Risen 2: Dark Waters

[GhostofAnakin]

Is the release date for this still considered "sometime in 2011"? Or has an actual date been set?

Edited June 1, 2011 by GhostofAnakin

[Morgoth]

Is the release date for this still considered "sometime in 2011"? Or has an actual date been set?

Hard to say with such an unreliable developer as PB.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Is the release date for this still considered "sometime in 2011"? Or has an actual date been set?

 

Official word is "it's ready when it's ready".

 

And I wouldn't say that PB is unreliable at all actually, with the exception of Gothic 3 where they evidently overstretched themselves (and made some bad design calls all around).

[Lexx]

And I wouldn't say that PB is unreliable at all actually,

 

This.

 

Gothic 3 was their only fail so far.

[HoonDing]

It was pretty buggy at release, but still a great game and better than Oblivion.

 

Furthermore, JoWood had screwed them over.

[mkreku]

(and made some bad design calls all around).

?

 

What "design calls" are you referring to?

[WorstUsernameEver]

(and made some bad design calls all around).

?

 

What "design calls" are you referring to?

 

The combat system in Gothic 3 is just bad.

[Morgoth]

Furthermore, JoWood had screwed them over.

Not trying to vindicate NoGood, but they gave PB an extra 1+year development time, yet the result was a disaster.

[Lexx]

The project has been simply too big for them and you can see this pretty much all over the game.

[Labadal]

Risen 2 uses STEAM DRM.

 

Hello Risen Fans,

 

I?d like to give you an update on copy protection for Risen 2. We know that this topic is important for you which is why we want to be as transparent as possible. As mentioned before on several occasions, we regularly evaluate copy protection systems on the market for our product portfolio. In our role as publisher for entertainment software, a set of basic requirements has to be met by the technology we deploy:

 

Security: The copy protection scheme in question has to be very secure for the customer as well as the publisher.

Compatibility: The technology has to be compatible with all hardware components out there.

Comfort: The protection has to add value to the player aside to its protective behaviour.

Support: The technology has to provide us the means to help customers if the product is not behaving in the expected manner.

Reliability: The scheme has to be proven stable over multiple years and many products.

 

We diligently reviewed many solutions in the last couple of years and in the case of Risen 2 we decided to use the Steam-Plattform from Valve on a worldwide basis.The reasons we decided to go with Steam are:

 

Steam offers an automated update system which allows all customers to play the latest version of Risen 2 since all patches will be delivered automatically to their PC. Steam has been running stable on millions of PCs out there, so it provides the reliability we need. The digital copy of Risen 2 will also not require two different copy protections on Steam (compared to Risen 1).

 

Risen 2 will be playable without a DVD in the drive if the product has been added to a Steam account (Steam accounts are free) and will be available for download on other PCs if you?re on the move and still want to play Risen 2. The Steam account itself has been further fortified by the optional Steam Guard system which adds another layer of security. Steam also offers a big array of community features: chats, game groups, achievements and the player can even upload up to 1000 screenshots to share his/her experience in the world of Risen 2. All those features convinced us that Steam offers the right package of features, reliability and security for us.

 

Naturally we also wanted to keep the restrictions, which are part of any copy protection, as unobtrusive as possible. You will only be required to be online once ? to link your game to your Steam account and afterwards you will be able to play offline and without DVD in the drive. You will also be able to install Risen 2 from your Steam account on as many systems you like.

best rgds,

doberlec

[Tigranes]

Oh, ectoplasm.

[mkreku]

A new trailer:

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/a-rousing-risen-2-video

 

It looks OK. I must say I like the size and design of the ships. But I am starting to worry that Piranha Bytes aren't Piranha Bytes anymore. So many (important) team members have left over the years that I'm not sure I would still call them the makers of the Gothic series. It kind of shows in Risen too.. They've divided the world map into zones (islands), you are playing a "chosen one" (the plot instrument I hate the most), the game is more and more aimed at consoles, and so on.

 

Still interested, but I'm not as excited as I used to be over a new Piranha Bytes game.

[Tigranes]

Part of it might also be that going with Risen, they wanted to make sure they don't just make another Gothic. And I can agree with that - as much as I loved the Gothics they were always pretty lopsided works.

 

We'll see how it pans out, but another thing to consider is that if the game retains what's really important to PB games - i.e. its own brand of difficulty, exploration, creative solutions / world reactions - then it might be a good thing if the game gets a little gloss of EPIC to draw more players in.

[Nightshape]

Still interested, but I'm not as excited as I used to be over a new Piranha Bytes game.

 

Don't write it off, you know you're probably going to love it.

 

New blood in a company will bring new idea's, but that's not always a bad thing.

[Drowsy Emperor]

It seems even a decade isn't enough for these people to learn to make character models that don't look carved out of wood.

 

With the rough aesthetics they seem to favor, a pulpier/conan approach to characters and stories might serve them better than rehashing the standard save the world scenario.

 

Truly, RPG gamers have a tolerance for this sort of repetition that borders on stupidity. If the single player RPG has nothing better to offer after so many released titles it probably should finish on the trash heap of PC gaming history.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Drowsy Emperor

[Wombat]

But I am starting to worry that Piranha Bytes aren't Piranha Bytes anymore. So many (important) team members have left over the years that I'm not sure I would still call them the makers of the Gothic series. It kind of shows in Risen too.. They've divided the world map into zones (islands), you are playing a "chosen one" (the plot instrument I hate the most), the game is more and more aimed at consoles, and so on.

Hasn't Gothic series been stories about a nameless unlikely hero save an island/world? Also, I wonder if "consolization" hit this action RPG series as hard as it does some other works except the seamlessness of the world...oh, I guess I understand.

 

Don't write it off, you know you're probably going to love it.

Like the recent example below?

I bought Terraria from Steam because someone recommended it. I built an ugly house, killed some.. puddles of slime (?) and quit.

 

Why did you recommend this to meeee?! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Terraria. My god what an addictive little game!

 

Well, I have never been happy with the dialogues and story of Gothic series but there are not so many RPGs where a rogue-ish character fits the world like in Gothic series/Risen. I'm still in "let's see" area, though.

[Nightshape]

But I am starting to worry that Piranha Bytes aren't Piranha Bytes anymore. So many (important) team members have left over the years that I'm not sure I would still call them the makers of the Gothic series. It kind of shows in Risen too.. They've divided the world map into zones (islands), you are playing a "chosen one" (the plot instrument I hate the most), the game is more and more aimed at consoles, and so on.

Hasn't Gothic series been stories about a nameless unlikely hero save an island/world? Also, I wonder if "consolization" hit this action RPG series as hard as it does some other works except the seamlessness of the world...oh, I guess I understand.

 

Don't write it off, you know you're probably going to love it.

Like the recent example below?

I bought Terraria from Steam because someone recommended it. I built an ugly house, killed some.. puddles of slime (?) and quit.

 

Why did you recommend this to meeee?! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Terraria. My god what an addictive little game!

 

Well, I have never been happy with the dialogues and story of Gothic series but there are not so many RPGs where a rogue-ish character fits the world like in Gothic series/Risen. I'm still in "let's see" area, though.

 

mkreku doesn't like it when you point out his many flaws, it makes him upset, you don't want to see the strange man upset.

[Wombat]

As long as I tell him that I love Gothic series and its seamless world, he shouldn't bite me, should he?

Well, it's not necessarily a lie. In fact, I have my soft spot in many games mentioned here. I wonder if the same thing can be said about Terraria, though.

[Tale]

Terraria is a great game. I'll bite you for that!

 

The trailer looked interesting enough. But I need to make time for the first game, first. I'm in a place of second guessing all eastern european RPGs.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Terraria is a great game. I'll bite you for that!

 

The trailer looked interesting enough. But I need to make time for the first game, first. I'm in a place of second guessing all eastern european RPGs.

 

Germany is Eastern Europe now? God, I need to revamp my geography!

[Drowsy Emperor]

Terraria is a great game. I'll bite you for that!

 

The trailer looked interesting enough. But I need to make time for the first game, first. I'm in a place of second guessing all eastern european RPGs.

 

Germany is Eastern Europe now? God, I need to revamp my geography!

 

Ah, you beat me to it.

[Tale]

Terraria is a great game. I'll bite you for that!

 

The trailer looked interesting enough. But I need to make time for the first game, first. I'm in a place of second guessing all eastern european RPGs.

 

Germany is Eastern Europe now? God, I need to revamp my geography!

Typically when someone mentions a geographicallocationRPG, they're referring to the style popularly associated with the region, not the origin. Though they often caveat it. "Septerra Core is a jRPG, but made in wherever!" I mean, who gives a crap where it was actually made?

 

If I'm wrong about it being the same style as Eastern European RPGs feel free to correct me on that. I may in fact be using "Eastern European RPG" wrong altogether, and it may be a more general european style.

[Drowsy Emperor]

If I'm wrong about it being the same style as Eastern European RPGs feel free to correct me on that. I may in fact be using "Eastern European RPG" wrong altogether, and it may be a more general european style.

 

The latter. There are not enough products for even a semblance of a unifying style to form.

[Tale]

If I'm wrong about it being the same style as Eastern European RPGs feel free to correct me on that. I may in fact be using "Eastern European RPG" wrong altogether, and it may be a more general european style.

 

The latter. There are not enough products for even a semblance of a unifying style to form.

I'll disagree with your reasoning. There's some commonalities between the likes of Risen, Gothic, Two Worlds, Divinity 2, and even The Witcher for a subgenre classification. Doing some brief research, the specific nomenclature simply isn't settled. Not that the distinction doesn't exist.

[WorstUsernameEver]

If I'm wrong about it being the same style as Eastern European RPGs feel free to correct me on that. I may in fact be using "Eastern European RPG" wrong altogether, and it may be a more general european style.

 

The latter. There are not enough products for even a semblance of a unifying style to form.

I'll disagree with your reasoning. There's some commonalities between the likes of Risen, Gothic, Two Worlds, Divinity 2, and even The Witcher for a subgenre classification.

 

...no? You've cited wildly different titles, half of which aren't Eastern European anyway.