LEVEL: Recenze Gothic 1
Autor: Martin Bach
Vydno: 12/2001 (LEVEL 83)
Reprint na Gothicz.net: 15.3.2011
Tato recenze je zveřejněna z laskavm svolenm redakce časopisu LEVEL.
Dobře to zazpval Petr těpn a jeho legendrn XIII. stolet. Gotika se opravdu vrac, a pokud jste připraveni, můe vs dokonale pohltit. Nvrat času, kter nebyl m na svědom německ firma Piranha Bytes, kter nm po vce ne dvou letech předlouhho čekn přin akčn RPG Gothic, konečně i v anglick verzi. Faktem je, e konverze trvala dle, ne by bylo zdrvo (hra vyla v Německu ji začtkem roku) a doprovzely ji nejrůzněj problmy, a dokonce i petice nespokojench hrčů. Nyn je ale ve zapomenuto a v předvnočnm čase vtaj nae obchody anglick Gothic s otevřenou nruč. Jedna otzka se ale přmo nabz. Stlo to nestandardně dlouh čekn vůbec za to?
V prv řadě si musme řct jedno. Gothic nen dnm historickm RPG a cel jeho přběh a prostřed je postaveno na fantazii tvůrců. V tomto směru se kadmu lb něco jinho, take nečekejte, e vm svět hry padne do oka na prvn pohled. Je toti skutečně dost svrzn a s gotickm obdobm, jak jej znme z hodin dějepisu, nem (a na architekturu) prakticky nic společnho. Přběh nicmně začn klasickm bylo, nebylo stylem... Dalek krlovstv Myrtana vzkvt kadm okamikem sv existence. Prakticky na kadm rohu jsou zde bohat nalezitě elezn rudy, kter je v těchto těkch časech tměř stejně tak cenn jako zlato. Aby nebylo toho těst mlo, tři moudř a hodn bohov vldnou lidem v Myrtaně, nejvy bůh slunce, Innos, vldce mezi nebem a zem Adanos, a nepřli oblben bůh smrti Beliar.
Bohov dodvaj moc a slu svm kněm, kouzelnkům, kteř chrn krlovstv před zkzou. Ta se vak ji ikuje za hranicemi krlovstv v podobě vlečnků nepřtelskch zem, kteř chtěj ukořistit něco z bohatstv Myrtany. Vlka trv sice jen krtce, Myrtana je mnohem silněj ne nepřtel, ale obět je mnoho. Během zimy umr slavn krl Rhotbar a na trůn nastupuje jeho syn, Rhotbar II. Ten se pokus spolu s moudrmi svho nroda a kněmi sestavit pln, dky ktermu by se Myrtana vrtila zpět do starch časů. Čstečně se mu to i podař, pobije vechny dosavadn nepřtele, a dokonce začne pronikat do dalch zem, kde ale naraz na slu, kterou nelze přemoci - orkov. Ti zaenou Rhotbara II. zptky a hroz zničenm celho krlovstv.
Krl se proto rozhodne ochrnit nedůleitěj město v zemi, Khorinis, kde se tajně tě velmi vzcn kouzeln ruda. Dvanct nejmocnějch mgů krlovstv (po esti od Innose a po esti od Adanose) hodl nad městem vytvořit ochrannou bariru. Kouzlo se ale nevydař tak, jak by mělo, a barira pohlt mnohem vět zem a uzavře v sobě i samotn mgy. Uvnitř propukne vzpoura a vězni, kteř tě rudu, pozabjej sv stre. Naivu nechaj pouze kouzelnky, protoe bez nich by se jejich ance na prolomen bariry rovnala nule. V uzavřen oblasti pak vzniknou tři nejdůleitěj msta.
Mgov ohně (Innos) zůstanou společně s čst vězňů v Khonirisu a pojmenuj jej Star kemp. Společně obchoduj s krlem a skrz bariru vyměňuj vytěenou rudu za jdlo, pit a zbraně. Několik vězňů se rozhodne s krlem nespolupracovat a zalo tzv. Nov kemp. Mgov vody (Adanos) se tak uchl do samoty a modl se ke svmu bohu, aby jim pomohl prolomit bariru. Mezitm v okolnm světě zuř vlka a krl potřebuje nutně vce a vce magick rudy. Posl proto do bariry kadho, kdo se provin nějakm zločinem. Jednoho dne se ale přepočt a shod do věčnho vězen vs...
Věřte, e prvě propracovan svět a prostřed je největ devizou Gothicu. Hra vs prakticky neustle vede k rozlutěn pozad veho, co se kolem děje, a bez znalosti i těch nejmench podrobnost jste ztraceni. Zpočtku se Gothic jev jako jaksi akčn adventura s trochou RPG elementů, nakonec je ale vemu jinak. Postavu vaeho hrdiny vidte z tombraiderovskho pohledu, co je pro klasick RPG poněkud nezvykl, hodně netradičn pro tento typ her je tak ovldn, je v sobě kombinuje řzen kamery my a postavy klvesnic. Bohuel, autoři v tomto směru dost nedomysleli funkce jednotlivch klves, co vs při prvnch hodinch hran doke často pěkně znechutit. Kupřkladu k předn předmětu jin osobě je nutn pout akčn klvesu v kombinaci s ipkou doleva atd. Upozorňuji, e na rozdl od jinch klves, nelze tyto nesmysln zkratky definovat, take je prostě muste pouvat. Paklie se tedy d přběh povaovat za jasn klad Gothicu, ovldn se naopak vůbec nepovedlo.
I přes odlin systm ovldn je samotn hran Gothic podobn nejvce akčnm RPG. Četnost akce a npaditost questů se pohybuje na rozumn hranici mezi Diablem a kupřkladu Baldur's Gate, co jistě potě ty z vs, kter ji nebav neustl jednotvrn vraděn v RPG od Blizzardu, ale kteř si zroveň netroufaj na komplexněj a propracovaněj tituly. Velmi mě překvapily dialogy s NPC, je jsou na skvěl rovni, a nehrateln postavy budete prokecvat jen ze zvědavosti na to, co novho vm prozrad. Rozhovory navc probhaj adventurnm způsobem, take si sami vybrte, ktermi otzkami popoenete pokec dl. Skvělm npadem je i odposlouchvn cizch rozhovorů, ze kterch sice větinou zaslechnete jen mal trky, ale značně přidvaj hře na atmosfře. Co se tče kolů, kter dostvte, jejich rozmanitost je poměrně slun a jen mlokdy se tak hra propadne do stereotypu. Na druhou stranu je hlavn dějov linie dosti přmočar, a pokud se vykalete na vedlej questy, ze kterch se daj zskat velmi zajimav věcičky, nen problm Gothic dokončit během tak dvaceti hodin hran.
Kořenm kad RPG je systm vylepovn vlastnost. V tomto směru vs Gothic k ničemu nenut a nechv vm absolutně volnou ruku, nicmně ve je vyřeeno trochu jinm způsobem, ne je obvykl. Vae postava je na začtku předefinovan, take nemte monost si zvolit rasu, povoln nebo někter zkladn vlastnosti. V průběhu hry pak, podobně jako v Diablu, sbrte zkuenostn body, kter poslze můete vyut při trninku u předem určench postav. Pokud tedy chcete vylepit slu nebo odolnost, jdete za bojovnkem, pokud potřebujete zlepit sv magick vlastnosti, jdete za kouzelnkem atd. Zpočtku budete vylepovat hlavně sv fyzick parametry pro souboje s nepřteli, ale postupem času se vyplat pouvat i magii. Ta se rozděluje na dva styly, vodn a ohniv, přičem i tehdy, kdy se budete učit pouze např. u ohnivch mgů, vm nic nebrn se později naučit i vodn kouzla. Vyvolvte je buď pomoc svitků, kter jsou větinou na jedno pouit, nebo pomoc run, je jsou pochopitelně věčn. Stejně jako u zbran (viz ne), mohli bt i při vymlen kouzel autoři trochu npaditěj, ale co se d dělat. Mezi dal důleit vlastnosti patř i pčen zmků a skočn manvry při soubojch, kter jsou uitečn zejmna při porovnvn sil se silnějmi potvorami.
Souboje probhaj realtimově a jejich podobnost s Diablem je vce ne jasn. Vzhledem k pouitmu ovldn a grafice ale mte vce monost hybnch manvrů a pohybů, take pot, co vm ovldn přejde do krve, postoup souboje na roveň pravch ermřskch bitev. V tomto směru bych Gothicu vytknul snad jen malou npaditost ve zbranch, kterch je poměrně mlo. Je zde několik druhů mečů, palic, krumpčů (!!!) a luků, co je vcelku mlo. Prvě proto budete v zvěru hojně pouvat kouzlen.
Po technick strnce hře snad ani nemm co vytknout. Postavy se a na vjimky nezasekvaj ve stěnch a ani s kamerou nen problm. Skvěl je, e jednotliv kempy ij svm vlastnm ivotem - lid chod spt, nenechaj si jen tak někoho vejt do svch přbytků, drbou udlosti okolnho světa atd. Jak bylo moje překvapen, kdy jsem v bojovm mdu a s vytasenm mečem pobhal po městě a nedbal varovn str ve stylu: Polo tu zbraň, nebo bude litovat! Rychl smrt na sebe nenechala dlouho čekat. S vbornou grafikou ale souvisej i nadprůměrn hardwarov nroky - ve vych rozliench a na pln detaily si plynule zahraj jen majitel těch nejlepch strojů. Na konci technickho rozboru bych vyzdvihl hudbu, je je velmi slun a svou npaditost mi čas od času připomněla některou z mch oblbench kapel formtu In Extremo.
Omezen msta v časopise mi bohuel nedovoluje prozradit vm o Gothic vce. Pokud stle nevte, zda si hru opatřit, nemm pro vs tud ani dn smyslupln zvěr. Mon byste si jetě jednou mohli přečst recenzi...
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Ну вот, пожалуйста. Чистейшая родниковая вода, песчаное дно, декоративные рыбки, великолепные отражения. Such a perfect day! (Здесь и далее приведены скриншоты, рисуемые движком Codecreatures.)
"...Увидимся в Лондоне, ребята, торопливо пишет на прощание из офиса Piranha Bytes Том ПУТЦКИ (Tom Putzki), главный дизайнер проекта Gothic (см. еще одно интервью с ним в нынешней теме номера, которое, вообще говоря, стоит прочитать первым), вот мой сотовый и номер стенда. Буду жутко рад, правда!" И почти бесследно исчезает, оставив лишь туманные намеки на сиквел столь полюбившейся нам РПГ Gothic.
А потому, придя в себя после первого суматошного выставочного дня, мы без колебаний направляемся к стенду с подозрительным названием Phenomedia AG. Лица нахмурены, брови насуплены: мы обязаны найти этого беглеца Путцки и вытрясти из него максимум эксклюзивных заявлений. Толпа перед стендом вежливо расступается, и мы оказываемся у столика дежурного. "Где Путцки? Том Путцки?" Затырканная блондинка бальзаковского возраста (тот самый дежурный) нервически кивает в сторону огромных размеров пиджака, горячо дискутирующего с кем-то неподалеку: "Вот он". Гора стремительно разворачивается в нашу сторону, коротко концентрируется на бэджах с нашими именами и в ту же секунду расплывается в улыбке: ".EXE! Как поживает ваша тема номера? Надеюсь, мое интервью не запоздало? Пойдемте, пойдемте я покажу вам Gothic".
Мы радостно скалимся и подробно, в лицах, излагаем, что именно необходимо сделать, чтобы получить робу Некроманта. Гора все понимает. Последующие полчаса проходят в обсуждении тонких моментов Gothic и перемывании костей самок троллей. Том медленно размякает и уже почти готов к употреблению. Мы плавно подводим его к более всего интересующей нас теме. Но сначала еще несколько расслабляющих пассов...
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Знаменитая трава и нашумевшие ромашки. Импрессионисты были бы довольны работой своих нео-коллег. Вот только побольше бы речки
Game.EXE: ...ваше отношение к Ultima Online?
Том ПУТЦКИ: О-бо-жаю! Провел в Британнии кучу времени, играл буквально каждый день. Даже во время разработки Gothic.
.EXE: И что вы думаете по поводу скоропостижной смерти Ultima Online 2?
Т.П.: До сих пор не могу целиком осознать двигавшие Electronic Arts мотивы! Игра должна была получиться великолепной. Не понимаю...
.EXE: Были ли какие-нибудь источники Gothic-вдохновения помимо серии Ultima, влияние которой заметно невооруженным глазом?
Т.П.: Безусловно. Настольные AD&D, Vampire, Shadowrun. Последний вообще является перманентным любимцем команды.
.EXE: А Vampire: Masquerade понравился?
Т.П.: Нет. Слабенький проект. Понятно, мы восхищались Fallout, плюс я много читал о Planescape: Torment, но, увы, руки до игры так и не дошли. Жалею.
.EXE: Чем же так хорош Shadowrun?
Т.П.: Там есть все. Все-все-все, что может себе представить человек, увлеченный ролевыми играми, фантастикой и фэнтези. Все самое лучшее в одной вселенной: мечи, магия и технология! Вот бы достать лицензию...
.EXE: И тогда не будет Gothic 2?
Т.П.: Gothic 2 будет в любом случае. Но на основе Shadowrun я смог бы сделать четыре, нет пять игр! И все совершенно разные. Массивная вселенная, богатейший источник для вдохновения.
.EXE: В Gothic 2 тоже будет много открытых пространств?
Т.П.: А вы как думали? Ведь он...
Том прерывается и смотрит на нас. Наконец, широко улыбается и к нашему вящему удивлению энергично подпрыгивает на высоком стуле. Его совершенно явно охватывает неконтролируемая волна веселья.
Т.П.: Раскололи, да? Это я на радостях. Вчера мы впервые начали показывать на публике (специализированной, конечно) наш новый доселе совершенно секретный движок. И знаете, толпа посетителей-разработчиков не иссякает! А прямо перед вами заглянул знакомый журналист из нашего, немецкого, игрового журнала. Так вот, сегодня он рассказал о нашем графическом движке Питеру Молиньё, и тот... ни за что бы не поверил!.. собирается навестить нас, чтобы полюбоваться нашим творением!
Череда прыжков на стуле, ерзанье, откровенное счастье в глазах.
.EXE: Питер? Да, он здесь селебрити первой величины. (Верный .УЧУман Молиньё получил в этот раз почти ВСЕ, кроме трех, официальные награды ECTS. Мы, взяв грех на душу, старого друга решили не баловать, презентовав свою звездочку "PC Game of The Year Russia" издателям Baldur's Gate 2 любимой фирме Interplay. А.В.) И этот движок будет использован для проекта Gothic 2, так?
Т.П.: Не-а. Gothic 2 мы делаем на доработанной версии старого движка. Там будет еще больше открытых пространств и не менее великолепные ландшафты вы ведь этого ожидаете? А новый движок, который для нас сделала компания Codecult, мы приберегаем для нашего второго проекта. Он не объявлен, еще не имеет названия, и я вообще не должен о нем заикаться.
.EXE: И все же?
Т.П.: Мы будем делать 3D action. С такой графикой, что стушуются и Black & White, и Messiah. Посмотрите сами!
Смотрим. Очень внимательно. Движок называется Codecreatures (http://www.codecult.com/). Демонстрируемая технологическая демо-версия шокирует не хуже любого специально подготовленного ролика ультрамодной карты GeForce3. С одной оговоркой: она полностью интерактивна. Идиллическая картинка на экране зачаровывает, она живет, она дышит. Мерно шуршат стебли высокой травы, покачиваются от ветра ромашки, листья деревьев дис-крет-но по-ма-хи-ва-ют в сто-ро-ну ле-ни-во про-ле-та-ю-щих ми-мо ба-бо-чек. Но даже на Рentium 4 с фирменным GeForce3 действо безбожно тормозит. Том охотно комментирует: "Вы видите обработку 10 миллионов полигонов в секунду. В Gothic весь мир состоял из 95000 полигонов а здесь только 13000 уходит на одно деревце". Камера свободно вращается: приближается прямо к спокойной поверхности пруда, чтобы одновременно похвастаться и текстурой дна, и туманным расплывчатым отражением... орла, царственно раскинувшего крылья в небе.
Один щелчок мыши и текстуры исчезают, заваливая экран тетрисными контурами полигонов. Картина из жизни сталкера. Пучки травы ходят ходуном, по-змеиному шевелятся прожилки листьев. Жуткое зрелище!
.EXE: Том, а почему бы не использовать это чудо для Gothic 2?
Т.П.: Придется заново переделывать всю архитектуру, а нам бы этого не хотелось. К тому же такие красоты могут быть в игре только одного жанра 3D action!
.EXE: Ну хорошо, а что же произойдет в Gothic 2?
Т.П.: Как вы уже догадались, тюремные стены сломаны, и маленькая страна зэков триумфально воссоединяется с большим королевством. Которое, между прочим, находится в состоянии активной войны с орками. Не забыли? Вот. Нашему герою, сыгравшему столь значительную роль в побеге из готик-тауна, теперь по плечу любые задачи в том числе и решение глобального военного вопроса. Чем не эпика? Чем не готика?
.EXE: Том, последний вопрос, прежде чем мы рысцой потрусим на следующую встречу: как вы себя ощущаете сейчас, здесь, на ECTS?
Т.П.: I'm happy. I'm SO happy!
.EXE: Good for you.
Подведем итог. Чем грозит Piranha Bytes нашей великой Родине? Двумя проектами, которые выйдут совсем не скоро. Gothic 2, без сомнения, будет хорош этим парням можно верить. Что касается загадочного экшена на супердвижке... что ж, это нынче в моде. Талантливейшие команды с видом факиров-самоучек выуживают из шляп, карманов и рукавов 3D action-тайтлы, один за другим. Посмотрите хотя бы на IO Interactive, создателей Hitman. Интересно будет столкнуть эти художества лоб в лоб годика через два. А пока не забудьте узнать о наполеоновских планах родителей абсолютно лысого и густобрового киллера из чужедальней Дании...
Такой должна быть каждая Ultima: Ascension!
"Люблю немцев. Жалко, что мы их победили", - сказал ББ. Я не понял, но согласился. Хорошие люди действительно встречаются везде. То, что Том ПУТЦКИ (Tom Putzki), - свой в доску и вообще рубаха-парень, мы узнали только на ECTS. Читайте об этом приятном открытии и очной ставке с Томом в выставочно-новостном блоке журнала. А покамест, еще до Лондона, мы мирно е-беседуем с одним из четырех отцов-основателей симпатичной девелоперской команды Piranha Bytes вокруг да около ее первого игрового проекта. Gothic...
Game.EXE: Здравствуй, Страшная Компьютерная Рыбка! Не откажешься ли ответить на несколько вопросов о нашем самом любимом немецком проекте пары последних лет?
Том ПУТЦКИ: Не вопрос! Я Том Путцки, один из главдизайнеров Gothic (а также местный специалист по маркетингу и пиару). К вашим услугам.
.EXE: Лучшего и не пожелаешь. Том, вашу игру невозможно не сопоставить с последним отпрыском почившей Origin Ultima: Ascension. Как вы относитесь к Ultima: Ascension?
Т.П.: Вы читаете по-немецки? Если нет, то тогда вы точно не знаете, что говорят о нас немецкие журналисты. А говорят они следующее: "Gothic это игра, которой должна была быть Ultima: Ascension". Вот так. Ascension нам нравится, иначе мы остановились бы на ином РПГ-поджанре. Великолепная вселенная, раскрученный мир, глубокая атмосфера... Ultima была хороша!
.EXE: Но вы явно не хуже, ребята. Думаю, с вашей легкой руки вполне может закрепиться специфический жанр -- что-нибудь вроде "roleplaying adventure". Кстати, почему РПГ?
Т.П.: Все просто: Piranha Bytes была основана квартетом сугубых поклонников этого великолепного жанра. Наши симпатии распространяются и на настольные, и на всевозможные компьютерные ролевые игры. Других вариантов нашего первого проекта просто не могло быть! Книги, фильмы это тоже вдохновение. К примеру, вы догадались, что прообразом нашего ГЛАВНОГО ПЕРСОНАЖА был не кто иной, как герой Курта Рассела (Kurt Russell) по прозвищу "Змей Плисскин" (Snake Plissken) из фильма "Побег из Нью-Йорка"?
.EXE: Неожиданный поворот событий... Нет, конечно. А почему же тогда "Gothic"?
Т.П.: Отличное название. Темное, мистическое, мрачное. То, что надо! И команде ужасно нравится.
.EXE: А кому не понравится? Мы хотели бы знать имя героя, сочинившего столь эпическую средневековую сагу.
Т.П.: Его зовут Майкл Хоге (Michael Hoge). Он и его команда сценаристов действительно свернули камни, чтобы Gothic стала столь увлекательным приключением.
.EXE: Том, каким вам виделся проект с самого начала? Насколько он трансформировался в ходе реализации?
Т.П.: Что удивительно, игра почти не изменилась. C самого начала мы хотели сделать настоящую РПГ, но обойтись без занудной статистики. Идея та же, что и в Ultima: Ascension: игрок получает отдачу от развития умений визуально, а не столбцами цифр. Согласитесь, получить в свое распоряжение новый удар или финт гораздо приятнее, чем поднять боевой скилл с 67,2 до 67,3.
.EXE: Сидящие на Everquest с вами ни за что не согласятся, Том. Но мы не будем отвлекаться на этих несчастных. Лучше спросим, какие правильные, на ваш взгляд, элементы не вошли или не успели войти в Gothic?
Т.П.: Мы долго мучились с многопользовательским режимом. Честное слово. Но так и не смогли довести его до требуемой кондиции. Gothic обладает слишком сложной структурой, игра целиком завязана на сюжет. Сделать совместное прохождение сюжетной игры мы не смогли, а опустить наше детище до уровня deathmatch не захотели. Команда и я лично очень довольны первой игрой но ведь идеала не существует, правда?
.EXE: Увы. Но вы добились очень многого. И это тоже чистая правда. Например, в Ultima: Ascension даже не было партии. По заявлению самих разработчиков, они элементарно не справились с задачей pathfinding для напарников главного героя! Были ли у вас подобные проблемы?
Т.П.: О, да! Я прекрасно тот ужас, когда мы впервые включили полностью готовый искусственный интеллект монстров и NPC. Знаете, что произошло? NPC мрачно посмотрели друг на друга, повытаскивали свое оружие все эти мечи, арбалеты и палицы и устроили безумную резню, этакий ремейк Варфоломеевской ночи. Мы были в шоке. Игровой мир оказался совершенно пуст уже через пару минут. Массакр!
.EXE: Хо. Хо. Хо. Должно быть, зрелище было впечатляющим... NPC в игре действительно дерутся красиво. Но нам интересно вот что: как вы относитесь к знаменитой боевой схеме, внедренной создателями Die By the Sword?
Т.П.: DBTS. Суровая штука. Мы изучали ее долго, невероятно долгое время. Наши выводы были таковы: система великолепна, но чрезвычайно недружественна по отношению к пользователю. Что касается наших собственных алгоритмов, мы собираемся их значительно усовершенствовать. Поклонники Gothic предложили море замечательных идей некоторые из них мы обязательно используем в наших грядущих проектах.
.EXE: Грядущих проектах?
Т.П.: Упс! Я это сказал?
.EXE: Ага.
Т.П.: Может, я лучше впечатлю вас заявлением, что Diablo 2 лучшая в мире фехтовальная игра? Честно.
.EXE: Спасибо. Но...
Т.П.: А знаете, почему в сюжетной линии вообще нет романтических петель и кувырков?
.EXE: А-а-а...
Т.П.: Еще немного фактов: в Gothic примерно 80000 произносимых слов и около 800 всевозможных анимаций, движений человеческого тела. И все это только для мужского населения!
.EXE: Какой шовинизм.
Т.П.: Да, но если бы мы решили ввести в игру женский персонаж (хотя бы один, серьезный, а не молчаливо моющий полы), пришлось бы окончательно погрязнуть в анимации и провести дополнительную работу с актерами.
.EXE: Но почему же тогда вы включили в игру кучу дополнительных, совсем необязательных телодвижений? Листание книг, добыча руды...
Т.П.: Нам хотелось наделить игрока и NPC равными правами. Может, вам станет завидно при виде орка, ловко орудующего киркой!
.EXE: Очень сомнительно, Том! Мы больше по части умственного труда... С другой стороны, вы тоже. Ведь вы сделали игру сами, включая графический движок. Неужели это проще, чем лицензировать готовый?
Т.П.: Gothic не был бы столь импрессивно-готическим, если бы делался на чужом движке. К тому же мы начали работу над игрой именно с движка и менять коней на полпути уже не хотелось. Это накладно и сопряжено со многими трудностями и ограничениями. У нас много открытых пространств, очень навороченный мир нам требовался уникальный мотор для нашего детища!
.EXE: Ходят слухи о том, что вы собираетесь выпустить комплект утилит для Gothic, состоящий из всевозможных редакторов. Это так?
Т.П.: Несомненно. Вот краткое описание способностей нашего маленького редакторского аддона: возможность изменять характеристики оружия, вещей и NPC, возможность создавать собственное оружие и предметы (все моделирование должно производиться в 3DS MAX), возможность создания новых миссий, диалогов, NPC-персонажей и уровней (моделирование в 3DS MAX, пожалуйста: откомпилировали и все готово!), возможность изменения готовых уровней, освещения и звука... Уф! Кажется, все.
.EXE: Раздолье. А что же вы сами? Собираетесь развивать открытую вселенную и дальше? Или возьметесь за что-нибудь новенькое?
Т.П.: А хороший получился мир, правда? Глубокий, интригующий. Он нам нравится. Ожидайте развития событий! Хотя об этом я говорить пока не уполномочен.
.EXE: Тогда расскажите о своем волшебном саундтреке. Как вы нашли эту группу? Как она называется? Это ведь они лично на сцене, так?
Т.П.: Воистину так! Группа называется In Extremo, ее участники обретаются в Берлине. Однажды в мой офис заявился один из нашей команды, Маркус Карк (Markus Kark), торжественно вручил мне компакт-диск и заявил примерно следующее: "Попробуй полюбишь!". Это оказался диск Weckt die Toten (лит. перев. "Реанимируя мертвяков") и он мне очень, очень понравился. Как будто средневековая классика чудесным образом полюбила продукцию Ramstein. Вы ведь слышали "Рамштайн"?
.EXE: Еще бы. Мы хотели назвать эту тему "Du hast".
Т.П.: Йа, фантастиш. Ну так вот, я отправился на концерт. Увидел их на сцене и понял это идеальная музыка для Gothic. Я нашел их менеджера, мы протолковали пару часов, выпили ящик пива и бутылку виски... И через некоторое время вся боевая команда In Extremo оказалась в нашей motion capture-студии, где мы снимали их движения! (Кстати, вокалист группы действительно время от времени инфернально изрыгает огненные фонтаны!) Они наградили нас песней с нового альбома. Разумеется, теперь я часто посещаю их концерты, и мы весело квасим за кулисами.
.EXE: Эх... Идиллия. Может, в заключение разговора расскажете о своих любимых играх, Том? В ваших музыкальных пристрастиях мы уже ориентируемся.
Т.П.: С удовольствием. Вот вечные хиты: Pong, Crazy Kong, Asteroids, Elite, Civilization, Diablo 1, Deus Ex, System Shock, Ultima Online, Age of Empires, WarCraft, Half-Life. А вот сиюминутные любимцы: Max Payne, Operation Flashpoint, Black & White, Mech Commander 2.
.EXE: Великолепно. Спасибо, Том. И до встречи на ECTS!
Т.П.: Приходите на наш стенд. Не пожалеете уверяю вас.
ferrago.com 12/2001
05.12.2001 Gothic (PC) - A very fine RPG from Xicat, no less.
The role-playing game genre has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, thanks to the burgeoning popularity of its love-child; the massively-multiplayer online role-playing game. Of course, the new focus upon this lucrative subscription-driven genre, has vastly impacted the development of more traditional off-line RPGs, and it was with this in mind that I approached Piranha Bytes Gothic a huge RPG title that was released in Germany earlier this year to critical acclaim, and has now arrived in the UK.
Sure enough, the games ambitions cannot be doubted, with Piranha pouring endless hours of attention into the depth of the games premise, and its relationship to the graphical world in which the plot unfolds. I also noted with relief, at the same time, that the translation in language from German to English has been a good one, with good voice-acting, and convincing dialogue. Perhaps this explains why Gothic took so long to reach other countries outside of Piranhas homeland of Germany. Regardless, it was time well spent.
As with any RPG worth its salt, the story is a good yarn, and fortunately Piranha have crafted a pretty good effort proving, intriguing, immersive, and perhaps most crucially, compelling. The plot surrounds a fantastical realm which is ravaged by a desperate war against the Orcs; the King of this realm is driven, in a bid to maintain the War effort, to put all criminals guilty of any offence, to work in the Mines of the province, providing materials for weapons, etc. Unfortunately, the appalling conditions lead to many escape attempts from the prisoners, and the King is eventually forced to request the powers of the twelve Mages, in erecting a magical barrier incarcerating the convicts. This force-field goes horribly wrong however, leaving the Mages trapped inside their own spell. The convicts immediately kill their guards and anarchy ensues forming new alliances in the struggle for power. The King is now forced to bargain with the convicts for the essential ore it is at this seemingly hopeless stage that you arrive, just another convict pushed into the magical cage to work in the mines. Here you enter the plot.
The immediate sense upon entering the world is a disorientating one. Where are you? Who are these people? Where do I go, what do I do? Its genuinely quite daunting, and this seems to be a clever move on the part of the designers as you empathise with your character. The world is vast too, and the plot free-form, allowing you to explore, discover and learn the ways of the various Camps, people, and creatures that make up this vivid and bizarre world. You have certain tasks to complete, and people to meet; though no ultimate super-objective or clear path to closure. This is perhaps the most interesting, and most certainly challenging aspect of Gothic. It is both sides of the coin.
The main bulk of the game is in part about influence; who you can befriend to survive and succeed, who you must therefore challenge and fight. This is due in part to the games very clever real-world ideals; the idea of life continuing and changing independent of your actions. Hence people you converse with might tell there friends, and help you; your enemies may council each other against you. Its a case of who, not what, you know. This makes for a very nice, deliberate, and subtle blend of gameplay too, as the game focuses on intelligent discovery and dialogue, rather than combat, though thats not to say that a little action isnt in there either.The combat is quite often in self-defence against the occasional aggressive animal inhabitants of the world; but from time to time will also involve you engaging those of a dissimilar disposition to yourself. Its rather fun too, though the control system was occasionally a little cumbersome, the inventory system for selecting and drawing weapons being a little sluggish. The enemy AI is generally good too, especially in the dramatic fashion battle commences, though the intelligence does have its occasional glitches. Nothing too appalling, though.
As the plot unfolds and your reputation (such as it might be) begins to spread throughout this strange world; your skill will no doubt grow too, enabling new skills and abilities; you make NPC friends along the way, as well some of whom may assist you briefly in one particular objective, others who might be truer friends, providing greater help. The implementation of this is very well done too, especially as the NPCs are vital to the constant new discoveries youll be making in a game that boasts in the region of one-hundred hours gameplay. I could see why it took a rumoured four years to develop.
Which brings me on to the environment; the world, and its graphics. Stunning. Theres no other word for it. The landscape is among the most detailed, rich and diverse Ive ever witnessed. This in a genre with some good opposition, too. Just one look at the screenshots and Im sure youll agree that Piranha have done a fabulous job of creating a world which really feels like its living and breathing; evolving. The weather effects are a nice touch too, once again adding to the games immersion, as snow, rain and night falls then dawn breaks. Its all very detailed, some of the panoramas afforded to the player being particularly awe-inspiring. This is without doubt one of the most cohesive and satisfying game worlds created though youll need to make sure your system specification is up to the challenge.
To conclude, Gothic should be seriously considered by all fans of the genre, who will no doubt love the detailed world and surrounding story, that offer gamers large helpings of what made RPGs great in the first place: a sense of discovery, and escapism in existing in an alternate world. This it does in exceptional style. Its got a few minor flaws, and isnt quite perfect; but as gaming experiences go, its one of the most immersive. Simply put, Gothic has to be seen and played to be fully appreciated.
90%
Jiz je tomu nejaky ten patek, co svetlo sveta spatrilo ocekavane RPG Gothic. Melo to vsak jeden hacek. Hru ma na svedomi nemecka firma Piranha Bytes, a tak nejprve vysla nemecka verze, ktera se prodavala pouze u nasich zapadnich sousedu. To ovsem nic nemeni na tom, ze Gothic sklidil velky uspech a spousta anglicky mluvicich hracu se nemohla dockat, az se konecne najde distributor a objevi se verze anglicka. Nyni se na nas konecne usmalo stesti a firma Xicat Intertactive prinasi kyzenou anglickou verzi teto skvele hry, ktera ma velkou sanci stat se tim nejlepsim RPG tohoto roku. A tak se nyni spolecne pojdme podivat do jednoho kralovstvi, ktere po mnoha letech klidu a miru postihla pohroma tak velka, ze se o tom zadnemu vladari doposud ani nesnilo.
Nas kral byl vskutku moudrym panovnikem a vladl jak nejlepe mohl. Spolecne spoddanymi jiz prekonali mnohe nesnaze, ale tentokrat narazili na tvrdy orisek. Orkove, brutalni bojovnici prahnouci po krvi a majetku, zautocili nahle a nikdo na ne nebyl pripraven. Oddani rytiri bojovali do posledniho muze, ale nikdo znich netusil, ze jedna vyhrana bitva nepovede ke konecnemu vitezstvi. Ty bestie se nezalekly, neustale se snazily dosahnout sveho, a tak se stalo, ze bitvy nakonec presly ve velky valecny konflikt, ve kterem stali lide proti Orkum. Kazda valka vsak neprinasi obeti jen zrad bojovniku, ale necekane zmeny pociti i cely Gothic narod. Postupem casu zacaly dochazet zbrane, dosavadni tezba rudy nebyla dostacujici, a tak kral pristoupil kmoudremu opatreni. Vsichni odsouzeni zlocinci byli nahnani zhradnich kobek do dolu, kde meli za ukol tezit nyni tolik potrebnou rudu, ktera mela navic i magicke ucinky zbrane byly ostrejsi a stity byly pevnejsi. Kral pote povolal nekolik nejlepsich magu, aby kolem dolu vytvorili kouzelnou barieru, ktera propusti odsouzene dovnitr, ale pri pokusu o unik kazdeho usmazi. Carodejum se vsak kouzlo vymklo zrukou, bariera se rozrostla a pokryla znacnou cast kralovstvi. Mistni se na nove oddelenem uzemi vmziku ujali vlady a zacali ho nazyvat Kolonii.
Po nejakem case se zde vytvorily tri znepratelene frakce Old Camp, New Camp a Brotherhood of the Sleeper. Vtu chvili byl kral zavisly na mistnich obyvatelich a oni byli zavisli na nem. Zbrane, potraviny a zeny byly vymenovany zavytezenou rudu a dochazelo tak ksymbioze. Dalo by se rici, ze lide zOld Campu byli vtomto ohledu nejdisciplinovanejsi a ti znejnizsi tridy neustale tezili rudu, ktera byla posilana krali (pochopitelne ne zadarmo). New Camp pro krale odmitl otrocit a pokracoval stezbou pro vlastni ucely mistni magove verili, ze pomoci magickych vlastnosti rudy dokazi prolomit barieru. Nakonec lide zBratrstva se uchylili do bazin, uctivali jedineho Boha (Sleeper) a byli presvedceni, ze je ztohoto prokleteho mista vyvede. Vtu chvili se do hry dostavate vy a Gothic tesne pred tim, nez jste jako dalsi odsouzenec uvrhnuti do Kolonie, vam jeden zkralovych kouzelniku vlozi do rukou svitek, ktery mate predat nekteremu zcechu Ohnivych magu vOld Campu. Padate ze skaly do vody, dostavate pesti na privitanou a pomalu se stavite na vlastni nohy. Vitejte vKolonii, odkud neni cesty zpet alespon prozatim.
Gothic je RPG, ve kterem na svou postavu nahlizite zpohledu treti osoby. Dostanete se do uchvatneho 3D sveta a po chvili zjistite, ze Kolonie neni tak mala, jak by se zpocatku mohlo zdat. Nez ji projdete krizem krazem a vyvaznete zivi a zdravi, zabere vam to priblizne 40 az 80 hodin cisteho herniho casu, podle toho jak moc budete plnit postranni ukoly a prozkoumavat okoli. Kazdy opravdovy milovnik RPG vsak vi, ze se vyplati hru co nejvice prosmejdit, kvuli vice zkusenostem a take kvuli kvalitnejsimu dobrodruzstvi.
Do hry jste klasicky vrzeni jako uplny zelenac a postupne se vlastnim pricinenim zdokonalujete a dostavate do podvedomi mistnich lidi. Gothic vam nabizi uzasne komplexni svet, ve kterem na sebe vetsina veci zavisi a navazuje, a tak si nemuzete delat co se vam zlibi. Sradosti vam mohu oznamit, ze tato hra je dalsim titulem, ktery se vice zije nez hraje a po chvili v tom budete az po usi. Ale drzme se predepsaneho schematu.
Gothic Vkazdem RPG hraje velkou roli vyvoj postavy (respektive postav) a ja osobne jsem zastancem toho nazoru, ze cim vice je tento vyvoj patrny, tim vice vas hra chytne. Gothic vtomto pripade prichazi snovinkami, ktere vas jiste dostanou. Na zacatku hry u sebe nemate jediny uzitecny predmet, krom zminovaneho duleziteho svitku, ktery je vam vsak vonu chvili na dve veci. U cesty naleznete pohozeny rezavy mec, ktery se jiz kboji hodi, a muzete se vrhnout na mistni prerostle kurovite mrchozrouty. Boj je sice kruty a mecem se ohanite neohrabane, ale po smrti nepritele ziskavate dulezite zkusenostni body. Hra pokracuje dale, sjazykem na veste vyhravate nasledujicich par souboju, postupujete na dalsi uroven a soucasne dostavate 10 dovednostnich bodu. Ty vsak jiz nemuzete sami dale distribuovat mezi sve statistiky a dovednosti, ale musite si ktomu najit prislusneho ucitele, ktery vam za urcity obnos (plati se rudou) rad vypomuze. Zvysujete silu, obratnost, manu a zivot a zdokonalujete se vboji sjednorucni a dvourucni zbrani, lukem a kusi. Kvasim dalsim moznym dovednostem patri umeni magie, paceni zamku, kapsarstvi, akrobacie a plizivy pohyb. Nyni se vam tento vycet jiste jevi jako nedostacujici, ale system hry zajistuje, ze se nebudete nudit a budete nadmiru spokojeni. Jakmile totiz venujete prvnich 10 bodu do umeni akrobacie, okusite to na vlastni kuzi a tento pocit vyvoje se jen tezko popisuje. Vtu chvili zacnete hrave zvladat skoky zvetsich vysek, ktere vam doposavad cinily smrtelne potize, pri boji se vam zkvalitni ukroky do stran, misto neohrabaneho skoku spojeneho Gothic smavanim rukou budete ovladat perfektni kotoul atp.
Je jasne, ze tento vyvoj se netyka pouze one zminovane dovednosti, ale podobne se budete citit i vostatnich pripadech. Jakmile se zacnete plizit za koristi, bude zvas mnohem nebezpecnejsi lovec, coz vam vkombinaci sperfektni lukostrelbou a loveckym umenim pozdeji zaruci dostatek financi. Pomalu a nepozorovane se priblizit ke smecce vlku a polozit nekolik znich jeste predtim, nez si vas ostatni vsimnou, je proste neco, co se musi zazit. A potom znich stahnout kuzi, vyrezat zuby a vse prodat na mistnim trhu. A to pochopitelne zdaleka neni vse. Jako priklad uvedu umeni boje sjednorucni zbrani. Na zacatku hry mi bylo divne, ze jednorucni mec drzim vobou rukach a jiz jsem to zacinal povazovat za neomluvitelnou chybu, kterou autorum schuti vytknu. Kdyz jsem se vsak se zbrani naucil zachazet a venoval do vycviku 10 bodu, byl jsem poucen, ze jednorucni zbran se drzi pouze vjedne ruce a ze me predesle chyby se dopousti pouze nezkuseni amateri. Dalsi vycvik vteto oblasti za tezce nabytych 20 bodu pak vedl kelegantnim piruetam a drzeni zbrane ostrim dolu ve snaze dat do prvni rany co nejvetsi silu.
Ptate se, jak je to spovolanim? Zklasickych RPG jsme zvykli orientovat se hned ze zacatku urcitym smerem, a tak se staneme magy, druidy, bojovniky, alchymisty, bardy atp. Gothic Gothic od tohoto zaziteho schematu opet upousti a nechava nas stat se dobrodruhem treba smagickymi schopnostmi, pokud chcete. Opet zalezi na tom, jak se ve hre zachovate a ktery zkempu si vyberete za svuj vlastni. Vkazdem jsou tri guildy, do kterych se muzete dostat, pricemz ty uplne nejzakladnejsi neprinaseji zadne extra vyhody. Pokud ale napriklad vstoupite do Bratrstva a vypracujete se na post Templare, stanete se jakymsi bojovym magem, jehoz domenou jsou obourucni zbrane a magie. Naopak napriklad vOld Campu je moznost stat se bud Strazcem nebo Magem. Jako Strazce pricichnete kmagii jen ve forme svitku, ale stanete se udatnym rytirem vnadherne zbroji. Pokud ale zvolite cestu magie a vstoupite do cechu Ohnivych magu, ziskate vznesenou kouzelnickou robu a budete budit posvatnou uctu. Nic vam vsak nebrani i presto castecne vyvijet sve bojove a treba i zlodejske schopnosti. Nez se ale vrhnu na dalsi aspekty hry, zustanu jeste chvili u magie. Ta je zde rozdelena do sesti magickych kruhu, ke kterym postupem casu ziskavate pristup a kouzlite pomoci magickych run. Kazde kouzlo vam samozrejme ubere cast magicke energie.
Jak postupujete dale ve hre, narazite na stale dalsi a dalsi prekvapeni. Vetsina znich je vsak prekvapenim prijemnych a behem sveho dlouheho hrani jsem narazil jen na par chybek, ktere ovsem nepovazuji za fatalni. Jednou znich je napriklad neomezeny inventar. Je sice prijemne mit, co se tyce nosnosti, neomezene moznosti, ale kdyz u sebe mate 50 mecu, Gothic nejake to brneni, 100 ruznych bylinek a spoustu dalsich predmetu, je to prehnane. Jak jsem podotknul na zacatku, neda se to povazovat za nejakou vyraznou chybu, nebot odpadaji tolik otravne starosti snosnosti, ale urcity nedostatek to rozhodne je. Mezi dalsimi muzu napriklad jmenovat nekonecne dlouhe horeni louci, coz je opet prijemne, ale potesilo by me, kdyby samy po par hodinach zhasinaly zkratka by to dodalo na realisticnosti. Tez mi trochu vadilo, ze me neprirozene dlouhe bdeni nikterak neunavovalo, i prestoze je do hry zaclenena moznost spanku. Dale mi neprislo normalni, ze jsem napr. vBratrstvu stale mohl vest rozhovory o tom, ze chci vstoupit do jejich rad jeste pote, co jsem byl pravoplatnym Magem vOld Campu a cesta mezi vyznavace Sleepera mi tak byla navzdy znemoznena.
Musim rici, ze toto nejsou veskere chybicky. Sam jsem narazil na jeste nekolik dalsich, ale ty byly opravdu trivialni. Je mozne, ze me nektere minuly, ale i presto si pevne stojim za tim, ze Gothic je natolik detailni, ze mu chyby podobneho charakteru nemohou ublizit. Snad jen jeste podotknu, ze obchodovani mohlo byt vyreseno podstatne lepsim zpusobem, nez po vzoru Falloutu tedy vymenovanim. Verte vsak tomu, ze i na tento nedostatek radi zapomenete, kdyz zjistite, ze maso znekterych zabitych zvirat si muzete opect na ohni a zvysit tak jeho hojive ucinky, muzete se na chvili stat kovarem a nalezene zelezne tyce budete zhavit na ohni, tvarovat na kovadline, chladit vsudu plnem vody, brousit na Gothic kamennem kotouci atp.
Vdnesni dobe by vsak ani hru takovych kvalit nezachranilo nic, pokud by neoplyvala kvalitnim audiovizualnim zpracovanim. Hudba a zvuky jsou vGothicu velmi povedene a vse zni tak, jak by spravne melo. Strucne receno, neni si na co stezovat. I presto, ze nekteri rodili Americane jsou nespokojeni, ze jedna polovina NPC ve hre ma brooklynsky a druha jizansky prizvuk, my se stim rozhodne trapit nemusime :-). Co se tyce graficke stranky hry, odvedli autori bravurni praci. Detailni prostredi, ktere vas naprosto pohlti skvelym provedenim, je jeste podporeno stridanim pocasi a tez stridanim dne a noci, pricemz ve dne se po obloze prohaneji mracky a vnoci na krasnem tmave modrem nebi srozzarenym mesicem sem tam pada hvezda. Budte si jisti, ze obcas budete svedky takovych scenerii, ze vam ztoho pujde hlava kolem, specialne kdyz se jeste stanete magem a to vse jeste podporite perfektnimi efekty pri kouzleni, spojenymi s verohodnymipohyby okolnich postav ci utocicich monster.
Gothic je vskutku skvele RPG, jehoz nejvetsi vadou na krase je, ze se hra stava az moc linearni pote, co si za svuj vyberete jeden zkempu. To ovsem nic nemeni na faktu, ze primo vybizi kopakovanemu hrani a zkouseni dalsich roli vtomto uzasnem svete. Verte, ze i napotreti narazite na nove veci a to jiz hovori o kvalitach, ktere byste si jako milovnici RPG rozhodne nemeli nechat ujit.
Gothic
Vyrobce: Piranha Bytes
Vydavatel: Xicat Interactive
Distribuce v CR: zatim neni definitivne rozhodnuto
Hratelna demoverze: BonusWeb.cz
Oficialni homepage: http://www.piranha-bytes.com/html_en...roducts/gothic
Minimalni konfigurace: procesor 400 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 3D karta
Doporucena konfigurace: procesor 866 MHz, 256 MB RAM
3D karty: ano
Multiplayer: ne
Verdikt: Perfektni RPG v uzasnem fantasy prostredi. Tato hra se hrde radi mezi zanrove nejlepsi kousky tohoto roku. Pokud patrite mezi milovniky RPG, je pro vas Gothic jasnou koupi.
Hodnoceni 90%
Autor: Petr Prosek
Tento clanek byl publikovan 13.12.2001
Developed by: Piranha Bytes
Published by: Xicat Interactive
Reviewed By: Dave Allen
12/15/01
The role-playing adventure Gothic, translated from its German origin, has finally appeared on the store shelves of North America. Claiming numerous European awards for excellence, how will it fare on this side of the pond? After playing it extensively, I predict: "almost as well."
A Rather Unique Prelude
The kingdom of Myrtana had been at war with the Orks for many years. and they were losing. The king of Myrtana, in desperation, gathered twelve of his best Mages to construct a magical Barrier to protect the mines, the source of the magical Ore, which was used in forging their greatest weapons. Something went wrong and the Mages were caught inside the Barrier they had created. The others trapped within the Barrier were prisoners sentenced to work in the mines, along with their guards. After the mishap, the prisoners overpowered the guards and settled in the ruins of an old castle, which became known as the Old Camp. The king was forced to make a deal with Gomez, the leader of the Old Camp, for his precious Ore. By throwing messages back and forth through the Barrier, an agreement was reached. Ore was traded for the goods most wanted by the prisoners - by pulling a cart with a long rope back and forth through the deadly Barrier.
Some prisoners rebelled against serving the king or Gomez and founded a settlement near a second mine, the Free Mine. This loosely knit group of self-proclaimed rogues and mercenaries, called themselves the New Camp and subsisted by hunting, rice-farming and stealing from the Old Camp.
Another group of prisoners, visionaries and followers of dreams, split themselves off from the Old Camp and went to live in the swamps. Known as the Brotherhood, their leader was a religious fanatic named Y'Berion. They survived by trading the strange plants that grew in the swamps for goods with the other camps. They also smoked these plants to increase their mystical visions and gain access to magical powers. Six of the twelve Mages (fire mages) stayed on in the Old Camp because they felt it was important that the king should win the war. The other six Mages (water mages) thought it was more important to find out what went wrong with the Barrier and to find a way to breech the wall surrounding them. They decided to go to the New Camp to control the Ore from the Free Mine, convinced that it would somehow lead them to freedom.
Gothic is self-described as an "Action-Adventure RPG." I must agree that it will fit within all three of these categories, but, if I had to decide which genre it affects the most, I would have to say adventure gaming. Gothic presents a wonderful opportunity for adventure gamers who have shied away from the manual dexterity required of action titles. A player's combat virtuosity is simply a matter of getting trained in a weapon skill by an NPC, then finding the biggest, baddest weapon of that type. Every melee weapon has a minimum strength requirement to wield it, and every ranged weapon requires a minimum dexterity to shoot it. So you will also need to train to increase your strength or dexterity to suit. With this simple formula, my frantic button-mashing was enough to carry me through the entire game without learning any combos or special moves. And anytime I came upon, stole, or lifted a weapon from a fallen opponent which did even slightly more damage I immediately equipped it, or trained until I could. Another dissuading factor for most adventure gamers are the often arcane complexities of RPG "housekeeping." To allay your fears, let me say that Gothic's stats/skills screen is basically an indicator of what your character can or cannot yet do. Along with combat skills, here you see that your character can also learn to pickpocket, sneak, be acrobatic, open locks, and use the always popular magic skills. Of course, when you start the game you notice you don't have any of these skills yet. Sounds a little too real for you, eh? Realism is what Gothic excels in.
Gothic offers a unique opportunity to see one's character progressing, in the reflection of the world he inhabits. Let me explain. In the very beginning of the game, your ignorance of the world and lack of any skills manifests itself in the appearance of a mentor who both warns and gives simple instructions to start your new life as a convict within the medieval penal colony. You can then choose to take the high road of obeying his wisdom, or abandon yourself to aimless curiosity-seeking. Either way, your education has begun. As you familiarize yourself with your surroundings and its inhabitants you begin to realize that all your actions have consequences. Get too close to those giant prehistoric-looking birds grazing in that field and they will first warn you not to come any closer. If common sense prevails, you back-peddle a bit and the scavengers will return to their dinner. Or you can stand your ground and possibly become it. At the first settlement you come across, the Old Camp, you are a nobody to the inhabiting criminal community (talk about lowest of the low!) and are treated as such. Kiss-up to the right individuals and you will learn the skills you will need to progress in your new life. Cross the wrong person (or the threshold to anyone's hovel) and you will evoke numerous responses - from comments of surprise, to various threats, and if you still don't get the message, the shringing sound of a sword being unsheathed.
The world of Gothic is brought to life in many other ways, as well. One of my favorites is how well the developer Pirhana-Bytes has used the technique of 3rd party recognition in dialoguing. For example, you talk to Bob and he says, "if you have a problem with Pete you should speak to Mike." You've spoken to Mike before, but now you go see him and before you can get a word out he'll greet you with, "Hey, Bob said you'd be stopping by, something about Pete?" After this happens a few times, you start believing they really are talking about you behind your back. I was so drawn in at times that I would catch myself thinking "listen moron, hasn't anybody told you about this yet!?" In my defense, being the target of lots of unkind comments from some of the other characters only reinforced my thick-skinned attitude. But what else would you expect from a bunch of criminals?
Once I'd learned the rules of how to survive my new life inside the Barrier and acquired a few basic skills, I became involved with a number of "rite-of-passage" quests from all three camps. Eventually I had to choose which camp to pledge allegiance to, but I tried to drain the quest machine before making this momentous decision. I'm talking about 18 convoluted and puzzling tasks to resolve ( and I think there were a couple I missed in the New Camp) taking at least 30 hours. Finally, I chose to join the swampweed-dealing, mystics of the Brotherhood and pursue their goals. It was only then that the main story-line began to unfold. And at this point I was cut off from completing a couple of "camp specific" missions where I would have been granted a higher rank in the other two camps. I got the impression that whichever camp I had chosen to align myself with, the main story would have remained remarkably the same.
In Gothic, Experience Points...
...are acquired by fulfilling tasks, killing monsters, and thrashing the occasional NPC. The ability to beat a human attacker senseless and stop short of wiping out his miserable existence, is a refreshing alternative. There's nothing like rifling through a fallen foe's pockets for his possessions before he regains consciousness, and then watching him get up - groaning and muttering hollow threats. Of course, I found that letting certain individuals live could be counter-productive, and so those really "hard" cases were dealt a gory, deathblow. If I was even-handed in my judgment of these matters, the NPCs witnessing my disagreements were on my side, but malicious killing sprees were exceedingly frowned upon.
Every time my character accumulated a certain number of experience points, he "leveled up." This simply means that he was made a little harder to kill by increasing his total life points. He was also given 10 training points to spend with trainers . With training points and Ore you buy increases in prerequisite abilities (strength points for melee weapons, dexterity points for ranged weapons, mana points for spell casting) or purchase skill in magic, one-handed weapons, 2-handed weapons, bows or crossbows, sneaking, lock picking, etc. Different trainers teach different skills. I hate this nuts and bolts explaining because I don't want anyone to get the impression that how you actually spend these points dramatically effects how the game will play - with one notable exception - get trained in one-handed weapons as soon as you can. Ranged weapons are much less effective because you can't lead with your shots. Fortunately, ranged attackers are pretty scarce and most battles are up close and personal.
Speaking of Battles...
On one occasion, I was surprise attacked at night by a pack of wolves in a forest who worked together very smartly. It brought up the very real phobia I have of dogs, and made me wonder if game immersion is always a good thing! As I mentioned earlier, combat was pretty simple. It is kept interesting because each kind of creature has specific movement and attack behaviors which you learn to use against them in combat. I also learned very quickly that many of these creatures must be avoided until my character had trained in a weapon skill and acquired the use of a weapon that bettered the odds. Keeping my character toggled in running mode was a very effective strategy in the beginning. Later in the game I enjoyed going back and chasing down all the critters I once had to beat feet from, and collecting all those experience points. I never ran out of something to clobber because after each chapter a thin (just enough so the environmentalists would be satisfied) re-spawning took place.
Quests can be pursued using stealth or brute force. Magic spells are often the key to solving puzzles, but if a certain spell becomes necessary and you haven't been putting your training points toward the magical arts, don't worry. You will be able to trade or borrow spell scrolls to accomplish the mission. My favorite spells transformed me into some of the creatures who had terrorized me early in the game. Did I say me? I meant my character.
Now I'm going to get all technical on you, and say that the interface definitely has the soul of a console game. To control combat, movement, and menu selections you can assign whatever keys you want. But there is no getting around the fact that in order to make certain selections you're going to have to hold something else down - either the left mouse button or a second key. The way I've heard some players complain about this odd control setup, you'd think they were being asked to hold down a full-time job.
Sounds And Graphics
gothicpic5.jpg
The sounds in the game are a mixed bag. Orchestral music served to reinforce the current mood and events during the game, but stayed in the background where it belonged. The greatest tribute I can give it is that after 80+ hours of listening I haven't returned to my real fantasy life without some tune I can't shake still playing in my head. The sound effects were likewise done with finesse, and I was especially delighted in the way "ambient conversations" contributed to the vitality of the gameworld. Anyone who has played Thief 2 will understand. The least flattering aspect of Gothic is the acting voices which could have been done much better. One of the most jarring is conversing with a mystical swamp guru who speaks with a southern drawl. To their credit, I have heard that the speech in the German version has won awards and is considered brilliant.
I'm no graphics wizard, but I liked what I saw in Gothic. Visually stunning, it holds its own among the current 3D games I know and love. The recommended specs on the game's box are a Pentium III 600 Mhz or equivalent, 192MB RAM, and a 32MB 3D card. On my 700-Mhz Athlon (256MB RAM), TNT2 Ultra system the game would occasionally make tiny pauses, mostly when running long distances. This is probably the price for there being no load screens on the HUGE surface world of Gothic. Other than that it ran great.
With the game came a nineteen page, 6 x 9 manual clearly providing all the necessary information to get me up and running. Interestingly, on the box it said that there were multiple endings. Don't believe it. Unless they consider an unfortunate, premature death prior to completing the story an ending? I thought the way they actually finished the saga was unsatisfying and rather abrupt, leading me to believe that Pirhana Bytes had envisioned a grander story that they were not able to include.
Bath Babe?
It was also disappointing but understandable (the world is a virtual prison after all) that there are only a handful of female characters in the game, and I was surprised and a little annoyed that none of them could even be spoken to. The dirty old man in me was finally appeased when I finally saw the scandalous "bath babe." You haven't heard of her? When Gothic was first released in Germany some months ago, word traveled about a nude bather included in the game. In the English edition I've been playing, the nude bather is wearing bikini briefs. What a letdown! I presume it has something to do with the ESRB rating of teen they allowed on the box. So I did a little investigating and found out that by simply going into Gothic's data subdirectory and altering the filename of textures_bikini.vdf I can now experience Gothic as it was originally intended.
And, In Summary...
With its gorgeous 3D environment bursting with interactivity, Gothic is a breath of fresh air in the stagnating atmosphere of adventure gaming today. Role-players should also enjoy starring as the evocative hero whose decisions have consequences. Action buffs, though, may not like the fact that entering combat includes an element of discretion. Everything considered, I strongly suggest you get this game if, for no other reason, than you need a big escape!
You can purchase Gothic at Compuexpert for $34.90
Pros / Cons
Game world bustles with life / Challenging interface
Beautiful artwork and animations / Vocals spoken by yokels
Combat is simple, yet rewarding / The endgame is too sudden
FINAL RATINGS: (Scale of 0 to 100)
Manual/Interface: 79
Sound/Music: 87
Graphics: 98
Gameplay (Double Rated): 98
OVERALL RATING: 92
Pure Gold
System Specs
Required / Recommended / Reviewer's
PIII 300 / PIII 600 / Athlon 700
64MB RAM / 192MB RAM / 256MB RAM
8MB Video RAM / 32MB Video RAM / 32MB TNT2 Ultra Video Card
Gothic
Publisher: Xicat
Reviewer: Michael Lafferty
Reviewed Date: 12/17/01
Gothic has minor obstacles, but is otherwise a well-told role-playing game
GZ Review Ratings:
Game Play 8
Graphics 7.8
Sound 7
Difficulty 8
Concept 8
Overall 7.9
The world is in upheaval, and the source of the worlds power has been taken over by the very souls sent there to keep it safe. It is virtually a prison compound, and you have been condemned to live there. But the king, in his kindness, makes you an offer. Deliver a message to those in charge and you can reap the rewards.
This is the basic structure behind Gothic, a huge RPG from Piranha Bytes and Xicat for the PC. But there are some deficiencies in this game most notably, how to equip a weapon without jumping through all the hoops the game has to offer.
This is a laborious undertaking, requiring a time and patience to get it down because it is not an intuitive or single-keystroke process.
The game begins by relating the story of a battle between the goodly king and an unscrupulous band of orcs. All those who have committed crimes against the realm have been sent to the orc mines to dig for the very elements that will allow the kingdom to survive. Magicians have erected a barrier around the mine, but it goes foul, and now the prisoners are in charge. They have divided into factions.
Diego, the central character to the theme, has been condemned to join the ranks. But upon the reading of your sentence, the king appears and asks you to deliver a message to the magicians still within the barrier. Then, you are summarily cast into the compound.
Saved from a pummeling, you are introduced to the first interactive character in the game. Through the selected questions, you can find out much you need to know like the factional concept behind the game. But there are key elements omitted. The manual can help you pick up items and the in-game menu options can modify the controls, but it is very tough to figure out just how to equip the rusty old sword you first pick up. If you rely on your fists, your first encounter with aggressive, bird-like creatures will be short-lived.
Other than this minor setback, the game itself is well-paced. There are numerous things to explore to build up your inventory, and the game offers its share of intrigue along the way.
For example, when you first arrive, you must find Gomez, and in order to find Gomez, you have to avail yourself of quests designed to prove your worth and allow you to join his clan. This is a nice twist on the RPG genre. There are three camps in the game, each with its own personality, and each brimming with quests to be fulfilled.
Graphically, the three-dimensional look and feel is nicely done. If you have played games like Rune, you will recognize the graphical structure of the game. The player interface takes some getting used to, but once you understand how to call up the inventory, and cycle through it (therein lies the key), it becomes quite manageable.
Because this game is built on the idea of intrigue, you will receive a lot of information from characters you encounter. The game does provide a journal, which stores that info, making easier for you to deal the aspects of playing the game, and not writing down your own notes.
The sound of the game supports the video well.
As mentioned, the controls are not intuitive, though you can reset them to your liking.
Gothic has brought some new elements to the RPG, and is a well-rendered game. Is it extraordinary? Perhaps not, but it is entertaining, and that is the essence of a solid game.
Reviewer's Scoring Details
Install: Medium
This is a two-disk install, which can take a little time.
Gameplay: 8
Once you bypass the cutscenes, which set up the storyline, you will find yourself in a world that is intriguing, and where life end quickly if you are not prepared.
Graphics: 7.8
This program features the tight-fisted, angular polygonal characters familiar from other games (such as Rune), but the world is wonderfully animated. Some of the environmental elements could have featured better detail, but still the artists responsible manage to convey the realm for this tale well.
Sound: 7
Some of the vocal characterizations seem a little stiff, but overall the audio does a nice job of supporting the video. Judged on its own, the sound is only average. The game also features a pop-up menu of the questions you can ask characters, which will disappear if you wish it to or when you run out of questions.
Difficulty: 8
The keyboard controls are not intuitive, and the player interface will take a little time to get used to. The game does not feature difficulty levels, per se, but if you use your wits, and learn as you play, success is within your grasp.
Concept: 8
Gothic features intrigue, quests, and challenges players loyalties, often. If you join a camp, will you stay, or will you turn your back on your clan for a better offer. The wrong choices can certainly haunt you.
Overall: 7.9
Gothic could use a better control system, which is the main obstacle this game has to overcome. However, the game makes up for it with a nice tale, solid quests, and character interaction. This is a good role-playing game.
Test System:
CPU - Pentium III 800MHz
RAM - 640MB
Video - DDR GeForce2
CD - 32XR/W ROM and 12XDVD ROM
Hard Drive - 30GB
Monitor - 17 inch
Sound - Vortex2
GameSpot Review
Piranha Bytes' Gothic is an unconventional game that takes place in an unconventional setting: a magically sealed prison in a stark, grim fantasy realm. Even though the developer calls it a role-playing game, Gothic is a hybrid game that features RPG, adventure, and action elements. Gothic does have standard role-playing elements, such as experience levels and character development, but it also places heavy emphasis on dialogue and inventory puzzles and has some real-time action sequences. And though it has an unusual and open-ended story, lots of spoken dialogue, and a substantial amount of gameplay, it also has frustrating action sequences and some noticeable technical problems.
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Gothic is set in a magically sealed hard-labor prison camp.
The most interesting things about Gothic are its offbeat story and the way that you can interact with it. You play as a single character, an anonymous, soft-spoken convict who's been thrown into the game's world, which is both a prison and an ore mine. Though you'll start the game as a lowly peon with no skills or abilities, you'll eventually become an accomplished adventurer who will join one of the colony's three main camps, but not before you get into a tussle with some rowdies or with some of the colony's indigenous monsters. Both of these can and will squash you flat, at least at the beginning of the game. To Gothic's credit, these vicious enemies make the game's world seem as hostile and as unforgiving as you might expect a prison colony to be. However, once you start exploring and meet a few of the game's characters, you'll find most of them to be very talkative, even chatty, as they explain how to interact with the game's world, as well as give your character simple quests to perform. Most of Gothic consists of running back and forth to collect and deliver items for these quests, though at several points in the game, you'll also have to fight against enemies.
Unfortunately, Gothic's fighting system just doesn't work well. It's fairly simple; you ready a melee weapon, a bow, or a magic spell, target your enemy, and attack and defend by pressing the "use" key together with movement keys. Most single enemies simply come straight at you, and though they'll occasionally dodge to the side, you can usually wait them out by defending until they attack and then attacking yourself. However, Gothic usually throws groups of at least two to three enemies at you (presumably to reinforce the fact that you're in a harsh, hostile world). Multiple enemies can and will surround you, attack you from the rear, and cut you down before you even have time to angrily curse Gothic's largely unresponsive control scheme. Moving and fighting both require you to use your movement keys, so actively trying to dodge while fighting and defending is basically impossible. And using ranged weapons like bows can be even more frustrating, since attacking enemies from a distance invariably causes them to come charging straight at you--and they'll usually knock you out before you can even reach for your melee weapon.
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You'll speak with plenty of characters all too eager for your company.
That's not to say that Gothic's control scheme is flat-out awful, but it does have problems--and so does the game's interface. For whatever reason, Gothic uses a fixed third-person, behind-your-character's-back view--a view that usually gets blocked as you explore the game's winding mountain passes and narrow caverns. Most recent third-person action-adventure games either feature an alternate first-person view or make your character transparent when it's pressed against a wall or corner; Gothic does neither. What's more, though Gothic lets you use your mouse to turn your character, the game doesn't actually have a cursor. This is puzzling, considering that the only way to interact with your surroundings is to target them by turning and facing them to highlight them; being able to use a mouse cursor to point at and click on whatever you want to interact with would have made the game easier to play. Also, Gothic has several characters that'll actually physically guide you through the world if you ask them. These characters display remarkably good pathfinding, but after trudging around after a few of these characters, you'll wonder why the developers didn't simply implement an in-game map, which would have made navigating the game's huge outdoor areas much easier.
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Gothic's 3D graphics look good, but can tax even high-end systems.
Even though Gothic does have plenty of things going for it, most of its elements have noticeable problems. For instance, consider the game's graphics: Gothic features some impressive lighting effects, most notably in the pulsating magical seal over the prison where the game takes place. The game also features day-and-night cycles, and the lighting effects are at their best at night around the different prison camps, where moonlight and torches cast realistic glows and shadows. Unfortunately, Gothic's architecture and scenery are generally rather plain, and its character models are very blocky and are textured crudely. Even so, the game itself has surprisingly high system requirements and will prove extremely taxing to most computers. We tested Gothic on a PIII 900MHz with 256MB RAM and a 32MB card, as well as on a PIII 450MHz with 128MB RAM and a 16MB 3D card. Even on the former system, which is well above the game's recommended specs, we still encountered some frame rate problems, and it ran so slowly on the latter machine that it was barely playable. And on both machines, Gothic had surprisingly long loading times.
Gothic's sound is also a bit uneven. The game's music consists of appropriate, if generic, symphonic tracks that are so subdued that you'll often forget they're even there. Gothic also features decent ambient sound effects that are especially good in outdoor areas, such as the forest and swamp areas. In addition, the game has an enormous amount of recorded speech for both your character and those he meets in his travels. In fact, many of the characters you meet will tend to drone on and on about whatever task you'll need to perform next, and it's clear that only a few actors provided the voices of the game's many characters. However, most of the dialogue is delivered quite well.
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Gothic can be frustrating, but has plenty of places to go and people to see.
If you can actually get past all of the game's problems and can also appreciate its strengths, you may well enjoy Gothic. Its action sequences are weak, and its role-playing elements are straightforward--you gain experience points either by performing quests or fighting enemies and eventually gain levels that yield skill points. You can use these skill points to develop your fighting or magic abilities or to improve a few miscellaneous skills, though these are generally less important than fighting or casting spells. However, Gothic's adventure elements are actually quite strong. Furthermore, the game itself is quite lengthy, and to complete its many quests, you'll need to speak to many different characters. In several cases, you'll actually have a choice as to how you want to complete a quest or whether you want to complete it at all. Apart from its main quests, many of which are open ended, Gothic has several optional side quests. And for the most part, none of the game's quests have any time constraints, so you can often try out a certain approach, fight any monsters in the area, rest until you recover from your wounds, and try again.
Should you play Gothic? Not if you want a deep character-development RPG or an action-packed hack-and-slash game, or if you'd have trouble dealing with the game's various problems. And not if you don't have a good computer that's substantially better than the game's minimum requirements. However, if none of these conditions really bother you and if you'd be interested in playing a game that places more emphasis on character interaction and quests than on fighting monsters, you should give Gothic a try.
By Andrew Seyoon Park, GameSpot [POSTED: 12/18/01 05:12 PM]
Success in designing a role-playing game is typically measured in the reality of the world that the player is dropped into. A developed setting, complete with lifelike characters and situations, is vital for creating and sustaining interest. Fail at this and you don't have a game. It's that simple. Of course, you also need a little more than that. Alongside a killer background must be an opening that lets players ease into the action without being overwhelmed and a smooth interface that allows them to keep going without frustration. Without these elements in proper working order, you've got trouble.
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Which leads me to Gothic. The new RPG from Piranha Bytes and Xicat Entertainment is first-rate in regards to the former but seriously lacking in regards to the latter. Not too many role-players have taken place in a fantasy world as rich in detail as this one. Characters are walking and talking individuals who have personalities and exist as part of a linked system of friends, enemies, and politicized factions. Every action is guaranteed to have consequences that are far ranging and often not immediately apparent. This competitive land is structured a lot like high school, although the cliques here tend to be wearing armor and wielding big-ass swords. These winning attributes will be inaccessible to those without the ability to endure a poor interface and a slow start, though. Such low points are apt to cause some to give up before the game really gets started, causing them to miss out on an experience that evolves into something special before too long.
Making Friends and Influencing People
That special nature is defined by the amount of effort that Piranha put into developing the game world. You live in the realm of Myrtana, the domain of King Rhotbar II. After a long period of conflict, he has recently pacified the lands. Only one threat remains to establishing a peaceable kingdom: a horde of warlike orcs. Continuing raids by these monsters have been wearing down the army, a situation that makes Rhotbar move all criminals to the mines of Khorinis. There they are forced to dig for ore needed to forge the weapons required to do battle with the orcs. So that these felons stay confined in the absence of prison walls, the king sends his most powerful 12 mages to construct a magical barrier. Their spells soon fashioned such a creation, though problems caused it to trap the mages with the criminals. An independent colony soon rose up around the mines, taking control of the ore and forcing the king to negotiate for the release of the precious mineral.
Things soon degenerated into factions. The original Old Camp, tightly controlled by Gomez, became subject to infighting. A number of people left to form the New Camp, a more lawless group. The 12 mages divided themselves as well, those of the Fire circle remaining with the Old Camp and those of the Water circle moving to the New Camp. A third camp was soon established, to be the home of a sect of mystics and dreamers in a sect called the Brotherhood. Into this tense situation comes the player character, a nameless convict sent through the barrier to deliver a message to the Fire mages - a task that is not going to be easy judging by the tumultuous state of affairs.
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Good-looking scenery and varied NPC faces abound.
From this deep backstory emerges an intriguing game in real-time. Where many games tell a good tale, Gothic lives it as well. Infighting and factionalism are always prominent, setting up a tricky landscape that resembles a minefield. Though the elementary aspects of the game are similar to those found in other RPGs, getting from Point A to Point B isn't nearly as straightforward as it usually is. Yes, you still talk to people and receive various quest assignments. But you do so in a dynamic world where the non-players characters know and speak to one another about what's going on. Friendships, rivalries, and alliances complicate matters still further. So taking on a quest isn't just about accepting a job; it's about siding with a particular person or group, typically to the detriment of another person or group. Needless to say, you have to watch what you do or risk alienating the wrong person at the wrong time.
Making friends and influencing people is even more important because you need supporters to advance. Los Angeles types would call it "networking." Do a good turn for somebody and he might just do a good turn for you, resulting in promotion or advancement. This is realistically modeled, too, with you starting off with errands for those well down the social ladder attempting to gain the notice of the big boys. Certain groups are favored more than others, so you have to plan who to approach depending on which higher-up you want to impress.
All of these elements form a whole that is more realistic than anything I've seen in a non-massively multiplayer RPG. It's as if Piranha realized that it was competing with the new wave of MMORPGs and fashioned a single-player (there is no multiplayer option) campaign to make the computer-controlled NPCs as human as possible. If so, the designers succeeded. As you move through the camps and get to know people, you'll develop friendships and rivalries. This results in emotional attachments that soon cause you to actually like friends and hate enemies. Everything seems to have been structured so that you have to take things personally. The rough and tumble camps are set up to knock you down until you get a handle on making friends and even paying protection money. Going anywhere near somebody else's stuff gets you into a fight, and walking into a dwelling without an invitation can get you cut down by a guard within seconds. Like I said, it's a lot like high school.
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The Price
This depth comes with a price, though. With so much social complexity, Gothic is an extremely hard game to get into. This isn't helped by the way that you're thrust into the middle of things with no suggestions on how to get started. You immediately meet Diego, a representative of the Old Camp, but he tells you little other than to go to the Old Camp right away and that forming alliances is imperative to your continued survival. When you get there, you're certain to be taken aback by all of the available options. There are at least 30 people to speak to, most with different conversation tree options, and many with quests that need to be fulfilled. You need to begin the game by pretty much interrogating everyone, which can get pretty dull. It can also be pretty dangerous, given that everything is so open-ended and you have no idea how high-level you have to be to perform a suggested task.
Hints are given, though these are usually subtle and may pass under the radar of those used to games that block off challenges that are too tough until you're of high enough level to handle them. Generally, you need to avoid anything that might involve combat in the early stages of the game. This presents its own problems, of course, as the only tasks you can complete for the first few hours of play involve such thrilling missions as gathering mushrooms.
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You're advised to spend the nights sleeping, though wandering outdoors is picturesque.
Another issue, one that doesn't go away as you progress in the game, is a terrible interface. Your character is controlled with either the keyboard alone or with a mouse-keyboard combo setup that works like a first-person shooter. Piranha somehow managed to screw this up, though, with a desire to ensure that the real-time engine wasn't as simplistic as, say, Diablo. Combat requires key combinations that make fighting sort of an arcade challenge that's bound to turn off conservative RPG players. The average battle requires you to maneuver with the mouse and hit two keys to strike at foes. This is a hit and miss proposition in more ways than one, as the system occasionally doesn't work. You might pull off a great attack one moment and find the keyboard unresponsive to the same key presses the next. Strangely, these combinations are also required to begin conversations, climb ladders, and pick up items. This is also dubious and doesn't seem to work all of the time. It always felt like the interface wanted something of you, but could never quite explain exactly what.
Compounding things is a quirky inventory system that doesn't support a mouse cursor. Although you can use the mouse to guide your character, you can't use it to equip weapons or armor, buy and sell from merchants, and so on. This clunky system really made me appreciate the simple "drag and drop" paper doll interface of the Infinity Engine titles... and wonder what the hell Piranha was thinking here. Is enabling mouse support in the menus really that difficult of a programming task?
Chrome on the Bumpers
Production values in Gothic are very similar to those on display in Wizardry 8, another top role-playing game of this holiday season. Visual qualities are similar, right down to angular faces of the character models. Everything does look pretty good, though the game certainly can't compete with the likes of today's Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament-engine powered games. Return to Castle Wolfenstein it isn't.
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Though it doesn't really have to be, either, since the art team did a great job with added touches like a day/night cycle that features striking nighttime skies and weather effects. Rain even stirs water on the ground and in cooking pots. Numerous character skins give the impression that you're dealing with a lot of different individuals, as well. Monster types are varied, though not to the extent of something like Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. Creatures are distinctive and run the gamut between Tolkienesque orcs and more fearsome demons, skeletons, and golems. Marks have to be subtracted for poor lighting effects and flickering shadows under the main character. Overall, though this game won't win any beauty pageants, it possesses a handsome quality and a unique sense of style.
Piranha did an even better job with audio. Despite the German origins of the game, yeoman work was turned in on the translations. Dialogue is very well written, and the voice acting talent above average to superb, despite the odd flat note and some distracting experimentation with accents. Effects are also good, particularly the sounds that accompany each monster. You'll always be able to recognize a threat by the noise it makes. The musical soundtrack is perfect for this sort of game. It remains in the background much of the time, a necessity considering that you spend around 100 hours listening to it if you finish the game. Even so, I found myself humming along with it on more than a few occasions.
A Must-Play
Warts and all, Gothic is one of the best role-playing games of 2001. With just a few tweaks, Piranha Bytes could have given us one of the best role-playing games of all time. Yet these problems seem minor in comparison with the incredible job done with constructing the realm of Myrtana. Fans should play it for the involving setting and realistic characters, and rival designers should pick it apart for tips that can be used to enhance their own efforts. This is a must-play for RPGers that raises the bar for everyone.
Published by: Xicat Interactive, Inc
Developed by: Piranha Bytes
Released: Nov 2001
Version: US release
Price: $39.99
Graphics: Very good for this genre, though lacking in comparison with the best in the business.
Audio: Interesting in-game effects plus subdued music.
Longevity: 100-hour RPG, easy.
Originality: A traditional RPG at heart, but with a lot of new and highly developed elements.
Appeal: All role-playing gamers.
Bugs: Possible memory leak - the game certainly used a lot of virtual memory.
Packaging: Manual is good, though way too brief.
Interface: All sorts of interface problems will annoy you.
Controls: Keyboard and mouse.
Multiplayer: None.
Specification
128MB RAM
256MB recommended
Pros:
Depth of play.
Authentic fantasy world.
Unprecedented level of interaction with characters and setting.
Cons:
Heavy going at the outset.
Unwieldy interface.
There are a lot of elements that have to be fit into a consistent whole in order to produce a successful and appealing RPG title. If we start from the essence, the game clearly has to have a plot and storyline; right after that come good technical aspects like graphics and sounds. Now, if we had to judge Gothic by all these standards, we'd be looking at some impressive results, or simply put, and excellent game. What about the multiplayer, some of you may ask, well, ladies and gentlemen, Gothic nether has a multiplayer mode, nor does it need one!
Once upon a time, a ruler of a mighty kingdom reigned over his domain. But alas, being too confident in his invincibility, he suffered a horrible fate - hordes of orks ruthlessly attacked the kingdom, destroying it in blood, rage and fury. The defenders cried out: "Arrows, our lord, we need more arrows!" But, there simply were not enough arrows - the royal mines had practically halted their production, and the king decided to send all convicts to work in the mines.
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Heat up the place and let's go to bed.
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Sorry, pal only unarmed dudes are allowed through there.
Convicts kept escaping from the hard work, and the king sent twelve of his most powerful mages to conjure up a barrier which would keep all living beings within the area of the mine, and let only new convicts in, and resources out. As it usually happens, something went disastrously wrong, and in the chaos that broke out, the prisoners killed all of the king's guards and seized control of the mines. This gave them a great position for bargaining with the king.
This is where you come in. You carry a letter for the imprisoned mages, hoping to get a decent reward for it. Unfortunately, if you prove any less capable than you should be for the task, you will soon find yourself feeding the vultures. The first thing you will notice about the world within the barrier is that the people have formed three camps; the old one, the new one and the religious one. It might sound challenging to balance between the fractions, but that won't work for an inexperienced, ill-protected character like yours. This is why the first rule in Gothic is - be smart, watch your tongue, and stay alive!
Gothic's gameplay is somewhat specific. It is meant for patient and observant players, and contains a large number of dialogues with characters you may encounter. Once you do something, it remains that way, and the consequences will follow you 'till the end of the game. Right after your first meeting with Diego, at the very beginning of the game, you will realize what quantities of data your RPGing brain has to remember.
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Am I interrupting anything!?
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Drop, that pickaxe!
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Not exactly the Ritz!
The choice-based dialog model in Gothic mostly resembles the dialogue models in Ultima or Baldur's Gate; but it is far richer in choices, making the game even more appealing and difficult. Gothic is primarily defined as an action RPG title, which basically means you can expect a decent number of quests and action sequences. You will acquire a sword and start gathering EXPs from the very start of the game. Your in-game journal will take care off all important information, like quest statuses for you. There is one important condition for solving all major quests - you have to earn the trust of a certain character by solving minor quests for him. While solving those secondary quests, you will run into characters who will offer you to work for them and against your current employer, which opens a large number of possible solutions for quests. It is hard to find your way in the utter mayhem of conflicting personal interests. It is equally difficult to give any advice on how you should act just remember that all your decisions have consequences.
Even though there is a lot of armors, weapons and spells in the game, controlling your character is practically as simple as in Tomb Raider. All movement and actions are controlled via the keyboard, with a fixed camera behind your back. All actions are performed by pressing the single "action" key. If you happen to be in combat, pressing it in combination with a direction key will result in your character performing a combat move, and if you happen to be trading in stead, the same combination of keys will do the trick. All items can easily be spotted, as the engine opens a box with item description if you run across an item.
The 3D engine looks unbelievably good! The surroundings are impeccable, and bear a surreal and depressive atmosphere. All the objects and buildings look just as great. The graphics look that good, in fact, that I simply cannot think of any downside to them and that especially goes for the eerily detailed textures on characters and monsters you will encounter.
Gothic is an excellent, even though a bit odd and unusual FRP game. I wouldn't feel comfortable with defining it as a member of any particular sub-genre either. I might compare it to The Summoner or Baldur's Gate, but I found it far more interesting for longer playing.
Aller Anfang ist schwer, vor allem bei Gothic. So kommen Sie schnell zu etwas Erz:
Gehen Sie im Sumpflager zur Schmiede und brechen dort die Truhe mit der Kombination 1 links, 2 rechts, 3 links auf. Darin finden Sie Rohstahl, Klingen, xte und Crawlerzangen. Aus dem Rohstahl und den Klingen knnen Sie in der Schmiede ganze 43 Schwerter schmieden, die Sie anschlieend fr ber 2.000 Erz verkaufen knnen. Das Gleiche knnen Sie auch im "Alten Lager" wiederholen und so noch mehr Erz verdienen.
Mit einem kleinen Trick knnen Sie die Barriere, die das Gefngnis umgibt, berwinden und in die Auengebiete gelangen. Das funktioniert sogar, ohne dass Sie Energie verlieren. Fr diesen Ausflug mssen Sie lediglich eine Rstung Ihr Eigen nennen, die Sie whrend dieser Aktion tragen.
Begeben Sie sich in das Sumpflager und dort zu dem Sumpfkraut-Erntegebiet. Suchen Sie den Novizen Viran und gehen Sie zu dem Baum auf der rechten Seite. Ihr Alter Ego msste jetzt von einem blauen Schleier umgeben sein. Wenn Sie bei dem Baum angekommen sind, zuckt ein Blitz auf Sie herab. Dieser trifft Sie zwar, aber schleudert Sie nicht zurck, da Sie im Wasser stehen. Durchqueren Sie dann das Gewsser und steigen Sie auf der anderen Seite wieder heraus. Willkommen in der Freiheit.
I love my RPG's, I do. I'm quite happy for you to quote me on saying that Baldurs Gate 2 is perhaps the finest game ever made and deserves praise outside the games industry for its sheer depth of interaction, I also remembering giving Secret of Mana a small round of applause when I finished it all those years ago. This kind of enthusiasm has led me to Gothica new 3D RPG with an original story y'say? Do tell
Publisher: XiCat
Release: 11/30/01
Multiplayer: Yes
Website: Unknown
Platform: PC
Est. Price: $29.99
Gothic's story revolves around the land of Myrtana and its rich lands, fit to burst with natural resources. These lands were at risk from the Orks, to protect his most valuable lands, the King of Myrtana had 12 Mages create a magical barrier around the mines and the convicts forced to work there. So the game begins with you being thrown into this land, cut-off from the rest of the world by the barrier, given a letter for you to deliver to one of the Magesnow all you have to do is fit in and find your way about. Thankfully all this is well told and is probably the strongest aspect of Gothic, I did want to know what was happening; I cared about where my adventure would take me. For me that's half the battle done for an RPG.
After being thrown into the mix you meet Diego, a friendly figure from the biggest, and the original, of the three camps that have developed in this self-contained world, The Old Camp. The Old Camp is full of the miners, then there is the New Camp, which has its fair share of shady dealers, and the Loony Camp in the swamp. Diego tells you about how things work around here, which people are important and what people are like, this is something I really loved, you really do feel like an outsider, like your on their turf and you want to fit in. The lack of any cringe-worthy dialogue certainly helps here, all the voice acting is adequate, if not up to the fantastic standard set in the Baldurs Gate titles.
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After meeting Diego you are free to start exploring, this is where the originality of the storyline disappears and it becomes fairly standard RPG farethe game relying on talking to the right people to climb the ladder of respect along with the obligatory sub-quests. The game heavily resembles Heretic as more than one person has commented to me, while this isn't a bad thing really, the character models are very suspect, the texturing is fairly detailed but up close you can see a very crude structure underneath them, animation is equally rough. On the plus side though, the environments are very atmospheric and rich, lots of trees and shrubs, bridges, riversit just feels like going for a walk in the woods. I should also mention that this woodland stroll is backed by some lovely ambient background music.
This attention to detail is even more impressive as the environments are huge and suffer from pretty much no loading times at all. The detail extends to activity too, for example, walking round the camps you can see people chatting, cooking, building and then when nightfall comes (there is a gradual day/night cycle as well as some albeit rough looking weather effects) people relax and huddle round campfires. At one point I was strolling along at night using inadequate torch light and was attacked by two giant birds, I panicked and attacked one with my sword, dropping my torch, the second bird bore down on me and then hit the floor as the hunter I hadn't seen in the dark felled the thing with a couple of arrows. This was just a random occurrence too, not a scripted sequence.
In terms of genuine pointy-hatted-+3AP-and-resistant-to-fire-bastards fiddly RPG depth you won't be working with a system as detailed as Baldurs Gate. There isn't an initial class system but a system similar to Planescape Torment where you train your character to the strengths you want to take advantage of, the standard fare, fighting, magic, and thief skills
Spells are present if not terribly numerous either, there are around 60 weapons however, plus a multitude of items and armour as you would expect.
Selecting these items is however a nightmare with the default set-up, pressing Ctrl + W to pick something up seems rather long winded to me This leads me onto the dodgy combat systemyou press Space to draw your weapon and then hold Ctrl to ready it and then press a movement direction to perform a swing. This is very fiddly when you have a few enemies on you and the rather wooden animation does not help the feel of it one little bit.
Altogether this is not an especially outstanding game, I found myself playing it thinking its just another RPGto a certain extent that's true, but behind some of the ugly graphics and the rotten controls lies a genuinely interesting story, I'd say its definitely worth a go if you're an RPG fan who thinks he/she can live with these annoyances, a nice stop-gap until Interplay gets its problems sorted out and gives us Neverwinter Nights.
A Steady Grip!!! Gothic has received a decent score of 3 / 5 for an overall score of 60.0%. Something that falls in this category would be one that we would suggest buying if it was taylored to meet your specific needs.
(1/12/02) If you enjoy story-driven RPGs, like Deus-Ex, Planescape: Torment or Baldur's Gate 2, there is no excuse for not having Gothic in your RPG library. It is a fine piece of work that should rival Wizardry 8 for RPG of the year 2001.
Intro & Gameplay
In Gothic you do not start out as a series of stats on a computer screen. You play the protagonist (a prisoner) in an unfolding story about three distinct camps imprisoned under a gigantic magic barrier. However, the prison is not a structure; it's a huge part of a world called Myrtana, full of strange creatures, interesting NPCs and beautifully sculpted landscapes.
As a newcomer to the prison you quickly learn that the three camps have developed the rules under which everyone lives. This creates some very interesting gameplay. The design forces you to shed the moral values you may hold as a real life person, and take on roles that you might be uncomfortable with: like stealing, or killing, or selling "swamp weed". At first it's disorienting, and even seasoned RPG vets will be stunned by the complexity of these mini-societies. Eventually you may join one of these camps, although you are not forced to. And from there, there are several other paths you can take if you decide to delve deeper into magic.
Although Gothic is highly story driven, it doesn't do so at the expense of a solid RPG core. It is not as complex as other RPGs, but all bases are covered. You have level, strength, dexterity, mana and hit-point stats. Armor class vs. weapons, magic, fire and arrows. Skills, such as 1h weapons, 2h weapons, bows, crossbows, stealth, pickpocketing, lockpicking, acrobatics and magic. The beauty of Gothic's skill system is that it is not restrictive. After leveling, the player earns 10 skill points and can spend them any way he sees fit -- as long as he can find the appropriate trainer. This classless system allows interestesting combinations: such as a fighter/caster, fighter/thief, caster/thief. However, thieving skills in Gothic are not offensive. Rather, a player who opts for thief-like abilities will be better equipped to operate covertly or make money quickly by robbing others.
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Please dont hurt me
Where the game truly shines is in its NPC interaction. Myrtana comes alive in this regard and proves once again that an RPG without interesting characters is nothing more than a level/stat treadmill. Where Gothic differs from other RPGs in this respect is that the characters are very believable. They don't just stand in one place for eternity. They walk around, fry up their supper, play guitar around the fire to listeners who light up swamp-weed cigarettes, try to sell or extort money from you, give you advice you don't want, or even bug you incessantly. They also sometimes join you for adventures, or to lead you from one area to another, or to show you something. Over the course of the game you start to appreciate how much work the developers put into this aspect.
The combat system is simple, yet enjoyable. If the player is trained appropriately in the weapon he is using he can perform four different attacks, which must be timed correctly to do damage. Several attacks can be chained to form combos which can do substantial damage. One on one combat might seem a little dry. However, when confronted with a group of adversaries things get interesting fast. The computer AI is superb. Enemies will attempt to draw your attention while their buddies try to hit you from the flank, or sneak around to the rear and hit you from behind. Fending off a pack of wolves or snappers is quite an adrenaline rush. Adding to the drama is the "final blow" which you must do in order to kill a human player. Normally, the citizens in the colony don't kill each other.
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1 on 1 battle
Instead, they beat each other to within an inch of their life and then steal their valuable ore while they lay unconsious. To truly kill a character you must execute the killing blow which involes a blood curdling animation and sound-effect. Bows are effective ranged weapons and the player can equip exactly one bow and one melee weapon. The problem with bows in Gothic however is that you cannot "lead" a target. This makes hitting a moving target nearly impossible and relegates the bow to a pulling weapon. Although it can be used in close combat, it behooves a player fighting multiple enemies to wack away strategically; something for which the bow is not well-suited for.
The magic system is very well done. The player has the option of progressing through up to 6 circles of magic, however the ceiling for any particular circle is dictated by the chapter the player is in. Coincidently there are 6 chapters. As the player increases his magic knowledge, the cost becomes fairly high from a skillpoint perspective. And therefore it forces him to give up his ability to specialise in other areas, such as melee weapons or bows/crossbows. The tradeoff is certainly worth it but admirably, all offensive methods in Gothic have been designed to be very rewarding.
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RUN!!!!!!!!
The first method of spell casting is by using scrolls. This allows players to use magic who have not focused on progressing through the magic circles, yet have money to spend. Scrolls only work once. The second method is by using runes. Runes require the player to be skilled in the particular magic circle, yet remain after use. In both cases, casting requires mana and the mana skill must also be boosted over the character's life to use many higher level spells more than once. Near the end of the game the player will be able to summon demons, skeletons, golems and smite undead. There is nothing better than walking through an area with a small army of skeletons at your side to do battle.
The few quirks in Gothic can be annoying, but in the larger scheme of things they do not detract terribly from the game. It's important to note that the controls in the demo are NOT the same as the english retail version 1.08j. In the retail version the controls make perfect sense and are well thought out (with perhaps the exception of the trade screen). You should never have to move your hands from the mouse/WASD setup. Of more concern is the AI of the NPCs that join you throughout the game. They tend to get lost easily if you're leading in complex areas like the Free Mine. And there is a gate bug that doesn't allow players to complete some quests. This can easily be solved by:
-opening the character stat screen
-typing the word "marvin"
-closing the character stat screen
-hitting the K key to "port" 10 feet forward past the gate
Overall the great story, freedom of choice in character development, superb NPC interaction and immersive atmosphere in Gothic make it a top notch game. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Graphics
Graphics are outstanding, and very scalable. There are 3 presets, but the player can customize various setting such as model detail. Even on a mediocre rig, the framerate on the high-quality setting is superb. People with such rigs should be very pleased.
As for techincal merit, Gothic has it: detail textures on the high-quality setting, procedural textures, particle effects, superb red, blue, green and white lightmapping which blends beautifully and brilliant skeletal animation which makes the characters come alive. But what's most amazing is the geometry that makes up the world.
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Aww arent they so cute?
It almost seems like an building/landscape architect was hired to design the environment because it is extremely convincing. The buildings feel lived in, the landscape rolls, dips, and drops, and waterways flow naturally. By the time you finish the game you will believe that Myrtana is a very real place.
Of important note: ATI's newest Radeon 8500 drivers DO NOT WORK with Gothic. I have sent an email to Xicat about this and they're aware of the problem. Some lucky people have got it to work on Win2K and WinXP but be prepared to gamble if you have an 8500 in your rig. I had to switch back to a Geforce 256 DDR to get it to work.
Sound
Sound will be the one area that people may disagree on; and luckily you can turn on subtitles and turn off sound. Considering the sheer amount of voice-overs (there is a voice-over for EVERY subtitle in the game), there is a lot of room for judgment; especially when it comes to inflection errors. Some voice-overs shine (like Diego's), and others seem less than stellar (like the Necromancer's). And noticeably, one actor was used for more than one NPC. But you have to give the game a bit of elbow-room in this department because it was originally done in german and nobody knows what events took place during the port to the english version. The absolutely superb background scores make up for any shortcomings in the voice department though. They are subtle yet powerful, and of great quality. They even change according to the environment to further immerse the player.
Final Scores
Pros:
- NPC interaction
- Enjoyable combat and magic systems
- Enemy AI is good - Story is solid
Cons:
- Unstellar voiceovers
Having completed the game, I can honestly give it two thumbs up. The developers really should have done more with the ending, but considering how much meat was in the game 99% of the time, I can't detract marks for that oversight.
If you enjoy story-driven RPGs, like Deus-Ex, Planescape: Torment or Baldur's Gate 2, there is no excuse for not having Gothic in your RPG library. It is a fine piece of work that should rival Wizardry 8 for RPG of the year 2001.
What the heck is Gothic? To be honest, no one seemed to know the answer to a simple question like that. I bought it anyway, and I have yet to be disappointed. Published by Xicat here in North America, the game was developed by Piranha Bytes in Europe. Gothic is a semi-linear role-playing game with several branches within the game to help the player develop the story line from at least three different faction viewpoints. Now, since I'm having trouble putting down the game itself, and this review is taking up my time, let's get into the nitty gritty of the good and bad. Well ... mostly good.
As per any RPG, you have enemies that you fight. In Gothic, these can be either monster based, or human. Human and Orc battles tend to be more difficult in a one on one situation because they fight back hard and are quite often very unpredictable. For instance, one human has an axe whereas another has a stronger axe, and in the next hallway is someone with a hefty two-handed sword. Monsters can be hunted, pulled from their groups, and systematically removed from the scene. The most annoying thing about using something like a bow or crossbow is that using it tends to attract the attention of the entire group, causing a swarm effect that can get your blood boiling - especially if you've just pulled 8 black goblin warriors and you're only level 12. But I digress.
The game boasts 130 different weapons to acquire and use, and considering that your strength or dexterity plays about half of the role in damage as the weapon does, you'll be looking for the biggest and best. Now, this is not simply a hack and slash adventure, as one of my friends so kindly put it. It plays a bit like a cross between Asheron's Call and EverQuest. You have to upgrade your fighting skills with skill points gained at each level - 10 per level - and with each skill level gained comes a different stance and combo system for the weapon. Say you start off with a rusty sword. This is a one handed weapon, but because you are untrained in one-handed weapons, you are slow and can really only swing it in three directions. Once you upgrade to the first trained level in one handed weapons, you stand differently, hold the weapon differently, and swing differently to include combo hits. There are 4 weapons categories to be experimented with - one handed weapon, two handed weapon, bow, and crossbow. It may sound a bit light, but I find that the simplicity has helped me to appreciate the story line and action much better. Each level you gain through experience allows you the 10 skill points to save or put towards training a skill or an attribute. I've already touched on some of the battle skills, but you can also spend them on Strength, Dexterity, Mana, or handy other things like Lockpicking, Pickpocketting, Sneaking, Acrobatics, or a level of Magic. If it sounds a bit confusing here, don't worry, it's actually simpler than it seems.
[IMG]
Dino Swarming Will Be Painful.
Magic is something that I have only played with when required to, and I find it rather slow. However, with a little practice, it can be extremely powerful. Several times I have found myself confronted with a magic user and ended up running away from them while burning alive. Each circle of magic, as weapons, requires a certain amount of skill points to progress into the next circle. The higher the circle, the more powerful magic you can use.
Unfortunately, there is a down side to the battle system. The learning curve is a pain, especially if you're a player of online games as I was. You can't walk around in combat mode all the time as the inhabitants take it as a threat, so when you want to fight you draw your weapon. Agreeably, this is more realistic ... but when you REALLY have to fight someone or something, the wait to prepare your weapon is deadly. To attack once in battle mode you have to hold down the 'use/action key' and use the directional buttons. For example: My 'use/action key' is the left ctrl button and I'm using the directional buttons to move. I hold down the ctrl key and press left or right to swing accordingly, up to take a forward step with a swing and begin a combo, and down to defend for a short time. When you're being attacked by something that has the power to rip you to shreds, you sometimes want to move out of the way, so you have to release the 'use key' and move. This still frustrates me when I'm in a heated battle with a large Orc Temple Warrior or something of the sort that takes me down 2/3 of my health in one blow.
The beasts of the field don't respawn in large amounts. In fact, the only time that they do respawn is if they are part of a quest that you haven't completed yet, and they respawn for the quest, or when you enter the next chapter of the game ... and even then they spawn in smaller amounts. Don't think that this is a down side to the game. Far from it, you just won't be able to gain many levels from beasts that you can one-hit
Battle flow goes like this at the beginning of the game: Make sure your weapon is equipped. Find a beast to slay. Remove your weapon from it's sleeping place and have it at the ready position. You can either allow the beast to come at you if you are patient, or you can run in and attempt to get the first big strike while running. If there are no other beasts around to support it, you now have a one on one fight. Swinging left and right, when timed correctly will produce multiple hits doing some pretty good damage. You can defend if the beast attacks, but avoiding the attack is altogether better once you begin fighting things that chain different attacks together. Remember that you have to release the 'use/action' key to move again. Once you defeat your opponent you may feel free to loot the body of anything valuable.
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That Is Some Powerful Magic
The story seems simple to start. During the Orc war, the king sentenced every single male convict to work in the ore mines. To ensure that they never escaped, wizards were sent to put up a barrier around the 'colony'. However, during the event something went wrong, and the barrier expanded beyond it's original intended size, trapping the wizards in with the convicts. The convicts took advantage of the distraction created by the barrier to kill all of the guards and take over the 'colony'. You are have been convicted of something - we're not told what - and sentenced to work in the mines. The only mission you have been given is to deliver a letter to the High Magician of Fire. You will learn that there are three different factions that you are able to associate yourself with and within each are different occupations that can be worked for and gained. The plot is muchly the same for each faction, but within each there are different missions, goals, and relationships to be developed. I'm looking forward to playing all three and entering all of the occupations. If you follow the missions in the order you get them, or at least the order you are able to complete them, the game flows incredibly well. I always was waiting to see what happened next, but was never finding myself impatient for the story to advance. The game fits together completely in every aspect.
The interface is simplistic to a fault. Unfortunately the manual tells you how to do most everything, but I spent the first 45 minutes of the game trying to figure out how to do everything thinking that there must be more to it. Well, there's not. The 'use/action key' that I have already spoken of is your central key. Get used to it, and keep it as your new best friend. You have to hold the 'use/action key' in conjunction with your 'walk forward key' to pick things up, open doors or chests, talk with people, fight, etc. Within your inventory menus, the 'use/action key' is combined with the 'walk forward key' to either equip or use, or the 'walk backward key' to drop. To cycle through the different categories in your inventory is just right or left. What I found to be frustrating when looting or purchasing is that if you slip and pop over to your side of the purchase screen, it defaults to the miscellaneous category and you have to cycle all the way through the other categories in order to pop back to the merchant or corpse selection. Other than these little irritations that can grate on your nerves at 3 am, even when you are accustomed to it, the interface accompanies the rest of the game quite nicely, keeping the emphasis on the game itself and not the juggling of items, weapons, or spells.
Gothic has a tendency to play fairly slowly out in the open, but only if you know what you are doing. If you are always running into the thick of battle, it will be very fast, and you'll most likely end up loading the last saved game. From the moment you get into the game, you realize that you aren't in for an easy ride. Your welcoming committee gives you a quick thrashing as a 'baptizing' into the colony. From there you have to talk with inhabitants, learn information, and draw your own conclusions. Without giving away the story, you have to learn that things can change very quickly both for you and for the rest of the colony. Aside from tedious running when you're playing the role of an errand boy - which eventually can be remedied by handy potions of sprinting - the story keeps driving you forward and throwing twists at you.
The sound and music score fits the medieval setting quite nicely. Every so often I find myself enraptured by the spooky music when in a temple or tomb, or a wonderful harmony while standing beside a huge waterfall. The sound created when you pull your sword from its scabbard is metal on metal, like nails on a chalkboard, but I absolutely love it. Now, whoever else is in the house at the time when I have it turned up to the maximum possible effect doesn't particularly enjoy it, but I just yell at them to not worry ... I'll silence it in some beast flesh! The voices are fabulous. I don't think there has been another game that I have played recently that did such a good and commendable job on the quality of the voices. The only thing that I see that can get annoying is the reuse of some of the voices for, say, the peasants or generic greetings. The library of voices for those NPCs is limited and sometimes drives you to not want to talk to the regular people. I also noticed that the reply to something you say or ask an NPC could overlap what you are saying, especially if you are not talking to the person for the first time.
Though I can't raise Gothic up on the platform of total originality, I must say that this is just a rehash of old stuff. The game gives a simple view of the weapons system, but doesn't just give you everything at once ... and that it does give you, sometimes you still have to work to be able to use it properly. I never have really enjoyed a third person game as much as I have this one. No, it doesn't really play like Tomb Raider, in case you were wondering.
The translation is supurb, as it seems the game was originated in Denmark and relased in Europe a while ago.
I have to give some kudos to replay value. With three different factions to join, there are quite a few relationships and roles that you can develop. I will definitely play the game at least three times, and probably more just to explore the different class occupations.
The visuals this game treats the player with are fabulous. Gothic basically installs completely on your hard drive, so if you have a fast drive all the better. The sunspots are blinding; the shading and lighting effects are superb. I do have to mention a few faults though. For instance, entering each area on the world map is seamless. There are no loading times unless you enter a dungeon or someplace huge like that. However, when you are walking near the forest you can see the boxy outline of its edge until you get close enough. Also, there have been several times when I've gotten myself stuck in the ground or wall by jumping at the wrong time - which I do a lot. When you're standing on a mountaintop, looking around, I think that the distances could be increased ... but to be honest, the stress on my system would have been outlandish (P4 1.4gHz, 512Mb Ram, 64 MB GeForce). Yes, the game is huge.
The game itself shouldn't give you the 'hair-pulls' or the 'kick my computer' feeling. However, there are several battles that you just wish you could be faster, or have better armor. I save often, especially when entering uncharted territory and exploring.
To beat this game you're looking at about 60+ hours. Of course, you can do it faster, or you can be like me and do anything and everything you can discover. If you want to fully experience everything and get the full experience levels for each mission, you're probably looking at about 90 hours.
I bought it. I don't regret it. At first, I had no idea what I was getting into, but now I want to spread the gospel of Gothic. Even though I find myself wishing constantly that I could have another friend in the game watching my back when hunting Orcs, I spend too much time on this highly addictive game. Combine the visuals with the story and the music and soundtracks, throw in the exhilarating rush of actually controlling battle, and the desire to get the armor that "That guy has", and this game is pretty much a must buy. Add the fact that it doesn't require the CDs to play, and you and your friends might like it even better. The game itself cost a fraction of what I would expect. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to figure out what's happening with whoozits and the other guy, and get a sweet axe and some promised nearly indestructible armor! Play the game!
Piranha-Bytes scores with this fun adventure through a land of criminals and monsters.
January 15, 2002
Gothic is a role-playing game recently released by Xicat Interactive and developed by Piranha-Bytes. The game was originally released in German and then was translated to English. While nothing innovative, Gothic does offer a solid storyline, attractive graphics and an excellent role-playing experience. Role-playing fans looking for that new game with a good story should look no further.
In the kingdom of Myrtana, war has been raging for many years. Enemy after enemy is driven back and defeated. Only one foe remains, the Orcs. After so many years of battle, however, the kingdom is short of both men and weapons. One special mine contains a magical ore that can craft unbreakable weapons. In order to mine this ore, prisoners are sent to the mining colony. Each person convicted of a crime, no matter what the crime is, is sent to the colony for the king. The conditions were very poor and many prisoners attempted escape. In order to prevent this from continuing, the king sent his most powerful mages to construct a barrier to allow new prisoners in but let none out.
Something went horribly wrong, though, and the mages along with a much larger area that expected, were trapped underneath the new barrier. The prisoners took advantage of the surprise of the guards and seized control. The king needed his magical ore so he was forced to negotiate with the prisoners now in control of the mining colony. In exchange for anything the prisoners desired, the king would receive his ore. Also, newly convicted criminals continued to be sent into the mining colony.
The player takes on the role of a newly convicted, unnamed prisoner who is being sent through the barrier. He is asked to take a letter to the head of the fire mages in the old camp. After agreeing and pushed through the barrier, he falls into a small body of water and drags himself to land. His first encounter is with a group of bullies who punch him and he falls unconscious. Upon awakening, the player is greeted by a man, who reveals himself to be Diego. Diego is a guide of sorts and he describes the old camp in detail and suggests that the player visit the old camp to further talk with him. After giving the introductory information, Diego starts heading towards the old camp. Players can follow him for safety sake, as there are some monsters on the road and at the start, the character is very weak.
There are three different camps which players can join, the old camp, the new camp and the sect camp. The old camp is headed by Gomez, the Ore Baron. It is the camp that made the agreement with the King to exchange ore for supplies. Members of the new camp are working with a group of the mages trapped in the barrier to try and break through it. The sect camp is putting all its faith in The Sleeper, a god who they believe will free them from the barrier.
You'll get to fight other humans, but there's plenty of nasty beasts as well. [Bild: gothic_line2.jpg]
There is no character creation. All players start out with the same appearance and starting statistics. The character is developed as it progresses through the game. There are two basic attributes, strength and dexterity, which affect skills. Weapon skills range from one-handed and two-handed weapons to bows and crossbows. There are several levels of magic, called circles, and players can learn spells in a variety of schools, from fire magic to necromancy. The game has a hunting skills system as well, allowing ore, the currency of Gothic, to be earned by skinning the hides and removing the teeth from a variety of animals. Each time the character levels, which happens when enough experience points have been earned, 10 skill points and a life bonus is are awarded. Skill points, along with an amount of ore, are needed to purchase the skills and develop the character. A player can train in any range of skills or specialize in a certain type of character.
Experience points can be gained by completing quests. There are a large variety of quests in each of the camps, some of which are required to progress the storyline and others that are just to make additional ore. Quests range from obtaining items or finding a person to completing delivery or sale of something. In one, a guard has disappeared and two people ask you to find this guard. It turns out the guard, Nek, is dead. His body is being guarded by three molerats that must be killed. Neks body holds an amulet that will prove his death.
The other way to gain experience points is through combat. In the wilderness are a variety of monsters which, when killed, yield loot and experience points. If a player strikes out too early and tries to kill some monsters, they will meet a quick death. Death in Gothic is permanent, so it is necessary to save often. Battles with non-player characters will normally result in being knocked out and looted, but a player will not normally be killed. However, the monsters have no qualms and will kill the player.
The primary storyline revolves around gaining respect in the different camps and eventually choosing a camp to join. Interaction with non-player characters is a critical part of this game. There are numerous choices to dialogue and the choices a player makes can affect attitude and limit later opportunities. Also, all non-player characters can be attacked and killed, making it possible to remove characters permanently from a game.
Moving around in the game is quite simple, but interacting with the environment takes some getting used to. A combination of keys is necessary to pick up items, talk to characters, attack, jump and climb. Combat involves repeatedly hitting the action key and the arrow keys. This can become burdensome and it would have been nice if the interface were made friendlier. However, after some time playing this game, the awkward interface fades to the background and becomes almost unnoticeable.
The graphics are pretty decent for a game of this magnitude. The world is quite large and very detailed. Night is very dark and storms are believable. Many times during the game it is suggested that the player find someplace to sleep through the night. The buildings and characters are very detailed. Non-player characters have very expressive facial expressions, something that is often missed in games of this nature. The graphics run pretty smoothly for the most part. The sound is equally adequate. Voice acting is decent and sound effects are appropriate.
Overall, Gothic is a solid role-playing experience. Gothic has decent graphics and a well-developed storyline. It also has a great amount of replayability, as each time through the game could yield different experiences with different choices. The awkward interface does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. This game would please any role-playing fans looking for a great story to involve them for some time.
-- Staci Krause
Presentation
It has a very awkward and foreign interface but a long, informative manual. 6.0
Graphics
Very nice graphics that run smoothly and the animation looks good. 9.0
Sound
The voice acting is very well done and the sound effects are appropriate. 8.0
Gameplay
A very long game with a great storyline makes this one fun experience. 9.0
Lasting Appeal
With a wide variety of choices, the game has replayability. 7.0
Gothic Review
By Martin Taylor Published 15 January, 2002
Review - a mixture of action, adventure and role-playing in a dark fantasy world
Version tested: PC
You Wanna Be In My Gang?
gothic01.jpg
Martin makes the mistake of trying to feed the animals
I would be the first to admit that I have somewhat difficult tastes when it comes to reviewing games, and it was with some disgruntlement that I installed the two discs of Gothic onto my machine. "I absolutely hate fantasy role-playing games", I mumbled to myself as the installation reached its conclusion and I started the game up. "I'm not going to enjoy this at all." How wrong I was. Gothic is a game that took me completely by surprise, in much the same way that Deus Ex did. I became so completely immersed in its intricately constructed fantasy world that I lost all track of time and ignored my body's pleas for food. The world in question is called Myrtana, and you assume the role of a convict thrown into a prison colony contained within a magical barrier. This work camp was founded after the land became ravaged by marauding orcs, and the prisoners interned there were to mine ore for the construction of new weapons to defend the kingdom. However, problems arose during the creation of the magical barrier and the mages who built it became trapped with the prisoners. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody could come within the barrier to collect the ore, the prisoners traded the vital resources with the king for food, drink, women .. anything they wanted. In-fighting soon drove the colony into rival factions though. The first of these, the Old Camp, was perfectly happy working with the king, exchanging ore from the mine for goods. Later a New Camp was formed by lawless thugs, while other prisoners claimed to be privy to strange visions and dreams and left to form their own settlement. The members of this Brotherhood worship an unknown entity called The Sleeper, which they are convinced is the key to their freedom.
Clumsy
gothic02.jpg
Bridge over troubled water?
When you first enter the game, the depth of the story is not immediately apparent. You are merely handed a sealed letter which you are asked to deliver to the mages within the colony, and off you go. You would be right for feeling daunted in the early stages, as you aren't presented with any options as such, other than to explore the vast landscape ahead. Getting used to the interface is the first major hurdle, and Gothic's control set is convoluted and crude. For some reason the developers decided to opt for an almost completely keyboard-based command system, and the only mouse control available is to rotate your character. Even the inventory forces you to use combinations of keys to shuffle items around - what's wrong with using a click-and-drag method of interaction? The controls almost ruin the start of the game, and a new player may be completely put off by this sloppiness as it renders Gothic an extremely tough game to get into. Having got to grips with the awkward controls and set off on your journey you come across a few weapons thrown aside - a pickaxe, a couple of rusty swords - and these come in handy for battling off your first threats, until later in the game when the opportunity comes to buy stronger weapons and armour. Unfortunately combat is also extremely clumsy. Fighting one opponent is hard enough, but when you've got three bloody huge bird-like creatures hopping around and pecking at you, you hardly stand a chance, particularly when you're weak and armourless in the early stages of the game. There are sidestep keys to aid you in dodging an attack, but having to use a combination of action and direction buttons to swing your weapon means that you are usually forced to stand still and flail your weapon helplessly in the direction of the advancing beastie.
Let's Be Friends
gothic03.jpg
Look mom, lens flare
Once you get moving though and begin to take on tasks and missions from some of the many inhabitants of the camps, the control problems are overshadowed by a tremendous character-driven story. Your primary goal is to become someone of importance, and this involves influencing those in the right positions by fulfilling jobs and carrying out favours for them. These can be as mundane as searching for ingredients for a chef's broth or delivering a letter, but other characters you meet have more to offer and in return can train you in essential skills such as combat and thievery. All of the characters live in a hierarchy, or a network if you will, and by completing tasks for certain people or factions you may be stepping on the toes of someone else. Almost all of your actions have far reaching consequences, and gossip about you will spread beyond your control. Should you get caught stealing from someone's hut, for example, not only will you be beaten to within an inch of your life by the victim (who will then steal your precious ore and leave you to stagger away with a bloody nose) but people will soon start to distrust and even fear you. It becomes essential to build relationships and make friends and enemies if you are to progress.
Bucking The Trend
gothic04.jpg
Oh boy, this has to be bad news
One of the most pleasing aspects of Gothic is the fact that it doesn't rely too much on established role-playing dynamics. Indeed it leans more heavily towards adventuring and exploration, which is why I could draw comparisons with the likes of Deus Ex rather than other more traditional role-playing games. There aren't huge swamps of statistics and fantastical mumbo-jumbo to wade through either; instead the emphasis is on actually getting into the role and immersing yourself in the world. Visually Gothic is a splendid title with just the right level of eye candy to stop you getting bored with the browns and greens of your medieval surroundings. The full day and night cycle and changing weather conditions combine well with the inhabitants' individual activities and the huge areas available for exploration to create a completely believable environment in which captives bed down in huts for the night or sing songs around campfires before setting off for a day's hunting or mining when the sun rises. The sound is of a lower standard than the graphics, but the music is pleasant and sits in the background nicely while the voice acting .. well .. it'll do. Gothic is a game which developers should look to as an example of how a role-playing adventure should be done. Floating on the surface of a deep storyline is a superb faade of light-hearted humour and adventuring, which is sure to attract less hardcore genre fans. The only real gripe is with the primitive interface, and had this received more attention it would have been a marked improvement on an already tremendous title.
8 / 10 Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Martin makes the mistake of trying to feed the animals
Gothic (PC)
Piranha Bytes' third-person RPG is one of the most ambitious to date, and if you have the stamina to complete it, quite possibly one of the best as well.
By - Craig "Talon" Wessel
Gothic is set in a kingdom that was being overrun by that favorite fantasy menace, the orcs. The king had little choice -- the orcs were about to gain control of the ore mines, which were the source of the kingdom's wealth. The mages were to erect a barrier around the mines, but something went wrong and the barrier covered the entire valley. The prisoners who were forced to work the mines saw their chance, and took control of the valley. Now, warring camps of convicts within the valley fight for control of the ore. The ore may not buy them freedom, but it does allow them to live as they choose. After all, the king -- who is outside the valley -- has no choice but to deliver whatever they ask in exchange for the ore.
Gameplay
That's the story, basically. You're tossed into it as a convict with a message for some of the mages that are trapped in the valley. When you enter the game, your character is weak and has to depend on others for survival. This isn't a good thing when you're in a world full of convicts. Everyone wants to either use you, kill you, or watch you be killed, so diplomacy is as important as anything else. Piranha Bytes has done a good job with the storyline, and the NPC interaction along the way pushes the story along.
You interact with other characters through familiar dialog trees. Pick your response, and your character will speak it. The voice acting in the game is a nice touch, although it doesn't always fit the setting. Hearing your character say, "What's up?" is a bit odd given the setting. Every line of dialog is spoken, but it's a little annoying that you pick it from your dialog tree just as it will be spoken, then hear it spoken. There are plenty of NPCs in the game to talk to, and most of them will answer you at least one time. Many of them are important to your progress, so it pays to be polite, especially when you're just getting started.
The valley is quite large, and there are numerous dungeons underground to explore. This is a huge game, so don't expect to run through it in a few hours. Quests can range from short errands to extensive, game-long affairs. You have to keep track of who your friends (and more importantly, enemies) are, because you'll need all the help you can get. It's not a combat-heavy game--by that I mean it's well-balanced between other activities and combat--but when you do fight, expect realistic results. Take on someone stronger than you, and you don't stand a chance. You'll need to pick your battles carefully. Sometimes, running away is a better idea.
Something Piranha Bytes promised during development was that you'd be able to tell just what weapon your character was using, and also visibly see him become better at using it. This is in the game, and it is very nice to be able to visibly tell how you're doing -- added attacks, faster attack speed, and more -- but it's lost in a rather cumbersome control scheme.
The controls require you to hold down an action key, and then press another to attack. You can use the mouse to spin, but not to target enemies. So, you have to spin until your target is highlighted, hold down the action key, then swing your weapon.
It doesn't sound easy, and it's not, trust me. You do get used to it, but what's more disturbing is that the key you use to attack (not the action key, but the one you swing with) is the same one you move forward with. So, that means that you can't move much while attacking. Combat becomes a slugfest, with combatants trading blows until someone falls. You can avoid a lot of combat in the early stages, but you may find yourself dreading a battle due to the control scheme.
Technical
Gothic
Game Type: RPG
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Egmont Interactive
Platform: PC
Magic does play a part in the game, as you can use various spells as the game progresses. The spells vary based upon the circle of mages that created them--the Circle of Fire focuses, as you would guess, on fire-based magic. The Circle of Water relies on atmospheric magic (Freezing Lightning, etc..), and the Brotherhood specializes in mental energy (Fear, Sleep, etc). You cast spells using either scrolls (one-time use) or runes (permanent as long as you have the rune), and the ever-popular Mana is used as the energy to cast all spells. The magic implementation is fairly typical, but the spell effects are nice, and it does add an interesting aspect to the later stages of the game.
Gothic's graphics are nice. The engine renders huge outdoor areas well, as well as cramped mine tunnels. The lighting effects are excellent -- at night, torches glow and toss flickering shadows, and during the day, the barrier glows with electric intensity -- and add to the game's immersion factor. Textures are passable, but you notice them less given the huge areas you have to explore. Massive castles, deep mines, rivers -- all are well done.
That's the good. Unfortunately, framerates really suffer in many places in the game. Several times my PIII 450 (the machine I playtest games on when checking framerates) bogged down to a standstill. The game's specs claim that a PII 400 could handle the stress -- not likely, given the game's massive environments. I really wouldn't play Gothic on anything less than a P4 800 or better. You can turn off the extra details on slower machines, but the game loses a lot if you can't see the models or effects well.
Character models aren't extremely detailed, but balancing this, they also aren't repetitive. It definitely adds more realism when you see that everyone doesn't look the same everywhere. Overall, the environment, the quests, and the huge world you're in overcomes some of the technical issues with the game.
Gamespy review score: Total 83
Design 85
pros: Very good plot; NPC interaction is good; huge game with plenty of quests and places to explore.
cons: Controls are cumbersome; combat is mundane in early stages.
Technical 80
pros: Graphics are good; good character models and overall appearance.
cons: Framerate suffers on slower machines even though specs are well below most current PCs.
The Final Word:
If you're an RPG fan that is looking for a game with more substance --quests, detailed NPC interaction, and a solid plot -- then you should check out Gothic. The third-person perspective may turn some players off, and the control scheme is a bit of a pain. Still, there's enough here to make this one worthwhile.
3D Card Requirements: DirectX Compatible
Minimum System Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium III 400, 128 MB RAM, Sound Card, 4x CD-ROM, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers.
RPG z vězeňskho prostřed a navc z pohledu třet osoby?? Jak to vůbec můe vypadat? Zajmavě a přesně jako Gothic od německch Piranha Bytes
Vydno dne (17.1.2002) / rubrika GM-RECENZE
Kdy jsem se dozvěděl o existenci tto hry, nejdřve jsem hodně dlouho přemlel, jak vůbec můe bt provedena. Nato nsledovalo dlouh čekn vyplněn spoustou jinch titulů. A se mi konečně do rukou dostala poangličtěn (???) verze hry a j mohl proniknout do světa, kde gotika nehraje svou hlavn roli. Nečekejte nějak fantasy orgie, naopak nepřtel maj jedin reln zklad, a tm je fantazie tvůrců. Jednou z hlavnch devz a současně překek měla bt jin skutečnost - RPG z pohledu třet osoby (a tm myslm tombraiderovskou kameru za zdy). To tu snad jetě vůbec nebylo. A i proto byl a je Gothic svm způsobem zajmavm a průkopnickm projektem. Nyn si jej pečlivě a do podrobnost rozpitvme
Jak u to tak bv, existovalo jedno krlovstv a jeden velk a slavn krl Robert II. Vichni byli ťastn, ale přily temn dny. Dny pln orkskch njezdů, krve, smrti a smutku. Před krlem se objevil velk problm - nedostatek zbran, protoe v dolech nestačili vyrbět dostatek materilu. Po důkladn diskuzi s rdci se rozhodnul pro neobvykl řeen. Do dolů poslal vechny zločince, kteř se provinili byť sebemenm přečinem, a nechal nejlepmi mgy krlovstv zapečetit prostor pomoc kouzel. Ta se vak vymkla kontrole a uzavřela do svch trob i sv vlastn tvůrce. Zločinci nevhali a převzali vldu nad dolem, pozabjeli sv strce vyjma mgů a s krlem uzavřeli dohodu. Za pravidelnou dodvku materilu budou mt zajitěn přsun potravy a veho, co si budou přt. Tak vy jste byli obyčejnm zlodějčkem, ale v průběhu přprav na v posledn sek cesty do "vězen" zastav vaeho dozorce krlův rdce a podv mu dopis pro Mgy ohně. Nejdřve vhte, ale pot, co je vm slbena beztrestnost, přijmte. "Jste vstoupeni" do dolu a netute, jak dobrodrustv vs ček Tak takhle začn přběh Gothicu, zajmavho a netypickho akčnějho RPG. Přběh, kter vs překvap svou propracovanost a chytlavost. Přběh, kter bude vam průvodcem po celou dobu hran hry.
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U jsem uvedl, e Gothic m daleko do tradičnho RPG, ať u mluvme od dungeonech (viz třeba Wizardry 8), nebo o hrch typu Baldurs Gate (z posledn doby třeba Gorasul). Prvn pohled na hru ve vs probud pochyby, zdali před sebou nemte dal bezduchou střlečko/hopsačku ve stylu Tomb Raider. Pravda je natěst plně jinde - Gothic je akčně a rozhovorově laděn RPG z pohledu třet osoby. Uff, vyčerpvajc popis, kter nejednomu zjemci zajist zamot hlavu, take hezky pomalu a postupně. Na celou hru se dvte z pohledu kamery, kter se dr za vaimi zdy. Prochzte se po světě a potkvte nepřtelsk stvořen a NPC postavy. Hned po krtkm vodu se dostanete do takzvanho Starho tbora, v něm se setkte s obrovskm mnostvm lid a připadte si jako v opravdovm městě. Rozhovory s nimi vm zpočtku zaručeně zaberou velkou čst hernho času, protoe jsou často větven a zajmav. Kad alespoň něčm zajmav postava m spoustu věc, kter vm chce nebo můe sdělit. Orientace v tboře je troku zmaten dky absenci mapy. Gothic je ale RPG a co by to bylo za role-playing game, kdyby jste nemohli svho hrdinu cvičit v boji?? A nejinak tomu je i tady... Souboje se odehrvaj v relnm čase a je nutno si hldat přesilu nepřtel, protoe napaden zezadu či zboku nen zrovna přjemnm a neobvyklm jevem. Zatmco se snate zashnout potvoru před sebou, dal dvě pomalu ukusuj z vaeho ivota. Zde se nachz dal těitě napnavosti Gothicu, protoe tměř kad souboj je zajmavm duelem vaeho uměn a monost AI. Přesto se obtnost nepohybuje nijak vysoko, obrovsk problm Gothicu se nachz jinde (a nepřmo ovlivňuje i obtnost) a jmenuje se ovldn.
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Zpočtku jsem vůbec nechpal, jak napřklad zvednout nějak předmět ze země, nato jak jej pout. Kromě směrovch klves (směr běhu můete ovldat t pohybem myi) toti mte klvesu na vytahovn zbraně a akčn klvesu. Jej funkce je nejdůleitěj, pouvat ji budete velmi často. Napřklad pro sebrn předmětu muste stisknout akčn klvesu a pot jetě klvesu vpřed, nsledně se v charakter sehne a sebere přslun předmět (resp. zatoč na přeru, s někm promluv). Na jednu stranu je zde vidět snaha autorů o co největ zjednoduen ovldn na co nejmen počet klves. Bohuel jimi zvolen systm je velice neťastn a doke dost dobře znechutit celou hru. Tak inventř je řeen podobnm způsobem a prce s nm je doteď moj černou můrou...
Pochopitelně si i zde piplte svho hrdinu, za co dostvte zkuenostn body, kter můete proměnit na svoje vylepen pomoc adekvtnho trninku u konkrtn NPC. Statistiky charakteru jsou hodně okletěn a přli si jich neuijete. Tot plat o vybaven pro v stroj na zabjen, jeho vběr se omezuje na nezbytn věci. Co se vlastnost vmi pouvanch předmětů tk, rozhodně by neukodila vět variabilita a důraz prvě na tuto poloku. Jedin, co trochu napravuje dojem, jsou kouzla, kter začnete uvat a v pozdějch fzch hry.
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Asi jste z mch ve pouitch větnch spojen nabyli dojmu, e Gothic je patn hra. To byste se vak hodně mlili a j si nyn dovolm poopravit v pokaen nzor. Svět Gothicu je nvykov předevm dky sv přirozenosti, propracovanosti a "ivosti". Kdy budete hran vychutnvat a pozorovat kad detail a navc absolvovat i postrann questy, kterch je připraveno velk mnostv, zaručeně se nebudete nudit. Vechna msta, kam se dostanete, ij svm neruenm tempem a vs vnmaj jen jako malou vlnku, kter cel moře nikdy nemůe ovlivnit.
Pokud mte hodně nadupanou mainku, můete se těit na pěkně zpracovan svět Gothicu, slab stroje maj velk problmy s vykreslovnm větch a nročnějch prostor (napřklad ji zmiňovan tbor). Animace va postavy i ostatnch "herců" mohly bt troku relněj, ale jinak se hra nem za co stydět. Co se tče zvukovho doprovodu, nevystupuje nijak ani do popřed, ani neupad v zapomněn. Prostě je jen tam, kde m bt....
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A co řct k Gothicu zvěrem?? Dnes před nmi le značně rozporupln hra. Podobně jako u hry Soul Reaver 2 (recenze), i zde byl podceněn vznam přehlednho a pohodlnho ovldn. Mon trochu tak doplatil na to, e jsem jej začal hrt po vysilujcm hernm maratonu s nzvem Wizardry 8, ale přesto trpen a buzerovn hrče u dnes prostě nen v mdě. Doba, kdy hrči kvůli dobr hře byli ochotni leccos překousnout, se ji dvno vytratila do ztracena a hrči hodně zpohodlněli. Tak několik dalch detailů nen plně koer, ale pokud jste schopni se nad tyto zrdn skutečnosti povznst, odkryjete velmi zajmav a chytlav svět pln zhad a věc k objeven. A o fantazii to vdycky vechno je, nebo ne?
PS: Preview na nedvno oznmen druh pokračovn Gothic naleznete zde.
Gothic
Vrobce - Piranha Bytes
Distributor - XICat Interactive
nr - RPG
Minimln
konfigurace - PentiumII 400 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 16 MB 3D karta
Doporučen
konfigurace - PentiumIII 800 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB 3D karta
Gothic is a RPG Sleeper that Might Surprise You
written by: Marie Foster on 1/21/2002 12:28:36 PM
Gothic from Piranna Bytes describes itself on the box as An Epic Role Playing Game. The game was written in Europe and has an interesting flavor about it for me as an American. It is just a little kinky in a way. At first I found this to be somewhat annoying but the other aspects of the game make it worth your while to consider buying it.
The story behind it is pretty simple and very well told in the opening cinematic. The kingdom is under attack from orc hoards. The king needing the ore from the mines has decreed that all prisoners be sent there to work. In order to deal with the problem of keeping the prisoners working the mines while he has to deal with being overrun he orders his magicians to create a magical barrio around the mines. They do so but something goes wrong. The barrier becomes a trap. There is only one way in and no escape for anyone. All of a sudden the prisoners become the ones who hold the cards and they make the kingdom pay a heavy price for the ore they extract.
The game opens with you being thrown into the mines to try to find your way around there in this new strange society. If you are lucky you might even find a way to get out of the prison and free the others and save your kingdom as well.
There are more intricacies to the plot. The mines are split up into 3 camps. The main camp (old camp) has the direct relationship with the king and they have a pretty brutal structure that heavily involves protection rackets. This is the largest and oldest camp and has a rigid social structure. The second camp (new camp) is one of outcasts and thieves. The third camp is made up of religious fanatics. Each camp has its own brand of magic and power. You can choose any of the camps to join and such choices will influence how you solve the puzzles of the colonies and get your self free.
That is the broad structure of the game. It is in 3D third person view. The camera seems to be fixed but it pans around the countryside very naturally to me so I have not felt the need to make adjustments. The world is very rich and complex. I found the graphics to be very acceptable. The character models are good and the movements from climbing to swimming to using items in the world all are very realistic and add to the flavor of the game.
Much has been written about how the world is very realistic. You can learn a number of skills and trades that help you. About the only odd part for me is that I expected to find some way of actually mining for ore but at least up to now I have been ending up stealing most of it from the locked chests that litter the camps. All the NPCs are very well done in my opinion. They seem to learn about you as you make your way and have either moved up the hierarchy of the camps or descended as the case might be.
The best thing about the game so far is that it is the most non-linear game I have come across since playing Fallout II and that game is my second favorite all time game (with Planescape Torment still in the number one slot.) I have not finished the game yet, but can see adding it to my top ten list. The world is wide open for you to explore except for certain areas that are part of the plot line. But you get all kinds of quests and subplots as you go along and I can see that depending on choices you make each time you play the game it could be a very different experience.
Now, I need to tell you that the game is very quirky. The manual consists of 16 pages that really provides you very little information about how the controls work. The manual points you to the in game documentation but figuring out how things actually work took lots of experimentation for me. You can play the game entirely with the keyboard and after finally learning how to use the various mouse look features in games it was hard for me to go back to a mouse less environment. Not to say that you can not use the mouse at all but that I found it easier to leave my hand off it.
The game is quirky in other ways as well. It has a quality that is hard to describe. It is much more raunchy in some ways that most games made in America so for some of our more Puritan cousins this game (which has a US censorship feature) might be a bit more liberal than they would want. Maybe this is a more European world view perspective but I found it very refreshing to be constantly brought up against things that made me chuckle.
The installation of the game was flawless on my system and I have had only one crash that I mostly attribute to my virus software deciding it was time to do a scan. There is a patch available for those who had some problems with certain video cards (Radeon/GeForce III).
All in all I would give the game a very high rating. I see it as a viable candidate for RPG awards. Oh and as someone who is very heavily committed to On-line RPGs there are some qualities to this game that could be a very nice stepping off place for bringing an on-line world to life.
Gameplay: 9/10
Once I had the controls mastered the rest was fairly easy. Like in a lot of RPGs starting over can be frustrating to sit through long NPC discussions so save often.
Longetivity: 10 /10
I have not finished this game but it seems to me that there is enough to discover here that it could take me several times through before I got tired of it.
Controls: 6 /10
Bah.. sorry... but this is the worst part of this game. Clunky, Clunky, Clunky...
The controls in Gothic are very much the only problem I had with the game. First there is no real information in the booklet that is helpful. The booklet just refers you to the ingame information. And the ingame information is not very clear. It took me a good deal of experimentation to figure out how to use the up arrow and right control key to get things to happen.
Graphics: 8 /10
Not bad. There are times when I come around a corner and have to stop to take in something. While the atmosphere is kinda murky and bleak.. that is the kind of environment it is. The mood set fits the game well.
Sound: 10 /10
The sound is great. The voice acting is very good and the atmosphere sounds lend to the immersion.
OverAll: 9 /10
I hope this game does very well in the US and some game makers here pick it up for some good ideas. I particularly think that some of the ideas in how to do things would be great in on-line games. The dueling pit is an example.
Graphics and Sound:
Gothic sports a solid, if not mind-blowing, graphical engine. The environments are massive, which helps explain the painful load times at the beginning of each play, and the passage of time is portrayed quite nicely. Over all this sits the ominously glowing dome that surrounds the entire area, keeping you from escaping. It's a nice effect, even if the environments are a little more polygonal than I would have liked. The same can be said for the characters; they're not particularly well articulated, but they get the job done.
The game's sound is solid as well. The voice acting is good, if occasionally a bit overdone; there's so much of it, though, that you have to be impressed by the sheer quantity of speaking roles in the game. The music is subdued and rather unmemorable, which is better than loud and obnoxious any day of the week. And the sound effects are solid, if well within the realms of Generic Fantasy Effects.
Gameplay:
Gothic sports one of the most original fantasy settings that I've ever seen in an RPG, and the ability to fully explore it. It also sports one of the most god-awful interfaces ever invented, which detracts from the experience entirely too much for its own good. Combined with a shallow combat system, the few major problems knock the game down from the high stoop to which it aspires, especially for the novice gamer who has never played this sort of thing before.
The game starts off weird, and just keeps going from there. In the kingdom of Mertana, there exists a sort of prison surrounding a number of mines. Unfortunately for the King, the prisoners revolted a while back and took control of the place, so now there is an uneasy agreement between the two sides; the King provides goods, and the prisoners provide the ore that the King needs. The prisoners inside the mine area have divided into three camps, each with their own agendas and ways of life. Into this tense situation your character is thrown, with a letter to be delivered to a group of mages. These mages are the ones who created the barrier to begin with, and are trapped inside.
>From there, it gets even more interesting. Gothic doesn't really bind you to any one course; you can make friends and enemies with just about anyone in the game, but you have to reap the consequences that you sow by your actions. It makes for a delightfully different experience, considering the static nature of most RPGs nowadays.
Character advancement in the game is fairly standard, reminiscent of the Ultima Underworld games. You gain experience by killing enemies and the like, and you can have people train you in different skills that come in handy in the world. This way your character develops the way you want them to, rather than the way the designers geared it. The game is big enough that you can play it just about any way that you like, which is nice.
Difficulty:
Unfortunately, for a first time player being dropped into the world of Gothic may be entirely too overwhelming. There is no 'training' period, where you're given time to get the hang of the game as a whole. You're simply thrown whole-hog into the situation, with only a few clues as to what you need to do. It's easy to undertake tasks that are entirely too difficult for your character at the beginning of the game, so you have to be extremely careful and pick and choose what you do. Going into the Old Camp the first time can be entirely overwhelming, considering the number of people to talk to and things to do; the game branches like crazy, and newbies may find themselves rapidly lost. Those who are old hats to the genre, on the other hand, will find themselves pleasantly surprised by the number of choices that they can do, from simple to challenging.
Gothic screen shot
Game Mechanics:
All right. The number-one problem with Gothic is its completely counter-intuitive interface. Instead of using a number of different keys for different actions, you use the 'Use' button in combination with particular directions to pick up items, swing in combat, trade, and the like. While it's certainly a savings in terms of keyboard space used, it's also extremely obtuse and counterintuitive. It may be well suited to a console system, since the number of buttons that are otherwise used are minimal, but that's no excuse to saddle PC gamers with such a binding control scheme. Once you get past that travesty, though, the game's mechanics are quite solid. Character advancement is entertaining, I didn't encounter any major scripting bugs (although I'm sure that in a game this large there's one or two hiding about), and you can get used to the controls. The game does have an inordinately long load time for a PC game, but as I mentioned before it's probably because of the huge environments.
With a steep difficulty curve and obfuscated control scheme, Gothic will appeal only to the hardcore gamer who doesn't mind toughing their way through the first few hours of a game to get to the more interesting parts. With a revamp of the controls and a gentler introduction into the world of Mertana, this would be one of the best RPG experiences I've had on the PC in a while. As it is, it's still quite solid, even if one can only recommend it to veteran RPGers. Those who this term applies to, take note; Gothic is a fascinating world to explore.
-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications
AKA Phil Bordelon
Po mnoha průtazch je na světě anglick verze v Německu spěnho fantasy RPG Gothic, kter se odehrv ve vězeňsk kolonii na pozad poutavho přběhu a krvelačnho boje o přeit.
Autor: ABE
Publikovno: 3.nora 2002
Kdy jsem před nedvnem recenzoval hru Gorasul, napsal jsem, e RPG nr prov svoji renesanci. Avak ani ve snu by mě nenapadlo, e mě tak brzy potk dal RPG. Tentokrte se jedn o trochu star hru Gothic. Star proto, neboť se původně prodvala pouze v němčině u naich zpadnch sousedů. Gothic zde sklidil poměrně velk spěch a tak přila na svět i anglick verze. A o t si teď povme něco vce.
Originln zpletka přběhu
Hra se odehrv v jednom fiktivnm krlovstv, kter napadne armda Orků. Ačkoliv krlovt rytři bojuj chrabře a udatně, pomalu začnaj podlhat přesilm. Jako kad vlka, i tato si vydala nejen oběti v řadch bojovnků, ale tak blahobyt ostatnch obyvatel krlovstv je ohroen. Začnaj dochzet zsoby, zvltě pak zsoby zbran. A tak krl vyd přkaz, aby byli vězni nahnni do dolů, kde maj těit rudu potřebnou pro vrobu zbran. Tato ruda m navc zvltn vlastnosti, dky nim jsou zbraně z n vykovan mnohem lep ne ty z obyčejn oceli.
O to, aby vezni zůstali v dolech a nemohli utct, se mělo postarat několik mgů, kteř dostali za kol vztyčit kolem nich ochrann bariry. Tyto bariry se daly projt jen jednm směrem a to dovnitř. Směrem ven byly neprostupn. Avak mocn kouzlo se mgům vymklo z rukou a barira se rozřila na podstatně vět čst světa, ne bylo původně zamleno. Lid, kteř zůstali uvězněni uvnitř, začali toto zem nazvat Koloni.
Po nějakm čase se Kolonie rozdělila na tři znepřtelen skupiny. Prvn skupina, Brotherhood of the Sleeper, se uchlila do bain, kde uctvali svho jedinho boha Sleepera v naději, e je vyvede ven z bariry. Dal skupina si začala řkat Old Camp a snaila se obchodovat se zbytkem krlovstv. Jej lid těili rudu, kterou potom prodvali krli. Posledn skupina se pojmenovala New Camp a narozdl od Old Campu tito lid těili rudu jen pro svoje čely, neboť věřili, e jejich mgov s jej pomoc prolom bariru. Vy hrajete za trestance, kter prvě přichz do Kolonie (samozřejmě ne dobrovolně). Jetě ne jste vak uvrhnuti za bariru, dostanete od jednoho krlovskho kouzelnka pergamen, kter mte předat mgům v Old Campu. A prvě v tto chvli začnte hrt.
Poveden exteriry i interiry
Jetě ne se podvme na hru trochu podrobněji, řekněme si něco o jejm zpracovn. Co se grafiky tče, odvedli autoři z německch Piranha Bytes skvělou prci a jak to tak vypad, budou v n pokračovat i v Gothic 2, kter byl nedvno ohlen. Kolonie je poměrně rozlehl a veker prostřed jsou velmi pěkně vyobrazena. Ať u mluvme o exterirech nebo interirech, vechno je velmi vysok rovni. Zvltě přjemně mě překvapily interiry budov. Čekal jsem takov ty typick mstnosti s holmi stěnami a maximlně idl uprostřed mstnosti, ale namsto toho jsem nael vechny interiry bohatě vybaven, na postel si můete i lehnout a odpočinout si, čm se vylčte.
Stejně na tom jsou i exteriry, krajina je na pohled moc pěkn a třeba vhled na město z nějakho vyvenho msta stoj opravdu zato. Města ve hře opravdu ij, vude potkvte mnostv postav, někter na vs dokonce sami promlouvaj. Jedn se třeba o prodavače, kteř se sna vm prodat sv zbo. Ačkoliv mě tato vlastnost z počtku velmi potěila, později mě zase začala otravovat, neboť jednotliv prodavači vm řkaj pořd to sam a kdy kolem některho jdete u po několikt, je to u trochu otravn.
Střdn dne a noci
Narozdl od jinch RPG, kter pouvaj spe isometrick pohled na svět, zde ve provte z pohledu třet osoby ala Tomb Raider. Tato kamera m jak svoje klady, tak i zpory. Ke kladům patř zcela určitě vizuln zpracovn, kter zde opravdu nem chybu, co se bohuel projevuje i na HW poadavcch. Hru jsem zkouel na dvou počtačch. Na Celeronu 400 s Rivou TNT, kde byla hra hrateln jen opravdu ze začtku a jakmile se na obrazovku dostalo vět mnostv postav, stala i v rozlien 640x480 a neskutečně trhanou podvanou. Oproti tomu na PIII s GeForce2 byla plynule hrateln i v rozlien 1024x768. Mezi zporn vlastnosti patř ovldn, na kter je třeba si ze začtku trochu zvyknout, ale jakmile vm přejde do krve, nebudete si stěovat.
Dal vychytvkou jsou změny počas a střdn dne a noci. Nočn krajina potom dostv plně jin ndech ne ve dne. K tto vlastnosti se ve prvn nedostatek a tm je chovn NPC postav. Ty bohuel stoj (nebo se pohybuj) na stle stejnch mstě a kdo by čekal, e se napřklad při deti půjdou schovat do nějak budovy, bude zklamn. Chpu, e podobn vlastnost zatm ve hrch nebyla, ale trochu mě to zklamalo. Natěst někter postavy chod alespoň v noci spt a zastihnout je lze jen přes den. Bohuel to dělaj opravdu jen někter a větina jich nesp vůbec. koda, jen si představte jak skvěle by to vypadalo, kdyby NPC postavy v noci spali a pokud by jste s nimi potřebovali mluvit, museli by jste počkat na rno... no snad se dočkm v nějakm dalm RPG, třeba Project Ego pro Xbox.
Dlouh doba hran
Hned po několika prvnch nesmělch krůčcch zjistte, e Kolonie je docela rozlehl msto a prozkoumn cel oblasti vm zabere pěknch pr hodin hran. Pokud budete navc plnit i spoustu postranch questů, vyplh se hrac doba do řdu destek hodin strvench u monitoru. Nutno poznamenat, e takto strvench hodin rozhodně litovat nebudete. Hru začnte jako nic netuc trestanec, kter vlastně nic neum. Va prvn zbran je jednoručn meč, kter ani neumte pořdně dret a po několika prvnch soubojch zjistte dvě věci - zaprv, e meč opravdu moc ovldat neumte a proto bude nutn s tm něco udělat, a za druh, e v souboji je velmi snadn zemřt, z čeho vyplv, e je vhodn často ukldat pozici.
Z předchozho odstavce je zřejm, e nejsp půjde nějak vylepovat postavu. Vylepovat si můete jednak několik vlastnost jako třeba akrobacii nebo plen, dle se můete cvičit v pouvn zbran. K dispozici je i jednoručn a obouručn meč, luk a kue. Navc se můete učit jetě několik zvltnch schopnost, take pokud se chcete ivit vybrnm truhel, jistě se vm bude hodit umět otevrat zmky a to zdaleka nejsou vechny monosti.
Nebo chcete t poctivě? Nen problm - stač se naučit lovit zvěř a nsledně prodvat maso nebo nakoupit rudu a vykovat z n v kovrně zbraň, kter si buďto nechte nebo je prodte na trhu. Zajmavost je, e narozdl od jinch RPG her se zde nic nemůete naučit sami, ale pokud se v něčem chcete zdokonalit, muste nejprve vyhledat učitele, zaplatit mu a teprve potom se můete naučit či zdokonalit nějakou svou schopnost, co je podle mě jedině dobře.
Vstup do guildy
Kromě postupnho vylepovn vlastnost můete jetě vstoupit do nějak guildy. Těch je ve hře několik, zle na tom, se kterou skupinou budete v Kolonii nejvce sympatizovat. Na tom, do kter guildy vstoupte, zvis dal vvoj va postavy - můete se stt bojovnkem v ndhern zbroji nebo mgem, kter disponuje mnostvm kouzel. Samozřejmě pokud se stanete mgem, můete si klidně dl vylepovat i boj s mečem, ale proč něco takovho dělat, kdy mte kouzla, e? Z tohoto je jasn, e můete hru hrt několikrt dokola a pokad zvolit jin postup a přidat se k jin skupině, co velmi prodluuje dobu hran.
Bohuel ani tto hře se nevyhnulo několik chybek nebo spe nedostatků. Jednm z nich je absence nutnosti odpočinku. Ačkoliv si můete klidně lehnout na jakoukoliv postel, dělte to jen proto, abyste se uzdravili. Něco jako nava zde vůbec nen, co je koda vzhledem ke střdn dne a noci by jistě nebyl problm sem něco takovho zapracovat. Dle obsahuje hra jetě několik mlo dalch drobnost, jako třeba louče, kter nikdy nezhasne a podobně. Ale ukate mi hru, kter je ve vem dokonal
Vce se o Gothic dozvte v obshlm člnku s prvnmi dojmy od Nukema. Hra Gothic vyjde v ČR v březnu nebo dubnu v plně lokalizovan verzi za cenu nepřesahujc 999 Kč.
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Xicat Interactive (USA)
Release Date: November 2001 (USA)
Platform: PC
Review by Ray Ivey
February 2002
Gothic is half of a brilliant game. This single-player RPG from Germany makes a brave attempt to create a world in which your actions and interactions with other characters have true, story-affecting consequences.
click to enlargeThe setting of the game is a fairly traditional medieval-fantasy world with an interesting twist. The local king (evidently not at all a nice guy) is so focused on his war with the pesky local orcs that he'll stop at nothing to create weapons and armor for the effort. To this end he has a group of sorcerers create a huge magic barrier around the richest area of ore mines. Into this perimeter he begins exiling criminals, political prisoners and all manner of undesirables. Once through the barrier, there is no way out. And unless the prisoners produce ore in sufficient quantities, no food or materials are supplied from the outside world.
It's into this grim and rough world that your character is abruptly thrust. Nameless, utterly anonymous, and seemingly without background of any kind (what was your crime, anyway?), you have to find a way to survive in this prison colony.
As soon as you come through the barrier, you get accosted by a reasonably friendly man named Diego. He tells you the bare minimum of what's going on, and then high-tails it back to camp.
That's pretty much it. Except for a letter you're supposed to deliver, you really have no idea of what you are supposed to do next. Yeah, just like it might really be like in real life to be in this situation. You stumble your way toward camp, trying your best to avoid some rather nasty ostrich-looking birds, and find your way to the first camp.
I say first, because it turns out the colony has split into three distinct (and mutually hostile) camps. The first one you visit (The Old Camp) is where most of the miners live, and it's run by a very well-organized self-appointed militia. Then there's the New Camp, which is much rougher and tougher and less organized. Finally, there's the Swamp Camp, which is populated by a bunch of drug-crazed religious zealots.
As you begin gingerly making your way around this hostile new world, you gather information, talk to everyone you can, and think about which of the three camps you'd like to join. Things are never easy even after you've made up your mind. First of all, even finding the other two camps is a tricky (and dangerous) business. Also, this being an RPG and all, you of course have to prove yourself worthy of getting any group to let you join.
click to enlargeGothic is at its best during this early part of the game. I can't remember a role-playing game that gave me a more vivid feeling of actually having to make my own way in a populated, complicated world. In this world, your choices have consequences, and sucking up to one boss can make you dog meat to another.
There are no official character categories in the game. You develop your character by accumulating experience points and finding teachers to instruct you in various skills. By picking and choosing you can create a thief, a warrior, a sniper, or various categories of mage.
My colleague Cindy KM and I agreed to join different camps and compare our experiences. Never having had any drug experiences in my actual life, I decided to join the weed-smoking lunatics in the swamp camp.
At first I was a little stunned at the frankness with which the drug use is presented in the story. The Swamp Camp worship a mysterious god called The Sleeper, and smoke "swamp weed" in order to "commune" with this deity. Even more outrageous is the fact that the camp's very economy is based on selling the weed to the other camps! I had various quests that dealt with the harvesting and delivery of the weed. And believe it or not, I even got experience points for helping develop the market in another camp (passing out free samples)!
At first I was a bit concerned. This was immoral, after all, sniff sniff!! Then I reminded myself, "Uh, it's also immoral to, like, KILL people, and you do that in games all the time." Comforted by the knowledge that I was actually able to tell the difference between a game and real life, I cheerfully continued my virtual drug pushing.
The story of Gothic is rich, long and complicated. As you become more skilled and powerful, you're able to take on an increasingly deadly variety of wolves, killer ostriches (okay, they're called "scavengers" in the game, but trust me, they're killer ostriches), skeletons, giant bugs, trolls, orcs, and many more baddies.
Another strength Gothic has going for it is the reality of the world it creates. The camps are all alive with people, conversation, and action. The wilderness in between feels very three-dimensional and real. This is greatly aided by the fact that, except for about five dungeon areas, the entire game world loads at the same time. So you can sprint from one side of the map to the other without any pauses for loading.
click to enlargeThe game is presented in over-the-shoulder third person, and the graphics are quite good (but not great). Luckily, video performance of the game is quite customizable, which is a good thing. About halfway through the game, I swapped having extra-detailed close-up graphics for extremely long-ranged vision. In a game that has you spending so much time outdoors, it's very important to be able to see what's in the distance.
I do have a problem with the fact that I had to turn any settings down. I have a 1.7Ghz machine with a serious graphics card and more RAM than you can shake a dongle at. I should be able to play any current game with every setting up to eleven. The way I figure it, if Max Payne can be played on full throttle on my computer, so should Gothic.
The second half of the game, while still entertaining, is not nearly as rewarding as the first half. You can almost feel your character getting funneled into a particular path, and after a while you begin to wonder why you went to all the trouble to pick a camp and a particular set of skills if you're going to end up in the very same Tomb-Raider jumping hackfest at the game's finale.
click to enlargeGothic has a much more serious problem, however, and only my affection for the game had kept me from burying it this deep in the review. I'm talking about the game's interface. It's just the worst I think I've ever seen. Early in the game it got so frustrating I almost gave up, and I imagine many other gamers won't make it over that hump. How many times do I have to say it, INTERFACE IS NOT THE PLACE TO BE CREATIVE. You're not going to believe the cumbersome nightmare that is the Gothic user interface. To perform the simplest of tasks, such as picking something up, or shooting, you have to use some arcane key combination, like Alt-Arrow Up. Inventory management is a frustrating mess. The capper is the fact that the game menus have a screen that allows you to customize the keystroke commands - but only the default keystrokes work! A very cruel joke to play on innocent players.
However, I've played a lot of games, and I've struggled with a lot of bad interface systems, so even this glaring fault didn't ruin the game for me. Gothic is an innovative effort from a team that will get my serious attention in the future.
Grade: B
System Requirements:
Pentium II 400 MHz
128 MB RAM
3D Video card with 16 MB RAM
DirectX compatible sound card
DirectX 7 or higher
See: No Escape
Play: Outcast
Read: Escape from Colditz
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Xicat Interactive (USA)
Release Date: November 2001 (USA)
Platform: PC
Review by Cindy Kyser
February 6, 2002
Stranger in a Strange Land
In 2000, Gothic was showcased at E3. In an obscure corner of the "independent" hall, an extremely "goth" developer (i.e., a uniquely attractive man dressed in black with a shaved head, earrings, and exceptionally cool dark glasses) was doing demos of a new RPG. Like the gentleman sitting at the booth, Gothic was intriguing a game that took its RPG roots from Tolkien, but moved away from the standard "men in tights" paradigm. A year-and-a-half later, Gothic arrived on U.S. shelves.
click to enlargeAs a back-story, the Kingdom of Myrtana has flourished for many years despite constant attacks by its neighbors. The armies of King Rhotbar have fought and defeated all enemies except the Orcs. Knowing that the Orc Wars will last for a lifetime, the King has established a penal colony to mine the ore needed by his soldiers. In an unlikely twist of fate, the King's magicians were trapped within the colony as they tried to construct a magical barrier to contain the prisoners. Now, the inmates run the colony while the Mages search for a way out.
As you are about to be dropped into the prison for crimes unknown, you are asked to take a letter to the High Mages. You agree, but soon find that this errand must be deferred while you focus on survival. You first encounter the Old Camp - the original mining operation with a military government and a cloistered group of Fire Mages. As you meet the denizens of the Old Camp, you discover that two other splinter groups have formed. The New Camp is an aggregate of thieves and rebels who brew rice schnapps and horde ore for their own elite Water Mages. The Sect of the Brotherhood is a bunch of weed-smoking visionaries (enter Ray Ivey) who are taking the ultimate trip while trying to awaken their sleeping god. Each camp has its own rules, power structure, dress code, and trade relationships. While each group has a different approach, all three are focused on the common goal of escape. Initially, you can ingratiate yourself with all of these factions, but must ultimately align yourself with only one.
A Balancing Act
click to enlargeGothic is a hybrid game - an action/adventure with RPG elements. Your character is predefined as a well muscled white male with no useful abilities (sound familiar, ladies?). You increase your experience by killing creatures and running errands for other prisoners. For each level gained, you are awarded credits that can be used to purchase training in skills such as sword, bow, lockpick, magic, etc. Or, you can use the credits to purchase boosts to your strength, dexterity, or mana. Your access to skills and to the teachers who can assist you are controlled by your alliance.
While the character development provides a definite RPG flavor, the game is rich in story and character interaction. Combat requires only basic coordination and the squeamish gamer can turn off the blood effects. The magic system is simple with spells that include the standard fare such as lightening, ice, and fire bolts. For fun, you can try your hand at such magical tricks as transforming into a creature, creating armies of skeletons to do your dirty work, and shrinking foes into mini-enemies. The inventory interface (sans paper doll) is organized by item type and will be familiar to any serious adventurer. Conversations are conducted through predefined dialog trees and you are blessed with maps to define your position and a log to track quests and progress. In short, this is a hybrid that the adventure gamer can revel in.
As you arrive and explore the camps, you will experience a real sense of acclimation - of being a newcomer who must look, listen, and be cautious in order to learn the rules of this new world. Your actions influence future encounters with prison residents and your decisions impact how you are treated by the leadership of each camp. If you are diligent and attentive, you will soon learn who can help and who can hinder. Unlike the more ethereal "alignment" concept in Dungeon & Dragons, Gothic provides a pragmatic approach to gaming karma.
Sights and Sounds
click to enlargeGothic excels in both graphics and sound. The prison colony is beautifully rendered with dramatic effects for lighting, shadows, weather, and water. The people you encounter have diverse and interesting appearances. And, if you are strong enough for a road trip, you will be rewarded with a vast landscape that includes beaches, rivers, caves, mountains, and swamps. The colony is rich with the artifacts of those who have gone before: shipwrecks, abandoned cities, and the ruins of temples that rival anything ever encountered by Lara Croft. The beasts are varied as well from the common wolf to hordes of zombies to Dinosaurs that would make Michael Crichton proud. And, unlike the miscreants that inhabit most game worlds, the Orcs of Gothic are a proud race with a rich heritage. Sadly, women are (very) low on the evolutionary ladder. As property of the prison elite, they are depicted in a manner that will send a feminist screaming from the room. It is clear that Piranha Bytes is not concerned with political correctness, as the women of Gothic polish floors while wearing leather outfits too risqu for the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The sound effects and voice-overs are also exceptional. Unlike most foreign games, the translation of Gothic from German to English is seamless. Character dialogue is executed with diction and inflections that will make you forget that the game was developed in another language. And, if that isn't enough, the environmental sounds add a delightful sense of reality. When you walk past a lake, you hear frogs chirping. When you cross a bridge, the timbers creak. And, as you explore ancient ruins, the sound of your own footsteps is apt to be interrupted by rustles from the shadows that can only mean you are being stalked.
So, What's Not To Like?
The one area that Gothic falls seriously short is in the interface. The key combinations are downright awkward and not well documented. In the beginning, you are apt to find yourself pausing the game as you struggle to figure out how to open a chest or harvest a meat-bug. The absence of an "auto-run" feature means that you will spend hours pressing the arrow keys (to move, act, speak, fight, etc.) and are likely to have real-life wrists that weaken as your in-game persona gains strength.
The game logic also contains some interesting idiosyncrasies. There is at least one (seemingly) innocuous errand early in the game that will seriously impact your later alliance options. However, the game characters remain unaware of this and continue to prompt you for an action that is no longer possible. When you do commit to a single faction, many characters do not seem to recognize your choice. It is unlikely that one camp would continue to welcome you with open arms when you arrive wearing the uniform of another. It is also unsettling when you are thieving in broad daylight and characters enter the room but do not seem to notice.
click to enlargeLastly, the game ending is woefully inadequate. You are denied the visual "warm fuzzy" that should be awarded to a gamer who worked hard to defeat evil and save the world!
Cindy's Bottom Line
Despite these shortcomings, Gothic is a game that you should not miss. It strikes an equitable balance between story, action, and role playing and presents a fantasy environment that begs to be experienced. Though not as vast as Planescape: Torment, Gothic does an admirable job of presenting a large and complex game world that will have you exploring into the wee hours of the night.
It is this reviewer's hope that, in their next title, Piranha Bytes will build on their Gothic experience and extend the concept of alliances as determinants of game outcome. Although many details of your game will differ based on your choices, ultimately all roads lead to the same place. The replayability of Gothic would have been greatly enhanced if the game paths diverged to a greater degree.
As a final postscript, Gothic has long load times when played on a 1 GHz Pentium III with a high-end graphics card. Those with PCs meeting only minimum requirements may not find the performance acceptable. It is also advisable to save often, as the game has a nasty habit (on this reviewer's PC) of returning to the Windows desktop at the worst possible moments.
Final Grade: B++
System Requirements:
Pentium II 400 MHz
128 MB RAM
3D Video card with 16 MB RAM
DirectX compatible sound card
DirectX 7 or higher
If You Liked This Game
Play Outcast
Watch Escape from New York
Read The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson
I love a bit of RPG, as my recent review of FFX might have conveyed to you. So I was pleased to receive Gothic to review from Xicat Interactive. The game is a RPG with real-time combat and 3d graphics. It's pretty much the new generation of RPG games.
The game's story is fairly complex and is explained in a nicely done opening cinema that really sets the scene for what lies ahead. Basically, the land of Myrtana is attacked by the Orks and completely ravished. The king of Myrtana decides enough is enough and decides to get his best magicians together and cast a shield over his mining area to keep the Orks out. This was a bad idea, not only does the king trap all the prisoners he uses to mine the ore, he traps his best magicians and his ore. So he's forced to do deals with the prisoners who exchange ore for goods from the world outside the sphere. You are a convict thrown into the barrier and your journey to escape begins.
When I first started playing I thought wow this graphics are bad! That's before I realized the default setting is 640x480. I pumped the graphics up a bit and everything looked a whole lot nicer. The world is really well realized. It's a full 3d world that you traverse in third person perspective. The camera angles are great and the cut scenes all use the in game engine to show the story unfolding.
Once you get past the intro and opening cut scenes you are greeted with a pretty standard RPG style game. The normal gaming structure applies walk a bit, kill some creatures, find a new weapon, talk some more, buy some weapons. We have seen this type of game many times. It's pretty much the story that shines in this game. It's not up to the standard of Squaresoft's epic storylines, but it is still way above average.
The thing that killed me about the game was the default control scheme. It's pretty crazy and very long winded. You need to press ctrl and the w key to pick up an item. Now that doesn't sound to bad, right? But try doing that and hold onto your mouse at the same time. I tell you, unless you have three arms, it's pretty much impossible. Also, the fighting is pretty hit and miss. After a while you do get the hang of it but the controls make sure you never get too confident.
Gothic has some pretty glossy AI going on in there. Characters you meet remember things about you if they bump into you a second time. People follow a day/night cycle so if you arrive in a village at night you are probably going to find that everyone is asleep. This adds to the immersion of the game. I arrived at a village and being me, decided to check out the inside of a house. I got a surprise when two guys, armed with clubs, asked me to leave the premises immediately. You will feel like your in a living breathing world which is one of the things that can make or break a RPG.
Gothic is a good RPG. It's not great, but it is good and definitely worth picking up if your a fan of this genre. The game comes on two cd's and takes just over a gig of hard drive space which isn't much really for the level of detail and sound quality you can expect from it. The system requirements are minimum a 400mhz processor and 128mb of RAM. The recommended requirements are a p3 600mhz with 256 RAM. My machine was way above these specifications and I didn't see any slowdown or problems at all. Also a point to note the game runs perfectly out of the box on Microsoft's new Windows XP operating system and the game doesn't even need a patch.
Gothic is available now worldwide from Xicat Interactive and is certainly worth picking up if you are a fan of dungeons and upgrading your characters.
(It's not FFX or Baulders Gate, but what is ? )
Thanks to Xicat Interactive for the review copy of this game.
Added: February 10th 2002
Reviewer: Ascully
Score:
Related Link: Official Gothic Site
Hits: 898
Language: english
King Rhotbar of the land of Myrtana fought a long and drawn-out war against the tribes of the orcs. In order to supply his armies with the valuable ore needed to forge magical weapons, the King sent all of the land's criminals to work in the mines of Khorinis as slaves. To protect the mines, the King ordered twelve wizards to create a magical barrier over the entire valley containing the mines. Through a magical mischance, the spell backfired, creating a barrier that was completely impenetrable by any living being from the inside, effectively cutting the mines off from the rest of the kingdom. In short order, the prisoners overthrew the King's guards and began to form their own society within the barrier, forcing the King to trade them the supplies they needed in exchange for the ore that the kingdom depended on. King Rhotbar continued to throw prisoners into the valley to ensure a healthy working population, while the criminals inside divided up into political factions.
One day, another prisoner is thrown through the barrier to work in the mines. He is given a message to deliver before being tossed over a cliff and into a lake below. This prisoner is you.
In this manner, Piranha Bytes' newest 3rd-person RPG, Gothic, uses a classic storytelling trick to throw you into its story. The main character knows nothing of the world he is in, knows nothing of the society or its rules. Nor do you. As he grows and learns, you do as well. This creates a stronger bond between the player and the main character than is seen in most comparable games. This bond is used to good effect as a story of friendship, conspiracy, greed, and ancient madness is woven in the valley of the barrier.
The first thing that catches your attention in Gothic is the sheer magnitude of your surroundings. The entire landscape stretches out before you, as the entire world of Gothic is made up of one massive level. The landscape is a thing of beauty, as you can see forests, mountains, lakes and rivers far off in the distance, and then walk right up to those forests and walk amongst the trees. The downside to this is that the engine uses a fairly low polygon count to compensate for the amount of 'stuff' on the screen at any one time. The textures that decorate those polygons are also a mixed bag - often detailed and sharp, at other times they appear blurry and washed out.
The characters and creatures that inhabit the world follow much the same philosophy as the terrain graphics. While they do tend to have better, more detailed texturing, they appear somewhat blocky, and the movement animations are a bit unnatural and stiff.
All in all, the graphics in Gothic are a real tradeoff. Much like Bohemia Interactive did with Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, Gothic gives up some detail and complexity in exchange for a huge, dynamic world. The graphics are somewhat scalable, allowing you to view the landscape with a fog distance adjustable from 20% range (looks like a London fog) all the way up to 300% (barely any fog at all). On my mid-range PC, I ran most of the game at 1024x768 resolution with 300% fogging range, and managed to keep an average of 20 - 25 frames per second while outside.
The sound in Gothic, on the other hand, is one of its weak points. The ambient sound frequently cut in and out during play, and sounded muted and inappropriate when it worked. The music, mostly orchestral, was hardly noticeable. It didn't clash, but was never used to enhance the game's atmosphere. One of the things that Gothic has going for it is that you never, ever have to read a line of dialog. Every line spoken by every character in the game is fully voiced (with optional subtitles). Unfortunately, the voice acting is not of the best quality. This doesn't seem to be so much the actors' fault as the production staff's. The actors seem to have recorded their lines not knowing the context in which they were being spoken. When inserted into a conversation, the accents and stresses are often on the wrong words, making the dialogue sound ridiculous. There was also an occasional tendency for the sound to get out of sync with the visual lip-synching.
As I mentioned earlier, the entire outside world of Gothic is made up of one massive level. The only times you have to wait for a new area to load is when entering into one of the three largest dungeons. Piranha Bytes made good use of the world's size, creating interesting locations and keeping travel time to a minimum. As soon as traveling begins to become a chore, you are provided with a magical means of jumping between major locations, something that I greatly appreciated.
As you move through the game, you discover a huge variety of weapons and armor, as well as gaining experience points and levels that translate into hit points and skills in traditional RPG style. The gameplay is more adventure than action, in that most of your tasks involve search and carry style quests with the combat being incidental (but plentiful) along the way. As you complete each quest, the story is advanced through dialogue and a few cut scenes. The story itself is rich, showing a that a lot of work was done on the world's background, and the plot keeps moving with numerous twists and surprises that aren't predictable the way many RPG's are.
The controls are one of the minor problems in Gothic. They have been designed so that you practically never have to move your hands from the keyboard and mouse during play, but instead of simplifying things, they are so convoluted, so confusing, that you will be a third of the way through the game before you actually become comfortable with them. As an example, your 'left' key is used to sidestep, strafe, attack to the left, move things back and forth in inventory, and pick locks, all depending on the situation. It is a good concept, but simply doesn't work well in practice.
The combat itself is simple, mostly a matter of tapping the forward and side keys as you focus on the enemy. The enemy AI is fairly weak, consisting mainly of stand and shoot, or charge and hack. It isn't uncommon to see an opponent fall to their death while trying to chase you across a cliff top or ravine.
Given all of this, I would still have had to say that Gothic was one of the best RPG's out there, one of the most impressive and most believable. Sadly, though, Gothic has its Achilles' heel - bugs. This is honestly one of the most bug-ridden games I have ever played. I won't mention the bugs that are frequently reported, but rather just those that I have personally encountered and can confirm. There are minor bugs - graphics glitches and sound problems, such as water disappearing, the character continuing to 'swim' once back on dry land, the 'z' and 'y' keys being switched, and an occasional subtitle that they forgot to translate out of German. There are also a great many big bugs, such as lock-ups, all of the spell effects, bump-maps, and flames being invisible except at certain angles, several game-stopping bugs that require going back to a previous save, and the fact that if you quit Gothic and want to restart it, you have to reboot your PC first, or it will lock up hard. The worst was in the last chapter, in which I had my two most recent saved games completely corrupted four different times - almost enough to make me give up, save that I wanted to see how the story ended. It is sad that all of these bugs made it into the game, ruining what could have easily been one of the best RPG's of all time. It is sadder still that the US version was released on November 15th of last year, and no patch has been released or promised by Piranha Bytes or Xicat Interactive, even though several patches are already out for the German version.
Gothic reminds me so very much of a similar looking, similar playing, similarly bug-plagued role-playing game released a few years ago - Origin's Ultima IX: Ascension. If you were one of the people that made it through this game then you will understand what I mean when I give the same recommendation that I give people concerning Ultima IX: If you are a die-hard fan of they genre and style, enough so that the bugs won't ruin it for you, get it right now - otherwise stay far, far away from this wonderful game. Isn't that a sad thing to say?
Graphics: 7.0
Gothic's use of low polygon counts and low detail textures is quite acceptable when you see the vistas that they allow to appear on screen - a very good trade-off. What is not acceptable, though, is the poor character animation and graphics glitches that prevented flames and spell effects from appearing in a game about magic. The game looks incredible at times, and the amazing way they did some things deserves a lot of credit, but Gothic's problems prevent the graphics are as great as they could have been.
Sound: 5.0
The use of sound in Gothic is typical, maybe even a bit sub-par for the genre, though the sheer amount speech that was recorded for the characters is an amazing thing - especially when you realize that it was recorded in German once, then again in English. Unfortunately, the weak use of ambient sound in an almost entirely outdoor game, coupled with the mediocre use of music really drags the auditory enjoyment of this game down.
Gameplay: 6.0
As to pure gameplay, Gothic is absolutely great, a ton of fun, and a relaxing getaway into a land of Orcs, magic, and medieval chaos. If these were the only factors, I would rate this game with a resounding 9 or 10 without hesitation. Unfortunately, the term 'gameplay' includes the ability to actually play the game, and the bugs that shipped with Gothic make playing this game a chore, one that will have most people uninstalling it before the first chapter is finished. The two factors, the good and the bad, almost cancel each other out, at least in my opinion. The above average, entertaining story is the only thing that really saves it.
Replayability: 5.0
There are so many possibilities in Gothic that I still find myself tempted to play again - three political factions, a huge number of NPC's, skills, and weapons all add to Gothic's replayability - it can be different every time, though once you know how the story ends, a lot of the motivation is gone. Furthermore, even though I am tempted to try again, perhaps as a spellcaster instead of a warrior, the thought of dealing with all of those bugs again frightens me off.
Documentation / Support: 4.0
The game comes on two CDs with a 15-page manual. The manual gives some basic background information, along with simple descriptions of weapons, creatures, spells, and skills. The controls are described, but the descriptions simply served to confuse me. The manual would have been inadequate for any other RPG, but Gothic is designed so that you will learn as you play, so very simple descriptions are completely adequate, and more detailed ones would probably spoil the feel of the game. The support, on the other hand, is almost shameful. The publisher gives a link to the developer (along with a few screenshots of things not in the game). The developer gives a single email address for support, and a link to some fan sites for more help. The 'hotline' link says, and I quote: "You will have to wait until the english (sic) version is released." This, combined with the fact that they seem unwilling to patch the game, makes me think that they have little intention of supporting their game at all.
Pros:
-Great story
-Huge world
-Nice graphics
-Great freedom of choice for an RPG
Cons:
-Confusing controls
-Gameplay gets too easy
-Mediocre sound
-More bugs than Starship Troopers
Overall Rating:
5.75 / 10
Summary:
Gothic could have easily been one of my favorite games of all time, combining great visuals, a huge world, freedom of choice, and an interesting plot with a deep medieval setting. Unfortunately, a combination of minor glitches, serious bugs, and apparent apathy from the publisher and developer make this one impossible to recommend. If they ever decide to patch Gothic, grab it. If they never do, avoid it.
Game: Gothic
Publisher: Xicat Interactive
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Category: RPG
Requirements: Pentium II 400, 128MB Ram.
We recommend: Pentium III 900 256MB Ram
Website: www.piranha-bytes.com
OVERVIEW:
Gothic is the latest attempt to mould characteristics of different genres into a single game. A game which handled the genre "bending" most successfully in recent times was Deus Ex. It combined elements of an action-based first-person shooter with traditional adventure and role-playing elements. Of course, it also was one of the most brilliant games of our time. Now we have Gothic, the latest genre-bender. Gothic combines the action of Tomb Raider, with traditional role-playing and adventure elements, with a touch of real-time strategy for good measure. Is this a recipe for disaster? Or is this a concoction of success?
Gothic's developers have made a massive game. I suppose they wanted to make an EverQuest-type game, for us single-player fans who are too cheap to pay a monthly fee. In that sense they have indeed succeeded, for this game is huge!
In Gothic, you play in the world of the war-ravaged kingdom, Myrtana. Myrtana had fought war after war and had lost many men because of it, leaving its army inadequate in size. Faced with the army of the deadly Orcs, Myrtana needed a solution and needed it fast. That solution came in the form of a magical ore, which was able to shape powerful weapons. In order to mine this magical ore, the authority of Myrtana set up a mining colony. In an effort to mine it quickly the king sent forth all of the kingdom's convicts to the colony. (No, this wasn't the birth of Australia.) And it didn't matter how petty the crimes were; every criminal was sent to this far-away place. Unfortunately, the conditions at this mining colony were horrendous and many prisoners tried to escape back to their motherland. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the king of Myrtana sent his best mages to the mining colony to remedy the situation. The king commanded the mages to build a barrier which would let outsiders in, but not let insiders out. Unfortunately for the mages and the sexually starved convicts, something went wrong. The barrier ended up covering a much larger area than anticipated, and the mages were stuck inside with the convicts. And though to some this may sound like the beginning of a hit sitcom, is is the actual premise of the game.
GRAPHICS:
I have to admit, Piranha Bytes have done quite a good job. The world in Gothic looks quite good, especially when you consider how massive the game is. What I mean is that the game isn't that much of a system hog, especially when you consider the level of detail on the objects far off in the distance. And though most of the surroundings in the game aren't very detailed, they look very clean and interesting. Most of the models are quite decent, as are the skins.
The developers did a really good job, though, of making the surroundings in Gothic feel alive. You can just stand and watch what the various NPCs do in the game. They will just sit around a campfire to get warm, light a cigarette, have idle conversations, etc. I can't stress enough how brilliantly alive the world of Gothic is.
There actually are a couple of glitches, which I had problems with, though they aren't severe. The first is that the game has a lot of clipping issues. They seem to hit at numerous times, but especially when you are under water or having a conversation. (I suppose it would be worse if I were to have a conversation under water!)
The other problem I had was with the sun flare. If you look directly at the sun the whole area gets bathed in sunlight. But unfortunately it doesn't last once you stop looking. I suppose there is too sharp a contrast there. Admittedly, after witnessing the brilliant sun-flare effects in Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault, my expectations have grown.
SOUND:
Sound-wise Gothic isn't insufferable, but it certainly is not fantastic. The music in the game isn't bad, though it lacks the epic feel associated with such massive RPGs. The music throughout the game is environmental and features many ambient numbers, and is generally quite adequate.
The sound effects in Gothic are quite good. The sounds of the environment and weapons are generally satisfactory. As for the voice acting, it is quite solid. The voice acting is quite passionate without ever sounding overdone--though it doesn't take long to realize that there aren't too many voice actors at work, since many of the people you meet in the game sound quite similar.
One feature, which is a huge credit to Gothic, is the fact that unlike most other RPGs, every conversation is voice acted. Yes, you read correctly! Every conversation in Gothic is indeed voice acted, replacing countless hours of reading (not that there is anything wrong with reading, but I realize that many gamers don't read more than what can be fit on to a bumper sticker).
GAMEPLAY:
Our hero is a man convicted of a crime, and is punished by being sent off to the mining colony. Before he is sent off, he is handed a letter by a mage who wants him to act as a courier, and deliver it to the mages stuck inside the mining complex.
Unlike traditional RPGs, you do not create your character. Instead, you work with what you get, and work your way through the game by developing the hero from a vulnerable prisoner into a bold, powerful adventurer. The leveling-up scheme is also quite different from the Baldur's Gate or Wizardry sagas. In Gothic you do gain experience and thus level up; but your investment points are used solely in the investment of skills. You can normally learn these skills by receiving training from a skilled teacher. Every time you level up you are given a certain amount of skill points. Learning each skill costs a specific amount of skill points, as well as some of the currency the teachers charge.
The world of Gothic is quite practical. It is exactly how one would expect the system to be under the circumstances. For example, ore is the currency in the game, but there is a well-developed bartering system as well. Besides goods, the purchase of skills and information is also sometimes dependent on the barter system. The entertainment system is also quite practical, considering the circumstances. What do you think thousands of men stuck together in a colony would do for entertainment? No seedy activities implied. For entertainment, the people of the mining colony take part in gladiator-type events. There is often betting involved in these games, and the events normally involve all three sects in the colony.
As you develop during the game, you must decide which camp you wish to join. As I said earlier, there are three unique camps available, all with their respective beliefs. The fact that it almost takes five real-time minutes to cross between each camp is a testament to the game's size.
Each camp is littered with people, and you can talk to each one of them! They all have their respective personalities, and mostly provide their own points of view. As I said, this game is massive; and it takes a few good hours just to talk to everyone per camp. But don't worry; it isn't at all necessary to talk to everyone. In fact, you can get through the game by talking only to the main characters. I am just pointing this fact out in appreciation of what the designers achieved. But please let me reiterate, this game is alive!
Gothic started off as a keyboard-only title, but the developers changed their mind and included the mouse as well. The fact is that this is very noticeable in the game, and makes the controls feel very awkward and confusing. The manual isn't very good about it, and I had to get help from Game FAQs
The fighting system in the game is awkward, and even more so because of the poor manual. It takes a bit of time to understand the fighting system. Fighting in the game is simplistic, and isn't a lot of fun. You can either attack or parry, and the only strategy is to avoid combat with multiple targets. In case you are wondering, the combat system is the same whether you are using weapons or spells.
FINAL WORDS:
What makes an RPG good? A great storyline, interactive environments, customizable characters, immersive world, all contribute to a good RPG. Well, Gothic has all those qualities, though unfortunately it suffers from a few bad ones.
This is a very good and interesting RPG. It lacks a bit of polish and the combat is more of an afterthought--it hasn't been fully developed. But despite that, its better parts more than make up for its unpolished features. I must admit that I am looking forward to more from Piranha Bytes. They showed that they have a lot of ambition and a lot of potential. I am sure they will learn from their mistakes, and their next RPG will be even better. As for Gothic, it is quite a good role-playing experience, and any fan of the genre should look into it.
Reviewer's score: 83%
SCORING EXPLANATION
Highs: Massive game; good and complete voice acting; absorbing role-playing experience.
The Verdict: This is a very good RPG. With a little more polish, it could have gone into the record books as one of the greats. If I had to sum this game up, I'd say this was Baldur's Gate in 3D.
Be sure to check out other game reviews at AllOutGames.
Gothic
Depth and detail make this a role-playing game to remember
by Brett Todd
Gothic is a tremendous achievement. The third-person fantasy epic from German development house Piranha Bytes features a realm so alive that it should have a pulse. Elaborate story, dialogue, and characterization draw you into one of the most believable role-playing game worlds ever created. Although there are some issues regarding the initial learning curve and a problematic interface, few games reward your patience as this one does. If you are willing to put up with a few quirks, you can look forward to many satisfying hours in an engrossing fictional world.
Your adventures take place in the kingdom of Myrtana, recently united by King Rhotbar II. He desperately needs weapons to fight an army of orcs, and has ordered all criminals to be shipped to the ore mines. Wizards magically seal the area to keep the criminals in, but something goes wrong and the wizards end up trapped with the convicts. You enter the scene as an unnamed prisoner condemned to work in the mines. The only difference between you and the average Joe is a last-minute reprieve if you can deliver a mysterious note to the trapped wizards.
The game's opening moments are confusing, as you're tossed through the magical barrier with no knowledge of what awaits you, or even a rundown of your character's capabilities. Strength, dexterity, and mana skills are developed as you earn experience points and gain levels, as are talents with weapons, thieving, and magic. The game doesn't offer much handholding to help you with the basics, and poor controls make things even more awkward. The third-person view is typical of action/adventurer games, but actions that are governed by pressing key combinations rather than single keys takes time to get used to. The real-time combat has an arcade feel; you need to do more than simply click your mouse Diablo-style to battle enemies, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your tastes. Unfortunately the interface also makes rudimentary tasks such as climbing ladders and initiating conversations more difficult than they should be. Menu screens and inventory tasks that you must navigate with the keyboard are similarly frustrating.
The detailed environment presents more of a hurdle, at least at first. You're given few clues on how to get going other than instructions to go directly to the Old Campgood advice, since you start off as weak as a kitten. Things get more confusing once you arrive. There are dozens of people in and around the fortifications, and with little guidance on how to deliver your letter you need to engage almost all of them in conversation. Getting through this tedious process is a blessing in some ways, however, as it reveals the depth of the game world. Nearly every non-player character has a distinct personality, and your goal here is to build a network of supporters. To move up in the camp hierarchy, you need to complete assignments. Make the middle-management types happy and they'll support you with the bosses. Fail them and they won't. Rivalries and friendships both within and between three different camps make things more complex. Currying the favor of one person or faction can get you into trouble with another.
After struggling through some faltering baby steps, Gothic develops into a rich role-playing experience. Realism is paramount, from the need to make friends to having to get a good night's sleep in your hut. Forging alliances opens up quests that allow you to further develop your character, earn ore currency, and purchase ever-more powerful weapons, armor, and magical items. Monsters include role-playing standards such as goblins and the undead, along with more esoteric foes such as the dinosaur-like snapper. All of this is brought to life with 3D graphics that are attractive, if still a little blockier than the most advanced current releases. The game makes good use of what it has, however, with day and night sequences, dynamic weather, and some spectacular skies. The dialogue and voice acting is excellent (and includes enough swearing to make the Teen rating rather questionable), as is the understated musical score.
The game is as great as the sum of its parts, and that's high praise when you consider how much stuff Piranha has packed into this game. Endure the tiresome beginning, come to grips with the quirky interface, and then settle back and enjoy one of the best role-playing games to come along in quite some time.
For many years in the land of Myrtana, a kingdom thrived. Food was plentiful and mines produced metal ore in abundance to equip and arm its military. Its cities grew and prospered, becoming centers of knowledge where arcane arts, astronomy, or other scholarly pursuits were studied. However, due to this prosperity, neighboring lands became envious, and their jealousy ultimately led to war. For several years, the conflict raged, and thousands on both sides were killed. In the end, the strength of the armies of Myrtana prevailed and forced their opponents to surrender. But this victory came with a price. Food and metal ore were now scarce and multitudes were hungry throughout the land. Before these problems could be rectified, Orcish hordes began to plunder the outlying areas of the land, and these minor invasions soon escalated into a full-blown war.
Click to Enlarge Desperate for ore, the king began sending prisoners to the mines, even for very minor or non-existent offences, in order to increase their output. However, many escaped, and ore production still did not meet demand. Finally, the king called forth twelve of the most powerful mages in the land, six from the circle of fire and six from the circle of water, to erect a barrier around a mine at the city of Khorinis that produced the land's finest ore. Living things could enter but not leave, assuring no further desertions. Gothic is Piranha Bytes' real-time single-player RPG that tells the story of a prisoner newly arrived within the magical prison and of his quest to escape, and this Gothic Review describes what we encountered within the game to help you judge whether this somewhat unconventional title is one you're likely to enjoy.
Click to Enlarge When the barrier was raised, it was far larger that the spellcasters had intended, trapping them and the guards inside. The prisoners quickly eliminated the latter, and the populace split into competing factions, each ensconced in its own encampment. Accordingly, Gothic thrusts the player into an anarchistic gameworld where might rules. Gameplay begins immediately since there is no character creation scheme; everyone starts out as the same character. The game employs a third-person over-the-shoulder type graphics engine and a relatively simplified role playing system. Within it, you gain experience points from completing quests or defeating opponents. Ten skill points are accumulated for each character level reached. These points may be saved or immediately spent on statistics such as strength, dexterity and mana, or on conventional skills such as magic, one- or two-handed melee weapons, bows, lockpicking and sneaking.
Click to Enlarge There are also a few less conventional skills that may be obtained during the game. Examples include acrobatic, which allows greater jumping ability, and hunting, which lets you take killed game and separate it into different animal parts for future use or sale. The magic system consists of six circles that correspond to different levels of competence for the player. Within each level, several spells are available from different schools such as fire, water, and brotherhood magic. Single-use scrolls are available for each of these spells, but in order to use them repeatedly, you must obtain their respective runes. Each use of either a scroll or rune requires personal mana, which can only be replenished through potions or plants. While there are no specific character categories within the game, depending upon the stats and skills selected by the player, one basically plays the game as a warrior, focusing on melee, ranged weapons or a combination of the two, or as a mage.
Click to Enlarge Gameplay is rather different from many RPG titles. Control of your character is almost exclusively through the use of keyboard commands. General movement occurs from pressing one particular key, while interaction with the gameworld requires pressing various combinations of two keys. Different hotkeys allow the player to enter combat mode and select a melee weapon, ranged weapon or spell. The weapon equipped via the hotkey will be the currently selected weapon in the player's inventory. You may assign specific spell scrolls or runes to the 4-0 number keys for easy access. When in combat mode, common actions such as casting a spell, firing an arrow or swinging a melee weapon use the same combinations of keys. More advanced types of attacks may be made by pressing different two key combinations. Targeting enemies is relatively straightforward. You merely look toward an enemy in combat mode and, if you're close enough to attack, the enemy name and a health bar appears at the top of the screen. Once combat begins, the game automatically attacks the closest of all targets within range. Therefore, when engaging a group of enemies, one does not need to turn to target each new enemy.
Click to Enlarge Your inventory is also available at the press of a key and is broken down into several item categories such as weapons, armor and potions that are each accessed separately by scrolling forward and back. The inventory appears to be unlimited, so one can pick up anything and everything available in the world. Basically, when wandering around the world of Gothic, if an item's name appears above that item, it may either be picked up and stored in inventory or used in some way. The same applies to NPCs, of which the world contains literally hundreds. Upon approaching one, either a descriptive title or a name NPC appears along with a health bar. During the ensuing interaction, your character is given several conversational options. When one is selected, your character speaks it; all of the NPC dialogue is also spoken. Your character may speak to almost every NPC within the game to obtain general information. Those with given names usually provide more specific information and quests. Certain information acquired from them, including quests and locations of merchants and tutors within the world, is automatically entered into the player's journal, which is accessed, again, by pressing a particular key.
Click to Enlarge Gothic is structured in six chapters. Each begins after a particular milestone is reached or a choice is made by the player. As noted above, quests are obtained through interaction with characters within the game. While most of the quests are relatively standard fare such as delivering an article to another NPC or going deep within a mine in order to obtain an item, interacting with and helping certain figures in each faction greatly affects what specific quests may become available. This type of interaction also determines how opposing factions will treat the player. During the day, NPCs tend to stay in specific areas, so they're quite easy to locate. At night however, they make their way into huts or other living accommodations to sleep until morning. Also, your player character is normally not allowed to enter NPC dwellings unless invited or he has some reason to be there. Normally, an NPC will begin by yelling at your player character and, if you remain in the dwelling, it will attack. This type of interaction provides a sense of realism not found in many RPG titles.
Click to Enlarge
Combat in Gothic can take a fair amount of time to master. As noted above, the keyboard controls are not standard. They are also not necessarily intuitive, and the manual doesn't have detail descriptions so familiarizing yourself with the system can involve substantial trial and error. Fortunately, this information is also available in non-commercial walkthroughs on the Internet, which I admit to using more than once. That being said, once you are familiar with the mechanics of actions and combat, the control scheme does fit well within the overall gameplay.
Click to Enlarge The opponents in Gothic range from various animals and monsters within forests, caves, mines, and beach areas to other people trapped with your player character within the prison barrier. The AI of the opponents in Gothic is generally good. While its possible to lure one of a group of opponents away to make it easier to dispatch large numbers of enemies, this approach is generally difficult and requires patience and aptitude. The balance of this aspect of the game also feels solid. Combat can be extremely difficult in the early stages, with almost every enemy you encounter being able to kill you very quickly. However, as the player amasses skills and abilities, the difficulty level of battles in the required quests tends to keep pace nicely.
Click to Enlarge The graphics in Gothic are excellent, with many details and added touches. The world slowly changes from day to night and rain intermittently falls. Often, when your character turns in a certain direction, the sun will actually shine in his eyes so there is momentary blindness. As your character approaches the boundary dome, it shimmers with blue light that, again, brings a feeling of realism to the fact that you are trapped within its confines. Most of the inside settings, castles, towers, mines et al are fairly dark, and a torch or mage light is necessary to move around. The monsters and NPCs are also well drawn and move very realistically.
Click to Enlarge Of course, using a relatively high-end graphics engine has trade-offs. For example, you require a 16 MB video card to run the game. While serious gamers have systems that meet this requirement, it may prevent many casual players with older PCs from running Gothic. With respect to stability, the game froze a couple of times during gameplay, but the performed very smoothly overall. I have noted on game boards that some players have run into a couple of potentially game stopping bugs having to do with turning winches; however, I did not encounter any such problems. The voice acting in Gothic is reasonably good, although actors were apparently used for myriad characters without changing their voices. This is most likely a result of the very large amount of spoken dialogue. Ambient sounds are also very nicely done, particularly outside where forest sounds seem very realistic. The music was relatively understated and not particularly memorable.
Click to Enlarge Overall, Gothic is a game that possesses many positive features with only one weakness of any real note. Its eye-pleasing graphics, large amount of varied NPC interaction, and relatively straightforward yet interesting story combine to help make the player feel very involved in a real world, and the majority of your character's actions fit into this scheme wonderfully. Piranha Bytes deserves special praise for tackling a game with so much spoken dialogue, which truly helps the player become part of the gameworld. The only negative aspect of the game is the somewhat cryptic and confusing control system. The guide accompanying the game does not provide enough information about it, necessitating taking the time and effort to learn the system without offering a corresponding benefit in terms of enhancing the ease of use or play. That being said, once mastered, the control system did not overly hinder enjoyment of the game.
Click to Enlarge The Last Word
While perhaps not for everyone, Gothic should appeal to RPG enthusiasts who are interested in a captivating, story-driven game. It provided about 40 hours of gameplay including a well-balanced mix of interactions with NPCs and real-time combat against diverse monster, human, and undead opponents. The world of Gothic is relatively unique and it offers a gameplaying experience that is truly different from many RPG titles. The beautiful graphics and extensive NPC interaction truly allows the player to become part of the world. Although there certainly is ample combat, it is not a dungeon crawl, and therefore, gamers looking for that type of experience might be put off by the difficulty of mastering the control system as discussed above. Nonetheless, I would strongly recommend this title to gamers who are looking for more than a straightforward hack and slash RPG.
Ich habe mir vor einigen Tagen das Spiel Gothic gekauft und habe ein Problem bei der Mission auf dem Orkfriedhof. Normalerweise msste der Baal am Ende der Hhle bei dem Schwert Amok laufen, was nicht passiert. Trotz der aktuellen Patches und auch nach einer Neuinstallation bestand das Prob- lem weiterhin. Also rief ich dann bei der Support-Nummer an, dort konnte man mir allerdings auch nicht helfen.
Alexander Piemont, per E-Mail
Ein Blick in die Gothic-Foren macht es deutlich - die Sache mit Baal Lukor ist nach wie vor eine knifflige Sache. Wir knnen an dieser Stelle nur folgende Tipps geben: Durchsuchen Sie zuerst komplett die Orkhhle und berprfen Sie, ob Sie das Schwert Todbringer im Inventar haben (Sie finden es in einem Nebenraum, in einem Skelett steckend). Stellen Sie sicher, dass Lukor Ihnen immer auf den Fersen bleibt. Legen Sie sich am besten mehrere Spielstnde in diesem Abschnitt an. In einigen Fllen hilft es, das Spiel neu zu installieren - zur Not auch mehrmals.
Stefan Wei
Том Путцки, директор по маркетингу компании Phenomedia AG, в Piranha Bytes был силой, продвигающей Готику.
PC игры: Что будет самым большим изменением в Готике 2 по сравнению с предыдущей?
Tom Putzki: Ну ясно: барьер исчез! А если серьезно: значительно улучшен ИИ, боевая система была значительно упрощена, мир в несколько раз больше, и игрок имеет больше различных возможностей.
PC Games: Как и когда появились первые идеи о Готике?
Putzki: Для создания PIRANHA BYTES в октябре 1997 года был запущен сбор идей и концептуальных работ по Готике ... в основном при удачном заходе четверки в Pizza & Co.
PC Games: Как могли возникнуть многочисленные ошибки в релизной версии?
Putzki: Это прежде всего наша неопытность, которая породила у нас много ошибок в течение долгого времени разработки, так что, к сожалению, у нас были эти уродливые ошибки, но, по крайней мере, мы быстро доставили патчи и много поклонников похвалили за первоклассную поддержку в случае обнаружения проблем. Мы обещаем много улучшений для Готики 2!
PC Games: Как много "белого великана" выкурил программист управления?
Putzki: Почему? На самом деле он не курильщик ... нет, шутки в сторону: он - трехрукий инопланетянин из Антарес IV, который пришел к нам в рамках программы зеленая карта, и он нашел элементы управления очень удобными.
PC Games: Сколько раз вы заблудились в своем собственном мире?
Putzki: Когда вы знаете название каждого полигона, из которых составлен мир, то, естественно, вы блуждаете немного меньше.
Nachdem ich Baal Lukor die zweite Pergamenthlfte gegeben habe, wartet er die ganze Zeit auf mich und bewegt sich nicht mehr. Bitte helft mir!
Philipp Hsges, per E-Mail
Die Baal-Lukor-Geschichte ist immer noch eine vertrackte Sache, da hier mehrere Bugs zu Tage treten knnen. In den Foren sind schon verschiedene Lsungsanstze diskutiert worden. Eine Mglichkeit wre, den Marvin-Cheat zu versuchen:
Dazu drcken Sie "S" und geben "marvin" ein. Danach noch einmal "S" drcken. Jetzt ffnet man die Konsole und gibt "insert lukor_bugfixbook" ein. Wenn der Cheat funktioniert, wird Baal Lukor Ihnen wieder folgen.
Fr weitere Informationen empfehle ich Ihnen folgende Homepage: www.worldofgothic. com.
Georg Valtin
Feedback: Gothic
25.05.2002 um 15:37 Uhr
Die deutsche Rollenspiel-Sensation des letzten Jahres ist gerade frisch als Classic-Version fr nur noch 10 Euro neu aufgelegt worden. Gothic 2 ist bereits mitten in der heien Entwicklungs-Phase. Zwei gute Grnde fr PC Games bei den Lesern und Spielern nachzufragen, wie sie denn die Geschichte um Erzbarone, Buddler und Magier erlebt haben.
Tom Putzki, Marketing-Direktor der Phenomedia AG, war
bei Piranha Bytes die treibende Kraft hinter Gothic.
.
Fnf Fragen an den Hersteller
PC Games: Was wird die grte Vernderung in Gothic 2 gegenber dem Vorgnger sein?
Tom Putzki (Marketing-Direktor der Phenomedia AG, war bei Piranha Bytes die treibende Kraft hinter Gothic): "Na ganz klar: Die Barriere ist weg! Aber im ernst: Die KI ist stark verbessert, der Kampf ist erheblich vereinfacht worden, die Welt ist um ein Mehrfaches grer und der Spieler hat eine Vielzahl mehr Mglichkeiten."
PC Games: Wie und wann sind denn die ersten Ideen zu Gothic entstanden?
Putzki: "Zur Grndung von PIRANHA BYTES im Oktober 1997 wurde die Ideensammlung und Konzeptarbeit an Gothic begonnen ... meistens in einer netten Viererrunde bei Pizza & Co."
PC Games: Wie konnte es zu den vielen Bugs in der Verkaufsversion kommen?
Putzki: "Es war in erster Linie unsere Unerfahrenheit, dadurch haben wir whrend der langen Entwicklungszeit viele Fehler gemacht. Aus diesem Grund sind auch leider unschne Bugs entstanden. Aber immerhin haben wir sehr schnell Patches nachgeliefert und von vielen Fans Lob fr erstklassigen Support bei Problemen bekommen. Wir geloben sehr viel Besserung fr Gothic 2!"
PC Games: Wie viel "weier Riese" hat denn der Programmierer der Steuerung geraucht?
Putzki: "Wieso? Der ist doch eigentlich Nichtraucher...nein, Spa beiseite: Er ist ein dreiarmiges Alien von Antares IV, der im Rahmen des Greencard-Programmes zu uns gekommen ist; und er fand die Steuerung sehr komfortabel."
PC Games: Wie oft habt Ihr euch eigentlich in eurer eigenen Welt verlaufen?
Putzki: "Wenn man jedes Polygon, aus dem die Welt aufgebaut ist, beim Vornamen kennt, dann verluft man sich naturgem etwas weniger."
Was den PC-Games-Lesern gut gefallen hat
1. Die frische und spannende Story-Idee
2. Die immensen spielerischen Freiheiten
3. Die weitlufige und sehr belebte Welt
4. Die schne und abwechslungsreiche Grafik
5. Die epische Breite in der Spiel-Atmosphre
Ein kleiner Spielspaverderber in Gothic: Die langen Ladezeiten.
Was den PC-Games-Lesern nicht gefallen hat
1. Die Steuerung bei Inventar und Kmpfen
2. Die zahlreichen und rgerlichen Bugs
3. Die beraus langen Ladezeiten
4. Die hohen Hardware-Anforderungen
5. Der anspruchsvolle Schwierigkeitsgrad
So bewerten die PC-Games-Leser (in Schulnoten):
Langzeitmotivation 1,5
Grafik 1,6
Kommentare/Sprachausgabe 1,6
Ausgewogenheit Schwierigkeitsgrad 1,9
Innovationen 2,0
Musik 2,0
Soundeffekte 2,2
Animation 2,3
Einsteigerfreundlichkeit 2,3
Steuerung 2,9
Auf die Frage, ob sie Gothic weiterempfehlen wrdem antworteten 96 Prozent der Teilnehmer mit "Ja" und vier Prozent mit "Nein".
Die Meinung der PC-Games-Leser:
Lukas Hunziger (15), Schler aus Freienwill, Schweiz: "Gothic ist ein prachtvolles 3D-Rollenspiel, das zwar mittlerweile ein wenig angestaubt aber riesig ist und vor allem auch nach mehrmaligem Durchspielen Spa macht. Es gibt einfach so viel auszuprobieren! Ich knnte es jetzt gerade wieder installieren und was Neues ausklgeln. Leider haben anfangs die Bugs ziemlich gestrt, doch seit dem neuesten Patch luft alles glatt."
Peter Taucher (22), Programmierer aus Altschlaining: "Gothic zeigt, dass es im Rollenspiel-Genre ebenfalls bombastische Grafik geben kann. Jeder einzelne NPC hat seine eigene Geschichte und geht seinem Tagewerk nach. Es ist einfach nur cool, wenn man einem Gardisten dabei zusieht, wie er an eine Hauswand pinkelt oder wie ein Rudel Wlfe gemeinsam Jagd auf Molerats macht - so lebensecht war bis dato kaum ein Spiel."
Manuel Bach (19), Schler aus Rsselsheim: "Gothic ist das wohl beste deutsche Action-Rollenspiel seit Jahren - trotz seiner Schwchen. Die Atmosphre ist dank der liebevollen Einleitung in die Geschichte, einer grandiosen Grafik und dem abwechslungsreichen Soundtrack sehr gut und trstet ber die Designschnitzer hinweg. Fr faire 10 Euro sollten auch Nicht-Rollenspieler mal einen Blick in die wunderbare Welt der Fantasie riskieren."
Jonas Wermingshausen (14), Schler aus Mnster: "Gothic hat mich von der ersten Spielminute an gefesselt. Mir fiel schnell das fr Rollenspiele untypische Kampfsystem mit verschiedenen Kombinationen auf. So macht es gleich mehr Spa, als das stumpfe Rumgeklicke in zum Beispiel Diablo 2. Als gute und neue Idee empfand ich auch das Konzert der Band In Extremo im Alten Lager. Des Weiteren fand ich auch die Story sehr gelungen und ausgeklgelt."
PHENOMEDIA PRAKTISCH AM ENDE
Ausgemoorhuhnt ...
Von Vitus Hoffmann | 14.05.2002 21:05 Uhr
Bilanzen geflscht, Zahlungsunfhig, Insolvent. Die Phenomedia AG hat nun das unausweichliche getan und beim zustndigen Amtsgericht ein Insolvenzverfahren beantragt. Damit steht die berhmte 'Moorhuhn'-Firma praktisch vor dem Aus.
Zwar sei die Firma nicht berschuldet, so die Geschftsfhrung, die Liquiditt reiche aber auch nicht aus um den laufenden Geschftsbetrieb ohne Insolvenzverfahren weiterzufhren. Laut HGB ist eine Firma deren Liquiditt nicht ausreicht die laufenden Ausgaben zu decken, verpflichtet Insolvenz anzumelden und somit den Mistand publik zu machen.
Die Phenomedia AG ist erst vor Kurzem ins Visir der Staatsanwaltschaft wegen geflschter Bilanzen gekommen. Die inzwischen entlassenen Geschftsfhrer haben bei den Vernehmungen diese bereits zugegeben.
Welche Auswirkungen das Ganze auf 'Gothic 2' hat, was derzeit bei den Piranha Byte Studios, einer Tochter der Phenomedia entwickelt wird, ist noch nicht abzusehen.
ФЕНОМЕДИИ ПРАКТИЧЕСКИ КОНЕЦ
Тетерев-капут ...
Фальсифицированные балансы, несостоятельность, банкротство. Phenomedia AG уже сделала неизбежное и подала иск о несостоятельности в компетентный районный суд. Так что знаменитая компания Moorhuhn практически на грани.
По словам руководства, компания не имеет чрезмерной задолженности, но ликвидности также недостаточно для продолжения ведения бизнеса без процедур банкротства. В соответствии с Коммерческим кодексом Германии (HGB), компания, ликвидность которой недостаточна для покрытия текущих расходов, обязана подать на банкротство и обнародовать недобросовестное администрирование.
Phenomedia AG совсем недавно привлекла внимание прокурора из-за фальсифицированных балансов. Управляющие директора, с тех пор уволенные, уже признали это во время допросов.
Пока не ясно, какое влияние это окажет на Готику 2, которая в настоящее время разрабатывается студией Piranha Bytes, дочерней компании Phenomedia.
In Gothic sind mehrere Bcher versteckt, die den Titel "Chromanin" tragen. Knnt ihr mir sagen, wie viele Bcher es gibt und wo ich sie finden kann?
Meine zweite Frage bezieht sich auf die Befreiung der Mine. Das Problem ist, dass mich Gorn angreift, wenn ich einen Gardisten besiege.
FKPmoik, per E-Mail
Es gibt insgesamt sechs Chromanin-Bcher:
Chromaninbuch - Fundort
Buch 1 - Bei dem Skelettmagier im Nebelturm
Buch 2 - In der alten Festung, in der man Ur-Shak rettet
Buch 3 - Vom Alten Lager aus dem Nordtor raus, an den beiden Buddlern vorbei zu der Insel im Fluss waten, auf der in der Mitte ein Felsen steht. Um den Felsen herumgehen.
Buch 4 - Im Neuen Lager vom Haupttor aus nach rechts zu den Fischerbooten am See gehen. Zur anderen Seite des Sees laufen.
Buch 5 - Bei dem Schiffswrack in der Nhe der Feuerwarane (unterhalb des Nebelturms) Buch 6 - Im Turm, wo man das erste Buch gefunden hat, muss die Leiche geplndert werden (Rstung ausziehen).
Der Gorn-Bug:
Es handelt sich dabei um einen Bug im Spiel. Meistens tritt er dann auf, wenn Sie schon aus grerer Entfernung auf die Gegner schieen, bevor der Dialog am Tor stattgefunden hat. Versuchen Sie einmal, den Dialog abzuwarten und erst dann den Kampf zu beginnen.
Sie knnen auch versuchen, Gorn am Eingang der Freien Mine stehen zu lassen und sich alleine um die Gegner in der Mine zu kmmern. Ansonsten hilft es, direkt vor der Mine zu speichern und mehrere Versuche zu machen, bis Gorn endlich richtig reagiert (ist allerdings die frustrierendste Lsung). Als letzte Mglichkeit gibt es einen (allerdings inoffiziellen) Fix. Sie finden ihn im Forum von www. worldofgothic.de (als Suchbegriff Gorn eingeben).
Stefan Wei
Wie besiege ich die Minecrawler in der alten Mine?
Martin Neise, per E-Mail
Problematisch sind die Minecrawler insofern, weil man schon sehr frh im Spiel die Minen-Quest erhlt. Allerdings ist es ratsam, den Charakter bis mindestens Stufe 8 zu trainieren und die Lernpunkte in Strke und Geschicklichkeit zu investieren. Eine gute Taktik besteht darin, Fernkampfwaffen einzusetzen (vorausgesetzt, Ihr Charakter kann damit umgehen). Es gibt etliche Stellen in der Mine, zu denen die Minecrawler nur schlecht Zugang haben. Sie knnen auch die Crawler einzeln anlocken ein Kampf gegen mehrere Crawler ist sehr schwer. Jochen Gebauer
Ich habe dieses komische Schwert. Jetzt wei ich aber nicht mehr weiter, ich kann mich nicht zu Xardas zurckteleportieren. Wenn ich dann zu diesem untoten Schamanen komme, kann ich ihn einfach nicht besiegen.
Ghalib, per E-Mail
Der Teleport funktioniert schon, Sie mssen sich dafr allerdings wieder in der Vorhalle befinden (sprich, es muss ein Ladevorgang fr die Auenwelt stattgefunden haben).
Wenn es trotzdem nicht klappt und Sie auch nicht mehr durch das Tor am Eingang kommen, benutzen Sie folgenden Cheat: Stellen Sie sich vor das Tor und tippen Sie MARVIN. Drcken Sie nun K und Sie werden nach vorne teleportiert. Den Schamanen Grash-Varrag-Urshat knnen Sie erst besiegen, wenn das Schwert Uriziel aufgeladen worden ist. Dazu mssen Sie Xardas aufgesucht haben - nur er kann die Waffe aufladen.
Stefan Wei
Gothic will released simultaneously for XBox, PS2 and GameCube in March 2003!
Here is what John Linn, Creative Director @ Xicat Interactive, had to say about the XBox version (and another game) in an interview at XBox Exclusive:
3. Are they completely redone to take advantage of XBox's power, or are they just being ported over?
In the instance of Gothic and Top Angler, the developers are really pushing the XBox's power. Both games will feature much better frame rates, textures, and graphical effects; We're focusing on the really atmospheric areas of the games; the sky, water and weather being the primary concerns. Gothic will also feature a more robust soundtrack thanks to the XBox's Dolby Digital encoding.
xboxexclusive.com 09/2002
17.09.2002 Interview: Xicat Interactive
Steve @ 1:52 PM EDT
We had a chance to interview John Linn of Xicat Interactive about 4 upcoming Xbox titles. Did you know that Top Angler is being developed by Sega? Can you say Sega Bass Fishing!?
This is Xbox Exclusive's first Interview, we hope you enjoy it!
Hi, I'm John Linn, Creative Director at Xicat Interactive.
2. Are the games that Xicat is developing for XBox new, or games that have been out for PC before?
Well, we have a number of titles in development for Xbox currently. One is Metal Dungeon, a traditional style RPG that's been released in Japan and is exclusive to Xbox. The player controls a group of battle cyborgs in a post-apocalyptic world of robots and magic. The game plays similar to other turn-based RPGs, but the system is actually real-time, and emphasis is focused more on orders and strategy. Blackstone: Magic and Steel is another one of our upcoming Xbox titles, and it's also exclusive. Comparable to Gauntlet, Blackstone is a hack-and-slash romp through dozens of unique levels and with 20 unlock able characters. Gothic is an epic RPG, quite similar to Morrowind, but with a little more emphasis on a progressive, non-linear storyline, and interaction with the environment. Gothic has been released on PC, and is going to be launched on Xbox, PS2, and GameCube simultaneously (with the Xbox version seeing the best graphics, of course). Top Angler Xbox is an enhanced port of the PS2 version. It will be the first fishing game out for Xbox, and a team at Sega is developing it; so it's really a great one too.
(IMG) Metal Dungeon
3. Are they completely redone to take advantage of XBox's power, or are they just being ported over?
In the instance of Gothic and Top Angler, the developers are really pushing the XBox's power. Both games will feature much better frame rates, textures, and graphical effects; We're focusing on the really atmospheric areas of the games; the sky, water and weather being the primary concerns. Gothic will also feature a more robust soundtrack thanks to the XBox's Dolby Digital encoding. Both Metal Dungeon and Blackstone are being developed with Xbox in mind, so the games will reflect this. Both are definitive Xbox experiences.
4. Are they going to be online with Xbox live?
The above mentioned games are not going to use Xbox live connectivity.
5. How familiar is Xicat with the Xbox?
We've been working with Microsoft on these games for quite some time now, and we're really behind the format. I think Microsoft has the focus and follow through to bring the format to the top. Metal Dungeon will be our first Xbox release, but the rest will be soon to follow.
(IMG) Black Stone
6. Top Angler and Gothic are the games that we were told that Xicat is developing. What can you tell us about each of these games?
Gothic is a huge, sprawling RPG with a really neat story line. Basically you play a prisoner who's been cast into a magically sealed prison colony. The catch is, the prisoners revolted against their captors and took over the colony. It's a huge world that has turned into a medieval fantasy Lord of the Flies. Your character can align himself with any of the main 'camps' that have popped up in the game world. Depending on the choices you make, and the people you know the outcome of the game changes. Character development is equally non-linear. Your character doesn't just raise his stats at random as you gain levels. You have to train with people you meet to get stronger, and most of the time they don't help you for free. Because of this system, there are no classes; the player can learn how to fight well, as well as cast powerful Mage spells. The great thing about learning new skills is that it actually changes the animations; if you become a better fighter it shows in the way you swing your weapons and the combos you can do. It's all up to you.
Top Angler is a fantastic fishing game that's been developed by Sega. We worked with the same Sega team that brought Sega Bash Fishing to the Dreamcast. All the experience they had in the genre was brought to the table. We've combined the arcade feel of Bass Fishing with a little more strategy, such as lure choice, time of day, and realistic weather. Top Angler also features four modes of play, with many different lakes and locales. One of the coolest features to me is the importance of having a good tackle box. Each lure is good in different situations, and if your line breaks you loose that lure you had equipped. If you run out of the specific lures you need, you'll have a lot of trouble beating certain portions of play. There's also a lot mini-games and challenges to unlock and beat.
7. When is the expected release date for each of these games?
Metal Dungeon - November 15th
Black Stone - November 26th
Gothic - March 2003
Top Angler - March 2003
8. Gothic. We want to hear more about this RPG. It's looking great by the screen shots, and the features sound amazing. Just how smart are the monsters AI?
The enemy AI really whoop you in packs! It's imperative to try and get terrain advantages and isolate each enemy if possible, because they'll attack you with that in account. Enemy humanoids heal themselves in battle and spell casters are formidable because of their spell variety, and choosing spells to cast based on certain situations. The monsters of the game world react largely like monsters would; i.e. wolves attack in packs, lizards are dumb and slow, etc...
Metal Dungeon - 8 Screen Shots
Black Stone - 29 Screen Shots
Xbox Exclusive would like to thank Belinda Banks, John Linn and Mike Bellhorn of Xicat Interactive for making this interview possible. Be sure to check out Xicat.com for more information.
Quelle: PC GamesWo genau finde ich den Almanach und den Fokusstein? Ich habe schon den Assistenten von Cor Kalom ausgeraubt, der hatte sie aber auch nicht. Und wenn ich mit ihm rede, kommt nur die Mglichkeit "ENDE". Auerdem bekomme ich nur eine der beiden Truhen im Labor auf, bei der rechten bricht immer der Dietrich ab.
Den Almanach und den Fokusstein finden Sie in der besagten rechten Truhe. Ihre Dietriche helfen da nicht weiter, Sie bentigen den richtigen Schlssel. Gehen Sie dazu folgendermaen vor: Liefern Sie das Schwert "Todbringer", das Sie im Zuge der Baal Lukor-Quest erhalten, bei Cor Angar im Sumpflager ab. Da Yberion im Sterben liegt, mssen Sie fnf Heilkruter aus dem Sumpf besorgen. Die Kruter finden Sie auf den kleinen Inseln im Sumpf. Bei Ihrer Rckkehr zu Cor Angar erfahren Sie, dass Yberion leider schon dahingeschieden ist. Cor Angar bergibt Ihnen den Schlssel fr die Truhe. Damit knnen Sie sich den Almanach und den ersten Fokus holen.
Impressum
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World of Gothic by World of Gothic Team
Gothic, Gothic 2 & Gothic 3 are by Piranha Bytes & Egmont Interactive & JoWooD Productions AG, all rights reserved worldwide
World of Players
[G1] ХРОНОЛОГИЯ. ГОТИКА 1.
Z tohoto je jasn, e můete hru hrt několikrt dokola a pokad zvolit jin postup a přidat se k jin skupině, co velmi prodluuje dobu hran.
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