So since I'm abandoning all hope for a console Witcher, if I were going to pick it up for the PC, which version should I get? There's a normal, enhanced, and an enhanced uncensored UK import listed on Amazon. What's enhanced and what's uncensored and are these things worth it? #thewitcher
@tk.: Enhanced has major bug fixes and performance improvements. The game wasn't really that buggy, but the increase in performance is huge. I think it also has an extra adventure, etc. I know that in Polish edition you could upgrade to Enhanced for free, all you had to do was download 1GB patch.
Uncensored edition has all the nude parts kept in. This is esp. apparent in after-sex cards (you get a card for banging specific women) - it is heavy on nudity (but not porn), in censored versions the cards all show clothed women.
Get the uncensored edition - this was the Standard edition in Poland. The Witcher was created by A. Sapkowski, and nudity & sex is frequent throughout all of his books with Geralt. Trust me, the Uncensored verison is what the author would've considered "closest" to his books ^^. #thewitcher
@tk.: For the game itself, it doesn't matter what version you get. You can download the Enhanced Edition and uncensored patches from CDProject's The Witcher website.
You do get some physical extras (cloth map, etc.) with the more expensive editions, however. #thewitcher
To add a local flavor to this: Optimus was really big in the 90s, they had the largest market share in Poland at that time. My first PC had proud "Optimus" logo, it was one of first IT companies to get big post-1989.
At the end of 1990s/early 2000s they got hit with government probe - they used vague tax laws to re-import computers from Czech Republic and bypass the VAT. This was not against the law per-say, however Polish Tax System is very bad, with different tax offices having different interpretations of the same tax rules. In the end the Tax Office and the Court went with "if it doesn't go to State's pocket, it's against the law", and they fined Optimus for many millions PLN. Add to that losing market share to all the other Western companies coming in to Poland (HP, Toshiba, Sony), and now I haven't seen Optimus-branded computers in like 6-7 years now. #thewitcher
@ProdigalMoon: As much as I do genuinely hope console gamers get to play such a great game, sadly, I wouldn't hold your hopes too high. The french company developing it weren't meeting CD Projekts expectations and Rise of the White Wolf (The console version) was cancelled and the Witcher 2 is now in development.
So, my advice is either live without it or invest in a PC that can play it.
I would've acquired them but my inventory was full, if I carried just one more pound in weight I wouldn't be able to move...and I also spent all my money on healing potions.
(note: I have not played The Witcher so this joke will be rife with inaccuracies) #thewitcher
If you had played the original, pre-patch version, you probably would've lost them in your inventory due to the lack of auto inventory sort features. #thewitcher
@Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.: I was rather confused myself by this whole story, it seemed there were 2 conflicting ideas??
Needless to say I think Bash was trying to say CDP were bought out :) #thewitcher
I don't see why you're referring to them as the "Witcher Developer". They've got quite a few more things to their name than a mediocre game, considering their importance in publishing.. GoG etc. #thewitcher
-MasterDex- promoted this comment
Eran: Kojima-san Does Not Have To Make Metal Gear Anymore was starred
Eran: Kojima-san Does Not Have To Make Metal Gear Anymore was unstarred
@Eran: Kojima-san Does Not Have To Make Metal Gear Anymore: Considering that The Witcher is what they are most well known for as well as The Witcher being their first game, I'd say it's only natural to reference The Witcher for recognizability. #thewitcher
@syafiqjabar of Mars: He probably feels that calling it the best PC RPG of 2007 would mean he's "going with the crowd" and that would make him less edgey and cool.
@Erik Lindqvist: I know.
Just all these weird currencies in use as real money and ingames stuff like Gil.
It wouldn't be surprising if they overlapped one point. #thewitcher
Played the patched version of The Witcher from start to finish. Didn't really like it, although there were some good things about it, like some of the environments, buildings, and the general great PC graphics, although I didn't like the art at all and everyone was butt ugly, including all the bedmates. I never liked the simple clickfest that was the combat system, and later on I would just upgrade my fire spell and burn everything 360 degrees around me.
This being a Polish game and not localized well, even with the new recorded lines for the updated game, everything feels disjointed and unpolished, one of the worst jobs I've seen, which ruins the story. There is no lip-synch to speak of, and watching them try to move or emote in the dailogue screen is just hard to bear. It being a PC game, there are always rough corners where parts of dialogues will be cut off and transitions between scenes seem like they accidentally cut off 10 seconds from the previous. The multi-quest, branching dialogue, sandbox Bethesda/Bioware-like formula also falls into the same trap, where each quest is watered down and the main quest also takes a giant hit in its production values as they rely more on stock footage and recyclables that western RPGs are known for.
I think it would have made a big difference if it was brought to consoles as it would look and feel less like I was controlling some sharp-edged polygons around and someone with puppet strings was manipulating them, or maybe it would look the same, I don't know. Console RPGs generally have much better polish and not prone to glaring technical problems. Th GOTY Oblivion I bought for the PS3 at least feels less like a PC game than the original one I got for the PC.
@kimahri.blue: Yes, the console port would've been horrilby dumb, dull and without any of the sharpnes that this game had, which made every other RPG in many years look like a piece of garbage, including the horribly written attempts from Bioware "OH SAVE THE WORLD! GREAT HERO/EVILGUY!" or Bethesda.
The console RPGs you speak of were pretty much direct ports of previous PC games, and they were, if you don't mind taking off those rose tintet glasses for a moment, full of bugs; crashes, glitches, poorly written, badly lipsynched, ugly (unless you had the PC version and downloaded upgraded (4-8x resolutioN) textures for them and smacked on a bunch of anisotropic filtering (the one thing that no console game does, high level anisotropic filtering, which makes all the difference).
1.5 million copies sold of a game with almost no marketing, made by a pretty much first-time Polish developer based on a series of Polish fantasy novels that have never been translated to English speaks volumes about the quality of this title, if not the endless list of awards given to it did.
Mass Effect was out at the same time, and everyone was busy screaming about the .5 seconds of butt shown during a sex scene in that. While in the Witcher you could make moral choices centered around racism and racial oppression and have sex with hookers, nuns, barmaids and random others and get both a blurred explicit scene and an explicit graphic shown. And gamble all your money away or rob drunkards blind, and cut people to bits in gratuitiously violent fatality sequnces. Indeed, blood splattered on the ground based on your sword movements, and peoples' heads, limbs and legs went flying left and right...
The Witcher 2 announcement filled me with joy. I hope they have not compromised the direction in the sequel in the hope of more mass market appeal. Making a product that ships 1.5 million units is a product with mass market appeal.
But then, we know they're the ones hosting GOG.com and that they are able and willing to go the extra mile for PC gamers, and know the reward for doing so. Unlike the hundreds of developers of all those shortlived console titles that noone remembers 14 days after launch, or spends eternity whining over why they were so bad when they could've been so good.
Guess you missed out on the whole Knights of the Old Republic Saga, eh. Yknow that was a co console/PC release.
And you know the Xbox is essentially a simplified PC in terms of architecture, its not so much a port as a literal translation. I don't possibly know which console RPG's you refer to, when all of them end up on PC sooner or later or they start out on PC.
Are you referring to JRPGs? Because they're the only ones not PC switchable. And everyone remembers them. In fact, I'll throw down Chrono Trigger. Or even Dragon Warrior on the NES.
Consoles haven't ruined anything. The same could be said of the PC, they they've ruined good games. By trying to complex shit up, they lose out on the fun factor. Do you know how many games are out there that are wayyyyy too complicated for the average gamer? Doesn't make em bad, but its about as sensible as an argument that you're making.
I've watched you for a while, and you're one of the last PC fanboys that exist. You hate consoles, I understand. But maybe you should crawl out of that scandanavian hole you live in and accept the fact that PC Gaming, while not necessarily dying, is not the all encompassing world of 'serious gaming' anymore.
My perosnal love for CD Projekt comes from GOG.
Pretty niftty service, they give you a DRM free copy, 99% guaranteed to work on Vista and XP, and you get some cool stuff with it too.
Sounds like a good plan to help in ensuring CD Projekts future in the market and after a game as good as The Witcher, that can only be a good thing. I hope everything goes smoothly.
@-MasterDex-: yeah, i know, but like The Last Remnant, things happened and i ended up pre occupied with other projects and just never made my way back.
10/24/09
10/23/09
10/23/09
Uncensored edition has all the nude parts kept in. This is esp. apparent in after-sex cards (you get a card for banging specific women) - it is heavy on nudity (but not porn), in censored versions the cards all show clothed women.
Get the uncensored edition - this was the Standard edition in Poland. The Witcher was created by A. Sapkowski, and nudity & sex is frequent throughout all of his books with Geralt. Trust me, the Uncensored verison is what the author would've considered "closest" to his books ^^. #thewitcher
10/23/09
You do get some physical extras (cloth map, etc.) with the more expensive editions, however. #thewitcher
10/23/09
10/23/09
At the end of 1990s/early 2000s they got hit with government probe - they used vague tax laws to re-import computers from Czech Republic and bypass the VAT. This was not against the law per-say, however Polish Tax System is very bad, with different tax offices having different interpretations of the same tax rules. In the end the Tax Office and the Court went with "if it doesn't go to State's pocket, it's against the law", and they fined Optimus for many millions PLN. Add to that losing market share to all the other Western companies coming in to Poland (HP, Toshiba, Sony), and now I haven't seen Optimus-branded computers in like 6-7 years now. #thewitcher
10/23/09
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10/23/09
CDProject published it.
Yes, we're not very creative when it comes to company names in Poland. #thewitcher
10/23/09
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10/23/09
So, my advice is either live without it or invest in a PC that can play it.
10/23/09
(note: I have not played The Witcher so this joke will be rife with inaccuracies) #thewitcher
10/23/09
If you had played the original, pre-patch version, you probably would've lost them in your inventory due to the lack of auto inventory sort features. #thewitcher
10/23/09
10/23/09
What were you even -trying- to say? #thewitcher
10/23/09
Needless to say I think Bash was trying to say CDP were bought out :) #thewitcher
10/23/09
10/23/09
but yeah, I was lost as well.
The headline gave me the jist I needed to glide through the story though. #thewitcher
10/23/09
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10/23/09
What's this about The Witcher being mediocre. The worse part is you mention it as casually as racism is on a KKK forum. #thewitcher
10/23/09
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10/23/09
All sounds good.
As long as they don't mess up GoG.
Also "63 million zlotych" tutut, you can't use game currency as real money.
Next we'll find out SE bought Eidos for 500million gil.
10/23/09
[en.wikipedia.org] #thewitcher
10/23/09
Just all these weird currencies in use as real money and ingames stuff like Gil.
It wouldn't be surprising if they overlapped one point. #thewitcher
10/02/09
This being a Polish game and not localized well, even with the new recorded lines for the updated game, everything feels disjointed and unpolished, one of the worst jobs I've seen, which ruins the story. There is no lip-synch to speak of, and watching them try to move or emote in the dailogue screen is just hard to bear. It being a PC game, there are always rough corners where parts of dialogues will be cut off and transitions between scenes seem like they accidentally cut off 10 seconds from the previous. The multi-quest, branching dialogue, sandbox Bethesda/Bioware-like formula also falls into the same trap, where each quest is watered down and the main quest also takes a giant hit in its production values as they rely more on stock footage and recyclables that western RPGs are known for.
I think it would have made a big difference if it was brought to consoles as it would look and feel less like I was controlling some sharp-edged polygons around and someone with puppet strings was manipulating them, or maybe it would look the same, I don't know. Console RPGs generally have much better polish and not prone to glaring technical problems. Th GOTY Oblivion I bought for the PS3 at least feels less like a PC game than the original one I got for the PC.
10/02/09
The console RPGs you speak of were pretty much direct ports of previous PC games, and they were, if you don't mind taking off those rose tintet glasses for a moment, full of bugs; crashes, glitches, poorly written, badly lipsynched, ugly (unless you had the PC version and downloaded upgraded (4-8x resolutioN) textures for them and smacked on a bunch of anisotropic filtering (the one thing that no console game does, high level anisotropic filtering, which makes all the difference).
1.5 million copies sold of a game with almost no marketing, made by a pretty much first-time Polish developer based on a series of Polish fantasy novels that have never been translated to English speaks volumes about the quality of this title, if not the endless list of awards given to it did.
Mass Effect was out at the same time, and everyone was busy screaming about the .5 seconds of butt shown during a sex scene in that. While in the Witcher you could make moral choices centered around racism and racial oppression and have sex with hookers, nuns, barmaids and random others and get both a blurred explicit scene and an explicit graphic shown. And gamble all your money away or rob drunkards blind, and cut people to bits in gratuitiously violent fatality sequnces. Indeed, blood splattered on the ground based on your sword movements, and peoples' heads, limbs and legs went flying left and right...
The Witcher was without a doubt one of the most important RPGs in the last many years. It dared to be different and dark and not revolve around a grotesque cliché like so many Bioware and Bethesda games.
The Witcher 2 announcement filled me with joy. I hope they have not compromised the direction in the sequel in the hope of more mass market appeal. Making a product that ships 1.5 million units is a product with mass market appeal.
But then, we know they're the ones hosting GOG.com and that they are able and willing to go the extra mile for PC gamers, and know the reward for doing so. Unlike the hundreds of developers of all those shortlived console titles that noone remembers 14 days after launch, or spends eternity whining over why they were so bad when they could've been so good.
Consoles. They ruin good games.
10/02/09
Guess you missed out on the whole Knights of the Old Republic Saga, eh. Yknow that was a co console/PC release.
And you know the Xbox is essentially a simplified PC in terms of architecture, its not so much a port as a literal translation. I don't possibly know which console RPG's you refer to, when all of them end up on PC sooner or later or they start out on PC.
Are you referring to JRPGs? Because they're the only ones not PC switchable. And everyone remembers them. In fact, I'll throw down Chrono Trigger. Or even Dragon Warrior on the NES.
Consoles haven't ruined anything. The same could be said of the PC, they they've ruined good games. By trying to complex shit up, they lose out on the fun factor. Do you know how many games are out there that are wayyyyy too complicated for the average gamer? Doesn't make em bad, but its about as sensible as an argument that you're making.
I've watched you for a while, and you're one of the last PC fanboys that exist. You hate consoles, I understand. But maybe you should crawl out of that scandanavian hole you live in and accept the fact that PC Gaming, while not necessarily dying, is not the all encompassing world of 'serious gaming' anymore.
10/02/09
10/02/09
So I'm just neutral toward them right now.
10/02/09
Pretty niftty service, they give you a DRM free copy, 99% guaranteed to work on Vista and XP, and you get some cool stuff with it too.
10/02/09
10/02/09
10/02/09
Indeed. As far as i know, they're still looking for a publisher for Witcher 2, so maybe this is a step in the right dirrection.
10/02/09
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10/02/09
10/02/09