Witcher 2 Patch Fixes Bugs, Removes DRM

[JohnnyDelRay]

Freaking stoked about this. I pre-ordered mine on GOG.com so I don't have DRM on mine, but still, hats off and massive respect. Praying and hoping other AAA publishers are taking a leaf from this book.

Looking forward to getting the troll trouble mission too, I couldn't seem to download it through the launcher, hopefully this patcher will get the ball rolling again (don't want to finish chapter 1 without it!)

 

[TheComfyChair]

So basically the Steam version is now the only version with DRM now, right?

Since in the Steam update history of W2, there's nothing about removing the pesky Steam (or other) DRM.

Spoiler: http://store.steampowered.com/news/?feed=steam_updates&appids=20920

# Added Troll Trouble DLC
# Fixed DLC download issues
# Fixed Module updates
# Fixed various game crashes
# Expanded Movement Key Mapping includes arrow keys & Number pad
# Fixed NVidia 3D Vision Surround issues
# Improved auto-detect to improve game efficiency
# Fixed bug preventing the completely of the quest "Blood Curse"

Yay for Steam again!

Steam never had secuROM. Just a few dud files which didn't do anything.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Congratulations CD Projekt, you just sold me a game!

 

[Demonio Penguino]

How ironic, I was just watching Yahtzee's review of The Witcher.

How is that ironic in the slightest...?

I assume you mean coincidental of sorts?

Yeah, sorry, I seem to have herped the derp.
X3

 

[Corporal Yakob]

This may sound stupid but whats DRM?

 

[arealperson]

CD Projekt RED are simply awesome, there is no other way to put it. Ubisoft, are you watching? This is how you build customer loyalty and ensure you don't get ripped off. I am now planning to buy pretty much anything these guys publish. And yet I still refuse to buy anything by Ubisoft no matter how good a game it is.

The irony of this statement is, Ubisoft are watchIng so close, they're practically a knight at the round table. Seriously, Ubisoft is one of the most prolific publishers on CD Projekt's sister site, GOG. They have some of the youngest games there to boot.

I totally know where you're coming from, but I think they deserve [del]some[/del] a little credit for backing off here and there. Such as removal of StarForce from Heroes, or essentially making FarCry 2 DRM-free (found this out today due to the Steam sale -- if you check out the store page it says it has Securom, but users have confirmed it's been patched out at point of purchase so you never get Securom at all) including a no-CD patch.

As far as AC2 goes... even though they've eased up on their always-on scheme, they will and should always receive flak for the move. To my sentiment one of the most sadistic and cynical displays I've seen as a consumer. I can only hope it was done out of naivety or ignorance or in a worst case as some sort of 'market test'. If trends continue at least, it might be DRM-free in the future as some sort of too-little too-late gesture. Just an absolute confusing lot overall :/ .

 

[PopcornAvenger]

Well, the GoG version never had any DRM. The DLC's are 100% free.

Very sad people still torrent and pirate it. C'mon, guys, this is a game and company worthy, of, you know, *support*.

 

[yndsu]

Sweet. I was going to buy the GoG.com version when i get back home anyway.
And now i am going to buy the retail DVD version as well. Prolly on a sale.
For like the half price, but still, just to show that i love what these
guys are doing. Keep up the good work.


And indeed, all the other companies who kill their games with DRM, WATCH THIS !
This is how you make loyal customers who will fallow you and who will buy
your games and say nice things about you. You do not get them with filling the disc
with DRM and then with half a game on the side.

 

[PopcornAvenger]

I just had a baaaad line of thought.

Just wait until EA buys CD Projekt. The no DRM, free DLC will evaporate like a snowflake on a hot skillet.

 

[Traun]

I just had a baaaad line of thought.

Just wait until EA buys CD Projekt. The no DRM, free DLC will evaporate like a snowflake on a hot skillet.

Impossible. CD Project Red and GOG are owned by the same company, in order for EA to buy CD Project Red, they'll have to buy GOG and they can't do that, because there is no reason to sell them.
It's like EA buying Valve - it won't happen.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

What sucks is that I'm not sure if I can run it. Knowing you can't and knowing you can are both better than not sure. Can anyone give me a hand?

 

[geizr]

[rant]

...rediculously...

I'm not picking on you, per se. I'm more just bitching at the entire Internet in general, because I see this misspelling constantly and everywhere on the Internet--it's as if no one on the Internet has access to a spell-checker, dictionary, or education of the English language. The word is spelled "ridiculous" with an "ri-", not "re-". This not a simple fat-fingering typo, as the 'e' and 'i' keys are nowhere near each other on a keyboard; this is just plain ignorance and laziness on the part of the entire Internet that this misspelling persists and is so prevalent.
[/rant]

Okay, I feel better after getting that out. Carry on.

OT: It definitely would be nice to see more companies use services and community cultivation as value-added to combat piracy, rather than draconian DRM schemes that only hurt legitimate customers and devalue the product for everyone but the pirates.

EDIT: Minor correction for grammar. Corrected "per say" to "per se"(something to do with throwing stones in glass houses).

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

I wuv u CD Projekt.
Love that your kicking it old school!

You make excellent games, do excellent business, and you also created Good Old Games.

The greatest thing ever!!

 

[Arfreid]

Someone give these guys a medal.

Hurray for progresive game developers

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

This may sound stupid but whats DRM?

It stands for Digital Rights Management, where the "rights" in question translate to "not yours". When you install a game and have to type in a massive activation code before you can play it, that's DRM - it's a system designed to restrict your use of a product somehow, and you're only ever going to notice it because it annoys you or otherwise causes some sort of problem, since it never adds any positive benefits from a consumer standpoint (systems like Steam provide a lot of useful features and convenience along with the DRM so people don't mind, but the features they like aren't because of the DRM but rather in spite of it).

The SecuRom that was bundled with retail versions of The Witcher 2 was just a one-time activation with unlimited uses, so there was none of that "you get 5 installs and if you somehow use them all up it sucks to be you!" malarkey going on, but it evidently caused framerate issues for a lot of folks so I'm happy to see it chucked out the door so quickly.

 

[Woodsey]

So basically the Steam version is now the only version with DRM now, right?

Since in the Steam update history of W2, there's nothing about removing the pesky Steam (or other) DRM.

Spoiler: http://store.steampowered.com/news/?feed=steam_updates&appids=20920

# Added Troll Trouble DLC
# Fixed DLC download issues
# Fixed Module updates
# Fixed various game crashes
# Expanded Movement Key Mapping includes arrow keys & Number pad
# Fixed NVidia 3D Vision Surround issues
# Improved auto-detect to improve game efficiency
# Fixed bug preventing the completely of the quest "Blood Curse"

Yay for Steam again!

If you didn't want Steam as DRM, you shouldn't have bought it through Steam. Or if you haven't bought it on Steam, what are you talking about? Obviously the Steam version will use Steam.

 

[CatmanStu]

I want to say I told you so... so I will.

A game company came along, and they created a content full game and offered it up to people DRM free. And, it's a game that is worth everyone's dollar if you like RPG's. And what are they getting for it? All the praise they completely deserve for it.

They are my favorite game company now, my absolute favorite.

If I may be indulged, I would like to join the "I told you so" brigade.

I had CDPR as the runner up in my March Mayhem bracket, but unfortunately I was in the minority.

(My winner was Naughty Dog for anyone curious)

 

[Aeshi]

If they keep this up then Witcher 3 will probably only be released on torrent sites.

...Not that it'll make a difference because it'll probably still have the same number of non-pirated copies as Witcher 2.

 

[Azahiel]

Great news and a great move on CDP's side. They did a similar thing to The Witcher 1. However not that fast, it was a couple of patches later.

To add to the praising. Not sure whether there was news about it...CDP announced that they prefer to make a few big payed addons rather than many small payed DLC.
So most likely any DLC like items or short quests will be free in the future.

Also CDP is not only a great game developer, they were and still are the biggest game distributor in Poland.

I recall what they did to the Polish version of Mass Effect.

Not only they released it with quite a good voice-over and translation, but they gave an option to choose the language you like (Polish or English). An option I like very much, because I almost always prefer the original voices over dubs. Too bad it's a rarity...
But, most importantly - they released the game without SecuROM!

Now Mass Effect 2 was released by EA directly, so...DRM, not so good Polish voice-acting, no choice whether or not you want English or Polish dub (unless you dig around in the game files), problems with DLC support.

 

[gibboss28]

Awesome, I like these guys.