Gothic 2: Janus

Version: in development -Mod Type: New Story

Introduction

The Janus modification, which the author has been working on for more than 10 years, was recently announced on the German World of Gothic website. On his website the author describes all the information about the modification, which you can find below - regarding the story and development, and you can also find the Gallery. I have copied everything from this website here and translated it into English and Czech, as you can only find it in German there - (or rather, ChatGPT translated it :)

What is Janus?

This is a total-conversion modification for Gothic 2: Night of the Raven. This page will regularly post news, images and other content related to the modification.

Janus tells the story of the goldsmith Karl, who is taken to the remote island of Aurora as a war refugee. Confronted with an incredible fate, Karl embarks on a journey into an uncertain future...

The story is based on a fantasy-sci-fi story the author is writing. The content of Janus is heavily inspired by a combination of the Elder Scrolls universe and the Witcher, and deals with historical events such as the Thirty Years' War, albeit in a significantly altered form.

In addition to the new level meshes, which include not only an island world with several islands of different climatic zones, but also a huge world on the mainland, countless new objects (vobs), items, textures and animations have already been created.

Since the author is working on this project alone, it will probably take a few more years before the final version is ready.

Prologue?

The prologue of the mod will likely include the Prologue and Chapter 1 from the Janus modification, in which the player will be able to explore the island world, specifically the Falmas archipelago. The work is very advanced; aside from provisional TTS (text-to-speech) dubbing, only minor adjustments to side quests and level design are missing, and these adjustments are mostly of a 'cosmetic' nature.

I do not plan to release the prologue this year, but it is highly likely that we will see it in the first half of next year.

All news regarding the status of the prologue will, of course, be published here immediately!

Fire will rain down from the western mountains and burn the plains of the core country. The city of gold shall bleed for its blasphemous existence. (...)

But the destruction will be a cleansing and purification, washing the land from the sin of its highest caste, so that the seed of the righteous may grow again when its time comes.

- Excerpt from the prophecy of Lotha

Background

I have been modding Gothic 2 in one form or another for over 10 years. My wish was to create a tribute to this game that fascinated me so much in my youth. Combining the atmosphere and gameplay experience of the original game with its own universe is the main idea behind this project. The universe in which Janus is set has been evolving for a long time - and is still growing.

Title:

Janus - after the Roman god of beginnings and endings, and all unfinished passages.

But what is Janus actually about? The following summary will give you a little insight.

The continent of the Montargis Empire. To the south is the Al-Safra Desert.

Story

The Empire of Montargis is ancient, and its capital, Tessach, the "City of Gold", is even much older. The city's splendour and courage, together with the hope its beauty instilled in the hearts of the people, were motivation enough to spread the light of Tessach to the farthest corners of the world. The armies of the Empire were unstoppable, from the icy desert of Torgestau to the forests of Lovia, the kingdoms and city-states became the provinces of Montargis. However, this changed only in the desert of Al Safra - at Ke Ardad, where the enemy managed to almost completely destroy the army under General Thobal. The pearl of the south, Eos, remained beyond the reach of Tessach's light. How was that possible?

The crisis was further exacerbated by Emperor Eonath II, referred to by his enemies as "Emperor Bastard", who opened the way for private trading guilds in the empire. The Merchant of Nerak used this opportunity to open trade routes south of the Lovia Pass. To protect the caravans, this merchant, Emmanuel Rosenthal, hired private mercenary armies without the Emperor's approval. Shortly after the defeat at Ke Ardad, when the Imperial Colonial Office in Talgarten caught fire and arson was suspected, open civil war broke out between the mercenaries of Rosenthal's "Pink Cartel" and Imperial troops along the trade routes. At the same time, the armies of the Republics of Al-Safra and their Eelyrian allies advanced unopposed on Talgarten.

The fight spread like wildfire, and there was even the use of powerful battle magic. In the end, everything happened very quickly: the massive magical blasts, later known as the "big bang", put a de facto end to the existence of this magnificent empire that had grown for more than a thousand years. But what was it that had brought courage and hope to the hearts of the people in the heart of the City of Gold, and what was it that now sowed the envy and hatred that resulted in the most destructive war the mainland had ever seen?

What remained were many questions, much sorrow and much hatred - especially towards the magicians who were responsible for this evil. And Tessach? The city of gold had fallen into oblivion, as if what had once made it great was no longer a part of this world. The empire was destroyed and the mainland returned to an age of barbarism and darkness.

On this journey, you take on the role of goldsmith Karl Wollseif, who owns a shop in the town of Nerak. Karel lives in turbulent times, as the Empire of Montargis is on the brink of civil war - the Empire's troops are up against the mercenaries of the Pink Cartel and the army of the Al Safra-republic. As the fighting spreads and the area around Nerak is already filled with the sounds of approaching battlefields, Charles feels compelled to close up shop and flee. Together with his two assistants, Jakob and Florian, his journey takes him to Kalthafen. At night, the three steal a ship and set out to sea - their destination is the Falmas Archipelago, about a week away.

After a few days on the open sea, a small ship arrives with its half-dried passengers on the small island of Aurora, but shortly after landing, Charles is suddenly alone. However, while searching for his friends, he is confronted with something incredible shortly after his arrival on the island: 200 years have passed since Charles and his friends set sail from Kalthafen.

What to do now? You're not an adventurer, you're not a mercenary with combat experience - you're a common goldsmith, and of course no one believes your history. Your search for an uncertain future takes you on a long journey across the island world of the silent sea to the ruins of an old core area. What will you find there? This journey tells a story of despair and hatred, but also of friendship and hope. Hope for a better time and a better world, free from prejudice and ignorance, hope in humanity; for what went with the old empire was not peace and unity, but only the appearance of it. And appearances can be deceiving.

Structures of the post-war era

The kingdom no longer exists, Montargis and the island world have fallen back into a dark age of barbarism and strife. On the mainland, a radical group soon formed with the goal of wiping out all magic: the mysterious Ionath bring order, but at the cost of freedom. Mages and arcanists are not tolerated, they are the main enemy - responsible for the war and all the suffering that followed. In their blind rage, the Ionath also bring war and death, when in reality they wish to serve a higher purpose. There are not many who would oppose their power, especially since they only operate in the north of the old kingdom. However, Ionath's advance southward, toward the former Core Territory and the fertile lands of the Emerald Coast and Lovias, seems only a matter of time. War is ravaging the land once again, sending thousands of refugees south. The armies of Ionath are destroying entire villages and towns along the way; either to feed themselves or to wipe out the seeds of magic.

In the south, after the loss of the capital, many individual free city-states and smaller groups were formed, which later merged into the Lovia Confederation. The Lovia-Confederacy seeks order and freedom and is not as hostile to the Arcanists as Ionath. Many refugees from the north hope that the Confederacy will openly intervene against Ionath - but it has so far held back. In the regions in between, many old villages have been transformed into thriving free towns. Most are feeling the effects of the war and the approaching armies: refugees are pouring into the region, and they are not always welcome...

For two centuries, once again their own masters, the Torg of the north have lived the life of their ancestors; and they do not want to know much about what is happening in the south. But the cradle of an ancient civilization cannot forever escape the grip of Ionath...

...and the Safri of the desert, the Loviers and the Elyri? Little is known of what happened to them after the war ended so suddenly and violently outside the walls of Tessach. But the descendants of the matriarchal Al Safra society certainly survived the post-war years in peace, as did the original inhabitants of the forests and open spaces of Lovia and Elyria...

Where you find your place within this society is up to you. Can you find a way to return to your own time? Can war even be prevented? Or will you accept your fate?

Characteristics

With Janus, you'll be treated to a complex story in a vibrant game world that will keep you engrossed for a long time.

New features include:

A completely new game world with its own story in the usual fantasy-/(late) medieval setting with (very) subtle sci-fi influences: get ready for a rather unusual story background that you can gradually explore!
Elaborate, complex background; vast universe
Guild system: depending on which guilds you choose to join during the game, the story can develop quite differently. A distinct non-linear story structure is planned and implemented in the early stages. The story of the modification will remain the same, but your group affiliation can greatly affect the outcome of the story for you.
Up to 100 hours of game time, depending on game style
Different climate zones and cultures
Live characters, no "extras"
Firearms as a new weapon category
New animations
New textures
Endless new items
New skills (e.g. crafting ("Crafting-System"), writing magic scrolls, cooking, goldsmithing skills and much more!)
Voice-overs (so far implemented for testing purposes using text-to-speech; however, in the finished version there will be no use of TTS with (Gothic) voices without explicit permission from the original voice actors!)
New, multi-page books with a huge amount of background information on the game world and its history

Development

The modification project involves extensive level mesh modification work that takes up most of the time. Subsequent work in the editor ("Spacer") ensures that the world comes alive by adding Vobs (virtual objects: from trees to boulders), Mobs (moving objects; anything you can interact with such as doors, chests, anvils alchemist tables etc), objects, sounds and particle effects (e.g. fog on the ground or glowing bugs).

Script work (or programming) brings the real story to life by implementing NPCs with dialogue, quests, books, etc.

The final voicing of dialogue lines (in my case using text-to-speech) ensures that you don't have to read every subtitle, and the characters in the game get their own voices. Voice-overs with human dubbers are not yet in sight, but may be scheduled if that becomes a thing.

Creating new animations is also done in the 3D program. Anything can be done here as needed; the most important example is my animation of opening the magazine for the new firearms.

Current progress

Starting island Aurora and island Falmas completed
Emerald Coast region (mainland): level design completed
Other areas are in the process of level design or in planning.

Other interesting facts - Albanian mythology

The Albené, more rarely known as the Yari, are an ancient people who mysteriously disappeared thousands of years ago. Many of the myths of the people of the east and their language come from the Albenians. Also, the origin of the mysterious power of magic is associated with the Albensians.

According to Albenian mythology, the continent of Ede, which they called Firnis, was created in just one day to serve as a garden for the Albenians. Unlike humans, the Albenes did not worship any god, but viewed creation as a "gift of nature"; this is remarkable in that the Albenes embraced early natural philosophy as their ideal and had no religion in the classical sense.

Other interesting facts - An island world in a quiet sea

The term Island World usually refers to all the islands in the Pacific Sea that were colonized by the Empire: the Falmas Archipelago (formerly Reingal and Aurora), Coppelius, and the penal colony of Kranos.

Before the war, Falmas was an important trading post and breadbasket for the core country, in addition to silver mining. Aurora was relatively unimportant as such and only became famous thanks to the Johannine Priory, which housed the largest library far from the mainland.

Coppelius was uninhabited for most of the time and only gained importance after the war when the colony of New Nerak was established as a hub between the mainland and the Falmas Archipelago. The ancient penal colony of Kranos to the south fell into oblivion after the war - however, pirates, who probably originated from Kranos, began to appear more frequently in the waters around Coppelius and Talgarten Bay.

Web

Web - https://janus-mod.de