Gothic 3 1.75 CPT released

I got knocked down by orcs. Then I got knocked down by orcs again! After six times of that I started over. Happened again. This game and me are not pals.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
Messages
837
I have exactly the same problem. Clean install (GOG version which is IIRC already 1.6), patch 1.75 and nothing else. No mods and no whatever is 4GB_something.
Vsync on, didn't help. Lowered very high to high, didn't help. Didn't mess with .ini yet or something… And I can't believe this is happening. It actually feels like the game is loading something when I rotate or move around….

EDIT2:
Finally stutters are brought to probably lowest possible level. Even when I returned back graphics settings (only left the 60FPS max in the ini because I really don't care about more). I did just as vurt - set the gothic3 process priority through task manager on high.
During the rotation I don't feel the game pauses at all, it has however a milisecond pause now and then when I'm moving for a while in one direction.
But seriously, I don't remember G3 behaved like this when I played it ages ago.

Ok, there is certainly a pattern here and it seems to be a specific issue. Rotating the camera should not normally do that (and never did for me indeed. I wonder if we'll see another hotfix soon).

Changing the process priority has no apparent effect for me. The only notable difference on our systems is an NVIDIA gfx card (vs my ATI) and they do interesting things on multicores with their drivers. That sounds like a bit of a stretch though.

There were a couple of fishy lines in the CP readme and changelog i.e:

Timing issue on multicore processors fixed (can be switched on or off by Timer.ThreadSafe in ge3.ini).
and :

2. Threads.Priority

With this switch, you can give Gothic 3 a higher priority compared to other
applications currently running on your computer, e.g. Acrobat Reader. The main
intention of increasing the priority of Gothic 3 is to provide more CPU time to the
game. This should result in a better performance, but that's not generally guaranteed.
The values are:
0=Normal (default),
1=Above Normal,
2=Highest

Try it out if you like, but if you notice any negative side effects, undo your changes
again. We know from our tests that a priority value of 1 (above normal) can evoke
problems with the game control on weak/slow computers, resulting in an increasing
delay of every keyboard or mouse action.
So - all changes of the Thread.Priority are at your own risk.

3. Timer.ThreadSafe

When using multicore computers, there can generally appear synchronization errors when
querying the system time. In Gothic 3, this could result in particularly slow or
particularly fast progress of the ingame time ("disco effect"). If the parameter
ThreadSafe is set to "true" (this is the default after installing the patch), the
system time will be determined correctly. This may influence the performance of the
game. If you experience any trouble with ThreadSafe=true (against our expectations),
simply change the entry to "false".


Were you guys actually running something else on the system that might periodically "steal" time from G3 (antivirus with the shields on etc) ?

P.S: I was asking vurt about his changes because the CP read me (and them removing the resource cache option and calculating themselves) seems to imply that they optimized in a strict frame this time around and don't want you to mess with it too much…

It ran very well for me in about a half hour of playing I had only a couple noticable stutters.

Did I suddenly become terrible at this game though? With alternate balancing on I was getting destroyed, I couldn't even liberate ardea on easy. The orcs repeatedly knocked me down as they don't kill you. My companions also got their asses handed to them so I lead the orc to the rebel camp and the orc's kicked their asses as well.

Yeah, its a different game with the alternative balancing specifically with the changes to attack speeds blocking and parade mode (with stamina impact) and the fact that now up to 3 enemies can attack you simultaneously (Read their manual for a description of all the changes and rebalances). I quite enjoyed my last run as an archer/hunter but with Shield and sword to fall back on.

Just don't expect for the combat to be magically transformed to something awesome ;) Archery though is the only thing that they did right here imo…
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
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Were you guys actually running something else on the system that might periodically "steal" time from G3 (antivirus with the shields on etc) ?
Of course I'm running AV with everything on! :D

Okay, I'll try with switching it off while playing G3.
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Of course I'm running AV with everything on! :D

Okay, I'll try with switching it off while playing G3.

Well normally it should not be a problem. But I am trying to guess what is causing the thread priority problems if that was indeed what fixed it for you guys...

That said I have the Avast Shields by default off on my gaming system. No reason to have an additional variable there when trying to troubleshoot ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
The stuttering was not a problem for me at all with cp 1.74. It only happened, for 1-2 seconds, when I turn the camera around once in a gameplay and that's it - it does not happen again. It only happens as well when I teleport, but it happens as part of the animation so it is not a problem at all. Having said that, I was setting graphic details to medium - maybe that helped. Even with this setting, the world was beautiful.

Forgot to add my system details: Intel Dual Core E5400 2.7GHz, 2GB RAM, ATI HD 4670 and Win 7 32 pro.

Need to try the latest patch.
 
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Feb 2, 2011
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Forgot to add my system details: Intel Dual Core E5400 2.7GHz, 2GB RAM, ATI HD 4670 and Win 7 32 pro.

You're still running a gaming system with only 2GB RAM?? I'm surprised G3 runs that well for you. How do recent titles run?

I have 4GB, and I consider that a weak point for my system.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,138
Location
Florida, US
You're still running a gaming system with only 2GB RAM?? I'm surprised G3 runs that well for you. How do recent titles run?

I have 4GB, and I consider that a weak point for my system.

All recent titles run smoothly without problems even on high settings. Currently playing the Darkness II on high texture memory and it runs very smooth (as far as I can tell, but have not checked FPS). Same with other titles (New Vegas, Dead Island, Darksiders, Arkham City .. etc.).

I normally minimise any background memory usage through msconfig and don't run any antivirus programs.
 
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Just installed and started a new game. It runs much better than it ever has before. Guess I'll be giving the game a serious try now. The unnamed hero's dialogue is still distractingly choppy though.
 
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
615
I gave this patch a try last night and am very impressed, the stutter is reduced by 95% I'd estimate and it's a world of difference. It's always been a pretty game but, now that it all flows so smoothly, it's just amazing. It finally feels finished, and I'm really looking forward to having another crack at it - not with alternative balancing turned on though. Too brutal for mine.

- Clean install of the game from the original 2006 DVD.
- Patch installed and playing on the default settings (very high).
- Windows 7 64 bit
- i5 something or other
- 4 GB RAM
- Geforce 470

No messing around with process priorities or INI files.
 
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May 29, 2010
Messages
371
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Australia
Gothic III Questpacket 4 Update 2 is now compatible with the new CP 1.75.14.

VO still only in German but in-game texts available in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. Content Mod is being worked on.
 
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Dec 25, 2007
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22
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Hamburg, Germany
I'm not sure why anyone would want to add even more quests to Gothic 3. Imo, it actually has too many side quests already.

*Edit* - Is there an English readme file or some sort of description anywhere?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
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So I just played a bit more of Gothic 3 just now. I didn't bother testing it without the CP, but did a clean install and put the patch over it right away. I'm not really sure what people are complaining about, it's fully playable with a few hic-ups once in a while... that's it. What bothers me more are the graphics glitches that are still in there. The LOD is terrible, for instance. DoF is crap if you don't change it in the ini. Other than that, still a kind of unique game. There are more polished games out there, but this does something different... I don't know, it's kinda cute.

Nothing like Gothic 1/2, though. Sigh.
 
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Oct 18, 2006
Messages
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The LOD is terrible, for instance. DoF is crap if you don't change it in the ini.

There you Go:
;CPT Note: reactivating old keys will*have no effect!
; /////////////////////////////
[Window]
Name=Gothic3
Left=0
Top=0
Right=1024
Bottom=768
RefreshRate=0
AdapterNumber=0
Fullscreen=true
Center=true
CaptureCursor=true
; /////////////////////////////

[Engine.Setup]
;Version string
Version=1.75

;DisableDEP - false=default, system preset=off, turn (D)ata (E)xecution (P)revention off=on // supported @ XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7 // be careful!!!
DisableDEP=false

;Timer.ThreadSafe - false=off, true=default, use thread safe timer to avoid fast day/night cycles or slowdown issues
Timer.ThreadSafe=true

; Debugoutput in console, (ignore/normal) default = ignore
Debug.Filter=ignore

; FOV in degrees
Camera.FOV=60
;Camera.ZNear - Devnote: changing this value need a change of Camera.ZBias too
Camera.ZNear=25.0
Camera.ZBias=0.05

;GUI.DefaultFont - default=Comic Sans MS, alternative=Lucida Sans Unicode, original=Gothic3
GUI.DefaultFont=Comic Sans MS
;GUI.DefaultFontBold - true=if font is Gothic3, false=default
GUI.DefaultFontBold=false
;GUI.AutoAspect - true=default, false=disable gui automatic aspect ratio calculation
GUI.AutoAspect=true

;Threads.Priority - 0=Normal (default), 1=AboveNormal, 2=Highest
Threads.Priority=2

;Physics.Threads - 0=min use internal default settings, 4=max threads, 2=default
Physics.Threads=2

;Preset values
Sound.MasterVolume=255
Sound.VoiceVolume=255
Sound.MusicVolume=56
Sound.EffectVolume=205
Sound.AmbientVolume=255

; ==================================
; ANIMATION BLENDING PARAMETERS
; ==================================
; Default time (in seconds) is used to blend animations if they are not listed
AnimationBlending.DefaultFadeTime=0.2
AnimationBlending.PhysicControllerDistance=1200.0

; ==================================
; DYNAMIC ENTITY CAPS
; ==================================
; ROI sphere is used to process all dynamic entities within range.
;Entity.ROI - 0.01=min, FarClippingPlane=max, 4000.0=default
;Automatically clamped to FarClippingPlane if bigger
Entity.ROI=8000.0

;Render.Nvidia3DVisionFix - 0=Disable, 1=Enable, 2=default auto detect (Nvidia 3D Vision fix)
Render.Nvidia3DVisionFix=2

; Disable all message rendering
Render.DisableFocusNames=false

; Prefetchercellsize, corresponds with landscapepatchsize
;Render.PrefetchGridCellSize - 10000=default
Render.PrefetchGridCellSize=30000
;Render.PrefetchGridCellSizeLowPoly - 34000=default
Render.PrefetchGridCellSizeLowPoly=102000


Render.DOFStart=4000.0
Render.DOFEnd=40000.0

;Render.DOFMaxBlur=2.0 - 0.01=min, 4.0=max, 2.0=default
Render.DOFMaxBlur=2.0

; Rim lighting

;Render.RimLightStart - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.65=default
;Render.RimLightEnd - 0.01=min, 4.0=max, 2.2=default
;Render.RimLightIntensity - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 1.0=default
Render.RimLightStart=0.65
Render.RimLightEnd=2.2
Render.RimLightIntensity=1.0

; Subsurface Scattering
;Render.LeafSubsurfaceRollOff - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.60=default
;Render.LeafSubsurfaceIntensity - 0.01=min, 4.0=max, 0.90=default
Render.LeafSubsurfaceRollOff=0.60
Render.LeafSubsurfaceIntensity=0.90

; HDRR/Bloom
;Render.HDRExposure - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 2.85=default
;Render.HDRGamma - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.60=default
;Render.HDRVignette - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 0.30=default
;Render.HDRBlueShiftThreshold=4.0 - 1.00=min, 16.0=max, 4.0=default
;Render.HDRBlueShiftIntensity=1.0 - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 1.0=default
;Render.HDRGlowThreshold - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.69=default
;Render.HDRGlowIntensity - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 3.00=default
;Render.HDRGlowAberration- 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 2.50=default
;Render.BloomThreshold - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.59=default
;Render.BloomIntensity - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 1.60=default
;Render.BloomAberration - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 2.50=default
Render.HDRExposure=2.85
Render.HDRGamma=0.60
Render.HDRVignette=0.30
Render.HDRBlueShiftThreshold=4.0
Render.HDRBlueShiftIntensity=1.0
Render.HDRGlowThreshold=0.69
Render.HDRGlowIntensity=3.00
Render.HDRGlowAberration=2.75
Render.BloomThreshold=0.59
Render.BloomIntensity=1.70
Render.BloomAberration=2.75

; Noise
;Render.NoiseThreshold - 1.00=min, 16.0=max, 7.00=default
;Render.NoiseIntensity - 0.01=min, 8.0=max, 0.15=default
Render.NoiseThreshold=7.00
Render.NoiseIntensity=0.15

; Grass Response
;Render.GrassResponseRange - 1.0=min, 400.0=max, 130.0=default, 0.0=disable response
;Render.GrassResponseIntensity - 1.0=min, 200.0=max, 40.0=default, 0.0=disable response
Render.GrassResponseRange=130.0
Render.GrassResponseIntensity=50.0

; Feedback
;Render.FeedbackHPThreshold - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.20=default
;Render.FeedbackRedIntensity - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.50=default
;Render.FeedbackGreenIntensity - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.50=default
;Render.FeedbackGrayIntensity - 0.01=min, 1.0=max, 0.50=default
Render.FeedbackHPThreshold=0.20
Render.FeedbackRedIntensity=0.50
Render.FeedbackGreenIntensity=0.50
Render.FeedbackGrayIntensity=0.50

; Shadows
;Render.DisableHWShadowMap - false=default, true=disable hardware shadow mappping support
Render.DisableHWShadowMap=false

; Shader Cache
;Render.DisableShaderCache - false=default, true=disable shader cache read-/writing
Render.DisableShaderCache=false

FpS.Min=10.0
FpS.Max=120
FpS.Fixed=-1.000000

Timer.bIsSmooth=true

Input.DisableForceNumLock=true


IgnoreUserOptions=false
[Project.Setup]
Workspace.Name=Data
Workspace.SaveGames=Save
Workspace.Backup=Backup
Workspace.Scripts=Scripts
Workspace.Compiled.Mesh=_compiledMesh
Workspace.Compiled.Material=_compiledMaterial
Workspace.Compiled.Animation=_compiledAnimation
Workspace.Compiled.Image=_compiledImage
Workspace.Compiled.Physic=_compiledPhysic

[Snapshots]
; Snapshot path (for default key look into controls.ini.
Path=snapshots
Prefix=snap_

; Engine only controls, if nomenu is set or game isn´t active
[Controls]
MoveSpeed=5000.0
MoveAccelerator=20.0
MoveDeccelerator=0.15

[Game]
TestMode=false
PlayerStart=PC_Hero
NoMenu=false
;MinHitDuration - 0=min, 15=max, 6=default
MinHitDuration=6
;ExtendedContent - false=default, true=enable CPT content (preset value)
ExtendedContent=true
;AIMode - false=default, true=enable CPT extended A.I. mode (preset value)
AIMode=true
;XPModifier - 1=min, 200=max, 100=default (percentage)
XPModifier=100
;QuickLoot - false=Disable right click looting, true=default
QuickLoot=true

; Camera properties
[Camera]
; freefly cam (engine only)
fMoveSpeed=100.0
fMoveAccelerator=50.0
fMoveDeccelerator=0.3

; 3rd person/1st person cam
fAziSpeedScale=0.10000
fElevSpeedScale=0.070000
fRelaxCamera=20.0
fRelaxPlayer=2.0
fRelaxYAxis=15.0
fRelaxXAxis=8.0
fRelaxDist=60.0
fRelaxFOV=25.0
fMaxDistToPlayer=800.0f

; /////////////////////////////
; Option
[Option.Sliders]

;DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_High - 1000.0=min, 50000.0=max, 10000.0=default
;DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_Medium - 1000.0=min, 50000.0=max, 8000.0=default
;DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_Low - 1000.0=min, 50000.0=max, 6000.0=default
DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_High=30000.0
DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_Medium=8000.0
DistanceHigh.fFarClippingPlane_Low=6000.0

;DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_High - 10000.0=min, 300000.0=max, 100000.0=default
;DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_Medium - 10000.0=min, 300000.0=max, 50000.0=default
;DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_Low - 10000.0=min, 300000.0=max, 25000.0=default
DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_High=300000.0
DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_Medium=50000.0
DistanceLow.fFarClippingPlaneLowPolyMesh_Low=25000.0

;VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_VeryHigh - 1000.0=min, 30000.0=max, 7500.0=default
;VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_High - 1000.0=min, 30000.0=max, 6500.0=default
;VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_Medium - 1000.0=min, 30000.0=max, 5000.0=default
;VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_Low - 1000.0=min, 30000.0=max, 4000.0=default
VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_VeryHigh=18000.0
VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_High=8000.0
VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_Medium=7000.0
VegetationViewRange.fViewDistance_Low=6000.0

;ObjectDetails.fGlobalVisualLoDFactor_XXXXX - 0.001=min, 1.0=max, 1.0=default
;ObjectDetails.enuMeshLoDQualityStage_XXXXX - 0=Normal, 1=High, 2=UltraHigh
;ObjectDetails.enuAnimationLoDQualityStage_XXXXX - 0=Normal, 1=High, 2=UltraHigh

ObjectDetails.fScreenObjectDistanceCulling_VeryHigh=0.0000001
ObjectDetails.fProcessingRangeFadeOutRange_VeryHigh=25.0
ObjectDetails.fRangedBaseLoDOffset_VeryHigh=28000.0
ObjectDetails.fGlobalVisualLoDFactor_VeryHigh=1.0
ObjectDetails.enuMeshLoDQualityStage_VeryHigh=2
ObjectDetails.enuAnimationLoDQualityStage_VeryHigh=2
ObjectDetails.fLowPolyObjectDistanceCulling_VeryHigh=0.01
ObjectDetails.fScreenObjectDistanceCulling_High=0.008
ObjectDetails.fProcessingRangeFadeOutRange_High=300.0
ObjectDetails.fRangedBaseLoDOffset_High=400.0
ObjectDetails.fGlobalVisualLoDFactor_High=0.01
ObjectDetails.enuMeshLoDQualityStage_High=2
ObjectDetails.enuAnimationLoDQualityStage_High=2
ObjectDetails.fLowPolyObjectDistanceCulling_High=0.01
ObjectDetails.fScreenObjectDistanceCulling_Medium=0.02
ObjectDetails.fProcessingRangeFadeOutRange_Medium=500.0
ObjectDetails.fRangedBaseLoDOffset_Medium=100.0
ObjectDetails.fGlobalVisualLoDFactor_Medium=0.01
ObjectDetails.enuMeshLoDQualityStage_Medium=0
ObjectDetails.enuAnimationLoDQualityStage_Medium=0
ObjectDetails.fLowPolyObjectDistanceCulling_Medium=0.01
ObjectDetails.fScreenObjectDistanceCulling_Low=0.045
ObjectDetails.fProcessingRangeFadeOutRange_Low=700.0
ObjectDetails.fRangedBaseLoDOffset_Low=-200.0
ObjectDetails.fGlobalVisualLoDFactor_Low=0.01
ObjectDetails.enuMeshLoDQualityStage_Low=0
ObjectDetails.enuAnimationLoDQualityStage_Low=0
ObjectDetails.fLowPolyObjectDistanceCulling_Low=0.01

;----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;Preset values for useroptions.ini / detail option menu (low,medium,high,very high)
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;Options Low/Medium/High/VeryHigh
;DistanceHigh - 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High
;DistanceLow - 0=Off, 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High
;ObjectDetails - 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High, 4=VeryHigh
;TextureQuality - 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High
;TextureFilter - 0=Linear, 1=Anisotropic2x, 2=Anisotropic4x, 3=Anisotropic8x, 4=Anisotropic16x
;VegetationQuality - 0=Off, 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High
;VegetationViewRange - 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High, 4=VeryHigh
;ShadowQuality - 0=Off, 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High, 4=VeryHigh
;LensFlare - 0=off, 1=on
;Bloom - 0=off, 1=Bloom, 2=HDR
;DepthOfField - 0=off, 1=on
;Antialiasing - 0=off, 1=ES2x, 2=ES4x
;Noise - 0=off, 1=on
;Feedback - 0=off, 1=on
;ColorGrading - 0=off, 1=on

[Options.Low]
DistanceHigh=1
DistanceLow=1
ObjectDetails=1
TextureQuality=1
TextureFilter=0
VegetationQuality=0
VegetationViewRange=1
ShadowQuality=0
LensFlare=0
Bloom=0
DepthOfField=0
Antialiasing=0
Noise=0
Feedback=0
ColorGrading=0

[Options.Medium]
DistanceHigh=2
DistanceLow=2
ObjectDetails=2
TextureQuality=2
TextureFilter=1
VegetationQuality=1
VegetationViewRange=2
ShadowQuality=1
LensFlare=0
Bloom=1
DepthOfField=0
Antialiasing=0
Noise=0
Feedback=0
ColorGrading=0

[Options.High]
DistanceHigh=3
DistanceLow=3
ObjectDetails=3
TextureQuality=2
TextureFilter=2
VegetationQuality=3
VegetationViewRange=3
ShadowQuality=3
LensFlare=0
Bloom=1
DepthOfField=1
Antialiasing=0
Noise=0
Feedback=0
ColorGrading=0

[Options.VeryHigh]
DistanceHigh=3
DistanceLow=3
ObjectDetails=4
TextureQuality=3
TextureFilter=4
VegetationQuality=3
VegetationViewRange=4
ShadowQuality=4
LensFlare=0
Bloom=2
DepthOfField=1
Antialiasing=1
Noise=1
Feedback=1
ColorGrading=0

[Options.Gamma]
BrightnessScaling=0.2
ContrastScaling=0.075
RedScaling=0.3
GreenScaling=0.3
BlueScaling=0.3

; /////////////////////////////
; Language (voice and subtitle)
[Language]
Text=English
Audio=English
ShowSubtitle=true
Subtitle.SupportedCount=10
Subtitle.Entry_0=English
Subtitle.Entry_1=Italian
Subtitle.Entry_2=French
Subtitle.Entry_3=German
Subtitle.Entry_4=Spanish
Subtitle.Entry_5=Czech
Subtitle.Entry_6=Hungarian
Subtitle.Entry_7=Polish
Subtitle.Entry_8=Russian
Subtitle.Entry_9=TRC

This should totally eliminate all LOD problems. It is practically a merge of the ini from 1.75 CPT and the insane quality PCGH ini floating around these forums...

DISCLAIMER: You better have a really decent rig for this one... I only fooled around 30 mins with it on my i7 960 6GBDDR3 AMD5870 no out of memory crashes (yet ;) ) or other problems. FPS were 35 on the opening melee and a constant 30-60 on the little stroll I took in the Area between Ardea to Trellis... Have fun

P.S the game looks so good like this that a gtx 680 suddenly doesn't seem like a completely stupid idea ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
What bothers me more are the graphics glitches that are still in there.

With the CP 1.75 on the default 'very high' settings it's my humble opinion that this is the best looking game eva. It's jam packed with hand placed detail; great lighting, cool beasts, mysterious mountains off in the distance, no invisible walls. Wow. It's the freedom that does it for me I think, and swimming across a lake to an out-of-the-way little corner is actually worth it; there are little surprises everywhere.

And there's so much to do, I'd forgotten how many quests there are.

Anyway I'll stop gushing, but I think it's time to port this to xbox and watch it totally outsell skyrim :)
 
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
371
Location
Australia
Been somewhat bored waiting on GW2's next beta weekend... so I installed G3. What's the verdict on "alternative balancing"? Is it hard for the sake of being hard? Or more in tune with with how G1/2 were balanced?
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,979
Location
Florida, USA
The alternative balancing might be fine, but because G3 dumps you right into a battle I decided it was hard for the sake of it and turned it off. The opening battle just kept going... and going. All the humans in the town were down for the count and I was out of arrows.
 
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
371
Location
Australia
Definitely not hard for the sake of it.

What it does, is add some realism and strategy back into the game. Read the relevant section of the CPT manual to get a general impression. The combat system in G3 was completely nonsensical (*) and the changes made ameliorate a lot of that. It does make the game more difficult in the sense that you can't blindly click your way through victory anymore. Liberation also is a mid to late game affair now. Gone are the days when you could take on a whole orc stronghold by your lonesome (especially early on).

That though is more an effect of the difficulty settings. Alternative A.I or A.B on hard, allows up to three enemies to attack you simultaneously instead of, you know, taking a number and politely waiting their turn. That does make things more difficult and you really can only survive by hit and run tactics (as in G1/2) in the early game (that is why an Archer with sword and shield as a fallback works so well). All in all if you set difficulty to hard you better be prepared to use companions to their full effect in the early and mid game (and even mid to late for special cases like liberations).

For the opening melee you should probably take on an orc already engaged to one of the 4 companions and try to shake off one or more of them by circling around Ardea use the terrain etc (and much as I dislike it inside a melee, save often ;) )

Read more after section 2.4 or something in the CP manual. You will see that Alternative A.I, A.B and difficulty settings are more or less able to be set independently so you can tailor the overall difficulty to your level of familiarity with the game and your desire to invest in it. Never expect a G2+NOTR level of experience though in terms of quality :)



(* i.e:
With activated AB, the damage caused by a human or Orc to the hero
is not only connected to the strength of the NPC, but also influenced
by the damage of the weapon the NPC uses. When someone attacks
only with fists, that person is now less dangerous than for example
with a battle axe.
On the other hand,the armor of the hero doesn't work percentually
anymore, but in absolute figures. If the hero has a good armor, then
weak opponents will rarely be able to wound him anymore. To make
sure that the hero does not become completely immune against
attacks from weak enemies, a small percentage of these attacks will
still cause a little damage.
)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
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This should totally eliminate all LOD problems. It is practically a merge of the ini from 1.75 CPT and the insane quality PCGH ini floating around these forums…

DISCLAIMER: You better have a really decent rig for this one… I only fooled around 30 mins with it on my i7 960 6GBDDR3 AMD5870 no out of memory crashes (yet ;) ) or other problems. FPS were 35 on the opening melee and a constant 30-60 on the little stroll I took in the Area between Ardea to Trellis… Have fun

P.S the game looks so good like this that a gtx 680 suddenly doesn't seem like a completely stupid idea ;)

Got any screens? My rig probably could never run that setup, I'm curious to see how it looks in its full splendour.
 
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