February 18, 2008
The Witcher Enhanced Edition Announced
New,
Improved and Enhanced Version of 2007 PC RPG of the Year Coming in Late
Spring
CD Projekt RED is pleased
to announce that in May of this year, a new and improved version of The
Witcher will appear in stores, a game already considered by many players and
media to be the best PC RPG of 2007!
Michał Kiciński, CEO of CD
Projekt described the idea behind The Witcher Enhanced Edition: "The leading
idea during the development of The Witcher Enhanced Edition is to create a
game that is devoid of all of the major criticisms levied at the original
release. The Witcher was received very warmly by both players and the media,
but we are well aware that it is not a product without its faults. There was
just not enough time to perfect certain elements, while we learned that some
things needed to be changed from the players themselves. Now we have the
opportunity to introduce changes that will allow The Witcher to provide even
more enjoyment. I hope that, as a result, the game will come even closer to
the ideal RPG."
Maciej Szcześnik, Project
Manager at CD Projekt RED, spoke about the content provided in the new
edition: "The Witcher Enhanced Edition will be a completely polished
product, something rarely found on the PC market. Of course, it would have
been best if the original edition could look that way. There were a few ways
the original game didn’t quite live up to our high expectations, but now
we’re trying to make up for it. Work is being done on two levels: one
concerns the removal of technical obstacles that hinder the player from
properly using the game and thus gaining enjoyment from it. Some of those
elements include the loading times, which will be reduced by 80%, the
stability of the game on different PC configurations, as well as an array of
smaller fixes that will increase interactivity and precision in combat. The
other level consists of very important changes that are not usually found in
patches. First and foremost, the English-language version will, for the most
part, be completely re-done. The amount of text in that version was reduced
compared to other language versions and that was said to cause a significant
decrease in immersion and atmosphere. Now the English version will be as
polished and atmospheric as the other language versions. Speaking of other
language versions, most of them will be improved in some way. Significant
changes will also be made in the German version, where we are planning to
re-record the voices for many of the characters. The most important
improvements concern those elements of the game that players criticized the
most. For example, over 50 new supporting character models will be added, so
that the player won’t run into the same person too often. The inventory
panel will be re-designed and improved, and some elements of the main game
screen will be polished. However, one of the biggest changes that will
greatly increase the player’s immersion in the game world will be
improvements concerning dialogue scenes. Both Geralt and non-player
characters will get over 100 new animated gestures which will make their
body language during conversations much more natural. Additionally, the
facial animation and lip-sync system will be re-created, making the faces of
the speakers now even more natural, as well. Of course, I’ve mentioned only
the most important changes, and that’s still a lot. There will be many
smaller changes that will make the game more fun. I’m convinced that, thanks
to those changes, The Witcher will almost be the ideal game for fans of PC
role-playing."
Adam Kiciński, head of CD
Projekt RED spoke about publishing and the availability of The Witcher
Enhanced Edition in different parts of the world: "Our goal is to make the
Enhanced Edition available to all players all over the world. We are
currently negotiating with our publishing partners to confirm availability
dates. Our release date in Eastern Europe is May 16, and thanks to the great
support from fans, we’re confident that we will be able to bring the game to
stores around the world on that date, as well. The retail release will be
quite important for us, as we’re not just improving the game itself, but
want to improve how the title is packaged. For example, aside from the game
DVD, we are planning to include a DVD with the D’jinii Mod Editor, as well
as two additional adventures, a video DVD with extended material detailing
the making of the game, a music CD with 29 tracks from the game, a music CD
with 15 tracks of music inspired by the game, an 80-page instruction
booklet, a 112-page official guide written by the game’s developers, and a
50-page short story written by Andrzej Sapkowski. There will also be a map
of the game world. As you can see it is quite an elaborate release and it is
important to us that fans all over the world be able to buy this version of
the game. Especially considering it will not be more expensive than the
standard edition of the game! Fans that have already bought the game need
not worry, however, because the new content and improvements will be
available to them in the form of a downloadable update."
The Witcher Enhanced
Edition not only means changes in the game’s mechanics or better graphics,
however. There’s also an included mod editor called D’jinni that allows
players to create or modify their own adventures in the world of The Witcher,
as well as two completely new adventures created by CD Projekt RED. The
first adventure, entitled “The Price of Neutrality,” tells the story of
Geralt coming back to Kaer Morhen and finding a mysterious camp near the
stronghold (3 new quests), while the second one focuses on Geralt’s close
friend, Dandelion, and his troubles in Vizima City (5 quests).
The Witcher is an RPG
about the adventures of Geralt, a professional monster slayer, and was
developed by Warsaw, Poland-based CD Projekt RED. The game is based on a new
version of the BioWare Aurora Engine, titled Aurora 2007. The story is set
in a world created in the books of Andrzej Sapkowski and sold all over the
world. The game has already managed to garner worldwide success, having sold
over 600,000 copies. It has received more than 45 awards and distinctions,
including the prestigious "Best PC RPG of 2007" from IGN.com, Gamespy.com
and PC Gamer (see the entire list of awards:
http://www.thewitcher.com/community/pl/awards/).
The game has also received very high ratings from players from all over the
world, which is reflected in the average player-review scores at such sites
as Metacritic (9.4/10), GameTrailers (9.1/10) and Gamespot (8.8/10).
