitely better tech behind it. Also, I got the impression that the game would "stream" all content without loading screens - which isn't quite true. For rooms, it actually loads briefly and there's a fade in-out effect. This is subtle, but it means you're not entering buildings while the door is open like Risen - and they're definitely not part of the open world. In fact, it's somewhat similar to the first game - except with MUCH faster loading screens.

QTE. I just don't like the concept. It's a similar problem to what I had with the original Witcher's combat system - but thankfully it's limited to certain "cutscene" events and minigames in the sequel. I feel it's a cheap "arcade" gimmick - that REALLY doesn't belong in a serious CRPG. There was also a "timed" boss-like battle in the introduction that I hated.

Containers. This is minor, I know. But I just don't like how containers are very static objects that don't "open" when you loot. It feels wrong when you "instant-loot" everything by pressing space. Maybe it sounds like I'm insane - but I require something "tactile/tangible" when I loot - or it feels fake. Like there's nothing there but a few text entries.

No jumping/swimming. You knew this going in, and so did I. Major/minor? Depends. I think it's stupid - but it's not nearly as bad as it was in the first game. My primary issue is that there's a beautiful world with a lot of areas I'd like to get to - and I can't. The "hotspot" clicks work well enough - but they're too gamey for my tastes. I don't like such artificial solutions.

That's about it for negatives.

What I DO like:

The writing. It's just the kind of stuff I like. It's down-to-earth with plausible characters and motivations. Everything "feels" right to me, and I understand why people are doing what they're doing - and I can relate to their issues. Also, characters are interesting and - so far - pretty deep. There's a relatively cliché scene in the introduction that's supposed to be really moving. It was.

The engine. This is a biggie. Incredibly impressive stuff. There's a long load when you start the game - but everything after that is a breeze. I play on maximum settings with only "ubersampling" disabled. It runs at a constant 30-60 framerate. This is incredible. Why? You'll know when you see the game for yourself. Absolutely fantastic looking. I have no reservations when I say it might just be the best looking game in existence. The first game since Crysis to actually go beyond console limitations - and not in a small way. I think it looks better than Crysis.

Voice acting. So far, it's pretty much as good as it gets.

Combat system. Actually, it's too early to tell - because it's the kind of thing that requires A LOT of testing and character building. All I can say with absolute certainty is that I like it MUCH better than the first game's system. It feels very fluid and dynamic. It gives you many ways to approach combat, and you're tactically challenged by being given plenty of tools. You don't just time-click with the occasional spell. You absolutely can't just blind-click your way through like in Gothic 3.

Character system. Infinitely better than the first game. I can say this with reasonable certainty, because it's kind of my speciality in terms of mechanics. It might initially seem somewhat limited, but if you look at what each power does - they're ALL significant and they're ALL worthwhile. That's my impression from reading the manual and playing the game. Beyond the meaty talent trees - you also get to mutate your powers with certain substances, which can make a big difference. A lot of variety - and if the game "only" allows for ~35 talent points (max level) - there will be enough to justify 2-3 replays for this aspect alone. Great stuff.

Art direction/world/models. I'm trying to contain myself - and I'm sorry if this changes or I'm being blinded by something. I didn't really follow the hype - so it can't be that. Anyway. The "combined visual experience" is beyond anything I've seen on my screen so far. The only niggle here is that the facial tech is somewhat behind the latest pioneers in this field, like L.A. Noire and Mass Effect 2. Lips don't synch too good with voices - and there's a certain stiffness to some of the NPC models. Beyond that, though, every single thing in the game looks like it was made with the latest tech - by people who love their art jobs. The world itself - yep - beyond anything else. At least, so far.

That's it for now.

You wanted a true next-gen CRPG made for enthusiasts before the mainstream?

You got it.

Note the wording. It's not a FULLY enthusiast title. It's not a hardcore MUD with pretty visuals. It's a combination of the modern AAA "experience" approach and the old-school cerebral/challenging approach.

Buy it. Buy two copies. Buy ten copies.

Show the industry that quality is rewarded.