Risen 2 - Official 3D Support

From the Risen 2 site:

Deep Silver today announced that the PC version of the pirate RPG Risen 2: Dark Waters will fully support the 3D Vision technology from Nvidia.

Never before has a world of pirates and monsters, of sailors and gnomes, of good and evil, been experienced on a PC screen to this extent – bring the pirate world of Risen 2 to all new depths – with an effect so real you can almost taste the rum.

More information.

That's great news; Piranha Bytes sure know how to fill a screen with plenty of realistic little details which could really "pop" in 3D. I know NVIDIA 3D Vision is a niche thing if there ever was one, but for games that support it capably (such as the Witcher 2 or, surprisingly, the original Mass Effect) the added immersion is actually surprisingly substantial.

To be honest I moved on from PB's games after the Gothic 3 debacle - Risen just didn't do much for me. I wasn't that concerned with Risen 2 either, but since I game almost exclusively in 3D nowadays this is now on my radar.

Hmmm…. I don't know how to take these any more.

Sometimes these things turn out really, really good - like in Batman: Arkham City. Other times, the games come out WORSE than they would have if the game had simply left the 3D alone and let NVIDIA's drivers do the work. Games like Crysis 2 where the 3D effect stops completely after about 20ft. Witcher 2 started out really bad but eventually got itself figured out and is now superb in 3D.

So, all in all, it's still best to wait and see. If the developers really take NVIDIA's recommendations to heart - perhaps even give us a 3D pointer that goes to the depth of what it's over - this is going to be awesome. If they are just looking to do the minimum to get the '3D Vision Ready' tag and actually plan to lock convergence down or give us two-and-a-half D - ouch.

(And either way it's definitely good to know this is happening!)

Nice! Can't say i've used the 3D funtion that much on my TV, but since i rarely use it the "wow"-effect is usually there when i do use it.

Originally Posted by Zloth
If they are just looking to do the minimum to get the '3D Vision Ready' tag and actually plan to lock convergence down or give us two-and-a-half D - ouch.

Well, not many games get as far as "3D Vision Ready" (i.e. the best, most officially supported titles according to NVIDIA's somewhat confusing terminology), and plenty games which have been labelled Good->Excellent look really nice in 3D. As long as they're actually aiming for 3D Vision Ready we should be fine, but the wording "fully support" isn't quite specific enough for my liking. Could be something like Alan Wake, where Remedy hyped the 3D a lot in interviews etc. and it turned out to be so awful that it was being considered for a "Not Recommended" rating (last time I checked, anyway) by NVIDIA (!)…

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
To be honest I moved on from PB's games after the Gothic 3 debacle - Risen just didn't do much for me. I wasn't that concerned with Risen 2 either, but since I game almost exclusively in 3D nowadays this is now on my radar.

Risen wasn't that great imho. Instead of being a step forward it seems they got conservative after Gothic 3 and simply made a game that is Gothic 1 or 2 but with updated graphics.

That isn't a bad thing per se since Gothic 1 and 2 got alot of things right where other franchises have incorporated elements from them since then, but it would be nice if you could actually see them do something new or even correct something they failed at previously (read: Gothic 3 scale but done right).

Couldn't care less. There is plenty of room for improvement in the core gameplay instead of implementing such gimmicks.

Originally Posted by srabuseen
Couldn't care less. There is plenty of room for improvement in the core gameplay instead of implementing such gimmicks.

How do you know they arent improving the core gameplay as well? Its not like everyone is doing the same task in a team, they're efficient at different things..

Originally Posted by srabuseen
Couldn't care less. There is plenty of room for improvement in the core gameplay instead of implementing such gimmicks.

Anti-aliasing is more of a gimmick than S3D.

Originally Posted by Zloth
Anti-aliasing is more of a gimmick than S3D.

Considering S3D virtually eliminates the need for AA, I'd have to agree with you Zloth!

Wow, this topic made it a whole 6 posts before someone threw out the 'gimmick' card. Must!….. Resist!…… Urge….. to Argue!……

Okay,… I'm okay…. Whew, that was close.

Oh, but Dangit, I'm still gonna have to throw a jab -
Some people just play games, others choose to be immersed in them.

There, I said it. Now I feel better.

Originally Posted by vurt
How do you know they arent improving the core gameplay as well? Its not like everyone is doing the same task in a team, they're efficient at different things..

I've played the beta.

Originally Posted by srabuseen
I've played the beta.

And?

None of us know what's been done since that version.

The BETA was even released to the public for that very reason, it was a BETA-test. I can understand they usually arent released for the public, they're way too stupid to understand what they're for, and why they're made.

Originally Posted by JDR13
And?

None of us know what's been done since that version.

Actually we do. First, according to Deep Silver the game has been completed a while ago and Piranhas are working on the DLC since then. Second, the core gameplay is the same both in the beta and in the preview version sent to the press.

Originally Posted by srabuseen
Actually we do. First, according to Deep Silver the game has been completed a while ago and Piranhas are working on the DLC since then. Second, the core gameplay is the same both in the beta and in the preview version sent to the press.

That doesn't mean the final game is identical to the Beta.

Originally Posted by JDR13
That doesn't mean the final game is identical to the Beta.

True, it's not. It has 3D support, woohoo!

PS: The game is fantastic, but it's just missing a few substantial features, that all previous Piranha Bytes games had or at least handled properly (if not implemented fully).