Jump to content

The Witcher


deanb
 Share

Recommended Posts

The quest said grapefruit bombs, but whatever works. Has anyone found the royal mailbox yet? The final side-quest I have there before fighting the k-thing.

 

It's in the castellan's office. Louis something or other. Opposite the inn. You can fight the karyan and complete it afterwards. I just defeated it and did a few extra things in town before quitting for the night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I managed to destroy them. Then I finished up on the Edrega (sic) eggs and their queens. Quite the fun fight.

 

 

 

Also, I downloaded and installed the Troll Trouble DLC after I finished a few quests. It seems to be broken as the only options are to talk to the village chief (which turns up no dialogue choices), talk to the troll (which also turns up no dialogue choices), or kill the troll, without any other action or recourse. So it's stuck and my only option to continue the quest is to kill the troll, which I don't want to do.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings.

 

I'm getting a bit bored of it tbh. I'm assuming bug, but there's probbaly something I'm missing in the tooltips that they felt were best to throw in the corner of your screen mid combat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably going to get flame-baited for posting this here, but I did a post on GOG forums concerning combat issues. Figured I would post it here to see the general opinion is of the game.

 

"Disclaimer: I am not saying that I hate the game, far from it. I love the game. It looks great is very refreshing for an RPG, especially since it was designed with the PC in mind. However, flaws are flaws and I am not the one to let love of a franchise or a developer get in the way with what I believe to be sub-par game mechanics... I buy and play pretty much anything that I come across that interests me, from sports games to fighting games to third or first person shooters to rpg's of japanese and western origin. These are just collective thoughts from a well rounded gamer, and other gamers are encouraged to participate and comment on this thread.

 

As a note: please comment only on what you feel needs improvement combat wise. If the combat is fine for you, please move on and don't derail this thread. This isn't a complaint thread, but an idea thread to speak out to the Dev's who no doubt read this forum. Let's get some ideas generating people

 

To set the mood, here's a review from PC Gamer. Notice one of the weaknesses mentioned is indeed combat:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/

 

Personally, I think simple fixes would improve the combat immensely, such as:

 

Speeding up Geralt's run speed. If you move the camera to the side, and run at full speed, it looks as if he is doing a hop-trot, not a full blown gallop. I think it has something to do with the fact that Geralt only has two speeds, due to keyboard controls, you hold shift or press capslock to go into run or walk. It would have been great if they implemented an analog system if you are using the controller, controlling the speed based on how much you move the stick. If you can recall from the Witcher 1, geralt uses a tactical run for overhead (power style) sword technique, and a ninja inspired cautionary free-run for his speed style sword technique. Just adjusting the run speed to match his animation would suffice, seems a bit slow right now, even if by a few microseconds. Something just doesn't seem perfect about it, but I can't put my finger on it.

 

Also, Geralt needs some other sort of evasive maneuvers. The roll just flat out sucks. You can't really use it for escapes (there is a very minute window of time that you can effective use roll to escape being surrounded), and he rolls barely above the speed that he runs, almost negating the usefulness of using it. Witcher 1 had flips, back flips and cartwheels or side flips. It would be cool if they brought those back, but not totally necessary. An easier facilitation would be to adjust stamina/vigor so that the roll uses a bit more vigor, but provides instant acceleration to get you out of a tough spot and give you some distance between yourself and your enemies.

 

The block needs to be more effective. I don't know if you noticed yet, but you have to "press" the block key or button every time you want to initiate a block, because he effectively resets his stance each time a successful block is made. Even then, the block is finicky, sometimes I die just because block doesn't seem to want to engage. It may make sense from a realistic perspective perhaps, but it does not make much sense from a gameplay perspective. It would be better if he could constant block by holding the key down, and reposition each block automatically from each and every attacker within a 90 degree angle in front of him. Geralt will not be able to block attacks behind him of course. Blocks will still take stamina to use, and health will still be depleted, but this would stave off many a cheap death from being overwhelmed.

 

Targeting just flat out needs fixing. It seems to have a mind of its own. Not sure what's wrong here, but targeting the wrong enemies is quite frustrating. Even when you hold the key or button down, sometimes the targeting system loses lock, if you change direction or what not. As a gamer, as long as I hold that targeting button down, I expect that target be locked on like missile from a cannon. The camera focus should be on the target as long as auto lock is held. There should be no guessing who your target is, because both the combat system and you know who your target is.

 

Those are just a few improvement suggestions as far as defensive postures go. I'm sure someone could give a few suggestions as to sword play. I don't know how to describe in words how I would improve sword play, it's pretty good at the moment, but as many of the combat complaint threads show, it's far from perfect. Perhaps animation speed could be sped up just by a few microseconds? I get that you must commit to an attack once you initiate, but other games have approached sword play better.

 

We aren't arguing the game's aspiration towards tactical gameplay. Tactical gameplay is a good thing, something that some rpg's these days are missing. But tactical gameplay does not equal a lack of balance.

 

Normal mode is just that: a mode that most gamers will be able to handle with a negligible amount of deaths and setbacks. It seems there is a wide gammut of skill level here and on the steam forums. It's great that there are many gamers playing this awesome game. That said, not everyone is an expert, and expert players should be playing on expert difficulties, while average gamers should be playing on normal difficulty, approximately where 70-80% of anyone who is experienced with rpg's will start. Suffice it to say that for every vocal gamer that makes a complaint or a suggestion on a message board, there are a few that do not. That said, there are those that are "fans" of a game, and look to message boards to express their love for a game, it's lore, it's combat mechanics. Thus, it is easy to get a skewed opinion as to whether a feature of a game is good or not, because for every one common gamer who has an issue, there are anywhere from 3-5 fans that will denounce him or her on their ability to enjoy and play a game "correctly".

 

In closing, let's not kid ourselves here. We are all here predominantly to watch a beautiful story. The story of a Witcher, set in the world of a tumultuous kingdom. If the mechanics of a game work against the telling of that story, then those mechanics can be considered a weakness of the game.

 

Thoughts on improvements as far as combat goes? Let's hear 'em! "

 

/Endquote

 

So far I like the game. I'm in chapter one, but I must say the amount of cheap deaths really put me off during the prologue. At the part in the courtyard, I switched it to easy, and now the game is too easy. I switched it back to normal at the start of chapter 1. I've played and enjoyed some hard games before, but the prologue to this game really takes the cake for being a bit unfair, especially if you are new to the Witcher universe. I am deffinitely going to finish the game multiple times, but I do hope they address some of the gameplay issues.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that sounds like it will bug me is the 'responsiveness'. The timing and such is a crucial thing for action games and is really annoying when developers screw it up.

 

Oh, and I received my copy today. Can't play it yet but had a look through the contents. Pretty cool I must say. Although I was flicking through what I thought was the manual thinking 'This seems a bit detailed...' only to check the front and find it's an actual game guide. <_< Silly me.

 

Kinda funny putting a full-on guide with your game though.

Edited by Hot Heart
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing wrong with having a dissenting opinion, Arion, if it's well-thought out and articulated. Thanks for the perspective. That being said, most people are saying that it takes a while for the combat to "click," and when it does, it's a whole lot easier. Share with us your thoughts as you progress further.

 

Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings. Dragon! Take Cover. To The Hoardings.

 

I hear this is a common thing in the prologue. Which is funny, because a prologue supposed to be just that, an introduction to the game, how to play it, how combat works, what skills you should use, etc etc. Nothing in this part said:

 

"By the way, I see that you are on fire. Perhaps you should use quen to you know, give yourself some fire resistance to survive the dragon attack."

 

I've been following the development of witcher 2 for quite a while, and even participated in the forums there (which sadly were taken down on launch day angering alot of folks).

 

Difficulty spikes, difficulty walls, glitches, mechanics, and lack of instructions or commentary are all things that can be caught during the public playtesting / closed beta phase of a game, which to my knowledge, Witcher 2 never had.

 

Someone at GOG.com coaxed an official response from support at CD Project Red that they are in the process of fixing tweaking over 10,000 bugs and issues in the game, several of which will be addressed in next week's patch.

 

Notwithstanding, it's as close to perfect as a next gen rpg we are going to get until Skyrim. I told a buddy of mine, who can barely play the game due to crashes and ATI card errors:

 

"It's as if someone took the Mona Lisa and got a framed it using something store bought from target or a common store."

 

It lacks that final gloss of polish to put it up there with the assassin's creed's, metal gear's, or oblivion's of this generation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Witcher2 is punishing, unlike modern games for babies. You gotta use alchemy, magic and swordplay in most fights. You can't rely on cheap blocks; constantly attacking is the best defense. I love the combat though it took a while to get the hang of.

 

Dean: the dragon/boarding sequence is about timing. Clear the three enemies, then waitto go to the next cover when the dragon repositions itself.

 

I understand the frustration, but alot of the combat difficulty dissipates when you change the difficulty to easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally dislike clicky-click affairs such as The Witcher, but I can't say I subscribe to the issues there. With the exception of, as I already mentioned, some dimwit mapping the loot key to the attack key, combat hasn't been particularly disobedient or unfair.

 

And believe me, I want it to. Oh, I do. For a PC title so clearly designed with gamepad in mind, I want it to slip up. But it hasn't, even when faced with the tumble, somersault, pirouette, sign, trap, explosion madness of fighting the queens.

 

That isn't to say it is free of bugs or problems, just that they're trivial and insignificant. It's a game that conveys its story well and with decent Polish. Maybe it's because I've been trying to enjoy it instead of looking for problems to point out.

Edited by Saturnine Tenshi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally dislike clicky-click affairs such as The Witcher, but I can't say I subscribe to the issues there. With the exception of, as I already mentioned, some dimwit mapping the loot key to the attack key, combat hasn't been particularly disobedient or unfair.

 

And believe me, I want it to. Oh, I do. For a PC title so clearly designed with gamepad in mind, I want it to slip up. But it hasn't, even when faced with the tumble, somersault, pirouette, sign, trap, explosion madness of fighting the queens.

 

That isn't to say it is free of bugs or problems, just that they're trivial and insignificant. It's a game that conveys its story well and with decent Polish. Maybe it's because I've been trying to enjoy it instead of looking for problems to point out.

 

Quite possibly the opposite for me. I was hoping for the swan song to modern rpgs and ended up somewhat dissapointed.

 

Riddle me this, how is the combat any less repetitive in witcher 2 than it was in witcher one? This one has the same formulaic approach to pretty much any situation: meditate, drink potion, use sign, get quick hits in, kite enemies until you regain vigor, go back to step two, rinse repeat...

 

I'd venture to say more frustrating than tactical. The flow of combat is unevenly interrupted by moments where you are waiting for vigor to recharge and running around trying to avoid getting hit.

 

Another thing: Dragon Age 2 removes tactical combat elements present in the first game, fans express resentment. Witcher 2 removes tactical combat elements present from the first game, fans rejoice and call it very much improved. Role playing gamers sure are a fickle bunch...

 

Overall, if the combat works, fine. Fact is, as been stated, there is a lag in between the time you choose to do something and the time that happens that really hurts such an action based combat system as there is present here.

 

I'm sure I will slog through it, but playing through such a sub-par combat system only makes me wish 11-11-11 were upon us already...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Witcher2 is punishing, unlike modern games for babies. You gotta use alchemy, magic and swordplay in most fights. You can't rely on cheap blocks; constantly attacking is the best defense. I love the combat though it took a while to get the hang of.

 

Dean: the dragon/boarding sequence is about timing. Clear the three enemies, then waitto go to the next cover when the dragon repositions itself.

 

I understand the frustration, but alot of the combat difficulty dissipates when you change the difficulty to easy.

 

Adjusting difficulty does nothing to alleviate finicky controls and unresponsiveness.

 

You wanna play a game with great controls and combat tactics, yet preserves difficulty, play demon's souls, or (venturing into action territory here) God of War III and Castlevania Lords of Shadow. Those games feature combat done right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC Gamer review is in. They praised it like it's a perfect RPG, but

dinged it pretty heavily for its story's ending

89/100 final score. Small spoilers obviously.

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/

 

Read the comments if you want to see the editors get flamed for giving Dragon Age 2 a 94. :lol:

Edited by P4: Man of the Cloth
Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC Gamer review is in. They praised it like it's a perfect RPG, but

dinged it pretty heavily for its story's ending

89/100 final score. Small spoilers obviously.

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/

 

Read the comments if you want to see the editors get flamed for giving Dragon Age 2 a 94. :lol:

 

Such a shame. PC Gamer used to be very reliable back in the day. Of course that was when EGM was the magazine of choice too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite possibly the opposite for me. I was hoping for the swan song to modern rpgs and ended up somewhat dissapointed.

 

You're allowed to be disappointed. That's how opinions work. Not going to try to turn you or anyone else to or away from something you dislike.

 

Riddle me this, how is the combat any less repetitive in witcher 2 than it was in witcher one? This one has the same formulaic approach to pretty much any situation: meditate, drink potion, use sign, get quick hits in, kite enemies until you regain vigor, go back to step two, rinse repeat...

 

I never claimed the combat in the first game was repetitive. It all depends on your approach and definition of repetitive.

 

I'd venture to say more frustrating than tactical. The flow of combat is unevenly interrupted by moments where you are waiting for vigor to recharge and running around trying to avoid getting hit.

 

I could see that — not for myself. But I could see that.

 

Another thing: Dragon Age 2 removes tactical combat elements present in the first game, fans express resentment. Witcher 2 removes tactical combat elements present from the first game, fans rejoice and call it very much improved. Role playing gamers sure are a fickle bunch...

 

I play the Witcher 2 tactically. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

Overall, if the combat works, fine. Fact is, as been stated, there is a lag in between the time you choose to do something and the time that happens that really hurts such an action based combat system as there is present here.

 

Again, maybe I'm doing it wrong.

 

I'm sure I will slog through it, but playing through such a sub-par combat system only makes me wish 11-11-11 were upon us already...

 

I'll remain apprehensive wrt anything by Bethesda. They're a prove yourself before I buy your game studio.

 

Just a bit of a rejoinder. If you don't enjoy the game, that's fine. I'm all too familiar with the treatment heterodox opinions get, and with far more... tenacious audiences. So I'm not trying to say you're wrong and I'm right. Just that I don't have the problems you do.

 

Edit: I'm about to start streaming @ www.livestream.com/tyriaharvestasha for anyone interested. It was laggy last night, but I was talking on Skype at the same time. We'll see if it hurts my FPS too badly.

Edited by Saturnine Tenshi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC Gamer review is in. They praised it like it's a perfect RPG, but

dinged it pretty heavily for its story's ending

89/100 final score. Small spoilers obviously.

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/

 

Read the comments if you want to see the editors get flamed for giving Dragon Age 2 a 94. :lol:

 

 

...and it's combat. You left that part out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC Gamer review is in. They praised it like it's a perfect RPG, but

dinged it pretty heavily for its story's ending

89/100 final score. Small spoilers obviously.

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/

 

Read the comments if you want to see the editors get flamed for giving Dragon Age 2 a 94. :lol:

 

 

...and it's combat. You left that part out.

The reviewer writes as if he never really connected with what the developers were trying to do with the combat system, but ultimately states that the combat is OK. The real loss of "review points" was due to the issue I stated earlier in spoiler tags; the reviewer even states it is "the only reason you’re not looking at a 90+ game." I have no vested interest in trying to hide the purported flaws in the combat system; I don't even own the game yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's a bit of confusion. I don't think P4's posting of the PC Gamer review was connected to what Arion was saying. Seems he was treating it like new information, not trying to make a point about combat or whatnot.

Exactly this. Saw an interesting review, posted it on this thread for everyone's information. Nothing to do with the combat discussion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's a bit of confusion. I don't think P4's posting of the PC Gamer review was connected to what Arion was saying. Seems he was treating it like new information, not trying to make a point about combat or whatnot.

Exactly this. Saw an interesting review, posted it on this thread for everyone's information. Nothing to do with the combat discussion.

 

What? Not trying to accuse you of making a point either, or take offense.

 

They devoted a full two paragraphs as to the issues with the combat system in their review, which pundits of the game conveniently leave out every time they repost this same review. Even I posted the link to the review in my original post here, which, I dunno if you saw, tied into my points about there needing to combat balances...

 

In other words, if you would have read my post in it's entirety, you would have seen it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's a bit of confusion. I don't think P4's posting of the PC Gamer review was connected to what Arion was saying. Seems he was treating it like new information, not trying to make a point about combat or whatnot.

Exactly this. Saw an interesting review, posted it on this thread for everyone's information. Nothing to do with the combat discussion.

Even I posted the link to the review in my original post here

Totally missed that. I did read your comment, though I sheepishly admit, not every word. :blush:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Witcher 2's biggest failing is lack of documentation, I think. I have the whirl attack, too, but no idea how it works. Witcher 2 is very meaty and the combat is good (the only 'delay' I've ever experienced in combat is when I have zero vigor but try to block anyway), but the game doesn't explain anything beyond the basic controls. There's no list of combos, nor does the game let you know that you will fucking be murdered if hit in the back.

 

That PC gamer rating may be accurate, but its rating for DA2 is definitely not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...