2012-01-27 10:57:43

Not to shatter your expectations; those 2 screens are from the in-game cutscenes ;-) (same as the 4th screen I posted)

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"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2012-01-27 15:44:43 In reply to FireWire (2012-01-27 10:57:43)

theres a whole bunch here http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/26/witcher-ii-graces-xbox-360-april-17/

all look great... cant wait to see in motion.

2012-01-27 15:53:22

The art in this game really blows away other fantasy games lately.

2012-01-28 01:24:25

I agree. Has a really cool gothic/slavic vibe to it.

2012-01-29 00:54:29

Pretty much all settings turned on but Motion blur and vignette off. Too bad I haven't found a way to turn proper AA on in this game. Forcing AA just generates problems (white eyes or really blurry image) and ubersampling is too demanding :/





PS. That vignette setting is probably the most useless graphical feature ever.

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Hail to the king, baby!
Victory needs no explanation, defeat allows none.

2012-01-29 08:13:47

Damn it Iso, stop putting the 360 version to shame...thats all we non-super PC owners got :( haha

2012-01-29 11:09:05 In reply to GriftGFX (2012-01-27 15:53:22)

The art is fantastic!, April cant come soon enough!!

2012-01-29 13:01:00

Some more;

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"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2012-02-03 11:51:28 In reply to fabreezwait (2012-01-29 11:09:05)

Holy crap! this game cant arrive soon enough..

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** Yes We CAN!! **

2012-02-03 15:42:35

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJH-nFl0w0c

Looks incredible too.

:D

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Real Madrid C.F. fan.

2012-02-03 20:17:52

I hope console only gamers will appreciate what these guys are doing and those who like playing RPGs all go out and buy it upon release. It's a really great game and the devs are really knocking themselves out to make sure 360 gamers get the best quality possible on that platform.

I'm really disappointed in how CD Projekt has been treated. This developer supports gamers' positions and opposes DRM but instead of being rewarded by gamers with sales, W2 has been illegally downloaded 3-4 millions times. CD Projekt has now given up on pursuing the pirate sites and issued an apology.........TO THE PIRATES! Can you believe that shit?! I don't believe that was a smart move, but there's a pretty good chance that they've become the target of hackers in retaliation for going after the pirate sites. Almost like the pirates are saying we're going to punish and humiliate you even more for coming after us. So basically CD Projekt just decided to give up. Sad.

So I hope 360 gamers will make good on their enthusiasm for W2. Obviously I already have the game, but I'm going to purchase a copy myself to show my support for what these guys are doing. We need more good RPG developers in the face of all of these studios that only seem interested in giving us shooter after shooter.

And before I forget, anyone who still believes that PC gaming is dead needs to take a look at the pirate numbers. Obviously somebody is playing games on PC for there to be an average of 3.2 million illegal downloads per major game release.

The bad thing about that of course is that LARGEST number of PC gamers (those of us who purchase legally are about 2 million) represents a demographic that isn't paying for games at all.

2012-02-03 20:19:38

What the fuck hasn't been downloaded illegally 3 million times? Compete with free. It's the only way forward. I mean, compete with free, or ruin the internet for everyone. I guess there are options after all!

2012-02-03 20:27:28 In reply to GriftGFX (2012-02-03 20:19:38)

Well that's why I amended my comment, the average IS about 3.2 million now. They represent a large non-paying demographic. Seriously, their numbers are too huge to ignore anymore.

2012-02-03 20:31:09

I am pretty sure they didn't apologize pirates. They apologized for using methods that could have affected people, that have never even heard about the game. Their IP tracking method wasn't accurate. Or that's what I heard last time.

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Hail to the king, baby!
Victory needs no explanation, defeat allows none.

2012-02-03 20:36:19

And where are you getting this bullshit number where there are only two million people who buy PC games? Steam has more concurrent users than that on any given day, hitting 4.4 million recently. That doesn't even figure for all of those piracy numbers that correspond to people who have bought other things. These numbers are complete nonsense. Please don't pretend that piracy numbers correspond 1:1 with lost sales either.

Unless of course you mean two million customers bought this game on PC.. which would actually mean it did pretty damn well, especially on a platform where they're not paying a huge portion of license and distribution fees.

2012-02-03 20:45:18 In reply to GrimThorne (2012-02-03 20:27:28)

What makes you think that a currently non-paying customer would become a paying one if the internet is policed by corporate interests? :P

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Nerd Rage

2012-02-03 20:47:50 In reply to Isomac (2012-02-03 20:31:09)

Regardless of how it's been interpreted, the apology is ridiculous and they will end up hurting themselves in the long run. It's basically an open invitation. "Come and get it, we don't do DRM and we won't pursue you if it's pirated either"

2012-02-03 20:58:31 In reply to GrimThorne (2012-02-03 20:47:50)

Well i'm buying day one, so they have my money :)

2012-02-03 21:12:22 In reply to GrimThorne (2012-02-03 20:47:50)

How is that different than anyone else who isn't participating in a witch hunt and isn't using DRM? You know that DRM doesn't work, right?

2012-02-04 05:36:05 In reply to Megido (2012-02-03 20:45:18)

Well what did you think I meant? And I certainly wouldn't pull imaginary figures out of the air. But let's not bring up Steam, I'm not a fan of the service (which is really a virtual control) so let's just leave it at that.

But imagine what those figures would look like if you could count those download numbers as sales? PC gaming sales would be on the same level (if not higher) of consoles in terms of industry marketshare. Then I wouldn't have to listen to people constantly proclaiming the death of PC. But I WILL pose this question, Exactly how BIG do piracy numbers have to get before people admit that it actually effects REAL sales? Six million? Seven million? We're not going to have to wait long for those figures, especially the way things are going right now. I don't spar with people over these piracy figures but I'd really be interested in just what number it's going to take to convince gamers that it's bad policy.

Forget about being a well known developer with a big publisher to back you, what if you're just one of these small indie studios just starting out? Piracy makes it impossible for them to even get their business off the ground.I'm not sure how what I posted seemed to suggest that I was pro-DRM. I was speaking strictly in defense of CD Projekt, I think they've been wronged and they back the gamer's position against DRM. My point is that if this is how gamers are going to treat an ALLY against DRM, then they're all fucking hypocrites. It means all of their self righteous reasons for pirating games or downloading pirated games are all just bogus rationalizations that they make up to justify to themselves what it is that they're doing.

But as ridiculous as it sounds, the pirated game is the best version of a game, or at least the only version worth possessing. The legal version leaves MUCH to be desired.

The Pirated Verion-
Free
Can be installed on any unit without restrictions
It can be backed up multiple times and stored
It respects your privacy and doesn't scan and mine your personal devices for information
It doesn't take information and forward it to the "Big Brother" or "Mothership" Service

The Legal Version-
The purchaser even after paying doesn't actually own the product, but more of a license to play
Has limited installation
Back ups are allowed, but some only through service
Violates your privacy and that of your personal devices with crippling DRM and spyware
Imposes several restrictions or virtual controls on the purchaser's devices
Game is chained to services that make access difficult at times, other times nearly impossible
Any hardware changes in your personal devices can make accessing the game through services wearisome

Which copy would YOU want to possess? Notice I didn't say "own", that word just doesn't seem to apply to either version anymore.

On the developers end of things, they're watching just about everyone else get paid for their hard work EXCEPT them...............and then you add piracy as a final insult. Distribution services, publishers, game store used sales and then a nearly 4 million large (and ever growing) demographic that has absolutely no plans to pay for anything. DRM or not. Wait let me fix the used game sales a bit. Stores like Gamestop have been releasing used versions of games almost TO-THE DAY of launch, effectively taking a 95% or better profit over the developer. Simply put they're getting fucked by EVERYBODY.

I don't support DRM (or virtual control) but I do most certainly understand it's reasons for coming into being. I've also accepted that just like piracy, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Piracy IS the cause, DRM and other invasive methods such as witch hunting (which Valve has engaged in as well) are merely reactionary symptoms.

2012-02-04 05:47:19 In reply to fabreezwait (2012-02-03 20:58:31)

That's great :) And that's really what I was trying to say, for 360 gamers to support them because they REALLY need it.

2012-02-04 11:12:41

I support CDProject Red in their DRM-free release of Witcher. Now, that was only the GoG version though. The boxed version has DRM, i'm pretty sure.

Anyway, DRM doesn't make any difference, that's the thing. The pirates will just remove the DRM anyway. From a retarded corporate view, i totally understand the reasons behind DRM but it doesn't solve anything. No matter what lame sort of barrier they try to errect against piracy, it'll always be there. What you need to do is find ways of adding value to legit copies, that can't be ripped by pirates. Online features, preferably integrated through out the game, and micro transactions being the first thing that comes to mind. Mind you, not mandatory stuff, just things that make the legit compy more attractive.

Piracy is not by default the cause either. I think old ideas on ownership, corporate models for distribution and pricing are also very much causes that contribute to this. Then again, there are plenty of loathsome asswipes out there who gladly pirate games and would never pay. But they are just a statistic. They will not start paying even if the legit games start giving blowjobs and print cash :P

Also i think it's very much so worth noting that even if the witcher got pirated 3.2 million times, what does that really mean? How many copies were actually sold? How many of those 3.2 million would go out there and buy the game if it was not available for free? You can't just assume that piracy is hurting the developers this or that much, because you don't know that a single one of those pirates would have bought the game to begin with. That ofc does not make piracy right, but it's still worth giving a thought.

I also bought the withcer legit. Two times. On GoG to play it day 1, then the mega deluxe box that i now have stashed away, yet to be played :P

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Nerd Rage

2012-02-04 18:36:41 In reply to GrimThorne (2012-02-04 05:36:05)

Your defending those "reactionary symptoms" though. I really don't quite get what you expect here. CD Projekt isn't being treated unfairly, or at least any differently than any other software vendor. Simply choosing a better position for your paying customers doesn't mean that people are going to stop downloading your shit. Don't be stupid. Going on some ill advised witch hunt that hurts regular people while letting a million others fall through the cracks isn't helping either. Don't defend that shit. I mean your whole little rant about hypocrisy is really a pretty weak position. These "self righteous" pirates that only do such to remove DRM are one of the softer voices in this argument if they even actually exist (in practice). Most of the people who complain about DRM are already paying customers.

As for the rest of that, well, we're getting back into the concept of competing with free, which is what any reasonable publisher needs to do at this point in the game.. and they have been rewarded for doing so.

"Been wronged" is so over dramatic in this case. Shit happens to everyone.

2012-02-05 04:55:18 In reply to GriftGFX (2012-02-04 18:36:41)

Wow................shit happens to everyone. Well that's just fuckin brilliant, I don't know why I didn't see it that way before.

2012-02-05 14:43:41

DRM ? The only reason I didnt buy latest settlers game for PC. You Mr. GrimThorne are far to dramatic with all that pirate mumbling talk.