Gothic 1 Classic: Gothic 1 patching and modding after 2021

Gothic 1

Getting to work with Modern Windows PC’s for English Steam version

*Note: Links are to German language side of World of Gothic site.
The English translation is lacking several ‘needed’ mods and or updates to mods.
You can use a Translator web page, app or plug-in for your browser to help.
The patches / mods will be in English for most part… once they are installed, or whatever language you installed the game as. You may need to do some translation to choose the proper selections during install. But, I found it wasn’t difficult with a little Google Translate help.

**Notice** If at any time during this guide, Windows blocks the attempt to run an .exe, it should pop up with a window telling you this. You can select to show details and then choose Run Anyway. If you are unsure if you should let it run, just use some Anti-virus softwares to check the files for your own sanity. There shouldn’t be any viruses when using the links I provided. I tested all them at time of writing this guide.

Do not opt into the beta. Just use Steams default Gothic Install.
Patches 1.08k, PlayerKit 1.08k, and SystemPack 1.8 are already a part of the new steam version. If you are not using the steam version, be sure it is patched up to 1.08k and apply the additional PlayerKit 1.08k and SystemPack 1.8 patches which can also be found on World of Gothic site.

Next, open properties of game in steam library (right click game)
Disable the ‘Steam Overlay’
Then go to the files tab and do the verify files option.
Close out properties window.

Now go to the game’s installation directory under,
…\Gothic\System\ and locate the ‘GothicMod.exe’
Right click and choose Properties–Compatibility tab.

In this window, set it to run in compatibility for WinXP SP3.
Select checkbox for ‘Run as Administrator’
Select Change high DPI settings and in next window…
Select checkbox for High DPI scaling–perform by application
Hit ‘OK’ to close that and then ‘OK’ in properties to close it.

Also, in the install directory, edit with notepad the ‘Gothic.ini’ file and change these lines with these numbers;

*Note: 0 = Disabled or False and 1 = Enabled or True generally. Some things are modifier values.

scaleVideos=1
**May need to revert to 0 if videos cause crash. Scaling should work once proper resolution is set.

playLogoVideos=0
**To skip all the startup logo’s.

These next values should be your desired resolution appropriate for your monitors resolution setting. For example, a 16:9 ratio could be set to 1280x720x32 or 1600x900x32 or 1920x1080x32… etc. So, set accordingly.

zVidResFullscreenX=1280
zVidResFullscreenY=720
zVidResFullscreenBPP=32

zStartupWindowed=0
**can be set to 1 but, may need to revert to 0 if crashes. Later, this can also be changed in the System.ini file at this line;
BorderlessWindow= *see further below*

Save the changes made and close the gothic.ini file.
Next, launch game to test if things work good so far. If not, you may need to revert one or more of the changes as noted. You can further optimize settings within the game menu. Exit the game and go to next section.

Editing SystemPack.ini… Gothic\system\systempack.ini

These are some optional edits and might not be necessary. There’s many things you can alter in here. The main one is going to be setting the game to run in a window or leaving it to run Full Screen. Typically, using Alt+Tab doesn’t work unless you setup the game to run as a window. Anyway, here are some things of interest in the file;

BorderlessWindow=1
**runs game in borderless window mode, might cost you some performance and may conflict with gothic.ini windowed mode setting. Be sure they’re not contradicting–may need to experiment a little. Ideally, you get these set correctly so you can Alt+Tab out of the game window.

Gothic2_Control=1
**One click to open chests, talk to npc etc. Combat is the same.

FPS_Limit=0
**0 = disabled / unlimited fps. Should change to FPS matching monitors refresh rate or possibly half of that for high refresh rate monitors–depends upon system capabilities. I used 60 since I’m running a 60MHz monitor. However, some people suggest capping it at 59. Not sure if that will work better or not–yet. This should help resolve some graphic anomalies. There maybe multiple places these FPS limits can be set within this file. Just depends how much more you mod the game.

OutDoorPortalDistanceMultiplier=1
InDoorPortalDistanceMultiplier=1
WoodPortalDistanceMultiplier=1
**Setting these to 2 should resolve some object pop in. You may need to go to 3 (max) if still getting it with some portals. Adjust appropriately.

DrawDistanceMultiplier=1
**Can change to 2 or 3 but may lead to NPC’s fighting one another before you get there to assist if it’s too high. But, this will remove the fog effect.

Animated_Inventory=1
**Change this to 0 if inventory items are spinning in the UI.

Scale=1
*The interface scale can be set here but, be sure it’s correct for your set resolution setting. For example, 1600x900x32 would be 1.75 Some details are in the comments of the file.

Some of these settings may not work as intended depending on your hardware. As tedious as it is, you may want to make one change at a time and test run the game launch (to main menu) afterward to be sure the change didn’t cause an issue if you are unsure of the setting. If it causes issues, just revert that setting change and move onto the next one(s). Save and Exit the file. Move on to next section.

I’m only covering some basics for getting the game running well and fixing a lot of the bugs. Further bug fixes and enhancements–you’ll need to research on your own.

So, next is the Install Order for what I consider ‘Bug fixing.’ Do these in this order but, see notes below.

Patch to PlayerKit 2.08 (optional but fixes a few more bugs). There’s multiple things listed under ‘Assets’ on this webpage. Just scroll down through the list to pick the correct one.

Link= https://github.com/GothicFixTeam/GothicFix/releases

Additional patches *see notes below*;

Ninja 2.7 or newer (required for functionality of various mods)

Link= https://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_652.htm

Community Patch (Fixes a bunch of bugs)

Link= https://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_660.htm

Community Patch Plus (Fixes some additional bugs)

Link= https://www.worldofgothic.de/dl/download_719.htm

*Note*
Most all mods at this point should be installed after the Ninja mod. However, there maybe some that need installed prior to Ninja. Be sure to always read all documentation on other mods and Community patch mods. The Community Patches may not be compatible with other mods. Once you install these, you may not be able to use some desired mods. So, first download the ones you want and research them.

The game should be running pretty decent at this point. Once you’re done installing / patching / modding the game, go into the install directory and find the ‘GothicMod.exe’ file. You’ll Right-click and hold on it while dragging and dropping to your Desktop. Let loose of mouse button and choose to ‘Create Shortcut here.’ Now right click the shortcut, choose Rename, and edit the name to what you want, such as ‘Gothic 1’ for example. This is your new shortcut for launching the game. Enjoy playing on modern Windows platform. Some modifications and additional steps are necessary for non-Windows platforms.