Piranha Bytes - New Publisher: Deep Silver

PB wanted the big world and the generated content. Filling it manually would have been impossible for such a small team.

Originally Posted by Ragon der Magier
Sure,
All i was trying to say has been:
You don´t need to go back as far as G I.
G II was offering more than enough in that department, either… and in fact with NOTR it scored brilliantly here!

My feelings exactly.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Why not ? You were never on an island were you ?

Lets just say I'll bite that G1 world size was enough to plausibly represent
a closed off valley on a tinee tiny island (more competently represented by
a world of G2+addon size )

Anyway I'll concede that if the content reaches their earlier levels (like I've said),
size might not matter (at least to the hardcore player) .

I just want to know when I get to start whining about the US release not being quick enough. I actually installed G1 last week for a trip down ye ol' memory lane, if this is true we're all in for a treat. I haven't been studying my publishers lately so I need a little help. Would DS handle a us release or would that be an entirely different contract with another company?

Originally Posted by Gorath
The small world could be an indicator for a rather short development cycle.

Let's hope not. Isn't the point of going back to a smaller game world and bringing back chapters to put the emphasize back on quality and balance? If they reduced the time spent making the game…well, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?

Deep Silver has direct market access in D, A, CH, F, I and UK. So a UK version though GoGamer might be an option.

Originally Posted by Squeek
Let's hope not. Isn't the point of going back to a smaller game world and bringing back chapters to put the emphasize back on quality and balance? If they reduced the time spent making the game…well, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?

Why? Don´t forget their team is slightly bigger than for Gothic and G2 and that they all are much more experienced now. The tools are also more mature because they knew what to fix after G3.

Originally Posted by Gorath
Why?

I see your point, but I still hope they take their time with it. We'll just have to agree to disagree, Gorath.

Small world -> fast development cycle -> faster cash income ?
Implicite -> financial problems ?

Originally Posted by Squeek
I see your point, but I still hope they take their time with it. We'll just have to agree to disagree, Gorath.

Okay.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Small world -> fast development cycle -> faster cash income ?
Implicite -> financial problems ?

Or pragmatism. Quick market penetration, low budget, good contract -> royalties -> money for the next game.

… and not to forget, last but not least:

- a headstart in front of their anticipated biggest competitor:
Jowood with teh 4th installment of the established RPG-IP - Gothic

I don't know. I can (with a little difficulty) get over the unfinished state of G3 and not hold it against PB. However, the "we were working on the patch in our heads" bit really leaves a bad taste in my mouth! As to the new game, well all I can say is that the Demo better be damn impressive!

I like the idea of going back to the chapter system and I like the idea of going back to mostly hand placed items and monsters. As for size, I'd have to agree with those who've expressed the opinion that G2 would be a good size to shoot for. G1 was definately a little on the small side. I hope they'll bring back "climbing" and implement something like the "Rune Making" scheme of G1&G2.

I hope they do some serious work on "Storytelling" and "Plot Development". In my opinion, these are the missing elements that hurt G3 the worst (closely followed by the Terrible changes made to the Orc's).

I guess only time will tell what direction things will take.

I have no problem with chapters for better story presentation and effecient system management. I just hope they put "Climbing" back… Maybe add "wall walking" like that of POP…just imagine the possiblities of exploring that beauty world.

The Chapter Change.

I can say without reservation that the 'chapter change' when implemented correctly, and iv'e seen no better example, than from PB in G1, is an absolute necessity for storyline control of progression triggers. It is the perfect filter system for enabling or disabling, advancing and of course failing the deepest quest solving solutions. It is also without equal for perfect levelling control of a game. The data loading capacities are greatly reduced allowing smother play from not-so-powerful computers.

To me this is the best thing PB could have done….it's what they know and do best…the failings of G3 prove this.

Welcome home….chapter changes!