CD Projekt Gets Up Close With The Witcher 2

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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CD Projekt Gets Up Close With The Witcher 2


CD Projekt's Spring 2011 Conference offers a close look at the upcoming Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings [http://www.amazon.com/Witcher-2-Assassins-Kings-Pc/dp/B003VJNPPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302804301&sr=8-1], with details on DRM, combat, censorship and a ridiculously good promotional deal on the original Witcher.

With The Witcher 2 just a month away, CD Projekt used today's livestreamed conference to finally reveal details about launch of the upcoming RPG. We might as well get this little tidbit out of the way first: the game will use SecuROM for a one-time online activation when it's installed. It's a minimal implementation that presenter Tomasz Gop, the senior producer on The Witcher 2, explained is not meant to be "troublesome" but simply to keep pirates at bay prior to launch. "It's pretty much the only way we could make sure that the game is going to be safe until May 17 and it's not the pirates who are going to play the game first," he said.

Saves from the original Witcher can be imported into the new game and will have an impact on certain encounters and, presumably, which of the game's 16 endings will be encountered, but it's primarily a reward for die-hard fans rather than a necessary part of the game. Gop said The Witcher 2 is designed to be an entirely stand-alone game, with no previous experience required. It's also very scalable, with support for the latest multi-core CPUs while still running decently, at low visual settings, on systems that are two or three years old.

Combat looks hot and although it's definitely changed from the original game it shares many similarities too. Attack combos, potions and oils remain vital to success on the battlefield, but magic appears to have a more prominent role and, as promised, new weapons, such as a sword that can freeze enemies and cause them to shatter, opens up a wide range of new monster-killing options. Close-up "finishers," meanwhile, are both brutal and awesome without becoming comically gratuitous.

The inventory, potion and skill tree screens appear to be dramatically overhauled but still very complex, and unlike the first Witcher, which was censored for North America, Gop said The Witcher 2 content has already been approved by rating agencies around the world and will be identical in every market. Which isn't to suggest that it's been toned down in any way; the ESRB "Mature" rating warns of "Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content and use of drugs." Yup, that's our Geralt.

Finally, to mark the launch of The Witcher 2, GOG [http://www.gog.com] - which is owned by CD Projekt - will offer The Witcher Enhanced Edition, with the usual collection of extras like soundtrack, hi-res wallpapers, forum avatars and nudie calendar [okay, no, that one's not "usual" but I'm not kidding, it's part of the pack] for just $4.99 from May 10 to May 24, after which it will go to its regular price of $9.99. That's a ridiculously good deal for any RPG fan.

The presentation included a lengthy stretch of live gameplay action and while it's impossible to make any kind of meaningful judgment based on a small window of streaming video, it looks very good and, more important, very Witcher. If you've got an hour to kill and want to check it out for yourself, the entire CD Projekt Spring 2011 Conference is now online at gog.com [http://www.gog.com/en/news/tune_in_to_watch_cdp_days_2011_spring_conference]. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings comes out on May 17.


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Lordmarkus

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God damnit, this game is going to kill my exams.

And as long they patch out the DRM eventually I'm good.
 

Andy Chalk

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HankMan said:
What's the image supposed to be?
It's a cap of the new inventory screen. Hard to make out details but it looks more streamlined than the first game. I didn't mind the interface in the original Witcher but even I have to admit that it wasn't as elegant as it could've been.

Pic is working now, btw. (obviously)
 

Delusibeta

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The DRM is frankly, pointless. Couldn't they redirect the installer to some backroom in GOG.com to download the last 50Mb? It would save on licensing fees and not piss people off.
 

Asehujiko

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Andy Chalk said:
We might as well get this little tidbit out of the way first: the game will use SecuROM for a one-time online activation when it's installed. It's a minimal implementation that presenter Tomasz Gop, the senior producer on The Witcher 2, explained is not meant to be "troublesome" but simply to keep pirates at bay prior to launch. "It's pretty much the only way we could make sure that the game is going to be safe until May 17 and it's not the pirates who are going to play the game first," he said.
So that whole "no drm" hype was pure bullshit? Good to know that, I almost pre-ordered.
 

mindlesspuppet

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Asehujiko said:
Andy Chalk said:
We might as well get this little tidbit out of the way first: the game will use SecuROM for a one-time online activation when it's installed. It's a minimal implementation that presenter Tomasz Gop, the senior producer on The Witcher 2, explained is not meant to be "troublesome" but simply to keep pirates at bay prior to launch. "It's pretty much the only way we could make sure that the game is going to be safe until May 17 and it's not the pirates who are going to play the game first," he said.
So that whole "no drm" hype was pure bullshit? Good to know that, I almost pre-ordered.
There's no DRM on it when you buy from GOG.
 

Delusibeta

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Xzi said:
Lordmarkus said:
God damnit, this game is going to kill my exams.

And as long they patch out the DRM eventually I'm good.
Patch out a one-time only release date check? I'd say it pretty much patches itself out.
I also don't buy their claims that it's a loose implementation. Specifically, the limit of 5 PCs playing it at one time. The only way that's going to work if in reality it's a five activation limit with refunds on uninstall job. Otherwise the limit could be easily gotten around be disconnecting from the Internet before playing the game on PC 6.
 

ThatDaveDude1

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Asehujiko said:
Andy Chalk said:
We might as well get this little tidbit out of the way first: the game will use SecuROM for a one-time online activation when it's installed. It's a minimal implementation that presenter Tomasz Gop, the senior producer on The Witcher 2, explained is not meant to be "troublesome" but simply to keep pirates at bay prior to launch. "It's pretty much the only way we could make sure that the game is going to be safe until May 17 and it's not the pirates who are going to play the game first," he said.
So that whole "no drm" hype was pure bullshit? Good to know that, I almost pre-ordered.
They never said the game didn't have DRM, they said that the version sold on GoG had no DRM. That's an exclusive thing though. Other versions always had it, and CD Projekt never claimed that they didn't.
 

theriddlen

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Lordmarkus said:
God damnit, this game is going to kill my exams.

And as long they patch out the DRM eventually I'm good.
There is no DRM per se. It's just a SecuROM release date checking program that won't ever trouble you after installing the game.
 

Keava

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cursedseishi said:
That might just be for purchases on the PC game from other places, but yeah... it isn't exactly something I wanted to hear. Hopefully the Steam version of the game doesn't have that bullshit in it.
Steam is exactly that 'bullshit' tho. I really don't get how people who praise Steam can same time bash on one time online activation. Seriously? What difference does it make?

The GoG.com version is still to be fully DRM free and with 90% preload available not to mention the addition of 200 pages artbook in .pdf that otherwise is only included in boxed editions and the fact that the full sum goes directly to makes of the game, not 3rd party retailers (which Steam is).
 

mindlesspuppet

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Keava said:
cursedseishi said:
That might just be for purchases on the PC game from other places, but yeah... it isn't exactly something I wanted to hear. Hopefully the Steam version of the game doesn't have that bullshit in it.
Steam is exactly that 'bullshit' tho. I really don't get how people who praise Steam can same time bash on one time online activation. Seriously? What difference does it make?

The GoG.com version is still to be fully DRM free and with 90% preload available not to mention the addition of 200 pages artbook in .pdf that otherwise is only included in boxed editions and the fact that the full sum goes directly to makes of the game, not 3rd party retailers (which Steam is).
Most people don't realize Steam is DRM.
 

Soviet Heavy

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I think the DRM only applies to the retail disc. There is no DRM on the GOG version, and the Steam Version just uses regular Steam stuff, I.E autopatching and whatnot.
 

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Wolfram01 said:
I don't see this nudy calendar listed on the site:
http://www.gog.com/en/page/tw2v3
It's included with the GOG version of The Witcher Enhanced Edition, which goes on sale May 10. (And which I am totally buying.)
 

mumakil

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I guess i should finally play trough the original game. When i first bought it its horrible loading times drove me off but since then they have released the enchanced edition that i never actually played lol.

I guess its time to see geralt trough to the end