[Forward]

What about eating and drinking animation? Can you say anything about that?

[Nikolai81]

Which lighthouse keeper would be victorious in this fight?

In the first corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Khorinis,

in the second corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Myrtana,

in the third corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Faranga,

in the fourth corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Tacarigua,

in the fifth corner (ehh) we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Taranis.

[PB_Harry]

Long time ago, in a far german state there was a Harry who used to reply all the questions ... so here we go before some asteroids hit me in the face ^^

PB_Harry - thank you for your reply.
I have another, very important question: will the armour equpping system will be complete ( like Risen1 - gloves+cuirass+pants combined together into one element ) or partiall ( like in Skyrim or Risen2 - where you could combine various elements as gloves, various pants, cuirasses, boots and etc - I mean every armour element has it's own slot ) ???

You're welcome As for you question: Partiall. You can dress up with a complete set of armor but if you want to give you a more individual look choose your own style.

1. Will Risen 3 use the FPS Camera (Gothic 1, Gothic 2, Risen) style, or the system from Risen 2?

2. Will Risen 3 use the cutscenes as in Risen 2?

1. Risen 3 will have the camera system of Risen 2

2. If the question is if Risen 3 will have some cutscenes the answer is definitely yes

What about eating and drinking animation? Can you say anything about that?

Only in dialogues or when an NPC is within his daily routine. Not in combat.

Which lighthouse keeper would be victorious in this fight?

In the first corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Khorinis,

in the second corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Myrtana,

in the third corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Faranga,

in the fourth corner we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Tacarigua,

in the fifth corner (ehh) we have Jack the lighthouse keeper from Taranis.

You want to trick me, don't you?

[CzarnyAfgan]

TADAAAM ! - And the most important question of all - when will we see the game trailer ???

[foobar]

TADAAAM ! - And the most important question of all - when will we see the game trailer ???

That's a question for DS, not PB.

[The Ore Baron]

In Gothic I-II-NotR, all characters had different and actually memorable faces. Gothic III and Risen still had semi-unique faces that were less memorable, but still differed from one another.

Risen II, meanwhile, had, like, 6 preset faces and reused them over and over again. Reminded me of Gothic IV, actually.

What's the official excuse for that and will the same thing happen with Risen III?

[Andante]

1) Should I use a 360 controller or a keyboard and mouse combination to play Risen 3 (in case I buy it)? What do you suggest, what feels more natural?

2) Is it possible for the lazy/casual gamer that doesn't have enough time and just wants to progress the game and finish the story without worrying about stats, learning to fight etc. to set the difficulty to easy and speed-run the game, does button-mashing work in combat ?

3) Do chimpanzees make an appearance in Risen 3? I still remember those quests in R2 where you had to train that monkey in order to steal some items

[PB_Harry]

In Gothic I-II-NotR, all characters had different and actually memorable faces. Gothic III and Risen still had semi-unique faces that were less memorable, but still differed from one another.

Risen II, meanwhile, had, like, 6 preset faces and reused them over and over again. Reminded me of Gothic IV, actually.

What's the official excuse for that and will the same thing happen with Risen III?

As for Risen 3 our NPCs will have more different looking faces.

1) Should I use a 360 controller or a keyboard and mouse combination to play Risen 3 (in case I buy it)? What do you suggest, what feels more natural?

2) Is it possible for the lazy/casual gamer that doesn't have enough time and just wants to progress the game and finish the story without worrying about stats, learning to fight etc. to set the difficulty to easy and speed-run the game, does button-mashing work in combat ?

3) Do chimpanzees make an appearance in Risen 3? I still remember those quests in R2 where you had to train that monkey in order to steal some items

1. I can only speak for myself and have to mention that I'm an old WASD + Mouse gamer. I can't understand ppl who play games with gamepad (especially FPS! It's heresy!). Our team has ppl like me who prefer WASD + Mouse but also ppl who prefer the pad. God may forgive 'em

2. Hard to say because I always play in hard mode. But my guess is if you set the game on the easy mode you still have to make some progress to beat the game. It wont be impossible (at least I think so) but conquering the world with your first pants on seems to be quite impossible or a real challenge ^^

3. Sry. No comment (not yet)

[foobar]

Two questions about the free camera:

1. Item pickup
   In R2, the free camera was particularly annoying because, unlike other games, the focus depended on the direction the character was facing. Not the direction the camera was facing.
   So when the hero stood besides a mushroom, you had to first turn the mouse to get the mushroom on the screen. And then you had to press W to turn the character in that direction as well. And only then could you pick the mushroom up.
   All other games I know with that dreaded free camera gameplay at least don't require that additional press on the W key. You look at something with the mouse, then pick it up by pressing the button. Done.
   How will R3 behave in that regard?
   
   
2. Camera lock during combat
   Other games with free camera at least are smart enough to lock it behind the character during combat. Draw your weapon and the camera automatically locks. Because they know that (at least on the PC) a free camera is hindering smooth combat. Mass Effect would be an example, IIRC. But R2 made the exact opposite: You could lock the camera with an unsupported INI setting but it did not affect the combat.
   How will R3 behave?

[CzarnyAfgan]

My questions:

1. Why did you decide to make all NPC immortal ? That's a very bad decision - I would like to kill a NPC if he/she becomes too annoying... I liked the Gothic 1 system - where I had to think twice before I wanted to kill someone... Immortal NPC's - that looks very unrealistic, only story-important NPC's should be immortal - but this is only my opinion...
2. How can you estimate Risen 3 overall difficulty ? Will it be easier/more difficult than Risen 1 ? I found Risen 1 to be a little bit easy, but still acceptable.
3. Do you consider adding crossbows to the game ?
4. Why there will be NO official modkit ?
5. Very very important question, this doesn't relate directly to Risen3, but to all of Piranha Bytes work:

Have Piranha Bytes ever considered raising funds for creating the Gothic 5 ( or whatever succesor of Gothic series ) with some specific Kickstarter site campaign?
Going through various forums I can see, that there is still certain amount of Gothic series fans, who will to support such game.

One more question:

6. Will we see shields and helmets in Risen3 ?

Regards

[SlamDunk]

Re: http://www.dw.de/wollen-die-nur-spielen/av-17562339

[Bild: risen3_dw38jmd.png]

I really like how that scene at 2:59-3:04 looks. Lighting and colors are just amazing.

Is PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) in effect in that scene?

[Delicieuxz]

2. Hard to say because I always play in hard mode. But my guess is if you set the game on the easy mode you still have to make some progress to beat the game. It wont be impossible (at least I think so) but conquering the world with your first pants on seems to be quite impossible or a real challenge ^^

Can the naming convention for R3's difficulty settings be made to better reflect differences between them?

Easy/Normal/Hard is never telling of what actual experience differences will be, and the best challenge-scheme is one that doesn't just alter superfluous health-affectators in combat, but actually makes all challenges involve more detailed considerations (and ideally not influence health-stats at all)

- attack patterns becomes less predictable and more aggressively-sequenced
- NPCs might require more familiarity/favour with the player before providing help, offering engagement
- high-value weapons might price-increase by a percentage (necessitating means by which the player can progressively make income with repeated effort)
- health-giving plants or potions might reduce in availability (while health-stats remain equal across difficulties)

... and more things like these. The complexity of the game should increase according to simple principles that don't require reworking any of the game's design between difficulty levels.

[PB_Harry]

My questions:

1. Why did you decide to make all NPC immortal ? That's a very bad decision - I would like to kill a NPC if he/she becomes too annoying... I liked the Gothic 1 system - where I had to think twice before I wanted to kill someone... Immortal NPC's - that looks very unrealistic, only story-important NPC's should be immortal - but this is only my opinion...
2. How can you estimate Risen 3 overall difficulty ? Will it be easier/more difficult than Risen 1 ? I found Risen 1 to be a little bit easy, but still acceptable.
3. Do you consider adding crossbows to the game ?
4. Why there will be NO official modkit ?
5. Very very important question, this doesn't relate directly to Risen3, but to all of Piranha Bytes work:

Have Piranha Bytes ever considered raising funds for creating the Gothic 5 ( or whatever succesor of Gothic series ) with some specific Kickstarter site campaign?
Going through various forums I can see, that there is still certain amount of Gothic series fans, who will to support such game.

One more question:

6. Will we see shields and helmets in Risen3 ?

Regards

1. Not all NPCs are immortal and some NPCs become mortal after a certain event. One of the reasons were the complexity of telling our stories. I personally am looking forward for your feedback after the game is released. We'll collect some opinions and see what systems should be open for discussion .
2. You found Risen 1 too easy? The lizard ppl (don't know how they're called in english) had beaten the shit out of my body .. ^^ I found some of them quite challenging. So a statement would be just a personal opinion. I'm a skilled gamer and have played the game from the scratch on and so I'm blind for this topic ^^
4. Cost, time, manpower, a.s.o.
6. There will be some helmets

[CzarnyAfgan]

Okay, thanks for reply.

1. Now I know there will be helmets, but will shields be there too ?
2. Will Risen3 share similar data file system as Gothic 3 and Risen 1 ?
3. So do you consider adding some kind of community-sugestions based patch after the game is released?

Some very important thing:

Many players who have seen a sneek-peek from your studio http://www.dw.de/wollen-die-nur-spielen/av-17562339 a many did not like the free camera system from Risen 2. That type of camera is bad. We want Risen1 camera back please!

Quoting:

" It destroies the most precious feeling of immersion which we fans have been longing for, for years. With free camera we are forced to accept the sad truth that we are NOT the hero, we are just watching him. A fixed carema from his shoulder can make whole lot of difference."

I do agree with that opinion, and majority of players prefer Risen1/Gothic 1/2/3 fixed camera, than free camera. If I remember PB said "we go back to the roots" - fixed type camera was "the roots".

Really do we have to write common petition to your studio to change camera to fixed one, or will you simply listen ?

Kind regards

Btw. yeah lizardmen were tough-ass, but the rest was rather easy

[warstrike]

Do you have plans for your next game?

[Maladiq]

I personally am looking forward for your feedback after the game is released. We'll collect some opinions and see what systems should be open for discussion .

Does that mean that the contract with DS will not be renewed and that you guys will actually start and listen to the community once more since your new publisher allows it?

[Andante]

1)Will you consider the idea of a fixed camera (at least as an option)since many people from the community ask for it?

2) What about this red flash effect when you get hit? I find it annoying can you please remove it?

3) I don't remember if this has been asked but will there be an actual town in risen 3?

[The Ore Baron]

A collective question for both PB representatives and forum moderators.

Michael, Harry, how do you feel about players who pirate video games as an extended demo version, just to make sure if the game is worth the money? I know it's a slippery slope, and once you finish a pirated game, there's not much reason to pay for it, even if you enjoyed the experience.
[Text removed because of violation of ToS]

Do you think it would be understandable for people to do that with Risen 3, in the case of them feeling, I don't know, somehow betrayed by the lackluster quality of the previous game? Do you think you, as developers, are in position to ask for their trust based entirely on your promises? And do you think that I, as a player, am in position to ask for your trust based on my promise of buying the game if I enjoy it?
[Text removed because of violation of ToS]


Truth be told, I'll most likely buy the game anyway, as I hate owning incomplete collections of video games, movies or books, so even if Risen 3 will be the worst PB game so far, I will most likely purchase it just to calm my raging OCD.

I know it's a provocative question, but I'd be interested to hear your opinion on it.

Now, the second part of the question goes to the moderators: chances are high that pirated copies of the game will become available earlier than the official releases. If users with this illegal early access to the game will start discussing it, posting screenshots and revealing plot details, will that be considered a violation of forum rules? Would it make sense, knowing that once the official release is out, there will be no way to tell who owns a legit copy and who's playing a pirated one?

I hope I did not break any rules just by asking this question And in case I did: it was nice knowing you, people

[PB_Harry]

Okay, thanks for reply.

1. Now I know there will be helmets, but will shields be there too ?
2. Will Risen3 share similar data file system as Gothic 3 and Risen 1 ?
3. So do you consider adding some kind of community-sugestions based patch after the game is released?
4. Many players who have seen a sneek-peek from your studio http://www.dw.de/wollen-die-nur-spielen/av-17562339 a many did not like the free camera system from Risen 2. That type of camera is bad. We want Risen1 camera back please!
5. Btw. yeah lizardmen were tough-ass, but the rest was rather easy

1. No shields, sire.
2. Erm - sorry I'm not the right guy for technical questions ^^
3. I hope we don't need a patch. But in case there will be one we have to evaluate which things should be integrated.
4. Integrating the Risen 1 camera is not done with some clicks and would cause some unwanted sideeffects.
5. Yeah dude ... three of them and you were done for ^^. I was always happy if these assholes got their asses kicked by my mighty hero

Do you have plans for your next game?

Of course we do but we're still focused on Risen 3

2) What about this red flash effect when you get hit? I find it annoying can you please remove it?

3) I don't remember if this has been asked but will there be an actual town in risen 3?

2. You want no feedback if someone hurts you? In my point of view this sounds like a bad idea.

3. Risen 3 will not have Megacity 1 or 2 . But each of our factions have their own so called home base. And there are several NPCs out in the wilds.

A collective question for both PB representatives and forum moderators.

Michael, Harry,
1. how do you feel about players who pirate video games as an extended demo version, just to make sure if the game is worth the money

Do you think it would be understandable for people to do that with Risen 3, in the case of them feeling, I don't know, somehow betrayed by the lackluster quality of the previous game? Do you think you, as developers, are in position to ask for their trust based entirely on your promises? And do you think that I, as a player, am in position to ask for your trust based on my promise of buying the game if I enjoy it? Sure, using the product before you pay for it is not a typical business practice, but that's what's beautiful about digital media; in other words, if I could download a car before buying one, I would do so.

Interesting question! I personally buy every game and I'm not saying this because I'm supposed to do so . Regarding the last decade I had less than a fistfull of games which I regretted buying. During the 90s only a few people had internet and information about games were few and far between but nowadays I collect all the information (and I can't say that there is a lack of information) and therefore I actually don't need a demo. Maybe I'm just too trustworthy but my intuition worked well for me . I don't really like piracy because a lot of people put a lot of effort in a game. Yes some ppl might not like every feature but if the overall game is still good and fun to enjoy it should be worth the money. And let me add a personal statement: I'm part of Piranha Bytes for more than 2 years now and this job really fulfils me so I do hope I'll get the chance to create more games in the future. But if a lot of players don't want to spend their money and preferring piracy over buying us developers are going to have a bad time.

[Maladiq]

But if a lot of players don't want to spend their money and preferring piracy over buying us developers are going to have a bad time.

That is not true, piracy always existed, since the cassette tape was invented (I had games on cassette tapes when I was a child, I can't remember what system was that, it connected to the TV set). This is valid for movied, games, music and books. Yet nobody goes bankrupt because of piracy. Because there will always be decent people who will pay for the games. So the question is not "how are we going to stop piracy", but "how are we going to convince them to buy our product". With quality come sales. Kickstarter is the best example, you sell the game even before you make it. People just need to trust you.

So here is the thing: why would I trust you? You said that one of your favourite games is Risen 2. And not just once. Ever since Mike started taking steps back, and Bjoern taking steps forward, there has been a shift in the quality of PB games. Gothic 2 was amazing, but the story was a bit clichee. Gothic 3 had the right ideas, but lacked the direction. Risen 1 was in the right place, but it landed short. And then Risen 2 came and it was a disaster. Story wise, gameplay, mechanics, direction. Everything.

Can you convince me that Risen 3 will not be the same?