It's a crapshoot. I've been playing it for several days, hours at a stretch, and I've experienced not a single error of any kind barring the really minor things I've mentioned. The only technical error is the shadows which don't quite work properly, and the only gameplay error has been that you can pick up multiple dice boxes which all count as quest items. Be warned - pick up one, and don't pick up any more! I only picked up two, but one guy on a forum I read picked up six. I don't know if there's any way to ever remove them, either.
But seriously, that's the extent of my errors. XP users have claimed to experience some crashes as well, but Vista users are the ones getting it the worst. Most XP users seem to be at least relatively okay.
Also, I figured out what was wrong with the cutscenes - it is related completely, 100% to the depth of field effect that it uses. I noticed the game proper never seemed to use this, yet there was a check for it in the option, and since the cutscenes were the only thing that was choppy, I started to wonder if that was the problem. Unchecked it, talked to somebody, and... wham. Smooth as silk. I don't know if its my video card or what, but whatever. I love the effect, but honestly, it makes very little difference in the end if its off.
Anyway, I'm thoroughly satisfied. This game is truly great. I'm definitely noticing areas where the dialogue suffers from being truncated. They really did utterly butcher the script. The lines are generally fine individually, it's just that a lot of the time they don't fit well together, and the end result is sort of a mess. However, there are other times when they work fine and it isn't too noticeable. But other than that, everything else is just getting better and better. I love the art design, the setting, the story, and the characters, and now that I've gotten into the combat, I'm seeing why people like it so much. It feels clunky at first until you realize how it's actually supposed to work, and when you're dancing like a mad idiot between targets, avoiding blows and all that... man, it looks beautiful and is actually good fun. I think the overhead camera is preferable for combat, though I prefer the over-the-shoulder camera more, generally speaking.
And this is a horrible, formless ramble of a post. Sorry. I'll go back and make a few highlights just because this is such a mess.
EDIT - Shit. 2nd night in a row staying up past 3 with this one. The end of the first chapter was spectacular, as was the beginning of the second. This game reminds me of so many other good games... it's great. It's new and nostalgic all at once. It reminds me of Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, the original Gothic, and a bunch of other stuff, yet it's totally got its own thing happening. My novel work is pretty much screwed for the rest of this week, I think. Damn.
