The Witcher

[Corribus]

This low-profile RPG has gotten a lot of headlines. Anybody played it? How does it compare to Oblivion?

The reason I ask about all these games is that I just got a chunk of money for my birthday and I want to buy a game or two with it... but I don't know which one!

[Angelspit]

Aren't you a new dad? Where do you find the time to play games? Please tell me...

[Corribus]

I get about 1-2 hours a week of video game time. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to buy new ones.

[darknessfood]

Seems like a good one. Firsti'll have to deal with a whole pile of games andthen ill try the Withcer. It looks good

[DemonHunter]

I already like the tutorial

Ill give an update once I play further

[DemonHunter]

it appaers I got addicted
its 3am here, I am at chapter 2/7, the storyline makes me not wanting to quit playing

so its really fun to play
and a GREAT storyline, with lots of choices
huge amount of skills, quests etc
for me its been a long time since I played a decent rpg, so this game is really great for me

downsides are the big amount of loading times and perhaps also the system reqs(I play almost at medium at my laptop, while I could do dm at highest)
also, I had to get used to thye battlesystem, I ussually keep clicking to attack, wich you better wont do here

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

I bought the Witcher several months back but found out an enhanced version was coming out and so did not play it. I see now that the enhanced version is out. Original purchasers can download patches to patch the game to the enhanced version though you will need high speed internet to do so because of the massive downloads. I have started the first download (of 1 Gig) and am at 27%. There are 2 more downloads of .5 Gig and 1.2 Gigs left.

So if you see the original version on the cheap in the store and you have DSL you could get the game pretty cheap and get the free upgrade unless they have a cutoff date on when you had to buy the game by to get the free download (which I doubt.)

The official site is http://www.thewitcher.com/community/.

I am downloading from file shack.
http://www.fileshack.com/search.x?type= ... cdesc=desc

Hopefully within the next week or so I'll find time to actually begin to play it. I love rpgs set in a fantasy setting.

[Asheera]

I love rpgs set in a fantasy setting.

Same here

[ThunderTitan]

you will need high speed internet to do so because of the massive downloads. I have started the first download (of 1 Gig) and am at 27%. There are 2 more downloads of .5 Gig and 1.2 Gigs left.

For the biggest economy in the world you guys sure have some lousy net...

[Ethric]

So I thought I'd buy this, getting an ad from stardock saying it could be bought digitally.

At the info page it says: Availability: North America, Eastern Europe and Russia.

Absurd, but doesn't really matter with a downloadable purchase, right?

Wrong. After clicking further I was told I wasn't allowed to buy it at my location Well screw'em then, if my money isn't good enough.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

That's strange that you can't download it because of where you live. The US version is a censored version (to take out nudity.) There may be other countries who require a censored version too. I hope you find a way to get it.

I'm nearing the end of Act3 (there is a progloge, 5 Acts, and an epiloge.) Having lots of fun so far.

My witcher uses more magic (signs) than swords. There are only 5 witcher signs (spells) in the game but you can add different effects to the signs wth various talent picks. You can also make various potions, oils (to temporarily enhance your swords against different creature types) and alchemical bombs. There are 3 sword styles for steel weapons and 3 for silver weapons for you to develop.

For attributes I've concentrated on intelligence (for sign strength) and stamina (endurance.) Signs use endurance instead of mana.

[Ethric]

No censorship-hysteria here... maybe it's not available in western Europe because Germany have some weird rules, but seems far-fetched. It's a polish game I think, but it seems weird to limit their market. I sent stardock an e-mail for an explanation.

[Ethric]

Hello,

I do apologize for the inconvenience but the publisher of the game dictates who we sell it to. We are obligated by contract to only sell it in the territories we're authorized to sell in. You should however be able to find a distributor in your region via the developer or publisher website. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Cheers,

Emily
Stardock Sales

Had to be something like that... that publisher isn't keen to earn money I take it.

Is it possible to reroute my connection to look like it's coming from somewhere else? Would give some satisfaction to beat them that way By possible I mean "for dummies"

[Kalah]

What a bunch of...

[Corribus]

@GOW

I purchased it at the store a while ago and never played it yet. Now I see the enhanced version which is getting very good reviews, so I'll have to download that.

Have you started the game? Is it any good?

I'm playing Oblivion right now so it will be some time before I can get to it.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

@GOW

I purchased it at the store a while ago and never played it yet. Now I see the enhanced version which is getting very good reviews, so I'll have to download that.

Have you started the game? Is it any good?

I'm playing Oblivion right now so it will be some time before I can get to it.

Yes, I am enjoying it immensely. I have almost completed Act 4 I think. I don't think you'll be disappointed when you get the time to play it.

There are a number of side quests to go along with the main quest. Some of the decisions you make will gain or prevent you from getting other quests so that adds to replayability.

Sometimes you are presented with situations like having to chase down someone you know has killed/will kill again or to save someone he has trapped as a decoy to help him get away. Whatever choice you make may leave someone unhappy.

There are three levels of talent points that you learn as you go up in level or that you aquire from making a potion from the remnants of a rare powerful monster.

I am emphasizing the signs (magic) over swordplay. There are enough "bronze" talent points that I have the lower level "bronze" development of the sword styles but all of my "silver talents" have been put into improving the signs or my stats. And the few "gold talants" I have earned have gone into intelligence or intelligence perks that improve sign strength or cost. My next gold talents will go into furthur improving the signs.

I haven't really played around with alchemical bombs yet. But potions are a necessity for anyone wanting to emphasize magic and probably vital to melee types too. I recommend buying herb books when you come across them so you'll be able to recognize herbs when you come across them. There is one talent under intelligence that lets you gather herbs that you recognize so I'd pick that even you want to emphasize swordplay.

The NPCs are better developed than the Oblivion NPCs. You'll wondering about their motives sometimes and some of the quests are multipart quests.

Overall, a game I'd heartily recommend to any rpg fan.

[Macros the Black]

Well, all I've seen from the Witcher are some gameplay videos..
I never ever say a game sucks because of just 1 thing, but I just háve to with The Witcher.. And that one thing is...
Where the fuck did these people learn sword fighting? It looks horrible

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

The sword fighting in Witcher is not a clickfest. You click to initiate an attack and the number of blows in the first part of the attack executes. Depending on your skill level there are attitional "attacks" in the attack. After the primary part of the attack executes you click to start the secondary attack portion. Parries and dodging are done automatically and depend on your skill level at dodging/parrying.

If you clikc too fast you actually interrupt part of your attack and thus you will be much less efficient.

There are also 6 different sword fighting styles. 3 with a steel sword and 3 with a silver sword. There are different styles for fast or strong creatures or for groups of creatures.

Steel swords are used against humanoids while silver swords are used against monsters that are only vulnerable to silver weapons.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

Well, I just finished at level 41. Quite an enjoyable game with a few plot twists. I initially stayed neutral in the conflict between the humans and demihumans but sided with the humans in Act2.

The company put out a couple of free adventures that will obviously be much shorter than the game itself that I'll have to try out.

The main sign I used was Igni (a fire spell.) When maxed it is quite powerful. There is also a sign that is basicly a glyph (you can only have one active at a time) that I used. Plop it down between you and your opponent and he is often knocked back and damaged as well when he tries to cross it. I used the protection sign (a magical sphere that partially protects from damage until you take offensive action.) You can cast the glyph sign without breaking it. There is a mind control sign that I didn't use that basicly temporarily charms a weak opponent. And the first sign you get is basicly a gust of wind spell that has a chance of knocking down your opponent. Each of the signs can be increased in power or modified in other ways.

I never did use alchemical bombs. I'll give them a try when I make a swordsman. I played on the medium difficulty. Next time I'll play on hard (the highest difficutly.)

[Banedon]

Thread necromancy!

I spent about 12 hours for four consecutive days (yeah, I have no life - but fortunately it's holidays right now) playing this game to the finish. Excellent game. I came to both love and hate the number of tough decisions you have to make. Unlike some other MMORPGs like NWN, the decisions aren't clear-cut. There's no obvious "right" choice and no "wrong" choice either, most of the time. They also tend to have delayed consequences, so you can't just load and try the other choice. Some choices cause differences all the way till the end of the game, while other choices carry real emotional weight (not giving them away though). Midway through the game I was pretty sad how many brave souls and former comrades have come to hate me, and yet I can't fault what I chose to do ... it doesn't help that these brave souls and former comrades are sometimes the most admirable of people, and yet they've come to hate me.

Another major strength of the game come the fact that you witness far-reaching changes as the game goes on. Again I won't give things away, but by chapter 5 I was literally pulsating with excitement. The fact that you're (almost) just one keg in a giant ensemble helps create atmosphere as well. The music is excellent, and I can safely say that it's the best music I've ever heard in a game. The characters are colourful, many with their own agenda. You don't get to forget them either, and some of them reappear when you least expect them. There are NPCs who've also made difficult choices of their own, and it shows in their actions.

Much of the game's storyline, which is excellent, is also ingenious. There's a reason why you the character is so strong, and can often take on 5+ foes and prevail. You're a witcher! You come blessed with increased regeneration, improved reflexes, immunity to diseases, and so on. There are lots of cutscenes. Some are quite short and are even unimportant, but they deal with characters you - I - care for. The plot twists are really "twisty"; you might expect to fight some characters, but don't. I also like the way the game brings together most NPCs still alive that you've seen at the end of the game, in the epilogue. Some dialogue is also hilarious. "Have you ever heard of a freedom fighter who died while wading through s**t?" Said by Geralt in the epilogue (you have to make specific choices though), and considering the circumstances it was said in I can't help but LOL! It's nice seeing the characters use crude language when provoked as well. They don't overload with the cussing, but when they're frustrated etc they will do it. Just like normal people.

Other nice quirks: time matters in this game, some things can only be done at night and others in the day. And characters react to these time changes. If you visit a store at night for example chances are you won't get to trade. Not just time as well, for example it can rain in this game and you'll watch everyone on the streets run for cover and curse the weather. Ravens descend on corpses you might find, and when you approach them, they fly away. Although you can only play one character, you can rest assured that it's impossible to screw up your character development.

Nonetheless there are major faults with the game as well ... there are many unanswered questions by the end of the game, and the fates of some of the most important characters are left to imagination. Some of the game's subplots are insanely easy. Fist fighting for example, I crushed my way from the first guy to the last and didn't lose 1/5 of my health bar. The save game system is a little annoying; you can't label each save for example ("the save before x fight"). Unlike other RPGs this game has little equipment hunting. In fact it's pointless looking for upgrades and stuff because the best equipment come "as is". You don't even have to buy most items, you find them. I don't know if I like or dislike this; one consequence though is that you usually end up with mountains of gold that you don't know how to use. Which is terrible, because by the end of the game I could easily laugh at the reward of 8000 orens, the game's currency, since I had well over 15,000 orens in my money pouch - and no way to spend it. There are many faulty translations from Polish to English as well.

Finally the game's also resource-intensive and appears to have some technical faults. I have a powerful desktop that should be able to run the game flawlessly, yet after 20-30 minutes the game crashes. Consistently. I'm not a computer expert and can't say for sure what causes the crashes, except the game does crash and none of the other games I've played do. Still the game's engaging enough that I risked the constant crashes and just got by with multiple saves.

For those who like RPGs and have not played it, I'd recommend TWEE. Even though it's a few years old, it's still a good game.