Risen Some new hints on the game

joxer

The Smoker
Original Sin Donor
Original Sin 2 Donor
Joined
April 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Doberlech, Risen 2 Brand Manager, has left Deep Silver two days ago but also gave an interview to RPGamer:
http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2011/112911a.html

Don't want to spoil your reading, but there is something I must say - since it'll be a pirate game, you may completely forget casting fireballs all over the place! :D
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Really like the direction this game seems to be heading.
Especially the part about an actual pc verson being developed alongside the console one by its own team.
As for magic my guess would be voodoo rituals with either careful preperation needed or a long cd and perhaps a few curses/debuffs inbetween swashbuckling.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
213
Controllable monkey thief sidekick? Day 1 purchase here. Although it was that already.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
Messages
837
There's a new preview up on incgames.com. They were given demos for the PC and Xbox versions.

Despite the classy pirate and the classless gnome, the most instantly noticeable thing about Risen 2 is the visuals. The beach hugging jungle looks lush, green and thick, the sky shines with stark light that’s reflected by the sandy beach and the characters themselves look detailed and as though they belong. Clearly, a lot of hard work has gone into the visuals. It’s a noticeable upgrade from the original.

That’s the PC version, at least. Switching to the Xbox 360 build, things go downhill somewhat. For starters the resolution is lower, coating everything in a very noticeable fuzz that detracts from the quality of the art design. The texture detail is lessened and the draw distance is also reduced. This 360 build is still in Alpha (the PC is in Beta), which goes some way to explaining the difference, but there’s no escaping the fact that today’s consoles are showing their age.

http://www.incgamers.com/Previews/354/the-foul-mouthed-pirates-of-risen-2-dark-waters-preview
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,133
Location
Florida, US
So magic is now pointless just because they went with a pirate setting. Disappointing but doesn't ruin the game for me.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,181
Location
Spudlandia
So magic is now pointless just because they went with a pirate setting. Disappointing but doesn't ruin the game for me.

That's not the impression I get. I think it's just different compared to the first game, but it's still going to be a viable option.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,133
Location
Florida, US
Yes, the point is that there will be magic in the game but not the kind we're used too (no fire-bolts, -balls, -walls, etc).

Thanks for that preview JDR, as Risen2 on PC is the main reason I've upgraded my machine and honestly can't wait. So far there is no preorder option on Deep Silver shop (http://deepsilvereu.nexway.com/) but ok, it'll appear soon I bet.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
I´m looking forward to the voodoo. Seems more fitting than the usual magic and well, it´s not usual :).

However,
Normally those creatures would have to hit you two or three times to kill you though, so one-hit death is a very unlucky way to die. In Risen 2, we made sure that you won't encounter such creatures on the first two islands, so the risk to die a premature death is very low.
image removed due to its problem with IE
Wasn´t it supposed to be hardcore right after the "tutorial" island?
Hopefully I´m just reading too much into this :).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
2,437
Location
Prague
That's not the impression I get. I think it's just different compared to the first game, but it's still going to be a viable option.

I rather fling fireballs then use voodoo. I wont apologize. It makes the game feel like its not part of Risen. There already pushing it with the pistols and rifles.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,181
Location
Spudlandia
The new direcion with Risen gives me hope that they are doing another Gothic following the traditional formula we all know and love.
Both the gameplay and story of Risen was essentially a big fuck you to Jowood after they ruined Gothic 3 and stole the Gothic lisence for Arcania.
They even modeled the story in such a way that it could have occurred after Gothic 3 yet kept it just vague and different enough to avoid a lawsuit.
Now that they own the Gothic lisence again they really dont need 2x Gothics so Risen (the unofficial gothic 4) gets an overhaul.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
213
Both the gameplay and story of Risen was essentially a big fuck you to Jowood after they ruined Gothic 3 and stole the Gothic lisence for Arcania.
If only internet forums were not so restrictive, that quote would be my sig.
Although it's not completely true. :)
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Actually i have it on good authority that the morning following the court ruling in wich JoWood "won" the licence Kai Rozenkrantz rode his warhorse to work and delivered one of the most rousing speeches in gaming history.
Admittedly i am abit fuzzy on the details but he has ben quoted saying: "They may take our licence but they may never take our freeedom!".
So its all 100% true. yep.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
213
Now that they own the Gothic lisence again they really dont need 2x Gothics so Risen (the unofficial gothic 4) gets an overhaul.

They never lost the license in the first place. PB/Pluto 13 has always been in possession of the Gothic license. JoWooD only had contractual usage rights of said license but never acquired the actual license itself. Big (legal) difference.

As far as the new game is concerned almost everything sounds pretty good but I'm truly concerned about the following...

- No swimming/diving in a pirate game = WTF?!?
- Climbing (vertical exploration) is more restrictive than in the previous PB games
- Opponents can not be knocked unconscious anymore (instead NPCs are supposed to always die at zero hit points unless they are immortal due to being a quest NPC)
- One of the islands is supposed to be the home of the gnomes and there is a NPC gnome follower (name = Jaffar) as well -> From hints on the website it seems like the gnomes are a very childish race with their own language that resembles the language of four year olds.
I sincerely hope that they won't overdo it. I can live with some silliness and I don't need a !dark!, !gritty!, !mature! RPG from PB (the Gothics and Risen have had their humorous elements as well) but I'm a little concerned that the emphasis on the gnomes might be taken too far.
I think I would have preferred to find out more about the origin of the lizards. If there is one creature type of Risen 1 that they could have dropped entirely and I wouldn't have shed a single tear then it would have been the gnomes. Instead it looks like we're going to not only have to live with them but actually interact with them in a big way... *ugh*...
- No bows/x-bows... seems kind of odd that both weapon types are going to disappear entirely just because of the guns.
- No crystal magic anymore. I'm looking forward to Voodoo a lot since it should allow PB to implement a vast variety of really cool and creative spells but from a continuity point of view the removal of crystal magic is a bit of a nightmare (unless there is a really good explanation for it)...
- No drinking animation for potions and opening the inventory pauses the game even in the midst of combat.
Yeah. OK.
It's one of those "just don't exploit it" issues but they are making it way too tempting to just open the inventory in the middle of a fight and chug a potion with zero delay. There really should at least be a drinking animation so that you are extremely vulnerable while consuming a potion in the midst of combat.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
3,201
I stand corrected :) They did loose the rights to do Gothic 4 on the grounds that Gothic 3 was not completed in keeping with the terms of their original contract.
That this was in no small part due to JoWood pushing what was clearly an unrealisic deadline was not legally relevant as it had been agreed to some years back.
Still a dickmove by JoWood answered with Risen.

Not being able to swim in a pirate rpg kinds sucks but it can be explained away as a character trait or something so its a loss i can live with.
The gnomes does have some ewok potential but pb has a good track record when it comes to creating memorable characters so i have faith they can pull it off.
As for crystal magic if i remember correctly the holy flame wich served as the source of all crystal magic came from the fire titan wich you killed at the end of Risen so it would make sense that the pc have to seek a new source of magic.
Also it was really just Gothic's runemagic re-named so if they are doing another Gothic it would be prudent to come up with something different for the Risen franchise.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
213
- No drinking animation for potions and opening the inventory pauses the game even in the midst of combat.

Wtf? That seriously sucks. The realism of actually having to pull out a potion and drink it was one of the things I really liked about the Gothics+Risen.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,133
Location
Florida, US
Yeah, I think moriendor pretty much summed up most of my own "apprehension inducing" bullet points.

I shall elect to remain cautiously optimistic for the time being :)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
This game is sounding amazing. I can't wait to play my first ever pirate RPG. 2012 is going to be a killer year.
 
Back
Top Bottom