it just switches to 640x480 and has a black window on the screen and stays stuck liek that

Mine had that issue, with box on the screen and the words "Gothic 1.08k" For me, and many others simply trying again (and again) results in it running. I've come to call this "the brute force" method. For me (and many others) if you keep trying, it does eventually load up and run.

Okay I'll try that thank you!

NOTE: This worked for me just last year (2023) on this exact computer. Now, for whatever reason (I'm guessing some Windows Update is the likely culprit) this no longer works for me. I followed this to a "T" last year and it worked flawlessly on more than one occasion. Now, following it to a "T" no longer works, at least for me on this very same computer. So, so, SO frustrating.


Copied this from my post in your Gothic 3 thread. These are the steps I took, but am not really sure if this is the best way, just what worked for me. I'm sure there are better guides out there but am just posting the exact steps I took in the exact order I took them in and then it worked for me.

1) Make a clean install of Gog's Gothic 1.

2) Install Playerkit 1.08k
NOTE: In all cases, at world of gothic the actual download is at the bottom.
Install to your GOTHIC folder

3)Install Classic System Pack 1.8
Install to your GOTHIC folder

4)Install Playerkit 2.8
Look down at the Assets section under the heading SystemPack v1.8
The 7th file down is titled Gothic1_Playerkit-2.8.exe
Install to your GOTHIC folder

5)Install 4GB Patch
This is a compressed file. Extract it anywhere you like, then click on the executable to run it. A box comes up and you need to go to your GOTHIC/SYSTEM folder and point it to GOTHIC.EXE.

6)Install Union 1.0m
Install it to your GOTHIC folder

7)Install Ninja 2.7.12
It's the first file listed under assets.
Install it to your GOTHIC folder
NOTE: I believe Gothic Community Patch and Gothic Community Patch Plus requires Ninja to work properly.

8)Install Gothic 1 Community Patch 1.2
Install it your GOTHIC folder

9)Install Gothic 1 Community Patch Plus
Install it to your GOTHIC folder

10)Enable DX11 by downloading GD3D11 17.8.dev9 found here.
It is the top file listed under assets.
Extract into the GOTHIC/SYSTEM folder.

11)If you want install a texture pack of your choice,
I used Riisis Texture Mix
This is a compressed file. Extract it your GOTHIC/DATA folder.

That's it. If you need WinRar to extract you can get it here.

To make any further tweaks, there is a Gothic.ini file and a SystemPack ini file in your GOTHIC/SYSTEM folder. I changed blood detail to 3 in the gothic 1 ini and for me the gothic 1 controls are favorable so I changed Gothic 2 controls from 1 to 0 in the System Pack ini. Most people prefer Gothic 2 controls so you may want to leave it alone. For me, it was unbearable frying my meat or making swords as with Gothic 2 controls you have to go through the entire animation for every piece of meat or raw steel. If you do say 50 pieces of meat, with Gothic 1 controls you simply continue hitting the forward key rapidly to swap out pieces of meat whereas with Gothic 2 controls the player character has to go through the bending down and standing up animation every time. Turns cooking 50 pieces of meat from seconds to several minutes. That was unbearable for me.

It looks long but it actually takes no more than 15 minutes or so.

ADDED: To see if things are installed properly one thing you can do is check the opening menu and it should show G1CP1.2 on the bottom left and Union 1.0m on the bottom right (see first screenshot).

Also, when in game you can press F11 at any time to bring up the DX11 control panel. For me, enabling HDR really made it look better. (see second screenshot).

UPDATE: For those that wish to experience the In Extremo concert in Chapter 2 the way the original German (and Russian IIRC) releases had, go to your GOTHIC.INI file in the GOTHIC/SYSTEM folder. Scroll down to the very last line which is under the heading [G1CP] where it says "disabled=55" and remove the "55" leaving it "disabled=" and voila, In Extremo appears in Chapter 2.

NOTE: For those who don't know the in-game difference between Gothic 1 controls and Gothic 2 controls, I will try and help a little. With Gothic 1 controls, nearly every action requires pressing TWO buttons. If you are facing a character or something to pick up, you must hold the FORWARD key and the ACTION key to speak or pick up. And in inventory during bartering, you must use the LEFT/RIGHT key and the ACTION key to move items. With Gothic 2 controls, it removes the necessity for the directional keys. So when you want to talk to someone, you only have to hit the ACTION key. This is why most people prefer Gothic 2 controls. For me, especially once I got used to using both keys, the frustration of going through the entire animation when cooking meat or forging was just too much. I think for nearly all folks who haven't played before and aren't already used to the Gothic 1 controls, Gothic 2 is probably a better choice as it is intuitively easier to grasp.

Thank you very much!!

You're welcome. If you decide to do this, Windows Defender identified a couple of the downloads as malware. They were almost certainly false positives, as I and many, many others have used all of these files for some time. I had to instruct Windows to run them anyway.

To add, it works best when the resolution in gothic.ini is set to the same as the desktop resolution. Also, for the last twenty years, I have observed that you need to kick it a few times (starting a few times without any changes and just deleting gothic.rpt file), and a game suddenly goes well, playing for hours and idling till morning. Best wishes maniacs! : )

Hey OldFatGuy I just followed your quick guide and it just works! Thanks!
I was ready to refund and try my luck at the good old bay. This is unbelievable that gog sells a game for 11 bucks that we cannot play unless we patch it ourselves. This is Steam level of bullshit

Awesome, glad it helped someone else. I've since finished Gothic 1 and am now playing Gothic 2 (just finished Chapter 1 in Gothic 2). Gothic 1 is a relatively short game, it can be done in less than 40 hours easily, and that's going everywhere and doing everything. Gothic 2, on the other hand, I just finished Chapter 1 and am at a higher play time than what I finished Gothic 1. The last save I made in Gothic 1, right immediately before defeating final boss and end of game cinematics, was 36 hours and 28 minutes. You could add maybe 15 minutes as that's all that was required to finish from that last save. In Gothic 2, just now beginning Chapter 2, my total was 38 hours and 49 minutes lol. Longer than all of Gothic 1.

Gothic 2 ran for me 100% vanilla. Just installed the gog version and it ran. However, based off my experience with "modding" Gothic 1, I decided to use the newer packages for Gothic 2 as well, and installed the playerkits and systempacks as well as DX11 rendering and an HD texture pack. It looks and runs amazing. But boy is Gothic 2 a much, much bigger game than 1. Gothic 2 vanilla was far bigger (and longer) than Gothic 1, and then the NoTR add-on was almost another game on top of it. (at the very least it's akin to adding another Chapter or 2).

EDIT: Oh I forgot to mention, if you wish to experience the "true" Gothic experience, go into the GOTHIC.INI file, and scroll down to the very last line. It should be under the heading "G1CP" and shows "disabled=55" If you remove the "55" (just leave it "disabled=" then you get the In Extremo band concert in Chapter 2. It's not a big deal, doesn't affect the game at all, but was originally included in the German (and Russian IIRC) releases years ago. Licensing issues meant those resources were removed before gog (and Steam) could sell them. I'm not sure which mod puts those vdf resources back in (I suspect it's the Gothic 1 Community Patch 1.2) but one of them does and then removing the "55" from that last line enables those resources to run, and you get a cool little concert on that stage just outside the castle's main entrance.

Getting ready to play Gothic for the first time.

I followed these instructions exactly, and everything seems to be working fine and looking good. The only thing diffferent that I found was that the link to the Ninja patch told me to use a more recent version, so I installed the newer Ninja and that seems to work ok.

I just wanted to share with everybody that this list of instructions still works, in case anyone is installing Gothic 1 in 2024.

.

I just want to gently nudge you in the direction of patience at first. The controls are unlike any game I played (that I recall) and are... difficult. I bought this game in the early 2000's in a Software Etc. store at the local mall, and I think I tried and quit at least four or five times because of the controls.

However, if you can get used to them, it really is a charming game, and lots and lots of fun. After quitting all of those times in frustration and finally getting used to the controls, it is now one of my favorite games of all time. So if you can get past the initial frustration of the controls, you will be rewarded with a really great adventuring experience.

The game (default) requires two buttons to take any action. An "action" button, combined with a direction button (or keys if you play keyboard/mouse... I only play with a controller) is required for everything from combat and picking things up to even speaking with someone.

For example, if you see an item on the ground in front of you to pick up, you must press the forward button and the action button together to pick it up. Same if you are facing an NPC, forward and action allows you to speak. To move items from different inventories (such as a chest or when trading), one inventory will be on the left, and the other on the right, and you must press the appropriate direction button and the action button simultaneously to move from one inventory to the other. To equip an item in your inventory, you must again press the forward and action buttons simultaneously.

If you apply the Gothic 1 Community Patch, it will allow you to set it up to use Gothic 2 controls, which is the much more in line with other games and when an item is highlighted to pick up for example, you only need to press the action button.

I prefer Gothic 1 controls now that I'm so used to them for the reasons I explained above, but if you get frustrated you may want to try the G1CP and set it to use Gothic 2 controls. I think perhaps if you install the G1CP that it then defaults to Gothic 2 controls. The Gothic INI file is amended with the G1CP patch and there is a line added that allows you to choose where it says Gothic 2 controls = 1. (To change back to Gothic 1 controls, make the 1 a 0).

I hope you can overcome the beginning frustration because if you can I think you'll find yourself having a blast, with plenty of humor and adventure to come.

Good luck,

OldFatGuy

Yep, I admit that I already came very close to uninstalling after alot of frustration with combat. I decided to stick with it. I'm starting to get the hang of combat, but it's still rough..

I've reached a point where I at least have a 50/50 chance of winning a battle against one of the weaker critters near the Old Camp. The next step will be figuring out how to survive against 2 or more simultaneous attackers. Also, the little goblin guy danced around me alot and it was hard to stay pointed at him. I haen't quite gotten comfortable with moving around or turning at the same time as I'm trying to swing my weapon.

Great game so far though. I'm already having alot of fun with it. I love the gloomy atmosphere of the game, especially while exploring the Camp at night time with only the extremely dim light of a torch.

After a few cautious short trips outside the Camp Walls, I've decided to try to make the longer walk to the Mines. A wolf in the forest ate me, but I managed to change strategy, and just completely avoid the wolf, and have just now reached the Mines..

As far as controls go, I used the Alternative Setting (mouse plus WASD).

I actually started to get more comfortable after I started using the mouse for more things. Left Mouse Button does most of.the standard actions (talk to NPC, pick up anything, move an item between columns, etc). And then the Mouse Wheel scrolls through all of the menus (Conversation options, Inventory Items, Save Games, etc).. But the WASD keys are still needed navigate the inventory menus too.

Forgot about swimming underwater though, that's a death sentence!

Swimming underwater used to kill me every time. I don't know if it's unique to my setup (as I said, I use a controller, I can't stand keyboard/mouse play for any game) so in setting it up it may have been just my setup, but for me, the button to jump turned out to be the button to control swimming. Again using two buttons at once, pressing the jump button plus a direction button had the Nameless One soon swimming underwater with ease, once I figured it out. But it took a while.

Goblins are the most difficult to stay focused on in combat, but if I remember correctly, once in front of me, if I held down the action key, it would keep me focused on him better. In other words once the goblin was highlighted, I would just keep the action button pressed and this would cause me to turn with it more, and then press the appropriate direction key to strike. They're still so fast that they would get out of focus even when the action key was held, but it did seem to do better.

Of course, when I play I usually get gud with a bow and using the bow and can kill them from a distance and then when up close, once again I hold down the action key and it keeps them targeted better and then press the forward key to shoot the arrow.

The controls of this game are it's ugly wart, that's for sure. But if you can get comfortable with them, it really is a great game. And Gothic 2 is amazing as well, although with the NotR add-on (Gothic 2 Gold) it's ugly wart is how the learning point cost of attributes becomes astronomical. When they released the NotR add-on to Gothic 2, they made a big deal of how "everybody claimed Gothic 2 vanilla was too easy" so they adjusted things that IMO went too far. Plus, I played Gothic 2 before the NotR add-on came out... and "easy" was never a word I would have used for any Gothic game.

Since then I have only played Gothic 2 with the NotR add-on, and have more or less figured out the "secret" but it is still frustrating. To be really good in 2, you must avoid using the "free" attribute bonuses (like tablets and potions for permanent attribute boosts) until you have first reached a certain point by paying for them. Otherwise, if you used them when you encountered them, the cost to further upgrade becomes prohibitive (at it's peak it costs 5 LP for ONE strength for example). And because the game is in a weird way level capped (not a hard cap, but there are only so many XP's to get due to enemies mostly not respawning) and I usually end up at around level 50, give or take, by the end. That limits the number of learning points such that if you used things like potions and herbs to boost things early, you really, really limited yourself to the max strength/dexterity you could reach. This huge increase in costs was actually part of a "double whammy" effect because while they made it much more expensive to increase attributes, they also in the NotR add-on significantly increased the attribute requirements for weapons. The double effect is really jarring if you played Gothic 2 vanilla and then experienced Gothic 2 Gold the first time. It feels overwhelming and impossible to ever get the attributes high enough to use the top of the line 1 hand, 2 hand, bow, or crossbow weapons.

Both Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 have these ugly warts, yet they are still two of my favorite games of all time, which really says something about the games themselves. They're just awesome (IMO).

EDIT: I changed the paragraph above about keeping goblins in focus better because I had the keys backward originally. At least I think. The more I thought about it the more I feel like it was the action key that I had to keep pressed that did a better job of staying with the goblin. In my first iteration, I had said it was the direction key that I kept pressed. I don't have my Logitech controller nearby to test it for sure but I think I had it backwards originally. The game doesn't come with controller support, but the Logitech controller comes with software that allows me to map keyboard and mouse buttons to the controller. I think I must have let someone borrow it so I couldn't go in game to test it but I do remember struggling with Goblins and then discovering that holding down a button without releasing it did do better at keeping it highlighted and thus able to strike.

Thank you :). I just followed your instruction and the game works as a charm so I can confirm the solution still works in late 2024.