33 Gothic 3 screenshots from HQ ingame footage

[Tigranes]

Two things on the last interface shot; the bloom is still horrible (although it looks like sunset time, which would make it worse than it is usually) and the icons are really silly and don't fit in. Other than that, I have no problems with both the UI and the graphics beneath, looks pretty good.

 

But yes, I think we're all looking forward to G3 regardless.

[Dhruin]

(Kaftan Barlast @ Sep 4 2006, 04:54 AM...through an adventure where you actions and choices have a noticeable effect on the outcome of the story.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find a game that promises the player's choices have more impact than G3.

[Kaftan Barlast]

(Kaftan Barlast @ Sep 4 2006, 04:54 AM...through an adventure where you actions and choices have a noticeable effect on the outcome of the story.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find a game that promises the player's choices have more impact than G3.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

G3 will have a story? No, but seriously, what have the devs promised?

[Dhruin]

Assuming you really are serious, here are some quotes.

 

"Gothic 3 is all about choices in the first place. Yes, there are great sword fights, powerful magic, a lifelike gaming world... but yet choices are the main gameplay element. The player can literally shape the world and influence the story through the way he's handling things. Most decisions have to be made in the field of human relations. The way the player is treating others influences their attitude towards him, and thus their cooperativeness depends on the right choice of words. With a dexterous tongue the hero can even talk a whole city into a revolution. This can also backfire on him, of course. If he falls out of favour with someone, he will most likely not get useful hints or lucrative quests. And yes, if the whole world wants him dead, he might at last regret his choices."

 

From RPG Codex

 

"The scope is much larger than the previous games, and we have added a number of improvements - apart from the stunning graphics and improved AI - that will make the world react to each action the player takes. This not only means that the city watch will try to arrest you if you steal from the merchant; you may also rise to lead whole settlements in revolt against the Orcish occupation or become a renowned gladiator or slave master. Your actions will have ramifications far beyond your immediate surroundings on a truly epic scale. This will, of course, mean that each and every game you play will be different and may end differently.

 

An important difference from many recent games comes about with the story and gameplay shift toward interacting with the world. You will need to find allies and supporters, not just in the sense of NPC henchman, but really on a wider scale. You may need to convince a barbarian tribe to help you storm the Orc camp, but for this, you must steal the totem of their rival tribe that will turn against you because of this. So, it is all about choices and consequences, which makes the game that much more alive."

 

"Sailing from his native island, the hero sets foot on the mainland shore and finds a world in turmoil - the human Middle Kingdom has been overrun by Orcs, who rule the population with an iron fist. You may choose to join the usurpers or the resistance, journey north to the free barbarian tribes to gather their support, or go south and be introduced into the mysteries of the slave trading assassins. The game will allow you to solve many quests on the way, gathering reputation with the many factions that you may want to join. In the end, you will be part of the great events that shape the future of the realm of men, and also discover more about your role in the prophecies of old..."

 

From RPG Vault

 

That will do - there's lots more of that. Will the game fulful those ambitions? Don't know. But there certainly seems to be an attempt to offer a range of "actions and choices" superior to most RPGs.

[Tigranes]

Of course, all that could be said about Oblivion, and we saw how 'gimmicky' many of its choices ended up being - despite some very good things it did. We will see. If there is a genuine attempt I doubt we will be disappointed.

[mkreku]

"Whatever you do in the game will impact your overall reputation, and this is important since there are so many factions that will take that into account. If you want to help the orcs, for example, you'll have to battle in the arena, starting small and then working your way up to the big coliseum battles. Prove you're good enough to survive those, and the orcs will respect you. On the other hand, help out the humans, and you'll find yourself on the bad side of the orcs. All the choices that you make will have an impact on the ending. In fact, when you do complete the game, you'll be presented with a montage of all your decisions, which will help explain how you arrived at your particular ending."

 

Sounds like a Fallout-ish kind of ending. I like that.

 

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/gothic3/news.html?sid=6155204

[Dhruin]

Of course, all that could be said about Oblivion, and we saw how 'gimmicky' many of its choices ended up being - despite some very good things it did. We will see. If there is a genuine attempt I doubt we will be disappointed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't think those things apply to Oblivion at all. I certainly couldn't join the enemy and work against the humans, and factional membership was almost entirely irrelevant to the rest of the gameworld.

[Morgoth]

Here are some pictures from the "Art of Gothic 3" book. Now I don't know if that is included in the CE, or as a seperate purchase. I know I could preorder that Book for EUR 25. Don't know if there'll be an English translation.

 

Anyway, here you go:

 

http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=http://www.crpg.ru/newspics/7100_artofg3_animation0135.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...mation0135.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...mation0135.jpg

http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=http://www.crpg.ru/newspics/7101_artofg3_konzeption0135.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...eption0135.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...eption0135.jpg

http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=http://www.crpg.ru/newspics/7102_artofg3_artdirection01.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...irection01.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h...irection01.jpg

http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=http://www.crpg.ru/newspics/7103_artofg3_editing01.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h..._editing01.jpg ://http://www.crpg.ru/image.php?file=h..._editing01.jpg

 

:cool:

[mkreku]

Cool ingame video (although in bad quality):

 

[Judge Hades]

Not impressed.

[Volourn]

That's a friggin' huge inventory! It's as badly as set up as the NWN one! Way too many inventory slots; but at least them seem to be all on one page. NWN had multiple pages which was silly; but at least it didn't treat armour like it was equal size to a potion.

 

Tsk, tsk.

 

 

P.S. I'll sya it again. I didn't care much for G1+2; but unlike the ES series I think the Gothic games had the potential to be better. Hopefully, G3 will meet that potential and from the sounds of it it has a chance.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Volourn

[Morgoth]

Some of the animations are still missing, but I'm sure they'll get into the final version. I also hope they improve the run-animation, because right now this looks more like biathlon.

 

That jerk in the background doing Paraworld commercials should get shot. ARRRRGHHHHH.

 

Nonetheless, I like the new interface. It's now better organized, and there's finally a decent Journal so when I pick up the game a month later, I still know what's going on.

 

One thing though I don't quite like is the new look of the nameless hero. The E3 version of that guy looked better, better defined face, and I miss the ponytail.

[Judge Hades]

That's a friggin' huge inventory! It's as badly as set up as the NWN one! Way too many inventory slots; but at least them seem to be all on one page. NWN had multiple pages which was silly; but at least it didn't treat armour like it was equal size to a potion.

 

Tsk, tsk.

 

 

P.S. I'll sya it again. I didn't care much for G1+2; but unlike the ES series I think the Gothic games had the potential to be better. Hopefully, G3 will meet that potential and from the sounds of it it has a chance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You should give Oblivion a try, Volourn. The country side isn't brown.

[Morgoth]

That's right. Everything is now green with ugly faces sticking out everywhere.

[mkreku]

About the ponytail: the real model for the main character has not yet been shown. The model we're seeing in all the movies and pictures is just some random NPC that resembles the nameless hero. You can tell by checking his hair: there's no ponytail and his hair is brown, not blonde as it should be. Piranha Bytes are keeping the final main character model secret until release, for some odd reason. You can read about this on the Gothic 3 official forums.

[Judge Hades]

That's right. Everything is now green with ugly faces sticking out everywhere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What ugly faces. A few tweaks and higher textures and the faces in Oblivion are just fine.

[Volourn]

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

[Judge Hades]

Did you just kill a prior just to get his horse? SHAME ON YOU!

Edited September 5, 2006 by Judge Hades

[Slowtrain]

Did you just kill a prior just to get his horse?  SHAME ON YOU!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

He was dead when I found him, Judge! I swear it.

[Volourn]

CG: I wasn't saying no about faces. Faces mean crap. I was saying no to Hades' silly 'suggestion'.

[Judge Hades]

Why? They pretty much fixed almost everything that you complained about in Morrowind.

[Tigranes]

I don't think those things apply to Oblivion at all. I certainly couldn't join the enemy and work against the humans, and factional membership was almost entirely irrelevant to the rest of the gameworld.

 

You missed the point, Dhruin. We now know that most of the things from that Gothic promotion material would either apply minimally to Oblivion, or do so inconsequentially. But before its release Oblivion could make similar claims and did make similar claims. We won't know just how relevant, significant, realistic and widespread 'choices' are in Gothic until it comes out, reading that kind of stuff is like reading "highly acclaimed" now.

 

edit: also, Dean Howard appears to be present at the video presentation. A very impressed Dean Howard.

Edited September 6, 2006 by Tigranes

[Dhruin]

I understand what you are saying - and I agree we don't know how accurately G3 will reflect the promises. I still think (and this sounds argumentative ) that Oblivion was on a different footing pre-release. We already knew you could join pretty much any faction with few restraints and we knew Morrowind's character development system readily allowed powergaming and more, so I never expected the level of choice and consequence from Oblivion that I hope for with G3.

 

Anyway, I take your point.

[Morgoth]

Interview with Kai Rosenkranz

[Slowtrain]

All pre-release hype for any game is best taken with a grain of salt. I've never seen a game that was at that the devs promised it would be. Ever. Consequently, I keep my expectations low, which helps with enjoying a game for what it is, rather than what I hoped it would be. Which means I really enjoy the heck out of Oblivion, since what it does it does great and that's good enough.

 

I'm sure G3 will do some things well and some things poorly. I'm not going to judge content until its actually released and people are plaing the final version.

 

The screenies I can judge and they look like poo. Happily, there's more to the game than just graphics. So its still all good.