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Demo - Not Impressed
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RPGDot Forums > Gothic - General

Author Thread
Hawkwind
Head Merchant
Head Merchant




Joined: 10 Oct 2001
Posts: 54
   

Just downloaded the demo, and my first impression was that it looked pretty dated. The graphics weren't very crisp, and the detail was so-so. Performance wasn't spectacular either, on my fairly beefy system. It seems to be similar in concept to Blade Of Darkness - but nowhere near as good. Blade Of Darkness with all eye-candy at max absolutely flew on my system - this game just stumbles along, even with lower resolution & attributes. I realize it's just the demo, but I found the interface very clumsy, I couldn't map my mouse buttons and I cannot understand the inventory system and how to use it, or figure out how to obtain items from chests - OR how to fight with weapons. Since there was no read-me with the demo, I haven't been able to do much of anything.

==Hawkwind==

[ This Message was edited by: Hawkwind on 2001-10-10 19:46 ]
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 12:45 am
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Kveldulf
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 16 Sep 2001
Posts: 23
Location: Albany OR.
   

Hmm, you can't figure any of that out? Well then you must feel pretty stupid. An rpg is no fps, you'll actually have to pay attention to get something out of it. Blade of Darkness completely sucked, absolutely no AI to speak of, 'bad guys' simply run right at you and fight to the death.


I'm tired of idiots who can't figure out the simple keyboard commands of a computer game. Stop trying to play this game like Quake. There is more than one way to do something, so how can all you people admit your idiocy so readily. Just do it.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 1:55 am
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Raldor
Keeper of the Gates
Keeper of the Gates




Joined: 27 Sep 2001
Posts: 107
   

Well, the game isn't the same concept as Blade of Darkness, but I think his point about the eye candy is valid. IMO Blade of Darkness looks much better, but of course that shouldn't be the main focus of an rpg (and Blade of Darkness isn't really an rpg).

By the way, I didn't find the Gothic demo very hard to figure out (except when I was trying to translate the german version), and I look forward to buying the game AND I liked Blade of Darkness as an action game..go figure.

Hawkwind, give it a little more time. It's not a brutal action game like Blade of Darkness. I wish I remembered the controls now so I could tell you how to play. From what I remember, you use CTRL mixed with other keys a lot. It's been a while since I played it. Doesn't it say what key combos do what in the options menu somewhere?
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 3:21 am
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I totally disagree about the graphics. I am running 1024x768 32bit color w/AA enabled and all graphics detail settings at maximum. The game looks spectacular.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 6:06 am
 
Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

For help with the controls have a look at this thread:

http://www.rpgdot.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=202&forum=2&7
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 10:21 am
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Lanael
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 147
Location: lyon - France
   

eye-candy tells what it tells : soft for the eye as a candy...

blade is cute because of real-time shadows...
but it's a bit low-polygons compares to gothic

Gothic has no real-time shadows but a really original look...

IMHO, Arx will make you the same effect !

Anyway, it takes all kind to make a world.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 10:48 am
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Llama
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 11 Oct 2001
Posts: 509
Location: Earth
   

The controls are a bit overwhelming at first, and have turn a few people away from this game. They aren't conventional but they are brilliant when you realize how they work.

Once I got used to them (about 30 minutes of going over them) I realized just how smooth they were. You don't have to map out 50 keys to do all your actions, so you just use a very small portion of the keyboard, which for me at least, is nice because I don't like my controls spread out when I game.

The graphics are some of the best I've seen. Very clean character models, the mouths look like they have depth (unlike every other 3d game that uses moving mouths for speach). The landscape is wonderful, and very believable at the same time.

You can pump out high framerates with a lot of options turned on with this engine. I can deal with the rather ancient shadows because everything else makes up for it.

Blade of Darkness was a good game, but the enemy AI was horrid you could simply use the same movement pattern for every enemy in the game, then pull off some combo and watch them die. BoD had detailed gore and a highly advanced engine with the best physics system seen in a game to date. What it didn't have was a good story, and if you've beaten the game you'll also notice it had no ending.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 12:48 pm
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Stiletto
God Emperor
God Emperor




Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 312
Location: Orlando, Florida
   

Gothic does have poor documentation with the demo as far as learning the controls go. I learned more in a couple of posts here than I did from the Gothic readme and the in game keymapping. I must disagree with the graphics being dated. It is quite a beautiful game graphically. It also runs very well on my system. I have a P3 933, 256MB, Radeon 32MB. Nothing extreme, but a decent machine. I don't think he should be called "stupid" for not understanding the controls, they are quite different and hard to get in the beginning. Once you learn them though, it is quite easy to play. Everything is a combination of left mouse button plus the arrow keys. You should be able to play no problem with one hand on the keyboard, one hand on the mouse at all times.

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Stiletto
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Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 1:18 pm
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bigkabuto
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 14 Sep 2001
Posts: 591
Location: Holland/Groningen
   

Damn usually i don't like Rpg games..but as soon as i started the game, i thought ..hey this is special...and the word special went to SPECTACULAIR.the detail and realism is fantastic...the mouths of people really open and close when talking...there's an magnificent Day and night feature...the AI is very good...just the mood of the game when you walk trough that castle gate into the village with all the NPC's really doing their things...the graphics are just very good...and don't compare to Severance
cause like that other person said..great graphics but gameplay like a ass...it's boring...and you can't say that about Gothic... i have played the demo a milion times and counting(wel not really) but i just doesn't get boring..i can play the demo all day...because of the big freedom in the game anything is possible..what i did was pissing the people in the village off..and got them all against me..stealing their stuff....i could go on for hours!!!!!!!!!!!!

and don't go say crap like..Not impressed..
cause you just can't say that when you haven't experienced gothic for real...playing for some minutes are definetely NOT ENOUGH at all to judge the demo...



[ This Message was edited by: bigkabuto on 2001-10-11 09:55 ]
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 2:51 pm
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Kveldulf
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 16 Sep 2001
Posts: 23
Location: Albany OR.
   

I don't call people stupid for not understanding the controls, because I, myself, didn't understand them at first. I call people stupid when they expect something to be just like everything else, and then whine, cry, and give up on it when it's not.

My barb was directed at many people on many forums whom I've heard complain about the controls, and they complain that the controls are not 'intuitive' when they really mean conventional. The Gothic controls are good for third person games, and are very intuitive and a little unconventional.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 7:26 pm
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Stiletto
God Emperor
God Emperor




Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 312
Location: Orlando, Florida
   

intuitive adj 1: derived from or prompted by a natural tendency

When you don't know the controls they are not intuitive. Because they are unconventional as you say. Once you learn them, they are natural and intuitive. The problem is, the instructions and keyboard mapping in the game does not help you learn the controls very well. I agree with that gripe. PB could have done a better job explaining how to control things. Maybe a little tutorial or something.

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Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 7:49 pm
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

In the German full version they explain the controls during the installation. You can see some nice and instructive graphics while 1.2GB of data are copied
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 7:56 pm
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Kveldulf
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 16 Sep 2001
Posts: 23
Location: Albany OR.
   

Stiletto, I disagree completely, the controls are unconventional only to people who only play first person shooters, it takes only a tiny bit of time to make them feel natural. Since I learned the controls in only a few minutes (in a language I didn't understand) I find it hard to understand what so many people are griping about. I used the word intuitive in it's proper meaning and do not need your vocabulary lesson.
Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 8:30 pm
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Rendelius
Critical Error
Critical Error




Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 16
Location: Austria
   

It took me some time to learn them, even with german being my first language. My biggest problems were with the trading interface. But after some time, I got used to them

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Post Thu Oct 11, 2001 8:55 pm
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Hawkwind
Head Merchant
Head Merchant




Joined: 10 Oct 2001
Posts: 54
   

quote:

Hmm, you can't figure any of that out? Well then you must feel pretty stupid.



What the hell is *your* problem? What crawled up your ass**** and died?

None of the controls followed any sort of pattern that I could see, or options typical to this sort of game.

quote:


An rpg is no fps, you'll actually have to pay attention to get something out of it.




Oh, MORE insults. Who the hell do you think you are?

quote:


Blade of Darkness completely sucked, absolutely no AI to speak of, 'bad guys' simply run right at you and fight to the death.




What utter drivel. You sound as if you never actually played it. The enemies ducked, dodged, parried, and behaved in some of the best AI that I have ever seen. You have no clue what you're talking about.

quote:


I'm tired of idiots who can't figure out the simple keyboard commands of a computer game.




You just can't type more than a few words without insults, can you? My oh my. What a high opinion you have of yourself. Your post REEKS of arrogance. Are all the people you associate with, required to bow in your presence?

quote:


Stop trying to play this game like Quake.




No, YOU stop being so damn condescending and superior. If you want to give advice to people, start talking to them in a manner that indicates you're giving them helpful hints or ideas...not carving them up in print.

I am NOT new to RPGs. I was playing them back when there was no such *thing* as CRPGs - only pen & paper D & D. I've played practically every CRPG that's been released...so don't talk down to ME.

quote:


There is more than one way to do something




Yes, and there's also more than one way to talk to people. Seems you have lots to learn in that regard, chum.

==Hawkwind==
Post Fri Oct 12, 2001 12:11 am
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