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GOTHIC 1: UNREAL ENGINE TESTS STARTED! [Fan Remaster]


Open testing of the fan implementation of Gothic I in the Unreal Engine began last night on Steam. According to a post by THQ Nordic's community manager on Reddit - THQ Nordic, like Alkimia Interactive, is not involved in the development of this project. THQ Nordic doesn't want the game files to be distributed in an uncontrolled manner, and has therefore suggested posting a test version on Steam. The main developer of the project is Dmitry Kaluzhnyj and the work on it can be followed in a VKontakte group that was created three years ago.


HOW TO PLAY?


As we can read in the latest developer post, you need the original Gothic I Classic game on Steam to play. On this platform, right click on "Gothic 1 Classic" in the library of installed games and click on "Properties". Then, in the left part of the window that appears, click on the "Beta" tab and in the right part, enter the passcode, i.e. "TheColonyisNotUnreal", and click on the "Verify Code" button.

Then select "unrealbeta - Unreal Beta" from the drop-down list above and exit the properties window. At the bottom of the Steam interface, we can see that the download has started, and then the installation will begin. Later, when you launch Gothic I Classic, select the "Play Unreal Community Remaster" option in the game library. To save time, you can also check the "Always use this setting" option.




GAME


This is a test version, so the description of gameplay will be mainly a description of bugs. When you start the game, you will see a bug in the bottom left corner that goes back and forth. The game uses a new font and launches in English by default. We no longer see the "Gothic.exe" icon on the system tray, only the word "Gothic" and the logo of the Unreal Engine used. Some of it is in English, some of it is in Russian.

There is no intro, but we are welcomed by Diego. In the upper right corner we see a representative of the current quest from the journal, which in my opinion adds to the engagingness. The camera is positioned differently during the dialogues than in the original. In addition, the animation of the characters is different, as they move as if their shoulders are locked. However, I do like the new version of the magic barrier, after which magical blasts ripple like a soap bubble.

During the dialogue, I found that when I selected the Polish language version, the German dub was playing, so I switched the language version to English. I like the new interface, but it has its flaws. For example, you can't assign a jump key and editing of graphics and images is limited, at least compared to GD3D11.



Another problem is collisions with objects already in the air. This is probably due to the different mechanics of jumping and climbing. This remaster also doesn't use the original music system, so at certain points the music changes every now and then if you go left and right.


FIGHT


In the battle, the first challenge turned out to be a bug The main problem was to hit it, which was even more difficult than in the original, so I quickly went to the Abandoned Mine to get the pickaxe. The next opponent was a scavenger. Despite the easy difficulty, I had to run away during the fight due to the difficulty of controlling the character - though this may just be a matter of habit.

During my escape, I noticed another problem that was the nail in the coffin for me during testing. Or rather, I didn't notice it because it started to get almost completely dark. The burning fire was hardly illuminating the surrounding area. I couldn't even use the torch or use the menu to change settings without having to go purely by feel and rote. Still, I made it to Diego's bed and after sleeping, I was able to resume my game. However, all of these bugs made the gameplay too tedious for me.


UNREAL ENGINE


From the beginning I was curious what version of Unreal Engine this implementation uses. Gothic Remake was already ported to Unreal Engine 5. I probably found out the answer when I was kicked out of the game due to a "LowLevelFatalError" bug. According to the description of the bug, it is engine version 4.

The "Access Violation" known to Gothic players does not appear, nor is it possible to enter "MARVIN" mode. This is an implementation on a different engine, although it is certainly possible to run a test mode.


SUMMARY


So far this is just a curiosity that has a lot of potential. Despite the bugs found, it is worth noting that it took a lot of skill and time to create this implementation. It is possible that it will become a fan-made "Gothic Remake" for orthodox fans. However, to be playable, it requires testing, which we can participate in and share the bugs we find with the developers in the aforementioned VKontakte group.



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