Halloween Jack posted:

They started planning in 2012, and the success of DE:HR probably helped.

White Coke posted:

Why did CDPR decide to adapt CP2020? Was an executive a big fan, or was it just cheaper than getting the Shadowrun IP?

Look Sir Droids posted:

Too bad the success of DE:HR didn’t help DE:MD.

Look Sir Droids posted:

Too bad the success of DE:HR didn’t help DE:MD.

pentyne posted:

Getting video game rights to William Gibson's books was probably too difficult/expensive even if it would've probably been a better idea.

I remember Sapkowski originally sold the rights to CDPR for like a one time sum of $50k or something expecting nothing to come of it and was pretty loving mad when Witcher 2 turned into a mega hit. I think CDPR went back and amended their deal to give him a cut of the games revenue out of the goodness of their heart.

He's now working on the Netflix show and probably making more from then then he ever did from his books prior to 2010 so it seems like he's pretty happy.

Halloween Jack posted:

The short story that introduces Dudu really shows another side of Geralt. In the games he's obviously well-educated, but seems to go out of his way to sound gruff and plain-spoken. In this story he's using Dudu as an example to make a metaphysical argument for atheism, and rebuffing a witcher contract in a rather lawyerly way.

Gaius Marius posted:

It could've if square hadn't murdered it. Man they did that franchise dirty

White Coke posted:

Why did CDPR decide to adapt CP2020? Was an executive a big fan, or was it just cheaper than getting the Shadowrun IP?

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Actually he took them to court and had a good enough case they instead settled with him for ~$16 million.

quote:

CD Projekt came sniffing around in the early 2000s, another history I've written in detail before. Sapkowski doesn't remember how the conversation went but he remembers agreeing to the game. "Well they brought a big bag of money!" he says. It was the same reason he said yes to Chmielarz. "What I expect from an adaptation: a big bag of money. That is all."

Simply, he didn't think it would amount to much. He thought games were stupid, had done ever since shooting Martians on an old console plugged into a TV. "OK let's play cards or let's drink vodka," he said back then, "but killing Martians is stupid. And my standpoint stands: it is stupid."

So he left CD Projekt Red to it. Didn't visit, wasn't consulted, didn't care. He was Andrzej Sapkowski, who were they? "People ask me, they say, 'The games helped you?' I say, 'Yes, to the same extent I helped the games.' It was not so that the games promote me: I promoted the games with my name and characters."

You can understand his frustration and you can understand the confusion. But isn't it all water under the bridge compared to the money he has made from Witcher game sales? Well no, because - and herein lies his constant source of aggravation - he gets nothing.

"I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch," he says. "They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, 'No, there will be no profit at all - give me all my money right now! The whole amount.' It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn't believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn't."

He doesn't begrudge CD Projekt Red's accomplishments all the same. In many ways he couldn't have asked for a better studio. Credit where credit is due. "The game is made very well," he says, "and they merit all of the beneficiaries they get from it. They merit it. The game is very good, well done, well done."

He is not above signing a Witcher game too, should you present it, and people have. "I do it," he says. "Because first of all, when people come to sign, I consider them fans, so if they come and present me the game to sign, I cannot say no to that because it would be very impolite. Stand in a long queue, bring the game, what can I say? 'Please go away, I will not sign it'? It will be very impolite."

quote:

Following this, he publicly demanded over $16 million in royalties from CD Projekt, claiming that under Polish law he had been wrongfully underpaid for his work. CD Projekt dismissed the claim, but said: "It is the Company's will to maintain good relations with authors of works which have inspired CD Projekt Red's own creations. Consequently, the Board will go to great lengths to ensure amicable resolution of this dispute; however, any such resolution must be respectful of previously expressed intents of both parties, as well as existing contracts."

It appears that the desired amicable resolution has been achieved. The statement from CD Projekt states that: "The agreement satisfies and fully clarifies the needs and expectations of both parties, past and present, and sets out a framework for the future cooperation between the two sides."

quote:

Current report no. 15/2018

October 2, 2018

Subject: Receipt of a demand for payment submitted on behalf of Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski

Legal basis: Art. 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation _MAR_ – inside information

The Management Board of CD PROJEKT S.A. with a registered office in Warsaw, Jagiellońska 74, hereby announces that on 1 October 2018 the Company received an official demand for payment filed by plenipotentiaries of Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski.

The notice indicates that Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski expects payment of additional royalties beyond what had been contractually agreed upon between himself and the Company. The contents of the notice are attached to this report.

In the Company’s opinion the demands expressed in the notice are groundless with regard to their merit as well as the stipulated amount. The Company had legitimately and legally acquired copyright to Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski’s work, i.a. insofar as is required for its use in games developed by the Company. All liabilities payable by the Company in association therewith have been properly discharged.

It is the Company’s will to maintain good relations with authors of works which have inspired CD PROJEKT RED’s own creations. Consequently, the Board will go to great lengths to ensure amicable resolution of this
dispute; however, any such resolution must be respectful of previously expressed intents of both parties, as well as existing contracts.

In the Company’s opinion receipt of the abovementioned demands meets the significance criterion due to the identity of the person submitting the demands.

pentyne posted:

Really? Is there a link?

I read about him getting burned on the polish TV adaption making no money so for the video games his attitude was "cut me a check I have 0 expectations you succeed but have fun anyways assholes" and had a general disregard for the games themselves after the fact.

He's very much changed his tone towards adaptations in the last few years.

This is what I seem to remember

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-24-meeting-andrzej-sapkowski-the-writer-who-created-the-witcher


https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-02-cd-projekt-signs-new-agreement-and-ends-dispute-with-the-witcher-author


It seems to PR weasel words but very much written like CDPR just said "sure okay" and gave him a piece of their mega-hit to avoid the PR nightmare of the original author suing them.

https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/regulatory-announcements/current-report-no-15-2018/

Namnesor posted:

During that stretch of years, Square was just outright cruel to Eidos.

Halloween Jack posted:

These days, it seems wise to keep the creator onboard to avoid bad PR. People are very concerned about Authenticity in the products they buy from global conglomerates.

lite_sleepr posted:

Anything to get rid of the daft looking hood on the GM Feline armor set.

lite_sleepr posted:

You can get a concealment kit which allows you to wear the glasses and the rear end ears together.

Arcsquad12 posted:

Isn't that only available during the heist quest?

Arcsquad12 posted:

Isn't that only available during the heist quest?

Funky See Funky Do posted:

I have played this game a ludicrous amount and this is the first I'm hearing about a concealment kit.

My god it's real.

https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Concealment_kit

Funky See Funky Do posted:

I've always just gone along and assumed we do but do we need to carry the two swords? Are they actually ineffective vs the wrong opponent?

Funky See Funky Do posted:

I've always just gone along and assumed we do but do we need to carry the two swords? Are they actually ineffective vs the wrong opponent?

anatomi posted:

Halloween Jack posted:

I'm becoming a military nerd in my old age, so I just want a mod that makes Geralt close up the front of his brigandine.

Arcsquad12 posted:

I like how Geralt just wraps his Bear armour around him and cinches it like a bath robe rather than having proper fasteners.