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timejunky
Village Dweller
Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 3
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Hi guys, i accidently found your forum on purpose and well, i had nothing to do so I translated the pcgames article. If it is too illegal, then delete it pls. Also my english is not the very best, and it is very late, but i hope its understandable. It is still missing the big interview part, if I find the passion I will do that tomorrow.
Gothic 3
A Celebration for Rpgamers: Gothic 3 by Piranha Bytes is supposed to bring you more visual splendour, more interactivity and a once again bigger world than ever before.
You wouldn't recognize the success[in germany it was a huge success] by the look of the headquarters of Piranha Bytes: In the city of Essen one of the most famous german gamestudios resides in a simple 2-family-house; neither noble damasken curtains nor golden washroom armatures await you, instead the visitor sees the legere ambiente of a student group house. The first two parts of Gothic sold millions of copies though, but the aquired fame isn't worth talking about to those people anymore. "Since the VUD-Gold-Award[important germanish thingy] for more than 100.000 sold copies, wie stopped counting", grins chief of grafic Horst Dworczak. Of Course the fact, that Gothic 2 on christmas three years ago was celebrated as an interactive masterpiece, keeps the expectancies of the fans for the third installment on a very high level.
With a rather conservative attitude on the conceptional side, the makers of the rpg-epos want to take many things from the predecessors into the new game, and only change details. "The game lived of its free world", explains game designer Björn Pankratz. "You could take the quests the order you wanted; the gameplay was simple and the advancement of the charakter comparatively easy. Fundamentally, we want to keep those things the way they are, of course."
Narrative Tricks
Still word-meagerly are the Esseners considering the story of Gothic 3. Was the Player in the predecessor still wandering around in a fantasyworld troubled by the war of men and orc, those bad guys now won the upper hand in the third part. That does not mean, however, that Gothic 3 is inahbited by hordes of dumb, bullnecked greenlings. It's more likely that every orc-tribe pursuits its own goals and has its own special culture. Naturally, that doesn't keep these rough guys from enslaving mankind, but it delivers an interesting, new frame of action for the player.
The outcome of the war and the breakdown of human civilization allows for a tactical trick in design: Because of the damage, marauding hordes of orcs caused, all magic is gone, and must be rediscovered by the player. "In the first part, we started as a convict, being able of nothing, heading into the world, litteraly armed with a rusty nail", says Björn Pankratz. "Same thing with the second part, again we would start as a newbie, who hardly could free himself from an avalanche of rubble. However, in Gothic 3 the hero has to be a proven man, because at least he slayed some dragons. So, you have to have certain basic abilities. We can explain the needed acquisition of magic abilities with the fact, that the magic left the world. That means in consequence, that the main character maybe somewhat weaker than at the end of gothic 2, but you will have some basic knowledge, sophisticated fight moves, and not anymore just a simple weapon to start with.
Globetrotter with indirections
Set up for adventures in such a way, the hero may galumph much more ample areas than in the predecessor. With 20 towns to visit, Gothic 3 may just be three times as big as Gothic 2. Along the lines of those classic forest areas, you tramp an ice world in the north and in the south a big desert with bizarre Slawenburgen[those are round castles of wood, made by slavonic people].
"All areas are hand-made, nothing is simply generated", Horst Dworczak annunciates. "Similar to the other Gothic-games dungeons are not the focus of the game, though, mostly you will find yourself somewhere in the countryside, or visiting towns." The extended artificial intelligence ought to make the journey through the execrated realm much more lifelike. Beside 40 to 50 different monster types including racial variations, every area is populated by a rich variety of animals. Every zone has its own kind of predator, which is at the top of the food chain and rules the native fauna. Of course in Gothic 3 you will meet your well-known creatures like for example the Scavenger running-bird, but those birds act more believably this time. "For example you will experience the birds having a complex hunting behaviour", promises Bjön Pankratz. "The creatures watch their surrounding consciously and ambuscade their prey specifically." Potential victims are for instance rough rhino-like "Hornrammer", which again stick to their race-specific group and fleeing patterns. That way an attack on a flock of pachyderms can provoke a panicky stampede, causing death between those that are in their way.
Value-added-controls
The Esseners have also worked on the controls. The keyboard system of the first chapters, consequently aimed towards console-ish steering using few keys, was one of the elements that was criticized by the players, needing some time to get used to it. "In Gothic 1 we tried to implement simple keyboard controls the way consols do it", Björn Pankratz reckons. "Some players did not accustom with it fast enough. We will now put a mouse control into practice and follow the models usually found in 3D-RPG's." Using the new, context depending mouse control, the most obvious action in the given situation, like for example attacking an enemy, will be executed with a left click, while a right click opens a pop-up menue, that offers further possibilities of interaction. "That way I can combine an object in my inventory with another object in a simple way", Björn Pankratz explains. "For example, you can right click an anvil to use the matching object - this case a hammer - with it. On the other hand using the primary function, you trigger the most obvious action. A flare on the wall can be lighted this way with a left click. A right click would give you the additional option to take the flare with you."
New friends, old friends
Notedly more free is the player considering the choice with whom to make friends. At the beginning, the hero again journeys the world as a lonely fighter, with you watching over his shoulder, but he can make friends with nearly every passerby, or even recrute some mercenary for certain quests. "Of course we will direct the player here and cut the choices down to the real cool characters, but nevertheless you will have more freedom in Gothic 3 than ever before." Gothic-veterans will meet some old friends though. Comrades-in-arms like for instance Diego appear again and can be recruited. Were we once reliant upon three guilds, now the player finds a world in Gothic 3 where six ethnic groups await him as a partner. There are the assassinating slave-hunters, nomades, forest-people, the rebells loyal to the king and naturally the orcs. This of course leads to a differentiated course of quests, because heroic deeds for one group arent necessarily in the interest of all of them. "There are three basic paths for the whole game, but we decided to always implement several ways to complete a mission", announces Björn Pankratz. Because most of the 20 towns are owned by orcs now, the hero even can initiate revolts of the inhabitants. The population, that is to say, has a superordinated ai to control it, and so they notice when/if the hero has assassinated a certain number of orcs. That will encourage them to also attack the most hated occupying forces.
Finest fantasy-art
Looking at Gothic 3, at first sight, the massively cranked up grafic-engine attracts attention.
Wandering through the countryside, one encounters all kinds of animated vegetation, and cottages with their individually carpentered huts act much more organic than in the predecessors: No tree and no dwelling is like the next one. The monsters seem so lifelike, as if they issued directly from Jurassic Park; the townsmen wear detailed, partly colorful garderobe with chrome-sparkling armorparts. The walk through the forest is underlined by an exciting soundtrack: cracking branches and suspicious rustling in the coppice are supposed to set the player in a state of emergeny all the time. The tender sounds of shawms, which ensnare the walking hero, change into dramatic orchestra music when danger is near.
The recently trendy multiplayer mode is rejected though by the Esseners. Also, Björn Pankratz does not see real competition in online-RPG's like World of Warcraft:"WoW is a totally differently aimed game. We see online-RPG's more like being a competition between players: Who can show of his best armor, who can impress whith his mighty spells of magic? We, with Gothic 3, offer a much more complex mechanic of quests, rely on a sophisticated AI. That is a totally different form of Entertainment." |
Sun May 01, 2005 2:26 am |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
Welcome to the forum! 
At first glance it seems to be a good translation. Very close to the German original. That´s a good thing. Magazine articles are always open for interpretation - now our community members can see what they make out of the new infos.
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Sun May 01, 2005 4:15 am |
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Stiler
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 23 Mar 2002
Posts: 230
Location: TN, USA |
Thanks for the translation , very much appericated.
Though I really wish they would have worked on having a season system and not used the old and tired "north = winter, south = desert, etc" type system. I'd love to have snow that falls and builds up over time and such then watching it melt and change into spring/summer, then into fall and then back to winter. |
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Sun May 01, 2005 8:44 am |
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Sem
Solid as a Rock
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 3386
Location: at the Dot |
quote:
Originally posted by Stiler
Thanks for the translation , very much appericated.
Though I really wish they would have worked on having a season system and not used the old and tired "north = winter, south = desert, etc" type system. I'd love to have snow that falls and builds up over time and such then watching it melt and change into spring/summer, then into fall and then back to winter.
The world will be so large that there will be more than one climate. In that case it's only logical to have desert in the south and snowy lands in the north, just like the in the regions above our equator. When you look at it as a very large area then it makes a lot of sense.
Thanks, timejunky. My german is pretty well and I'd already read the german text, but the translation clarifies a lot.
I wonder what the other class is:
1. Nomads
2. Assassins from the slave-hunters.
3. Orcs
4. Rebels loyal to the king
5. Forest people
When you divide it over the three regions you would get:
1. Nomads and Assassins in the south
2. Rebels and Forest people in the forest area
3. Orcs throughout the country.
4. Orc Hunters/Nordmarr warriors in the snowy area?
KaiRo said that they Orc Hunters (like my avatar) were still in, but do they mean Orc Hunters when they say Forest People or is it a different group.
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Sun May 01, 2005 10:02 am |
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TrD
Village Dweller
Joined: 26 Apr 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Porto - Portugal |
Thank you for the translation, sounds very good.
I'm looking forward to this game. |
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Sun May 01, 2005 10:40 am |
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elkston
High Emperor
Joined: 21 Sep 2002
Posts: 691
Location: North Carolina, USA |
timejunky, Welcome to the boards and thank you for the good translation. Like the others have said I am eagerly awaiting this game !!!
Hopefully ES IV: Oblivion will come out towards the end of the year and that will keep us all busy until G3 arrives. I"m almost as excited about Oblivion too ...
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All shall hear the words of Karras...the words of Karras |
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Sun May 01, 2005 2:19 pm |
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timejunky
Village Dweller
Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 3
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quote:
Originally posted by Sem
Thanks, timejunky. My german is pretty well and I'd already read the german text, but the translation clarifies a lot.
I wonder what the other class is:
1. Nomads
2. Assassins from the slave-hunters.
3. Orcs
4. Rebels loyal to the king
5. Forest people
When you divide it over the three regions you would get:
1. Nomads and Assassins in the south
2. Rebels and Forest people in the forest area
3. Orcs throughout the country.
4. Orc Hunters/Nordmarr warriors in the snowy area?
KaiRo said that they Orc Hunters (like my avatar) were still in, but do they mean Orc Hunters when they say Forest People or is it a different group.
The consensus on the german board seems to be, that yes the 6th group are the northern warriors, orc hunters so to speak. Also they are not quite sure what 20 towns means, whether they count in all those places like little camps of mercenaries or if that really are 20 cities as big as Khorinis.
I also can not await the release of this game, and I am very excited about ES IV Oblivion, too, because they seem to have eradicated the thing that did not please me at all in ES III, which was the "dead" world, because somewhere they said they will have daily schedules too for their NPCs and hopefully more voice overs and less text.
Thanks for the welcome folks and here comes the translation of the interview with game designer Bjoern Pankratz.
Interview:
PcG: What makes G3 better than the predecessor and what makes it better than the competitition?
Björn Pankratz: "Compared to what we've done before, the most signifikant difference is the size of the world - it is much more comprehensive. We will build much more NPC's and missions into the lacy quest mechanics. Further you will be able to align yourself with more than just 3 guilds, that means not just only paladins, mages and mercenaries like before. We replace the guilds with so called ethnic groups, like for example the rebels and orcs, which conquered the land."
PcG: How does the player benefit from that?
BP: "Having it this way, it is possible to accomplish more tasks simultaneously, for example building up your skills in various professions, like, say being a gladiator. The orcs hold exhibition fights in their camps, but you also gain much fame with humans being a big fighter. A typical gladiator career would start somewhere in a pigpen where you attract attention through fighting some other guys and then later you stand your man in those big orc-arenas.
In contrast to other games, we score with our main feature - a world really alive. The daily schedules of the NPCs seem very lifelike, whereas the competition just uses premade paths. Our NPCs follow a day and night change, but also they follow the cycle of production in their specific profession. A smith for instance at first hammers at the anvil, then goes to a bucket of water to cool down the sword. In the evening he would go to the tavern perhaps and then later he would go to bed."
PcG: In G3, will we be under way mostly alone or are there more companions than before?
BP: "There will also be a party-mode. In some other games you get one or more fellows forced into your group without them having an own background and always reacting the same way regardless of situation. In G3 it will be possible to chose your wanted party members and recruit them, with everyone of them having an own life and pursuing own interests. Some companions will say the player goodbye with the words "I am not going in there", for example at certain points in the game."
PcG: Considering the freedom in playing, Gothic always was quite non-linear, will the gameplay be even more free?
BP: "Yes, definitely! You can move around in the world totally free and visit every city to solve your quests. There will be no closed doors, where finding a key for them is needed. The only thing that would eventually hamper the player is, he may not have enough experience for a certain task, or he is maybe not powerful enough to solve a quest right now, so he has to wait until later in the game. It is also possible that they say to you:"At first do this or that, and then come back!". But the rest lays in the hands of the player."
PcG: One question on the physics engine: Will enemies, that I kill while they stand on some stairway for example fall down realistically?
BP: "In G3 there will be no gameplay physics like in some recent shooters, where you have puzzles in such a way:'Put that barrel this way'. The ragdoll physic you mentioned will be in the game in any case though."
PcG: You don't say much regarding graphics and required hardware. It is only known that the graphics will be up to date. What else can you tell us about that?
BP: "What will be of some interest for the gamers, the minimum spec for the graphic card will be a GeForce3. There will be a freely adjustable system, in contrast to the predecessors though. Not owning the graphic card required for all effects at release, you can find the optimal configuration for your system with various sliders."
PcG: There where already some great mods coming out of the community for both games. Will you support those people with tools and the like?
BP: "Yes, such steps are definitely in preparation, but giving out SDKs and similar things is a business decision. Admittedly, the kits made available in the past where not very powerful, but all of the mods where quite good. The community of fans is quite big and thankful for everything we put at their disposal - and we will respond to that further. Tools like the editor are at first place thought for us internally, but we will quite certainly make something like that available for download at some point in the future, that will not be as complex and complicated as the unreal editor."
PcG: The add-on The Night of the Raven for Gothic 2 was recieved enthusiastically so to speak. Is G3 prepared for add-ons?
BP: "The game is prepared for that of course, for bringing add-ons to the market given the circumstance. Whether we do that or rather work on a fourth installment or even start a totally new project depends mostly on business."
PcG: Do you see yourself as a specialized RPG-studio or do you also want to produce other kinds of games?
BP: "We consider ourself a RPG-studio in the first place. Also the genre is not as extremely technology-bound as for example 3D-shooter. But we stay open minded regarding innovative ideas."
PcG: Thank you for the conversation!
(yay im on shacknews) |
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Sun May 01, 2005 2:42 pm |
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Sem
Solid as a Rock
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 3386
Location: at the Dot |
quote:
Originally posted by timejunky
Also they are not quite sure what 20 towns means, whether they count in all those places like little camps of mercenaries or if that really are 20 cities as big as Khorinis.
KaiRo clarified this on the german WoG board. With cities they mean both little villages as well as large towns. I think for a little village you can take something like Onar's farm, maybe somewhat bigger. On the other hand there will be really large towns even bigger than Khorinis, there sure will be some kind of big orc city and of course the capital of Myrtana.
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"Who are we to call this planet Earth, when it's clearly Ocean."
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Sun May 01, 2005 3:41 pm |
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garretdenton
Village Dweller
Joined: 22 Aug 2004
Posts: 20
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After reading all that..I just can't wait! 
Btw, about the loading..will it be like gothic 2 where there are no loads between indoors and outdoors or will it be like morrowind where there are such loads. I hope it's the latter as in the previous games... |
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Sun May 01, 2005 3:59 pm |
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Lysander
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 09 Apr 2002
Posts: 265
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quote:
Originally posted by Sem
quote:
Originally posted by timejunky
Also they are not quite sure what 20 towns means, whether they count in all those places like little camps of mercenaries or if that really are 20 cities as big as Khorinis.
KaiRo clarified this on the german WoG board. With cities they mean both little villages as well as large towns. I think for a little village you can take something like Onar's farm, maybe somewhat bigger. On the other hand there will be really large towns even bigger than Khorinis, there sure will be some kind of big orc city and of course the capital of Myrtana.
How have the Orcs had time to build a big city? |
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Sun May 01, 2005 8:52 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
The same way the US built Bagdad. 
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Webmaster GothicDot |
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Sun May 01, 2005 10:52 pm |
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DarkWeaver
A Dark Prince
Joined: 07 Dec 2003
Posts: 517
Location: The Netherlands |
Nicely translated timejunky! Thanks. |
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Mon May 02, 2005 2:22 am |
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SlamDunk
Village Leader
Joined: 26 Dec 2001
Posts: 86
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Thank you very much for your translation work 
Very good and interesting reading
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one two tree |
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Mon May 02, 2005 7:44 am |
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Sem
Solid as a Rock
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 3386
Location: at the Dot |
quote:
Originally posted by Gorath
The same way the US built Bagdad.
Just a guess, my history knowledge isn't what it's supposed to be:
With slaves!?
The orcs certainly would, because they enslaved a lot of humans after winning the war.
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"Who are we to call this planet Earth, when it's clearly Ocean."
-- News Editor of GothicDot --
-- Moderator of the RPGDot Shadows --
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Mon May 02, 2005 11:44 am |
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Lysander
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 09 Apr 2002
Posts: 265
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorath
The same way the US built Bagdad.
Orcs are much taller than humans. It's unlikely they could use pre-existing human-built structures. |
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Mon May 02, 2005 12:00 pm |
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