The Witcher Megathread - Games

[url=http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Witcher-3-Cyberpunk-2077-REDengine-3-Revealed-With-Screenshot-52083.html]CDPR posted a screenshot of their new engine[/url] [img]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2013/31/REDengine3_06367_screen.jpg[/img] [quote]If we look at RPGs nowadays we find two approaches: one which emphasizes the story but limits the game world, and one that builds a vast open world but hampers and simplifies the story,” says Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt Red in a press release. “With the REDengine 3 we combine the positive aspects of both approaches for the first time, creating an open environment with a complex, multi-thread story.[/quote] [editline]1st February 2013[/editline] can't wait for feb 5 pictures don't do the engine justice though because it looks exactly like REDengine 2

shiit i gotta finish the witcher 2 now

Holy dick, I've got a pretty powerful rig here but The Witcher 2 absolutely decimates my performance. I'm running at like 10 fps average, utterly unplayable. 20 fps if I disable ubersampling. I've got a 560 Ti, not sure what the issue is. Is this a common issue?

The issue primarily is ubersampling. It's a feature that was simply designed to be used on future, more powerful gaming rigs. Switch off the Blur effects, including Motion Blur, and deactivate regular Depth of Field (why would you want a headache anyway). You can keep the cinematic depth of field on however as it's only used in cutscenes which will look a helluva lot nicer.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;39441977]Holy dick, I've got a pretty powerful rig here but The Witcher 2 absolutely decimates my performance. I'm running at like 10 fps average, utterly unplayable. 20 fps if I disable ubersampling. I've got a 560 Ti, not sure what the issue is. Is this a common issue?[/QUOTE] that's strange. i have a 560 ti and it runs like a dream with everything maxed and ubersampling off

Eh, updated my drivers and it seems to have fixed the issue. Updated my drivers previously not even 2-3 weeks ago, it's impressive how big a performance gap there was between the two releases

[QUOTE=69105;39442205]that's strange. i have a 560 ti and it runs like a dream with everything maxed and ubersampling off[/QUOTE] I used to be able to run maxed out at around 40+ FPS with a 560ti at 1680x1050 but when I got a new monitor at 1920x1080 it dropped to around 30 FPS my processor is also a pretty big bottleneck though.

I can run it at a good framerate on mostly high settings if I play on 1280x720, but I can't run it on low at my native resolution. I can barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on my tiny little laptop monitor anyway (besides a little extra aliasing), so it all works out. but yeah, I wouldn't even try playing at 1080p on anything less than the best hardware out there, for some reason it just refuses to run well on higher resolutions.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;39441977]Holy dick, I've got a pretty powerful rig here but The Witcher 2 absolutely decimates my performance. I'm running at like 10 fps average, utterly unplayable. 20 fps if I disable ubersampling. I've got a 560 Ti, not sure what the issue is. Is this a common issue?[/QUOTE] Turn off [I]all[/I] the DoF. They did something to it in the Enhanced Edition patch that made it extremely taxing on systems. I used to be able to run the game perfectly, until the EE patch.

Apparently this months issue of Gameinformer has info on The Witcher 3(actually called The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt). Here is a source to all the info and images: [url]http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=511690[/url] [IMG]http://www.abload.de/img/witcher31ukli.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/mdonatelli/w32_zpsacfaa6a8.png[/IMG] [QUOTE] World supposedly 20% bigger than Skyrim's 30-40 minutes to cross world on Horseback New streaming technology (CDRED Engine 3) Geralt's Memory is restored No chapters/acts Dude is fucking DONE fighting for everyone else Everything from solving MYSTERIES to slaying monsters Coming out on "all top-of-the-line" consoles - I'd say that confirms next-gen is in. [/QUOTE]

I like the idea of an open-world monster-slaying game. Only thing is, a lot of open-world RPGs wind up all looking and playing the same, but I think CDPR will do a great job with it.

[b]oh my god[/b] hurry up GIVE ME A TRAILER ALREADY [editline]4th February 2013[/editline] CDPR have yet to disappoint, and as i've said before and a million times to come, they STICK to the source material. they don't add things in willy-nilly and they don't derive things from what they were originally supposed to be the witcher is the only game that sticks completely unadulterated from the original style

I just hope it really is a sequel and answers the shit from TW2

[video=youtube;weCw2s2U3Rw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weCw2s2U3Rw[/video] Nothing too exciting. The purpose of it is to be a title reveal. Edit: Also, the Game Informer hub is up now: [URL]http://www.gameinformer.com/p/witcher3.aspx[/URL] Also found some screenshots posted by someone on the official forums: [IMG]http://img2u.info/ckgni/i/d459c6a3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img2u.info/ckgni/i/3b58848b.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://img2u.info/ckgni/i/f96f055a.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img2u.info/ckgni/i/92bd60be.jpg[/IMG] The user who posted them also said that the producers said the graphics will be better in the final game.

Hearing traces of the original The Witcher (main?) theme thrilled me to the very depth of my soul. I hope the soundtrack for the next game will bear more such resemblances to the style of the first game's musical scores (much of which I find myself preferring to that of TW2).

Been thinking about getting into The Witcher. Is it important to play the first one first?

No, not at all really. But why not play the first if you plan on playing the series at all?

[QUOTE=tom1029;39485037]Been thinking about getting into The Witcher. Is it important to play the first one first?[/QUOTE] Witcher 2 follows up from Witcher 1 and it starts off literally in the middle of a story that started at the ending of Witcher 1, so if you go straight to witcher 2 you'll be pretty clueless since they throw a thousand names and places at you. The first one is really boring and hard to get in to and the second one is a lot more difficult but has a higher fun factor, at least in my opinion. We'll see if Witcher 3 starts off more simplistic in terms of story (so it can gradually get more complex for first time players) but it's pretty much necessary for you to read the books + play the first game to get a real grasp on the scale of the world. I'm not saying Witcher 2i s hard to get in to since the gameplay is relatively simple, but the story itself will make you scratch your head. it's like game of thrones: millions of characters brought in and you have no idea who is who. You kind of have to play the prologue twice to understand fully what's going on

[QUOTE=69105;39485133]The first one is really boring and hard to get in to and the second one is a lot more difficult[/QUOTE] You aren't exactly selling it to me.

Calling The Witcher 1 "boring" is definitely going too far. It was pretty much the best RPG of 2007, but as I wrote in a different thread: [QUOTE]The Witcher 1 had a pretty great and eventful story taking place in a very well fleshed-out game world populated mostly by believable and interesting characters. The most eye-catching aspect I find was the writing; it speaks to a mature audience and doesn't feel like a high-school drama class performance. The pacing however isn't the best, you may find yourself killing a lot of time just running from A to B, and some quests have been accused of being outright confusing (I say you're expected to pay attention however). Minor issues include some players finding the GUI unintuitive and the game is sort of tight-lipped about some basic functions. I would indeed have it qualify as a bit of a classic. The second game stepped things up significantly in many departments while keeping the same solid writing and presentation, the combat system in particular is overhauled into something far superior, and the graphics are godly in that weird colorful way where they're "impressionistic" without aspiring to realism. TW2 is definitely one of the better RPG's in existence.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure the W1 is great game, but I jumped right into W2 and had no problem getting used to the characters.

[QUOTE=tom1029;39485696]You aren't exactly selling it to me.[/QUOTE] i was never going to sell it to you. i'm just telling you how it goes it's hard to get in to and if you think it's going to be assassins creed casual then you won't like it. it's more like a lite version of dark souls also it's confirmed that TW3 will be the last witcher game [url]http://www.gamespot.com/news/witcher-3-the-final-witcher-game-6403436[/url] bummer

Oh shit my computer needs a new everything for this.

Not sure if this was posted already, but here's a short announcement video from Gameinformer where the devs talk briefly of their plans for TW3: [video=youtube;8gIsYuPIKco]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gIsYuPIKco[/video] I like what I'm hearing here. Also, I love that logo of theirs "We are CD Projekt RED - We are rebels". EDIT: Question: I formatted my OS drive, but can I somehow get the TW2 launcher working if I have all the game files intact? Launching the game straight from the executable works (I had me a nice couple of arena fights) but my savegames aren't visible. Can I re-install the game without having to download those 14 gigs again?

Been thinking of playing The Witcher 2 for a while, but I need some info first. What interests me is that the game is claimed to be mature, and that the story is mature. When people say it's mature, does that mean lots of nudity and sex just to seem mature, or is it actually a good deep story with interesting characters and a plot that makes you think?

Both, although the context for nudity/sex usually makes sense and is handled well. There are a few parts which seem a little necessary though.

[QUOTE=X-Neon;39506965]Both, although the context for nudity/sex usually makes sense and is handled well. There are a few parts which seem a little necessary though.[/QUOTE] Alright thanks, I'll pick it up then!

[QUOTE=kirderf;39506787]Been thinking of playing The Witcher 2 for a while, but I need some info first. What interests me is that the game is claimed to be mature, and that the story is mature. When people say it's mature, does that mean lots of nudity and sex just to seem mature, or is it actually a good deep story with interesting characters and a plot that makes you think?[/QUOTE] It's a bit of all. Sometimes language and nudity is used excessively, but most of the time I find it used fittingly to convey emotions and spice up the narrative. One thing I'm sure of is that it has a narrative that makes you think, in part because of the grey morality thing the game has going on. Many individual quests as well as the overarching conflicts in the game is related to issues like racism, social classes, nationalism or moral problems that will leave you pondering "what is the right thing to do in this case?". The writing in itself is pretty colorful and I personally find most dialogues quite engaging contrary to most games where NPC conversation often feels like arbitrary text blocking my way to the next fight.

[QUOTE=Im Crimson;39507235]It's a bit of all. Sometimes language and nudity is used excessively, but most of the time I find it used fittingly to convey emotions and spice up the narrative. One thing I'm sure of is that it has a narrative that makes you think, in part because of the grey morality thing the game has going on. Many individual quests as well as the overarching conflicts in the game is related to issues like racism, social classes, nationalism or moral problems that will leave you pondering "what is the right thing to do in this case?". The writing in itself is pretty colorful and I personally find most dialogues quite engaging contrary to most games where NPC conversation often feels like arbitrary text blocking my way to the next fight.[/QUOTE] Sounds very promising, looking forward to playing this :D I haven't played Witcher 1, but I've read that as long as you pay attention and read journals in The Witcher 2 that won't be a problem.

New update/video: Designing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [url]http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/02/08/designing-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt.aspx[/url]