The Witcher 2 Catch-All

Thanks, but it looks like they only make it available if you purchased it through them.

EvilDead wrote:

Thanks, but it looks like they only make it available if you purchased it through them.

Yeah, TW2 is a situation where it's always better to buy though GoG. They give you tons and tons of extras. That being said, if you have a Steam version of it, you might find some of the extras included. Someone else will have to answer that question.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Thanks, but it looks like they only make it available if you purchased it through them.

Yeah, TW2 is a situation where it's always better to buy though GoG. They give you tons and tons of extras. That being said, if you have a Steam version of it, you might find some of the extras included. Someone else will have to answer that question.

360 version so I have the printed book. I just wanted a PDF version of it so my coworkers and girlfriend don't know how much I'm nerding out.

I just found it online.

Edit: It looks kind of spoilery so I guess I need to be careful not to read past where I am. Since I didn't play the first one I just want a point of reference when they refer to certain locations or people.

Cool! If you haven't, you might watch the ending cinematic to TW1. It's pretty cool and sort of leads into TW2. The opening cinematic to TW1 is pretty cool too and sets up the TW universe. Only watch it if you have no intention of playing TW1, though.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Cool! If you haven't, you might watch the ending cinematic to TW1. It's pretty cool and sort of leads into TW2. The opening cinematic to TW1 is pretty cool too and sets up the TW universe. Only watch it if you have no intention of playing TW1, though.

Good idea. I own the original on Stardock from a sale but just never got around to playing it. I think at this point I'll just watch the videos.

They should both be up on YouTube.

I just finished the game. Overall I really enjoyed it despite what I thought to be a mediocre combat system. The game was paced very well throughout with the exception of the last Act being real short. It kind of threw me off a bit as I spent most of it getting the stuff I needed to get some really cool weapons then there wasn't anything else to do besides finish the game.

I think I finished most of the quests but not sure. I skipped all the minigame quests though because the mechanics were no fun. Did anyone enjoy these? I'm just curious if there was any story payout to them or were they just for XP?

EvilDead wrote:

I just finished the game. Overall I really enjoyed it despite what I thought to be a mediocre combat system. The game was paced very well throughout with the exception of the last Act being real short. It kind of threw me off a bit as I spent most of it getting the stuff I needed to get some really cool weapons then there wasn't anything else to do besides finish the game.

I think I finished most of the quests but not sure. I skipped all the minigame quests though because the mechanics were no fun. Did anyone enjoy these? I'm just curious if there was any story payout to them or were they just for XP?

I'm working on a playthrough right now and I'm curious...how many hours would you say it took you?

Gumbie wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

I just finished the game. Overall I really enjoyed it despite what I thought to be a mediocre combat system. The game was paced very well throughout with the exception of the last Act being real short. It kind of threw me off a bit as I spent most of it getting the stuff I needed to get some really cool weapons then there wasn't anything else to do besides finish the game.

I think I finished most of the quests but not sure. I skipped all the minigame quests though because the mechanics were no fun. Did anyone enjoy these? I'm just curious if there was any story payout to them or were they just for XP?

I'm working on a playthrough right now and I'm curious...how many hours would you say it took you?

I'll have to check when I get home but I feel like it would be somewhere around 25.

Mine took between 30-35.

Well, I've just started playing this over the last couple of days and have to say I'm really enjoying it. I'm on normal difficulty, and for the most part it's a lot of fun. Love the environment and the details. Some of the early fights are just tough as hell and getting one shot killed is annoying.

But I've now taken down the Kayran and really getting into the whole combat. Great game so far.

I think it really kicks off after the Kayran bit, go craft the armor you can now make with the special ingredient you get from it.

Ive done 2 playthroughs and id say it took me 40 hours each, I did most (but not all) of the side quests, monster bounty missions , the gambling missions, exploring the map,
Id say i did nearly all in the 1st and 2nd chapters but missied some things in the third chapter , . Usually im not a fanatic ocd completionist, but I just loved this game in particular and didnt want it to end

Brownypoints wrote:

but I just loved this game in particular and didnt want it to end

That makes me wonder if TW3 will be an "infinite dragons" kind of open world where it's possible to just do your own thing for ever, or if it'll be open with limitations, either the story will drag you in kicking and screaming "but I wanted to kill those harpies first!" or you'll just empty the world of stuff to do, which I suspect is more likely.

Given the games that TW1 and TW2 were, I wouldn't mind the kicking and screaming approach (done sensibly) as it gives the impression the world is alive, rather than just being this thing that activates when you're around.

I'm not even comfortable speculating the approach CDProjekt will take because they have blown me away with everything they've done. They've proven themselves to me.

I fired this up again last night after a couple months away. I'm still in the early stages of the Kayran section, so last night I just spent my time refamiliarizing myself with the controls. I tried using the gamepad for the first time and found the default controls to feel a little odd. Am I wrong in remembering hearing that the 360 version of the game had a different control layout than the PC? I wouldn't mind trying that out if that's the case, and am wondering where I can find the 360's default controls.

Are you using a 360 controller? If you start the game with the controller on it should default to the right settings.

I am using the 360 controller. I just remembered reading that the 360 version of the game had different default controls than the PC version with the 360 controller plugged in, and that I thought I remembered people saying they preferred the default 360 controls to the default PC gamepad controls. Maybe I'm wrong though!

beanman101283 wrote:

I am using the 360 controller. I just remembered reading that the 360 version of the game had different default controls than the PC version with the 360 controller plugged in, and that I thought I remembered people saying they preferred the default 360 controls to the default PC gamepad controls. Maybe I'm wrong though!

I think the differences lie between the original version and the "Enhanced" edition, which PC eventually got. The controller support got patched in along with some improvements in camera and lock on.

imbiginjapan wrote:
beanman101283 wrote:

I am using the 360 controller. I just remembered reading that the 360 version of the game had different default controls than the PC version with the 360 controller plugged in, and that I thought I remembered people saying they preferred the default 360 controls to the default PC gamepad controls. Maybe I'm wrong though!

I think the differences lie between the original version and the "Enhanced" edition, which PC eventually got. The controller support got patched in along with some improvements in camera and lock on.

Oh ok. I guess I'll have to play with the default layout and see what feels better. Too bad you can't change the control mappings in-game.

Not sure, I played with the 360 controller pre-enhanced edition and didn't notice anything odd. The controls aren't super crisp like most brawlers or action games I've tried.

Vector wrote:

I'm not even comfortable speculating the approach CDProjekt will take because they have blown me away with everything they've done. They've proven themselves to me.

So much this. I know it will be flawed, but I'm sure it will be a gem.

Scratched wrote:

I think it really kicks off after the Kayran bit, go craft the armor you can now make with the special ingredient you get from it.

Yup, done that. Wearing the armour, got a really nice witcher sword (superb I think) and a nice cutlass. Doing some decent damage.

Spoiler:

Even took out those wraiths while the witch fixed my amulet

Pretty close to the end of chapter 1 and I've pretty much done all the side quests that I can. Just love these environments though. The attention to detail is just inspiring.

imbiginjapan wrote:
beanman101283 wrote:

I am using the 360 controller. I just remembered reading that the 360 version of the game had different default controls than the PC version with the 360 controller plugged in, and that I thought I remembered people saying they preferred the default 360 controls to the default PC gamepad controls. Maybe I'm wrong though!

I think the differences lie between the original version and the "Enhanced" edition, which PC eventually got. The controller support got patched in along with some improvements in camera and lock on.

Even with the enhanced edition the 360 controls are different. They work well enough but the console controls are still better suited for the game pad.

BlackSabre wrote:

Just love these environments though. The attention to detail is just inspiring.

That's another thing I was thinking about earlier with respect to TW3 and games in general.

In one of the TW2 preview videos, they showed one of the residents of Flotsam who talks about shoes, and if you go into her house she has a shoe collection, used as an example of how good CDPR are at making their world. I'm wondering how much that kind of thing will exist in TW3 given the size of the game world they're making.

The other thing I was pondering was the 'Chekhov's gun' effect in games, where usually every little detail is important to the player somehow. If there's something out of the ordinary or non-generic, there's usually a reason for it My thinking is that those little details are always important to be included, even if there isn't a quest to bring a notorious shoe thief to justice, as it helps to bring the player into the world and build the world so much. You can't just have the large scale wars between nations and races, fill it with copy and paste towns and call it a fleshed out world.

I noticed how villagers were fishing and picking herbs and stuff last night, and I was pretty impressed by it. It added a lot to see people going about doing things that medieval villagers would probably be doing.

You know what else I like? The fact that it doesn't hold your hand and point you at the exact spot you need to be. It's not a standard join the dots RPG. If you have to find out who killed a Troll, you actually have to look in peoples houses for yourself. It doesn't point you at the exact house you need to go. It's nice to be respected enough to make those choices and decisions.

That being said, I still can't believe I can walk into anyone's home and completely ransack their house without consequence. Can't complain too much though as I like the money :p

Holy crap, that fight with

Spoiler:

Letho

was extremely tough. Had to redo that one quite a few times before I finally worked out the routine. And I'm also coming up to

Spoiler:

A choice between Roche and the elf dude. The thing is, I gave him his sword, so I thought that would have been the deciding point... apparently not. Really not sure which path I want to take for my first run through.

This game has on my Steam wishlist for a long while now. Tempted to buy it.

Can someone give me a mini review to push me over the edge?

Wait for a sale. It was $8 recently and it will be again. That being said, I'm enjoying the crap out of it.

Also, check out the youtube reviews. IGN and Gametrailers have some good reviews of it. Give a good overview of what to expect.

BlackSabre wrote:

That being said, I still can't believe I can walk into anyone's home and completely ransack their house without consequence. Can't complain too much though as I like the money :p

I brought this up some time ago in this thread. It seems out of place but at the same time I think it was a smart choice. The game has a crafting system and the materials need to be acquired in some fashion. Anyone who has ever watched someone play an RPG knows even the "good guys" are going to pick every lock, sneak into every house and steal everything nailed down regardless of consequence if they need the material... and if they want something enough they will most likely reload until they get it without being seen. Just watch people playing Skyrim! So I think it was smart to just say "to heck with it, just take it - we know you're going to find a way anyhow."

The alternative would be to make nothing in the houses takeable, but then you'd never bother go into the houses. As you said, if you want to find out who killed the troll you might find a clue in someone's house. Thus they want to encourage exploration.

It sounds like they might be changing this in Witcher 3 - unless they implement a risk/reward system that prevents the "reload until I get it right" tactic I'm not all that on board with the change.