I can't seem to pick up objects in the game. Pick Axes, swords, etc...I can't seem to put it in my inventory or equip them.
I looked at the keyboard shortcuts...but I must be doing something wrong.
Am I the only one that has had this issue? I feel kind of dumb posting about it, heh.

Hi.
To equip a weapon:
-Open your inventory,
-Use right/left untill you get the 'weapons'tab,
-Use up and down to highlight the weapon you want to use,
-Click the left Mouse button (hold it down) and press the 'up' key.
There will be a number in red over that weapon in your inventory. That's the shortcut to equip/unequip that weapon in combat.
To pick up an item.
-Click the left Mouse button (hold it down) and press the 'up' key.
That's it.

Or you can use just the keyboard, since Gothic it's meant to be played with keyboard only.
Press left CTRL + Up Arrow to pick up objects and interact with almost anything in the world. When in Inventory also press CTRL + Up Arrow to select weapon or bow or magic. It will be assigned 1 for weapon, 2 for bow/crossbow and 4-0 for spell. When in game press the number corresponding to the weapon you'll want to use. To sheath your weapon/spell just press space. Hope it helps.
Cheers.
Edit: Forgot to say when in battle the same applies.
CTRL + Up arrow = Front attack;
CTRL + Left Arrow = Left Attack;
CTRL + Right Arrow = Right Attack;
CTRL + Down Arrow = Block.
To move on the world just use the arrow keys and ALF for jumping.

Yep, papaluigi's solution it's the way to do it if you want to play with keyboard only, mine if you want to use keyboard + mouse.
If you do want to use Keyboard + Mouse, you should probably activate the
'alternate settings' on the Settings-Keyboard Menu so that you can use the w,a,s,d movement keys instead of the cursor arrows.
It's good to have both options available. Personally i suck bigtime when using just the Keyboard.

I'll just add here again, though I'm sure most are tired of it by now.
It's even BETTER using a gamepad. Pressing Up on the direction stick and the action button picks things up easily. No worries, no looking down at the keyboard, and boy does the game play completely different (much more enjoyable IMO) with a gamepad.

Oh man you have ot press up? sheez...I guess it helps to read the manual eh? I haven't played a game where you had to do two actions to pick up an item in ages, heh.
I might try the game pad. I have the ability to switch between console and pc games at my whim so using a controller should be a breeze ;)
Thanks for your help all.

yea gothic has a funky control scheme... basically everything requires hitting the action button and then a direction depending on what you want to do. it's a bit strange at first but once you get used to it its fine.. attacks are slightly different when you hit a different direction, you can also combo attacks quicker if you switch directions rather than doing the same one all the time

How is gothic 2? Does it use the same control scheme? I played the demo a *long* time ago and I remember (I think) it being more like an FPS.
Am I misremembering? That is kind of what I expected with Gothic one, heh. I was wrong :D

Gothic II features an alternate control scheme where you only have to hit one key for any given function. The original Gothic control scheme is on by default.

Yeah, it's this requirement to always press two at once that makes it ideal for the gamepad IMO. Combat is the same way, I'm pressing the action button and different directions on the direction pad to perform combat moves. It just seems to fit the gamepad much better.
FWIW, Gothic 2 has built in game pad support, meaning if you've got the gamepad plugged in and recognized, you go into the Setup and assign the keys directly to your gamepad.
Gothic 1 does NOT have built in game pad support (nor does 3, but 3 went to pretty much strictly a mouse thing anyway). To play Gothic 1 with a gamepad, it requires the gamepad's software to redirect gampad keys to keyboard keys. It took a few minutes of setting up, and I made a couple of tweaks in the in game Setup as well, but it's just a blast with the gamepad.
IMO, with all (or most) of the actions requiring pressing two buttons at once (It's also required to speak to someone), it's ideally suited for the gamepad instead of the keyboard, unless you're very, very, very, very sure of yourself on exactly ALL the key locations (other than the standard QWERTY keys as well), it's a much better feel with the gamepad.

The two-key controls seem really awkward at first, but I soon got used to them; now I can jump straight back in, and after a few minutes I totally forget that I'm automatically hitting the extra key needed.
For those who want to play with a controller but aren't able to set key emulation in the driver, try Xpadder. Despite the name it works with all controllers, not just Xbox ones; as long as Windows itself can detect the controller Xpadder will work with it.

Well I'll be trying the keyboard approach by default, as I don't have a pad that can connect to my pc. (Plenty of pads, no way to connect them, heh.)
Edit: Okay thanks to the advice given here, I was able to set up a pretty comfortable key layout for this game. It isn't perfect, but it is a darn sight better then when I started. I pretty much abandoned the use of the mouse and use both my hands on the keyboard.
I use the arrow keys to move and turn (Up/Down for forward/back, left/right for turning left and right.) I use Q and W for strafing left and right. I kept most of the other keys at their default settings, using 1 for my weapons, etc. I find this set up makes it easier to use the 'two key for everything' type of gameplay Gothic is designed around. Having the movement on the WASD keys made it very uncomfortable for me whne trying to use shift/cntrl/alt plus another key...
I just made it to the old camp and need to get ready for work, just thought I'd give an update before I left.

Why don't you use the mouse?
Your setup seems awkward to me.
Gothic II features an alternate control scheme where you only have to hit one key for any given function. The original Gothic control scheme is on by default.
That is not true. Only the combat controls are optional. The other controls have been simplified to only require pressing the action key in most situations, which I found highly annoying.
IMO, with all (or most) of the actions requiring pressing two buttons at once (It's also required to speak to someone), it's ideally suited for the gamepad instead of the keyboard, unless you're very, very, very, very sure of yourself on exactly ALL the key locations (other than the standard QWERTY keys as well), it's a much better feel with the gamepad.
What? The whole "pressing two buttons at once" issue only concerns the directional keys. That's the four keys (usually WASD) you use to control your character's movement. What does that have to do with being "sure of yourself on exactly ALL the key locations"? Do you have trouble finding the correct key to move forward?

Using the mouse turned out to be awkward and not very accurate on the setup I am using. The way I have it set up lets me have all the keys I need within easy reach while being able to control the onscreen character in a more precise fashion.
I still wonder at the design decision behind the control scheme, given that the game came out in 2001, especially for a game that is an action RPG. However I can get used to it and am enjoying the game, but I have never liked having to fight the controls just to experience something. I've been playing computer and console games a long, long time: I thought this type of control design went out with the games in the mid 90's....ah well. I don't mind having 1 button for action that triggers doors, talks to people, picks things up, etc and another (or another set) to fight. I can kind of see why they used a two button method (maybe?) But it's still odd. Luckily the game itself is enjoyable (So far) and has that European gothic (heh) medieval type fantasy vibe that I like or else I probably would've just not even tried to continue...
Plus the fact I bought the game. I am pretty picky on the games I buy and hate just giving up on something I spent money on.
Unfortunately, I think a completicated control scheme can lead to is a bit of arrogance for some people. The ones that have mastered it and find no difficulty in learning said scheme. It is that idea of "if you can't learn it, you must be stupid!" That seems to prevade the internets (and has as long as i've used it, since 94.) I have always had a different view: Have easy to learn to controls that can provide nuances later in a game that starts to open up with greater complexity as you travel in the world. You know...one that has depth that is not related to the hours it might take to learn how to move your character around.
Heck even some of the best RPGs of all time (the fallout series) had pretty simple controls. You can *do* pretty much anything with the mouse. Yet no one would say those games are not nuanced and full of some general awesome sauce.
And they came out in the mid to late 90's.
Heh anyway, I am enjoying this game and will continue. I do thank you all for your help.

LOL, yeah, I guess I do.
Sorry, didn't mean to question others abilities.
Guess mine is below average. Fact is, I did find it more difficult to use keyboard keys versus the direction pad/action buttons of a gamepad.
I knew my repetitive claims of the gamepad being easier was getting old, and now it's confirmed.
I'll lay off.
Sorry.