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This game was released in February, and had it's share of issues, as I understand it. I found the game appealing from the first glimpses in development, but as is my SOP I waited a while, and just picked it up. Anyone still playing?

Many of the features and themes strike a chord with me, reading about it evoked memories of all those hours playing Gothic 2. The 'living world' aspect with day/night behaviors and NPCs going about their day. Falling in to the game's rhythm. The "sun's hanging low, best get back to town before the trader closes" type of stuff. A small sort of detail, but one that has an effect bigger than it might seem to warrant.

The absence of fantasy elements has appeal as well. I like fantasy games, but here's one that has none of it, making it the exception rather than the rule.

I've only played a few hours. It's a big download and took an hour on my connection. That left just a few more to actually play last night. I made it to the point where

Sigismund's army arrives at Talmberg inquiring as the the whereabouts of Radzig and then leaves


So just a few hours in. I had no issues that I could see. I downloaded the HD textures DLC and am running on Very High (i7 6700k/1070/16 GB RAM). In the few locations I've visited it has run smoothly at 60 fps, but I have yet to see any large cities or big battles. From what I've read the game was plagued with bugs and poor performance at release, and possibly still is. If anyone is still playing they'd have insight in to the current state of the game and it's something I'd like to know. Trying to gauge my prospects for a mostly trouble-free run.

Early impressions are favorable. There is a distinct realism/authenticty vibe here. For example the maps are medieval-period flavored, which is the sort of touch I like. The codex entries are fairly detailed to educate the player on life in the middle ages. The early pace is slow, which is fine by me. Skills are learned in the same sort of manner as say Morrowwind or Skyrim, the more you do it the better you get. So, yeah, jump around a lot if you want. These systems can have their flaws, but it does impart the sensation that you are learning and improving through repetition and practice, and not just suddenly can shoot your bow better because the fetch quest you just completed gave you enough XP to arbitrarily be a better archer. Time will tell how well it all works in KCD.


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I'm actually on my first playtrough since I waited for my new PC. A bit past where you are, not too much further.

I like it so far, even though it's performance hungry. What bugs me most is the animations and facial expressions. In that regard it reminds me of Skyrim, more than of Witcher 3. I've had one cutscene so far that was really well made, and when it works, it works brilliantly.

What bugs me also is a lot of cut to black screen... or the way code entries pop up on you while you're focusing on gameplay. I.e., more fluid, more "steady in engine" storytelling would be appreciated.

The combat makes up for it though. I enjoyed M&B Warband a lot, and this is by far the most interesting approach to medival combat I've ever seen. That and the very authentic, natural environments.

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Graphical glitch complaints are frequent. I noticed none so far, but I've barely begun.

FWIW, they added a save on exit in one of the patches. The save system was not all that well received, so they added that so at least people could stop when needed. I don't mind it, it adds some tension and weight to actions, not just save-scumming your way through each encounter.


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Still playing. Have around 400 hours in the release version (and had about the same in the pre-release versions).

For smooth experience be patient. Rushing through cutscenes/dialogues/npc day cycles (e.g. waking them in the middle of the night or unnecessarily trespassing) will cause trouble some of the time, and is easily avoided.

Saving can be done with the Saviour Schnapps, brewing it is easy with cheaply available (or free for the picking) ingredients, and you can make a profit from selling any excess you make to those you consume before the next brewing session. You also save in a proportion of beds (clearly marked as "Sleep and Save", rather than "sleep" on their 'use' tooltip. It can be worthwhile getting a sense of where these can be found, and remembering where you see them for future use. If you roleplay the day cycle then you should be getting a save roughly once an hour from beds. I do this as an "hour's nap" from time to time, even if subsisting on stimulants and active around the clock.

Be cautious about committing crimes unless you actively intend to do so. Be aware that as in real life, trespass (especially into deeply private areas owned by those more privileged, and at night), theft, poaching, possessing/selling stolen items and assault are crimes, and you will be challenged if detected... but may lose trust and reputation even if they are 'unsolved' as a stranger/outsider.

Of course it is entirely possible to live a life of crime, but to do it easily you still need to consider how people will perceive you, and to adjust your choice of actions accordingly.

A few quests are fairly sensitive to how you do them. Notable is the "nightingale (bird)" quest, once you accept it you can leave it indefinitely, but once you start you should complete the collection and delivery in the same session. Loading mid-quest has been an issue in my experience (though that may have been fixed since, it may be prudent to treat it as still flaky).

On learning combat (again) later in the main quest, I'd recommend returning to do a bit more the next morning before following the next main quest segment later that day or the next, as otherwise it is a long time before you can access more training.

Ask any questions you may have. Don't want to inadvertently seriously spoil anything important, as you are still at the very beginning, and around half way through the prologue...

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When it comes to the issue of saving progress in games, I've always had the opinion that the choice should be left to the player.


If a player wants to be hardcore then they have the choice not to save. No one is forcing them to do otherwise. If they want to restart a game from scratch because their character died then they are completely free to do so!


For the other 90% of gamers, having the ability to save your progress whenever you want to is practical and at times a necessity in case something comes up and you have to leave your PC.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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DBond Offline OP
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Thanks Lieste, appreciate your feedback. Are those 400 hours in a single run?

I don't mind a few bugs, but it's the ones that halt progression that can be infuriating. I have no questions yet, but I've mostly been along for the ride so far. Once I leave this place the game is supposed to open up a bit.

Actually, any insight in to the sort of character progression that you like would be helpful. Which skills, traits, perks sort of stuff do you find most desirable? What sort of character are you playing?


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Lieste, one thing I'd like to know - if needed in a spoiler tag:

I've had my initial training now with the captain of Talmberg castle, we then went to archery, I defeated the Lord's young idiot both at arrows and swords. Now I still can't riposte, only "perfect block". Do I learn riposte by more training with the captain?

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And on progression... it can be a bit steep in the vanilla game, depending on how much side content you do, you can easily get to the point where the equipment and skill combination make combat a bit broken (too easy to kill armoured opponents).

I started, and am still working on an overhaul mod which still allows skill to influence combat outcomes, but makes armour much more beneficial, and weapon and armour stat inflation largely restricted to cost, durability and appearance... I also toned down (almost removed) the use of stamina as protection.

This is my own personal preference of course, and YMMV, but it might be worth considering using a suitable mod or mid-ish range weapons only if you find the late game escalation of damage to be a bit much. This is a not infrequently seen complaint though.

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RS Colonel. Yes.

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I gave up on it. I hated the combat system. I would love an open world coop game like that but with mount and blade / chivalry combat.

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Thanks Lieste!

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Since it first came out you can now save on exit, which is handy. Savior Schnapps are easy to come buy, but using them all the time makes your character a drunkard. There's also mods out there that allow saving anywhere and anytime with the menu like most other games.

There's still some bugs and glitches, but at least the one that corrupted you save files seems to be corrected. I would back up my save game files every time I played for the first month or so.

I haven't played in a few months, but was looking to start another run at it to see what they added and or fixed. The details and immersion in this game are great. The problem with that is I tend to just wander around and hang out in 14th century Bohemia instead of getting on with the story.

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Saviour Schnapps is quite safe to drink - the occasional use needed is only enough to make you intermittently tipsy, not really "drunk". To become an alcoholic, you need to consistently and heavily abuse stronger drink in much larger quantities.... though being drunk is quite amusingly realistic, especially when you fall asleep from a mix of being tired and "tired and emotional" while meandering homewards.

It does make Henry's body language a bit more expansive if you Saviour immediately before an important conversation, but nothing sufficient to cause any problems... while being three sheets to the wind can improve (or diminish) your ability to persuade and impress in a progressive and fairly complex way. Being a bit drunk does also make you a little more loud and conspicuous, so being a heavy drinker (even of only potions and tinctures) works against a very stealthy approach.

If you are saving often, you may want to thin out the herd from time to time, as the save folder can be quite large. (Each about 5MB, and you can see many hundreds build up in each playline you complete if you don't manage them at all).

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I have a feeling I haven't really gotten to that point in the game where it really opens up and starts to click. Starting out there were a few "this is getting good" moments but at about 39 hours in I have found that I hit a bit of a wall that has impeded my enjoyment and progress. Somewhere in the process of investigating murder I find myself now trying to get some towns people a job and meet the prince kid at the local baths but he hasn't or won't show up yet. I'm not sure what happened but I hit a wall that zapped the fun that I was having and has become tedious. I have a feeling its really just a small road block but after spending 39 hours in game only to hit that it bugged me enough to step away from it awhile.

I really want for it to pick up and I think it will I just need to bite the bullet and push through these more fatiguing parts. I love the setting and historicity of the game and what combat I've experience was fun. My main issue has been the games performance. Its not optimized well and I have consistently inconsistent bad performance in the game. I had a few times where Rattay actually ran smooth(even though it first started rough) and now its gone back to rough. Outdoors the fps is pretty good but sometimes when I start the game up I get a weird granular look to everything that takes time to somehow clear up. That, slow texture loading, poor fps problems and excruciatingly long load times upon changing the most basic and simplest of graphics settings each time you want to adjust something is very irritating to me. I'll eventually make a push back into it though because I'm quite convinced that ultimately what's here is a solid game that will prove to be a gem if albeit a bit of a rough one.


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Good post Coot. How long since you've played? Usually posts by others saying they have no issues aren't very helpful, but I've now completed the prologue and it's run at a consistent 60 fps the entire game so far. perhaps they've patched it since your last go and it may run better for you now. The point about load times after a graphics change I have no argument with. That's unlike any game I've seen before.

I'm liking the game so far, there are little underlying mechanics that are subtle, and make perfect sense, but which aren't standard stuff so it surprises you when you see the effect. For example how each part of your appearance seems to have an effect on how others perceive you. A fancy ring or blood splatter has an effect, which can be good or bad depending on the other person and what you are attempting to accomplish. It seems these internal values are not an absolute, but are always compared to the NPC you're dealing with.The scope of options and outcomes also has surprised me. For example, in spoilers...

I took the miller's mission to steal the ring from the executioner. I had scoped out the place on the earlier run to the grave, and knew the man had dogs.I had to return since the ring had not been found in the grave. I got up before dawn, thinking doing this in the dark might prove helpful. I also grabbed a piece of salami thinking I might use it to distract the dogs. I snuck in to the compound but wasn't able to sneak by the dogs who began barking. Well there goes that I thought. So I went and stood in the middle of the street so if anyone came out to investigate the barking I wouldn't look the thief. The executioner came out and didn't look aggressive so I walked up to him and engaged in conversation, thinking I've blown it. I had been concentrating on Speech, and an option popped up to tell the executioner that the miller owed him half a bag of whatever millers mill, and he left straight away to collect, leaving me free to ransack his place and get the ring.My original plan had failed completely, but unexpectedly I took a path that allowed me to complete the mission. On the way back I passed the executioner on the road who wondered what I was up to with that tale, but I didn't stop to chat, after all I was laden with all his valuables


I'd also like to mention that of all things the part where the opening credits roll I found delightful. The way it was done, the guitar music, the sweeping medieval vistas... really found that to be well done, It's still way too early for me to make any conclusions about the game as a whole, but what I've seen so far I have enjoyed.




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LOL DBond, that's a great detail. I went too boneheaded straight at it I guess, and missed that option.

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I just bought it off him for a song. (Though far more than it is worth). On another occasion he was happy to have found that Peshek did indeed have a bag of flour to collect.

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Colonel, maybe you didn't miss it but hadn't as many points in speech at that time so the option wasn't there? Perhaps you didn't converse with him at all. I reckoned that with Henry's crap fighting skills that being able to talk my way out of things might come in handy so have gone that route early on.


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I absolutely love this game and have been lucky enough not to run into any game breaking bugs. If I have any advice it is to go do the very first part of the main quest as soon as possible. This will introduce you to the town of Rattay and give you the option of fight training. It's important to remember that you need to get those skills up otherwise you will have your ass handed to you in each and every fight. The people that give up on the game because of the combat mechanics forget that this isn't Skyrim. You simply aren't good at anything at the beginning of the game. Stick with it though and the game becomes more enjoyable as you progress. There are a number of mods that help with combat and lock picking but I would strongly advise not using these as it takes away the feeling of accomplishment as you progress.

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Yes, once you reach Rattay things open out from the prologue. Robard in Talmberg can train you too, as well as trainers in other towns such as Sasau.

The only bug I've encountered was (in spoilers since it's a quest/mission)

during the quest where you tag along with the guard and learn the guard ropes, When we got to the archery practice it went straight to the contest with Hans. I had no chance to practice and my first three shots all missed to the left. I then made the adjustments and scored, but lost. I assume I should have had a chance to practice some shots before the contest? Maybe no bug at all. I did manage to best him in the swordfight though. Later in the Prey quest I managed to get the hang of the archery, shooting hares.


I managed to make good progress yesterday. Got a mount and got out and about, exploring and visiting towns. I love the terrain and the way the countryside looks.The way it rolls, how villages are tucked in the draws and valleys. I think the devs did a wonderful job of recreating the layout of medieval towns. Everything is in the right place, they clearly made an effort to get that right. I guess I've always thought it would be more like the 'Bring Out Your Dead' scene from the Holy Grail. KCD strikes me as perhaps a bit more sanitary than what I might expect. Still, they did a wonderful job of crafting the look of life in this time.

I enjoy just going for a gallop and seeing what I can find. So much so that I opt to ride around in real time instead of fast travel. Learned to read, got some better gear. I'm getting the hang of the combat, especially defensively. But my striking needs work (skills?). Ripostes in particular I don't seem to time right. Fights often end with me alive but in bad shape.

Combat training went well, as it was rather clinical. In the field I would panic and start jabbing the mouse button, but managed to move past that and begin to become a proper sword fighter. As the skills grow and I invest skill points the options are growing, and I'm starting to get it. Multiple opponents are trouble, but I can handle the single fights.

Saving's been no issue. Matter of fact I haven't felt the need to use a single Schnapps. You fall in to the rhythm, getting your sleep and progress is saved. Plus it auto-saves at various points during quests. Non-issue for me.

I mentioned earlier how my research in to KCD evoked thoughts of Gothic 2, and it's there, but KCD goes further. You really can feel you're living a life. Sleeping, eating, maintaining equipment and clothing (my boots really seem to take a beating lol), bathing, laundering. Of course it's simplified, you're not sitting there with a wash tub and a bar of tallow. But it remains something that must be done. Standing impatiently outside the armorer waiting for him to open the doors in the morning. Avoiding the cops when you have something on you that you nicked a few hours ago.

I've really only scratched the surface here so far, but I'm having a great time with the game. It runs very well, the quests are interesting for the most part, and some of the solutions I've found have brought a satisfied grin. I dig the whole vibe of the game.



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