NeoGAF

EviLore · (10-07-2009, 01:10 PM)

Originally Posted by Cat in the Hat:

Every inch of the world feels like it was hand crafted.

Yeah, it does. There's room for both design philosophies, certainly. Risen's game world is quick to traverse but somewhat deceptively small, since it's so packed with details.

Diseased Yak · (10-07-2009, 01:15 PM)

Having now become a full Warrior of the Order, I decided to take a break before jumping into working for the Inquisitor full throttle and just do a walkabout. First I went south, and explored the beach around the Harbor Town for a bit. I love that you can click on mussels in your inventory and sometimes get pearls!

I found a low rise that I climbed up on, and noticed a cliff across a chasm. I levitated across to it and found that sure enough levitation is the only way the cliff is accessable. There wasn't much there except some sea vultures, and a grave marker stuck in the top of a pile of rocks. The rocks had a nice emerald laying on them, along with several piles of gold and some loose coins.

This is what I love about this game: Finding these little out of the way nooks where some dev took the time to pile up rocks, stick a grave marker into the top, and then a few precious stones and some gold to reward the odd explorer who happens to levitate over for a look.

syllogism · (10-07-2009, 01:22 PM)

Originally Posted by Diseased Yak:

Having now become a full Warrior of the Order, I decided to take a break before jumping into working for the Inquisitor full throttle and just do a walkabout. First I went south, and explored the beach around the Harbor Town for a bit. I love that you can click on mussels in your inventory and sometimes get pearls!

I found a low rise that I climbed up on, and noticed a cliff across a chasm. I levitated across to it and found that sure enough levitation is the only way the cliff is accessable. There wasn't much there except some sea vultures, and a grave marker stuck in the top of a pile of rocks. The rocks had a nice emerald laying on them, along with several piles of gold and some loose coins.

This is what I love about this game: Finding these little out of the way nooks where some dev took the time to pile up rocks, stick a grave marker into the top, and then a few precious stones and some gold to reward the odd explorer who happens to levitate over for a look.

If that's the place I think it is (was it past a cave with a bunch of gnomes?), there should also be a fine sword there.

Raggy · (10-07-2009, 01:45 PM)

Starting the game I choosed first to go to the bandits, then said fuckit after 1 quest, and headed for Harbour Town.

Exploring it is very fun, especially when this though occured to me:

"hmm do my character know how to swim?"

lets try! jumping into the water, and getting tossed out by a big water worm had me rofl for minutes!

ITA84 · (10-07-2009, 01:47 PM)

I feel ashamed of having ignored the game until now. Ridiculous intro aside, a lot of typical Gothic elements I like are there.

Downloading the demo now, hopefully it will sell me the game. Too bad I've got only slightly more than the minimum hardware requirements on my PC.

Diseased Yak · (10-07-2009, 02:07 PM)

Originally Posted by syllogism:

If that's the place I think it is (was it past a cave with a bunch of gnomes?), there should also be a fine sword there.

That's right, there was one! Stuck into the rocks. Had forgotten about it. Was just vendor fodder for me, though, since I'm trying to only use the staff weapons like a good little Order soldier.

Deacan · (10-07-2009, 04:30 PM)

Originally Posted by Cat in the Hat:

YES

You get to reforge broken weapons you find(they come in 2 pieces) and you can make obsidian weapons which are really powerful. It's very worth it.

Can you make Axes? as so far I've only gotten Sword Blanks.

BeeDog · (10-07-2009, 04:37 PM)

Alright, I really hope someone can help out:

1. Anyone know where to find the lizardmen leaders in chapter 3? I found the one on the west coast near the bridge.
2. Could someone post some of the more obscure teleport stone locations they've found? Thanks.

painey · (10-07-2009, 04:37 PM)

i've done all the good quests and now im left with nothing but dungeon crawling :(

-SD- · 05:02 PM

I got my copy on Monday.

- This is indeed very much Gothic 1-2. New story in new clothes, same mind and soul.

- I really like the difficulty and the roughness so far. I'm playing on Normal. Still on Chapter 1.

- Combat is good. You can't just button-mash your way out of everything like in Gothic 3, which is GREAT.

- Visual design has been a disappointment and pales in comparison to Gothic 3. Color saturation and contrast are way too high up; there's an absence of harmony and eye-pleasing balance.

- Engine kicks ass. Quick save game loading, no waiting for the world to load after loading a game, no world streaming choppiness.

- Runs really well on my old stock-speed E6600/GF8800GTX/4GB/Win7-64bit comp. Using 1600x1200 + extra tweaks (16000 vegetation, 2048 shadows).

garath · (10-07-2009, 04:50 PM)

hmm.. with all the games I want coming shortly (Uncharted 2, Dragon Age, Borderlands), I was planning on skipping this one but man, the positive impressions are swaying me.

I loved Gothic 1 and 2. I think I'll have to grab this.

Dineren · (10-07-2009, 05:11 PM)

Well I went ahead and bought it on Steam, can't wait until I get back home this weekend to play! Off topic a bit, has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

Myr · (10-07-2009, 05:16 PM)

Any tips for good armor? On chapter 2, dressed in puny mages robes with my Traitor's Blade and Rune Shield.

-SD- · (10-07-2009, 05:29 PM)

Originally Posted by Dineren:

has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

Definitely worth bothering with.

MirageDwarf · (10-07-2009, 05:36 PM)

Originally Posted by Dineren:

Well I went ahead and bought it on Steam, can't wait until I get back home this weekend to play! Off topic a bit, has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

There is a much better deal. $9.45 for Gothic Universe which includes Gothic, Gothic II, Gothic II: Night of the Raven, and Gothic 3.

http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Univers...4936833&sr=8-4

Druz · (10-07-2009, 05:37 PM)

Originally Posted by Dineren:

Well I went ahead and bought it on Steam, can't wait until I get back home this weekend to play! Off topic a bit, has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

For $8... sure why not. It's not a very good game regardless of the state though. If you play and like Risen, the closest comparison would be Gothic 2 + Night of the Raven expansion. Problem is, you may be turned off by the graphics:
[Discovering you can cross into Gothic 1's main area]

[Mercenary Camp]

[Gothic 2s monastery for fire mage adepts]

Paladin + Light spell

Originally Posted by Klyka:

Stopped reading after you misspelled "Piranha Bytes" in the second sentence.

"Professionally" getting the developer's name wrong, is not a good sign.

Edit: All taken back,just saw it was a fake review.

I think my favorite part about that is you didn't stop after, "My anticipation is rising and here it comes!" Read the rest anyway, it's too late for you.

Cat in the Hat · (10-07-2009, 05:38 PM)

Originally Posted by BeeDog:

Alright, I really hope someone can help out:

2. Could someone post some of the more obscure teleport stone locations they've found? Thanks.

Is there a picture of the map online cause I could point out where they are on that.

Originally Posted by Deacan:

Can you make Axes? as so far I've only gotten Sword Blanks.

Good question, I've been pretty much everywhere and haven't descovered any. Ive only seen pices of the legdary swords and the regular Iron and Obsidian swords, no axes.

ShogunX · (10-07-2009, 05:41 PM)

Probably already been asked but does anyone know when the patch is due for the 360 version?

eXistor · (10-07-2009, 06:18 PM)

Originally Posted by BeeDog:

Alright, I really hope someone can help out:

1. Anyone know where to find the lizardmen leaders in chapter 3? I found the one on the west coast near the bridge.
2. Could someone post some of the more obscure teleport stone locations they've found? Thanks.

1: If you mean the quest you get after talking to the ghost (I forget his name) then you're way off. You merely have to pick up the Bust that appears on his sarcophagus and place it on the altar near each of the three doors right next to where he is. There's one in each room and are all piss-easy.

2: Most stones are found by killing patrolling lizardmen. I think about 10 are found this way. The only random one I can remember is in Harbor City. Talk to the dude in near the cauldron in the slum district (again, I forget his name, starts with B I think). .

WhatRobEats · (10-07-2009, 06:20 PM)

Wow. This game has completely slipped under my radar. I'm almost done with my PC build just gotta order a new video card. Currently I have a 9600 gt that would probably run it ok. But I'd rather wait until I get the new card.

This RPG really seems to fit my style and looks great in some of those screenshots I'm excited to play this.

CabbageRed · (10-07-2009, 06:29 PM)

Originally Posted by Dineren:

Well I went ahead and bought it on Steam, can't wait until I get back home this weekend to play! Off topic a bit, has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

Absolutely! If you are a fan of exploration, I cannot think of another game that rivals G3 (although Morrowind with expansions likely comes close). There are simply so my towns with fully-voiced NPC's, countless homes to sneak into and loot, a ton of quests that change the balance of the storyline, a million and one caves, nooks, and hard-to-reach hilltops with strange creatures a loot waiting, three different regions so it is more than just endless forest, etc. The combat is ass, but I replayed it a year or so back and am so glad I did.

BeeDog · (10-07-2009, 06:36 PM)

Originally Posted by eXistor:

1: If you mean the quest you get after talking to the ghost (I forget his name) then you're way off. You merely have to pick up the Bust that appears on his sarcophagus and place it on the altar near each of the three doors right next to where he is. There's one in each room and are all piss-easy.

2: Most stones are found by killing patrolling lizardmen. I think about 10 are found this way. The only random one I can remember is in Harbor City. Talk to the dude in near the cauldron in the slum district (again, I forget his name, starts with B I think). .

Oh, regarding the first question, I still haven't picked up that quest. While I was strolling, I saw the enemy marked "Leader", and when I killed it I got a popup saying (1/4) "YOU-KNOW-WHAT."

fizzelopeguss · (10-07-2009, 06:36 PM)

Originally Posted by Minsc:

The fact that they respawn, or that they don't?

That's how it was in Gothic as well. It's the best of both worlds. I tend to dislike respawning enemies, but the chapters are long enough that you get so used to having an empty landscape after a while it almost becomes dull, then it's welcome to see something roaming around again.

And in gothic 2 atleast the enemies completely change, the world becomes much more dangerous and you can tell shit is beginning to hit the fan for khorinis. God that game is a fucking masterpiece.

Quote:

For $8... sure why not. It's not a very good game regardless of the state though. If you play and like Risen, the closest comparison would be Gothic 2 + Night of the Raven expansion. Problem is, you may be turned off by the graphics:

Meh fuck graphics, it's the same hand crafted world and an interesting low fantasy setting. Best games ever. ;)

Dennis · (10-07-2009, 07:03 PM)

To all of those considering getting Risen but are still sceptical:

Get it. Its fantastic. It looks much better than Oblivion, it plays better and it actually presents a challenge for the player even on the normal difficulty. Gone is the hand holding endemic to mainstream RPGs.

This is destined to be one of those cult classic games that are fondly remebered years from now by those who played it, and people who didn't will be kicking themeselves for missing out.

Risen is exploration-RPG at its finest.

Binabik15 · (10-07-2009, 07:25 PM)

Thehut.com has it for 22 pounds ("today only"), should I buy it there or can I get a better non-DD deal?

Einbroch · (10-07-2009, 07:27 PM)

I've kinda skimmed the thread, but what's the verdict on the 360 version? I don't have a very good PC.

Cat in the Hat · (10-07-2009, 08:28 PM)

Originally Posted by Einbroch:

I've kinda skimmed the thread, but what's the verdict on the 360 version? I don't have a very good PC.

If I only had a 360 I'd play it. Sucky graphics but the gameplay and the world is intact.

Durante · (10-07-2009, 08:41 PM)

Originally Posted by Binabik15:

Thehut.com has it for 22 pounds ("today only"), should I buy it there or can I get a better non-DD deal?

I got mine from shopto for 23 pounds, and that's the cheapest I found. Seriously, just get it, you're missing out!

Binabik15 · (10-07-2009, 08:45 PM)

I´ll buy it, don´t worry.

But I´ll have to play on my laptop before my new pc will be here ;_; (ATI, pump more 5850s into Germany!).

Durante · (10-07-2009, 08:47 PM)

Wait, are you also a German-speaking gamer buying the UK version of a German game because of the price difference? :lol

Binabik15 · (10-07-2009, 08:55 PM)

Yes. :lol

Plus I don´t like German voices in my games.

Joseph Merrick · (10-07-2009, 09:05 PM)

at least the english voices are quite ok in this one

eXistor · (10-07-2009, 09:23 PM)

Originally Posted by BeeDog:

Oh, regarding the first question, I still haven't picked up that quest. While I was strolling, I saw the enemy marked "Leader", and when I killed it I got a popup saying (1/4) "YOU-KNOW-WHAT."

Ah, having just started chapter 4 tonight, I can say that the rest of the leaders are found all over the island. Sorry for somewhat spoiling a later quest in chapter 3 earlier!

Btw, as someone who absolutely adores most of the game but still after 40+ hours of playing, hates the combat system, I found the most effective way to sort of get around combat without any hassle is Archery. I just upped my DEX up to 100+ and watch every hot do a ton of unblockable damage! It's great, no more unwieldy close combat for me!

K.Jack · (10-07-2009, 09:27 PM)

Originally Posted by Binabik15:

I´ll buy it, don´t worry.

But I´ll have to play on my laptop before my new pc will be here ;_; (ATI, pump more 5850s into Germany!).

What kind of specs does your laptop have? This game is tough on notebook GPUs.

Cat in the Hat · (10-07-2009, 09:28 PM)

OK I need help

I have 3 crystal disks and the person that has(or at least knows) the last disk is, is Beepo(the guy that hangs out in the dons place. He told me to go to harbor town to talk to patty which I did, but she agrees to the partnership then says "hopefully we'll make him regret putting us together"(or something like that) then she won't say anything else, and Beepo won't say anything else.

Anyone know what I'm missing here?

Dennis · (10-07-2009, 09:29 PM)

Originally Posted by eXistor:

Ah, having just started chapter 4 tonight, I can say that the rest of the leaders are found all over the island. Sorry for somewhat spoiling a later quest in chapter 3 earlier!

Btw, as someone who absolutely adores most of the game but still after 40+ hours of playing, hates the combat system, I found the most effective way to sort of get around combat without any hassle is Archery. I just upped my DEX up to 100+ and watch every hot do a ton of unblockable damage! It's great, no more unwieldy close combat for me!

The bow and not the crossbow I assume. What about the problem with just getting off one shot and then they rush you?

eXistor · (10-07-2009, 09:34 PM)

Originally Posted by DennisK4:

The bow and not the crossbow I assume. What about the problem with just getting off one shot and then they rush you?

The bow, yes. You kill almost every enemy in a few hits (even Ashbeasts and Elite Warriors) they won't even have time to get to you. Provided you level your archery to 10 and have enough DEX and a decent bow.

eXistor · (10-07-2009, 09:40 PM)

Originally Posted by Cat in the Hat:

OK I need help

I have 3 crystal disks and the person that has(or at least knows) the last disk is, is Beepo(the guy that hangs out in the dons place. He told me to go to harbor town to talk to patty which I did, but she agrees to the partnership then says "hopefully we'll make him regret putting us together"(or something like that) then she won't say anything else, and Beepo won't say anything else.

Anyone know what I'm missing here?

If I remember correctly, you need to talk to the pirate (yet another name I can't remember) that's also hanging around at the Don's place (he should talk to you automatically). Then go to Patty and she should trigger the next part of the quest which takes you to the graveyard near the swamp. I'm not sure if this makes a difference, but I did both of Patty's quests in Harbor City (have her leave town and find clues about her father) then she'll be sittig on the beach outside the town.

Cat in the Hat · (10-07-2009, 10:07 PM)

Originally Posted by eXistor:

If I remember correctly, you need to talk to the pirate (yet another name I can't remember) that's also hanging around at the Don's place (he should talk to you automatically). Then go to Patty and she should trigger the next part of the quest which takes you to the graveyard near the swamp. I'm not sure if this makes a difference, but I did both of Patty's quests in Harbor City (have her leave town and find clues about her father) then she'll be sittig on the beach outside the town.

Hmm

I still have helping patty out of town quest open.....I already found the secret exit but she doesn't say anything.

If I'm stuck I think I might cry.

Cat in the Hat · (10-07-2009, 11:11 PM)

Welp I think I'm screwed. Nothing is working.

Prime crotch · (10-07-2009, 11:14 PM)

demo seems to run fairly well, any tweaks out there to increase performance?

Originally Posted by Dineren:

Well I went ahead and bought it on Steam, can't wait until I get back home this weekend to play! Off topic a bit, has anyone played Gothic 3 with the community patches? I saw on Amazon you can pick it up for $8.00, is it even worth bothering with?

not really, I got the Universe package and Gothic 2 Gold is a big enough game as it is, Gothic 3 on the other hand runs worse than Risen, somehow, and I pretty much unistalled it after finding the new combat even more cumbersome than the previous Gothic's

Zefah · (10-08-2009, 02:14 AM)

I went back to Gothic 3 immediately after Risen and damn that game chugs even with the most recent community patch. The framerate is fine once everything is loaded, but you get some really nasty hitching just running around while the game tries to load up all of the objects in the environment. It was really annoying so I stopped.

I then went and bought Gothic 2 Gold on Good Old Games, but damn this is going to take some getting used to. The environments look fine, but the models are straight out of Quake 1 or something and look terrible. Are there any graphical mods for this to give some more decent looking character models? Also, is there any way to change the controls so there is constant mouse look? The controls seem quite hideous.

Sinatar · (10-08-2009, 02:32 AM)

Originally Posted by Zefah:

I went back to Gothic 3 immediately after Risen and damn that game chugs even with the most recent community patch. The framerate is fine once everything is loaded, but you get some really nasty hitching just running around while the game tries to load up all of the objects in the environment. It was really annoying so I stopped.

I then went and bought Gothic 2 Gold on Good Old Games, but damn this is going to take some getting used to. The environments look fine, but the models are straight out of Quake 1 or something and look terrible. Are there any graphical mods for this to give some more decent looking character models? Also, is there any way to change the controls so there is constant mouse look? The controls seem quite hideous.

I was never able to play through Gothic 2 thanks to the controls. There is no fix, they are just utterly untenable.

Zefah · (10-08-2009, 02:40 AM)

I'm not even quite sure how to operate them. I turned off the game in disgust moments into it. I am supposed to run around with WSAD and use Q and E to turn or something? I only click the mouse to attack? What rubbish.

Did the first Gothic control this poorly? I remember playing through that when it came out but I don't quite recall the control scheme.

K.Jack · (10-08-2009, 03:13 AM)

Are you seriously saying that Gothic 2 doesn't have mouselook?

Dineren · (10-08-2009, 04:22 AM)

Originally Posted by CabbageRed:

Absolutely! If you are a fan of exploration, I cannot think of another game that rivals G3 (although Morrowind with expansions likely comes close). There are simply so my towns with fully-voiced NPC's, countless homes to sneak into and loot, a ton of quests that change the balance of the storyline, a million and one caves, nooks, and hard-to-reach hilltops with strange creatures a loot waiting, three different regions so it is more than just endless forest, etc. The combat is ass, but I replayed it a year or so back and am so glad I did.

Thanks, despite the negative posts I decided to pick it up. Since I only have my laptop this week I've been playing through Gothic 1 again and remembering why I love these games so much. I'm surprised so few people like the controls of Gothic, they take some getting used to, but I thought they worked quite well once you learn them. I'll likely play through Risen before Gothic 3 which might put me off it in the end, but it's only $8 and I'm a big fan of exploration in games so it sounds like I'll enjoy it even with all of its problems.

nilbog21 · (10-08-2009, 04:32 AM)

R u kidding me? It autosaved after I died..............

-SD- · (10-08-2009, 05:35 AM)

Originally Posted by K.Jack:

Are you seriously saying that Gothic 2 doesn't have mouselook?

Of course it has mouselook. I have played through Gothic 2 a couple of times using the standard WASD + mouselook.

Dennis · 06:33 AM

It appears that Risen may sell quite well.

Last week it was the number 1 seller on Direct2Drive and number 4 on Steam according to Shacknews and apparently also on GamersGate.

It is also, as expected, number 1 in the German chart.

I think this may sell well for quite some time due to word of mouth.

There are at least six reasons why I am hoping this will sell really well:

1. The developers deserve it - the game is not only great, it is also stable and relatively bug-free. Gothic 4 developer take note!

2. We may get a sequel! (Bigger world and even higher production values please).

3. Shows that games don't have to be easy nor condescend the player with hand holding.

4. Succes may bring more open world exploration-based RPGs - the best kind of RPG as far as I am concerned.

5. Graphics still matter in the PC space. Definitely one of the draws to this game is the awesome lighting and general graphics.

6. Hardcore PC-first games still seen as viable business opportunity.

BeeDog · (10-08-2009, 06:28 AM)

Finally I'm at a level where I can cut through most types of enemies with ease (ashbeasts that were horrific before are pretty easily handled now, same with thunder lizards). Though ogres are still fuckfaces, FUUUUUU-

Anyway, could someone point out where to find both pieces of the Souldrinker sword? I've only found the tip (but can't recall where :lol ).