It's been 18 years since the words "Welcome to our colony!" rang out at the beginning of the fantasy role-playing game Gothic. That's almost a generation in human history and many milestones in the development of the computer industry.
What if you take something that was great almost 20 years ago and give it a modern makeover, perhaps using Unreal Engine 4, while also improving the combat system, which was weaker than the rest of the game?
To gauge the opinions of true Gothic fans on a modern version of the cult RPG classic, THQ Nordic and the new Spanish studio THQ Nordic Barcelona conducted an experiment. A free game prototype is now available in the Steam library for users who own any of the Piranha Bytes games: Gothic 1–3, Risen 1–3, or ELEX. They will be able to play the updated version of Gothic and explore the vastness of the Khorinis Valley of Mines. It's worth noting that the graphics and animation have been significantly improved.
After a two-hour preview of the potential future remaster, each player will be asked to complete a survey. This will allow THQ Nordic to determine whether to continue developing a fully remastered version of Gothic or leave the fond memories of the great game untouched.
It seems that during development, the company began to doubt the feasibility of further investment, which required more than expected. In other words, those who passionately welcome such a re-release would be well advised to be proactive and demonstrate their interest to the publisher: "We will begin full-scale development only if the community demonstrates demand for an updated version of Gothic."
The company notes that even if the decision is positive, the full remaster will be a long time coming: "We'll need to bring in more people, rent a larger office, and recreate Gothic from scratch. Since we're moving to Unreal Engine 4, we can essentially only use the story, world, atmosphere, music, and essence of Gothic. All technical aspects, all graphics, all sound, all game systems will be recreated to 2020 standards."
Source: 3dnews.ru
