Gothic 3 community patch 1.75 released

[Lord Andre]

stuff

Look friend, you seem to be stuck on this hurr durr hardcore gaming thing. No one is complaining that the game is too hard with sequence chests. I just do not like that items and more to the point unique items (weapon recipes) are stuck in limbo until a meta-mechanic is fullfilled. There are other ways to restrict end game loot: attribute requirements, areas that cannot be accessed until a certain chapter is reached, tough guardians, the need to collect all pieces, drains health while wielded, requires you learn a skill, requires the favor of a god to wield and so on.

I myself feel greater excitement to find a sword that I can't wield at the moment and have to decide if I want to pump the next few levels into strength or learn that much needed sneak + lockpick combo. Simply working your way up a ladder of +5 damage upgrades is boring. B O O OR I N G !

 

[Revenant]

In that case everything boils down to personal preference, not good/bad game design as was previously implied.

 

[Cadmus]

Having to locate all those chests can be a fun game within a game in and of itself.

It's not good design, it's just something they did to cut time and push the shit out the door to meet release date. Just like the unfinished dead-end factions.

I don't really see how sequential chests are any faster to make than regular hand placed loot. They could have just dumped the best items in single chests as much as development time is concerned.

It's not a fun game in and of itself, just like finding the biggest 4 trees on the map is not a fun game. I also hated this system because the chests always, always gave me useless shit while being hidden somewhere off the beaten path, thus getting me excited what great stuff I'll get.

The problem with the progressive chests is firstly the progression was handled horribly. Secondly, once you realize how it's done (or inevitably read it in every review) you lose the motivation to explore everything if you sense you've missed out on a few chests already cuz you'll only get shit. Why fuck should they care to prevent you from reading a walkthrough? I think thats a stupid argument and I dont think its even the reason why they did it.

 

[Revenant]

Because the whole point of playing games like Gothic 3 is to explore every possible nook and cranny of the game world, and that way you will inevitably find all the sequential chests. In G3, you can't "miss out" on places because the whole gameworld remains open to you at all times, 100 percent. That's one of the reasons I like this game so much - its total freedom. And by "reading the walkthrough" I meant going for the most powerful gear A.S.A.P., which sequential chests prevent a lot.

 

[Morkar Left]

Handplaced loot would have greatly enhanced the gaming experience in Gothic 3. It's really boring when you know that you will only find loot you like after you opened the 7th chest, no matter in which order you opened them. Gothic lived greatly from the sense of accomplishment when you managed to get some loot you weren't supposed to have in a regular fashion but by exploration/trying/tricks and sometimes exploits (not bugs).
The difficulty was still balanced by attribute requirements (which I never really liked) for the weapons.

 

[made]

The difficulty was still balanced by attribute requirements (which I never really liked) for the weapons.

Which makes much of the loot you find by randomly exploring initially useless. The weapons you find you can't use (most have a 1:1 dmg to stat ratio), and the stat boosters you find you shouldn't use because they'd be wasted in the early stages. The exception are the DEX-based weapons with their 2:1 ratio which makes them quite OP when you get them.

It's kinda broken design, but surprisingly it still works out really well in practice and exploration in G2 feels much more rewarding than in the latter titles.

 

[Morkar Left]

Well, it's basically like in Diablo action rpgs with the requirements. It's up to you how to spend your points on attributes and skills, but I think it works better in G1 than in G2 NotR. The problem with the statboosters is more an oversight from PB than anything else I guess. But there it might still be a good decision to take them when you just need a few points for the next awesome weapon.

But all in all I would have preferred a more fluid system. Maybe reduce damage when you don't have the attribute requirements but still enough to have an advantage when you find a superior weapon.

 

[cvv]

Ok, it's done. Well, it's definitely a great RPG, no doubt about it. As was pointed out many time before, the world and setting is just so alive and memorable. Especially compared to Divinity: Original Sin that I had played before, with glorious combat but almost everything else being utterly boring, bland, forgettable, juvenile, cliched and pointless.

In Gothic 3, the exact opposite is true. Although I found the claims about the melee combat being "terribad" and "trash" a little bit exagarrated, to say the least. Maybe in vanilla it was really bad but with all the most recent patches and tweaks switched on it is your typical PB combat, with all the pros and cons. Of course the mage gameplay is, as usual in a PB game, simply bad. You just spam fireball and maybe get a few Flamewaves or Ice Explosions in, if you're lucky. But I guess the archer gameplay is just as monotone. Although it is balanced out by the fact that both mages and archers are very weak for the first 1/3 game so Myrtana is a bit of a struggle.

Too bad then that I personally found Myrtana by far the least interesting. So for me it was a struggle through a meh world. I almost dropped the game. Glad I didn't because I found both Nordmar and Varant great. The vistas, the architecture, the mood of the places was absolutely terrific.

So for all doubters my recommendation is - definitely give this one a crack, especially if you like open world. This RPG is as open as they get. Install the latest patch, switch on both Alternative Balancing and Alternative AI. Also, install the content mod. I didn't and sort of regretted it because it gives purpose to a lot of items, ingredients, places and characters that were left unfinished or half-finished in the vanilla, plus it adds a lot of weapons, armors and such. And yeah, go with mage. The first part of the game is gonna be a struggle but by the time you travel north you'll be glad you don't have to hack through the absolutely idiotic number of enemies with melee.

 

[throwaway]

Which path did you opt for?

FWIW, I'd say the Questpacket+Content Mod combo ups the content density by 25-30%. If you ever feel like replaying I'd say it's definitely worth it.

 

[cvv]

Which path did you opt for?

FWIW, I'd say the Questpacket+Content Mod combo ups the content density by 25-30%. If you ever feel like replaying I'd say it's definitely worth it.

I took the Adanos path, naturally, death to all gods, kings and tyrants!

But boy, what a weird ending. And people complained about Mass Effect 3 not ending with some spectacular huge boss battle. Here you just take a long stroll with an old wizard through half the continent and then simply disappear into a portal in a bare rock. Well, why not, I guess.

 

[Gnidrologist]

Tbh, Pyranha had lost their plot about loot placing long time ago. For example, in Risen you get these ''parts'' of some perceived great sword, but when you assemble it (smiting skill) it's a shitty sword, because you have already a better one from fucking shop. None of the custom swords, except obsidian two-hander are worth anything.

 

[subotaiy]

So I'm thinking replaying this and I remember there was at least one other big mod besides CP which tried to modify the quest structure/story. Anyone knows if it has been released in english?

 

[krist2]

Well, you have quest paket 4.2 http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_433.htm, it's in german, but you can choose english subtitles.
Patch 1.75 international http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_478.htm
And content mod 2.6 international http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_489.htm

So you first have to:
1 install gothic 3
2 so install 1.75 http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_478.htm
3 Questpaket v4.2 + Kompatibilitäts-Update zum CP v1.75 http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_433.htm
4 Content-Mod v2.6.3 http://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_489.htm

You should know that German QuestPaket v4 Update 2 setup contains complete in-game texts on the 5 European languages (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) and after QP installation you can use an English subtitles.

 

[Morkar Left]

Content Mod comes already with the Consequences Mod (recommended) and the Questpaket is mandatory for the content mod. It may take some time to figure out which options you like from the content mod (you can chose when you install): title screen, HUD, which orc style (go with light), look of monsters (oldschool gothic or G3) etc.

What I haven't tried but seems interesting is to install the "Gothic 3 Enhanced Edition v1.75 Update Pack (International)" which brings some enhancements/alterations to the engine which wasn't possible before.

All in all it's really nice to have all the good mods work together. I restarted the game yesterday with everything installed besides the update pack and it feels really great. More explaining dialog, more story, better graphics with more of the original style (without removing the G3 style) etc. The only drawback so far seems to be the economy. I feel like I get too much loot and therefore have too much money. But I'm not entirely sure about that because learning isn't unexpensive either. Let's see.

Overall a really, really great experience.

I'm really looking forward to the story mod project which will bring in even more to the table.

 

[subotaiy]

I'l give the Enhanced Edition a try, since you can finally block animal attacks, thanks. The Questpack seems to suffer from poor translation so I'll skip it.

 

[throwaway]

Just FYI, the Quest pack adds about 20% to the original game, and about 25% of it is absolutely horribly translated. It was off-throwing for me but I still thought it was worth it.

 

[taxalot]

I had no idea the game had an active modding scene. Is Gothic 3 worth a replay if you finished it at release and were seriously disappointed by a game with broken combat and a staggering amount of low quality quests ?

 

[Morkar Left]

Definitely. The cp patches and additional mod packs make the game pretty good. I would say 8/10 score.

Unlike some G1/G2 mods, the G3 mods enhance the original game without adding nonsensical clutter and modders personal fapping stuff. The additional content is made to flesh out the exisiting game and not meant to provide a vastly different experience / story. The CM mod tries to establish the original look of the first Gothic games and takes it a bit too far imo in some things but it's all optional.

But I can't say anything about the quality of the translations of these mods. I play only in German.

Of course you could still wait till the csp mod comes along with translation but I guess that qould probably take another 3 years at least...

 

[cvv]

I had no idea the game had an active modding scene. Is Gothic 3 worse a replay if you finished it at release and were seriously disappointed by a game with broken combat and a staggering amount of low quality quests ?

I first played it like a year ago with most of the patches and mods and now it's one of the best RPGs ever made in my book, even despite all the rougher edges. I liked it even better than G2 NotR - and I'm a huge fan of NotR - mostly because I love open-world games and G3 has probably the most open world, like, ever. At least I don't know of any other RPG where you can travel almost anywhere on the map from the very get go. Plus you don't feel the story is aimed mostly at 9 year old chilren with brain damage, unlike pretty much every other fantasy game that came out in the last 15 years.

Yes, I'm a big fan of G3.

 

[catfood]

Do any of these mods make Nordmar not suck? I remember that place was nothing but one big orc and skeleton grinding zone.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I first played it like a year ago with most of the patches and mods and now it's one of the best RPGs ever made in my book, even despite all the rougher edges. I liked it even better G2 NotR - and I'm a huge fan of NotR - mostly because I love open-world games and G3 has probably the most open world, like, ever. At least I don't know of any other RPG where you can travel almost anywhere on the map from the very get go. Plus you don't feel the story is aimed mostly at 9 year old chilren with brain damage, unlike pretty much every other fantasy game that came out in the last 15 years.

Yes, I'm a big fan of G3.

I love Gothic 3 too. I can count on one hand the number of RPGs I've played where you really can choose who to side with. Bloodlines, Fallout New Vegas, and Gothic 3 - and only in Gothic 3 does the game really change depending on who you pick. Bloodlines always ends at Ventrue Tower (or whatever it is called), New Vegas always ends at Hoover Dam.

I thought it was great to not have someone telling you what to do all the time and you can basically write your own story. Xardas told me to do some things and I ended up doing the opposite of everything he asked. I remember ending my first playthrough taking out all the Orcs in Nordmar, and a bunch of Hashashin guys in the biggest city in Varant, I think I ended up siding with the human King and the fire mages. I spent the other 100~ hours keeping the power balance until I decided who should win.

So, C&Cs basically depend on who you side with and who you decide to leave alive. The quests are basically "Fetch me X", but what I adored about the game is that if you go full autism and pick up everything, you end up getting quests which you can solve right away just by handing over furs or weapon bundles or whatever, and get a fuckload of XP and gold for it. It may not be complex gameplay but it sure feels rewarding. I loved meeting up with some guy who asked me to clear out enemies at his farm, and be able to tell him "Yeah, I already did that. Reward please." You never, ever get the MMO syndrome of "Wait, you want me to gather mushrooms/kill goblins in Cave X? I was just there!".

Gothic 3 also has an amazing soundtrack and excellent world design.

 

[cvv]

Do any of these mods make Nordmar not suck? I remember that place was nothing but one big orc and skeleton grinding zone.

There's a quest to clear all of the orc camps but first, you don't have to do it, second it's not that bad with good gear and skill and third there are a lot of phat lewt and experience as a reward. Fighting skeletons on the other hand is annoying as fuck as a melee and fucking slow as a mage. But again, it's all optional.

Overall, there's a lot of fighting even if you skip most of the orcs and skeletons. But it's not like Nordmar is some sort of unbearable hell or something. Overall it's actually a great area with a fantastic atmosphere, some great quests and factions. A lot of people on the forums either hillariously exaggerate or their whining applies to vanilla which could very well have been pretty bad. But that's irrelevant now.

 

[Weirdstuffinspace]

Tried it so many times. It will take quantum computers for this game to run without stutters.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Tried it so many times. It will take quantum computers for this game to run without stutters.

On release I used to have to wait 5-10 minutes on loading screens, at least modern PCs have solved that issue.

I think the stuttering will never really go. It is less to do with raw CPU or GPU power (the hardware of today could solve that through brute force), and more to do with the bad engine. There's no actual reason why it should be so intensive seeing how distant LOD textures are basically non-existent.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

If there is one mod Gothic 3 needs, it's one that makes the combat music either start at a random point of the track, or picks any random combat track. Or doesn't start any combat track at all. Anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhFDdJsSylU

These first five seconds have caused more PTSD than Irak.

It just wouldn't be Gothic 3 without that combat music, though. Brings back memories of fighting off hordes and hordes of Orcs with that awful click-click-click-click combat system. I can hear the grunts and yells too.