Difference between revisions of "Gothic II"

Revision as of 14:57, 25 September 2021

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

For Windows 8 and later apply the fullscreen fixes.

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		SecuROM and SVK Protector DRM disc check.
Amazon.com		Gold Edition also available.
GamersGate		Gold Edition also available.
		Gold Edition.
GOG.com		Gold Edition.
Green Man Gaming		Gold Edition.
Humble Store		Gold Edition.
Steam		Gold Edition.

Version differences

The Gold Edition is a complete edition which includes the Night of the Raven expansion.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Night of the Raven	Included with the Gold Edition. Not available separately for some languages (e.g. English).

Demo

A German demo can be downloaded here. You might have to copy the download link on the page into your browser if it doesn't work.

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest retail patches for the German version are Patch v1.30 for the base Gothic II and Add-on Patch 2.6 for the Night of the Raven expansion. All English versions and German digital distribution versions already include the latest patches.

Spine Management Tool

Spine is a simple, however with the advent of Union, now outdated, modification manager that allows you to easily install the D3D11 renderer and other useful tools via a database tab, as well as pre-emptively installing the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.

Setting up Spine

Download the .exe and install it in any desired place in its own folder.
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.
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 installing mods which require it.

Notes:

Browse the database tab for other mods or tools.

It is recommended to use 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 the game launcher and allow launching different mods without affecting the base game installation. Patches and tools which can be enable/disable will appear on the right side.

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]
If you are using a disc version ensure you have the latest patch (see Patches). Download and install the Player-Kit from the link above. Mods can now be installed. The in-game version number is changed to 2.6.

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

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\system\GOTHIC.INI^{[Note 1]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/39510/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Saves^{[Note 1]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/39510/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor		Use SystemPack.
Ultra-widescreen		Use SystemPack.
4K Ultra HD
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)	See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	For Windows 8 and later use the fullscreen fixes.

Widescreen resolution

Gothic II only natively supports 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, and 1440x900.

The SystemPack makes the game Hor+ instead of Vert- and lists most widescreen resolutions.

Use widescreen mod (recommended method)^[2]

Use SystemPack.

Notes

Characters may look fat/thin after changing the resolution. Save and load the game to correct this.

Set resolution manually (alternate method)^[2]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Edit Gothic.ini
Change extendedMenu=0 to extendedMenu=1
Set zVidResFullscreenX= and zVidResFullscreenY= to the width (X) and height (Y) of your resolution.
Save your changes and launch Gothic II.

NPCs may look fat in widescreen resolutions. Talking to an NPC will fix this until the next time you load a save.

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 a few of these).

Change zStartupWindowed setting^[1]
Run the game at least once. Go to the configuration file(s) location. Edit `gothic.ini` Change `zStartupWindowed=0` to `zStartupWindowed=1` Change `scaleVideos=1` to `scaleVideos=0` (otherwise videos render in the corner of the screen). Save your changes.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

See Windowed for the limitations of this mode.

Set up borderless fullscreen windowed mode^{[citation needed]}
Install the Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen fixes. Set `zStartupWindowed=1` in `<path-to-game>\system\Gothic.ini` (see Windowed). Set your desktop resolution in-game. Gothic II should now display as a fullscreen borderless window.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Set zTexAnisotropicFiltering in Gothic.ini^{[citation needed]}

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Gothic.ini
Change zTexAnisotropicFiltering=0 to zTexAnisotropicFiltering=1 and save your changes.

This is only an on/off setting; if it doesn't work or you want a higher setting, force it in the graphics card control panel.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Set zVidEnableAntiAliasing in Gothic.ini^{[citation needed]}

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Gothic.ini
Change zVidEnableAntiAliasing=0 to zVidEnableAntiAliasing=1 and save your changes.

This is only an on/off setting; if it doesn't work or you want a higher setting, force it in the graphics card control panel.

Forcing a higher setting in the graphics card's control panel may cause black videos (sound but no picture).

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		see Mouse sensitivity.
Mouse input in menus		No cursor; buttons and wheel work but can't change settings.
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Set in Options, Game Settings, Invert camera.
Controller
Controller support		Very limited support available; see Controller support.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Can't map camera controls or axes.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		Set in Options, Game Settings, Invert camera.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Mouse sensitivity

Set zMouseRotationScale in Gothic.ini^{[citation needed]}
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `Gothic.ini`. Change `zMouseRotationScale` to your desired value and save your changes.

Controller support

Set enableJoystick in Gothic.ini^{[citation needed]}

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Gothic.ini.
Change enableJoystick=0 to enableJoystick=1 and save your changes.

Notes

Some axes are not detected and some inputs cannot be set to controller axes, e.g. camera controls.

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sfx and music.
Surround sound		Set Speakers to Surround.
Subtitles		Enabled by default; set in Options, Game Settings.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Set sound provide to Creative 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
French
German
Italian				Audio only available on GOG.com (added on September 20, 2017)
Polish				Available on Steam, despite not being stated in a store.^[1]^[3]
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
LAN play
Online play		Use Gothic Multiplayer mod for multiplayer (requires the expansion).

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated		Dedicated server software available for Windows and Linux.
Self-hosting
Direct IP		`gmp://` URLs do not connect to IP addresses.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Gothic 2 [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 fixed

Black videos (sound but no picture)

This is caused by forcing anti-aliasing in the video card control panel.

Disable video card anti-aliasing^{[citation needed]}
Open the graphics card control panel. Set anti-aliasing to Application-Controlled. Apply the changes.

Disable video scaling^{[citation needed]}
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Edit `gothic.ini` Change `scaleVideos=1` to `scaleVideos=0` 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 Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen fixes. Both Gothic and Gothic II will now enter display correctly in fullscreen mode (you do not need to restart your computer).

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Use dgVoodoo 2 or DDrawCompat

Low frame rate in fullscreen mode

Gothic II has frame rate issues in fullscreen mode on Windows 8 and later.

Apply necessary fixes^{[citation needed]}
Install the Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen fixes. Gothic II should now have the correct frame rate in fullscreen mode.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Use dgVoodoo 2 or DDrawCompat

"C: maximum texture size is lower than 32" error

This error happens if Gothic II isn't able to automatically change to 32-bit color mode.

Change zVidResFullscreenBPP setting^{[citation needed]}

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Edit gothic.ini
Change zVidResFullscreenBPP=16 to zVidResFullscreenBPP=32
Save your changes and run Gothic II again. It should now be able to select the resolution correctly.

If it still can't detect your resolution, try setting it manually (see Widescreen resolution).

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Use dgVoodoo 2 or DDrawCompat

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]}
Open Programs and Features (`appwiz.cpl`). Find and remove the GOG.com Gothic 2 entry. If you are using Windows 8 or later, install the Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen fixes. Gothic II 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.

Mods can't find Gothic II

Some mods expect the game executable to be called Gothic2.exe.

Copy Gothic.exe to Gothic2.exe^{[citation needed]}

Go to the installation folder.
Go into system
Make a copy of Gothic.exe.
Rename the copy to Gothic2.exe.
The mod installer should now see the game correctly.

Notes

Some mods require running the game with Gothic2.exe.

Camera spins uncontrollably

Disable display scaling^[4]
Disable display scaling on high DPI settings.

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

Gothic II doesn't see dsound.dll wrapper from EAX restoration software.

Create pre.load file, which orders game to load dsound.dll wrapper^[5]

Open Notepad.
Write exactly dsound.dll to document.
Save the document exactly as pre.load to <path-to-game>\System\
Launch game as Administrator, 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.

Black screen on startup

Restart computer instead of shutting it down (fast startup related issue).^{[citation needed]}

The game does not start

Analyse wait chain

Open Task Manager.
Find Gothic2.exeon the list and expand it.
Right-click on every child object that belongs to the process and click on "Go to details".
In the Details tab, right-click on the highlighted element and click on "Analyse Wait Chain".
If there are elements on the list, select them and kill the process.

Notes:

Most common programs causing issues are logitechg_discord.exe (Discord applet for Logitech Gaming Software),Setpoint.exe (program of Logitech) and nvcontainer.exe (part of Nvidia Experience).

If you do not want to do this process every time you start the game, you must simply deactivate the conflicting process or uninstall the program from the conflicting process.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7, 11	DirectX 11 requires fan-made renderer.
Shader Model support	1, 5	Shader Model 5 requires fan-made renderer.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System	6.5e
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.5v

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98	ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium II 400 MHz	Intel Pentium III 600 MHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2.6 GB
Video card (GPU)	32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1 compatible	64 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^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).
↑ ^2.0 ^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>/39510/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (39510) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Verified by User:Suicide machine on August 13, 2016
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Gothic II | WSGF
↑ Gothic II: Gold Edition on SteamDB
↑ Gothic 2 (classic) Camera spins uncontrollably
↑ SystemPack thread

[gamedir-2] 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).

[Proton_path_note-3] 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>/39510/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (39510) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[Sui-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Verified by User:Suicide machine on August 13, 2016

[WSGF-4] 2.0 ^2.1 Gothic II | WSGF

[5] Gothic II: Gold Edition on SteamDB

[6] Gothic 2 (classic) Camera spins uncontrollably

[WoG-7] SystemPack thread

[1]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 588: / Line 588: @@
 ===API===
 {{API
-|direct3d versions      = 8.1, 11
+|direct3d versions      = 7, 11
 |direct3d notes         = DirectX 11 requires fan-made [[#D3D11 renderer for Gothic II|renderer]].
 |directdraw versions    =

Developers

	Piranha Bytes
Publishers
	Atari
	JoWood Productions
	Nordic Games
Engines
	ZenGin
Release dates
Windows	November 29, 2002
Reception
Metacritic	79
Taxonomy
Series	Gothic