An Impromptu Witcher Lets Play - now with the Witcher 2!

[Ushiromiya Battler]

I don't see why they couldn't.
4 or 5 of the books is about a female witcher/enchantress Geralt is raising, so they could probably make a few games about her

Again, books? I would like to hear more about these books, and if they are just spin-offs from the game or if they existed before the game. And, either way, how well are they written?

I fi nd them pretty well written.
Currently only 2 books are translated to english and the third one is coming this summer or something
Can't quite remember, I have it pre-ordereded
Anyways, the gasmes are based on teh books, and as far as I know kinda an expansion of the books or something.
Sorry, if I'm not makign sense kinda drunk, afgain sroorye
EDIT: oh and some inkeeper or something mentiones ciri in the witcher at some point, canæt rembemeber which one

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

so far, have you found any of the characters that you actually like?

Triss. I quite like her, what little I've seen.

Also Geralt is sort of sweet in a dopy way. He keeps trying to be badass. Or maybe that's just the voice actor.

Anyway, update time.

I've played a little more of the game. Geralt flirted with the girl at the inn, collected 10 barghast skulls, talked to the Rev, lit five torches, did... something? at a Place of Power, and walked the girl at the inn to her grandmother's house - all while being assaulted by tons of angry green dogs (barghasts). And apparently killing said fuck-ton of dogs has earned Geralt a tumble in a mill in about 24 hours. Oh, and then I killed some Drowners.

Which has brought me to an issue - I'm supposed to bring someone Drowner Brains, but apparently I need to read a book to be able to do that. Do I get that from the woman I gave the skulls to?

So yeah, that's what I've been up to.

Oh. Group style absolutely wrecks Drowners. Thanks for that advice.

Anything coming up that I should be aware of?

I'm in an oddly extremely similar situation. When I heard they were giving duke nukem 3d away a month or two ago I ended up getting an account and buying a few cheapies, witcher 1 and 2 being a couple of em.

That was the sale when I bought it too! I guess I should've gotten the Witcher 2 then as well, considering how good everyone says it is.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Well Steam tempted me enough to buy The Binding of Issac. I generally stay away from games that make you die a lot, but when I saw it for 99 pence I just couldn't say no any longer. And it was one of the best purchases on my account, that game is absolutely brilliant.

I've steered clear of buying many games from GoG so far just because they are cheap though. Being a console kid up until about 4 years ago, most of their games don't appeal to me.

 

[Lazy]

1) Any advice for a first time Witcher player? Things to do? Avoid? Funny stories about your first time?

I started playing the game myself not too long ago. Haven't finished yet, but here are some things I've found in my playthrough:

- Make good use of Aard (the force push thing.) Once you've upgraded it a bit it stuns/knocks down enemies a lot more often, leaving them open to finishing moves. I've killed boss monsters in one hit with this strategy.

- Don't underestimate group style. It's riskier than taking on enemies one at a time but if used correctly it can end even a large skirmish in seconds.

- Pick up lots of alchohol and ingredients and make potions whenever you get the chance. You may not need them most of the time but once you come up against a tough fight you'll be glad they're there. Make sure to keep and eye out for scrolls with new formulas.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update:

So, I found this cave full of random plant monsters. They KICKED MY ASS SO HARD. One on one wasn't so bad, although it hurt, but then I somehow spawned three at once. I had to run away and take a potion.

Then Geralt went and had sex with a girl in the Mill. And apparently my cards aren't edited, because there were very naked breasts on this one. On the other hand, this sex scene - such as it was - included a truly funny moment. The townfolk hear the girl orgasming, and think that the Mill is haunted. I saw the joke coming, but it was delivered with such sincerity - and the girl sounds nothing at ALL like a ghost moan - that it still cracked me up. Bravo.

After that, Geralt went and got drunk with a merchant who then made me fight MORE of the plant monsters while drunk. That sucked. Good XP though.

Speaking of XP, I've noticed something. The Witcher appears to run on D&D XP - as in, the same XP chart as 3.5 Edition D&D. I recognized the XP goals from my recent play-throughs of Temple of Elemental Evil. Also, enemies appear to have diminishing XP returns, also like 3.5 Ed D&D. Obviously the level up mechanics themselves are different, but I'm amused that they ripped off their XP system from D&D.

Oh, another thing I've noticed - shop keepers seem to be really strict about what they'll buy. I found out that I could buy a book, read it, and then sell it back for a partial refund (only 1/5th of purchase, but it freed up inventory and gave me some gold back). However, some store keepers wouldn't let me do this. They'd sell me the book, and then want nothing to do with it.

Anyway, onward. I played a lot last night, so I may be skipping a few things here. I found a dead girl in a crypt and killed some ghouls in the dark. And I got the fire spell! Yay! Although it just seems to spam fire rather than throw my weapon, so apparently I misunderstood the spell description. No matter, I got it.

Meanwhile, Abigale the witch made a potion that made the kid I "helped" earlier trip balls. I guess the girl with him died after all. That's sad. I say "helped" in quotes because the kid was already safe - I had them open the gates to save the girl, who apparently died anyway, along with like three guards who tried to help me. We'll come back to that thought later.

So, having helped all four townsfolk and sold some Ghoul blood and Drowner brains, I finally got the old priest to give up the location of the Salamanders. Apparently that damn inn keeper knew, so back to - oh, he's dead.

... FUCK! I can't store stuff anymore. I mean, sure, I can pick up stuff from the next inn I find, but my inventory is full of random crap that I haven't had a chance to store! I have SO MANY FUCKING BARGHAST SKULLS! And the people who would have bought things are not in the Inn anymore either.

Well shit. So moving on, I asked... Shani? The redhead from before with a not-very-memorable name - to wait at the inn while I kill some Salamanders. Groovy.

So I do so. Group style absolutely WRECKS them. Thanks again to whomever suggested that. I just focus on the boss and all the minions just sorta die. Then, once I'm minion free, switch to Strong style and finish the boss if he's still standing. Brilliant!

And.. hey Alvin. Why are you in a cave? I thought you were tripping balls with the witch lady. And who are these other kids? Simon and Theodore?

....

I thought that was funny.

Anyway, apparently child slavery for some reason? Whatever, I have walls to blow up. And... for some reason Abigale the witch is in the other half of the cave. That's weird. Hiding from an angry mob that I just spent an hour of gameplay attempting to avoid. Fuck. And... sex for some reason? Sure, why not.

Outside, the priest is being a misogynistic douche, so Geralt accuses all those guys he recently did quests for as the murders, rapists, and slavers they apparently are. And then he intimidate the priest and just walks out. Nifty.

And straight to boss fight and - shit! Abigale died. Reload. Redialogue. Reintimidate. And - fuck she's dead again, even faster this time.

So I reload my save from inside the cave and switch to the proper magic and group style BEFORE going out to redialogue again. And this time group style successfully keeps Abigale safe from the dogs. Horray! And - with no chance to save - angry mob! Fuck.

Double fuck - Abigale is DEAD AGAIN. With only two enemies left standing. Screw it. They're fucking dead and - and she's alive? What, was she just knocked out? Every other time someone falls over it's meant they were dead.

Wait. Does that mean all of my previous reloads were unnecessary? Fuck!

Which brings me to my first true annoyance with the game - I can't hold agro worth shit. This was a problem when I was escorting the waitress to Grandma's, but it was even worse here. I'm supposed to protect an NPC and I can't keep the enemies attention on me, but I also can't move when I'm surrounded, which means I can't adjust targets to help the NPC.

I was fairly okay with the combat before this. Now I'm getting annoyed. How many more escort/protect the NPC quests am I going to get?

... something tells me, the answer is a lot.

Speaking of which - Shani! Or whatever your name is. I get to... escort you across town, at night. And I am entirely out of inventory space. Wonderful.

Fortunately, aside from one Ghoul, nothing attacks. And then... wait, why is Geralt not killing Mikol the Rapist? Geralt killed all his buddies. I mean, I guess that might make them less likely to let Geralt into the city, but -

Oh! Sudden but inevitable betrayal! Horray! I get to kill him after all. Prepare to face Group Style, asshats--

Why did Geralt just drop his sword? No, stop, don't -- FUCK!

Chapter 2: I'm in prison.

**head-desk**

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

...?

Has everyone grown bored with this? If so, I'll stop posting (and delete the links from the OP). You guys seemed to enjoy my bumbling around previously, so I kept going, but if you're done I don't need to keep going. I'm still going to play more - other than NPC guarding, the game has been surprisingly Okay so far - but I'll only keep updating if you guys actually want to read about it.

Let me know one way or another.

 

[lacktheknack]

...?

Has everyone grown bored with this? If so, I'll stop posting (and delete the links from the OP). You guys seemed to enjoy my bumbling around previously, so I kept going, but if you're done I don't need to keep going. I'm still going to play more - other than NPC guarding, the game has been surprisingly Okay so far - but I'll only keep updating if you guys actually want to read about it.

Let me know one way or another.

No, it's quite amusing. You're giving me a vicarious look into the game until it goes on sale again.

But it's up to you if you think the effort is worth the typing. People often read LPs and then ditch, having amused themselves, without commenting.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

No, it's quite amusing. You're giving me a vicarious look into the game until it goes on sale again.
But it's up to you if you think the effort is worth the typing. People often read LPs and then ditch, having amused themselves, without commenting.

Ah! Thank you.

I guess I just assumed that people would want to make fun of me for... I dunno, being chased by plants or reloading the battle because I thought Abigale was dead. You know, in a friendly "ha ha, I did that the first time too" sort of way.

But sure. If nothing else, it lets me think about what I've just played from a critical standpoint a little more coherently as I attempt to recall everything important that happened to me in a session.

Anyway, thanks! Always nice to have a fan. ^^;;

 

[loc978]

I've been following it. Good stuff (I just don't have enough patience with the controls to do it myself).

 

[porous_shield]

I've enjoyed reading about you're exploits in the game. I've beaten it a couple of times over and is probably my favourite game.

Witcher is based on the Aurora Engine that they used to make Neverwinter Nights so it has that connection to DnD as well. I noticed the similarities when I played it but the fact it was based off of Aurora Engine surprised me.

If you have too many ingredients, why don't you just fool around with some potions? They'll eat up your reserves quickly and you could get something useful out of it.

Also, Abigail had sex with you, in part, to try and bribe you to take her side against the angry mob. Witcher is all about gray decisions as opposed to black and white like other games, so it's not about making the best choice, it's about making theleast[b/] awful choice.

PS: Aard is amazing.

 

[Frankster]

For what its worth im finding this thread amusing, but im not the most chatty of posters so ain't the type to comment after each update. I have bookmarked it for easy following too.

Also you previously mentioned Sailor Moon abridged in the anime abridged thread which ive since discovered and am now rather enjoying so yar, dont think no one is reading what you write

 

[DarklordKyo]

Protip: If you aren't fighting a boss, or a strong enemy, just keep doing the spin attack. Just over and over and over.

... spin attack?

You may need to explain how I do that. As I said, I only just reached the first town before I had to save and call it quits until later.

Nora means Group Style, it's the one that involves spinning your sword around like a madman and, as the name implies, is the best style for group melee. The three styles are represented by the small animal icons under the health & energy pools. Just space-pause then click the icon you want, or press the corresponding style key if you want to be a real-time-switching-badass.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I've been following it. Good stuff (I just don't have enough patience with the controls to do it myself).

I've enjoyed reading about you're exploits in the game. I've beaten it a couple of times over and is probably my favourite game.

For what its worth im finding this thread amusing, but im not the most chatty of posters so ain't the type to comment after each update. I have bookmarked it for easy following too.

Aww! Thanks guys! I'm glad everyone's enjoying this thing. I'll try to keep it amusing then.

Also you previously mentioned Sailor Moon abridged in the anime abridged thread which ive since discovered and am now rather enjoying so yar, dont think no one is reading what you write

Glad you're enjoying it. It is my very favorite abridged series - mostly because it is a show I love and they stuck with it. Well, for one full season and a movie, anyway. Here's hoping they get back and at least finish the Doom Tree arc.

Given this game's reputation, I can't think of a more qualified let's player.... uhhhh I mean, I'd really like to get your opinion of it.

^^;; Um, thanks?

And yes, my lack of Safe Search when using Google Image has revealed a lot about the Witcher 2's sex scenes. Previously, I thought those were from this game.

And yes, I am quite gratified to notice that, for the most part, the ladies have no problem making advances on Geralt.

Nora means Group Style, it's the one that involves spinning your sword around like a madman and, as the name implies, is the best style for group melee.

Yes, figured that out eventually. And yes, group style is fucking awesome. Which leads me to... (see next post)

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Has everyone grown bored with this?

Not at all! Do continue.

I was fairly okay with the combat before this. Now I'm getting annoyed. How many more escort/protect the NPC quests am I going to get?

... something tells me, the answer is a lot.

I don't remember all that many, actually. I also recall having issues right around the same point you're having them, and then never really having issues again right up to the point where I lost interest and stopped played, which was many hours later. I think you'll be alright.

I did quite like the story development that the townsfolk themselves summoned that horrible hound via their collective awfulness. That very grey, bleak world is what I enjoy the Witcher games for.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Chapter 2 Continues! Briefly. Edit: Or not so briefly. Wow, that was a lot for not that much gameplay. Perhaps I should be a bit less verbose next time?

Okay, so I haven't had much time to play today (lots of work, and then my spouse had me watch all 5 episodes of the Nostalga Critic talking about the odd numbered Star Trek movies), but when I did, this happened:

So, Prison. The Professor, with his tiny glasses, snarked at me a bit. And, while I really wanted to use my fire spell to burn him through the bars, the game just had me sit there and take it. I guess Mr. Bean Geralt is a little slow on the uptake.

So instead I played dice with the elf in the corner.

Let me pause for a moment and talk about the dice game. Poker rules, it says. The thing is, poker has strategy because there are only so many of each card. For you to have 4 of a kind, your opponent can't have any of that same card. With dice, everything is random.

Except this is a video game, so random goes out the window (sadly, in this case) in favor of... I have no honest clue. Only betting the minimum, I lost 15 gold to the Dwarf before I figured out how to quit without quitting mid-hand. I took me three rolls to figure out how to reroll the dice I didn't want to keep.

So, when I had to play the elf, I was less than thrilled. Fortunately, he mostly sucked and I ended up profiting a whole ONE GOLD. I'm so glad that mini game is being used so constructively.

Anyway, after that there's a Cockatrice to kill, and wouldn't you know it - a fat idiot wants to try. But no, I get to try brawling for the first time. I'm not quite sure I understand the mechanics since there are no flaming fist icons to tell me when to click, but I won, so who cares?

Question - will I be forced to fist fight for plot again? Should I actually practice this? Actually, the same goes for hte dice - is this ever necessary to advance the plot again? Please say no.

Onward! I have a sword. And new potions. And I'll get my old stuff back when I kill the monster. Great. Except I'm already out of inventory space (not alchemical, the regular stuff slots) so that is going to be an interesting moment. I wonder if my stuff will fall out on the floor or just disappear forever.

In any case, I now have a silver sword, and a quick rest lets me spend my most recent three points upgrading Silver Group style. Just in time for like a dozen drowners to rush me and be reduced to quivering bits in seconds. I FUCKING LOVE GROUP STYLE! I was right to spend all my points leveling the silver version. Fuck yeah!

I also met a Paladin. Well, he's a rose something or other, but he's also an entitled noble who hunts monsters for fun and whose father committed suicide by monster and choked it to death. Lovely. This is one NPC I don't give the slightest shit about - except, wait, he carries the torch for me!

Not like that (although that would be a nice twist - Geralt, the bisexual Mr. Bean. And a fanfic is born...) he provides light! Which I could do by carrying my torch, but then I can't fight, and fighting in the dark SUCKS ASS as the ghouls in the crypt before proved. So he's the moogle from Crystal Chronicles. Fine. Let's do this.

And... that's where I had to stop due to real life.

Anyway, that's it for today. I'll post again tomorrow noonish-afternoonish at work. When, hopefully, Geralt will get some cock.

Er, cockatrice.

 

[00slash00]

Damn you Good Old Games! You went and did it. You tempted me and I made the purchase, but I resisted your lure for months until... today.

When I installed the Witcher.

I wasn't going to play that game. I had reasons. And then you sold it to me for a dollar a few months ago and I couldn't say no to a 1 dollar game.

And now, as I looked through my GOG account for something new to play, there it was... sitting there, tempting me.

So, fellow Escapists... it is official. I am playing the Witcher.

Discussion Value: A two-fer!

1) Any advice for a first time Witcher player? Things to do? Avoid? Funny stories about your first time?

2) Discussion (or stories) about times when Good Old Games or Steam has had a sale and you bought a game you didn't want to play just because it was cheap (and then ended up playing it).

Also, if there's interest, I will post updates about my playthrough of the Witcher.

UPDATE: And the Avatar Winner is:

#4: Female Geralt SD

Thank to everyone who voted. ^^;; All two of you.

UPDATE 2:
Because it seems to be amusing, I'm doing a sort of impromptu Let's Play as I play through the game. This is in addition to the discussion topics above - and in fact continues to address certain points like my changing view of Geralt (Low Fantasy Mr. Bean that he is).

Skip to:
Chapter 1: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.404351.16751467
Chapter 2: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.404351.16758205

what was your beef with the witcher? that game is fantastic! in fact im currently trying to find time to play through the game for a 3rd time. i assume you downloaded the free upgrade to the enhanced edition, right?

i recently bought hydrophobia on steam for $1. my expectations were mariana trench low, considering id heard nothing good about the game, but i actually enjoyed it a fair amount. it was certainly worth at least a dollar

 

[The Madman]

Question - will I be forced to fist fight for plot again? Should I actually practice this? Actually, the same goes for hte dice - is this ever necessary to advance the plot again? Please say no.

No, you don't. Thankfully both the dice and fist fighting are completely optional from that point on and generally not really worth bothering with unless you're the type that has to get 100% completion.

Hope you enjoy the game. I rather like The Witcher, although I have to agree that it really feels padded at points. You could easily cut a chapter or two's content from the game without really effecting the main plot, and unfortunately most of the side-distraction stuff isn't terribly interesting either. Then there's the mediocre combat and a whole slew of other nuisances like the voice acting and translation/dialogue problems.

Still it was CDProjekt RED's first game so I'll cut them some slack, especially having seen how well Witcher 2 improved over the original. It's why I'm so excited for 3; if it has the same sort of leap in quality as between 1 and 2, we're in for one hell of a game.

And keep it up with the Let's play. Might not always comment but I'll keep reading.

 

[DarklordKyo]

Chapter 2 Continues! Briefly. Edit: Or not so briefly. Wow, that was a lot for not that much gameplay. Perhaps I should be a bit less verbose next time?

Okay, so I haven't had much time to play today (lots of work, and then my spouse had me watch all 5 episodes of the Nostalga Critic talking about the odd numbered Star Trek movies), but when I did, this happened:

So, Prison. The Professor, with his tiny glasses, snarked at me a bit. And, while I really wanted to use my fire spell to burn him through the bars, the game just had me sit there and take it. I guess Mr. Bean Geralt is a little slow on the uptake.

So instead I played dice with the elf in the corner.

Let me pause for a moment and talk about the dice game. Poker rules, it says. The thing is, poker has strategy because there are only so many of each card. For you to have 4 of a kind, your opponent can't have any of that same card. With dice, everything is random.

Except this is a video game, so random goes out the window (sadly, in this case) in favor of... I have no honest clue. Only betting the minimum, I lost 15 gold to the Dwarf before I figured out how to quit without quitting mid-hand. I took me three rolls to figure out how to reroll the dice I didn't want to keep.

So, when I had to play the elf, I was less than thrilled. Fortunately, he mostly sucked and I ended up profiting a whole ONE GOLD. I'm so glad that mini game is being used so constructively.

Anyway, after that there's a Cockatrice to kill, and wouldn't you know it - a fat idiot wants to try. But no, I get to try brawling for the first time. I'm not quite sure I understand the mechanics since there are no flaming fist icons to tell me when to click, but I won, so who cares?

Question - will I be forced to fist fight for plot again? Should I actually practice this? Actually, the same goes for hte dice - is this ever necessary to advance the plot again? Please say no.

Onward! I have a sword. And new potions. And I'll get my old stuff back when I kill the monster. Great. Except I'm already out of inventory space (not alchemical, the regular stuff slots) so that is going to be an interesting moment. I wonder if my stuff will fall out on the floor or just disappear forever.

In any case, I now have a silver sword, and a quick rest lets me spend my most recent three points upgrading Silver Group style. Just in time for like a dozen drowners to rush me and be reduced to quivering bits in seconds. I FUCKING LOVE GROUP STYLE! I was right to spend all my points leveling the silver version. Fuck yeah!

I also met a Paladin. Well, he's a rose something or other, but he's also an entitled noble who hunts monsters for fun and whose father committed suicide by monster and choked it to death. Lovely. This is one NPC I don't give the slightest shit about - except, wait, he carries the torch for me!

Not like that (although that would be a nice twist - Geralt, the bisexual Mr. Bean. And a fanfic is born...) he provides light! Which I could do by carrying my torch, but then I can't fight, and fighting in the dark SUCKS ASS as the ghouls in the crypt before proved. So he's the moogle from Crystal Chronicles. Fine. Let's do this.

And... that's where I had to stop due to real life.

Anyway, that's it for today. I'll post again tomorrow noonish-afternoonish at work. When, hopefully, Geralt will get some cock.

Er, cockatrice.

The fistfight doesn't necessarily follow the rhythm-based system. You do have a dodge button in the form of (I think) one of the mouse buttons, so it's mostly dodge & counter. Likewise, I could see Geralt at least experimenting just to see if he also swings that way, the experiment that turned him into a witcher both made him disease immune, and made him sterile.