Topic: The Witcher 1 thread.

[Pugnate]

I think the game needs to come out soon, while it still looks sweet.

[MysterD]

I hope it makes this year. I'm highly anticipating this one.

God, after the drought PC RPG's went through for a few years, those few years ago, Last Year was one of the best RPG years in numerous years. This year looks to be another one, w/ many fine RPG games and expansions planned for '07.

[Xessive]

Yeah, this one to look forward to! I hope it's awesome!

[Quemaqua]

A lot of RPGs have been annoying me lately, but this one actually looks unique and interesting.  I've got high hopes for it.

[MysterD]

Well, it has been a question mark, for some time, when in late 2007 to possibly early 2008 The Witcher would arrive.

SEPTEMBER 2007 is the official agreement b/t CD Projekt and Atari

The Witcher – Official Release Date!


It took us some time but finally we can confirm it… Official release date of “The Witcher”!

Atari and CD Projekt proudly announce that “The Witcher” premiere is scheduled on September 2007

Many fans have been waiting for the official confirmation of this date for a really long time. So, we are even more happy that we can give it to you officially. From now on, the speculations are ended, the time has come to present facts. We can say it straightforwardly that, unless the sky falls down on our heads - you'll play "The Witcher" after summer break! We hope this info will cut all the discussions concerning the prolonged production of our game short. September, as the release date, will apply to all the world markets where "The Witcher" shall appear. We will reveal the day of the premiere in the following months.

   

[MysterD]

New preview on 1Up

"This is a very international game," Madej says. "People from a more Anglo-Saxon culture, the U.K. and the U.S., will probably understand it better than Polish people." The Witcher is as easy to understand as any other fantasy RPG, which is to say it's a dense packet of jargon and lengthy mythology. The player explores an open world with Geralt, a professional monster killer (or Witcher, in the lingo), following a branching storyline punctuated with fuzzy moral choices.

As in other games in the genre, The Witcher is about options and possibilities. It is possible for Geralt to get drunk. It is possible for Geralt to sober himself up with a potion. It is possible for Geralt to align or not align himself with certain groups. It is possible for Geralt to study alchemy or learn new fighting styles. Geralt does magic. Geralt does swordplay. Geralt beds the ladies.

Sweet!
I have been lookin' forward to this one for some time.

The game's Central European origins are most apparent in its medieval towns and castles--the authenticity comes from being a short train ride away from the real deal--but CD Projekt is uniquely equipped to take the awkwardness out of crosscultural trade. Though this is its first original game, the company has long published and localized games for the Central European market, translating mostly hardcore RPGs like Diablo and Neverwinter Nights for gamers in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

"Our first localized game was Baldur's Gate," Madej says. "It was huge. Before, a game [in Poland] would sell a few hundred units. Baldur's Gate sold almost 20,000. It was the first big game in the Polish market, and it opened the market completely." The success turned CD Projekt into the go-to localizer for RPGs seeking shelf space in Central Europe. "Almost all the RPGs here are published by our company," Madej says. "That's why we decided to make one. We are RPG experts."

Cool.
I hope they learned good from all the Bioware RPG-classics that they ported.

One area where that expertise shows through is The Witcher's combat system. Sitting down to a play session guided by Michal Iwanicki, a 3D programmer on the team, I get the basic idea. "We wanted to avoid this typical Diablo-style clicking," Iwanicki says. He taps violently on the table. "Here, you click on the enemy, and Geralt starts his first attack. During that period, you shouldn't be clicking, because you will simply interrupt his attack. You have to wait for the proper moment." I quickly get a feel for The Witcher's timing-based style as Geralt gracefully slashes through hordes of some kind of swamp creature. It's a simple mechanic, but mixed with the various skills, magic, and weapons at your disposal, it adds some much-needed depth to the old formula.

I always liked the interesting idea of their combat. Sounds cool and different, to me.
I hope it works well.

Having grasped the basics, Iwanicki thinks I'm ready for the big leagues. "Now for the mature content," he says. "In the game, you can pick up girls. I'm going to show you where to find one, and you can go to bed with her." Um...OK. We hit the village and quickly find a milkmaid willing to chat. After being impressed with a bouquet of flowers, the maid leads Geralt off the screen to do the deed. In return, I am rewarded a playing card and a painting of the milkmaid topless and pouring a ladle of milk over her bare breasts. "Through the whole game, when you pick up a girl and go to bed with her, you receive a card like this," says Iwanicki. We observe an awkward silence.

[Pugnate]

September? Damn can't they hurry it up?

[MysterD]

September? Damn can't they hurry it up?

If it's to be unpolished and all, then yeah....
But, that wouldn't be good....

[idolminds]

Having grasped the basics, Iwanicki thinks I'm ready for the big leagues. "Now for the mature content," he says. "In the game, you can pick up girls. I'm going to show you where to find one, and you can go to bed with her." Um...OK. We hit the village and quickly find a milkmaid willing to chat. After being impressed with a bouquet of flowers, the maid leads Geralt off the screen to do the deed. In return, I am rewarded a playing card and a painting of the milkmaid topless and pouring a ladle of milk over her bare breasts. "Through the whole game, when you pick up a girl and go to bed with her, you receive a card like this," says Iwanicki. We observe an awkward silence.

I am so buying this.

[MysterD]

I am so buying this.

*is not surprised*

[Quemaqua]

That's... odd.

[Pugnate]

lol idol.

[Pugnate]

A nice new interview up at Gspot.

Damn this game is near Beta? I hope it comes out this year damnit.

[MysterD]

I just hope the game comes out polished, when it comes out -- I don't care if it's released this year or next year, I'm just sick of PC games getting the "We'll sell this game as Beta and patch it to a final product status after its release" type of attitude, which plagued games like NWN2 and Gothic 3.

I found this part cool in the interview w/ CD Projekt from G-Spot, myself....

One of the newer features we've implemented is a flashback system that conveys to the players some of the decisions he's made to trigger recent plot events. It's proven to be a great way to show players the impact of their actions.

I'd really rather not provide any new examples, as flashbacks are generally very important to the plot and we don't want to say too much about the story; we want players to make these decisions themselves. I can assure you that you'll find many opportunities to make meaningful decisions and see the consequences in The Witcher.

Damn, that sounds pretty sweet, if you ask me.

GS: Just how flexible is the story? Are there still the multiple endings? How much replayability is there? Can you have dramatically different experiences if you play through the game and make different choices?

MM: The Witcher has three separate endings, and the ending you see will be tied to the choices made in the game. Differences between the alternate endings are huge and concern many aspects of the gameworld. The player will have to make a lot of tough choices that will put the lives of friends and foes in danger; and in the end, the player's allegiances and decisions will determine more than just Geralt's destiny.

In a single play-through, it's only possible to learn about 60 percent of Geralt's available skills, giving players the opportunity to enjoy the game in a different way in subsequent adventures. The differences in character "builds"--the different ways you can customize your character--are very visible. But this is just an additional feature. Replayability, above all else, is based on the possibility of making different choices each time.

Sounds good to me.

[Quemaqua]

Minor spoilers about the consequences of one quest used as an example, but this is a great little preview from GSpot.  If you don't get excited about the game after reading this, you have major problems.

[MysterD]

Minor spoilers about the consequences of one quest used as an example, but this is a great little preview from GSpot.  If you don't get excited about the game after reading this, you have major problems.

I've been excited about this one for quite some time.

And I like their example that they site, of how your actions really do matter -- especially in the long run.

[MysterD]

The Witcher gets a M rating from the ESRB -- which will be a censored version of the game. Some nudity will be cut out in the US Version, it looks like.

Meanwhile, Germany is getting it uncensored -- completely.

PEGI Board's rating for Euro version of The Witcher is still pending...so, we don't know yet what it'll be rated, if they'll have to re-edit the game, or what...In due time, we'll find out...

CD Projekt RED informs that The Witcher has been rated by ESRB and USK.

ESRB (USA):

 

Rating: Mature

 

Descriptors:


    * Blood and Gore

    * Partial Nudity

    * Strong Language

    * Strong Sexual Content

    * Violence


 

USK (Niemcy):

 

Rating 16+

 

So, great news for the German gamers, you will be playing the full and uncensored version of The Witcher. No green blood this time!

European PEGI rating is still in pending.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2007, 03:18:28 pm by Funky Monk »

A few posts down, Funky Monk adds...

Concerning Germany - this is the rating for the uncensored version.

As far as the US is concerned this is for the version with censored nudity.

EDIT on 10/08/2007:
It is probably also worth noting that the USK Ratings Board (German) originally gave the game a 16+ rating for the Uncut version of this game.
Well, the game has been re-rated to 18+.

[Quemaqua]

I'll be trying to pick up an import copy, then.  Not that I need nudity in my games (and God knows I could use less of the kind of dumb shit Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit tried to pull off), but I've watched a bit of the Witcher TV show, and it's got some nudity... but it's tastefully done from what I've seen.  If the game is going to emulate the style of the show (which is a bit low budget, but tries very hard not to act like it, and does a surprisingly good job of presenting itself), then I'd prefer to have the uncensored version.

[MysterD]

I'll be trying to pick up an import copy, then.  Not that I need nudity in my games (and God knows I could use less of the kind of dumb shit Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit tried to pull off), but I've watched a bit of the Witcher TV show, and it's got some nudity... but it's tastefully done from what I've seen.  If the game is going to emulate the style of the show (which is a bit low budget, but tries very hard not to act like it, and does a surprisingly good job of presenting itself), then I'd prefer to have the uncensored version.

First the ESRB w/ Manhunt 2, now this....
Who's next for them....?

[idolminds]

Nothing will stop me from collecting the nudie cards in the game. Forget coins or stars or all that other bullshit, finally something worth collecting in a game.

[MysterD]

Nothing will stop me from collecting the nudie cards in the game. Forget coins or stars or all that other bullshit, finally something worth collecting in a game.

The ESRB might stop you, as the cards might have "Censored" Bars on them.

You might have to import the game or wait for some "unofficial patch", Idol.

[idolminds]

Duh, import. GoGamer FTW.

[Pugnate]

The UK version should be the same as the German version, right?

[MysterD]

GameSpot w/ a new in-depth interview and 10 min trailer for The Witcher

[Pugnate]

Yea I read that. Game looks exciting as hell.

News has further developed on that thread D posted above. Looks like the UK version will be the 100% unbutchered. Guess what I am pre ordering. Have been waiting for this for a long time. It seems like this might be the ultimate RPG.

[Quemaqua]

It's amazing to think that a game could come out of nowhere like this an do some of what it claims it will... but I sure hope so.  I've been getting very tired of standard RPG fare lately, and this one just keeps looking better and better.  I really need to finish getting what's available of the TV show so I can prepare properly!

And I must preorder on GoGamer so as not to miss any boobies...

[Pugnate]

I've been getting very tired of standard RPG fare lately

[MysterD]

System Requirements for The Witcher have been RELEASED

System requirements

Minimum requirements:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +2800
1 GB RAM for Microsoft® Windows® XP / 1536 MB for Microsoft® Windows® Vista
128 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support
(NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 or better)
8.5 GB available hard drive space
DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD-Rom

 

Recommended requirements:
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz or AMD X2 5600+
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or ATI Radeon X1950 PRO
8.5 GB available hard drive space
DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD-Rom

[Quemaqua]

Wow, they recommend quite the hefty CPU.  Generally my 4400+ is well above recommended.  Everything else is good to go, though, with exception of HDD space, because... you know the story.

[MysterD]

Wow, they recommend quite the hefty CPU.

The requirements are similar to those of Bioshock for the reccommendations...

Generally my 4400+ is well above recommended.  Everything else is good to go, though, with exception of HDD space, because... you know the story.

I think I will eventually need to switch my graphics boards out. the way things are going....

Bioshock, R6: Vegas, and The Witcher all want the GF 6600 as a minimum; mine's a GT, but it's barely meeting the minimum! Only a matter of time before more games want more than the 6600 as the min...

[Quemaqua]

Yes, we know.  You have your specs in your sig.

[MysterD]

Yes, we know.  You have your specs in your sig.

Oh...Ummm...Oh yeah....

*slaps myself upside my head*

[Pugnate]

Don't stop now...

[MysterD]

Don't stop now...

Not nice! 

[MysterD]

Looks like CDProjekt has some job openings -- namely, a few jobs for an X360 producer and programmer.

Maybe The Witcher will be coming to the 360 eventually??

[Pugnate]

Not nice! 

hehehe.

It would be a pity if this comes to the 360, but it seems to be the natural order of things. Once the console market enters the picture, there surely will be compromises. So far it looks like they are building a fantastic world though.

[MysterD]

Witcher went gold

The Witcher Gone Gold
According to Worthplaying, the PC RPG of the year, The Witcher, is now golden:

Immersed in a vivid but harsh fantasy world, the player assumes the role of a white-haired witcher named Geralt, a renowned monster-slayer-for-hire and master swordsman with superhuman strength and reflexes. While trying to regain his lost memory, Geralt unwillingly becomes involved in a world-shaking power struggle.

Features:

- Choose from over 250 special abilities correlated to attributes, combat skills and magical powers to build the character in a way best suited to tactical needs and style of play.

- All quests can be accomplished in several ways and the game has three different endings depending on the player’s actions and choices throughout the adventure.

- Motion capture performed by medieval fighting experts at Frankfurt’s renowned Metric Minds studio, resulting in 600 spectacular and authentic in-game combat animations.

- 60-80 hours of gameplay.

[Pugnate]

Great news. All I need is this and... well mostly this.

[MysterD]

GameSpot Video
-------------------
You might want to watch The Witcher in action, guys -- 11 min vid from G-Spot.

You get to see some sweet combat, one of the cities in the game-world, and the different camera angles you can choose from.


Soundtrack Music from the game
--------------------------------
A lot of the musical tracks from The Witcher, they have samples on their webpage for listening AND downloading purposes.

[Quemaqua]

Fuck, it's gold already?  This one is going to have to get moved to the back burner, then.  I can't handle the deluge that's coming right now.  I just can't.