Development Info Gothic 3 will expand after all

[Elwro]

Tags: Gothic III; JoWood Productions

Gamer's Hell has a fresh <a href="http://www.gamershell.com/companies/jowood_productions/450190.html">press release</a> of an expansion pack for Gothic 3, called "Forsaken Gods".<blockquote>Two Years after the phenomenal success of Gothic 3, this new episode offers a new glimpse into the amazing world of Gothic. Forsaken Gods includes new quests, new monsters and many of the old friends whom gamers around the world got to know in previous episodes. Gothic 3 - Forsaken Gods will answer all the questions which have risen in the past and will slowly introduce the fans to a new chapter...
<br>
<br>
Features
<br>
<br>
* Lively and interactive environment which reacts to the player's actions, creating a very intense and realistic atmosphere
<br>
* Improved graphics quality thanks to updated engine technology
<br>
* Enhanced user interface
<br>
* 15-20 intense hours of gameplay
<br>
* Improved combat system with new combat rules
<br>
* Plenty of new weapons, armour, monsters and quests</blockquote>So Gothic 3 is what passes for a phenomenal success these days? Anyway, it's good they at least seem to be trying to do something about the combat system. I wonder if after the expansion is installed combat will improve in the main game, too.
<br>
Check out the <a href="http://www.gamershell.com/pc/gothic_3_forsaken_gods/screenshots.html">screenshots</a>. Nothing suprising there, though.
<br>
<br>
Thanks, <b>Shannow</b>!
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPG Watch</A>

 

[Country_Gravy]

This is great news! If they make the combat system better I will definately go back and finish the game. I stopped soon after I got to the snow area in the north, so I think there is a lot of game left for me.

 

[Saxon1974]

This is great news! If they make the combat system better I will definately go back and finish the game. I stopped soon after I got to the snow area in the north, so I think there is a lot of game left for me.

I hope so too, the combat system is what killed the game for me. From what I read though, I have my doubts that they will fix the combat system in the original gothic 3. My guess is they only change it in the expansion.

I think Gothic 3 is a candidate for the worst combat ever.

 

[Saxon1974]

I am also a little surprised that Gothic 3 was a "phenomenal" success. It was a buggy mess upon release....but then again what was I thinking, game quality doesn't really have anything to do with sales anymore.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

there was a press release about a year back saying it sold 500 thousand copies.

God this game hasn't aged well graphically at all.

 

[Higher Game]

It's nicer to look at than Oblivion, where things are beautiful for about 5 feet, and then turn uglier than Morrowind. And the prospect of revamped combat alone is good stuff.

 

[thesheeep]

This is great news! If they make the combat system better I will definately go back and finish the game. I stopped soon after I got to the snow area in the north, so I think there is a lot of game left for me.

Same for me, just that I went to the desert before I stopped playing.

 

[Ander Vinz]

* Lively and interactive environment which reacts to the player's actions, creating a very intense and realistic atmosphere

Any ideas on what is that supposed to mean?

BTW, it was told that expansion is standalone yet I see some signs of hope. Uninformed folks?

 

[Saxon1974]

Should we assume that Spellbound who is the dev studio working on Gothic 4 will be developing the expansion?

I could care less about graphics, I would prefere they use the engine from Gothic 3 and just work on improving gameplay.

 

[Elwro]

BTW, it was told that expansion is standalone yet I see some signs of hope. Uninformed folks?

Uninformed, I guess.

 

[Elhoim]

I've read from one of the guys that makes the unnoficial patch that it will be standalone.

http://forum.jowood.com/showthread.php?t=151305&page=4

 

[Sir_Brennus]

God this game hasn't aged well graphically at all.

Does it look ... outdated? :D

 

[Country_Gravy]

Standalone expansion? That sucks that it won't fix anything in G3. I might still pick it up. I think that Gothic III was my last game purchase and even though I didn't finish it and the combat sucked, I thought it was a worthy purchase. I will wait to see how they are really planning on fixing some things, though.

 

[Gnidrologist]

Two Years after the phenomenal success of Gothic 3

* Lively and interactive environment which reacts to the player's actions, creating a very intense and realistic atmosphere

Any ideas on what is that supposed to mean?

As with the previous statement, it means hype hypedy McHype.

 

[Saxon1974]

Standalone expansion? That sucks that it won't fix anything in G3. I might still pick it up. I think that Gothic III was my last game purchase and even though I didn't finish it and the combat sucked, I thought it was a worthy purchase. I will wait to see how they are really planning on fixing some things, though.

Dang it, most likely means they won't fix combat in Gothic 3. I guess I will never play it then.

 

[Claw]

Here's a list of all the people who care:





</list>

 

[doctor_kaz]

Combat wasn't the only problem with Gothic 3. It suffered pretty badly from copy-and-paste design too.

 

[thesheeep]

What?

I walked through almost all of the "green" area and through half the desert.
There was not one place that looked exactly like another.
Not one "dungeon" had the same form another one had.

Sure, some elements appeared more than once, but considering the incredible size of the world that is more than acceptable.

If you want to see what copy-and-paste design really means, play Mass Effect.

 

[Gnidrologist]

I think he means quest design and NPCs. Landscapes were cool, but actual content was quite shallow. Much poorer than in the first two games dsepite the magnitude.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Should we assume that Spellbound who is the dev studio working on Gothic 4 will be developing the expansion?

I could care less about graphics, I would prefere they use the engine from Gothic 3 and just work on improving gameplay.

It's less about the engine and more about the dodgy art and animation. Gothic 3 did have fantastic world design though, atleast around myrtana.

 

[Saxon1974]

What?

I walked through almost all of the "green" area and through half the desert.
There was not one place that looked exactly like another.
Not one "dungeon" had the same form another one had.

Sure, some elements appeared more than once, but considering the incredible size of the world that is more than acceptable.

If you want to see what copy-and-paste design really means, play Mass Effect.

I agree I thought the landcapes were very good in Gothic 3. I think combat was by far the worst part, then probably the bad voice acting was the next worst thing (In the English version) and it was pretty generic as far as quests go.

That being said i think if the Combat was improved I still would have enjoyed Gothic 3.

 

[dragonfk]

Hmm...So they want to milk the cow but dont want to take responsibility for Piranha's desing failures. For a moment I did hope that the expansion at least will try to fix whats broken with G3. Seems like companies like CD Project only happen once in a while. I think that the best way to describe their attitude is saying its out of this world like Drosdary:

[/img]

 

[bat_boro]

Combat wasn't the only problem with Gothic 3. It suffered pretty badly from copy-and-paste design too.

That's not true.
I played Gothic 3 the past two months and just finished it on Monday - there wasn't a single moment something felt copy&pasted. The landscapes were beautifully designed, as were the towns.
With that said, the quests were indeed generic (most of them anyway) and the combat was bad, but the game as a whole was a blast.
What it really missed was a little bit more personality, a little bit more character - the way Gothic 1&2 did it.
That and better combat + bug free on release and I think that the game could have done really, really well.
But it is a good game as it is now, with the latest community patch. Can't wait for the exp.

 

[WalterKinde]

If its a stand alone game , why the hell are they calling it an expansion and not a sequel?
If you will not need the original gothic 3 installed and probably the save game data shouldn't it be a sequel and not an expansion?

 

[Saxon1974]

If its a stand alone game , why the hell are they calling it an expansion and not a sequel?
If you will not need the original gothic 3 installed and probably the save game data shouldn't it be a sequel and not an expansion?

My guess is so they don't have to go to the trouble of fixing the problems with Gothic 3 that they are plannning to fix in the patch. It's probably extra work that they dont wanna do. That would be my guess.

 

[Claw]

Personally, my biggest gripe is the same I have with most RPGs: I just don't feel like I belong.

The great thing of Gothic was that becoming part of the "society" is actually part of the game. The same happened in G2 with becoming accepted in the town and membership in a faction.

G3 should've had two or three major bases where the player establishes himself, while only visiting most lcoations. As it is, you're just a visitor everywhere, with litte difference between an occupied town and a rebel camp.
Another major disappointment was the lack of character of returning NPCs from Gothic one and two.

 

[GeneralSamov]

And still no info as to who the developer might be... I wonder why all this withholding of information?