New TW2 Presentation: Opinions (Pros & Cons)

[Mothra]

I'm sorry, but which presentation do you all refer to ?update: I assume you mean the "gamespot" one ?well, I must say as much I love to see those amazing designs and locations,.....the HUD, Inventory and combat feedback is SUB-PAR compared to TW1. I loved TW1's inventory overlay, the ornate style and how/where the quickslots were placed. I don't mind that pause has given way to slow-mo BUT: omg, CallOfDuty pain effects ? are you serious ? Why even design a location or fight if will only see 30% of it.A radial menue that totally obstructs my view during a fight ?location name popups ? Hit "mouse1" to open door/examine body over and over again ?For a supposedly "mature" RPG you sure seem to cater to the frag-fest kiddies. Explosions ? Glow around characters ? What's next ? Smash "X" during cutscenes for instant-win ?the inventory system may look "cool" to you but for me it looks like an afterthought, totally disconnected from geralt and the game, like it was just copied over from another game.I do hope somebody from the dev team will be bold enough to completely explain all features of the HUD, feedback and if we can customize it to our liking (in my case: turn it all OFF) before the game gets released.The last dev diary showed a quick splash screen that CDPR has reached beta, which usually means: feature-complete, only polishing, no major changes to any aspect of the game. Wow, I am some kind of TW1 nut and played the old one about 14 times, then again a few times with mods (FCR) and each and every custom adventure out there. Way to smash the hype. I regret watching this. I'm devastated.

 

[freakie1one]

I'm sorry, but which presentation do you all refer to ?

I believe they were originally discussing the Gamespot interview in this thread.

 

[zax19]

And about radial menu vs. quickbar, look at the "enginic" ancestor of TW1, Neverwinter Nights. You can easily have both, though I hope the UI will not be minimalistic to the point of uselessness (ME2), some skill mouse clicking should be supported.Biggest fear: inability to bind certain actions under separate keys (ME2 again).

You can't compare a game you can pause (where you don't control each individual swing and feels more turn based than real time) to a game like TW2, that is more action-oriented. If you had your combat options on a hotbar or quickbar in TW2 it'd be ridiculous. Click hotbar key one for strong attack, click second hotbar button for fast attack, click yet another for each sign... all while trying to make sure you have Geralt pointed in the right direction? Click another hotkey to dodge left or dodge right? Remember, there is no auto-targetting like in NWN. You can't lock-on to enemies... I'm not sure what skills you would put on your hotbar in TW2. NWN and TW2 have totally different types of combat mechanics. How TW2 is currently setup you can bind your signs and actions to whatever keys you want, and if you're already pressing too many keys simultaneously you can press a different key to slow down time and give you enough time to switch your sword, sign or use quick item via the radial menu. If you aren't pressing too many keys then simply press whatever key you have it bound to (ex: 1-6 on your keyboard to select whatever sign you want to use).Also, they've already said you can bind actions to keys.

Hehe, we are talking about the signs, of course. U named many actions and just imagine having to use radial menu for every action you named. It'd require much more time.The reason I mention having both options is:a) Some people I know prefer using the radial menu (via the mouse) in NWN to quickbar.b) Some people use their skills via mouse clicking on their hotbar (e.g. WoW).WoW is a good example, just imagine using all your skills via radial menu, now THAT would be insane, hotbars are waaaaaaaaay more faster, practical and better. Remember, nobody is forcing you to use 1 to 0 keys and similar to activate your skills, I usually use WSAD + 1, 2, 3 + middle mouse + mouse clicking.Dodging? Of course you dodge using e.g. shift + WSAD. If you played ME2 you'd have known this is not the issue I've been referring to, but the fact that you had to use the same key to sprint, cover, jump cover and interact! Now that would be stupid.

 

[Mothra]

I prefer the TW1 style. Hit 4+right mouse, 2+right mose or just pack it onto its own key for one keystroke. TW does not have many signs, very easy to memorize WITHOUT any need for constant reminding or on-screen help. Seeing them fiddle around in that menue gives me the creeps.

 

[Whitechip]

I'm sorry, but which presentation do you all refer to ?update: I assume you mean the "gamespot" one ?well, I must say as much I love to see those amazing designs and locations,.....the HUD, Inventory and combat feedback is SUB-PAR compared to TW1. I loved TW1's inventory overlay, the ornate style and how/where the quickslots were placed. I don't mind that pause has given way to slow-mo BUT: omg, CallOfDuty pain effects ? are you serious ? Why even design a location or fight if will only see 30% of it.A radial menue that totally obstructs my view during a fight ?location name popups ? Hit "mouse1" to open door/examine body over and over again ?For a supposedly "mature" RPG you sure seem to cater to the frag-fest kiddies. Explosions ? Glow around characters ? What's next ? Smash "X" during cutscenes for instant-win ?the inventory system may look "cool" to you but for me it looks like an afterthought, totally disconnected from geralt and the game, like it was just copied over from another game.I do hope somebody from the dev team will be bold enough to completely explain all features of the HUD, feedback and if we can customize it to our liking (in my case: turn it all OFF) before the game gets released.The last dev diary showed a quick splash screen that CDPR has reached beta, which usually means: feature-complete, only polishing, no major changes to any aspect of the game. Wow, I am some kind of TW1 nut and played the old one about 14 times, then again a few times with mods (FCR) and each and every custom adventure out there. Way to smash the hype. I regret watching this. I'm devastated.

Wait for game to come out and if it's not what you expected from the reviews don't buy it that's it. It's too late to complain since they are in beta and also too early cause it hasn't come out yet.

 

[sweeper41]

From what I seen in the video, It looks like the game will be hard even on the normal settings.Especially if that bigass bug can pop up anytime.I don't know why they don't have better players do these demo.The guy playing got owned the whole time till he broke out the stun bomb. Yeah they stunbomb.Whats to stop people from making a ton of those and rolling over they whole game?I guess they will be some monsters/bosses that will be immune but it looks overpowerd.Being able to change armor looks greatDid anyone else notice at the top of the item menu that said weight 0/0 ? I guess there will be a limit to what can be carried.Thats good.I like that to some degree.Anyone have any idea what the gray circle next to the minimap was?There was also what looked to be a auto save ring pop up a few times during the demo.Thats good also because it sucks to lose 2 hours of play dew to forgetting to save.Helps me because I'm forgetful.I hope the loot isn't to random.I couldn't tell if he found the elven armor on that wizard or not.If so why would a wizard have armor he couldn't use?Over all I'm excited about this game.

 

[drazac]

I pretty much do not care about the Geralt looks, the design of the new inventory interface, radial menus and red damage indicators on screen.IMHO, the first Witcher was a great game, with great story, quests and lore. I am usually not a fan of a turn based combat which was present in the first game to a some degree, however, the animations of the combat sequences and role playing elements that were behind it, in my opinion, were quite good and very satisfying to execute and watch. It was not perfect, mainly because the synchronization of the enemies attacks were off.Navigating through inventory and changing the fighting styles mid combat was very easy, when you learn to use the keyboard shortcuts and visual icons of the different potions.In the interview, Tom said, that some people thought the combat was too hardcore... I do not know understand, what was so hardcore and difficult to learn in TW1... it was anything but hardcore... however, I suppose that my opinion is in minority here.To get back on TW2, the only thing I am interested in, is the amount of complexity in character customization, item crafting and overall item characteristics, potion making, combat and modability .Since, there is almost nothing concrete about the most things mentioned above, there is no valid reason to write anything about it.As for the combat, world location and quest shown in gamespot video... I like the locations and the quest seems interesting.. as for the combat, it was very action like and poorly executed and, IMO, it didn't looked as half as good as was in the first Witcher. I did liked the different enemy types packed in one group (mages, defenders, archers etc). I do hope that RPG elements will follow, for example, the defenders will be immune to stunts and knockbacks, mages will be immune to some magic attacks, archers will always be able dodge the strong style attacks... and so on.

 

[MrG721]

In the interview, Tom said, that some people thought the combat was too hardcore... I do not know understand, what was so hardcore and difficult to learn in TW1... it was anything but hardcore... however, I suppose that my opinion is in minority here.

Agreed, The Witcher 1 is my first ever played RPG and you can freely call me noob in this type of games.If I didn't had problem to handle combat system then experienced (hardcore) RPG player probably had less problems.

 

[wisielec]

I always think that there is some misconception in hardcore when Tomek is talking bout combat. What he means, I think, its not about complexity or difficulty but rather oldschool conception and click-a-monster attitude. Hardcore - you really must like the genre and the awkward system, be a RPG fan to get used to it and dont mind.Hardcore:

extremely explicit, intensely loyal, stubbornly resistant to change or improvement

or

is compelled with the same unmatched intensity, to "think how they want to think", to "do what they know is right" to "be what they want to be" and never let anyone even think they can stop them.

...or maybe porn, how should I know? ;D