Call me strange but after I got used to the controls in the original Gothic, I was just as good with them as I am with any other controls. They worked perfectly fine for me… yea they were different than any other game I played and yeah they took me a little while to figure out and get used to… but after the learning curve it was every bit as smooth and effective as any other control scheme I can imagine.

Oh… in Gothic 2 I actually kept the classic controls because I was so used to them that they were actually easier for me because I already knew how to use them and it meant not having to get used to another control scheme all over again.

Nothing wrong with that. I also used the Gothic 1 controls in Gothic 2.

can't remember if i used the gothic 1 controls for gothic 2 or not. but the only time i found the controls awkward for gothic 1 was about the first 15 min or so of the 60+ hours i spent with the demo. couldn't figure out how to do anything with those meatbugs which i later went back for after i got it all worked out. i know i'm in the minority here but although the combat was fun in gothic 1 and 2 for its own different reasons, and i didn't have a problem with it (would have been happy with it again) i enjoy it a lot more in gothic 3. i think that melee combat is better for beasts (having to alternate between attacks is far more challenging to me than back and forth, but obviously the human melee definately has its problems and am really interested to see how its handled in the upcoming patch. maybe they should do some scaling with the a.i.'s stamina which would allow for them to block more, since even as a pure mage i mauled them with my staff when i needed to. oh and one of my 'funniest' memories of gothic 3 was during the first hour of play finding more fire arrows than in all of notr!

i do think gothic 2+notr (minus lares not giving up the goods) was 'better', and i will probably be comfortable saying that 3 is better than 2 after the patch. but favourites involve emotion for me and gothic 1 affected me so much that it increase dmy level and time spent in pc gaming significantly from under 6 games a year to, alot more than that in a year!

I voted the first Gothic. Why? I can't really tell you why, because saying that it was the first time I played a Gothic game is not reason enough.

You know the very first time you play or do something really cool? You'll never really experience anything like it again. When Gothic 2 came round, it was more of the same. That wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't my first time with Gothic anymore.

But I'm not sure if that's the only reason. Like someone else said, the way the world is laid out in Gothic 1, the landscape, the way the rivers flowed, it all made perfect sense. I've never felt that level of exploration with the other Gothics, even if they had a bigger land mass.

I used to dream about a game just like Gothic, but with super next-gen graphics: real-time shadows on everything, more detail, etc. Now that we actually have it, it's not quite the same. Don't get me wrong, I love all three. But I played Gothic straight through, while it took me two times to get through the second. I'm still playing the third now that I've finally finished Gothic 2.

Whatever anyone says, I will always hold that the controls in Gothic 1 were the best in any game I have ever played. Read that sentence again! Never have I had such exciting combat. I used the same controls with Gothic 2, but mapped to a gamepad. That was much better; I can recommend it! But no, Dr. A: I didn't find them all that cumbersome.

You can't get back that old feeling, because everything was different then.

I really think that the control scheme in gothic 1 was the best, I used it with gothic 2 and had a blast, I did think the NPC combat was better in G2 with the parry option, and I also like hte fact they gave you a sort of block for beasts(the jump backwards move), it's combat in G3 I have problems with…
for instance all of the npcs that I partied with were only there for fodder, they didn't engage in combat even when the beasts were on top of them , even the mighty gorn which helped me take down a troll in gothic got killed repeatdly when we stormed the old pally stronghold.
anyway I felt it was more cubersome then the old system if you can believe that

I also used G1 controls in Gothic 2, and find that the only problem with those controls is switching target while fighting large groups of enemies.

Gothic 1 was probably the best for me. I have had great fun with all three though. There is one thing I dislike with the first two incarnations (particularly with the NotR expansion). That is the need to overly carefully plan your spending of learning points, and having to save potions for later use (I built a mage in G1 that ended up with way too little mana because I had spent my permanent mana potions before getting to 100 mana). I prefer games where you have the time to repair a character build, and proceed in the game, even if it takes some extra time. Gothic 3 solves that by not having any artificial caps and having an over-abundance of roaming monsters to kill, so I never felt the need to vacuum clean wilderness areas in G3.

Essentially G1 and G2 are better for storyline and NPC depth but a bit linear. G3 seems to have more replay potential, but the NPCs, and particularly your old friends from previous adventures, are very underdeveloped.

G1 and G2 remains my favourite RPGs of all time though. The world and the NPCs are so rich that it compensates for the relative linearity, and that is with me really valuing replay value above many other factors in RPGs

For me, spending exp was not a problem in G1, neither was the keyboard, here's a few things i completed on my G1 travels and experiences.

(using "initial" cheats - preset at game start then playing normal storyline)
1. Took Mud all the way through the game and he killed the sleeper.
2. Completed G1 as a non-combatant yet reciever of exp of others eg: Mud, Shrat etc'

(with no cheats)
3. Completed the game with only diggers trousers and discipline sword.
4. Completed the game with no melee weapons, just the bow and magics.
5. Completed the game with fist/kickfighting and some magics.
6. Completed the game with no agressive killing of opponents but by other means, summons etc'
7. Enabled the true chromanin quest and opened the monastery portal without realising or completing the game.

G1 is unequalled, it is the best for atmospherics and depth, it hasn't been fully completed yet by anyone (aka:chromanin) this fact alone places the game at the pinacle of excellence.

I vote without hesitation for G1.

I voted Gothic 2. I have played this a ton, and Gothic 1 only a couple of times. Of course, I played Gothic 2 *first* and it really hooked me! I also loved Gothic 3, but for me it is the least of the series.

Originally Posted by curious
i really believe that the 'when'of playing a game relative to its release, escpecially when a series is involved has an impact, even if small, on possible levels of enjoyment of a game.

I agree - since I played all Gothic games well after release date, and had to eBay all of them (except G2 Gold … so yes I have 2 copies of G2!)), I feel I missed that whole 'day of release' thing. So I was going backward after adapting to G2's controls, and trying to learn G1's controls. They never felt as fluid to me.

[QUOTE=cptmaxon;12012]I really think that the control scheme in gothic 1 was the best, I used it with gothic 2 and had a blast, I did think the NPC combat was better in G2 with the parry option, QUOTE]

Couldn't you parry in Gothic 1 also? It's been quite a while since I've played it but I thought I remember being able to parry.


*Edit* Just booted up Gothic, (didn't even realize I still had it installed) and yes, you can parry\block.

Gothic 1 is the one which caused my addiction to this game type, i do like G2 and G3, but since G1 is the one to be blamed, i had to vote it

Gothic 1 was my favorite because when the demo hit the US, no one really knew how to categorize it. It was when I first entered the old camp: the hushed voices talking around the campfires, the whole 'psst hey you, come here' got me immersed.
But it was when I got caught in that first hut that hooked me. The realization that, while these NPCs are going about their business, they are watching 'the stranger' and everything he does while in camp. It freaked me out! I must have played the demo about 8x over waiting for the full version to hit the states. And like someone said earlier, it was the way the entire plot came in piece-meal that kept you hooked.
The whole time you're focused on bringing down this barrier, it isnt until the last 2 cahpter that the REAL end mission is revealed. But again, it wasnt the grand plot that caught my attention it was the very little details that did it for me.
The multiple ways to finish a task, the process to cooking, and smithing and alchemy and weed smoking…and llooking for the texts and books all over the place.
It made the long run to the end a lot more fun that in a usual CRPG and it really showed that they took their time with G1

haven't played gothic 3 yet, just the demo, so I will not vote yet.
I liked G1 more, why? especially the story, or not knowing the story, and the little pieces falling together bit by bit untill you finally realize what the purpose of the game is. That was what G2 never had.
Also the opening sequence was great of G1. I will never forget the punch in the face.
And of course the old friends who you just started to learn. They didnt had such a big role in 2.
I know it sounds like I didn't liked G2 but I do love it. just liked G1 more.
But I won't vote because I noticed with only playing the demo, I really fellt like playing gothic1 again but in a totally different setting. I will vote a soon as I played G3 long enough to be able to compare it, or when I finished it

G1 and G2 were both great games, but I voted for G2 because of NOTR and because I played it more times, more recently.

Unfortunately, once you get past the bugs, G3 as a kind of Gothic Lite which resembles a pale copy the two earlier games in so many respects, but adds little that is truly compelling to the franchise. Coming down to the end of my first play-throughs of G1 and G2, I was happily anticipating the chance to replay them both. With G3, what I felt was relief that it was finally over. No desire for a replay except perhaps after some extensive patching… someday.

I never had any problems with the controls in Gothic 1 in general, because I was already used to the use of they keyboards from jump&run games (originally my favourite genre next to adventures).

This might sound very weird to you, but from a keyboard use point of view, Gothic 1 appeared just as another jump & run game to me.

One thing that strongly remained in my memory was Mud.
And the possibility to forge your own swords, and roast you own meals.

Am I wrong or was it the first game wherein you could do this ? Especially in 3D ?

I remember games like Ultima Underworld II had things like this, or at least you could fish in water and catch fish for food. But then those games were ultimate classics as well.

I never finished that game.

I voted for Gothic 1, but I do think another option should have been enabled -> Gothic 2 + addon! It's for me of similar quality as the first game.

Gothic 3 misses a lot of features that were possible in Gothic 1. I'm suprised that PB gave this away just for some graphics and a larger world. I don't mind a slightly smaller world, cause I'm one of those guys who go lurking in each cave they find and try to get on higher points like mountains.(Real funny to kill a Black Troll with just a bunch of arrows -> you simply have to run away a few times and everything is ok)

I e-mailed KaiRo and gave him a link to this thread. Let's hope he still uses that e-mail address, and cross your fingers so he might visit us here.

The 1st one. It set a new standard for me when it comes to 3D Action-RPGs, just like BG2 once set a new standard for 2D CRPGs. Games like that I never forget, and will always think more highly of than others.

Yep, for me Gothic1 is definitely a legend. G2+tnotr comes quite close, but G1 has something special. I re-played both, g1 and g2+tnotr again before g3 and then compared them with g3 when it came out. The most interesting thing is, that I still after all these years found a few things about g1 that I didn't know (for example that ghost tower and chromanin quest, I don't know how I missed it last times) . So mi list would be G1>G2>G3.
P.S. I completely agree with Bartacus, gothic1 has way smaller world and bad graphics, but I still enjoy playing it more than G3. And like someone already said in another topic, PB probably wanted to make G3 better than Oblivion and weren't making another gothic.