Gothic 3 Is it possible to play Gothic 3 without a mouse?

HLR

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This is the first time I've ever posted in a forum like this, and I am pretty new to computer games and I don't know all the lingo (well, I played a lot of King's Quest, Space Quest, etc. back in the day, but haven't played much since then).

Anyhow, I recently enjoyed playing Gothic II, probably the first real RPG I've played (and by enjoyed I mean playing for days on end). It took a bit to learn and customize the controls, but once I got the hang of them, they really grew on me. I have just purchased Gothic III (which I've heard is not as good, but wanted to give it a go), but I am having trouble with the controls. Basically, I am wondering if it is possible to play the game completely with the keyboard as with Gothic 2, not using the mouse. I tried customizing the controls to not use the mouse, but this is a real issue with moving around, etc. The standard left/right/forward/back keys do just that, but do not actually allow the character to turn or have the camera follow. I set keys to allow me to do that, but it makes movement slow and awkward. Any suggestions? Am I just going to have to suck it up and use a mouse? I would also have to actually purchase one since I play on my laptop which has a touch pad instead of a traditional mouse. Or, does someone know the ideal control settings for this to work well with just my keyboard? Any suggestions would be appreciated (keeping in mind to use clear language without too many acronyms, if possible). Thanks so much!
 
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P.S. I have enough technical aptitude that I am able to follow more complicated solutions (if they are laid out clearly), I just don't have a lot of gaming experience.
 
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Welcome to the forums!

Like you, I also prefer the controls of Gothic 1 and 2 (especially G2 where it's quite smooth indeed, once you master it). I've never actually tried playing Gothic 3 with only a keyboard, but I suspect you're in for a bit of trouble. The steering really is intended for mouse use.

However, that's not what you asked, so let's see if we can find a solution here. It's been a while since I played Gothic 3, but I seem to recall using the standard WASD for controlling the character. So far, so good, but A and D will just make the character run to the sides.

That being said, Q and E should allow you to turn the character, so all that's really needed from the mouse is attacking (quick attack on the right mouse button, regular on the left or some such thing) and select stuff.

If you're using WASD for movement + Q and E for turning, you can probably assign the arrow keys (<-, -> etc) to various mouse actions such as left arrow being the same attack as left mouse button, right arrow being the same as the attack on the right mouse button and forward/up being select. Backwards could be parry/blocking. Or something.

Let me know how that works out for you. Playing G3 with G2 controls is an interesting idea, and I think it should be possible to get it working, it's just a bit of hassle.
 
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Thanks for the reply. Yes, you are right in that I can get everything to work with just the keyboard controls, but it is a bit of a hassle. I guess it is best to use a mouse. Even with the mouse, though, is it still necessary to control the camera separately from moving forwards/backwards/sideways? That is the part I find most annoying--I would like the camera to follow me and not have to always control it. I find this especially annoying when fighting. Nothing that can be changed in Marvin mode or anything?
 
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Hmm, I think the camera will always "stick" when it comes to moving backwards/forwards, but the actual direction (left/right) is guided by the mouse. I don't think there's a way to make it stick like it does in G2. I haven't tried G3 in a while though, so there might be something I'm missing.
 
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Yes, but it's inconvenient, really

OK, so I am new to the Gothic universe, and I don't think I am experienced enough to make a decision here. But after spending hours trying to play G3 with:

1. The keyboard alone

2. A game controller (even with Pinnacle Game Profiler)

I see that using the mouse is the convenient way out.
 
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