After persevering until fourth chapter in Mac version, and encountering some extremely severe issues of save-game corruption, I have now switched to Windows OS (on Mac HW) to see if I might play the game through.

There seems to be some technical and even gameplay differences I think. Anyone else noticed something similar?

My over-arching comment though is that neither version is really stable, either often failing to launch at a major cut scene, or corruption of a save game happening with unfortunate degree of subterfuge - and I can assure to devs: lack of wine is not to blame systematically!

I'm only at early stages of chapter II on windows version this far.

In case anyone has played through both versions, or has otherwise comments about GoG version vs previous (XP) release - or any pertinent comment - please post them!

Fairly material game play difference is at the major confrontation (Hellhound battle) towards the end of chapter I.

The Windows version of the game was much more difficult, owing to the fact that any potion or other effect would not carry to the actual battle, after cut scene dialogues - besides toxicity, to add insult to injury!

If a weapon upgrade or potion effect is supposed to be effective for 7+ hours, and clearly the in game play dialogue is less in duration - and it works with Mac version of the game - there is no excuse for this happening.


Edit: comment about stability intended as separate post, not edit - will see if that can be posted later.

Nope. What happens is this. When Geralt exits the cave to confront the Reverend, the game advances time to midnight. (The cutscene with the torches always happens at night, because it looks much more dramatic that way.) If you enter the cave in the morning, then a lot of time will have passed when the game advances time to midnight, and all of your potions will have worn off. If you enter the cave after 8 p.m. (but before midnight), not much time will have passed, and your longer-acting potions will still be active.

There's a fireplace in cave, so you can even brew up potions if you need them. You can use the fireplace to meditate until 11 p.m., THEN take your potions, and even Swallow (which only last for 2 hours) will still be active when you confront the Beast.

So really, it all depends on what time you enter the cave.

If you want your potions to be active when you confront the Beast, don't enter the cave until nighttime (but before midnight), or use the fireplace to meditate until the right time.

Well spotted :-) - and true indeed - surely now confrontations with evil mob rousing priests have to happen at midnight, eh? :-p

But hey-ho, I did meanwhile manage to kill the puppy from hell without any buffs - with some re-loading though.

I still have a nagging feeling that on the balance, the combat is a little more challenging in the Windows version, at least for high level opponents.

I noted that I did not manage to stun the Beast except most luckily and rarely, and got inflicted by pain and other effects in return. But I anyhow need to play a bit further to see if this is just figment of imagination.

Yes. :-) It's also true that you confront the Beast right after dealing with the lynch mob. Think about that cutscene: You see a fire start here, another fire start there, and a third fire start over there. Then the Beast comes striding slowly out of the flames, glowing with the fires of Hell. The camera pulls back, and you see the Beast surrounded by fire, framed by Geralt's spread legs.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff199/Bloodhnd/Beast-2.jpg

Can you imagine what that would look like in the DAYTIME? Not nearly as cool. Congratulations! Interesting. Whether or not you manage to stun the Beast depends partly on how many points you've put into Aard and partly on luck. The first time I played the game on Hard, I was a little nervous about how the Beast fight would go on hard. I hit it with Aard, and it stunned the first time. I clicked, and Geralt performed a finishing move, and it was dead. It was quite an anti-climax, after having been worried about the fight: one Aard, one finishing move -- dead. :-)

BTW - nice still-shot from the game, even if the fast forward give or take ten hours yields time continuum and logic to a dramatic effect! :-p

I do need to progress until those other figths I have found quite challenging, as I appreciate that there is quite a bit of "luck favors the brave" elements going on in any given Witcher fight.

However, as I did do a few re-laods, I did get to whack the Beast with Aard a good number of times before, yea, once it worked out after long hard work of elimnating excess minions, and attempting to stun the creature itself while whacking it away when this was not working.

I should normally max out this sign consistently as it is pretty useful early on - as your unfortunately anticlimatic battle demonstrates, lol - but not sure though if the different levels of same effect (damage, sign intensity etc) are actually cumulative, so may have rationed and only had level two boosts selected. Maybe this partly explains the difference in our lucks in particular case of the Beast, and vs my Mac game?

Another anticlimax of a a battle in my opinion is the confrontation at the end of Chapter II. Presumably enough damage shall trigger the exit manouvers of the jolly duo, but ... it just seems to ...happen, without a really satisfying end to a chapter turning battle.