rpgvault.ign.com 04/2000 GOTHIC / 6 APR 2000 NEAT-O GOTHIC HINKFO Share. The prison is getting pretty close to being open for business. BY IGN STAFF Prison life has never been so entertaining as it will be this summer when Piranha Bytes brings the fantasy prison epic (sounds like a kinky new genre) Gothic to PCs. They are reporting that the game is shaping up well and is on schedule for the planned July release. All of the scripting for the various NPCs in the game and their fairly complicated social structures, including splitting up all 250 different NPCs into factions and guilds, has been finished. Each of the characters will be completely unique and will carry out their individual tasks for the day regardless of what you do. Of course this could change if you do something bad to someone's friend. They'll come looking for you in that case. But otherwise the world is designed to run independently of the main character's actions. The character classes will fall under the influence of three separate factions ¿ the old camp, the new camp, and the psionic camp. Each NPC will also have different ways of solving problems and acquiring needed items depending on their camp affiliation and their character class. Piranha Bytes also released the four character classes. Each of these have very distinct ways of operating and should be noted before entering the game as it might save you from getting the crap kicked out of you. Warriors As you might suspect, these characters rely on their enormous amounts of strength and fighting abilities in order to get what they want. They carry out a pretty boring existence of shakedowns and just horribly brutalizing people for the fun of it. Warriors also tend to be easily provoked into showing just how good a fighter they are. They have little in the way of magical capabilities but they can actually heal themselves. Magicians These unlucky saps caught themselves in the prison when they wove the magical barrier that surrounds it. After they realized that they made themselves unfortunate prisoners, they split into two different groups. One of them belongs to the old camp and still holds allegiance to the king that had them make the prison. The other group belongs to the new camp, and is pretty pissed about being stuck in the prison. They figure that what was put up can most likely be taken down as well. These magicians spend their time trying to dismantle the barrier that keeps them trapped in the prison. Magicians are probably the smartest and most arrogant lot in the prison and don't mind telling the rest of the inhabitants that they (the magicians) are not supposed to be in there. Psionics These mind-bending denizens use their rather powerful skill to bend others to their will. The psionics range from fanatical to downright lazy but all posses the power to brainwash other characters as well as read other character's thoughts. These folks follow a deity that they believe will deliver them from the prison to a life of freedom. Thieves Lurking about and sneaking around are where these little buggers' skills sit. Some of these rogues share a bit of loyalty to the ore barons and are considered part of the old camp. The new campers follow their own path taking whatever they think might lead them to profit. Thieves are mostly self-serving skulkers that will do whatever it takes to get ahead in the world. They will be showing what we can only guess will be a pretty complete copy of the game at E3 considering the game is slated for a July release. It will be interesting to see how all of the characters actually interact in what is aiming to be a complex social structure. Keep your eyes open for new announcements about this game and be sure to check back during E3 when we'll have our first look at the game. -- IGN Staff http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/...-gothic-hinkfo 21.04.2000