[[>Silverback<]]

FInally, something in English! First Look at Elex - The Science Fantasy RPG from The Creators of Gothic

Thank you!
It sounds great.

[Ravenhearth]

The WoP interviewed Jenny about Elex. English subtitles are available. Have fun


[Video]

[SlamDunk]

The WoP interviewed Jenny about Elex.

Good stuff, thanks. Lots of new info, in there. I didn't know about the comet strike, for instance. I got the overall impression that ELEX is a typical PB game just with an unusual setting, this time. So, after all, PB don't seem to be "sailing in whole new waters with ELEX", as I said elsewhere.

Anyways... as the comet is the source of elex it must mean that the stuff will some day deplete, right? Unless that element has been reverse-engineered allowing people to manufacture it.

[catalinux]

Anyways... as the comet is the source of Elex it must mean that the stuff will some day deplete, right?

It is safe to assume that the comet was way smaller than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, so they must be running pretty soon out of elex...

Great interview, btw.

[Ravenhearth]

It clearly depends on what happened to the comet. If it was a huge comet that broke in smaller pieces before the impact, then there should be enough Elex. Or does it grow?

[catalinux]

If it was a huge comet that broke in smaller pieces before the impact, then there should be enough Elex.

And this explains why the entire population wasn't exterminated.

[Ravenhearth]

And why it seems to be spread over the planet.

[Soloist]

It is safe to assume that the comet was way smaller than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, so they must be running pretty soon out of elex...

In addition to what was already said by previous posters also remember that Elex is being used as a commodity and currency so it is not just being consumed but also traded and "recycled". Also, I'm not sure if comparisons to Earth and the comet impact that led to the dinosaur extinction make much sense because we do not know what kind of planet the world of Magalan (= Elex game world) is on. What size is it? What mass? What shape? What is the distribution of land and water? How are the continents arranged or is there just a single large continent? You know, all of this could be very different from planet Earth and thus the consequences of an impact, including the distribution of a substance like Elex that is enclosed within the comet, could be very different as well.
Finally, if Elex in its pure form (as originally enclosed inside the comet) is a light substance (like dust) then it would have been set free into the atmosphere of the planet after the impact. It would then be spread all over the world by high winds, weather, rain, oceanic currents etc. etc. - The game is set a few hundred years after the impact so Elex would have had quite a bit of time to spread around.

[catalinux]

In addition to what was already said by previous posters also remember that Elex is being used as a commodity and currency so it is not just being consumed but also traded and "recycled". Also, I'm not sure if comparisons to Earth and the comet impact that led to the dinosaur extinction make much sense because we do not know what kind of planet the world of Magalan (= Elex game world) is on. What size is it? What mass? What shape? What is the distribution of land and water? How are the continents arranged or is there just a single large continent? You know, all of this could be very different from planet Earth and thus the consequences of an impact, including the distribution of a substance like Elex that is enclosed within the comet, could be very different as well.
Finally, if Elex in its pure form (as originally enclosed inside the comet) is a light substance (like dust) then it would have been set free into the atmosphere of the planet after the impact. It would then be spread all over the world by high winds, weather, rain, oceanic currents etc. etc. - The game is set a few hundred years after the impact so Elex would have had quite a bit of time to spread around.

And don't forget that also the animals started to mutate because of the elex, so you might be right, elex could spread after the impact like some sort of toxic dust all over Magalan.

[The Ore Baron]

Haven't visited WoE for over a month. Found two new posts in the English section upon returning. I sure hope the German section is livelier than this wasteland, but since Morgannin hasn't uploaded a new video in a while, I'm pretty sure the things aren't any better on the other side of the language border.

So how come literally nobody gives a damn about Elex? Any ideas? Have people simply given up the hope of PB improving their game design? So far it seems to me they're not changing anything but the setting, in hopes that what didn't work in Risen 2 and 3 will somehow magically work in a sci-fi setting. Something tells me it won't.

Hell, even the World of PB profile on Facebook posts more updates on that Exoplanet game (that actually looks pretty damn good so far) and... advertises obscure movie reviewers?.. I don't even. Talk about not having much to work with.

Get your shit together, PB. This is absolutely not cute anymore.

[Ravenhearth]

Huh? There simply wasn't anything new to discuss for two months now. What do you expect?

[Morgannin09]

Believe me, I'm checking about six times a day to look for new info. The Q&A thread on the official forums have pretty much been people asking (and Jenny answering) the same questions that we've already asked a dozen times. Quite frankly, I think they announced this game waaaaaay too early. They should have waited until they had something presentable, and it certainly should have been ready by Gamescom, but it just didn't happen that way. I'm ready to jump on the next pile of screens or, hell, even the next magazine preview with any kind of hard facts to bring to the table, and I'll sit down and make a video for it without even blinking.

They could afford to tease us with a few new landscape shots, at the very least. Maybe one new monster design or unique weapon.

[rotator]

I don't think they announced the game too early. Finally we have a name and a setting. We know they are working on something fresh and not Risen 4.
I don't really need more information until the game is like 90% complete and most things are finalized. Then they can build a campaign and maybe even hype.
Not that I don't miss Ralf's playful chitchat during the development of Risen 1 and the generally positive attitude despite the failure of G3.

A month ago I have completed Dragon Age: Inquisition (160+ hours) and now I'm playing with The Witcher 3. I'm over 40 hours and it seems like I did not do shit, still on the second map and not even half of it is completed, journal is full of future quests I'm too weak for. I can safely say that I don't need these epic maps. Both games suffer from the same symptoms: either I do the open-world part with neverending, repeating side quests or jump into the main quest with lots of cutscenes and story. Somehow these two components don't blend well. A game with this kind of staggering proportion holds no replay value for me, no way I would ever touch DA:I and start the Hinterlands again from zero. I hope PB is targeting for a more "compact" experience with lot of replay value, just like in the past. It looks like I enjoy 4x 40 hours more than 1x 160 hours.

[The Ore Baron]

Huh? There simply wasn't anything new to discuss for two months now. What do you expect?

I expected something new to discuss I guess we continue on with the waiting game, then...

Quite frankly, I think they announced this game waaaaaay too early. They should have waited until they had something presentable, and it certainly should have been ready by Gamescom, but it just didn't happen that way.

My thoughts exactly. Rotator's argument makes sense, but I believe PB already started the hype by announcing the game, and now they're doing very little to maintain it. I'd prefer them only acouncing the game when they already have most of the stuff figured out and can provide some more coherent answers, and not just empty-sounding promises of things to come. This sort of... uh... frustration, I suppose, is causing some uneasiness among the members of our community. This often leads to angry outbursts, mean comments, and in the worst case - complete abandonment of any interest in the project. Now that's not only not nice, it's also detrimental to PB themselves. Every developer should care for the fanbase, and I think many of us are feeling like we don't get enough of it, as needy as it may sound.

Believe me, I'm checking about six times a day to look for new info. I'm ready to jump on the next pile of screens or, hell, even the next magazine preview with any kind of hard facts to bring to the table, and I'll sit down and make a video for it without even blinking.

And we're all eagerly waiting for it Willingly or not, you've became the unofficial voice of our little community. I check your YT profile regularly, as I'm sure most of us do.

It's nice to hear from you, guys. Let's hope we'll have some food for talk some time soon.

[Morgannin09]

And we're all eagerly waiting for it Willingly or not, you've became the unofficial voice of our little community. I check your YT profile regularly, as I'm sure most of us do.

I can't help but always feel surprised at that. I never thought I'd find a group of English speaking Gothic fans as strong as this, even if it's not quite what it used to be... I actually recall biting the bullet and posting on World of Gothic literally days before they announced it was closing... Ah, but this isn't the painful memories thread

And if you check my channel regularly, I'm sure you've noticed it's been dead for a couple months now... hoping to shake things up again soon, I just need to sort out some important matters at home, sooner rather than later.

[The Ore Baron]

As far as your comment on Risen 3... well, technically the same can be said for the Gothic series, and I don't think we'll see a sequel any time soon

No, not quite. Gothic 3 may not have been a good game, but it did provide a satisfying conclusion to the series and even allowed the player to chose the ending he wanted. Forsaken Gods, as unpopular as it may be within the community, built very nicely on top of that, resolved the fates of various characters in a more in-depth manner and consolidated the power of both Myrtana and her new king, the Nameless Hero. By that point, you could really say "And they lived happily ever after" and leave the Gothic series with a smile on your face. And as if this conclusion was not enough, Gothic 4, as technically mediocre as it was, allowed for a nice glimpse of what happened after that.
So yeah, the way I see it, the Gothic series has concluded in a satisfying manner. Further sequels are possible, but they would have to be completely new adventures, since the plotline that began with the original Gothic has been tied up nicely, even if you dismiss the non-PB games.
The same cannot be said about Risen, however. The Titans have risen in the first game, and a full-on war between them and their lords is raging over the land. The fate of humanity, the other races and the world itself is still unclear, an thus, the story is still not complete. Unlike Gothic, Risen's sequel is necessary for a satisfying conclusion, since Risen 3 was more of a spin-off, or a side story, rather than an actual sequel to Risen 2.

[glumetzul]

All in all, I'm still relatively excited, although still a little mad Risen 3 was in no way a conclusion to the Risen series. PB may run and hide from this fact, but they will have to produce at least one more Risen game in the future, else the series remains unfinished.

This is the first time I post here in a number of years and it's just to fully support this.

The ending to G3 was a crappy, no doubt about it, but it could still be considered some sort of ending to the adventures of the hero and to the war of the gods theme. With Risen, we got three games that in no way provide an adequate ending to the two heroes involved or to the battle against titans theme.

In the end, it all comes down to PB having a choice between two universes that they themselves created (or a mixture between them considering all the hints that Risen 1 was in fact following G3 story wise in a different part of the world) and deciding to fuck all that and try something new.

It does seem a bit like they felt like they fucked up too bad both series and they wanted to attempt one more fresh start.

Which reminds me of this:
[Video]

[The Ore Baron]

Whoa, talk about a blast from the past

[Morgannin09]

I've always voiced my belief that Risen was never meant to be a franchise, and that the groundwork of Risen 2 was probably made under the expectation of being a new IP until Deep Silver decided not to file a new trademark, thinking Risen sold well enough to have potential. So Risen ended up being three standalone stories with tenuous ties in the story. I could always be wrong, because this isn't something that PB will probably ever admit.

Meanwhile Gothic 3 just blew it and what came after just buried it.

[glumetzul]

I've always voiced my belief that Risen was never meant to be a franchise, and that the groundwork of Risen 2 was probably made under the expectation of being a new IP until Deep Silver decided not to file a new trademark, thinking Risen sold well enough to have potential. So Risen ended up being three standalone stories with tenuous ties in the story. I could always be wrong, because this isn't something that PB will probably ever admit.

Not that it would make it any better. It would actually make it worse as it would confirm PBs tendency to start things and leave them unfinished. It makes it unlikely for me to invest my time into yet a new franchise that might get once more dumped because they'll want to focus on a new game about something entirely different.

I know that the different publishers they worked with over the years share part of the blame. But for me, as a consumer, it's the end result that matters.