The Witcher

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An other good part in the game is the alchemy. No just mix two or more things and there you go. I find this system to be more roleplayish.

First, read the formula in a book, or get it trough conversation. Second, learn how to harvest the mineral or plantextract. again from books or conversation. Third, get a strong alcohol as a base. No unlimited bottles Oblivion style. Fourth, you can only mix it during a rest period at a campfire, in a house or at an inn.

The questing is also done different. No signpost or question marks above NPC's. Conversation yields sidequests. Noticeboards carry ads. The journal keeps the quests nicely organized. The game has a day and night cycle and foul wheather.

Sure it has faults. A bit of pathfinding, crashes to desktop (I run vista not many), camera, all the things every game has and are sometimes solved whit updates. When you lanch the game a similair menu like bioware's NWN appears to get updates. Two patches and a vista hotfix are already available.

 

Yesterday evening I saw it on a computer that could handle the high-end features (3+ GHZ, 3 GB ram, 256 MB video card...). Here are four things that crossed my mind in a chronological order

1st reaction: wow. Those cutscenes look pretty, well, nice

2nd reaction: wait, they did THAT with the Aurora engine? SOMEONE GET THESE PEOPLE, QUICK! Them, their friends, colleagues (especially colleagues), parents, siblings, children and pets - anything that even touches these people is just that damn good to waste on some internet casino site or adapting mobile phone games!

3rd reaction: if my friend skips one more dialogue, I'm killing him. He's racing through that stuff, and even skipping 2/3rds of it I can say it's good.

4th reaction: man, I've seen some eye candy over the years, but that sorceress is hot.

 

My computer will run it!! I have it... I love it. Great game, completely addicting. Once in a while I do hit a bit of lag but oh well... the game is great so it doesn't matter.

 

Looks like I'll be getting it. In fact, I would anyway. I've had some problems with the way the company that made the Witcher has translated other games (it's primarily, almost exclusively, a publisher), but it does look like the guys know what they're doing. Well, unless they're translating. They certainly know how to listen to customers. They've practically eradicated piracy by experimenting with prices. You can get games for cheap money quite early and some games start already affordable. Also, you can buy many good and soemwhat current titles as practically just the CD, for a further reduced price. Perhaps they listened to the customers while making the game.

By the way, if you come across any book by Sapkowski (who wrote the Witcher books), it'll be worthwile. Just don't let too young kids lay a hand on it.

 

Sigh, I just wasted an hour looking at reviews of this game and all I had to do was check here. Unfortunately I don't think my computer is quite up to the minimum specs but I have been thinking of upgrading for a while now so this sounds like as good a time as any. Now all I have to do is figure out how I can get ahold of the non-censored UK version of the game. The only place in North America that I found selling the UK version was sold out.

 

Unfortunately Amazon.co.uk will not ship software to North America.

I found a Canadian company that sells the import version last night. Due to shipping the final cost would be around $10 more than buying the North American version at a store but I think it is worth it just to send the message that the consumer does not appreciate them censoring game content.

 

Well, if anyone understands Polish, I can send him a special upgraded version that can be purchased only online via the dev for what is normally 42 USD, but I have the credits to buy it for 33.

I suggest you buy through one of our UK members then. Pity you don't speak Polish, hehe.

 

I could ask my brother's girlfriend to translate but I suspect that she wouldn't want to sit there for 40 hours or so translating Polish game dialogue.

No, I think I will just order the UK version from the Canadian vendor that I found. Well, actually I have put the link to the web store on my Christmas list and let someone else buy it for me. It is so difficult to shop for me for Christmas that my relatives would just about lynch me if I bought myself a game at this time of year.

It is almost sad, Christmas presents for me are more of an inconvenience than anything. For any given present invariably I would have bought and been using the item weeks earlier if I didn't have to allow a relative to give it to me for Christmas.

 

I've started playing this game, and it seems pretty good. Certainly, the promise of meaningful choice and consequence is very attractive (it's what caught my attention in the first place), and on a sillier note I like the fact that Geralt can't carry too much around at any one time.

The loading times are crippling the immersion for me, though (40 secs for a main area, each and every time I leave a small hovel!), so I've shelved the game until the next patch comes out.

 

How much RAM do you have? I'm not sure, but getting a bit more could help loading times, while a patch won't necessarily.

 

Only 1 Gig, but the coming patch is supposed to speed up load times.

 

By the way, click on the jester in Vizima. Only natural.

 

Hmm, should be enough. Means there's a problem on the game's part. I suppose that might be due to the fact The Witcher runs on a heavily edited NWN1 engine.

 

My Witcher games crashes a lot, I had to save before entering or exiting any door.

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
about 80GB free space in the HD
DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD-Rom
Running The Witcher at 1024 x 768. Video options set to high and medium.

 

A known vista problem. crashes about ever half an hour. The patch is underway and expected before dec 25.

 

Neverwinter Nights I has a history of problems with Vista. Since The Witcher is based on a modified NWN I engine, maybe the tips from here (NWN I tech support forum) will help you?

 

I'll check out chev's link... although I'm using XP.

Thanks.

 

Getting it for Christmas! *dances*