Ok, so I was thinking about the possible console versions of this game, and I thought, wouldn't it be cool if for the console gamers, since they never got the chance to play the original, if they totally remastered the original on the RED Engine? I mean they have everything, the story, engine, everything. I think it would be possible and it would be and INSTANT buy for me and I think everyone else here. I just think it would amazingly cool :) CDP, if your reading this, you should defiantly look into it if you can, it would uber-cool. Plus I think it would be a world record for the same game remade 3 times XD

Keep up the great work CDP! :)

Actually they had planned a console version of The Witcher, there is also a developer diary floating around the web somewhere. Better graphics, much more animations, improved combar, higher poly count for Geralt and other characters and so on.

The name of the game was "The Witcher - Rise of the White Wolf".

They closed the project at some point though, I guess they wanted to concentrate their ressources towards The Witcher 2.

/edit: Video, englisch, german subtitles:

http://www.gamestar.de/index.cfm?pid=1589&pk=18419

Yeah I know about ROTWW. What I'm trying to say is, why pick the project back up ( if they actually do ) as it was? They could just use the RED Engine and totally redo the game. It'll be like another Witcher 2! :)

I think you underestimate the work that has to be put in motion-capturing, facial animations, cutscenes, building the locations and so on. They cannot simply take the source code and put the new graphic engine on top of it. That's not how it works.

So it's not simple, not quickly done, and not cheap. These days developing modern triple-A title for PC and console costs many million dollars.

And I would prefer if they concentrate of fixing up issues in TW2 first.

I didn't say it was simple, quickly done nor cheap....I just said it would be a cool idea. And of course it would cost them some money. I'm simply saying, they would just need to make the game, they wouldn't have to come up with the script or anything. Either way it would be a nice treat, I would love to see it some day ( And I'm sure we will ) :)

I know it's unfair towards console players, but I'd rather see The Witcher as a pc exclusive series with The Witcher 3 being developed next.

Maybe they can give your idea to an external developer, handing over their old project (Return of the White Wolf) and their engine. Other companies have done this before and while it didn't always work out (aka crappy console ports for PC) it sometimes did (Mass Effect 1 for PC).

I'm not quite sure why a lot of PC gamers are so against The Witcher series coming to consoles? I'm a PC gamer myself and I have no problem with it. I mean the PS3 ( Not sure about the Xbox ) would easily be able to run TWII at at least high ( With obvious things turned off such as oversampling ) just because it's CPU is a beast and this being a CPU intensive game it would run great I think. People seem to think that if the consoles get the game then the graphics will be toned down for TWIII ( though if that's all people care about then maybe they shouldn't play games ) but I mean it won't....that's why they have graphics settings in the PC version...

P.S. I'm not saying your one of these people BTW :)

look at the UI in the witcher 2, this is an example of why people are afraid to see a series they love dearly get sold short because concessions are made to bring it to consoles

other games have suffered alot worse!

of course I want as many gamers to play games like this, because it's an amazing piece of work and should be seen by all.. if that means it's heading to consoles then so be it :)
Oh and on the OP's subject.. i'd love to see a remastered witcher in this engine, pipedream for sure but it would be glorious :)

You misunderstood me...I'm not worried for the console gamers...no I'm plain selfish. :D

"PC-excluside" is rare these days. More often you can read "console excluside". And when you get a cross-platform-title you can bet that there is a good chance you'll never see the DLCs, because they are console exclusive then. ^^

I also see clear disadvantages when a game is developed cross-platform. You usually get a more dated graphics and an interface that is clearly aimed at the console audience, with simple presentation, biiiig letters and buttons. Dragon Age 2 for instance fits all those descriptions.

Console games are not bad, I would never say this. There have been some console-exclusive series that are rightfully regarded as brilliant and unique games. I'm just saying that in some areas - mostly technical and graphical - consoles mean a standstill in develpment. And we PC gamers usually get quick port of this standstill, poorly optimized and maybe months after the console version...

The Witcher 2, as a PC-exclusive game, is a sole beacon in the night. And I highly suspect that in the near future CDPR will announce a console version. And in an even further future the series will become consoles-first-PC-second... And while I do think that the series will sooner or later turn towards the console I never understood this specific argument. The UI of The Witcher 2 is the most complicated I've seen in ages. Different parts of the menu show different informations...differently. In the alchemy menu you have a good overview of your incredients, yet in the inventory you haven't.

Most detailed informations are shown in a scrolling menu that pops up when you hover over the item. You cannot compare your current weapon to a receipt you're about to buy. The font size is small. And so on.

There is no single feature that reminds me of console UIs.

Yeah I get what your worried about I guess. Though I don't get how a simplified UI is a problem. I like my UI's to be organized and easy to read. As long as they don't like take away stats or anything like that I'm good lol XD I'm sure if CDP does go to consoles that they will treat all platforms equally though, I really wouldn't worry about it. It's not like we're talking about EA lol XD

Yes...equally...that's the problem. A developer usually expects more sales on the console platform, so treating both equally means to make the console version the one to comply with.

Console UIs have to have bigger fonts, bigger buttons, simpler icons and graphics. That's because the usual resolution for console games is 720p (1280x720). The general graphics must be aimed towards a much smaller memory, both graphic memory and system memory, a slower cpu and a gpu that's dx9 (no problem in this case though, as TW2 engine is all dx9).

All these features are then carried over to the PC version. That's what it means to treat them equally, isn't it?

To convert the Witcher 1 to the Red engine would take A LOT of work. However, I would love to see that done. :) Hell, I'd even purchase the game a THIRD time (original, Enhanced Edition, Red Edition). LOL

Regarding TW 2 conversion to consoles: as long as the UI and controls regarding action, movement, etc. for the PC can work in both, it is better to downgrade the images, etc. for the console. It means no loss for the PC, and a successful venture on all platforms. To date, I haven't seen this truly accomplished, but something tells me the folks at CDPR have taken conversion aspects into account when building the Red Engine.

I agree, I'd have no qualms with console versions if it did not draw time and effort away from PC. Unless devs go in with the mindset to develop for modern PC capabilities first, then redesign for console...unfortunately, that is rarely what happens.

As far as the Ops idea, once CDPR releases the mod tools for TW2, I would love for a mod team to tackle this for PC. In fact, I would love to be a part of that team. It would definitely take a good while to accomplish this (anyone playing Black Mesa? lol), but man would it be worth it.