To me, the most important lesson BGS should learn from Witcher 2 is that there's a largely unsatisfied market out there - a market they've been moving ever further away from.

Arguably the single biggest reason for Witcher 2's success is that it has virtually no competition. Every other "RPG" series out there has been moving more and more toward AA/FPS, and RPG fans have grown more and more desperate for another great game. And the funny thing is that Witcher 2 still isn't that game - it's just the closest thing to it that we've seen in a long time.

If Skyrim fails to fill the RPG bill, that's just going to open the market up that much more for a true RPG - for an RPG in the grand style, melding modern technology with true roleplaying - deep and complex story and character, with choices and consequences and success and failure, rather than point and click action/adventure sword-swinging and shallow and half-hearted nods to superficial character development, and that game is going to take the gaming community by storm.

It's been a long time since RPG fans have had a game like that, and we're ready for one. If Skyrim isn't that game, something else will be, because the market is there, and it's hungry.

Not exactly. There is quite a bit more that you are not considering.

This i like.

Anyway no offense but i HAVE played witcher 2 and i HAVE finished it and i would only want something like the finishing moves but thats it the voice acting was great, good story blah blah but it is its own game and i prefer the style of elder scrolls not bashing or trolling on witcher 2 i would just prefer the way bethesda doe's it.

hardcoe old-school RPG fans are a niche market that will never really be profitable enough for a big-budget game. Look to indies, my friend.

This is like watching watching a worshipper being corrected by a deity. That's not to say anything bad about either party, but how does an internet dweller who games as a hobby refute the words of a professional video game developer?

Completely agree with the idea that the game shouldn't be spoon-fed to you. Morrowind found a good medium: you were dropped off at Seyda Neen, you made your character, you stole everything you could get your hands on -- done, you were then allowed to do whatever the hell you wanted, be that hoofing it to Balmora to deliver your papers to Caius Cosades or ripping off Fargoth for everything he owned or even testing out your newfound scrolls of Icarian Flight . . . You left the Census and Excise Office knowing how to move and look around, grab stuff, and interact with other characters, and then you were set off on your own journey in the wide world of Morrowind.

Oblivion, on the other hand, shoved you into that godforsaken beginner's dungeon that spoon-fed everything to you while managing to cram the (tedious) main quest down your throat at the same time. You manage to crawl out of that stinking hole an hour after you've created your character, and for me at least it takes away from the open feeling of the game.

Care to elaborate? I'm always open to opportunities to learn.

That was unexpected. I think Mitheledh will pretty much have to accept that now, after all, you'd know, being the developer of the game.

I'm always open to opportunities to [censored] directly at the devs, even for things they have no control over. Show us the Argonians, damn it! Tell us what all 18 skills are! And you damn well better have a publicly-released developer walkthrough at E3, or so help me god I'll complain about it on the Internet. Do you want that on your conscience, Vsions? Do you!?

Well unfortunatwly Im not really sure how much I can say or delve too deeply but....

In witcher everything is pretty much static so physics are probably not as inensive for the most part, you cant jump or reach alot of areas. We have to consider that a player can jump on the roof of a house and whatnot. npcs are pretty static and most of them dont really interact. you cant really bump them or interrupt them. Then there is also the time it takes to populate a large fully explorable world rather than a focused area, so resources are something to consider. You cant loot bodies, they also dissapear immediately. Most doors are locked and cannot be openned ever. I mean there is a ton more Im not covering but I figure I can share a little insight from a devs perspective. That being said I do think Witcher 2 is doing some great things and am really enjoying it when I have a little time.

Thank you.

One thing that both games have in common is they are both being run by in-house engines. I personally think the witcher 2's engine is awesome, only for the fact I feel it is very well optimized, and there's no feeling of my pc being wasted. I can turn everything on max and run the game literally butter smooth, at 20fps. Normally any game that I've played would be a stuttering mess under they same situation. I thought I was playing at 60fps the first few days until I used fraps and saw that it wasn't. It actually amazed me.

I'm not sure if everyone elses experience is the same as mine, but to me that shows theyve really focused a lot of energy into the engine. I pray skyrim is more closer to that, then to what oblivion was like, jumping up and down in fps, and stuttering like mad at some points, on the same pc. Gamebryo blew, and seeing as this new engine they've built is the product of changing and adding to another engine(that they don't mention what engine was the foundation) has me worried it's going to have the same issues.

I haven't played it, nor will I as I'm mainly a console person.

However, from what I've seen on the preview/review vids, the combat looks horrible! I hate the 'non-connecting' combat where you randomly run 'through' people and don't actually 'connect' when hitting them.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but the game looks very clunky as well.

We console players may be getting ports of the game.

You don't actually run through anyone, but there are times when I'm swinging and I don't hit. However there is a lot going on in battles, parrying blocking status effects etc. A big complaint I read is "the controls svck sometimes and don't respond in battle", when more likely then not you've gotten hit and have been stunned. I'm not sure what causes the swing misses though. But combat is actually very fluid and feels natural to me, but it is nothing like TES, and it does take some time to fully grasp. You'll either love it or hate it.

its true i've played witcher 2 it was fun but its simply not a game i can put 1000+ hours into

When you say NPCs are static and can't be bumped, are you referring to the Witcher 2 or Skyrim?

http://www.gtfo.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/gtfo4.jpg

Someone hasn't played the Witcher 2. Apart from the first 30 seconds, there is literally none of that, unless you go actively out of your way to seek it, and only then it's from prosttutes. To disregard a game because of an optional feature, when there's so much more excellent things about the game, is ridiculous. I'd strongly advise anyone who hasn't played the Witcher 2 to do so.

BUT with that said, the Witcher's world is much more static. The things you can do are much more limited in comparison to an Elder Scrolls game. Again, not strictly a bad thing. Make the game much more story driven, and handheld.
I don't think Skyrim should really look to much to the Witcher for inspiration, but with that said, i don't think it should be disregarded either.

Well certain features like reaction of NPC on weather is great example of easy to implement feature with existing resources of Skyrim,
more living taverns and better NPC conversations, non linear quest with consequences and alternative ways and various dialogue option.

Man, you should read more carefully.

He wasn't comparing the two games, but the reception of the witcher 2, a game which is selling good and it is receiving good reviews, despite not being made for everyone

I'm pretty sure the target audience is the same with both games.

This "we need maturity in the game, because we are mature" is not a really... mature thinking. From what little I saw from Witcher 2, all these mature elements seem to be the same as they were in 1, cussing and nudity everywhere, for no other reason than "because they can".

As for handholding, http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/5/25/.

Pretty irrelevant to this topic itself, but still has to do with Witcher 2:

Have you guys noticed the little difference there is between low settings and ultra settings in Witcher 2? Game still looks gorgeous on low and medium settings.
Graphics setting comparisons:
http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/artikel/the_witcher_2_assassins_of_kings,44750,2322215.html
http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/artikel/the_witcher_2_assassins_of_kings,44750,2322215,2.html

Wonder how they managed to do that.

Thanks vsions. You guys are doing an awesome job! Can't wait to see some more of Skyrim at E3.

This is how far I got in the OP. Seriously why bother?