The Witcher

[adlep]

No patch == people complain
Patch == people complain
?


Also, I already bought the UK ver of the Game from Gogamer.
Can't wait to play it...

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

A demo would be nice though.

 

[Mem]

RPGVault Pre-ship view (their initial impressions).

Commendations
The game seems appears to capture the distinctively moody nature of the protagonist and the flavor of the world he lives in, where very little is clearly good or evil. The story incorporates interesting moral decisions with choices that are neither right nor wrong, and with consequences that aren't always immediate.

This should boost replayability, as should the character advancement scheme, which doesn't allow mastering everything. Combat is fairly fast-paced but not inaccessibly so, and the system is a bit different without feeling strange or imposing a tough learning curve. Quests are both plentiful and varied, and there are even optional mini-games. The art direction is of a high standard, and the visual quality is competitive, albeit not leading edge.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Mem
RPGVault Pre-ship view (their initial impressions).

Commendations
The game seems appears to capture the distinctively moody nature of the protagonist and the flavor of the world he lives in, where very little is clearly good or evil. The story incorporates interesting moral decisions with choices that are neither right nor wrong, and with consequences that aren't always immediate.

This should boost replayability, as should the character advancement scheme, which doesn't allow mastering everything. Combat is fairly fast-paced but not inaccessibly so, and the system is a bit different without feeling strange or imposing a tough learning curve. Quests are both plentiful and varied, and there are even optional mini-games. The art direction is of a high standard, and the visual quality is competitive, albeit not leading edge.

Blech ... who cares what these paid hacks say?


i want a real gamer's impressions ... someone who actually paid for it ... what you think

anyway ... i feel i am being sucked into a HellGate ... resistance is futile ... i'm heading over the Pond now ... Big Ben is in view ....

:laugh:

 

[melijak]

just got an email from gogamer, the UK "I" version of the game has been delayed until 11/2.

 

[Mem]

My CE version arrived,big box,A4 size art book (over 200 pages) ,cd sound track disc,dvd making of the Witcher disc,map and DVD case with game on DVD and manual.


Installed the game and update patch,story seems very good and there's a lot of in game movie clips as the story progresses,speed wise the game was fine with most things on high settings at 1680x1050 res with my 7800gt card(I disabled AA and reduced shadows/lighting but kept AF at 16x ),there's plenty of options for tweaking for people with lower systems or even people with better hardware so no problems there.Graphics are good ,not state of the art but nothing to complain about.

Sound is good as well,combat with sword you choose from fast attack,strong attack and group attack,by selecting the approritate key like Z,X,C,you can double tap keys for rolls, jumps etc in combat,right mouse button you use for witcher spells.

You have quicksave which takes a good 5 seconds to save.Stability in general was good but not perfect ,I feel it can be improved with another patch,one time in game it said you can highlight items by alt key so I tried that and game crashed,however next time I tried ALt key it was ok.

The story draws you in and you have a WP marker so know where to go for next part of story.I have played about 30 minutes .The game so far is a thumbs up but I want to see what happens later with stability and even possible bugs as I progress through the game.

The intro sequence at start was good.

Btw my UK version has a 18 rating" contains strong sex,violence and drugs references".

 

[Mem]

Here's the readme file.

The Witcher V.1.1
ReadMe File
October 22, 2007
======================================================

IMPORTANT:
Please download Microsoft hotfix from the following location when playing the game on 32-bit Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105

======================================================
Table of Contents
======================================================

1. Minimum System Requirements
2. Recommended System Requirements
3. Installation
4. Performance Tips
5. Patch 1.1 Major Fixes
6. Known Issues
7. Copyright and Trademark

======================================================
1. Minimum System Requirements
======================================================

OS (Operating System): Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +2800
RAM: 1024 MB RAM for Microsoft® Windows® XP / 1536 MB for Microsoft® Windows® Vista
Video: 128 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 or better)
Free HD Space: 8.5 GB available hard drive space
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD: DVD-ROM

======================================================
2. Recommended System Requirements
======================================================

OS (Operating System): Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (dual core) or equivalent AMD X2 processor or better
RAM: 2048 MB RAM
Video: 256 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA 7900 or faster with 512 MB of memory)
Free HD Space: 8.5 GB available hard drive space
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD: DVD-ROM

======================================================
3. Installation Instructions
======================================================

THE WITCHER PATCH 1.1:
1) Start Windows® XP/Vista.
2) Exit all other applications. Start the patch executable.
3) You must select the same language that you used for game installation.
4) Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing The Witcher Patch.

THE WITCHER GAME:
1) Start Windows® XP/Vista.
2) Exit all other applications. Insert The Witcher disc into your DVD drive.
3) If AutoPlay is enabled, an installer will start.
4) If AutoPlay is not enabled, press the Windows® logo key + R to open the ?Run? dialog.
5) Type D:\Autorun and click on OK. Note: If your CD or DVD drive is assigned to a letter other than D, substitute that letter.
6) Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing The Witcher.
7) The game will start automatically after installation is finished.
8) Installation of DirectX®: The Witcher DVD-ROM requires DirectX® 9.0c or higher in order to run. If you do not have DirectX® 9.0c or higher installed, the installer will install the proper version.

UNINSTALL NOTES:
1) The patch can be uninstalled only during the uninstallation of whole game.
2) DO NOT run file "removepatch.exe" from game's directory.

NOTE: You must insert The Witcher disc into your DVD drive in order to play.

======================================================
4. Performance Tips
======================================================

1) The following video cards should be set to run at 800x600 with Low Detail settings:
ATI RADEON 9800 Series, ATI RADEON X700 Series, ATI RADEON X1300/X1550 Series, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 6600

2) The following video cards should be set to run at 1024x768 with Medium Detail settings:
ATI RADEON X800 PRO, ATI RADEON X850 XT, ATI RADEON X1600 Series, ATI RADEON X1800 series, ATI RADEON X1950 Pro, ATI RADEON HD 2600 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT

3) The following video cards should be set to run at 1024x768 with High Detail settings:
ATI RADEON X1950 XTX, ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX, NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX

4) NVIDIA advises to download latest drivers: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_163.69.html

======================================================
5. Patch 1.1 Major Fixes
======================================================

Gameplay & text bugs fixed:
- Fixed character development issues with some abilities and skills.
- Fixes for some storyline related progression breaks.
- Fixes for druids' day-night cycle in Act 5.
- Fixes for sex scene with nurses in Act 5.
- Signet fixes (some signets were received twice).
- Fixed story incoherency regarding Erkyn in Act 3.
- Experience gain indication localization fixes.
- Mutagen potion - new fixes for showing up a message.
- Fixed items used in eating animations.
- Geralt's allies fixed to always react properly to all mosnters.
- Bounty Hunter is Agent Smith no more (he doesn't replicate). Mr. Geralt, we missed you...
- Echinopses and Archespores now use their own spikes instead of arrows.
- Fixes for alchemical ingredients extracted from some monsters.
- Raven Crypt - few fixes for geometry and placeables.
- Fixed few places where player was supposed to meditate, but couldn't.
- Fixed story incoherence in Berengar quest.
- Berengar won't disappear on sight when sparing him.
- A whole lot of localization fixes (some of them won't work with old savegames!).

Code bugs fixed:
- Fixed all diagnosed stability issues and crashes.
- Fixed few gameplay issues with WSAD and mousedrive controls.
- Alt-Tab related issues fixed (random crashes, hang-ups, cursor blocking).
- Cat potion estimated time display - fixed.
- Dropping items from the inventory fixes for better spread.
- Weapon visual FXes fixed during dialogues.
- Confirmation box shown when player uses Quick Load.
- Tooltip fixes for lower resolutions (for example 800x600).
- All read books now have the appropriate note in description.
- Sitting animation fixes for few characters that sat beside the chair.
- Alt-Tab fixes for dialogue lines and gameplay options.
- Savegame option blocked around Aard throwing time.
- Audio: rat squealing sound fixes for minimized mode.
- Movies and cutscenes fixes for Alt-Tabbing.
- AI: fixed NPCs chasing enemies that were no more.
- AI: few poker fixes.
- Fixed problems with items appearing back in storages.
- Fixed blizzard problems with cutscenes and dialogues.
- Fixed toxicity effect for Alt-Tabbing.
- Finishers fixes - animation sometimes did not play.
- When taking out an unknown item of the storage, the user can no longer see the name of the potion. Good one...
- Fixed saving in tight places (player got teleported after load... sometimes).

Art & sound bugs fixed:
- Vizim's Temple Quarter: ~30 physics fixes; corrected barrels; ~10 decoration fixes.
- Kaer Morhen: Wild animals fixes.
- Sewers: commoners sleeping fxes; ~5 item properties fixes; ~10 skeleton placement fixes.
- Vizim's Temple Quarter/Burning Vizim:The banner on the tower is no longer black.
- Old Manor: Koschey boss movement fixes.
- Mutants fixes for decapitation. That means no decapitation now.
- Werewolf physics fixes.
- Chainmail stand placeable now has collision surface (player/npc can't pass through it).
- Celina brightness fixes for interiors.
- Order knights lighting fixes.
- Bread item fixes for eating animation.
- More detailed model of Horse+Wagon for opening cutscenes.
- Journal entry for crypts fixed now.
- A child in epilogue cutscene doesn't look like badly sewn young Frankenstein.
- Old lady and dwarves - idle animation fixes.

======================================================
6. Known Issues
======================================================

1) The Witcher may exhaust virtual address space when running on 32-bit Windows Vista. Microsoft has released a hotfix that addresses this problem. Please download the hotfix from the following location when playing the game on 32-bit Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105
2) The following video cards are not currently supported: S3 Colt, S3 S27, S3 S8
3) The following processors are out of range: AMD Duron Series, AMD Athlon XP 2400+ through 3200+, AMD Sempron 2400+ through 2800+, and the INTEL Celeron Series.
4) Some bugfixes mentioned above will work only if a game is restarted from scratch, for some others a corresponding act needs to be restarted.

======================================================
7. Copyright and Trademark
======================================================

© 2007 CD Projekt Sp z.o.o. © 2007 Atari Europe. Marketed and distributed by Atari Europe S.A.S.U. Developed by CD Projekt RED Sp. z o.o. The Witcher is a registered trademark of CD Projekt Sp z.o.o. All rights reserved. This Game was created using the BioWare Aurora Engine© 1997 ? 2007 BioWare Corp. All rights reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Aurora Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of BioWare Corp. All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, GeForce and ?The Way It?s Meant to be Played? logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved. Based on the works of Andrzej Sapkowski. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by Danusia Stok, published by Victor Gollancz, a member of the Orion Publishing Group. Uses Bink Video. Copyright ©1997-2007 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. Uses Miles Sound System. Copyright ©1991-2005 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. RenderWare is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. Portions of this software are Copyright 1998-2003 Criterion Software Ltd. and its Licensors. Portions of this software utilize SpeedTree technology. ©2001-2004 Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. All rights reserved. Lua code copyright ©1994-2007 Lua.org, PUC-Rio. Portions of this software are copyright ©1996-2004 The FreeType Project (www.freetype.org). All rights reserved. Portions of the Loki Library Copyright ©2001 by Andrei Alexandrescu.

.

 

[apoppin]

do you have it yet, Mem?

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: apoppin
do you have it yet, Mem?

Look three posts up .

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Mem

Originally posted by: apoppin
do you have it yet, Mem?

Look three posts up .

it was hidden by the readme

stop posting and go play it some more !!!

 

[Mem]

Those few issues aside, The Witcher is quite an achievement. Its unique take on character development and combat combined with a healthy dose of dialogue, a comprehensive journal system, a well-developed alchemy system, and distinctive art style make it a welcome change compared to what we've been seeing from other RPGs lately.

While it doesn't quite reach perfection, CD Projekt's debut title is probably the best CRPG I've played in years. Gamers looking for a fulfilling, mature-themed, single player role-playing experience should definitely pick the game up when it hits store shelves later this month.

Gamebanshee Preview link.

 

[adlep]

Originally posted by: Mem

Those few issues aside, The Witcher is quite an achievement. Its unique take on character development and combat combined with a healthy dose of dialogue, a comprehensive journal system, a well-developed alchemy system, and distinctive art style make it a welcome change compared to what we've been seeing from other RPGs lately.

While it doesn't quite reach perfection, CD Projekt's debut title is probably the best CRPG I've played in years. Gamers looking for a fulfilling, mature-themed, single player role-playing experience should definitely pick the game up when it hits store shelves later this month.

Gamebanshee Preview link.

Mem:

Heds up, they have released patch 1.1a already

Link here:
Patch 1.1a

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: adlep

Originally posted by: Mem

Those few issues aside, The Witcher is quite an achievement. Its unique take on character development and combat combined with a healthy dose of dialogue, a comprehensive journal system, a well-developed alchemy system, and distinctive art style make it a welcome change compared to what we've been seeing from other RPGs lately.

While it doesn't quite reach perfection, CD Projekt's debut title is probably the best CRPG I've played in years. Gamers looking for a fulfilling, mature-themed, single player role-playing experience should definitely pick the game up when it hits store shelves later this month.

Gamebanshee Preview link.

Mem:

Heds up, they have released patch 1.1a already

Link here:
Patch 1.1a

Thx downloading now,quick update on my review,I had another crash while opening in game menu,anyway I'll see how it is with the new patch,I will say the graphics look great now that I have tweaked it,the game is very good IMHO(apart from the odd crash lucky only had 2 crashes so far).

Anybody that likes Oblivion,Gothic 3 should give this game a try, it really is a good game.I'm just starting on the alchemy making.

Only negative so far is the odd crash,I'll try the patch and some more graphics tweaking.



Patch server is being hammered,lucky I found a Russian download link,size of patch is a hefty 113.2mb.

 

[apoppin]

Better than 2Worlds ?
-that didn't turn out so well

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Better than 2Worlds ?
-that didn't turn out so well

A lot better then 2 Worlds.

 

[jonmcc33]

Can't stand waiting between all these level loads. Far too many on just the first part of the game...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Can't stand waiting between all these level loads. Far too many on just the first part of the game...

What is your rig HW? 2GB RAM?

How long of a load time?
... i *hated* G3 because of it ... make a cup of tea while waiting [i had 1GB RAM back then].

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

Overall, this a better game than Gothic. The only thing better about Gothic is that its gameworld is free-roaming and this one is zoned. The zones are quite large however, at least 10 times bigger than the NWN2 maps, with more of a sense of openess. The combat, while it has a few quirks, is much more satisfying than Gothic. Just like Gothic, the AI has day/night schedules and routines (people sleep and move around town during the day performing daily tasks). The one thing that really bothers me, though, is that your weapon automatically gets sheathed going into cutscenes or upon entering a new zone. Entering a house, I got jumped by 6 guys and was hit 10+ times before I could draw the sword. So far the story looks pretty good.

Definitely one of the better games I've played over the last few years. It's more of a roleplaying game than I had expected. You can actually change the story arcs and characters may live or die as the result of your actions. There's actually quite a bit of conversation - it's not just hack n' slash.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
Overall, this a better game than Gothic. The only thing better about Gothic is that its gameworld is free-roaming and this one is zoned. The zones are quite large however, at least 10 times bigger than the NWN2 maps, with more of a sense of openess. The combat, while it has a few quirks, is much more satisfying than Gothic. Just like Gothic, the AI has day/night schedules and routines (people sleep and move around town during the day performing daily tasks). The one thing that really bothers me, though, is that your weapon automatically gets sheathed going into cutscenes or upon entering a new zone. Entering a house, I got jumped by 6 guys and was hit 10+ times before I could draw the sword. So far the story looks pretty good.

Definitely one of the better games I've played over the last few years. It's more of a roleplaying game than I had expected. You can actually change the story arcs and characters may live or die as the result of your actions. There's actually quite a bit of conversation - it's not just hack n' slash.

How long have you been playing it and how bug-free is it?
- i am worried because of only one thing ...

. . . A-T-A-R-I ...
... and if i get it, i guess i need the European version

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Can't stand waiting between all these level loads. Far too many on just the first part of the game...

What is your rig HW? 2GB RAM?

How long of a load time?
... i *hated* G3 because of it ... make a cup of tea while waiting [i had 1GB RAM back then].

Core 2 Duo 6400 @ 3.2GHz (400x8)
2GB Hynix DDR2-667 @ 800MHz
Abit IP35-E
PowerColor Radeon X1900XT
320GB Seagate 7200.10 16MB cache

It's not the length of the load times, it's the frequency of them.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Can't stand waiting between all these level loads. Far too many on just the first part of the game...

What is your rig HW? 2GB RAM?

How long of a load time?
... i *hated* G3 because of it ... make a cup of tea while waiting [i had 1GB RAM back then].

Core 2 Duo 6400 @ 3.2GHz (400x8)
2GB Hynix DDR2-667 @ 800MHz
Abit IP35-E
PowerColor Radeon X1900XT
320GB Seagate 7200.10 16MB cache

It's not the length of the load times, it's the frequency of them.

Loadtimes range in my case from 30-50 secs,quicksaves 5-10 secs with my 4GB on Vista x64.

The main problem I have is the game will crash for no reason every now and then(normally if you click on something or open a menu),I had one crash when opening the Alchemy menu (which I had to do for a quest)and another later when I clicked on a camp fire to rest,frankly these sort of crashes should not be happening,shame really since the story and game itself is very good.

Checking their forums tells me I'm not alone in the crashing department, going to advance options like disabling Field of View etc did not help in my case.I'm pretty sure its a game issue since all my other games are fine and even Bioshock,Two Worlds etc are more stable,I guess its possible it could be driver related but doubt it.I expect a few more patches to appear since the game could of done with more stability tweaking ,I will go as far and say this game is probably my most unstable game I own (I don't say that lightly since 99% of my games don't cause me problems).

My opinion is a very good game(story,sound,graphics etc..) but has stability issues that need addressing ASAP,anyway if I find the cause I'll let you know.

 

[apoppin]

My opinion is a very good game(story,sound,graphics etc..) but has stability issues that need addressing ASAP,anyway if I find the cause I'll let you know.

i am SO sorry

the "clue" this might happen was the publisher and i believe we now have an established *pattern*:

ATARI is evil ... pure evil ...
... worse than EA ... impure evil ... :|
:evil:

:thumbsdown:

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: Mem
Loadtimes range in my case from 30-50 secs,quicksaves 5-10 secs with my 4GB on Vista x64.

The main problem I have is the game will crash for no reason every now and then(normally if you click on something or open a menu),I had one crash when opening the Alchemy menu (which I had to do for a quest)and another later when I clicked on a camp fire to rest,frankly these sort of crashes should not be happening,shame really since the story and game itself is very good.

Checking their forums tells me I'm not alone in the crashing department, going to advance options like disabling Field of View etc did not help in my case.I'm pretty sure its a game issue since all my other games are fine and even Bioshock,Two Worlds etc are more stable,I guess its possible it could be driver related but doubt it.I expect a few more patches to appear since the game could of done with more stability tweaking ,I will go as far and say this game is probably my most unstable game I own (I don't say that lightly since 99% of my games don't cause me problems).

My opinion is a very good game(story,sound,graphics etc..) but has stability issues that need addressing ASAP,anyway if I find the cause I'll let you know.

Again, I don't care about load times of a level. I care that there are far too many times of having to load a level. It really delays the storyline.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33

Originally posted by: Mem
Loadtimes range in my case from 30-50 secs,quicksaves 5-10 secs with my 4GB on Vista x64.

The main problem I have is the game will crash for no reason every now and then(normally if you click on something or open a menu),I had one crash when opening the Alchemy menu (which I had to do for a quest)and another later when I clicked on a camp fire to rest,frankly these sort of crashes should not be happening,shame really since the story and game itself is very good.

Checking their forums tells me I'm not alone in the crashing department, going to advance options like disabling Field of View etc did not help in my case.I'm pretty sure its a game issue since all my other games are fine and even Bioshock,Two Worlds etc are more stable,I guess its possible it could be driver related but doubt it.I expect a few more patches to appear since the game could of done with more stability tweaking ,I will go as far and say this game is probably my most unstable game I own (I don't say that lightly since 99% of my games don't cause me problems).

My opinion is a very good game(story,sound,graphics etc..) but has stability issues that need addressing ASAP,anyway if I find the cause I'll let you know.

Again, I don't care about load times of a level. I care that there are far too many times of having to load a level. It really delays the storyline.

I was really answering apoppins question about load times in an earlier post and giving my update on my review ,btw you had any crashes?

 

[Mem]

Looks like the game has issues with Vista link. Anyway I hope they fix it soon,right now I can't play for more then 5 minutes without a crash .

Another guy with same problem ,common issue .