While the 256kbps mp3 is decent, I would love to see a FLAC release of the soundtrack :)

edit: false alarm

I already have the Enhanced Edition from Steam, but the bonuses and the price from GOG are amazing, so I bought it too. And buying it here feels like I'm supporting CD Projekt directly.

it's the same for me here. the extra quality is very welcomed.

Me too. Unfortunately it seems as if they don't want to bother, possibly out of bandwidth concerns. You could do it the way I did and find the CD version, then rip it yourself.

I should had make a backup of the Making Of videos (Steam), unfortunately there is no way to just download them.

I too bought this on a steam sale around christmas. But you know what? I don't care. This is one of the best games I have ever played, there wasn't a day that didn't go by when I had this on my computer that I didn't play it and enjoy it. The extras are very welcome, and since 5 dollars can't even get you a decent beer in here it's best spent on this digital masterpiece.

This also gives me a chance to make different choices in the game and try to complete it on the hard difficulty :)

The Witcher EE was on sale at local US GameStops for ~$12.99 new, so I picked that up last week, too. I'll get around to ripping them for my media players later today. I have a Sansa Clip and Fuze (which can play FLAC files) and a Walkman NWZS544 (which doesn't do FLAC but still sounds rich at 320kbps mp3). Gotta dig out my modded Koss KSC75's and MEElectronics M6's, too...

So that makes three versions of the game I now own (Impulse, DVD, and GOG) but I don't care; it's worth it to support these guys and gals. I think the extras are meatier and more varied than what I got with my Dragon Age II Signature Edition (which I have been enjoying playing passively off and on, but that's for a different thread and discussion ;D).

You could download them from The Witcher's Official site. They are offering the extras of Enhanced Edition for free as a bonus.

The "Music Inspired by The Witcher" album provided here some some quality issues though. I've listened to 4 tracks so far and they all have clipping issues.


Here's my proof for Track 1, comparing the track to a PCM encoded rip from my CD copy:

WARNING:: This information is going to get technical and is provided both the help whoever is in charge of the GOG extras get specific information on what is wrong, as well as to demonstrate that my perception of clipping is not a problem specific to my hardware setup.


First, the ABX report to demonstrate that I can tell the difference between the MP3 provided here and the CD provided in the Enhanced Edition retail box. This was done with a Sound Blaster Arena USB headset, so nothing particularly fancy.

***
foo_abx 1.3.4 report

foobar2000 v1.1.6

2011/05/10 16:32:17



File A: 01 Tales of the Witcher.mp3

File B: 01 ADAM SKORUPA.wav (this is the rip from my CD copy)



16:32:17 : Test started.

16:32:59 : 01/01 50.0%

16:33:29 : 02/02 25.0%

16:34:07 : 03/03 12.5%

16:34:31 : 04/04 6.3%

16:35:10 : 05/05 3.1%

16:35:17 : Test finished.



----------

Total: 5/5 (3.1%)
***

Here's the SOX stats output on the two files:

#sox 01\ Tales\ of\ the\ Witcher.wav --null stats

Overall Left Right
DC offset 0.000027 -0.000025 0.000027
Min level -1.000000 -1.000000 -1.000000
Max level 0.999969 0.999969 0.999969
Pk lev dB 0.00 0.00 0.00
RMS lev dB -10.14 -10.09 -10.19
RMS Pk dB -3.31 -3.31 -3.38
RMS Tr dB -217.56 -214.96 -217.56
Crest factor - 3.20 3.23
Flat factor 11.34 10.11 12.13
Pk count 788 659 918
Bit-depth 16/16 16/16 16/16
Num samples 7.06M
Length s 160.184
Scale max 1.000000
Window s 0.050


#sox 01\ ADAM\ SKORUPA.wav --null stats

DC offset 0.000008 0.000002 0.000008
Min level -0.989288 -0.989166 -0.989288
Max level 0.989288 0.989288 0.989288
Pk lev dB -0.09 -0.09 -0.09
RMS lev dB -11.66 -11.63 -11.70
RMS Pk dB -4.50 -4.54 -4.50
RMS Tr dB -221.84 -219.18 -221.84
Crest factor - 3.77 3.80
Flat factor 0.00 0.00 0.00
Pk count 2 2 2
Bit-depth 16/16 16/16 16/16
Num samples 7.06M
Length s 160.120
Scale max 1.000000
Window s 0.050

***

The key thing to notice here is the CD track has -0.09db peak level (headroom), where the MP3 I downloaded has -0.00db. BTW if any audiophiles cry foul that this messed up the ABX results, I would like to mention that I applied ReplayGain and normalization to the tracks on further tests and I was still 5/5 on the ABX.

The other relevant stats are the Pk Counts, 788 and 2 on the MP3 and CD respectively, which is the number of times the signal hit either maximum or minimum level. Furthermore, Flat factor is basically how long is stayed there.

Basically, clipping. :(


I've tested three other tracks so far and they all have the same problem. It's less audible in some tracks than in others, but the SOX stats similarly demonstrate a high level of clipping.


For reference, I have uploaded my CD sourced rip of Track 1 here.

I have contacted GOG support on this issue.

Thank you so much, Morpheus3000!

For those interested: http://www.fileplanet.com/191952/190000/fileinfo/The-Witcher-Enhanced-Edition-Making-of-DVD-and-Extras

You're welcome! :)

Yes you are right, I also noticed the higher quality of the extras. The colors of the game guide are pretty awesome.
Thank you GOG.
Cheers.
Thanks a lot for this man!
Cheers.

Nice one, thanks.