Witcher II - Impressions Forthcoming

[Smoove_B]

The only fix suggestions I've seen so far are to clean the DVD or exchange it where I got it.

Are you installing it to the Program Files folder? There's a suggestion on the official forums to install it anywhere else.

[Tscott]

The only fix suggestions I've seen so far are to clean the DVD or exchange it where I got it.

Are you installing it to the Program Files folder? There's a suggestion on the official forums to install it anywhere else.

I can try that, but since I can't even manually copy that particular file to my hard drive that seems to indicate that it's an error the DVD.

[Jag]

Can you describe what the combat system is like? I'm really not a twitch-gamer. Is it more action-y or more rpg-y?

I wouldn't call it twitchy but it is very action oriented. It's thinking about what you are doing. If you get surrounded, you aren't going to magically avoid attacks. You need to run, roll and avoid attacks while attacking at the same time. I suck at anything 'twitchy' because my reaction time is just...old and slow. I haven't had a problem with this combat at all.

It is an action RPG, but don't let that stop you, the story is classic RPG goodness and I'm thrilled to have it.

[Smoove_B]

Probably put another hour into it tonight. Part of my original problem was that the game gives you the option to play the prologue in any order - which I did. Just play the memories in the order listed.

Also: When you come up the hill and look out into the battle - just unreal. The game engine really is amazing. The only option I've removed is the motion blur. I'm still getting lumped in combat (even on Easy), but not bad enough to be discouraging. I can't imagine what it's like on hard.

[cicobuff]

Damn it. It finally arrived for me and it won't install. I get the error:

Feature Transfer error

Component: Data

File: E:/data2.cab

The only fix suggestions I've seen so far are to clean the DVD or exchange it where I got it. The DVD is perfectly clean, fresh out of the case. And I ordered from Amazon, and since other people are having the exact same problem, I figure the chances are good that I'll have the same issue if I exchange when I get the new one in the mail.

Is there any chance you are installing into a FAT partition or the tmp directory is a FAT partition? That may give some problems with the data file which is too big for FAT.

[Jag]

Probably put another hour into it tonight. Part of my original problem was that the game gives you the option to play the prologue in any order - which I did. Just play the memories in the order listed.

Also: When you come up the hill and look out into the battle - just unreal. The game engine really is amazing. The only option I've removed is the motion blur. I'm still getting lumped in combat (even on Easy), but not bad enough to be discouraging. I can't imagine what it's like on hard.

The blur is horrible. That was the first thing to be disabled. I also didn't like the mouse smoothing and found this fix:

open Documents\Witcher 2\Config\User.ini

Go to [MouseInput] section and set
MouseSmoothness=0
Smoothness=0

[hepcat]

I'm not sure why some folks are so up in arms over combat in this game. Personally, I love the combat so far. Sure, it's challenging...but that's what I wanted. I'm playing on normal and as long as I remember to take a potion every now and then, use magic as the combat tool it's intended to be, and remember to dodge, I've yet to come across anything unbeatable (may need a few reloads, but that happened in the first game too).

[Smoove_B]

I think my only problem with the combat (so far) is that in the first game you were initially fighting single enemies or smaller groups or two or so (my memory is a bit fuzzy). It was only after you were leveling up and getting more skills that they upped the number of enemies until you were able to take on 5+ at a time. Pretty early on in this game you're up against 4+ guys solo with the ability to either roll out of the way or parry the guy standing in front of you - you're extremely vulnerable to flank and rear attacks. I don't have a problem killing the guy in front of me, it's the cheap shots from everyone else that is breaking my momentum.

[Turtle]

It sounds like they don't do anything to train the player to fight against such odds, or to train their way of thinking to include more preparation. Well, beyond probably some text boxes or voice overs during a small tutorial.

[Fitzy]

Well, in groups i found out that space is my best friend. Dodge Dodge, hit the squishiest oponent, dodge dodge. Do that until only the armored/shielded dudes remain. On these, burn them with sign and hit them in the back after they charge.

You can see what barrels contain something by pressing Z. It will show all items you can interact with.

Thank you. Hitting z is making my life easier and the combat tips work alright. I've never been good at timing, so it's a challenge, but getting better.

Anyone else think Geralt looks like David Boreanaz?

[Turtle]

The guy from Buffy/Angel and Bones? He has a more rectangular face, heavier brow structure. Geralt is more triangular or trapezoidal, although that's probably because most of the time the camera is angled downward at his face.

[silverjon]

For illustrative purposes.



Only in the "brooding guy" sense? Maybe the same shape of lips. But Boreanaz has blunter, less angular features overall. (Also, it was hard to find a photo with his head tilted the same way as the Geralt character art.)

[TiLT]

No, I don't think Geralt looks like David Boreanaz at all.

[hepcat]

Is that Silverjon's desktop wallpaper?

[Smoove_B]

"I'm a complex guy, sweetheart."

[rrmorton]

I've been messing around with it all morning. I spent an hour or two fiddling with medium graphics options on my four year-old machine but I was too aggressive and the poor aging beast just choked under the pressure. It looked great for about 30 seconds, but then it would slowly bog down until it was running at around 6 frames per minute. I have two Geforce 8800GT cards running in SLI mode but just a single core processor.

I kept trying to get an acceptable frame rate using custom settings but finally gave up and let it auto-detect and it set almost everything on Low and Disabled. But it's playable! At 1920x1200 it doesn't look too bad and it's playing smoothly but I miss the higher res textures. This game must look absolutely stunning on a high-end PC. I'll turn a few options back on or up to see what I can get. But it seems The Witcher 2 is the game that's going to make me start doing late night drive-bys at Alienware.com to longingly put together new rigs and price them out. Last time around it was Vanguard.

I can't imagine what it's like on hard.

It's... well, hard! Been doing a lot of reloading -- fortunately reload times are very tolerable. But I like it because it's forcing me to learn the system and actually use parries, rolls, spells, traps, and bombs instead of just flailing away. It's a bit like Arkham Asylum where you flow from one opponent to the next. Sometimes I get slaughtered but I'm learning. I think it's a better, more visceral combat system than the first game had. I'm playing through the prologue memories in order and I just reached the dragon attack... someone at CD Projekt really liked Demon's Souls.

Anyone else getting connection errors today? I'm trying to download the Mysterious Merchant bonus content and it keeps failing. Plus when I registered the game, the website came up blank.

I'm really impressed with the game so far. Can't wait to see it open up.

Two duh questions...
1) How do you enter Meditation Mode? Daddy needs his potions!
2) I leveled up... how the heck do I spend points on my attribute tree? I can't spend my 1 talent point anywhere. Maybe I have to wait until after the prologue?

[hepcat]

Two duh questions...
1) How do you enter Meditation Mode? Daddy needs his potions!
2) I leveled up... how the heck do I spend points on my attribute tree? I can't spend my 1 talent point anywhere. Maybe I have to wait until after the prologue?

the first one i can answer: hold down the CNTL key and click on the center icon that reads "meditation" when you hover the mouse over it.

the second one, i'm not so sure. i've yet to level.

[Jag]

You can only spend points in low level Training (that's the first tree). Other trees unlock as the game progresses.

RTFM

[Smoove_B]

2) I leveled up... how the heck do I spend points on my attribute tree? I can't spend my 1 talent point anywhere. Maybe I have to wait until after the prologue?

This wasn't clear for me either. I think you're stuck because it's the prologue so the only thing you can improve is "Training", specifically the first level of skills (directly connected via lines to the main hub). I thought the first game made it clearer, but I really do like the new UI.

Read more here.

Before you go on to invest in swordsmanship, magic or alchemy, you need to invest minimum of six talent points in training branch of skills tree.

[hepcat]

I'm surprised at the amount of behind the scenes data being displayed during fights and in your stats pages. I had to refer to the manual a few times last night to make out what was going on. I really like the depth of the game so far.

[silverjon]

Is that Silverjon's desktop wallpaper?

Does Chaosraven promise not to copy me if it is?

[hepcat]

Is that Silverjon's desktop wallpaper?

Does Chaosraven promise not to copy me if it is?

He's strictly NKotB these days. His favorite is the swarthy one.

[silverjon]

Is that Silverjon's desktop wallpaper?

Does Chaosraven promise not to copy me if it is?

He's strictly NKotB these days. His favorite is the swarthy one.

I dunno. David Boreanaz is pretty swarthy....

[Bob]

I have two Geforce 8800GT cards running in SLI mode but just a single core processor.

I kept trying to get an acceptable frame rate using custom settings but finally gave up and let it auto-detect and it set almost everything on Low and Disabled. But it's playable! At 1920x1200 it doesn't look too bad and it's playing smoothly but I miss the higher res textures.

Try a lower rez but higher options. Like 1200x800 or something and crank AA way up.

Personally, I'd rather have better effects and a lower res than crazy high res and flat shaded polygons with no particle effects.

Unless I'm way off-base, it's the resolution that is most CPU dependent.

[e1123]

Playing High at 1920x1200 and it's probably the best-looking game I've ever seen. No performance problems on a Core i7 with a Geforce GTX 285. I've broken into Chapter 1 a little bit and so far, so good. The combat has been pretty tough in spots, but you have a lot of options. Personally, I like to use the Axii sign and dominate an enemy so that he fights for me. Coming straight from Demon's Souls makes it seem quite manageable.

[Tscott]

Is there any chance you are installing into a FAT partition or the tmp directory is a FAT partition? That may give some problems with the data file which is too big for FAT.

I found this link tonight: Having problems installing The Witcher 2? It might not be the disc which suggests that for many people it's their DVD drive simply can't read the data2.cab file correctly (I'm guessing because of the size). I tried looking for an update to my DVD drive's drivers, but there doesn't seem to be any.

The solution seems to be what was suggested before, copy all files but data2.cab from DVD1 to the hard drive. Then get data2.cab copied to the hard drive... somehow... and install from there. Only problem is I can't get that file copied anywhere/anyhow. My laptop gets an error and crashes/restarts explorer.exe as soon as I try to copy the file. A another, very old, computer in the house got a similar explorer.exe error from merely opening up the drive to view the files- then crashed with a Blue Screen of Death.

I searched Torr... the Torrance area, and only found copies of this game that had been hacked and repackaged into compressed files named after the hackers. I was hoping I'd be able to just find this one particular file and select that to download.

I really wanted to support the physical releases of the Witcher because of the great physical extras that came with both the first Enhanced Edition and this one, but then this happens.

[silvaril]

Heya

What did you use to try copying the file from the DVD?

Have you tried:
robocopy D:\path\to\dangbigfile\ C:\temp\ dangbigfile.cab


Having read that article, it does seem that the problem might be related to single layer DVD drives.
( ie: 4.7GB Capacity only drives )

Odd...

[Tscott]

Thanks for the suggestion, but that didn't work either.

I contacted their support with my problem and info and suggested that it might be nice if somehow people with this problem could be sent a link to download this file. We'll see what happens.

[Victoria Raverna]

Thanks for the suggestion, but that didn't work either.

I contacted their support with my problem and info and suggested that it might be nice if somehow people with this problem could be sent a link to download this file. We'll see what happens.

One more thing you can try while waiting for the support to help you. Go download imgburn and see if you can use it to copy the dvd to an ISO image file. If that is successful, then you can try to open the image using 7zip or winrar and extract that file.

[YellowKing]

What's the storyline like in this one? Will I be completely lost if I didn't complete Witcher 1? I loved the original, but I never finished it and I just can't see myself going back and trying to complete it again.

[e1123]

It helps, but it's not necessary. You won't know who some of the characters are, but it was the same situation in the first one. The storyline doesn't really seem connected so it's more of a settings thing. And I didn't have my old savegame to import.

[coopasonic]

What's the storyline like in this one? Will I be completely lost if I didn't complete Witcher 1? I loved the original, but I never finished it and I just can't see myself going back and trying to complete it again.

I played The Witcher and finished it when it originally came out and I'm still completely lost. As I went to bed last night, 3 hours after my usual bedtime, I was thinking that games with grand political plots like this are largely lost on me. I can't keep track of who's who without a chart. In the early going they guide your hand nicely so you can figure out who is who. On the other hand the early going also has a jumpy timeline that I'm still not 100% clear on.

I think you can play and enjoy the game without knowing the details of everything that happened throughout The Witcher. I certainly am so far. I think I've finished the prologue and started chapter 1, but I'm not sure Yeah, I was getting tired.

[rrmorton]

For those of you (us) having trouble with combat, USE QUEN! That defensive spell is incredibly handy if you're the type of gamer who likes to survive a fight.

[coopasonic]

In fights where I was outnumbered I started using the trap one and kiting people to try to get enemies one on one. Worked out pretty well. I did a LOT of reloading on the prologue section with lots of things burning.

[TiLT]

For those of you (us) having trouble with combat, USE QUEN! That defensive spell is incredibly handy if you're the type of gamer who likes to survive a fight.

That's what I thought myself early on, but I'm trying to get rid of that habit. Quen reduces your regeneration to nearly nothing, which means that when your last dose of Quen runs out, you've got a problem since you can no longer parry or use signs.

[hepcat]

In fights where I was outnumbered I started using the trap one and kiting people to try to get enemies one on one. Worked out pretty well. I did a LOT of reloading on the prologue section with lots of things burning.

I've been doing recently myself. The only problem is when I don't realize some dumb bastard is right on my heels and the sumbitch triggers the trap just as I'm starting to run away from it...catching me on fire in the process.

[Octavious]

I never could get in two the first game. The combat system just didn't gel with me.. Maybe I didn't give it long enough. I'm installing it again to see what I'm missing. I hate when I want to like something and it doesn't work out.

[rrmorton]

I bet it'll work for you this time, Dr. Octagon. I had to go back to the original game a second time (after the big patch was released) to try to get into it and that time it sunk its hooks in deep. I played well into the game, probably 40 or 50 hours, but I didn't reach the end. I'm loving the sequel so far. It's shaping up to be one of those games-that-make-me-remember-why-I-love-games games.

Try a lower rez but higher options.

Good tip! I lowered it to 1680x1050 and I've been slowly upping the textures and effects. It's looking even better and still running smoove. This makes me very happy because now I can call off my computer panic attack. It must have been one of those random advanced options that was causing it to not just slow down but severely choke on low memory or something.

I just reached the town of Flotsam and I'm getting my first taste of a bigger area to explore freely. My first order of business is to buy a shirt so I can stop looking at my nasty-ass flayed back. The attention to detail in the setting and NPC routines and little staged vignettes is really impressive. The story is a bit convoluted and daft but it's presented with so much style and conviction in the characters and voice acting and overall uncompromising adult seriousness of it all that it ends up actually feeling totally epic. It's not unlike how Game of Thrones feels on HBO.

I'm hooked. And bummed that I've got a busy weekend coming up with houseguests so I won't get to really play it until next week.

One gripe I had was in the big dramatic moment that ends the prologue... Geralt wouldn't have let that shit go down the way it did. Throw a dagger or something! Jesus. I hate cutscenes that betray the gamer/hero for a load of slow-mo drama-rama.

[Tscott]

There's movement on my data2.cab problem. I first contacted them using the "contact us" link on their support page. Last night I contacted them again via email, and got a reply asking for my key so they can provide me with a free copy of the game from GoG.com. Very cool of them. I may be playing this soon.

[rrmorton]

That's good news! Sorry you had to deal with that hassle.