How to Run Gothic I and II on Modern Systems

Overview

Unfortunately, Gothic 1 and 2 does not work on modern systems, so the modding community came up with several ways to patch the game. Note that each PC is different, therefore what works for others might not work for you. We will include several methods to fix your game, one of them is bound to work.

Method 1 – Union

Union is updated systempack that makes the patching process much easier and quicker.

NOTE: With 20th anniversary, the first Gothic on Steam now has Systempack support and the game should work right out of the box now. If you own the game on GOG or from other sources, or the Steam version doesn’t work for some reason, or you simply want newer patches, you can still use methods below.
If you want to install the patches on the Steam version of first Gothic, right click the game in the library, select Propeties->Beta and choose original release.

D36’s All-in-one Patch

Download:

• For Gothic: Link[github.com]
• For Gothic II: Link[github.com] ​

Installation:

1. Just run the installer
2. Select your Gothic/Gothic II folder and press Install.
3. Play.

The game is ready to go.

Resource Manager (optional)

Union can be installed through Resource Manager, which has all necessary files in one place while also allowing to easily install quality of life plugins.

Download: Resouce Manager[worldofplayers.ru]

NOTE: If you already installed All-in-one patch, DON’t do the 3 steps below, you can go straight for the plugins.

Installation: Run Resource Manager as Administrator, then:

1. Go to “Union” tab
2. Install “Player Kit 2.8 + Patch for x64 systems in your Gothic/Gothic II folder”
3. Do the same with “Union 1.0i” just below.

   The game is ready to play.

Method 2 – Systempack

If you are a Linux player, or for whatever reason everything else failed, systempack is your last resort.

Gothic 1:

Download and install files:

1. Playerkit[github.com]
2. Systempack 1.8[github.com]

Gothic 2:

Download and install files:

1. Playerkit[github.com]
2. Systempack 1.8[github.com]

Playing mods/Method 3 – Spine

If you are planning to check out some mods, Spine is a tool that makes managing them easier.

NOTE: Spine autopatches the game, even if one of previous patches have already been installed, which can break the game. Install only on the clean version of the game.

1. Download: Spine[clockwork-origins.com]
2. Install and run Spine
3. You can ignore Log-in or Register for more features
4. Select your Gothic/Gothic 2 folder
5. Wait for Spine to automatically download and apply patches
6. Check “Database” tab for mods