The Witcher 2 - Patch 1.2 Released

Couchpotato said:

Its funny everyone says the dlc items are overpowered when you wont even be using them in the 2nd chapter. There are higher items available then.

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Seriously. I mean the items are good but to act like they make the entire game a cakewalk you can play on autopilot is a gross exaggeration.

For those worried about it, as was mentioned earlier in this thread, you can go to the Cooked PC directory and take out the dzips for the merchant, alchemy, magic, swords, blue stripes etc and it's removed. Just keep backups because you may need to put them back in for a future patch.

And no, I don't think everything CDPR does is perfect. Not having a forum up for 20 days and counting when you have a major release is pretty inexcusable. Telling people to use the comments is useless. It's an unorganized mess and near impossible to find information in them.

I definitely think they are learning as they go along and their decisions and seeming priorities don't always make the most sense to me but I do still think they are really trying and that they care. I also haven't heard a lot of inflated trite marketing BS out of them or blaming the fans like certain other software producers have tended to do of late.

Chapter 2? I'm not using them in chapter 1 already as I got myself some "better" ones. But ok, I got myself a nice sum of orens.

I don't think CD Projekt's decision to put the forum in stasis is a bad idea. You didn't see polish comments and perhaps didn't see russian comments on the english part. It was some high class bitching, looked like a competition of a sort who'll curse and swear juicier. Imagine having that on a forum? Who'd clean it? Noone. But in comments... Easy stuff, you just remove all comments when the patch is out.
Besides, there is a great subforum already on gog.com.

Just remember you will probably need those files for the next patch. I removed one file from the Cooked PC and the last two patches wouldn't install till I replaced them. Reminds me of Sacred 2 and there patching system if you edited there files.

more feedback on patch 1.2: the missile weapons/bombs count still seem to be broken? Sometimes it correctly reflects that I have none, other times it shows the slot as being occupied when I have none. In both cases it fails to show how many of each I have. I have to drag them back to the inventory to see the stack size.

PS I finally realized that to use Axii you have to hold down the key - duh! always wondered why it failed before.

I hate it when I have to sit and think about whether i want to patch or not, this kind of thing should be a no-brainer…

I like the difficulty the way it is, but I'm way past the prologue now so it shouldnt matter. Good call on the Ostmurk tho, I think they also should make the troll tongue not an alchemical ingredient either. I came real close to making a swallow potion out of the tongue, thankfully I caught it just before I brewed it.

I'll definitely ditch the hand-outs, leet players such as myself have no use for cheats.

Ok, I'll do it. Here we go…

Jabberwocky said:

This is great news. I can now change Geralt's hairstyle! Oh, wait, it doesn't matter because myself and every other person in the 23 page long thread on Nvidia forums still can't play the game in 3D due to some buggered code in the Red engine. Way to prioritize CDPR!

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You really think that the same people who code the Red Engine are the same people who create models and hair styles?

i heard the witcher 2 has drm

which is funnay because i also heard that the polacks that made this game were anti drm

SAGO said:

i heard the witcher 2 has drm

which is funnay because i also heard that the polacks that made this game were anti drm

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Other then GoG version, all versions had DRM, but that was patched out in the first patch which was 1 week after release. Now all version are DRM free.

Publishers wanted the DRM, and they have more power then the developers do. Doesn't matter what the developers believe, it is the publishers who make that decision.

Wow incredible what causes some people so much "pain". I'm actually the other way around, I hate it, when there are all kinds of DLC pieces, that are only available for certain shops, so that no customer will ever have all parts of the game. So, CDProjekt is the first company to NOT frak its customers this way and this is the thanks they get? Roche's jacket is hardly overpowered. Raven's armor is only for people who import their save games from Witcher 1. Don't like the connection to part 1? Then don't import your save game! It actually makes a lot of sense. Why would Geralt throw all his stuff away, he fought so hard for? That's just stupid. Of course he would keep a sword like Aerondight. The lady of the lake doesn't hand those things out like flyers. It's also hardly more powerful than the standard sword. It's more of a nice touch, than a game-balance breaking change. I was happy to see these items again.

Whoever has problems with the game difficulty, needs to stop playing on easy and other low settings, that's why the game has several of those, so that many players can be happy. It's so stupid, when people complain that the second of 4 difficulty settings isn't hard enough for them. It's really just trolling at this point, because everyone has to know, that they have to select a higher one in that case. It's even possible after the game was already started and not just at the beginning of the game.
And if everyone were supposed to be happy with the same difficulty setting, they would put a single one in the game and not four…

SAGO said:

i heard the witcher 2 has drm

which is funnay because i also heard that the polacks that made this game were anti drm

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Only retail had DRM. Patch 1.1 removed it. gog.com was always without DRM. You should read more changelogs etc. and listen less to voices you hear.

Jabberwocky said:

This is great news. I can now change Geralt's hairstyle! Oh, wait, it doesn't matter because myself and every other person in the 23 page long thread on Nvidia forums still can't play the game in 3D due to some buggered code in the Red engine. Way to prioritize CDPR!

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Yeah, I'm very happy about that too, because I much rather revert to the hairstyle from Witcher 1, than play the game in 3D.

Malkavian said:

Wow incredible what causes some people so much "pain". I'm actually the other way around, I hate it, when there are all kinds of DLC pieces, that are only available for certain shops, so that no customer will ever have all parts of the game. So, CDProjekt is the first company to NOT frak its customers this way and this is the thanks they get?
(etc)...

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Good points across the board Malkavian. I would also like to repeat the point previously made by others that if one believes that an extra item is overpowered or "ruins" the loot progression of a game (a very valid complaint in some cases), there is no sense in complaining about it because it can simply be ignored and not used. I don't understand why a developer must "hand-hold" the player in this regard, as the items are completely optional for those who want them and can be disregarded by those who don't. Now, priced item-DLC packs would be a different story, but that is not the case here.

I also agree with Malkavian's point about the imported items; being able to keep the items earned in the first game is a nice touch for a direct sequel and actually makes more sense than not having them from an immersion/believability standpoint. After all, this is a sequel with a continuous character that takes place very soon after the storyline of the first game. Why (or how) would Geralt "lose" these items so soon? And once again, this is completely optional and is meant for those who would like to keep these items from the first game, so I fail to see the problem - it's not at all forced upon the player.

Malkavian said:

Whoever has problems with the game difficulty, needs to stop playing on easy and other low settings, that's why the game has several of those, so that many players can be happy.

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Noone complained about changes to normal… It would suck though if they changed
hard wouldn't it ? especially after so valiantly defending their approach to difficulty just
a few days ago... Not saying that they will, just voicing a (probably unfounded) concern.

Nerevarine said:

I also agree with Malkavian's point about the imported items; being able to keep the items earned in the first game is a nice touch for a direct sequel and actually makes more sense than not having them from an immersion/believability standpoint.

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I thought we were discussing optional DLC not imported items from #1 ?!

whatever this is just a waste of time especially when people fail to see the actual point
of the complaint and go on on tirades... I do wish CDPR will provide a more streamlined
mechanism for this stuff not requiring to mess with patch progression but I can live with what is there now... Have fun with the game everyone!

JonNik said:

Noone complained about changes to normal… It would suck though if they changed
hard wouldn't it ? especially after so valiantly defending their approach to difficulty just
a few days ago… Not saying that they will, just voicing a (probably unfounded) concern.

I thought we were discussing optional DLC not imported items from #1 ?!

whatever this is just a waste of time especially when people fail to see the actual point
of the complaint and go on on tirades… I do wish CDPR will provide a more streamlined
mechanism for this stuff not requiring to mess with patch progression but I can live with what is there now… Have fun with the game everyone!

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Well I wasn't quite going on a tirade, just voicing my opinion on the manner in (hopefully ) a civil manner and engaging in the discussion. Is a different opinion automatically a tirade? Anyways, I thought that the imported items were part of the discussion in regards to the topic of over-powered optional items. Either way, I stand by my opinion that if the content is optional, then it's really not a big deal if it supposedly ruins the game's balance because it can simply be ignored if the player chooses. Add to the fact that it's free - for everyone, not just a select few or ripped from the finished game and sold back in as a rip-off dlc package - and I don't think that it's a bad deal. I can certainly understand and partially agree with the point of view that it's completely unnecessary (or perhaps just poorly implemented), but I just don't think it's a big deal personally.

As for difficulty tweaks, those are concerns that are much more valid to me, as I thought the original difficulty on normal was balanced quite well for the most part, and I too would like to see them stick to their original stance on the game's difficulty. However, there are still multiple difficulty levels, so even if the normal difficulty becomes easier, higher difficulty levels are there to choose from.

I was referring to Malkavian really

and now I really nedd to get back to work...

Cheers.

I hate to say it, but the loot system in TW2 is pretty bad either way. It doesn't matter if you have those extra DLC items or not.

CDP really dropped the ball when it comes to weapons and armor in TW2. There are too many swords, armor pieces, etc., in the game, and they're too easy to acquire.

It was done a lot better in The Witcher 1, imo. You had to work a lot harder to acquire new equipment in that game, and it was much more satisfying.

Have any of you actually read the responses to the DLC items?

I didn't say anything about ruining the game, and I made that quite clear. That said, I used the gloves/pants almost throughout the entire game. The Merchant sold me weapons that totally nullified most weapons in the chapters - so it was only near the end of them you found real upgrades.

If you can't appreciate how that disrupts the flow of loot, then that's your business.

True, the loot design is already pretty damn bad - but these items make it significantly worse. Maybe some players don't mind that the loot they find in the game is worthless, but I (and many others) love to find upgrades - regardless of the overall balance. Just as long as I FEEL I've been upgraded.

Personally, I think it's downright stupid to introduce items that can't be replaced by better stuff for so long.

While not a tragedy by any means, it's counterproductive to the intended flow of the game. This is a new trend that is idiotic.

I know some players have been struggling with The Witcher 2, because it's a difficult game - and I really couldn't care less if you want these items to help you out - so by all means use them.

Problem is with people who haven't played the game - because they won't really know whether they need the items or not. Just like I didn't realise how powerful they were until late game. I wish I hadn't used them, because they ruined some of the fun of finding new stuff.

It's a game design consideration, not some kind of arrogant "elitism" attitude. I have no idea why you'd be so defensive as to assume that.

Nerevarine said:

I thought that the imported items were part of the discussion in regards to the topic of over-powered optional items.

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I think it was just me who mentioned imported items in regards to DLC ones in the
"to an extent the items diminish influence of imported saves" bit.
You´re a first time player, you import your TW1 save and start the game with Raven´s armor, which is a nice touch. However, with the patch 1.2 you (as everyone else) also start the game with Roche jacket and that armor has better stats than the Raven´s one and, well, this touch I think is not so nice.
Also, due to a bug/feature, even if you drop/unequip the DLC items in one phase of the prologue, you start the next phase with all of´em equipped again.
I think you can´t get rid of´em for good till the beginning of the first chapter.
edit: Ok, in the beginning of the thread there´s indeed one complaint about imported items being overpowered, but, well, it´s not really what the following discussion was about.

Nerevarine said:

even if the normal difficulty becomes easier, higher difficulty levels are there to choose from.

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The changes may have not been dramatic so far, but they do affect higher difficulties as well (besides the prologue changes, it seems one can block pretty much constantly now since it´s a lot less vigor-costly).

JDR13 said:

I hate to say it, but the loot system in TW2 is pretty bad either way. It doesn't matter if you have those extra DLC items or not.

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Yeah, though to me "pretty bad" is maybe a bit too harsh, I certainly wouldn´t say it´s pretty good either and I hoped CDProjekt will try to improve itemization in the patches. It would be unrealistic to expect more thorough improvements this early, but I can´t say the few changes in this patch made me more optimistic.
As it is, I think that overall I also prefer TW1´s somewhat more ascetic approach to weapons and armor (and its more complex approach to items used in alchemy).

fatBastard() said:

Oh my goodness. Can you possibly be any more arrogant?

Come on people, get a hold of yourself. You don't like the added items? Fine don't use them. Don't make such a big deal out of it and by all means please try to remember that you are not, I repeat, NOT friggin gaming gods whose sole purpose it is to deem what other players should or shouldn't get/use in their own singleplayer games. Sheesh.

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Just a friendly rec, maybe you should read posts more carefully and give people a bit more benefit of doubt before going on one of your signature rants . Take it or leave it, of course.

Other than that, what DArtagnan said.

JonNik said:

I was referring to Malkavian really

and now I really nedd to get back to work…

Cheers.

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I read at least one posting in this thread, where someone "complained", that the Raven's armor would "break" the balance, exactly like the Roche jacket, that's why I put it in my posting as well.

Getting the Raven's armor was a rather "huge" quest in Witcher 1 and some sort of achievement. It was just a great idea to me, to give this to players, who imported their old saves (given they finished/played that quest!).

JDR13 said:

CDP really dropped the ball when it comes to weapons and armor in TW2. There are too many swords, armor pieces, etc., in the game, and they're too easy to acquire.

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In Witcher 1 a constant complaint against the game was, that there were not enough items, especially armors. Some game reviewers rated it lower because of that… Having many various/different armors and weapons, was their way to respond to that.

DArtagnan said:

Maybe some players don't mind that the loot they find in the game is worthless, but I (and many others) love to find upgrades - regardless of the overall balance. Just as long as I FEEL I've been upgraded.

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So you would have been completely happy, if they'd given you the same stuff, but would have put it in a chest to open first. Cool!

There are more powerful items than the Roche jacket and Aerondight pretty soon btw. Roche jacket was +7 armor and the last armor I wore in chapter III had +36 armor. That's still a pretty wide range. The same goes for Aerondight. That had max 18 damage (I think) and the last sword I used had 60 (at least with runes). Again, a very wide range. Most swords I found had different stats, so I disagree, that players couldn't upgrade several times throughout the game. I switched swords frequently.

PS: Just one news under this one, people complain that the Fable III DLCs weren't already built into the PC release of the game and have to be bought separately...

Eisberg said:

You really think that the same people who code the Red Engine are the same people who create models and hair styles?

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Yes, yes I do. I think the earth should stop revolving until I get what I want.

I honestly don't understand the stigma 3D gamers like myself have with everyone else. Look I realize that most people on here don't play in 3D and have no desire to, and therefore you probably don't understand how game-changing incredible playing in 3D can be. On the plus side in this instance, you also aren't experiencing the game halting problems that those who do play in 3D are experiencing. That logo on the box that says "3D Ready" doesn't apply to you. Fine. But it does apply to a lot of other people. And yet every time I post about this I'm inevitably mocked about it, as if it's a totally irrational and invalid complaint! Is it irrational to be upset about expecting a game to run the way it was advertised and supposedly designed??

So no, I'm not an idiot. I am well aware that hair modeling and engine coding are completely different operations. But here is a game certified to operate a certain way, and a month after release it is still not capable of operating that way, and yet, rather than address that, the developer essentially says "Hey! Great news! You can now change hairstyles!" It's like buying the car of your dreams, only to find out that it won't shift past second gear. When you voice your opinion about it, all your friends think you are crazy, as apparently second gear is A-okay with them. When you complain to the car manufacturer, all they can do is brag about the blue-tooth connectivity.

So, anyways, I'm done with that rant. Carry on about whatever else it is you people are griping about.... I swear, is it just me, or has this game been the most polarizing thing that's happened to RPGWatch in like, ever?

Malkavian said:

In Witcher 1 a constant complaint against the game was, that there were not enough items, especially armors. Some game reviewers rated it lower because of that… Having many various/different armors and weapons, was their way to respond to that.

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I highly doubt that game reviewers rated it lower because of that. It's more likely a response to complaints by gamers (whom I wouldn't agree with). Regardless, they overcompensated in TW2.

I have to say that the blocking/parrying has definitely been improved - Geralt blocks way more effectively now when fighting multiple opponents, and he's quicker to block in general.

On the downside, I do now get a "looking for disk in drive D:" error now when I load up the game, which had me cussing and shaking my fist at the screen. Thankfully, I'm able to cancel right past it and the game fires up normally.

The Blue Stripes jacket does look cool, but I'm sticking w/ the classic Witcher look. The pants however look pretty, welll… feh