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Difference between revisions of "Gothic"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
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==Availability==
 
==Availability==
 
{{Availability|
 
{{Availability|
{{Availability/row| Retail | | unknown | Install the [[#Patches|version 1.08k patch]]. | | Windows }}
+
{{Availability/row| Retail | | disc | Install the [[#Patches|version 1.08k patch]]. | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | gothic | DRM-free | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | gothic | DRM-free | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 65540 | Steam | Only sold as part of bundles. Install the [[#Patches|version 1.08k patch]]. | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 65540 | Steam | Only sold as part of bundles. Install the [[#Patches|version 1.08k patch]]. | | Windows }}

Revision as of 16:27, 17 June 2021

Gothic
Gothic cover
Developers
Piranha Bytes
Publishers
Egmont Interactive
Engines
ZenGin
Release dates
Windows March 15, 2001
Reception
Metacritic 81
IGDB 78
Gothic on HowLongToBeat
Gothic on IGDB
Gothic guide on StrategyWiki
Gothic on MobyGames
Gothic on Wikipedia
Gothic
Gothic 2001
Gothic II 2002
Gothic 3 2006
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods 2008
Arcania: Gothic 4 2010
Arcania: Fall of Setarrif 2011
Gothic Playable Teaser 2019
The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos (unofficial mod) 2021
Gothic 1 Remake TBA

Key points

Use SystemPack to remove the 25 FPS cap, fix compatibility issues, and improve resolution support.
Steam overlay doesn't work with this game.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Install the version 1.08k patch.
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Only sold as part of bundles. Install the version 1.08k patch.
Windows

Version differences

The original German release included a performance by In Extremo that was omitted from later German releases and all international versions. Use the In Extremo Mod.
The Russian Gothic: Collector's Edition includes Gothic and the Diccuric mod.
The German Gothic Collector's Edition includes Gothic along with Gothic II and its expansion.

Demos

You can download an English demo and a German demo from World of Gothic. You might have to copy the download link on the page into your browser.

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest retail patch is version 1.08k. Some digital distribution versions already include this patch. To check your current patch version look at the bottom right of the main menu box.

Spine management tool

Spine is a simple modification manager that allows you to easily install the D3D11 renderer and other useful tools via a database tab, as well as pre-emptively installing the Systempack for either game and updating the games to the proper patch version. You can get it from Spine's main page.

Setting up Spine
  1. Download the .exe and install it in any desired place in it's own folder.
  2. Start the tool, and direct it to Gothic's installation folder. Tick the Steam box to the right of the directory if using the Steam version. Spine also has a auto-detect function right below the directories.
  3. The manager will download the basic necessities for the installed games by default, like the Player-kit and system pack. It also features Ninja for inter-mod compatibility and will automatically enable it if you tick mods that require it.
You can now browse the database tab for other mods or tools and easily install them on the go.
It's recommended you get the D3D11 Renderer Clockwork edition files for G1/G2 this way, ignore Spine's warning about updating the file(s) if the update version number is the same as your installed version.
The library tab will act as your game launcher and allow you to launch different mods without affecting the base game installation. Patches and tools you can enable/disable will appear on the right side.
You do not need to make an account unless you're interested in the community-related features that do not have a direct impact on the game.

Player-Kit

The Player-Kit is required for playing mods.
Causes a minor issue with a gate near the end of the game; use SystemPack to avoid this issue (recommended) or use Gothic_backup.exe temporarily to pass this area.
Install Player-Kit[1]
  1. If you are using a disc version ensure you have the latest patch (see Patches).
  2. Download and install the Player-Kit.
  3. Mods can now be installed. The in-game version number is changed to 1.08k_mod.
Gothic will now show a mod selector window when launched; to have a shortcut launch the unmodded game directly, change it to point to GothicMod.exe instead of Gothic.exe.

SystemPack

Gothic ½ — SystemPack is a fan-made patch, introduces many fixes and features. Download and installation instructions here. Requires PlayerKit.

Alternative version of the SystemPack called Union provides additional bug fixes and engine improvements, including improved performance, steam overlay support and optional 64 bit patch for x64 systems. Instructions (in Russian and English) and download. Requires visual c++ 2008, visual c++ 2010 and Union's own version of Player Kit which the instructions include as a separate installer.

Skip intro videos

Change playLogoVideos setting[1]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit gothic.ini
  3. Change playLogoVideos=1 to playLogoVideos=0
  4. Save your changes. The game will now go directly to the main menu when launched.

Restore In Extremo performance

The original German release included a performance by In Extremo; this was omitted from later German releases and all international versions.
Changes the names of some enemies to bizarre names.
Use inextremo.VDF[citation needed]
  1. Download the In Extremo Mod.
  2. Extract to Data in the installation folder.
  3. Start a new game. In Extremo will perform during Chapter 2.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\system\GOTHIC.INI[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/65540/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Saves\[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/65540/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Video settings.
Video settings.
Graphic settings.
Graphic settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Only some resolutions listed; see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Use SystemPack.
Ultra-widescreen
Use SystemPack.
4K Ultra HD
Use SystemPack.
Field of view (FOV)
Use SystemPack.
Windowed
Works with limitations; see Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Works with limitations; see Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Force in the graphics card's control panel.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Forcing in the graphics card's control panel may cause black videos.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Force in the graphics card's control panel.
60 FPS
Capped at 25 FPS by default; use SystemPack.
120+ FPS
Use SystemPack. Framerate affects sliding on terrain.[1]

Widescreen resolution

Gothic only has native support for 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, and 1440x900.
Use other widescreen resolutions[2]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Go into system
  3. Make a shortcut for the Gothic executable:
    • If the Player-Kit is not installed, make a shortcut to Gothic.exe
    • If the Player-Kit is installed, make a shortcut to GothicMod.exe
  4. Right click the shortcut and choose Properties.
  5. Paste the following onto the end of the Target field:
    -zRes:XXXX,XXXX,32
  6. Replace the XXXX parts with the width and height of your resolution.
  7. Click Apply. Use this shortcut to launch the game with your chosen resolution.

Windowed

Task-switching may cause repeated Tab input when you return to the game (simply press Tab again to make it work normally).
Task-switching during video cutscenes will crash the game (there are only four during the game, not counting the intro and ending).
Change zStartupWindowed setting[1]
  1. Run the game at least once.
  2. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  3. Edit gothic.ini
  4. Change zStartupWindowed=0 to zStartupWindowed=1
  5. Change scaleVideos=1 to scaleVideos=0 (otherwise videos render in the corner of the screen).
  6. Save your changes.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

See Windowed for the limitations of this mode.
Set up borderless fullscreen windowed mode[1]
  1. Install the Player-Kit.
  2. Install the SystemPack.
  3. Set zStartupWindowed=1 in Gothic.ini (see Windowed).
  4. Set your desktop resolution in-game. Gothic should now display as a fullscreen borderless window.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
No cursor; buttons and wheel work but can't change settings.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Set in Settings, Game, Invert View.
Controller
Controller support
Controller types

Audio

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Sound and music.
Surround sound
Change Speakers to Surround.
Subtitles
Disabled by default; set in Settings, Game, Subtitles.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Not supported.
EAX support
Change Soundprovider to EAX 2. Hardware accelerated DirectSound3D and EAX2 (on compatible sound cards with restoration software like ALchemy or 3D SoundBack) isn't available until the fix is applied.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
German
Italian
Available in the LangPack.
Polish
Available on Steam, despite not being stated in the store page.[1][3]
Russian
Only two translations, by Snowball Studios (1C-SoftClub) and Russobit-M.
Spanish

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
See Helix Mod: Gothic [DX11].
vorpX
G3D
Included in DGVoodoo2 Default Profile.
Note: Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.

Issues unresolved

ATI 1xxx invisible inventory items

Inventory item graphics turn invisible on ATI 1xxx cards (the items themselves are still there). There is no known fix.
One potential fix is to add zInventoryItemsDistanceScale=2.0 under [GAME] in GOTHIC.INI.[4]

Issues fixed

Black videos (sound but no picture)

This is caused by forcing anti-aliasing. Either method below will fix this.
Disable video card anti-aliasing[citation needed]
  1. Open your graphics card's control panel.
  2. Set anti-aliasing to Application-Controlled.
  3. Apply the changes.
Disable video scaling[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit gothic.ini
  3. Change scaleVideos=1 to scaleVideos=0
  4. Save your changes. Videos will now display centred.

Window border visible in fullscreen mode

Gothic and Gothic II show a window border in fullscreen mode on Windows 8 and later.
The GOG.com version already includes this fix.
Apply the fix[citation needed]

Install the SystemPack.

Poor performance

Use SystemPack.

Access violation errors (Steam)

Disable Steam Community In-Game overlay[citation needed]
  1. Right-click the game in the Steam Library.
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. Uncheck Enable Steam Community In-Game.
  4. Click Close to save your changes.

Notes

Browsing to the game's Steam folder and running as Administrator will work as well, if disabling the in-game overlay does not.[citation needed]

Access Violation / Assertion Failed error when saving

This can be caused by deleting the saves folder.
Make saves folder[citation needed]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Make a folder called saves.
If you want to delete saves in the future delete the individual saves within the folder, not the saves folder itself.

Gate cutscene doesn't play, gate won't open

A gate in the final area won't open when playing with the Player-Kit due to the cutscene not playing.
Use SystemPack.

Can't Alt+Tab (GOG.com)

The GOG.com version prevents task switching to avoid some potential issues (e.g. crashing during FMV cutscenes).
Remove GOG.com fix[citation needed]
  1. Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl).
  2. Find and remove the GOG.com Gothic entry.
  3. If you are using Windows 8 or later, install the SystemPack.
  4. Gothic will now allow you to task switch at any time.

Constant Tab input after Alt+Tab

After task switching the game may constantly repeat Tab input; press Tab again to stop this.

Game Starts, but screen is black

If you have multiple monitors, disable/unplug all of them except the one that you're using to play Gothic.

Game reverts back to Miles Fast even after EAX restoration software is installed

Gothic doesn't see dsound.dll wrapper from EAX restoration software.
Create pre.load file, which orders game to load dsound.dll wrapper[5]
  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Write exactly dsound.dll to document.
  3. Save the document exactly as pre.load to <path-to-game>\System\
  4. Launch game, change sound provider to Creative EAX 2 and quit. Launch game again and check if sound provider is still the same.

Notes

Users with SystemPack installed have to change FixMss=1 to FixMss=0 in SystemPack.ini configuration file. SystemPack uses own implementation of restoring surround sound, which is purely software and because of that EAX restoration software won't make effect if FixMss is set to 1.

Remove Velaya's censorship

In the original German version of the game, the NPC Velaya bathes in Gomez's room completely naked at certain times of day. Subsequent releases censored her by adding a bikini. To remove the censorship, simply rename or remove the textures_bikini.VDF file in <path-to-game>\Data.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 7, 11 Fan made D3D11 render available here. Requires 1.08 patch, Playerkit 1.08k and Systempack installed.
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Miles Sound System 6.0k
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.0v

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98, ME, XP, 2000
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium II 400 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 700 MB
Video card (GPU) 3D Accelerated Graphics Card
4 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  2. 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/65540/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (65540) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References