[Snuggler]

TW2 |OT| ENHANCED EDITION FOUND HERE: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...4#post36802174











CREATED BY



PLATFORM



TW2 TECH THREAD
Performance, Tips, and Measuring of Swords


TW2 SPOILER THREAD
Click at your own risk!


REQUIRED LISTENING
1 2 3













WHAT IS THE WITCHER
The Witcher is a fantasy tale set in the kingdom of Temeria, it was adapted from a series of novels by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher universe is a cut above your average fantasy setting thanks to it's mature approach to story telling and it's morally ambiguous themes. There are no true heroes or villains, only conflicting agendas and ideas. There are no color coded responses, only shades of grey.

The Witcher tells the story of Geralt of Rivia, who specializes in slaying monsters and solving human problems. Geralt is a Witcher, a breed of mutants who are specially trained to protect humans from monsters. Witchers are often reviled by common people, being seen as unnatural or dangerous due to their superhuman abilities and unusual appearance, but they are the unsung heroes that common people often turn to when they need to get something done. When Geralt's not busy plunging his silver sword through the heart of drowners, he can be found pounding dwarven liquor at an inn or bedding the wenches-in-distress who he has saved from monsters and humans who act like monsters.


THE STORY SO FAR
The story begins with Geralt waking up with amnesia, after being revived and brought to the stronghold Kaer Morhen by his fellow witchers. It's there that he reunites with his on-and-off again lover, the sorceress Triss, who he proceeds to tap despite being unable to remember who she really is. The castle is then assaulted by a group of bandits called Salamandra, who are led by Azar Javed and The Professor. The witchers and Triss successfully defend the stronghold from the attackers, but Javed and The Professor escape with witcher mutagen potions and Geralt is forced to follow them.

In his quest to chase the Salamandra and restore his memories, Geralt arrives at the outskirts of Vizima. It is there that he first meets Shani, an old acquaintance, who has taken in a mysterious boy named Alvin. His investigations of the Salamandra bring him to Abigail, a witch, who Geralt must either save or leave to be lynched by idiot villagers.

Geralt proceeds to the city of Vizima, where he continues his investigations in the Temple Quarter. In the Temple Quarter, Geralt first meets members of The Order of the Flaming Rose, a pro-human society of knights who defend Vizima from monsters and the non-human 'threat'. During his time in Vizima, Geralt reunites with Shani as well as his old friends, Zoltan and Dandelion. Geralt also becomes involved with a murder investigation which eventually leads him to Azar Javed, the mage in league with the Salamandra. Javed manges to knock Geralt unconscious and escape at the last moment.

Geralt awakes in Triss's chambers, which are located in Vizima's Trade Quarter. It is there that he meets Adda, the daughter of King Foltest who he dispelled a curse from before losing his memories. Geralt finds himself closer to the Salamandra than ever, while also being unwittingly included in the conflict between The Order of the Flaming Rose and The Scoia'tael, a non-human group who sometimes use violent tactics to fight for their rights. During a bank robbery, Geralt is forced to side with one of the groups if he is unable to find a peaceful solution. Eventually, Geralt finds evidence which leads him to the Salamandra's lair. With the help of the group he sided with earlier, he kills The Professor while Javed once again escapes at the last moment. Geralt leaves the lair only to find himself surrounded by royal guards, but Triss wisps him away with a spell before they can capture him.

Triss's spell brings Geralt to Lakeside, a settlement far from Vizima which is now in a state of major conflict between The Order and the Scoia'tael. Geralt finds that the boy, Alvin, and his friend Dandelion have been teleported to Lakeside as well. In his time there, Geralt is finally reuinted with the disgraced witcher he has been tracking named Berengar, who is unhappy with the life he is forced into. Geralt must choose to duel with Berengar or forgive him so that they can join forces in the final fight with Azar Javed. With or without Berengar's help, Geralt defeats Javed and sets his sights on The Grandmaster. It is revealed that Javed was simply working in the interest of the Grandmaster.

Geralt returns to Vizima, which is now in a state of civil war as the city burns. The Scoia'tael have begun a violent uprising, demanding equal rights for non-humans, while the Order do everything in their power to deny their rights and quell the rebellion. The Grandmaster reveals himself as the Salamandra commander and betrays the king, who tasks Geralt with tracking him down and killing him. At this time, Geralt must instruct the king to side with the Scoia'tael or the Order, depending on how he sided with previously.

Geralt tracks down The Grandmaster, who reveals that there is much more to his plans than it appears. It is also hinted that the Grandmaster may be Alvin in the future, who teleported away during the conflict at Lakeside. He claims that his actions, which involved stealing the mutagens to create a powerful army, were for the protection of Temeria, which is doomed to become an icy wasteland if the country cannot defend itself. Geralt decides that he did not have the right to make that decision, and ends The Grandmaster's life with his silver sword, which is reserved for monsters.

Geralt returns to the King, to inform him that The Grandmaster has fallen and that Temeria, if only for a moment, is at peace. It is then that a mysterious assassin's attempts to take the king's life. Geralt defeats him and discovers that he is *GASP* a witcher.



TW1 RETROSPECTIVE
Rock Paper Shotgun: how The Witcher dealt with choice
Eurogamer retrospective
Youtube: TW1 comprehensive review
TW1 final cinematic
Geralt meets his worst enemy


TW1 COMPLETED SAVES
Order, Triss: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FVFOJTQP
Neutral, Triss: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EKDCZW6Q
Scoia'tael, Triss: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8EMTWZTO
Neutral, Shani: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WQHMT19O
Scoia'tael, Shani : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L11DCRD1








ONE STORY ENDS AS ANOTHER BEGINS
The Witcher 2 begins two months after the end of The Witcher, when Geralt defends King Foltest from an assassin who is revealed to be a witcher. Geralt must track the assassins and unfold their conspiracy while being reunited with old friends and continuing to recover his lost memories.



SAVE IMPORT
If you've completed a playthrough of TW1, TW2 will detect your save and give you the option to import your choices. CD Projekt have said that the game starts the same way for everyone, but the repercussions of your big choices will be seen as you proceed through the game.
A few of your items, like the Raven armor, are expected to carry over as well.


NOTABLE PREVIEWS
Destructoid
Eurogamer
Rock Paper Shotgun
PC Gamer












A NEW WAY TO KILL
The unpopular timing based combat of The Witcher 1 has been scrapped entirely. The new combat system is influenced by combo-heavy action games like Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Basic moves - Geralt can alternate between quick light attacks and slow heavy attacks. To defend himself, he can roll to evade or block/parry.
Swords - silver (monsters) and steel (humans) remain. Geralt can still alternate between fast and strong attacks, but group attacks are unlocked with the swordsman tree.
Signs - Yrden, Igni, Aard, Quen, Axii return, and Heliotrope is the new sign. Signs can now be incorporated into a seamless combo.
Combos - linking moves like signs into a combo and using items mid-fight will require you to open a radial menu in real time, but time slows down to a crawl as you do it
Other weapons - secondary weapons like axes, clubs and spears return, traps and throwing weapons like knives and bombs can now be used
Enemies - greater variety of this time, they will have unique AI that requires the player to determine the correct approach
Potions - potions can no longer be used in combat, and health does not regenerate, all consumption must be done at a meditation spot (3 potions at a time)
[Combat overview]


ABILITIES
Leveling up allows you to upgrade four skill trees: Swordsmanship, Training, Alchemy and Magic. Upgrading abilities will raise your stats and unlock new moves in combat.

Training - regeneration, endurance, fortitude etc
Swordsmanship - sword damage, block efficiency, critical hits, riposte etc
Magic - advanced signs and a skill path exclusive sign that allows you to slow down time, poisoning, etc
Alchemy - increased efficiency and special moves using potions, bombs, mutagens, oils etc
[Magic & Alchemy skill trees] [Swordsmanship & Training skill trees] [Abilities screen]


ALCHEMY
Alchemy returns in TW2, and it has been expanded beyond potions to oils and bombs as well.

Potions - like TW1, mix items to create potions for anything from vitality regeneration to night vision
Oils - can be applied to weapons for increased damage or crit chance
Bombs - can be found as loot or crafted, used for long distance attacks with effects like stun or pure damage
Mutagens - applied to your abilities, gives bonuses like increased damage resistance, increased vitality and higher crit chance
[CD-P interview re: Alchemy]


CRAFTING
If you come across diagrams and the required items, you can have a NPC craft items such as swords, armor and traps. With the new crafting system, you can create 200 different items.
[Crafting screen]


INSANITY
The standard difficulty levels will return: easy, medium and hard. Easy is for players who simply want to experience the story, and hard is for those who wish to explore the entire combat system and experience some heavy resistance from their foes. TW2 will have a new difficulty mode, insanity. Insanity mode will feature an 'extreme' challenge as well as permadeath. This means that any time Geralt falls in battle, your save will be deleted. The mode is said to be inspired by Demon's Souls.


QUICK REACTIONS
Unfortunately, there will be quicktime events in The Witcher 2. They will occur during barfights and and some cutscenes. However, CD Projekt has given players the option to turn off "difficult" QTE's which will make them easier to put up with. There will also be some story moments where you will have limited time to make decisions.


WILL IT SUPPORT A GAMEPAD?

Yes, TW2 will support a gamepad. In fact, it has been demoed with it on numerous occasions. Everything from the combat to the list based inventory has been designed with a gamepad in mind.


UI OVERHAUL
Much like the combat, the user interface of TW has been completely overhauled. There will no longer be an isometric view or a point and click interface. The HUD has been refined and now has a much more minimal appearance. Simply put, the UI has been overhauled in a much more gamepad friendly and stylishly presented way.
[HUD] [Inventory] [Map]


THE RED ENGINE
The POS Aurora engine is no longer, CD Projekt have developed their own engine for TW2. The RED engine is intended to be much more flexible, so much so that it's already been optimized and tested on PS3 and 360. On the high end, it will take advantage of multiple cores, putting that expensive hardware to use.

The most notable aspect of the RED engine is that it allows for a streaming environments and a nearly loading screen-free experience. The only load screen you'll see is the very first upon boot up, the rest of the loading will be done in real time. This has enabled CD Projekt to create open ended environments that Geralt can explore freely without having to sit through loading screens as the game moves him to another map.
[CD Projekt on the RED engine]

[Press Kit Shots]
[Concept Art]

TRAILERS
the debut
prison break

DEVELOPER WALKTHROUGHS & DIARIES
dwarf town & questing
characters & consquence
combat overview
30 minute interview & footage

GERALT ON THE BATTLEFIELD
part 1
part 2
part 3

MISCELLANEOUS
a stroll through the environments
swamp action
VE3D preview





PREVIEW
convos & combat
character development


PROLOGUE
exclusive footage

*german language website, footage is in english




PREVIEW
exclusive preview
a living world

[Snuggler]

#1 (5/12/2011)
[CD Projeckt: TW2 Pre-Orders Hit 111,842]

#2 (5/26/2011)
[Removal of DRM, Patch 1.1]

#3 (6/2/2011)
[Patch 1.2]

#4 (6/3/2011)
[TW2 is coming to the Xbox 360]

#5 (7/20/2011)
[Patch 1.3]

#6 (8/1/2011)
[TW2 for 360 delayed until early 2012, "major DLC" planned]

#7 (8/10/2011)
[Patch 1.35]

#8 (8/17/2011)
[Version 2.0 update detailed]

Version 2.0 dev diary. - Technical + gameplay enhancements - New, more immersive tutorial - Dark Mode - new difficulty setting comparable to insane but with new "dark themed" equipment and the ability to save - Arena mode, which is "arcade like", and looks hell lot like Die by the Sword arena with high scores (Facebook integration) - Free - Release date: September 29th

#9 (9/27/2011)
[Version 2.0 corrections/amendments detailed]

Corrections and improvements to combat: 1. Numerous improvements have been made in the targeting system. 2. Parrying is now unlimited (even when Vigor is completely depleted), though parries no longer cancel all damage (maximum 50% reduction once the relevant ability has been acquired). 3. Responsiveness of game controls has been improved. This includes but is not limited to casting Signs, parrying, and attacking immediately after evading an opponent‟s assault. 4. Geralt‟s attacks are no longer interrupted by attacking opponents. Attacks are now contiguous and foes cannot interrupt Geralt‟s attacks by landing a blow. 5. Assorted fixes now prevent opponents from incessantly attacking Geralt after he has been knocked down. Geralt can no longer be knocked down repeatedly in quick succession. Also, he rises quickly while evading subsequent attacks. 6. Geralt no longer attacks opponents located behind other opponents positioned nearer to him. 7. The target locking system has been improved. Preference is now given to previously highlighted targets. 8. Target selection has been improved. Priority is now given to foes affected by a critical effect facilitating the completion of a finishing move. 9. The additional two steps Geralt took after mounting an attack with the W, S, A or D key depressed have been eliminated. 10. Attacks can now be continued even when a key controlling Geralt‟s movement (e.g. W, S, A, D) is depressed. 11. Attacks can now be continued if the attack key is depressed immediately after the final strike of an attack animation sequence. 12. Geralt can now pivot 180 degrees immediately after completing an attack. 13. Assorted problems with key responsiveness have been resolved. Keys no longer need to be depressed twice or more to trigger a given action. 14. A distance attack problem has been resolved. Geralt now mounts distance attacks (lunge with sword in hand in the Fast style) when opponents were located at a suitable distance from him. Other corrections and amendments: 15. Casting several bombs no longer blocks further inputs. 16. An option has been added to the configuration tool enabling aspect ratio to be set independently of resolution. 17. The amount of disk space required for game patching has been reduced. 18. The loading of selected Witcher 1 game saves no longer causes the game to crash. 19. A greater number of monsters now appear in the cave leading to Loc Muinne. 20. Improvements have been made in the manner in which monsters are spawned in the mist in Chapter 2. 21. The visual effect accompanying Adrenaline use no longer disappears prematurely. 22. Archers now draw their swords more quickly when Geralt approaches. 23. Mages no longer automatically cast shield spells when Geralt casts daggers at them. 24. The game is now paused when Geralt executes a finishing move in combat. 25. The troll in Chapter 2 has been corrected. Previously, in some circumstances he could not be attacked. 26. Physics on cast daggers have been improved. 27. The site for aiming daggers is now more visible. 28. Geralt‟s animation when he dies while casting the Axii Sign has been corrected. 29. An exploit in the fight against Letho has been eliminated. Previously, this foe could be killed by casting bombs in quick succession.30. An exploit related to the „Insane‟ difficulty setting has been eliminated. Previously, game saves could be loaded with difficulty set to this level, which was contrary to design intentions. 31. Camera positioning/operation has been corrected during the boss fight against the kayran. 32. Camera control via gamepads has been improved. 33. Assorted adjustments have been made in mutagen statistics. 34. The „Junk‟ filter in the Inventory has been adjusted to provide for correct item filtering. 35. In the Inventory, the dialogue window warning of prohibited actions has been corrected. 36. Assorted corrections have been introduced to the mini-map in Chapter 1. 37. Audio balance throughout the game has been adjusted. 38. Erratic character teleportation in mini–games has been eliminated. 39. Assorted adjustments have been made in animations applying to nekkers. 40. A minor bug in the “Scent of Incense” quest has been resolved. 41. Numerous minor fixes have been introduced in character lip-sync throughout the game

#10 (9/29/2011)
[Version 2.0 released]

What does your mother suck?

[Exuro]

Now THIS is an OT *applause* Can't wait for the game!

Also, I've already had the witcher medallion icon for a while. :P

[Nirolak]

Very nice OT.

[LiK]

INCREDIBLE OP. HYPE!

[~Kinggi~]

It is so beautiful. Glorious game this shall be.

[DaBuddaDa]

Holy shit this game is one week away holy shit holy shit.

[cleveridea]

Nice OT for what may be the GOTY now that ME3 is out

[Luthos]

Very good OT.

And oh man, it's already time for the OT.

My body is ready.

[RS4-]

I forgot it was coming out next week. Hopefully my PC can run it

[StuBurns]

Awesome OP, I can't wait to play this is like five years.

[Kyaw]

Well done man! :D
Great OT!

Also Kyaw is pronounced like 'Chor'.
The compressed images needs to go though.
Sorry, its just my big pet peeve

[Freyjadour]

Mmm Triss.

[MMaRsu]

Huge OT, pretty crazy Snuggler. But nice!

Anyway, I can't wait to someday play this on my new PC or wait for a console port :p. This game looks so amazing.

[iNvid02]

question: does w1 support a gamepad because i need to play that asap
hi5 for op

[Snuggler]

The compressed images needs to go though. Sorry, its just my big pet peeve

I tried to find the best quality images, but if you guys have a better source let me know.

[Darklord]

Yoink!

Nice OP. :)

[Darkgran]

It comes out next week????


Holy cow. I am so ready for this. Fantastic OP.

[Vasilisk]

HYPE TRAIN FULL SPEED CHOCHOOOO

Nice OT!!!

Ok people, one week and we'll be slaying monsters and banging sorceress

[dwebo]

May 17th will be a good day for single player games.

Now to just decide which one to play first!

[Gattsu25]

Nice!

So soon

[Sinatar]

GOTY 2011, I'm calling it now.

[Ferrio]

Wait the fruity bard is in it but not Shani? OH I KILLL YOU GAME

[antonz]

Yoink

Very well done OP. Hype is through the roof. Ordered a physical copy and a digital hehe

[MickeyKnox]

Witcher 2.

[Psi]

HYPE! This is my 2011 GOTY. Getting this off of GOG as soon as the preload is up.

Still not sure if I want to use a 360 controller or mouse + keyboard for my first playthrough.

[Salaadin]

Nice OP. Im so ready for this game!

HYPE TRAIN FULL SPEED CHOCHOOOO Nice OT!!! Ok people, one week and we'll be slaying monsters and banging sorceress

Or vice versa, the choice is yours!

[The Technomancer]

Godamn, I'm holding off on buying this game just because I don't want to play it until I've built a PC to do it justice.

[Discotheque]

Game of the year, the rest need not apply

holy shit. Hours of my life will be lost.

[Vyrance]

Ready for some dwarf cock!

[Chesskid1]

hey, in the OP you say it was demoed with a gamepad? anyway to see that? images/video, etc.?

i assume ill be able to use my ps3 controller emulating 360 controller. that really makes me happy since the first one was kinda button mashy + 3rd person, and i prefer to play those types of games on a controller.

[bluedeviltron]

Anal?

Sold.

[Kyaw]

I tried to find the best quality images, but if you guys have a better source let me know.

We have to wait for Dennis4K.
I cant find good quality images of those particular screens. I swear i've seen them before.

[akskiller]

Thanks!

[Darklord]

I'll be importing. I know the AUS change in minor but I refuse to buy any game edited.

[Snuggler]

hey, in the OP you say it was demoed with a gamepad? anyway to see that? images/video, etc.?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ravxVjnOoRM

it's offscreen footage and you can't see the controller, but the button prompts are there

[V_Ben]

Wow Snuggler, this thing is crazy. Nice work!

[Complistic]

All right! It's finally happening.

[GoncaloCCastro]

Great OT! I can't wait for the 17th!

[Chesskid1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ravxVjnOoRM it's offscreen footage and you can't see the controller, but the button prompts are there

wow awesome, thanks man :)

this looks perfect to play on a controller, like arkham asylum PC. hyped.

[Lafiel]

So excited for this, especially considering The Witcher was my GOTY of 2007.

Gotta pre-order my copy from GOG as soon as it's available.

[Typographenia]

Snuggler, fantastic work on the OT!
I knew you wouldn't disappoint. So much info! I can't wait to read it all!

edit:

Q: Both TW2 and Fable 3 for PC come out on the same day. I don't know which one to buy, what should I do? A: Get out.

I love it! : P

[Truant]

I'm gonna pirate the fuck out of this


















































wallet I have laying next to me, to get the cash to buy this from the store. New meme right there. I'm so excited for this. Bought the original two times, just to get the boxed version. Finished it five times. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.

[LiK]

I'm gonna pirate the fuck out of this wallet I have laying next to me, to get the cash to buy this from the store. New meme right there. I'm so excited for this. Bought the original two times, just to get the boxed version. Finished it five times. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.

FIVE TIMES? i'm on my first playthrough of the first game and it's taking forever to get through...lol.

[Nirolak]

Witcher 2.

They added back in the "The" at some point.

[Truant]

The first time takes forever, but enjoy it while it lasts. It's not the same after you've finished it once, although it's cool to see what the other choices lead to.

The best part of TW1 is Chapter 4. Hope there are moments in TW2 that have small contained, yet very well written stories like that.

[Jay Shadow]

wallet I have laying next to me, to get the cash to buy this from the store. New meme right there. I'm so excited for this. Bought the original two times, just to get the boxed version. Finished it five times. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.

I would have called you crazy, but then I realized that I played through the game 4 times over the years.

[Exuro]

Man the music from the EMPIK preorder is so good. <3

[disappeared]

Triss cot damn.

I'll have to play this one day when I finally update my PC. Until then...

[LiK]

The first time takes forever, but enjoy it while it lasts. It's not the same after you've finished it once, although it's cool to see what the other choices lead to. The best part of TW1 is Chapter 4. Hope there are moments in TW2 that have small contained, yet very well written stories like that.

i just finished Chapter II after 21 hours and i skipped a bunch of secondary quests. omg, such a big game.