Concerns about TW2

[Flash]

I've noticed that in videos there were Mass Effect style dialogues, where you can only see the short option of what's geralt going to say. Is that going to remain as such in the game? Or will we be able to choose from full dialogue lines. I really hated when I want to say something and my character say something else.

There will be only short text. It's not only ME style, Gothic was the first game with such dialogues. IMO it works very well, especially when main character - Geralt in The Witcher will give long speaches. In such cases dialogue text won't take up half of the screen. The problem is not this system but how well short text describes what you can expect from the answer you pick.

Only two concerns:1) The game will be shorter

Quality comes at the cost of quantity. Unfortunately you can't have both. But with non-linear story and different paths to choose, we can assume the game will have high replay value.

 

[Garrison72]

I too am concerned about "shorter, more intense" gameplay. Most devs are downsizing their games these days. I thought one of the points of gaming on PC was that you could get big games not limited by the hardware. Hope to god they aren't making concessions for the console market. And I hope it isn't "streamlined" like ME2 was.

 

[hamenaglar]

I've noticed that in videos there were Mass Effect style dialogues, where you can only see the short option of what's geralt going to say. Is that going to remain as such in the game? Or will we be able to choose from full dialogue lines. I really hated when I want to say something and my character say something else.

There will be only short text. It's not only ME style, Gothic was the first game with such dialogues. IMO it works very well, especially when main character - Geralt in The Witcher will give long speaches. In such cases dialogue text won't take up half of the screen. The problem is not this system but how well short text describes what you can expect from the answer you pick.

I respectfully, disagree. Ah, well, that's it then.

 

[Flash]

I too am concerned about "shorter, more intense" gameplay. Most devs are downsizing their games these days. I thought one of the points of gaming on PC was that you could get big games not limited by the hardware. Hope to god they aren't making concessions for the console market. And I hope it isn't "streamlined" like ME2 was.

Make a poll and ask players wheter they want 60h of mostly boring gameplay or 30h of high quality, intense gameplay. The majority always choose quality.(these numbers are just an example)

 

[susi2]

Did you see the new Arcania tech video? I think you already lost the best looking graphics in a rpg!

 

[Daerdin.435]

And do you have a really good quality video of that? Coz this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6D2_z56Kw - doesn't tell me much.

 

[13pm]

There will be only short text. It's not only ME style, Gothic was the first game with such dialogues. IMO it works very well, especially when main character - Geralt in The Witcher will give long speaches. In such cases dialogue text won't take up half of the screen. The problem is not this system but how well short text describes what you can expect from the answer you pick.

Yeah, that's my biggest worry about the game actually (even bigger than Geralt's look). It becomes even more of a problem when it comes to the translation of the game. I've played Mass Effect localized by Snowball studios here in Russia (those are the guys that will translate the Witcher 2 also). And that wasn't a very pleasant experience: you choose an "idea of the answer" and then see that it doesn't barely resemble the actual full answer.And that really looks like a nu-gen simplification to me. And I'm really afraid that it will ruin the game experience for me. The Witcher was one of the best action-RPGs of the last years, and good dialogues did a pretty big part. How can I think of the consequences of the answer if I even don't know if it will be a polite or an angry one sometimes? The Witcher wasn't a pure-blood RPG, you mostly didn't have options to steal or to kill a character to solve the quest (see Fallout) and the shift from full-length answers to short ones will make it even less RPGish. I know, this is the trend and good for consoles (see ME, Alpha Protocol), I know that CDPR is targeting at the wider audience, but I, personally, will regret and seriously reconsider buying this if the dialogues will be dumbed-down. Surely, action-oriented interaction movies like ME are lot of fun sometimes, but it's not what I loved The Witcher for.

 

[Flash]

It's a matter of taste. Arcania's engine looks only little better than engine from Gothic 3. Screenshots look pixelated, textures are of average quality, shadows and lightning is at standard quality. Nothing that could impress me.Compare these screenshots:

 

[susi2]

And do you have a really good quality video of that? Coz this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6D2_z56Kw - doesn't tell me much.

You posted the wrong video. I was refering to ths one:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZTbAQrOMys&feature=related

 

[Braag]

Did you see the new Arcania tech video? I think you already lost the best looking graphics in a rpg!

As much as I'm looking forward to Arcania and yeah I saw the tech demo. I must say that The Witcher 2 looks miles better judging by the gameplay videos I saw. Or perhaps it comes down to taste. But to me TW2 really does look impressive.

 

[susi2]

Did you see the new Arcania tech video? I think you already lost the best looking graphics in a rpg!

As much as I'm looking forward to Arcania and yeah I saw the tech demo. I must say that The Witcher 2 looks miles better judging by the gameplay videos I saw. Or perhaps it comes down to taste. But to me TW2 really does look impressive.

Don`t get me wrong. I loooved the video with the elf and the kingslayer! That was absoltely BRALLIANT! I also loved the video with the marketplace and the hanging and also the video whwere they meet the evil elf in the forest! Great dialogue and great animations! I just worried about the hords of enemies in the other two videos. Sword fights against large group of enemies were seldom in the witcher 1 and the zoom function gave the player the impression of being right there - if you know what I mean. The boss figghts in the Witcher 1 were also brilliant! I hope the have several of those in the new game! By the way I don`t think anyone needs to worry about the story or the game play: both look very promising!

 

[Garrison72]

Graphically, the W2 looks magnificent. Almost has a painterly feel. How open world will it be? I liked the first one because of the ability to roam about in each chapter area to do as you please. It struck a nice balance between sandbox and story-based gameplay.

 

[username_2070572]

Did you see the new Arcania tech video? I think you already lost the best looking graphics in a rpg!

As much as I'm looking forward to Arcania and yeah I saw the tech demo. I must say that The Witcher 2 looks miles better judging by the gameplay videos I saw. Or perhaps it comes down to taste. But to me TW2 really does look impressive.

Don`t get me wrong. I loooved the video with the elf and the kingslayer! That was absoltely BRALLIANT! I also loved the video with the marketplace and the hanging and also the video whwere they meet the evil elf in the forest! Great dialogue and great animations! I just worried about the hords of enemies in the other two videos. Sword fights against large group of enemies were seldom in the witcher 1 and the zoom function gave the player the impression of being right there - if you know what I mean. The boss figghts in the Witcher 1 were also brilliant! I hope the have several of those in the new game! By the way I don`t think anyone needs to worry about the story or the game play: both look very promising!

Well they have mentioned in other threads there will be different camera options so they may have addressed that concern already. And the first boss fight looks awesome already! Can't wait to see more

 

[Corylea.723]

I too am concerned about "shorter, more intense" gameplay. Most devs are downsizing their games these days. I thought one of the points of gaming on PC was that you could get big games not limited by the hardware. Hope to god they aren't making concessions for the console market. And I hope it isn't "streamlined" like ME2 was.

Make a poll and ask players wheter they want 60h of mostly boring gameplay or 30h of high quality, intense gameplay. The majority always choose quality.

I agree! I recently played the Dragon Age expansion, Awakening, and it seemed to me that there was a huge amount of highly repetitive combat. I'm assuming that it was included to increase the number of hours of gameplay that they could write on the box. Kill two Hurlocks, two Genlocks, one Genlock Emissary and one Hurlock Alpha. Walk ten paces. Kill two Hurlocks, two Genlocks, one Genlock Emissary and one Hurlock Alpha. Walk another ten paces. Kill two Hurlocks, two Genlocks, one Genlock Emissary and one Hurlock Alpha. I'm sorry, but that's boring.I would much rather find out about Geralt's amnesia, make some interesting moral choices, and smash a plot to destabilize the world than kill two Hurlocks, two Genlocks, one Genlock Emissary and one Hurlock Alpha over and over and over again.

 

[Garrison72]

Sorry if I sound greedy by asking for long gameplay that also has quality. I really think you can have both. TW1, Fallout, and Oblivion being notable examples.

 

[Corylea.723]

Sorry if I sound greedy by asking for long gameplay that also has quality. I really think you can have both. TW1, Fallout, and Oblivion being notable examples.

Yes, you can have both. But CDPR is a small company that has only sold one game. They need to get a game out the door in order to raise the money to continue to operate. Given that economic reality, our choices boil down to a shorter game with quality gameplay or a longer game that has a lot of padding. Twenty years from now, when CDPR is an old, well-established company with lots of resources, then we can ask for the moon and they'll be able to deliver. I hope my poor old hands don't shake too much to play by then.

 

[Flash]

I still believe that shorter gameplay than in TW1 doesn't mean a short game by general standards. TW1 is a very long game between 60-80h on first playthrough, so TW2 being shorter might end up without the "very" part in "very long".

 

[tnz]

It's a matter of taste. Arcania's engine looks only little better than engine from Gothic 3. Screenshots look pixelated, textures are of average quality, shadows and lightning is at standard quality. Nothing that could impress me.Compare these screenshots:

And we have one more advantage. You can be sure that our screens are not fixed in photoshop - all of you could see that game's trully looks like on those screenshots.

 

[secondchildren]

Man, I'll love this game ;D

 

[Garrison72]

Sorry if I sound greedy by asking for long gameplay that also has quality. I really think you can have both. TW1, Fallout, and Oblivion being notable examples.

Yes, you can have both. But CDPR is a small company that has only sold one game. They need to get a game out the door in order to raise the money to continue to operate. Given that economic reality, our choices boil down to a shorter game with quality gameplay or a longer game that has a lot of padding. Twenty years from now, when CDPR is an old, well-established company with lots of resources, then we can ask for the moon and they'll be able to deliver. I hope my poor old hands don't shake too much to play by then.

Point taken. Let's hope it doesn't take twenty years though! I hope the W2 makes them all independently wealthy. They deserve it.