The Witcher + Vista. Need information. *NOW WITH BONUS QUESTION*

[Sofa King Kool]

*New question post #14*

So recently The Witcher has caught my eye, and I'm considering picking it up. The only problem is I'm running Vista 32-bit, and I'm worried about compatibility issues.

The Vista compatibility list has it listed as as compatible, but I've seen countless complaints all over the web about bugs, install problems, and game crippling crashes associated with Vista. There are supposedly patches to fix this, but from what I've heard, they don't work.

I'm just looking for personal experiences with the game on Vista. Are these compatibility issues true, or are they being blown out of proportion?

Thanks.

[SynGamer]

It's compatible. I had it installed and it played fine.

[Sofa King Kool]

Really? Just like that? I've been surfing the web and Vista seems to be a gaming nightmare...

[Razzuel]

I run the game using Vista 64 Bit and I have no problems at all.

Amazing game by the way; hmm, maybe I should finish it soon.

[Sofa King Kool]

Well then, I guess I have nothing to worry about...

[CoffeeEdge]

Game works fine on Vista.

Honestly, I've yet to run into a Windows game that doesn't work on Vista (though to be fair, I haven't been trying droves of old games).

[crystalklear64]

I've had issue with it on Vista, but not due to Vista itself. I've had issues with Vista+ATI Control Panel+Witcher.

The game doesn't like to have settings forced on it apparently.

Turn off the control panel and you're golden.

[Sokkratez]

I have no issues gaming on Vista, much less in The Witcher.

[n25philly]

Really? Just like that? I've been surfing the web and Vista seems to be a gaming nightmare...

It's anything but that

[Hydro2Oxide]

Really? Just like that? I've been surfing the web and Vista seems to be a gaming nightmare...

The whole Vista being awful thing is just a tidal wave of exaggerations carried from the launch of it. In the beginning it was annoying but now it's fine save KotOR not working for me.

But don't get me wrong. If Ubuntu had all the gaming compatibility as Vista does I'd switch over to it in a heartbeat.

[n25philly]

The whole Vista being awful thing is just a tidal wave of exaggerations carried from the launch of it. In the beginning it was annoying but now it's fine save KotOR not working for me.

But don't get me wrong. If Ubuntu had all the gaming computability as Vista does I'd switch over to it in a heartbeat.

What issues? Unfortunately KOTOR installed no problem on my Vista computer

[Hydro2Oxide]

What issues? Unfortunately KOTOR installed no problem on my Vista computer

Huh?

Anyhow, right when I start it up it hits a black screen and a CTD. I've run it in compatibility as admin and turned of DEP.

[n25philly]

Huh?

Anyhow, right when I start it up it hits a black screen and a CTD. I've run it in compatibility as admin and turned of DEP.

I say unfortunately because it sucked ass. If you're screen is going black I would check the graphic setting and make sure your monitor isn't going out of sync

[Sofa King Kool]

Alright, I've been making a lot of threads in this section lately, so instead of making a new one, I'll just ask it here:

Is there some sort of proper way to determine how good a graphics card is? I have no idea what any of this Radeon GTX10000e958 PRO XFORCE GTS900065645FUCK8r GTX 980000TX BLAH BLAH BLAH means. I have an NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 120M, and I have no idea why it's better or worse than any other graphics card, or how I'm supposed to gauge it. Can someone explain to me how I'm supposed to rank GPUs?

[CoffeeEdge]

Alright, I've been making a lot of threads in this section lately, so instead of making a new one, I'll just ask it here:

Is there some sort of proper way to determine how good a graphics card is? I have no idea what any of this Radeon GTX10000e958 PRO XFORCE GTS900065645FUCK8r GTX 980000TX BLAH BLAH BLAH means. I have an NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 120M, and I have no idea why it's better or worse than any other graphics card, or how I'm supposed to gauge it. Can someone explain to me how I'm supposed to rank GPUs?


Benchmarks. Google. Tom's Hardware. HardOCP.com.

[crystalklear64]

"Compared to desktop graphics cards, the GT 120M is similar to the GeForce 9500GT or GT 120 (which also descend from the G96 core). Still the desktop cards should be a bit faster."

9500gt is about the same as the 8600gts which was the budget tier of cards last gen.

[Ruahrc]

Is there a reason that not many people are running XP64? If Vista is such a nightmare I am wondering why more people haven't decided to go with XP64 instead. Is it because of even more compatibility problems? Lack of or crappy driver support?

I was contemplating a new build in the possibly near future, and was thinking of trying XP64 as opposed to Vista. Also because I can get XP64 from my university computer store for $15.

I figure I can use XP64 until Win7 comes out and matures a little, if it indeed turns out to be the improved OS people claim.

Ruahrc

[Hydro2Oxide]

I say unfortunately because it sucked ass. If you're screen is going black I would check the graphic setting and make sure your monitor isn't going out of sync

It crashes. Like, "XXX Has stopped responding"

Anyways to bonus question, google "Video card name here review" and look at the benchmarks for the same games at similar settings. Then decide how much you want to spend.

[mogamer]

Is there a reason that not many people are running XP64? If Vista is such a nightmare I am wondering why more people haven't decided to go with XP64 instead. Is it because of even more compatibility problems? Lack of or crappy driver support?


Ruahrc

XP64 isn't very compatible with games. It is based off of Windows Server 2003 and really wasn't made for consumer uses.

[n25philly]

Is there a reason that not many people are running XP64? If Vista is such a nightmare I am wondering why more people haven't decided to go with XP64 instead. Is it because of even more compatibility problems? Lack of or crappy driver support?

I was contemplating a new build in the possibly near future, and was thinking of trying XP64 as opposed to Vista. Also because I can get XP64 from my university computer store for $15.

I figure I can use XP64 until Win7 comes out and matures a little, if it indeed turns out to be the improved OS people claim.

Ruahrc

XP64 is simple just poorly supported. You can give it a try, but don't be surprised if you have a lot of trouble finding drivers. It can be hit or miss as some have supported while most have not.

The key thing is that Vista is not a nightmare, nothing close to it. There are some very vocal people that hate it, but it's a smaller amount of the actual users than it seems. Add in that a good number of them either have never used it, hate it for some reason like how it got DX10 when XP did not, or are basing their opinion on a prerelease version they tried (it amazing me how many people can't figure out that a RC and a retail version are not the same thing) it's no where near the horror it's made out to be. What's worse is that due to this reputation now everyone assumes every stupid thing they do to screw up thier computer is now Vistas fault.

Make no mistake about it, Windows 7 is 90% Vista. It's amazing what a name change can do a product.

[Holy_Headshot]

I run 32-bit Vista, and I haven't had any problems, HOWEVER. I can't stress enuff the importance of getting the Enhanced Edition.....I had the original and the load times and glitches went away after I patched it. Some of the load times are still stupid, but just not as long.

[Sofa King Kool]

I run 32-bit Vista, and I haven't had any problems, HOWEVER. I can't stress enuff the importance of getting the Enhanced Edition.....I had the original and the load times and glitches went away after I patched it. Some of the load times are still stupid, but just not as long.


I ordered the Enhanced Edition. It hurt my wallet quite a bit seeing as how the original is only, like, $13 bucks now, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't just throw in the extra cash for better quality.

[SynGamer]

You can download just about everything from the EE for free from the TheWitcher.com site...

[Sofa King Kool]

It only works if you had the original game registered by a certain date.

Or so I've heard.

[SynGamer]

It only works if you had the original game registered by a certain date.

Or so I've heard.
Nope. I got the original late last year, installed it, updated to the new EE stuff and played.

EDIT: here's some helpful links (i hope);

1st download the EE Upgrade: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4432
Then download the EE English Language Pack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4396
You can also download the EE Soundtrack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4408
As well as the EE Bonus Pack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4435

The bonus pack contains an official game guide, a Making-of DVD with behind-the-scenes video footage, and a map of The Witcher's world.

And if that isn't enough, you can also download a new adventure for the EE called 'Side Effects': http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4438

[Sofa King Kool]

Eck. My package already shipped :/

Wish I knew that beforehand. Oh well...

[hero101]

where could I get the original witcher for $13?

[Sokkratez]

Amazon's New & Used section has new copies for $10 + $4 shipping: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000R2XJJK/sr=8-3/qid=1241430164/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&coliid=&me=&qid=1241430164&sr=8-3&seller=&colid=&condition=new

Does anyone know if the non-UK version of the Enhanced Edition comes with the extra making-of DVDs, the guide and the short story and stuff? I imported mine from GoGamer so that I could get the uncensored content and I've been wondering if that stuff exists for other regions.

[SynGamer]

Amazon's New & Used section has new copies for $10 + $4 shipping: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000R2XJJK/sr=8-3/qid=1241430164/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&coliid=&me=&qid=1241430164&sr=8-3&seller=&colid=&condition=new

Does anyone know if the non-UK version of the Enhanced Edition comes with the extra making-of DVDs, the guide and the short story and stuff? I imported mine from GoGamer so that I could get the uncensored content and I've been wondering if that stuff exists for other regions.

Uncensored mod can be found here: http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=17192.0

I was originally going to get the EE UK version but decided to just stick with my original The Witcher and do the upgrades.

[Sokkratez]

Yeah, the mod I know about, but importing it worked too. Just wondering if the US package came with that extra stuff too.. Amazon's product page doesn't mention any of it. Looks like it does, though. GameStop's store page shows the stuff in the description.

[Sofa King Kool]

Uncensored mod can be found here: http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=17192.0

I was originally going to get the EE UK version but decided to just stick with my original The Witcher and do the upgrades.


Ooooh, thank you. I wanted to uncensor it, but I didn't know where to find the patch.

[mogamer]

Nope. I got the original late last year, installed it, updated to the new EE stuff and played.

EDIT: here's some helpful links (i hope);

1st download the EE Upgrade: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4432
Then download the EE English Language Pack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4396
You can also download the EE Soundtrack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4408
As well as the EE Bonus Pack: http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4435

The bonus pack contains an official game guide, a Making-of DVD with behind-the-scenes video footage, and a map of The Witcher's world.

And if that isn't enough, you can also download a new adventure for the EE called 'Side Effects': http://www.sciagnij.pl/programy/p/wiedzmin/4438
Same here. I bought the game after the EE edition was announced and installed it on two pc's. I then updated both games to the EE upgrade and the English pack. The Witcher site has both of those to download.

Edit: After following the links, they take you to the same site as the The Witcher homepage takes you for it's downloads!

[mrfossey]

The EE, at least the UK version, is WELL worth $30. I was lucky enough to get it for $18. It contains enough extra stuff (map, DVD, two soundtracks, FULL game walkthrough, thick manual, and a short story that was the basis for the CG intro) to warrant paying a new price.

[Kaijufan]

Huh?

Maybe n25philly hates KOTOR. ;)