ELEX - Interview @ Wccftech

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Wccftech talked with Amadeus Weidmann, Game Designer at Piranha Bytes about ELEX:

Piranha Bytes on Improved Polish and 100+ Hours Worth of Playtime in ELEX

Piranha Bytes is a German studio well known to fans of roleplaying games. They’ve released well received, even if far from flawless, titles like Gothic 1, 2 and 3 and Risen 1, 2 and 3.

Now, though, they’re switching setting to the sci-fantasy world of ELEX. The title refers to a precious and rare resource that landed on the game’s world when a meteor hit and disrupted civilization.

ELEX is capable of many things, such as enabling magic and powering machines, but it also renders humans emotionless. The game begins when the predetermined main character from the Albs faction crash lands away from home and finds himself without access to ELEX, which opens him to feel for the first time.

With the game now less than a month away (it will launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 17th), we’ve talked with Amadeus Weidmann, Game Designer at Piranha Bytes, to bring you exclusive details of this upcoming adventure

Is there a level cap? Could players unlock all skills (except the faction ones)?

There is no level cap. But each consecutive level needs more and more experience points.

Will it be possible to mix and match weapons without restrictions, for instance using a shield and a gun at the same time?

You can use Swords or other one-handed weapons together with a shield but, for example, a two-handed hammer cannot be used together with a shield. But of course, you can switch from sword and shield to a laser rifle instantly.

Can players expect dynamic encounters or “events” while roaming the open world?

Yes. For example, some creatures in the world have other creatures they would like to eat. So if a raptor randomly meets a little rat, they will start fighting each other. The same goes for NPCs. If some Creatures come near a city, the guards will start to defend their city. The player can even use this to his advantage by luring some enemies who are too strong for him to a city to get some help.

How big is the world of ELEX in terms of size and time to cross it?

This is really hard to say because the world is not flat, there are a lot of mountains, cliffs and stuff like that, so you can’t just walk in a straight line. But what we can say is the size of the world, it is roughly 1.5 times bigger than the world of Gothic 3.

[...]
Thanks Farflame!

More information.
 
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Nice interview. The closer this gets to being done, the more excited i get for it.
 
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This answer should make Joxer happy. ;)

Q: You recently stated that there won’t be any “stinking” DLCs. Does that mean post-launch content will be free, or rather that there won’t be any? Will the game support HDR displays and if so, on which platforms?

A: We don’t plan on making any DLCs and no, we will not support HDR.
 
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It's 50% bigger than Gothic 3? That's massive. I just hope they didn't go overboard again..
 
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They didn't go overboard with G3 IMO, they just got into a bad situation with a publisher.

They have a good relationship this time and the game is on track. Should be much different this time, and in many ways this will probably the game they wanted Gothic 3 to be.
 
Speaking of Gothic 3, how is the game now with all the updates?
 
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Speaking of Gothic 3, how is the game now with all the updates?

I'm taking a break from it for a few but I played for 50+ hours and had a blast. The exploration is top-notch and there is still a strong Gothic-feeling sense of character progression.

I especially like the hunting in the game, which is an actual fleshed out system and is RPG-driven via perks, skills and stats.
 
Are there any actual Gothic developers working on ELEX? Or did they all leave PB for other studios?
 
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I''m going to take my time and explore every square foot of the game world. I also plan to scrounge every plant and loot everything. =)
 
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Yes. For example, some creatures in the world have other creatures they would like to eat. So if a raptor randomly meets a little rat, they will start fighting each other. The same goes for NPCs. If some Creatures come near a city, the guards will start to defend their city. The player can even use this to his advantage by luring some enemies who are too strong for him to a city to get some help.

Now, see, that's what I'm talkin' bout.
 
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G3 was one of my favorite games of all time and part of that was the expansiveness of many of the areas in the game - it felt like a real world. That expansiveness was lost in the last few PB games, being replaced mainly with corridors. So hope Elex goes back to G3 style landscapes myself.
 
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Ha, there is romance? Did we know that yet? That's new for a PB game.
Hopefully this means the male/female NPC ratio is realistic too. :)

G3 was one of my favorite games of all time and part of that was the expansiveness of many of the areas in the game - it felt like a real world. That expansiveness was lost in the last few PB games, being replaced mainly with corridors. So hope Elex goes back to G3 style landscapes myself.

I wholeheartedly agree.
 
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They sort of had a romance thing going on with Patty in Risen 1 and 2. Sort of.
 
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Are there any actual Gothic developers working on ELEX? Or did they all leave PB for other studios?

They are there. Horst Dworczak or Bjorn Pankratz are in PB. And several Gothic devs including Mike Hoge are in Piranha Bytes Red. ;)


Madjack said:
G3 was one of my favorite games of all time and part of that was the expansiveness of many of the areas in the game - it felt like a real world. That expansiveness was lost in the last few PB games, being replaced mainly with corridors. So hope Elex goes back to G3 style landscapes myself.

They struggled with their old engine at the time so they had to left vast open spaces. It god somewhat better in R3 but of course islands in R3 cant compete with vast G3. On the other hand I prefer middle-size world with more attention to detail than vast open world with many generic and empty places.


Moriendor said:
This seems like a wise decision to me since PB's skill in directing "emotional" scenes (Risen 2 was especially cringeworthy in that regard) has always been quite lacking

Heh, these scenes are one of the main reasons why some fans consider R2 to be the bottom of PB. :)
 
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I've been a fan of Gothic (& Risen) going way back. If this is the in same vein, it'll be enjoyable and fun, my expectations aren't too high. Glad to see animations are being addressed.
 
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Best romance in piranha bytes games = Nadia in gothic 2. :p
 
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