The Witcher 2 Gameplay Video

[alrekr]

Obviously no one has been able to manage great RPG combat without dumbing down the rest of the game yet, but eventually someone will. Be it Mass Effect 3, DA3, Diablo 3... one of them will get it right, and the entire genre will be better because of it.

I'll think you will find that none of those games will manage to craft what you are asking for; there is only one game on the horizone with the ability to do that:

Skyrim

OT: anyhow Witcher 2 looks meh.

Despite many bad examples of trying to make a game more simple; it can be good thing. Sometimes it can make for a more streamlined and fun experiance; or just plain suck

 

[Irridium]

If you consider the ability to map spellsto buttons then you're either really stupid or suffer from a severe case of consolitis. How the HELL could this make the game more complex? I mean for fucks sake if in todays day and age letting me map abilities is considered "complex" then how fucking long until skill trees are considered "complex" as well? I mean what the hell? How can you even say that?

How do you even know they're not mapped? In the first game, they were mapped to the first 5 number keys. Who's to say they just weren't moved, or are still there? Same with potions.

They probably assume that it should go without saying that you can still use hotkeys.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

If you consider the ability to map spellsto buttons then you're either really stupid or suffer from a severe case of consolitis. How the HELL could this make the game more complex? I mean for fucks sake if in todays day and age letting me map abilities is considered "complex" then how fucking long until skill trees are considered "complex" as well? I mean what the hell? How can you even say that?

How do you even know they're not mapped? In the first game, they were mapped to the first 5 number keys. Who's to say they just weren't moved, or are still there? Same with potions.

They probably assume that it should go without saying that you can still use hotkeys.

Because there's no evidence in those videos that you can map abilities. Look at the way the guy fights. When he changes abilities, he uses the circular thing. If you had the ability to use hotkeys, why not show it?

 

[Irridium]

If you consider the ability to map spellsto buttons then you're either really stupid or suffer from a severe case of consolitis. How the HELL could this make the game more complex? I mean for fucks sake if in todays day and age letting me map abilities is considered "complex" then how fucking long until skill trees are considered "complex" as well? I mean what the hell? How can you even say that?

How do you even know they're not mapped? In the first game, they were mapped to the first 5 number keys. Who's to say they just weren't moved, or are still there? Same with potions.

They probably assume that it should go without saying that you can still use hotkeys.

Because there's no evidence in those videos that you can map abilities. Look at the way the guy fights. When he changes abilities, he uses the circular thing. If you had the ability to use hotkeys, why not show it?

Because chances are, people would miss it. He uses the circular bar because its more visually appealing, and shows the system of manually selecting them if you don't want to use hotkeys for whatever reason.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

If you consider the ability to map spellsto buttons then you're either really stupid or suffer from a severe case of consolitis. How the HELL could this make the game more complex? I mean for fucks sake if in todays day and age letting me map abilities is considered "complex" then how fucking long until skill trees are considered "complex" as well? I mean what the hell? How can you even say that?

How do you even know they're not mapped? In the first game, they were mapped to the first 5 number keys. Who's to say they just weren't moved, or are still there? Same with potions.

They probably assume that it should go without saying that you can still use hotkeys.

Because there's no evidence in those videos that you can map abilities. Look at the way the guy fights. When he changes abilities, he uses the circular thing. If you had the ability to use hotkeys, why not show it?

Because chances are, people would miss it. He uses the circular bar because its more visually appealing, and shows the system of manually selecting them if you don't want to use hotkeys for whatever reason.

How would they miss it? They could just implement a hotbar and be done with it. Also, how is it more visually appealing? Ignoring the fact that it breaks the flow of combat, a sidebar like the one used in The Witcher 1 would work quite well. There are literally hundreds of way to implement the hotbar in a subtle way. There's just absolutely no reason why they would introduce a circular thing when it's basically a staple of console gaming. Also, if there was no circular thing I'm fairly sure people would assume they're using hotkey's.

 

[Zhukov]

I approve of this trend of making RPG gameplay non-shitty.

That Witcher 2 video looked alright. I might give the game a look when it comes out.

 

[Keava]

How would they miss it? They could just implement a hotbar and be done with it. Also, how is it more visually appealing? Ignoring the fact that it breaks the flow of combat, a sidebar like the one used in The Witcher 1 would work quite well. There are literally hundreds of way to implement the hotbar in a subtle way. There's just absolutely no reason why they would introduce a circular thing when it's basically a staple of console gaming. Also, if there was no circular thing I'm fairly sure people would assume they're using hotkey's.

Actually circular HUD is very PC-ish. Some design software uses it. It allows for easier to reach control while same time keeping the overlay clean for when you do not need it. You don't need to wave your mouse across the whole screen to reach abilities, it's all in middle, where you usually keep the pointer (or in case of design software it's anchored to the pointer)

As for Witcher2, from what i figured from the vid you have 2 abilities on quick reach and use the circular HUD to swap them. Look at the bottom left corner. Also for showcase vids you do want to show off the HUD and not just barely visible bottom/side bar accessed through hotkeys because you can't see when someone presses buttons.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

How would they miss it? They could just implement a hotbar and be done with it. Also, how is it more visually appealing? Ignoring the fact that it breaks the flow of combat, a sidebar like the one used in The Witcher 1 would work quite well. There are literally hundreds of way to implement the hotbar in a subtle way. There's just absolutely no reason why they would introduce a circular thing when it's basically a staple of console gaming. Also, if there was no circular thing I'm fairly sure people would assume they're using hotkey's.

Actually circular HUD is very PC-ish. Some design software uses it. It allows for easier to reach control while same time keeping the overlay clean for when you do not need it. You don't need to wave your mouse across the whole screen to reach abilities, it's all in middle, where you usually keep the pointer (or in case of design software it's anchored to the pointer)

As for Witcher2, from what i figured from the vid you have 2 abilities on quick reach and use the circular HUD to swap them. Look at the bottom left corner. Also for showcase vids you do want to show off the HUD and not just barely visible bottom/side bar accessed through hotkeys because you can't see when someone presses buttons.

You don't wave your mouse around. The whole point of hotkeys is using your keyboard to select abilities.

As for your second point that's a very consolish approach to PC gaming. 2 abilities on quick reach and a circular HUD to swap them? Why not have them all in a menu and a hotbar in which I can put them in? Why not go the Witcher 1 way and just have all abilities pop in your sidebar? There's no reason to limit your ability to change spells like that. Who cares if it's a presentation. They could have used the side bar from the Witcher one and have one menu from where you could choose abilities. Look at Arkham Asylum. They did a great job with abilities. It worked great without the need for a circular/square HUD

 

[psicat]

You're making something out of nothing. Its not turn-based, I imagine that's why they didn't decide to use hotkeys.

Well technically, since you're basically pausing the game whenever you attempt to switch an ability it is turn based. Then again, The Witcher never was turn based so this argument falls apart. Still, I've got 50 buttons on my keyboard. LET ME USE THEM.

I haven't seen games in any genre(except space sims, or sims in general) that have made use of all the buttons. And not many games even need to use all the buttons, because they just don't need them. Wouldn't make sense for the game or the gameplay, other than to add needless complexity.

You're making something out of nothing. Its not turn-based, I imagine that's why they didn't decide to use hotkeys.

Well technically, since you're basically pausing the game whenever you attempt to switch an ability it is turn based. Then again, The Witcher never was turn based so this argument falls apart. Still, I've got 50 buttons on my keyboard. LET ME USE THEM.

In other words...make the game as user-unfriendly and inaccessible as possible? Great idea! In fact, why don't you become a game designer? Hell, why not make your own studio? Because you obviously know better than the developers do! Who could deny that?

If you consider the ability to map spellsto buttons then you're either really stupid or suffer from a severe case of consolitis. How the HELL could this make the game more complex? I mean for fucks sake if in todays day and age letting me map abilities is considered "complex" then how fucking long until skill trees are considered "complex" as well? I mean what the hell? How can you even say that?

I'm not even going to get into this discussion considering I loved The Witcher, and from what I've seen so far will also love The Witcher 2. But, you know, just because you start a semi trollish thread does not mean you also have to start countering arguments with insults.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

But, you know, just because you start a semi trollish thread does not mean you also have to start countering arguments with insults.

It's true that I insulted you, but at the same time I also countered your argument with my own. Also, I'm not trolling. I never had the intention of trolling when making this thread. It's amazing how often the word troll is thrown around on the internet. It's completely lost its meaning.

 

[Arachon]

The developers are fucking clueless when it comes to the PC. They're the daft fucks that ported Saints Row 2 to the PC.
The first Witcher is pretty shitty performance wise aswell.

Nope.

Saints Row 2 was ported by these guys [http://www.portinghouse.com/About_us]. They are part of CD Projekt [http://www.cdprojekt.com/] (one of Poland's major PC-game publishers). They were formerly an "in-house" division doing localization projects (mostly translating games into Polish I'd imagine) known as CD Projekt Localization Center.

It was under this moniker that they ported Saints Row 2. They have since branched off from CD Projekt and are now a separate studio (albeit still owned by CD Projekt) called Porting House.

The Witcher, on the other hand, was developed by a studio called CD Projekt RED, another branch of CD Projekt. These guys only develop games, nothing else. These are also the guys who are developing The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

And I can't see where you're getting the performance issue from, The Witcher is built on BioWare's Aurora Engine, first used in Neverwinter Nights, so it really shouldn't have any problems running on modern hardware.

OT: I'm not too worried about The Witcher 2 being dumbed down, they seem to have kept the core concepts of the gameplay, and won't shift as dramatically as, for example, Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age II. And truth be told, the combat in The Witcher is probably one of the weakest points of the game.

 

[josemlopes]

Arent the guys from Witcher almost exclusive to the PC, being the console version of Witcher 2 not totally confirmed for consoles (like the first Witcher)? I dont think that you need to worry with dumbing down for consoles.

Also, the typical action in most RPGs are boring and dated, people seem to hate any kind of advance in that area, they just want it to be the same as 10 years ago.

Hey look, technical advances in melee combat.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Total overreaction by the OP.

The first Witcher has some of the shittiest, shallowest combat I've ever seen, so any changes on that front are more than welcome. It's also not a party-based RPG, so you can't compare this "streamlining" to what happened with DA2.

That said, it's plainly idiotic to suggest that all things are improved by unchecked streamlining. The goal should be to make the best possible game as dictated by the vision of the creative forces behind it - not to maximize accessibility for the greatest number of potential customers. If complexity of play helps the experience, then it should be complex. If you can't fathom spending 5-10 minutes to become acquainted with a game's controls and play mechanics, you're basically a moron. And you're ruining my favorite hobby.