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Difference between revisions of "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings"

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|publishers  =  
 
|publishers  =  
 
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|CD Projekt}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|CD Projekt}}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|PlayON|Hungary}}
 
|engines      =  
 
|engines      =  
 
{{Infobox game/row/engine|REDengine|name=REDengine|Past}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/engine|REDengine|name=REDengine|Past}}
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{{Infobox game/row/date|OS X|October 18, 2012|ref=<ref>[http://www.deliver2mac.com/products/witcher2 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Mac Game :: Deliver2Mac]</ref>}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|OS X|October 18, 2012|ref=<ref>[http://www.deliver2mac.com/products/witcher2 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Mac Game :: Deliver2Mac]</ref>}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|Linux|May 22, 2014|ref=<ref>[https://store.steampowered.com/news/13401/ News - Now Available on SteamOS - The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition, 80% off!]</ref>}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|Linux|May 22, 2014|ref=<ref>[https://store.steampowered.com/news/13401/ News - Now Available on SteamOS - The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition, 80% off!]</ref>}}
 +
|reception    =
 +
{{Infobox game/row/reception|Metacritic|the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings|88}}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/reception|IGDB|the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings|86}}
 +
|taxonomy    =
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/series|The Witcher}}
 
|steam appid  = 20920
 
|steam appid  = 20920
 
|gogcom id    = 1207658930
 
|gogcom id    = 1207658930
 +
|official site= http://thewitcher.com/witcher2/
 +
|hltb        = 10268
 
|strategywiki =  
 
|strategywiki =  
 +
|mobygames    = witcher-2-assassins-of-kings
 
|wikipedia    = The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
 
|wikipedia    = The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
 
|winehq      = 13079
 
|winehq      = 13079
 
|license      = commercial
 
|license      = commercial
 
}}
 
}}
{{Series|The Witcher}}
 
  
 
'''Key points'''
 
'''Key points'''
Line 29: Line 37:
  
 
'''General information'''
 
'''General information'''
{{mm}} [http://thewitcher.com/witcher2/ Official Website]
 
 
{{mm}} [http://forums.cdprojektred.com/forums/37-The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings Official Forums]
 
{{mm}} [http://forums.cdprojektred.com/forums/37-The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings Official Forums]
 
{{mm}} [http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher_Wiki Official Witcher Wikia]
 
{{mm}} [http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher_Wiki Official Witcher Wikia]
Line 42: Line 49:
 
{{Availability/row| Retail | | DRM-free | {{removed DRM|SecuROM|8|SecuROM PA}}. <br/ > Removed in [[#Patches|patches]] and later retail releases. | GOG.com | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Retail | | DRM-free | {{removed DRM|SecuROM|8|SecuROM PA}}. <br/ > Removed in [[#Patches|patches]] and later retail releases. | GOG.com | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| GamersGate | DD-W2AKEE | DRM-free | | | Windows, OS X }}
 
{{Availability/row| GamersGate | DD-W2AKEE | DRM-free | | | Windows, OS X }}
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | the_witcher_2 | DRM-free | Enhanced Edition - Offers various bonus goodies including the complete soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC formats. | | Windows, OS X, Linux }}
+
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | the_witcher_2 | DRM-free | Enhanced Edition - Offers various bonus goodies including the complete soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC formats. | | Windows, Linux }}
 
{{Availability/row| Humble | the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-enhanced-edition | GOG.com | Enhanced Edition. | | Windows, OS X, Linux }}
 
{{Availability/row| Humble | the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-enhanced-edition | GOG.com | Enhanced Edition. | | Windows, OS X, Linux }}
 
{{Availability/row| MacApp | id564196178 | MacApp | Enhanced Edition. | | OS X }}
 
{{Availability/row| MacApp | id564196178 | MacApp | Enhanced Edition. | | OS X }}
Line 70: Line 77:
  
 
[https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/822/ Full Combat Rebalance] is a mod created by the developers of the game. It includes many changes, including an 80% increase in responsiveness per Geralt's animations and decreased time for returning to exploration after combat. The file is 1.5 GB in a compressed format.
 
[https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/822/ Full Combat Rebalance] is a mod created by the developers of the game. It includes many changes, including an 80% increase in responsiveness per Geralt's animations and decreased time for returning to exploration after combat. The file is 1.5 GB in a compressed format.
 +
 +
====AI Upscale Textures====
 +
[https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/889?tab=description AI Upscale Textures] contains over 600 character and object, 1100 original environmental and 150 weapon textures with increased resolution quality x2 (ie. 512x512>1024x1024, up to 4096x4096) in AI Upscaled Characters Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED, AI Upscaled Enviromental Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED and AI Upscaled Weapons Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED. With minimal impact on performance.
  
 
===Utilities===
 
===Utilities===
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===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
|gog galaxy           = true
+
|discord                =
|gog galaxy notes     =  
+
|discord notes          =
|origin               = unknown
+
|epic games store      =
|origin notes         =  
+
|epic games store notes =
|steam cloud           = true
+
|gog galaxy             = true
|steam cloud notes     = Approx. 954 MB available.<br/>Steam version uses Steam save game data location when cloud is activated.
+
|gog galaxy notes       =  
|uplay                 =  
+
|origin                 = false
|uplay notes           =  
+
|origin notes           =  
|xbox cloud           =  
+
|steam cloud           = true
|xbox cloud notes     =  
+
|steam cloud notes     = Approx. 954 MB available.<br/>Steam version uses Steam save game data location when cloud is activated.
 +
|uplay                 =  
 +
|uplay notes           =  
 +
|xbox cloud             =  
 +
|xbox cloud notes       =  
 
}}
 
}}
  
==Video settings==
+
==Video==
 
{{--}} Video and input options can't be changed in-game.<ref>{{Refcheck|user=Mars icecream|date=2016-8}}</ref>
 
{{--}} Video and input options can't be changed in-game.<ref>{{Refcheck|user=Mars icecream|date=2016-8}}</ref>
{{Video settings
+
{{Video
|wsgf link                  = http://www.wsgf.org/dr/witcher-2-assassins-kings
+
|wsgf link                  = https://www.wsgf.org/dr/witcher-2-assassins-kings
 
|widescreen wsgf award      = gold
 
|widescreen wsgf award      = gold
 
|multimonitor wsgf award    = limited
 
|multimonitor wsgf award    = limited
Line 129: Line 143:
 
|borderless windowed notes  = Disable Fullscreen and use 'Borderless Gaming'
 
|borderless windowed notes  = Disable Fullscreen and use 'Borderless Gaming'
 
|anisotropic                = hackable
 
|anisotropic                = hackable
|anisotropic notes          = Force using the [[NVIDIA Control Panel#Modifying Advanced 3D Settings|Nvidia Control Panel]]/[[AMD VISION Engine Control Center]].
+
|anisotropic notes          = The Anisotropic Filter can be activated from the control panel of AMD or NVIDIA in exchange for a considerable loss of performance.
 
|antialiasing              = true
 
|antialiasing              = true
 
|antialiasing notes        =  
 
|antialiasing notes        =  
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|color blind notes          =  
 
|color blind notes          =  
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
===Anisotropic filter===
 +
The Anisotropic Filter can be activated from the control panel of AMD ('''Catalyst Control Center''') or from the control panel of NVIDIA ('''NVIDIA Inspector''') but the impact on the performance when placing AFx16 is evident in medium/low computers. The difference between the disabled AF, x4 and x16 is shown in the next three images. The difference between 4 and 16 samples is minimal, but you can see how the detail is clarified in the rock and in the grass near Geralt:
 +
 +
<gallery>
 +
File:TW2 AF Disable.jpg|AF OFF
 +
File:TW2 AFx4.jpg|AF x4
 +
File:TW2 AFx16.jpg|AF x16
 +
</gallery>
  
 
===Sharpening filter===
 
===Sharpening filter===
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Users that are using 16:9 resolutions are able to use HBAO+ in the game via Nvidia Inspector. [http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=4896198&postcount=764]
 
Users that are using 16:9 resolutions are able to use HBAO+ in the game via Nvidia Inspector. [http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=4896198&postcount=764]
  
'''The Ubersampling option completely prevents HBAO+ from working''', but it does work with DSR.[https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/hbao-compatibility-flags-thread.387114/page-39#post-4896019]
+
'''The Ubersampling option completely prevents HBAO+ from working''', but it does work with DSR. <ref>https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/hbao-compatibility-flags-thread.387114/page-39#post-4896019</ref>
  
 
{{Fixbox|description=Utilizing HBAO+|ref={{cn|date=July 2016}}|fix=
 
{{Fixbox|description=Utilizing HBAO+|ref={{cn|date=July 2016}}|fix=
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#Open <code>User.ini</code>.
 
#Open <code>User.ini</code>.
 
#Find <code>AllowSSAO=1</code> and replace it with <code>AllowSSAO=0</code>.
 
#Find <code>AllowSSAO=1</code> and replace it with <code>AllowSSAO=0</code>.
#Download and open [[NVIDIA Profile Inspector]].
+
#Download and open [[Nvidia Profile Inspector]].
 
#Under <code>Profiles</code> select <code>The Witcher 2</code>.
 
#Under <code>Profiles</code> select <code>The Witcher 2</code>.
 
#Under <code>Ambient Occlusion compatibility</code> insert the compatibility code <code>0x00000033</code>.
 
#Under <code>Ambient Occlusion compatibility</code> insert the compatibility code <code>0x00000033</code>.
Line 188: Line 211:
 
Note all other graphics options can be enabled/disabled with little or no FPS impact. Note that whilst 'Texture Downscaling' has a significant visual impact on the 'High' setting, reducing downscaling to 'Low' or disabling it entirely can drastically improve the look of the game with very little performance impact.
 
Note all other graphics options can be enabled/disabled with little or no FPS impact. Note that whilst 'Texture Downscaling' has a significant visual impact on the 'High' setting, reducing downscaling to 'Low' or disabling it entirely can drastically improve the look of the game with very little performance impact.
  
==Input settings==
+
==Input==
{{Input settings
+
{{Input
 
|key remap                = true
 
|key remap                = true
 
|key remap notes          =  
 
|key remap notes          =  
Line 267: Line 290:
 
}}
 
}}
  
==Audio settings==
+
==Audio==
{{Audio settings
+
{{Audio
 
|separate volume          = true
 
|separate volume          = true
 
|separate volume notes    =  
 
|separate volume notes    =  
Line 413: Line 436:
 
|iz3d                        = unknown
 
|iz3d                        = unknown
 
|iz3d notes                  =  
 
|iz3d notes                  =  
 +
|vorpx                      = true
 +
|vorpx modes                = G3D
 +
|vorpx notes                = Officially supported game, see [https://www.vorpx.com/supported-games/ official vorpx game list].
 
|htc vive                    =  
 
|htc vive                    =  
 
|htc vive notes              =  
 
|htc vive notes              =  
Line 439: Line 465:
 
==Issues fixed==
 
==Issues fixed==
 
{{ii}} TweakGuides has created a [http://www.geforce.com/Optimize/Guides/witcher-2-tweak-guide#1 comprehensive guide] for fixing issues in this game.
 
{{ii}} TweakGuides has created a [http://www.geforce.com/Optimize/Guides/witcher-2-tweak-guide#1 comprehensive guide] for fixing issues in this game.
 +
 +
===Linux version crashes on start===
 +
 +
The Linux port of the game is not native but uses an outdated compatibility layer. If you have a Vulkan compatible graphic card it is highly recommended to use the Windows version of the game through Proton.
 +
 +
Go to Properties and enable "Force the use of a specific Steam play compatibility tool" and make sure the latest Proton is selected. If the game doesn't start, you may have to copy some files:
 +
cp -r $HOME/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/common/the\ witcher\ 2/bin/config/* $HOME/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/compatdata/20920/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My\ Documents/Witcher\ 2/Config <ref>https://www.protondb.com/app/20920#igTA-K4qO</ref>
  
 
===Continued Stuttering During Gameplay===
 
===Continued Stuttering During Gameplay===
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{{Fixbox|description=Crash to Desktop German version|ref={{cn|date=December 2016}}|fix=
 
{{Fixbox|description=Crash to Desktop German version|ref={{cn|date=December 2016}}|fix=
{{ii}} If you have the German version there is a memory leak on display of chars like: öäüß
+
{{ii}} If you have the German version there is a memory leak on display of the character '''ß'''
 
{{ii}} You can test this with constantly opening and closing the chest. About 10 times should make the game crash.
 
{{ii}} You can test this with constantly opening and closing the chest. About 10 times should make the game crash.
{{ii}} Here is a mod to fix the problem: https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/359/
+
{{ii}} Here is a mod to fix the problem: https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/850/
 
}}
 
}}
  
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===Nvidia Ambient Occlusion Flicker===
 
===Nvidia Ambient Occlusion Flicker===
When using ambient occlusion forced through Nvidia Inspector, there is a noticeable flicker while moving around, this is caused by higher-detail meshes being loaded in. To fix this issue, in the user.ini under the "rendering" section, increase "MeshDistanceScale" to a much higher value; eg: "MeshDistanceScale=100". This will also reduce non-AO related pop-in and in general make distant objects look better. Note that this potentially has a performance impact, test different values to see what works best on your system.
+
When using ambient occlusion forced through Nvidia Inspector, there is a noticeable flicker while moving around, this is caused by higher-detail meshes being loaded in. To fix this issue, in the user.ini under the "rendering" section, increase "MeshDistanceScale" to a much higher value; e.g.: "MeshDistanceScale=100". This will also reduce non-AO related pop-in and in general make distant objects look better. Note that this potentially has a performance impact, test different values to see what works best on your system.
  
 
==Other information==
 
==Other information==
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|shader model versions  =  
 
|shader model versions  =  
 
|shader model notes    =  
 
|shader model notes    =  
|64-bit executable     = false
+
|windows 32-bit exe    = unknown
|64-bit executable notes=  
+
|windows 64-bit exe    = unknown
 +
|windows exe notes     =
 +
|mac os x powerpc app  =
 +
|macos intel 32-bit app = true
 +
|macos intel 64-bit app = false
 +
|macos app notes        = <ref>{{Refsnip|url=https://www.gog.com/game/the_witcher_2|title=The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition on GOG.com|date=2019-12-09|snippet=Mac notice: The game is 32-bit only and will not work on macOS 10.15 and up.}}</ref>
 +
|linux 32-bit executable= unknown
 +
|linux 64-bit executable= unknown
 +
|linux executable notes =  
 
}}
 
}}
  

Revision as of 09:22, 11 May 2020

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings cover
Developers
CD Projekt Red
macOS (OS X) Virtual Programming
Linux Virtual Programming
Publishers
CD Projekt
Hungary PlayON
Engines
Past REDengine
Enhanced Edition REDengine 2
Release dates
Windows May 17, 2011
macOS (OS X) October 18, 2012[1]
Linux May 22, 2014[2]
Reception
Metacritic 88
IGDB 86
Taxonomy
Series The Witcher
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on HowLongToBeat
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on IGDB
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on MobyGames
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on Wikipedia
The Witcher
The Witcher 2007
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 2011
The Witcher Adventure Game 2014
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game 2018
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales 2018
Gwent: Rogue Mage 2022
The Witcher: Remake TBA

Key points

Has official modding tools.
Owning any version, including retail, entitles you to a DRM-free copy on GOG.com; see Witcher Backup.
Incompatible with Windows' built-in color calibration feature. Calibrated screens will have ill in-game colors.

General information

Official Forums
Official Witcher Wikia
Official Witcher Wiki
GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
A comprehensive list of known issues and potential fixes.
The Witcher 2 for PC Technical FAQ.
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM-free
SecuROM 8 and SecuROM PA DRM.
Removed in patches and later retail releases.
GOG.com key
Windows
GamersGate
DRM-free after installation (requires an internet connection during installation)
Windows
macOS (OS X)
GOG.com
DRM-free
Enhanced Edition - Offers various bonus goodies including the complete soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC formats.
Windows
Linux
Humble Store
GOG.com key
Enhanced Edition.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Mac App Store
Icon overlay.png
Enhanced Edition.
macOS (OS X)
Origin
Origin
Enhanced Edition.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Enhanced Edition.
GOG.com key
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All versions can be registered on GOG.com even if a product key was not included; see Witcher Backup for details.

Essential improvements

Patches

Install the latest patches to fix bugs and remove DRM.

Modifications

No Intro Videos

The No Intro Videos Mod skips all intro videos except the logo by CDProjekt.

Market Price Mod

Market Price Mod makes buying and selling prices within markets more fair to the player. It reduces the 24:1 ratio between buy to sell prices and reduces it to 5:1 as seen in the original game.

Text size

For people having problems with the size of text on large resolutions or on small displays, getting any variation of the Comfy Font, and placing the .dzip in the CookedPC folder will make it bigger and more visible.

Semi-Official Combat Mod By CDP developers

Full Combat Rebalance is a mod created by the developers of the game. It includes many changes, including an 80% increase in responsiveness per Geralt's animations and decreased time for returning to exploration after combat. The file is 1.5 GB in a compressed format.

AI Upscale Textures

AI Upscale Textures contains over 600 character and object, 1100 original environmental and 150 weapon textures with increased resolution quality x2 (ie. 512x512>1024x1024, up to 4096x4096) in AI Upscaled Characters Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED, AI Upscaled Enviromental Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED and AI Upscaled Weapons Textures X2 VERSION OPTIMIZED. With minimal impact on performance.

Utilities

  • The Witcher 2 Savegame manager allows for the easy backup, management, and removal of The Witcher 1 and 2 save files. Can tremendously improve the clutter of savegame files.
  • The Witcher 2 Tweaker allows for greater customization of graphics options to further tailor your game for the PC. Also has helpful tips for improving performance on some computers as well.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Witcher 2\Config\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Application Support/com.vpltd.TheWitcher2/GameDocuments/Witcher 2/config/
Linux $XDG_DATA_HOME/cdprojektred/witcher2/GameDocuments/Witcher 2/config/
This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Witcher 2\gamesaves\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Application Support/com.vpltd.TheWitcher2/GameDocuments/Witcher 2/gamesaves/
Linux $XDG_DATA_HOME/cdprojektred/witcher2/GameDocuments/Witcher 2/gamesaves/
Steam <Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/20920/remote/

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Origin
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Approx. 954 MB available.
Steam version uses Steam save game data location when cloud is activated.

Video

Video and input options can't be changed in-game.[3]

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
1280x720 and higher.
Multi-monitor
Use Flawless Widescreen or Widescreen Fixer.
Ultra-widescreen
Use Flawless Widescreen or Widescreen Fixer.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
The game increases FOV on outdoor areas and further when fighting. To customize, use Change your Fov mod.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Disable Fullscreen and use 'Borderless Gaming'
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
The Anisotropic Filter can be activated from the control panel of AMD or NVIDIA in exchange for a considerable loss of performance.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
No frame rate or refresh rate cap.[4]
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Anisotropic filter

The Anisotropic Filter can be activated from the control panel of AMD (Catalyst Control Center) or from the control panel of NVIDIA (NVIDIA Inspector) but the impact on the performance when placing AFx16 is evident in medium/low computers. The difference between the disabled AF, x4 and x16 is shown in the next three images. The difference between 4 and 16 samples is minimal, but you can see how the detail is clarified in the rock and in the grass near Geralt:

Sharpening filter

The Witcher 2 makes use of a sharpening filter that increases the sharpness of the game's visuals. While this setting has a negligible performance impact it does cause increased aliasing and adds an unnatural sheen to many objects, if those bother you it can be disabled with an INI tweak.

Disabling sharpening filter[citation needed]
  1. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Witcher 2\Config\
  2. Open User.ini.
  3. Find AllowSharpen=1 and replace it with AllowSharpen=0

HBAO+(Nvidia GPUs Only)

Users that are using 16:9 resolutions are able to use HBAO+ in the game via Nvidia Inspector. [1]

The Ubersampling option completely prevents HBAO+ from working, but it does work with DSR. [5]

Utilizing HBAO+[citation needed]
  1. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Witcher 2\Config\.
  2. Open User.ini.
  3. Find AllowSSAO=1 and replace it with AllowSSAO=0.
  4. Download and open Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  5. Under Profiles select The Witcher 2.
  6. Under Ambient Occlusion compatibility insert the compatibility code 0x00000033.
  7. Under Ambient Occlusion setting select Quality or High Quality.
  8. Under Ambient Occlusion usage select Enabled.
  9. On the top right hand corner click on Apply changes.
  10. You may now close Nvidia Inspector and enjoy The Witcher 2 with HBAO+ enabled.

GPU/CPU Intensive Settings

Enabling the following options will result in a significant reduction in in-game frame rate:

  • Cinematic Depth of Field: Of the three depth of field options available, cinematic depth of field results in the biggest performance decrease. Enabling it applies a stylised depth of field effect to cutscenes and dialog sections. It is important to note that enabling it essentially enables depth of field anyway, so this option should be used in conjunction with 'Depth of Field - Cutscenes'. Again, it's performance impact is significant.
  • Light Shafts: This option adds realistic light glares as sunlight filters through trees, etc. However, in graphically busy areas such as forests it can result in a major performance hit, and as such disabling it is recommended on lower end systems.
  • LOD [Level of Detail] Distance: This decides how far away detailed objects (such as some shrubbery, objects, etc.) are rendered. The higher you set this value, the further away such objects will be rendered, and the larger the impact on FPS. As the difference between the 'Near' and 'Far' options is visually negligible in almost all instances, 'Near' is recommended for most systems. For systems which only just meet the system requirements, consider using the 'Minimal' option.
  • Motion Blur: Enabling this option will result in a stylistic blur effect rotating the camera, which also results in an overall performance decrease.
  • SSAO [Screen Space Ambient Occlusion]: This option improves the overall quality of shadows in-game by increasing their definition and contrast. Enabling it will also largely impact performance.
  • UberSampling: This option essentially requires your system render everything on-screen multiple times before displaying, resulting in a drastic increase in overall visual detail, maximising object detail and smoothness, with the expense of a huge performance hit. It is only recommended to enable this option if you have a very high-end system.
  • Wet Surfaces Rain Effect: This option is only active when it is raining in-game, and adds a semi-transparent filter to many objects to make the rainfall impact appear more realistic. It can result in a sizeable performance hit during rain sequences, however, so disabling it is a good idea for performance increases.

Note all other graphics options can be enabled/disabled with little or no FPS impact. Note that whilst 'Texture Downscaling' has a significant visual impact on the 'High' setting, reducing downscaling to 'Low' or disabling it entirely can drastically improve the look of the game with very little performance impact.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
See Mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
XInput controllers only.
Full controller support
Game can be started and played with a controller, but launcher can not be fully navigated without mouse/keyboard (Enhanced Edition).
Controller remapping
Most bindings can be remapped (Enhanced Edition).
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Generic/other controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Additional information
Button prompts
For DualShock use the PS4 Interface Icons Mod.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Mouse acceleration

Disable mouse acceleration[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open User.ini.
  3. Under the [MouseInput] section set the following to:
MouseSmoothness=0 
Smoothness=0
UseMouseDamp=false
MouseDampX=0
MouseDampY=0

and save it

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Up to 7.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Traditional Chinese
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Only available for PC version
Russian
Spanish
Turkish
Korean

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
vorpX
G3D
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game.

Linux version crashes on start

The Linux port of the game is not native but uses an outdated compatibility layer. If you have a Vulkan compatible graphic card it is highly recommended to use the Windows version of the game through Proton.

Go to Properties and enable "Force the use of a specific Steam play compatibility tool" and make sure the latest Proton is selected. If the game doesn't start, you may have to copy some files: cp -r $HOME/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/common/the\ witcher\ 2/bin/config/* $HOME/.local/share/Steam/SteamApps/compatdata/20920/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My\ Documents/Witcher\ 2/Config [6]

Continued Stuttering During Gameplay

There are two possible causes for this issue:

  1. Incorrect texture settings. Launch the game and navigate to the 'Options' menu on the launcher. Locate the option for 'Texture Memory Size (MB)'. This is how much of your graphics card RAM is allocated to texture storage. For a 512 MB card, it is recommended set this to 'Small', whereas for a 1 GB card set this to 'Large'. Allocating insufficient memory for texture storage can result in delayed texture rendering and constant stuttering during gameplay.
  2. Rendering too many frames in advance. To fix this use your GPU configuration panel to manually set the value of "Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames" (Nvidia) or "Flip Queue" (ATI) to 1. You may also need to limit frame rate and/or enable Vsync.

First Time Setup Lock

The game attempts to reinstall the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 every time the game is launched.

Option 1: Registry Change (recommended)

Option 1: Registry Change (recommended)[citation needed]

Open Notepad, and enter this code:

;For 64 bit systems (x64)
 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Valve\Steam\Apps\20920]
 "DirectX"=dword:00000001
 "VCRedist"=dword:00000001
 "dotNetFx40"=dword:00000001
;For 32 bit systems (x86)
 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Valve\Steam\Apps\20920]
 "DirectX"=dword:00000001
 "VCRedist"=dword:00000001
 "dotNetFx40"=dword:00000001

Save as a .reg file, and then double click on it.

Option 2: Folder rename

Option 2: Folder rename[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Rename redist.
  3. Launch the game.

Crash on startup with error 0xc0000142

Crash on startup with error 0xc0000142[citation needed]
  • If you have software from LucidLogix installed (It may have come with your motherboard), remove it.
  • If you don't, try following these instructions
  • There is a .net Framework official hotfix which solves this error. here

Patch 2.1

Patch 2.1 Error[citation needed]

Patch 2.1 is meant to fix communication between the game and the Witcher forums arena leader boards. Since the update, many people have experienced an error that says The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142). There are a few ways to fix this.

  • If you are using GOG.com or retail version, just reinstall the game and do not update to 2.1
  • If you are a Steam user, try-
    • Reinstalling the Microsoft .Net 4
    • Check your system for any browser toolbars installed. Uninstalling certain toolbars has been known to fix this issue. Some common ones are -
      • Jzip
      • searchqu
      • Bearshare
      • iLivid
      • Other torrent (like the Pirate Bay or RARBG) or search bars

Black Screen During the Cut-scene after the First Chapter (Enhanced Edition)

Black Screen During the Cut-scene after the First Chapter (Enhanced Edition)[citation needed]

A special cut-scene should be played off, but instead you receive a black screen and only hear Dandelion's voice.

  • Possible Fix: Change your screen format to 16:9 ratio. It's working for most people.

Random Crashes while Saving Game, Loading a Save Game or AutoSaving

Random Crashes while Saving Game, Loading a Save Game or AutoSaving[citation needed]
The game will crash to desktop without any error messages.
You may encounter this right before, after or during cut-scenes (i.e. when the game is auto-saving).
The solution modifies the Windows Registry in order to allow Windows to allocate more memory to other programs. More information here.
If the problem persists, either deactivate the real-time protection of your antivirus program or add exceptions for The Witcher 2 folders and executables to it.
Crashes on saving or auto-saving: this will occur in 32bit systems due to low memory. To solve it, press windows key + R key to bring up the Run window. Write "bcdedit /set increaseUserVa 3072" without the " and press Enter. Reboot the PC. In order to undo this change you can bring the Run window up again and write: "bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2048" without the " and press Enter. Reboot the PC.
Crashes on loading save games: this will occur in some systems if you accumulate too many MBs worth of savegames. To solve it, go to your save game data folder and either delete or move most of the stored saves.
Crash to Desktop German version[citation needed]
If you have the German version there is a memory leak on display of the character ß
You can test this with constantly opening and closing the chest. About 10 times should make the game crash.
Here is a mod to fix the problem: https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher2/mods/850/

AMD GPU users double input

If you have AMD Gaming Evolved installed, make sure the program is not running while playing.

Long loading times when resuming a save

Large number of saves will result in longer loading times when you open the menu for loading a save. To fix delete unused saves or move them to a backup location.

Scripts Compilation Error

The game fails to launch with the following error:
There were errors compiling scripts. Unable to run game. Maybe some selected user packages are incompatible?
game\quest\quest_functions.ws[2282]: parse error, near '{'
game\scene\scene_functions.ws[1794]: parse error, near '{'[7]
  1. Download The_witcher_2_ErrorsFix.zip
  2. Unzip the file and replace "The Witcher 2\CookedPC\base_scripts.dzip"

Nvidia Ambient Occlusion Flicker

When using ambient occlusion forced through Nvidia Inspector, there is a noticeable flicker while moving around, this is caused by higher-detail meshes being loaded in. To fix this issue, in the user.ini under the "rendering" section, increase "MeshDistanceScale" to a much higher value; e.g.: "MeshDistanceScale=100". This will also reduce non-AO related pop-in and in general make distant objects look better. Note that this potentially has a performance impact, test different values to see what works best on your system.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9 Windows only.
OpenGL 2.1, 3.3 OS X and Linux only.
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
[8]
Linux

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok Physics
Audio FMOD Ex
Interface Scaleform GFx Scaleform is also used for video playback.

Linux port

The Linux port is not native, and is packaged in a Wine-like compatibility layer called eON. eON is used for some other titles (such as Stronghold 3). It is not based on Wine, but has a similar reimplementation of the relevant Windows APIs.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU) Intel Dual-Core 2.2 GHz
AMD Dual-Core 2.5 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1.5 GB (XP)
2 GB (Vista, 7)
Hard disk drive (HDD) 25 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8800
ATI Radeon HD 3850
512 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.29 compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.8.5
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 25 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 512 MB (on 1440x900, low)
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB (on 1440x900, low)
Intel integrated graphics chipsets are not supported
512 MB of VRAM
Linux
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17, SteamOS
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 25 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT (1280x720, low)
512 MB of VRAM
Other MESA based drivers are not currently supported.
Intel integrated graphics are not currently supported.


References