Gothic

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Gothic
G1cover art.jpg
Developers
Publishers
Engines
 
Release dates
Windows
March 15, 2001
Gothic at Steam Charts
Gothic at SteamDB
 Gothic at Wikipedia
Gothic
Gothic 2001
Gothic II 2002
Gothic II: Night of the Raven
Gothic 3 2006
Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods 2008
ArcaniA: Gothic 4 2010
ArcaniA: Fall of Setarrif 2011

Key points

Information For Windows 8 apply the fullscreen border fix (not needed for the GOG.com version).
Disadvantage Frame rate is capped at 25 FPS by default; see High frame rate to remove the cap.

General information

More information GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
More information GOG.com Support Page
More information Steam Community Discussions
More information Steam Users' Forums for game series

Availability[edit]

Source DRM Notes Keys
GOG.com DRM-free
Steam Availability Table Icons - Steam.svg Only sold as part of bundles.

Version differences[edit]

Information The original German release included a performance by In Extremo that was omitted from later German releases and all international versions. Use the In Extremo Mod.
Information The Russian Gothic: Collector's Edition includes Gothic and the Diccuric mod.
Information The German Gothic Collector's Edition includes Gothic along with Gothic II and its expansion.

Essential improvements[edit]

Version 1.08k Patch (retail)[edit]

The latest retail patch is version 1.08k. Digital distribution versions already include this patch. To check your current patch version look at the bottom right of the main menu box.

Player-Kit[edit]

Information The Player-Kit is required for playing mods and unlocking the frame rate.
Information Causes a minor issue with a gate near the end of the game; use Gothic_backup.exe temporarily to pass this area (see Gate cutscene doesn't play, gate won't open).

Fix Install Player-Kit

  1. If you are using a disc version ensure you have the latest patch (see Patches).
  2. Download and install the Player-Kit.
  3. Mods can now be installed. The in-game version number is changed to 1.08k_mod.
Information Gothic will now show a mod selector window when launched; to have a shortcut launch the unmodded game directly, change it to point to GothicMod.exe instead of Gothic.exe.

Skip intro videos[edit]

Fix Change playLogoVideos setting

  1. Edit gothic.ini
  2. Change playLogoVideos=1 to playLogoVideos=0
  3. Save your changes.
  4. The game will now go directly to the main menu when launched.

Restore In Extremo performance[edit]

Information The original German release included a performance by In Extremo; this was omitted from later German releases and all international versions.

Fix Use inextremo.VDF

  1. Download the In Extremo Mod.
  2. Extract to Data in the installation folder.
  3. Start a new game. In Extremo will perform during Chapter 2.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

  Location 
Windows <path-to-game>\system\GOTHIC.INI

Save game data location[edit]

  Location 
Windows <path-to-game>\Saves

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud Impossible
GameSave Manager Native

Video settings[edit]

Video settings.
Graphic settings.
Graphics option Option WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution Native WSGF WS Bronze.svg Only some resolutions listed; see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor Impossible False icon.svg
Field of view (FOV) Impossible
Windowed Hackable Works with limitations; see Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed Hackable Works with limitations; see Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF) Impossible No native support; force in the graphics card's control panel.
Anti-aliasing (AA) Impossible Forcing in the graphics card's control panel may cause black videos.
Vertical sync (Vsync) Impossible Force in the graphics card's control panel.
High frame rate Hackable Capped at 25 FPS by default; see High frame rate.

Widescreen resolution[edit]

Information Gothic only has native support for 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, and 1440x900.

Fix Use other widescreen resolutions[1]

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Go into system
  3. Make a shortcut for the Gothic executable:
    • If the Player-Kit is not installed, make a shortcut to Gothic.exe
    • If the Player-Kit is installed, make a shortcut to GothicMod.exe
  4. Right click the shortcut and choose Properties.
  5. Paste the following onto the end of the Target field:
    -zRes:XXXX,XXXX,32
  6. Replace the XXXX parts with the width and height of your resolution.
  7. Click Apply. Use this shortcut to launch the game with your chosen resolution.

Windowed[edit]

Information Task-switching may cause repeated Tab input when you return to the game (simply press Tab again to make it work normally).
Information Task-switching during video cutscenes will crash the game (there are only four during the game, not counting the intro and ending).

Fix Change zStartupWindowed setting

  1. Run the game at least once.
  2. Edit gothic.ini
  3. Change zStartupWindowed=0 to zStartupWindowed=1
  4. Change scaleVideos=1 to scaleVideos=0 (otherwise videos render in the corner of the screen).
  5. Save your changes.

Borderless fullscreen windowed[edit]

Information See Windowed for the limitations of this mode.

Fix Set up borderless fullscreen windowed mode

  1. Install the Player-Kit.
  2. Install the Fullscreen border (Windows 8) fix, even if you aren't on Windows 8.
  3. Set zStartupWindowed=1 in Gothic.ini (see Windowed).
  4. Set your desktop resolution in-game. Gothic should now display as a fullscreen borderless window.

High frame rate[edit]

Information Gothic runs with a frame rate of around 25 FPS by default.

Fix Install FPS Patch

  1. Install the Player-Kit.
  2. Install the FPS patch (right click, run as administrator).
  3. For Windows 8 and later install the Windows 8 fixes.

Input settings[edit]

Keyboard and mouse Native Notes
Remapping Native
Mouse acceleration Impossible
Mouse input in menus Impossible No cursor; buttons and wheel work but can't change settings.
Mouse Y-axis inversion Native Set in Settings, Game, Invert View.
Controller
Controller support Impossible

Audio settings[edit]

Audio settings.
Audio options Native Notes
Separate volume controls Native Sound and music.
Surround sound Native Change Speakers to Surround.
Subtitles Native Disabled by default; set in Settings, Game, Subtitles.
Closed captions Impossible
Mute on focus lost Impossible Not supported.
EAX support Native Change Soundprovider to EAX 2.

Localizations

Language UI Audio CC Notes
English Native Unknown Unknown
German Native Native Native
Polish Native Native Native Available only in local retail release and as a part of Gothic Universe at CDP.pl.
Spanish Native Unknown Unknown

Issues unresolved[edit]

ATI 1xxx invisible inventory items[edit]

Disadvantage Inventory item graphics turn invisible on ATI 1xxx cards (the items themselves are still there). There is no known fix.

One thing to try is to add "zInventoryItemsDistanceScale=2.0" (without quotes) to GOTHIC.INI under [GAME].

Issues fixed[edit]

Black videos (sound but no picture)[edit]

Information This is caused by forcing anti-aliasing. Either method below will fix this.

Fix Disable video card anti-aliasing

  1. Open your graphics card's control panel.
  2. Set anti-aliasing to Application-Controlled.
  3. Apply the changes.

Fix Disable video scaling

  1. Edit gothic.ini
  2. Change scaleVideos=1 to scaleVideos=0
  3. Save your changes. Videos will now display centred.

Fullscreen border (Windows 8)[edit]

Information Gothic and Gothic II show a window border in fullscreen mode on Windows 8.
Information The GOG.com version already includes this fix.

Fix Apply the fix

  1. Download the Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen border fix.
  2. Extract it anywhere and run install.bat.
  3. Both Gothic and Gothic II will now enter fullscreen mode correctly (you do not need to restart your computer).

Poor performance[edit]

Information Gothic may have poor performance, e.g. a low frame rate even when using the FPS patch.

Fix Apply necessary fixes

  1. Install the Gothic and Gothic II Windows 8 fixes.
  2. Install the FPS Patch (if you want a frame rate higher than the default).
  3. Gothic should now have better performance.

Access violation errors (Steam)[edit]

Fix Disable Steam Community In-Game overlay

  1. Right-click the game in the Steam Library.
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. Uncheck Enable Steam Community In-Game.
  4. Click Close to save your changes.
Information Browsing to the games Steam folder and running as Administrator will work as well, if disabling the in-game overlay does not.

Access Violation / Assertion Failed error when saving[edit]

Information This can be caused by deleting the saves folder.

Fix Make saves folder

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Make a folder called saves.
Information If you want to delete saves in the future delete the individual saves within the folder, not the saves folder itself.

Gate cutscene doesn't play, gate won't open[edit]

Information A gate in the final area won't open when playing with the Player-Kit due to the cutscene not playing; use Gothic_backup.exe to get past the gate.

Fix Pass gate with Gothic_backup.exe[2]

  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Go to the system folder and run Gothic_backup.exe.
  3. Load your save and activate the gate cutscene.
  4. Go through the gate that just opened and save your game beyond it.
  5. Exit the game and start it again in the normal way. Continue playing normally.

Can't Alt+Tab (GOG.com)[edit]

Information The GOG.com version prevents task switching to avoid some potential issues (e.g. crashing during FMV cutscenes).

Fix Remove GOG.com fix

  1. Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl).
  2. Find and remove the GOG.com Gothic entry.
  3. If you are using Windows 8, install the Gothic and Gothic II fullscreen border fix.
  4. The game will now allow you to task switch at any time.

Constant Tab input after Alt+Tab[edit]

Information After task switching the game may constantly repeat Tab ↹ input; press Tab ↹ again to stop this.

System requirements[edit]

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98, ME, XP, 2000 XP
Processor (CPU) Pentium II 400 MHz Pentium III 600 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB 192 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
700 MB
Video card (GPU) 3D Accelerated Graphics Card
16 MB of VRAM 		3D Accelerated Graphics Card
32 MB of VRAM

References

  1. ↑ http://www.wsgf.org/dr/gothic
  2. ↑ Stuck in Gothic 1 puzzle near end? of game (SECOND THREAD), page 1 - Forum - GOG.com