I beg to differ. Oblivion has never crashed on me once. But The witcher randomly crashed during the auto save whenever I exit a building.... and I cannot see where you can turn the poxy autosave function off... (it would save loading time)Aamaxu said:
After some tweeking, I got The Witcher to stop crashing too... but then I'm an Old Skool gamer, the type that likes too take the time tweeking the PC's setting to make the game work..
@Lord_Lethris:I've been playing games for 20 years now and I, too, dislike dumbed down games that are made to cater the "console generation" of gamers without respecting people that want in-depth games. However I don't like to "tweak" my PC's settings in order to make a game run. I do it, if necessary, but it shouldn't be necessary. Sadly it's a common thing nowadays. A game should be sold in a state that is playable.And I think an official forum is exactly the right place to voice your problems with a game (if you do it properly) and it's just not right to bash everybody who has an issue with the game. Sadly, ioler posted his issues in a rather unkind fashion and not really looking for help, not even answering people asking that he should specifiy his problems more. However, I don't see why this is a reason to be all over him and tear him to pieces.
I just got the game installed last night and played through the tutorial. The intro movie played flawlessly....The initial cutscenes were choppy and very slow so I made some minor changes in the video settings and the cutscenes played fine until I left the fortress. The first cutscene once I left the fortress was a disaster. Sound and video were out of sinc with each other and then the screen went dark on me and would not continue into the village. I could hear sound but everything was black on my screen. I had to do a hard reboot of the system. I launched the game again and loaded the saved game at that point and the cutscene played ok without a hitch..........All that being said I had no other problems and to say the very least I am quite impressed by everything about The Witcher!! I would be shocked if this game does not get the GOTY award or at least the RPG GOTY award!!!! ;D ;D
tada... its all in the read me and in the patch notes. Its about tweeking your system, not the game.I have highlighted the important bits ->Ceano said:
======================================================The Witcher V.1.1ReadMe FileOctober 22, 2007====================================================== IMPORTANTlease download Microsoft hotfix from the following location when playing the game on 32-bit Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105======================================================Table of Contents====================================================== 1. Minimum System Requirements2. Recommended System Requirements3. Installation4. Performance Tips5. Patch 1.1 Major Fixes6. Known Issues7. Copyright and Trademark======================================================1. Minimum System Requirements====================================================== OS (Operating System): Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +2800RAM: 1024 MB RAM for Microsoft® Windows® XP / 1536 MB for Microsoft® Windows® VistaVideo: 128 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 or better)Free HD Space: 8.5 GB available hard drive spaceSound: DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphonesDVD: DVD-ROM ======================================================2. Recommended System Requirements====================================================== OS (Operating System): Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (dual core) or equivalent AMD X2 processor or betterRAM: 2048 MB RAMVideo: 256 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA 7900 or faster with 512 MB of memory)Free HD Space: 8.5 GB available hard drive spaceSound: DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphonesDVD: DVD-ROM ======================================================3. Installation Instructions======================================================THE WITCHER PATCH 1.1:1) Start Windows® XP/Vista.2) Exit all other applications. Start the patch executable.3) You must select the same language that you used for game installation.4) Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing The Witcher Patch. THE WITCHER GAME:1) Start Windows® XP/Vista.2) Exit all other applications. Insert The Witcher disc into your DVD drive.3) If AutoPlay is enabled, an installer will start.4) If AutoPlay is not enabled, press the Windows® logo key + R to open the “Run” dialog.5) Type D:Autorun and click on OK. Note: If your CD or DVD drive is assigned to a letter other than D, substitute that letter.6) Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing The Witcher.7) The game will start automatically after installation is finished.8) Installation of DirectX®: The Witcher DVD-ROM requires DirectX® 9.0c or higher in order to run. If you do not have DirectX® 9.0c or higher installed, the installer will install the proper version.UNINSTALL NOTES:1) The patch can be uninstalled only during the uninstallation of whole game.2) DO NOT run file "removepatch.exe" from game's directory.NOTE: You must insert The Witcher disc into your DVD drive in order to play.======================================================4. Performance Tips====================================================== 1) The following video cards should be set to run at 800x600 with Low Detail settings:ATI RADEON 9800 Series, ATI RADEON X700 Series, ATI RADEON X1300/X1550 Series, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 2) The following video cards should be set to run at 1024x768 with Medium Detail settings:ATI RADEON X800 PRO, ATI RADEON X850 XT, ATI RADEON X1600 Series, ATI RADEON X1800 series, ATI RADEON X1950 Pro, ATI RADEON HD 2600 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 3) The following video cards should be set to run at 1024x768 with High Detail settings:ATI RADEON X1950 XTX, ATI RADEON HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX, NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 4) NVIDIA advises to download latest drivers: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_163.69.html ======================================================5. Patch 1.1 Major Fixes====================================================== Gameplay & text bugs fixed:- Fixed character development issues with some abilities and skills.- Fixes for some storyline related progression breaks.- Fixes for druids' day-night cycle in Act 5.- Fixes for sex scene with nurses in Act 5.- Signet fixes (some signets were received twice).- Fixed story incoherency regarding Erkyn in Act 3.- Experience gain indication localization fixes.- Mutagen potion - new fixes for showing up a message.- Fixed items used in eating animations.- Geralt's allies fixed to always react properly to all mosnters.- Bounty Hunter is Agent Smith no more (he doesn't replicate). Mr. Geralt, we missed you...- Echinopses and Archespores now use their own spikes instead of arrows.- Fixes for alchemical ingredients extracted from some monsters.- Raven Crypt - few fixes for geometry and placeables.- Fixed few places where player was supposed to meditate, but couldn't.- Fixed story incoherence in Berengar quest.- Berengar won't disappear on sight when sparing him.- A whole lot of localization fixes (some of them won't work with old savegames!). Code bugs fixed:- Fixed all diagnosed stability issues and crashes.- Fixed few gameplay issues with WSAD and mousedrive controls.- Alt-Tab related issues fixed (random crashes, hang-ups, cursor blocking).- Cat potion estimated time display - fixed.- Dropping items from the inventory fixes for better spread.- Weapon visual FXes fixed during dialogues.- Confirmation box shown when player uses Quick Load.- Tooltip fixes for lower resolutions (for example 800x600).- All read books now have the appropriate note in description.- Sitting animation fixes for few characters that sat beside the chair.- Alt-Tab fixes for dialogue lines and gameplay options.- Savegame option blocked around Aard throwing time.- Audio: rat squealing sound fixes for minimized mode.- Movies and cutscenes fixes for Alt-Tabbing.- AI: fixed NPCs chasing enemies that were no more.- AI: few poker fixes.- Fixed problems with items appearing back in storages.- Fixed blizzard problems with cutscenes and dialogues.- Fixed toxicity effect for Alt-Tabbing.- Finishers fixes - animation sometimes did not play.- When taking out an unknown item of the storage, the user can no longer see the name of the potion. Good one...- Fixed saving in tight places (player got teleported after load... sometimes).Art & sound bugs fixed:- Vizim's Temple Quarter: ~30 physics fixes; corrected barrels; ~10 decoration fixes.- Kaer Morhen: Wild animals fixes.- Sewers: commoners sleeping fxes; ~5 item properties fixes; ~10 skeleton placement fixes.- Vizim's Temple Quarter/Burning Vizim:The banner on the tower is no longer black.- Old Manor: Koschey boss movement fixes.- Mutants fixes for decapitation. That means no decapitation now.- Werewolf physics fixes.- Chainmail stand placeable now has collision surface (player/npc can't pass through it).- Celina brightness fixes for interiors.- Order knights lighting fixes.- Bread item fixes for eating animation.- More detailed model of Horse+Wagon for opening cutscenes.- Journal entry for crypts fixed now.- A child in epilogue cutscene doesn't look like badly sewn young Frankenstein.- Old lady and dwarves - idle animation fixes. ======================================================6. Known Issues====================================================== 1) The Witcher may exhaust virtual address space when running on 32-bit Windows Vista. Microsoft has released a hotfix that addresses this problem. Please download the hotfix from the following location when playing the game on 32-bit Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9401052) The following video cards are not currently supported: S3 Colt, S3 S27, S3 S83) The following processors are out of range: AMD Duron Series, AMD Athlon XP 2400+ through 3200+, AMD Sempron 2400+ through 2800+, and the INTEL Celeron Series.4) Some bugfixes mentioned above will work only if a game is restarted from scratch, for some others a corresponding act needs to be restarted.
Oblivion's a more stable game than The Witcher, in my experience, but I'd rather eat badly prepared beef than well-cooked dog poo. ymmv.
At the end of the day, words are just something we attach definitions to, and they're not always consistent with the definitions others attach, so yeah, it all comes down to whether you wanna consider it an RPG or not, and most people consider Oblivion an RPG. Does that mean I should just bend over and think and say that what the masses tell me to, and not use own judgement? Unfortunately many people do think like that, because it appears to be some sort of huge effort, and unfashionable, to think for yourself nowadays. Not that one's inherently worse or better, of course, I just happen to be in one camp, and generally dislike ones who are in the other.Whether it matters or not is also a matter of taste. Some people who like to play Oblivion would probably not like to be tarred with the kind of brush that comes with playing Role-Play-Games.I think I was gonna say some more stuff... sorry, I got lost in thought...
I didn't play the game for that long, something like 50 hours, I didn't finish the main story and couldn't bring myself to, after I got to about level 30 and every single cave in the game was filled with five goblin chieftains and three shamans, and every single monster in the wilderness was an atronach or daedra, each of which took about 20 minutes to kill on the difficulty I chose. My friend played it about three times the length I did and came to the same conclusions I did.I don't remember that quest, but you're saying that the choice is between cheap goods or reputation? No brainer, what the fuck is reputation useful for in the game? I'm talking about real consequences, like actions that can lead to a useful informant getting killed and entirely dead-ending an investigative lead, which means you have to spend more time doing other things.For the record it's insulting to my intelligence and hilarious at the same time being told that I might not have "payed[sic] attention". Looks like someone should have payed attention in English class
Yeah, I do remember this one. It was creatively written but ultimately boring. There was an obvious "best choice", where you investigated and found the answer in three easy steps.Not to mention if you followed the arrow. The entire game required no thought whatsoever, you could train a monkey to beat it.
What a retarded thing to say. You're essentially saying we shouldn't be allowed to criticise this game in its own forums? I wish the game was perfect, but it's not. However, it's a fucking good effort and the developers deserve real feedback in order to put their obvious talent to use and fix the mistakes they made, in either patches or the next game they make.Just because I'm willing to overlook mildly annoying problems like a poor inventory system, slightly dodgy combat mechanics, and silly loading times to experience the rest of the game does not mean it's beyond criticism.
I already posted in my post that most of it was personal opinion anyway (and if I hadn't, it should've been obvious that it was, who else's opinion would I be using?). I never told you you shouldn't like Oblivion, did I? If you like drinking piss then I'm really not caring enough to tell you you shouldn't, but the point is I'm saying that if you do, then you're not someone I would want to share a drink with. See, a forum's a public place where anyone can voice an opinion, which just means you either have to argue logically and hope that someone understands/agrees or has the balls to refute your arguments properly, or jump into the fray with your penis out, for a waggling contest. Personally, I like to use both, because my logic is excellent and my penis enormous.Of course you can compare them. Saying that you can't compare two things because they're different is utter horse-shit. The whole idea of comparison comes from the fact that two things are different. What fucking use would comparing two things which were exactly the same have, unless they were, oh wait, different? Yeah, usually it comes down to opinion. By the way, my shit contains all the "basic elements" which make up food, care to sample?The argument in the first place was that Oblivion was an RPG, and The Witcher was not. I could have probably used a better argument to refute it but thought it was a good chance to spout some abuse at the former game whilst doing so, because I think it's dogshit, and everyone is entitled to my opinion.
Thanks for the input, and I agree (I never said that The Witcher was an RPG, just that it was far more worthy of the title than Oblivion) The Witcher is more a kind of combat adventure story game thing. I've never really liked lumping things into categories anyway, but as I said earlier, I just took the chance to inject some vitriol-saturated opinion.Something to think about, though: The Witcher is not the only game to give you a character with amnesia where you get to make choices to change the person you are(were?) or make the same mistakes again. KOTOR and Planescape: Torment are both games that did that, but they're often called RPGs, so why not The Witcher?I've also been handed character sheets(not my own) by GMs and told to play that character, but does that mean I wasn't playing an RPG, or just that the game as a whole and not that session should be considered one?I think my stance would have to be that no computer game could fully be considered an RPG. That's why we have the acronym CRPG, right?
At the end of the day, words are just something we attach definitions to, and they're not always consistent with the definitions others attach, so yeah, it all comes down to whether you wanna consider it an RPG or not, and most people consider Oblivion an RPG. Does that mean I should just bend over and think and say that what the masses tell me to, and not use own judgement? Unfortunately many people do think like that, because it appears to be some sort of huge effort, and unfashionable, to think for yourself nowadays. Not that one's inherently worse or better, of course, I just happen to be in one camp, and generally dislike ones who are in the other.Whether it matters or not is also a matter of taste. Some people who like to play Oblivion would probably not like to be tarred with the kind of brush that comes with playing Role-Play-Games.I think I was gonna say some more stuff... sorry, I got lost in thought...I can't name a game that didn't have problems according to the webLordLethris said:
On my system: In the last year more than I expected.Sure, I know that PC games have problems dealing with the sheer number of permutations of currently available hardware. I fully understand and appreciate that game developers only can test on a limited number of systems. Part of a top-class title should be extensive testing on as many systems as you can, because despite the abstraction layers that exist so programmers don't have to deal with every permutation of hardware themselves, they don't always behave the same way (different graphics drivers or graphics cards come to mind, for example). But that wasn't my point.Sadly the situation as I see it currently in PC gaming (I'm not targeting The Witcher) is that publishers often release a semi-stable beta version of a game and let customers do the testing. Sure, a gamer should be willing to get the most recent drivers for his hardware, update DirectX, perhaps disable fishy performance tweaks he did, but there's only so much a gamer can do to "conform as much as he can". I had freaking null-pointer exceptions in games. Those things only happen if the programmer forgets to check the value of a pointer and handle errors accordingly and definitely shouldn't be happening in released software customers pay money for.So, while I agree that a gamer should do everything in his capabilities to make a game perform properly, publishers should stop releasing beta versions of games. The main reason for this would be that the sorry state some released games are in destroy the trust of customers. Currently I can't expect a game to be tested or even to be done when I buy it. Not a good thing.@tyranith:While I obviously don't feel that strongly about Oblivion, I basically agree with you. Most of the time boring, unrewarding and mindless."RPG" is a funny thing. I've had discussions with many players (pen&paper and cRPG), and everybody has a more or less different "definition" of it. I, for example, don't think it's necessary that I have to be able to create a character from scratch to be playing an RPG. Others might say this is a main aspect. For me, a more important part is having to make choices. In that point, most cRPGs fail completely. To spare you the rant: I agree with you you miss understand... there is a difference between "feedback" and "trolling", and I did say I'm aiming this at the trollsTyranith said:
for example →- This game has a few issues that need resolving, looks to be a good game, but its spoilling my enjoyment for now. the Issues are XYZ, any chance they can get addressed? ← Feedback
- I had been waiting for this game for a long time now, and "stupidly" rushed to purchase it right away. "Boy was I disappointed". It will also be the "last game I purchase from the makers", which I suspect is the same conclusion many, many others like me will arrive at ← trolling
There was no "Obvious" best choice, you were not told you would recieve training from one or the other when compleating the quest, not to mention you wouldn't know if the training from one/both/nether of them would be benifitial to your charicter anyway.Tyranith said:
I wasn't suggesting you did. I was targeting the trolls.Tyranith said:
What I meen is you can't compare them because the cater for different tastes.Of course people will like one thing over another, say "this is good because..." and "thats crap because..." but other gamers will contredict what you said, which I Dont have a problem with......but its the constant raming down my throat of "it is this because I said so" that I do have a problem with.Its just a pointless, unnessasery arguement - to summorize this thread.Tyranith said:
- If you have a problem with the game, don't threaten to never buy from the developers again because thats just childish! 50% of the time it may be your system, and there are pleantly of gamers within theses forums who are more than happy to help with your problem.
- No game will run perfict for everybody "Out Of The Box" theses days, simply because we have a huge choice of hardware/software, not to mention 1000's of different MRP's that is almost sertainly different for everyone floating about in the background doing weird shit with resources. Security software/Virus Checkers can interfear with game load times for example.
- Spyware can affect parformance, and also cause crashing, and its somthing alot of people forget to scan for.
- I don't think even half of you are aware that the DEV's wrote a suggested setup for different systems in the games "readme" file... eh?
- Does anyone actually care that the games own DEVs also post comments in the forum? I think thats fantastic and shows dedication to players thoughts and Issues.
- Theses types of games are branded RPG's by the gaming censors (or whoever) because of sertain eliments.
- Why are we even discussing Oblivion in the first place?
Mmm hmm, ok fine then, compare a tomato and a sausage and tell me which one is a better vegetable. See, you are not making sense and you sound angry and aggressive. That's not cool.I will give my final opinion on The Witcher though, do with it what you want. Yall remember the Quest for Glory series by Sierra? Now, Sierra at that time was the leading developer for adventure games. However that one was a bit different. It was a specific scenario with predetermined outcome and you played a specific character. However your character had "STATS" which you could develop and an inventory with gear and quest items. So when asked, Sierra defined it as an Adventure RPG. That's The Witcher for me.And one final thing. Yes, Oblivion is a RPG weather you like it or not. I mean it's obvious you hate that game, maybe it was too hard for you or whatever? I dunno. Still, it IS a Role Playing Game by EVERY possible definition.PeaceTyranith said:
I have been locking myself in my house to playing this game since Friday, now I have finally completed it.I now feel really happy to now experienced the story, but also, very empty, I did not want to story to finish.But like most RPGs, they leave the ending to open to the next game, so I be looking forward to that as well.Thanks.