[cipher86]

I found the Prologue to be decent.  Not incredible, but it was alright.

Act 1 I thought was awesome.  Yeah I was playing errand boy and running back and forth across the massive level, but it didn't bother me nearly as much as it should have.  I was having a lot of fun with the alchemy system, getting into the characters, playing Dice Poker, and generally getting into the Witcher.  The finale left a BIT of a bad taste in my mouth because I was expecting something more epic from the beast - the notes left from the previous Witcher indicated that there would be some sort of question, but I killed it with an Aard stun and one left-mouse click.  But overall I enjoyed it, because it was all new and promising.

And now I'm in Act 2, and everything that I noticed as a MINOR nuisance in Act 1 has grown into deal-breaking issues, because the game keeps getting more complex and the minor problems have become glaring.

There's a ton of dialogue here, and that wouldn't bother me at all (am a fan of Baldur's Gate and Mass Effect), but the VAs are so devoid of emotion that I find myself bored while listening to it.  I've turned on subtitles, but that doesn't hide the other issue: a lot of the dialogue is disjointed.  It's like they had two lines they wrote at different times, and then slapped them together to make a complete conversation.  I can't count how many times Geralt has ended one subject and the NPC abruptly shifts to spilling other details entirely, or how often Geralt has said he's leaving/been dismissed by the NPC and it's automatically led into more banter.  Aside from that, why does Rammsmeat get mad at me for insulting him in his home when I'm clearly talking to him at the inn?  Why, when I try to give someone a gift and then realize I don't have the right item at that point in time, am I completely denied ever speaking with them again (aside from getting a canned response)?  A good example of this is a lady in the swamps - she wanted a shawl in exchange for info on the local herbs.  I opened the gift window, noticed that the shawl wasn't on me (I had actually left it in storage), closed the window, went to get the shawl (which involved a ferry ride and some running), came back (which involved another ferry ride and more running), and I couldn't initiate dialogue with her anymore.  This isn't the only time I have been denied dialogue with an NPC, but it is one example.

All NPCs look the same.  Okay, not all, the main characters look different, and I haven't encountered an NPC that looks like Raymond (yet), but why does Coleman look like one of Rammsmeats thugs?  Why does Vincent look like Jean Pierre?  Sure, junk NPCs should all look alike because they're junk, but there's no reason Vashka should look 100% identical to all the ladies walking the streets of Vizima.  Changing the color of the clothes is not nearly as diverse as putting a new face on existing clothes.

Alchemy - I need strong alcohols to use as a base for potions.  Understanding this, I keep plenty on me.  But why does there need to be so many different kinds of strong alcohol, when they all have the same effect?  Yes, in real life you want diversity because otherwise everything will taste/look/feel the same, but it's a game, and having 8 different kinds of items that serve the exact same purpose only leads to inventory clutter.  I have a total of 7 strong alcohols spread across 4 inventory slots.  Why is this necessary?  Why does Swallow only last 2 hours, but Tawny Owl 8?  All it means is I have to spend more time making Swallow potions (more than 7 makes another stack so I don't like going beyond that), stop to rest more often (or drink another potion) to get rid of the built-up toxicity, so I can have consistently low health regen, but at least I'm able to survive in fights and keep on with the errand boy quests.

Combat is a sore spot as well.  Sometimes I will click an enemy and Geralt will do nothing.  I will not get a notification of the enemy dodging, I am not stunned or knocked down, but regardless nothing will happen.  When I am surrounded by a few enemies, I will quickly tap a direction to get out of it - but now that I need to use the defensive maneuver, it doesn't want to operate.  However, when I'm just holding down W and trying to strafe to the right (D), I will suddenly do some sort of pirouette or side roll, when all I wanted to do was move up and right a bit, and then attack.  The clunkiness of movement in combat has led to many deaths, so I've resorted to just using signs, which is incredibly effective, so much that I'd call it overpowered.  A few enemies approach, I blast them with Aard, pick one off with a coup de grace, then run away until I can blast off another Aard, do another coup de grace, etc.  I put it on hard for challenging combat, but apparently the only challenge of combat is keeping distance from enemies while my Endurance meter refills.  And why does Geralt autosheathe has sword after being out of combat for a few seconds?  All it means is that the enemy that's just now getting into range will have the advantage because I have to wait two seconds while Geralt goes through the animation of pulling out his sword again.  Just like the conversations, combat is disjointed.

Research.  I need to gather Tongues for Siegfried.  But, I can't just kill the enemy and take his tongue, I need to research where the tongue is.  I already have plenty of research on that creature, but apparently I need more to gain the tongue-removal ability.  How do I get it?  Through a book, which is very expensive, or by rummaging every house and talking to every person (which can be hard to tell who you have and haven't talked to when they all look the same) in hopes that they can provide the information for far less.  This is TERRIBLE design.  Geralt may have amnesia, but if he still knows where to put it, he knows how to remove a tongue.  Or a head.  Or a brain.  Seriously.

I'm 12 hours in.  I know someone's going to say something like I haven't played long enough because it doesn't get real good until the X mark, but I feel the game already WAS good.  Act 1 set the game up perfectly, and now it's just been one annoyance after another.  I keep trying to push on, but it's gotten too disjointed for its own good.  Enhanced Edition it may be, but it definitely could have used some more attention.

[Seeker]

Well if that the way you feel then that's the way you feel maybe you will get into it more maybe not.
TW is not for everyone.
I do hope it picks up for you if not  that's OK too hope you find something that you will enjoy more.

[cipher86]

I've been trying.  I really have.  I just finished Act III, landed at the Lake, and I've got to put this down.

Despite all the problems I listed in my main post, the reason I kept pushing on was because I heard how great the story was.  Great it may be, but the storytelling is so horribly disjointed that I find myself facepalming too often.  They can't even get very simple things straight - for example, when Azar Javed escapes at the end of Act III, it plays a flashback scene explaining how Azar could have easily defeated Geralt at the Mage Tower in Act II, but for some reason "chose" not to.  It was actually the exact opposite - Azar was so terrified of losing that he summoned the Professor to save his hide, and they both had to bail because Geralt was kicking so much ass.

Did they even read their own script before writing these scenes?  Did they even read their dialogue to make sure it was conveying all facts of the story properly?

For all the awards this game has won, I can't believe how unpolished it is.  It literally boggles my mind.  This topic may come across as trolling, but I am just so completely disappointed and shocked at how bad it is.

[Vilgefortze]

the cutscene doesn't really say they "chose" not to kill him. They managed to poison him and ran away before he recovered. From Javed's point of view, he was saving his hide. From Geralt's point of view, they had a chance to kill him while he was down, but didn't.

[cipher86]

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the cutscene doesn't really say they "chose" not to kill him. They managed to poison him and ran away before he recovered. From Javed's point of view, he was saving his hide. From Geralt's point of view, they had a chance to kill him while he was down, but didn't.

And I'm sure if I slog through the MMORPG-styled quests designed to pad the game's length, I might find some disjointed reason for why they poisoned Geralt after he had the upper hand instead of early on so they could take the books from the Mage Tower and then run away, and why the Professor chose to die fighting him in the hideout instead of using plot-poison again and running away.

[Vilgefortze]

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....and why the Professor chose to die fighting him in the hideout instead of using plot-poison again and running away.

Well...that might be because he was injured, and on the ground, and this time, he was depending on the crossbow bolt to do the job. He didn't expect Geralt to parry it. He tried another exit strategy then, which landed him in the kiki queen's gut.

I get what you're trying to say. Quite a few people had issues with the version translated into English, and complained that it was not properly scripted. Hopefully they'll do a better job with TW2. Till then, enjoy TW1 for it's superb story, picturesque setting and engaging gameplay.

[cipher86]

I really enjoyed the two books that are now in English... I love this game with Polish VO... maybe eventually a fan-made English subtitle mod will get released that conveys everything accurately... unless it was as disjointed in the Polish version?  That I do not know, but it makes me wish I understood Polish...

EDIT:  What if I somehow got a copy of a Polish version of the game?  Would the English subtitles in that be better, or am I just dreaming?

[Vilgefortze]

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EDIT:  What if I somehow got a copy of a Polish version of the game?  Would the English subtitles in that be better, or am I just dreaming?

If you don't understand Polish, the English text will still look disjointed. I thought that's what you had a problem with....

[cipher86]

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EDIT:  What if I somehow got a copy of a Polish version of the game?  Would the English subtitles in that be better, or am I just dreaming?

If you don't understand Polish, the English text will still look disjointed. I thought that's what you had a problem with....

Yes, I was just wondering if somehow, magically, the Polish version had better English subtitles.  Dumb but I wanted to dream, because I know I could really REALLY enjoy this game if it just made more sense.

[Vilgefortze]

Um...
*waving his hand in front of cipher's face*
You will now forget what I said. You will not remember anything. You will forget my objection to the idea of the Polish edition having the same subtitles. You will go back to your dream. Return now to your world of make-belief and be happy.



There. That's better. Isn't it? :)

[e-ahmet]

cipher86,

it's actually possible that Geralt is killed by Azar before the fight at the tower.

If that's what you're loooking for :P

Also, I thought that it was kinda lame how Azar actualy didn't/couldn't  kill me in the end of Chapter II too. I thought I was gonna be over with all that salamandra related stuff at that chapter and there was gonna be some other main plot/quest w/e. I thought the story was a bit dragged but through the game I thought the game had a good story overall and it was fun. I still think its one of the best games I've  ever played.

[*Tommy*]

Remember also that this is the 1st game put out by CDPR and it might have a few faults here or there but for the faults it might have look at how many things were done right

[cinarea]

from your arguments I assume that The Witcher is your first cRPG, because compared to all other cRPG`s issues you have pointed out are minor and irrelevant.

I really advise you not to play any M&M or Baldur series, because they have far more boring, unrealistic and annoying features than TW1.

[redneck1st]

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from your arguments I assume that The Witcher is your first cRPG, because compared to all other cRPG`s issues you have pointed out are minor and irrelevant.

I really advise you not to play any M&M or Baldur series, because they have far more boring, unrealistic and annoying features than TW1.

Well now I'll have to admit that I've played the Baulder gatest series as well as for the NWN series and both of them weren't all that bad. But will have to admit  that even though TW has its faults like most cprg's for which I've played over the years all and all ti's a great game. Some of the better weapons could have been gotten earlier on as well as for the ravens armor. Hopefully this will be changed in TW2. As well as for the game crashes. Also they should have given you an alternate way to get the mutigens.

[Pangaea]

As much as I like this game, I must admit I also noticed some of the issues the OP mentions. And having started a new playthrough now, the whole thing seems to have more errors in the beginning than what I remember from the end. Some conversation options (or NPC replies) don't really make sense in the context. Geralt says things he shouldn't really know, or ask about things he shouldn't know. Sometimes I just go "WTF?"

Agree with the comment about weapons too. I didn't bother to reforge any swords (and lost my Harvall somewhere in the Salamander hideout while trying to pick up stuff) so didn't really have good gear until the very end. The 5000 oren jacket can be gotten early, but then we only get the really good one in the last chapter or so. Not enough time to enjoy these things.

The low number of NPC designs is often mentioned, and is perhaps the most obvious flaw with the game. It is quite annoying. Would be great with some way to tell if I had talked to a person (or he/she had new info) without actually talking to them. Like a grey name-tag instead of blue for everybody (yeah, there's yellow too). Same with buildings. Especially in Chapter I there are so many huts and such, and it's hard to know which ones you've been in. I try to do things systematically now, but it would be nice with a different icon or text if I had already visited a house.

I also found it odd that there didn't seem to be any special use for a lot of the ingredients I found late in the game. Like the mutagen and several other items I only had 1 or 2 of throughout the game (and I barely sold a thing throughout the whole playthrough). I kept these in my inventory expecting to use them at some point in the end, but nothing happened.

Then there is the dice game that is just pure frustration at times cause it's so badly rigged against the player. Sure, reloading x times does work, but it gets annoying too when it takes 20-30 seconds to reload each time.

Yesterday I also noticed an odd issue. One of the ladies in the houses near the Reverand's place would say random comments with a French accent, like Antoinette in the Castle. But when I approached her she said something in plain English. Maybe she suffered from split personality disorder? :D

I've also experienced the non-movement in combat, and it can be terribly annoying. Like yesterday when I was trying to protect Vesna from those pesky dogs. Then she starts attacking them, they dogpile her (sorry :D), I try to attack the closest dog. But Geralt just stands there slightly swaying his body. "Move you ****!" BAM, Vesna is dead.

Overall these are all small issues and the game and story itself is great. But they still draw the game down a little bit, especially the very visible lack of a plethora of NPCs. Thankfully this should be fixed for TW2, as indicated in one of the diary videos.

[redneck1st]

Pangea,

After reading through your posting I would have to agree with you on other things for which you've mentioned about the game. As I to have a bunch of ingridients for which I've never used and doubt that I will ever use. Hopefully there will be a way in TW2 so that we will know that we've already been into certain buildings already. As there are some I think I had been in about 1/2 a dozen times and talked to the same person just as much due to the fact that many of them look alike. 

Just like the signet rings you don't know which ones to keep or which ones to sell as there are so many of them. I never got into the dice game this time through. For some reason it just didn't interest me as it didn't appear to go with the storyline for some reason.

Then there is somethings that end up in your quest inventory for which I've got no idea why they are there. Maybe I missed something. Wouldn't surprise me since this is my first time through the game. Two such Items are from the old ladie's house where shanni is staying at. The diary and that alcohol. I think I've got 6 of each in there. It's like WTF are these for?

Also the <re>load times are slow. Not to mention the games periodic unexpected crashes while playing or saving the game. I've learned to save often with this game as well as for a couple of saves each time I go to another area. That way if something happens I don't have to reload a save to far back.

Thought I was running 64 bit Windows 7 turns out after checking I'm on running Winodows 32 bit. Going up to 64 bit this next week hopefully. At least I'm going to start working on setting it up. Maybe that will help as I found out that Windows isn't utilizing all of my ram for which I've got in the system.

[*Tommy*]

@ redneck1st
The signet rings i sell as soon as i`m done with the chapter in which they were given

The ingredients issue is somewhat different as there are  ALOT of them though different carry the same primary and secondary elements ie han and celandine they both have rebis as primary and nigredo as secondary so there would be no reason to carry both unless your running short on one or the other. I usually check the inventory to see if i already carry something with the same values

The items found in Grannys house like the diary etc. go with whoever you invite to Shanis party

[Pangaea]

I had forgotten about the granny ingredients. I had two sets of those for some reason. Guess I picked up another set when visiting her house after the party. And I have a lot of dice sets, but I suppose we only need 1. Would be nice if we could remove these things since we won't need them, and thus won't have to scroll unnecessary to look for quest items.

True about the ingredients, and now I know there is no reason to save them. But on the first playthrough I expected they would have some special use since there were so few of them, and it was annoying to keep exchanging them for other ingredients when making potions, cause the game tends to pick one you have few units of. Therefore I kept a lot of ingredients I only had 1-3 of, and would drop 40-50 of something else.

The crashes are very, very frustrating. I've done everything I can imagine to try to get rid of them, but it simply won't happen. No matter what, crashes occur after some hours of playing. Now I keep saving every 5-10 minutes, so I have hundreds upon hundreds of saves. Really wish there was a way to sort out the crashes.

This time through I won't touch the dice game apart from the players I need to meet. And even that is annoying as hell. They have to do something about this minigame if they want to keep it in the game. If I get 5 equals of something, I almost expect the AI to throw 6 alike... It's that crazy. They've probably stacked the odds wildly against the human player to ensure it's not a cash machine, but it's so frustrating. I just want to beat the guy once, not fleece him. But it takes half an hour of retries each time, and I don't reload after every loss.

In the big scheme of things these are small annoyances, but it's still annoying and needs to be mentioned. I'm just so glad I beat Foltest on the 4th attempt, cause then I was ready to give up and just move on. Unlike the others, we need to hash through dialogue first with him, and don't have the option to play him again if we lose.

Another thing that irked me. Not sure if I don't recall it or it's strangely implemented, but when the Wild Hunt shows up in the cellar of the Church in Act 1, he says we have met before or something to that effect. But that is the first time we meet him IIRC. If he is already then supposed to speak through Leo it would be true ofc, as we met him in the Prologue.

[e-ahmet]

When KotWH says "we've met already before" he is talking about when Geralt was killed with a pitchfork.

[redneck1st]

Tommy With this being my first play through wasn't sure what I should/had to save and what I could get rid of/sell. But now I learned playing through the game the first time that allot of things can be sold off and that you don't need to keep them. Like the signet rings and allot of the ingredients. The next time I do a play through which won't be until after the holidays as I'm going to be upgrading to windows 7 64bit. I will be only keeping the ingridents for the potions that I use and selling the rest. As for the Strong Alchols, I'll probably make white gull with them as I found that White Gull can be used as a base for all other potions as well as for mutigens. That will save me some storage space as I've been carrying lots of different strong alchols around as well as for multiple ingredients for which have the same things.

As for the Party for which you mentioned at Shanni's I some how missed that there. Maybe it was cause I sent Alvin to Triss not sure. But this being the first time through probably a few things for which I missed which wouldn't surprise me at all. Don't know how much is changed by chosing a side though as so far I've only played through on the neutral which was by chance.

Pangaera- I will have to agree with you that I've learned to save the game often as well due to the crashes of the game. I wish it were like in other games that you could chose what you wwant for the save game. i.e. swamps; or what ever suits you. not have the game choose the same name for you and only the date and time being changed.  

As for the stuff in yourf quest Items will have to agree with you fully I think that I've got like 3 sets of dice why do we need 3 sets for? Also once the quest has been fully completed for that paticular thing why shouldn't we be able to either drop it or have it automaticly removed by the game itself? Why have it take up space if it's no longer needed?