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[Wallach]

I am thinking that Insane is just that. No way I am losing 10 hours+ and doing over.

Dark is supposed to preserve the difficulty but remove perma-death so that is my choice.

One problem with the first game is that it got too easy later on.

Yeah, and this one is supposed to have the same problem according to the folks here.

I'm down for trying to clear Insane but I want to beat the game a couple times before giving that a go.

 

[Kyaw]

I am thinking that Insane is just that. No way I am losing 10 hours+ and doing over.

Dark is supposed to preserve the difficulty but remove perma-death so that is my choice.

One problem with the first game is that it got too easy later on.

It still is too easy later on.

 

[Dennis]

It still is too easy later on.

Even on Dark difficulty?

 

[Kyaw]

Well, on normal mode, you are just slaughtering the enemies in the late game.

But the late game enemies are quite powerful too.

 

[Refreshment.01]

jump down into the sewer and have the water reflect the monsters that are creeping about in the shadows...
I'm playing it on easy, so no real trouble yet so far.

Really? Water reflects characters? I didn't notice that, everyone else is seeing the effect.

Also you miss alot of the combat by playing on easy. The game is not difficult and the latest patches made some damage to the challenge.

Lol. I'm pretty sure the 360 version of Witcher 2 will be "good enough" to play for many. Similar to how it's "good enough" to play on many lower end PCs out there, which doesn't in any way imply all of them wouldn't prefer a better looking game if they had the option for it, but still aren't gonna purchase (or upgrade) another system until they feel they need it for more than just a better looking Witcher 2,

I think he makes a valid point. Many people that share the thought that 5-6 year old consoles are good enough, when these machines are holding back visual evolution for games making developers sink resources in these old boxes.

Regarding 2.0: Haven't played enough yet, but i knew it was going to be this way. I was expecting that CDPR integrated the coliseum to the main game as a part of a quest and as a place you could visit. They went the easy way with it.

 

[MadraptorMan]

Man I did the tutorial but I still don't know what the fuck I am doing in this game, haha...especially now that I started using the 360 controller. I am not sure how to equip shit, make potions, craft...or use spells in battle. I am just hacking through the prologue with my sword, haha...I know it's going to bite me in the ass later.

This game is too deep for its own good, at least in the beginning; I'm feeling overwhelmed.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Man I did the tutorial but I still don't know what the fuck I am doing in this game, haha...especially now that I started using the 360 controller. I am not sure how to equip shit, make potions, craft...or use spells in battle. I am just hacking through the prologue with my sword, haha...I know it's going to bite me in the ass later.

This game is too deep for its own good, at least in the beginning; I'm feeling overwhelmed.

That's how it supposed to be. Every non "fisher price RPG" has to overwhelm the player in the first steps, is part of the learning process and what makes this genre interesting. The market is flooded now with games that spoon fed the user like a mentally crippled idiot, so let's be thankful that some games at least try. Fuck Dark Souls is not on PC.

 

[Dennis]

Gonna use this as my new wallpaper.

Anybody know if the HUD can be removed with an ini tweak or something? I used Photoshop to remove the HUD elements for the wallpaper but that does me no good in-game.

 

[RedSwirl]

Seriously, why aren't there more HUDless screenshots floating around? Did people forget that earlier CDProjekt added the ability to turn off the HUD?

Gonna use this as my new wallpaper.

Anybody know if the HUD can be removed with an ini tweak or something? I used Photoshop to remove the HUD elements for the wallpaper but that does me no good in-game.

Like I said, I'm pretty sure a previous update added some ability to remove it, but I don't know exactly what. Might be a button or option thing, but it's definitely in the game itself.

 

[Skilletor]

Man I did the tutorial but I still don't know what the fuck I am doing in this game, haha...especially now that I started using the 360 controller. I am not sure how to equip shit, make potions, craft...or use spells in battle. I am just hacking through the prologue with my sword, haha...I know it's going to bite me in the ass later.

This game is too deep for its own good, at least in the beginning; I'm feeling overwhelmed.

I disagree. This approach made me experiment with everything. I'm early in the game and loving it because it treats me as part of the world. I'm a witcher. Why does the game need to explain my craft to me?

I love this approach. So glad a tutorial is optional.

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

Anybody know if the HUD can be removed with an ini tweak or something? I used Photoshop to remove the HUD elements for the wallpaper but that does me no good in-game.

If you go to configure the controls it'll show you which key lets you remove the HUD. I think it's H by default, but I'm not sure.

 

[MadraptorMan]

Gonna use this as my new wallpaper.

Anybody know if the HUD can be removed with an ini tweak or something? I used Photoshop to remove the HUD elements for the wallpaper but that does me no good in-game.

How did you get such good image quality? I've got the game nearly maxed out (only thing I didn't enable was ubersampling) but I still see jaggies and such even with AA turned on...maybe it's because my TV's resolution is only 1360x768..?

 

[shintoki]

Picked it up on GoG, because I keep forgetting I have a laptop, so hopefully it can play it alright ^_^

 

[MurkyZebra2417]

My father can't start the game. He gets the Wolfhead when starting and then it goes back to the desktop without any error.
We already tried some solutions, like disable Antivir, lower Desktop resolution and compatibility mode set on WINXP SP3...

How can we fix the problem?

 

[Dennis]

How did you get such good image quality? I've got the game nearly maxed out (only thing I didn't enable was ubersampling) but I still see jaggies and such even with AA turned on...maybe it's because my TV's resolution is only 1360x768..?

The image was taken with Ubersampling on and then resized from 1600p to 1200p in Photoshop for that perfect jaggy-free pic.

So basically it has been downsampled twice before hitting your eyeballs.

 

[Exuro]

moar pics dennis

 

[Wallach]

Ran through the tutorial on a whim. Kind of wonder why they wouldn't take the time to fix some of the obvious bugs with it. Tutorials are particularly important for stuff like that. Neat looking area though.

 

[jett]

The image was taken with Ubersampling on and then resized from 1600p to 1200p in Photoshop for that perfect jaggy-free pic.

So basically it has been downsampled twice before hitting your eyeballs.

You crazy.

Or are you just doing for screenshot-taking purposes?

 

[Gvaz]

We've been waiting for months for your pics, you know.

 

[Rufus]

You crazy.

Or are you just doing for screenshot-taking purposes?

The magic of 3GB 580s in SLI.

 

[Gvaz]

And he still only gets 30~ fps

 

[Salaadin]

Oh my god Dennis. That is amazing.

 

[Jay Shadow]

Anybody know if the HUD can be removed with an ini tweak or something? I used Photoshop to remove the HUD elements for the wallpaper but that does me no good in-game.

There's a button bind for it in the launcher if you're up to date. They added it in the first or second patch.

 

[Dennis]

So yeah, developers. Texture resolution matters.

 

[Corky]

Tried ubersampling and ultra settings , barring SSAO ( and garbage bloom ) at 2560x1440.
The game doesn't seem to mind me not having only 1gb gpu. It tops out around 980 mb in the early parts of the game.

Getting 25-30fps, with dips to 19ish and "spikes" ( lol ) to 40-45. I could see myself playing like this unless the framerate totally tanks and dies in flotsam but dear god I've never heard my gpus work like they do know, I don't get it. Unigine Heaven parks my cards in 99% usage territory for the entire time yet the temps don't go over 70.

After 5 minutes of TW2 the hottest card reached 83c and 80% on the fan...jeezuz >_<

 

[MadraptorMan]

Just tried ubersampling...my god it is night and day. This just puts all forms of AA to shame, no wonder its such a drag on the GPU...but man is it pretty. I was running in 30-50 fps range with my 570 OC'd to 870/1960, but my temps didn't go over 66c, so I could probably mess with it some more to push it harder.

After playing with ubersampling on I am not sure I can go back...

 

[Kyaw]

Wut. One 570 shouldn't be able to run Ubersampling at 30-50fps.

 

[MadraptorMan]

Wut. One 570 shouldn't be able to run Ubersampling at 30-50fps.

Well it was overclocked, along with the CPU.

EDIT: Oh, and I am running on my 720p HDTV so the resolution is only 1360x768.

 

[Kyaw]

Well it was overclocked, along with the CPU.

But still... o.o

 

[Gvaz]

One 590 yeah. One 570 is more like 20-30fps with uber.

 

[MadraptorMan]

See my edit...resolution must have a lot to do with it if the usual FPS is so low on this card.

 

[Gvaz]

Dude, even I can get 30fps with uber on @ 720p on my freaking 4890 :|

 

[MadraptorMan]

Yep I love using my TV as a monitor for gaming.

 

[Dennis]

Sad Le Roi is sad

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

The first big boss just kicked my ass.

Time to go to pub, have a few pints and kick its ass later tonight like a true Witcher!

Really loving it so far though. Amazing game.

 

[Kyaw]

Can't wait until Dennis gets later in game and get his mind blown by the visuals.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Flotsam may cause his penis to leap from his pants and throttle him with excitement.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

Yeah there is this deserted location in floatsam that's the best looking place in a videogame ever.

 

[Crockett]

This game is just so, so good. The gfx, the gameplay, the story, the characters... I just really enjoyed this game so much.

 

[Durante]

I'm finally getting back into this due to 2.0 and having some time. Absolutely the best looking game in existence right now, and I enjoy the revised combat more than the earlier version. Such a great game.

It runs perfectly on my 720p projector with everything maxed + Ubersampling, and it looks very clean.

 

[Chinner]

the bf3 fanboys laughed at me when i said witcher 2 looked better than bf3

 

[Wallach]

the bf3 fanboys laughed at me when i said witcher 2 looked better than bf3

Other than shadows I don't think anything about BF3 is better graphically. This engine's shadows do kinda suck.

From what I have seen of RAGE I think that is TW2's only significant competition. And that's with the console-size textures; with full textures I don't know how anything would top it, but they claimed the internal build was like 150GB before texture compression work started so I don't know if they'll ever get around to releasing that texture pack.

Still pretty damn good considering CDP is comparatively a bunch of noobs compared to id and lord Carmack.

 

[Chinner]

yeah witcher 2's shadows are its weak point, but everything else it utterly destroys everything.

maybe 3.0 will fix the shadows!!!

 

[Kyaw]

Frostbite 2 does have fantastic lighting and other technical advancements over the Red Engine.

The only thing Witcher 2 has over BF3 is the crazy good art style and textures.

 

[Chinner]

yeah people keep saying how many cool technical features frostbite 2 shame none of the games look cutting-edge.

 

[Solo]

Is the advice in the other technical thread still current or does 2.0 change things?

How do I pimp game?

LOL, stop fronting. You won't play the game.

 

[Wallach]

LOL, stop fronting. You won't play the game.

He got far enough to take screenshots.

Baby steps.

 

[Solo]

So four hours in and I think it's better than the original in pretty much every way.

First of all, this game is the perfect example of why all of the people who claim consoles are "good enough" or that developers gain nothing by pushing technology are absolutely retarded. This game looks absolutely fucking amazing. Better yet? With everything maxed (ubersampling and bloom turned off) it runs like an utter dream. 40-60fps at all times. It's not just nice to look at, though, it feels magical to walk through this place. To jump down into the sewer and have the water reflect the monsters that are creeping about in the shadows, or to walk around the Flotsam forest and watching the sun shine through the greenery above onto your path just feels more immersive than any other fantasy game I've ever played. Maybe more immersive than any other game I've ever played - it would certainly be close. Yes, it's always nice to improve graphics for something to stare at, but it also has an important impact on the game. Graphics are extremely important for building a world that makes you feel something and CDP get that.

Secondly, the combat is hugely improved. Is it quite on the same level as Demon's Souls? For me, I say no. The depth and complexity is clearly there, but it just doesn't feel quite as satisfying to me. Compared to the HORRENDOUS combat in the original, though? It's like night and day. I'm so glad they basically took their combat system and completely re-worked it because as much as I love the original game, I'm not sure I could've done 30 more hours of that combat in this one.

The pacing and story seem to be much better presented this time, also. Now that I'm in chapter 1 and doing side quests it's opened up more and the same focus on exploration and investigation that dominated the first game is present once again, but it's framed by wonderful prologue that really pushes you through the action (

Spoiler

A motherfucking dragon

) whilst building a strong narrative. It feels like they've got the mixture just right so far.

I'm playing it on easy, so no real trouble yet so far. I imagine it was probably harder pre-patch, but then again it's only going to be so challenging when playing on easy in the first place. I know, I'm a pussy, but I want to soak up the world and story, not re-load quicksaves every five minutes.

My only complaint is the menus are fiddly to navigate, possibly mostly down to the controller. But after four hours that's it - one complaint!

Also, I forgot how much I love Triss. What a great character.


BF3 look better? Haha. It looks damn nice, but it's not even in the same league.

Son, I am appoint. DennisK4 2.0 status revoked. You are a scholar and a gentleman.

 

[Solo]

Best fucking king ever.

I haven't tried 2.0 yet, been doing some design stuff for college...

Indeed. Foltest > *

Henselt is a complete fuckwad next to the legend that is Foltest. No wonder Roche is an A-class bro - dude was mentored by Foltest!

 

[Solo]

Sorry for the triple post, lol

Can't wait until Dennis gets later in game and get his mind blown by the visuals.

Doesn't have to get very far - Flotsam forest > *

Best environment in the game, maybe the best environment ever....dat. lighting. through. the. trees.