Forums > Game Forums > ArcaniA: Gothic 4 > Good gawd, someone kill this series already.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/15/2013 10:36 AM · Permalink · Report
First time in my life I've seen the opening sequences buggy. First time in my life I've experienced an intro sequence this dull, consisting of mindlessly hacking at monsters for 15 minutes for no apparent reason.
Perhaps German game developers should stop making games that involves a 3D engine while you're at it. The amount of buggy games JoWood has published is about as bad as US military and covert intelligence. Well, it's hard to trump the Iraq War, but keep this up and who knows. :p
Back to playing Japanese games I suppose. No bugs.
Cavalary (11445) on 4/15/2013 12:28 PM · Permalink · Report
I was killed, diff devs and all. Risen is the proper Gothic 4.
Actually before the release of Risen 2, there was talk that JoWood wasn't left with the Gothic name and world entirely, but just with Gothic 4, and Piranha Bytes might get it back to return with Gothic 5 instead of Risen 3, but they were replying like politicians at the time, not saying any yes or no about it, and I haven't checked since.
Daniel Saner (3503) on 4/15/2013 1:47 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra was here wrote--]Perhaps German game developers should stop making games that involves a 3D engine while you're at it.[/Q --end Indra was here wrote--]
Blasphemy! The Germans make some great 3D games. Aquanox, Sacred, the X series, and of course Gothic I-II (haven't played later ones yet) and Risen. Of course they also make some magnificently terrible ones, but you can't have it all, all the time.
Of course it's well for me to talk, Switzerland doesn't even register on the map of video game development. Well, actually, once upon a time we had Blupi (Eggbert), and the Swiss-made Farming Simulator regularly occupies the top spot on the sales charts in Germany. I haven't ever played it to see whether it's actually any good, but when it sells like hotcakes does it even matter?
Daniel Saner (3503) on 4/15/2013 4:40 PM · Permalink · Report
Others seem to rather like them though, overall it's not terrible. I have found that very often with these niche games, the really bad verdicts come from reviews written by people who had no business reviewing that game in the first place. There has to be a basic interest. Most recently I saw it in Euro Truck Simulator 2, which is a really good game, but of course a reviewer who is already convinced that a truck driving game cannot be fun will end up disliking it. You wouldn't let me review a Nirvana album either.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/15/2013 8:38 PM · Permalink · Report
Hey, don't get me wrong. Vision-wise, German developers often some of the most ambitious gaming concepts I've played. Unfortunately, all of them were buggy, so perhaps one should not plan to make the Eiffel tower when one can only has the capacity to create a straw hut.
Year freakin' 2013 and I still have to expect clunky 3D graphics I would see see in 2002. Clunky game engine and migraine induced blooming effects. Ugh, why do these people insist on using this type of template. -_-
It's a crime against gameanity I tell you. A crime!
Daniel Saner (3503) on 4/16/2013 4:47 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm currently replaying the first Two Worlds. The bloom effect can be controlled in about 10 gradations, but even on the lowest it is pretty excessive! Luckily the lowest notch turns it off entirely.
The effect is not completely, but almost as useless as motion blur. If the movement is fast enough, it will blur automatically. Why would you want to artificially amplify a shortcoming of my eyes? ("Not completely" because I can kind of see the idea behind bloom and eye-adjusting-to-light-level effects until we have Über-HDR monitors with 10kW backlights)
Indra was here (20756) on 4/16/2013 7:55 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Daniel Saner wrote--]I'm currently replaying the first Two Worlds. The bloom effect can be controlled in about 10 gradations, but even on the lowest it is pretty excessive! Luckily the lowest notch turns it off entirely. [/Q --end Daniel Saner wrote--]Which is why I uninstalled it. I could practically hear my graphics card cringing in pain. Poor fellow.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/16/2013 1:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Holy carp, even uninstalling it was buggy. Gawd, this developer group should win the Troika award.
Cavalary (11445) on 4/16/2013 12:21 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I gather you didn't play Forsaken Gods first, eh? (Not that I have, mind you, but from what I heard... Then again, what'd you expect after JoWood threw Gothic 3 a small Indian studio that knew nothing of the series and gave them a few months to make an expansion?)
EDIT: Ah, but I see you played (and reviewed) The Guild 2: Venice, which apparently followed the same process, around the same time, which apparently similar results.
Patrick Bregger (300054) on 4/16/2013 3:16 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Forsaken Gods is a crime against humanity. Most quests basically consist of walking from one corner of the game world to another just to talk so some idiot. And back. And back again. And in half of them you can't even use teleport stones because you have to escort someone who does not teleport with you. And of course nothing happens on the way.
Indra was here (20756) on 4/16/2013 8:03 PM · Permalink · Report
Wouldn't touch a Gothic 3 expansion with a ten foot Pole. Yes, it was a very tall Polish dude. :p
Only thing that game got going was the abundance of wildlife. First time I saw a herd of Rhinos in an RPG. That was a tad amusing. Attacking a herd of Rhinos was even more amusing (gaaaah, they're charging).