New ELEX details – Animations to be further improved, 1,5X the map-size of Gothic 3, no DLCs planned


In an interview with ‘Rocket Beans TV’, Piranha Bytes’ Björn Pankratz & Harald Iken revealed some new information about their upcoming action RPG. According to them, the game will last around 50-80 hours, there are currently no plans for DLCs, there will be equal emphasis on melee and long-range combat, and the animations will be improved until the very last day.

Here is a list of the features that Pankratz and Iken revealed during their interview:

  • different “weapon-modes”: axes will have a different feel to it than e.g. swords
  • equal emphasis on melee and long-range combat
  • “everything you see…you can go there” 😉 – “vertical exploration” due to jetpacks
  • 1,5 x the map-size of Gothic 3
  • inspirations: Mad Max, Fallout, Witcher
  • one huge continent – no loading between biomes and regions
  • still the same “Arschgeigen” who write their scripts/dialogs
  • toilet paper ingame confirmed
  • many different endings – depending on what happens to and who’ll get Elex
  • all main characters will react to your decisions, even in the end-credits
  • your decisions affect a “deadness/coldness” factor: humane (emotional) vs. mechanical/synthetic (calculating/numb)
  • humane can mean both bad and/or good, the same for mechanical; so no clear distinction between good and evil – are you an asshole but at least humane?
  • natural map-borders: sea and mountains
  • maybe small infested/contaminated areas
  • tuning: much individually adjustable stuff such as combat systems (autoaim, combo windows…) or values of NPCs (different difficulty modes) however the world itself has non-dynamic values (no leveling of npcs/quests or different difficulty depending to your hero’s level.)
  • neutral/friendly people will react to you if you have your weapons drawn
  • the death of certain characters will/can change parts of the stories and quests
  • unfortunately no time and resources for modding support 🙁 (they are very and deeply sorry)
  • no support for last-gen consoles
  • animations will be polished until the very last day; they are a small team and they do what they can; animations are a mixture of mocap and manual labor (keyframing)
  • there will be regions with sand and snow
  • typical skills and perks: lockpicking, pickpocketing, hacking, alchemy… but perks are sometimes locked behind factions; so certain pools of skills/perks will be restricted from you depending on your decisions
  • ammunition will be scarce; the faction of the “Outlaws” will grant you the perk of producing your own ammo e.g.
  • no humping/banging/shagging
  • no “Sumpfkraut”
  • there will be again some dialog-heavy quests (but overall it will be a good mixture)
  • Rammstein would be a nice asset for the game …or Alice Cooper and Johnny Deep
  • again guild-dependend armor
  • rising to higher ranks within guilds is again a possibility
  • you cannot play as a woman but you can get into relationship(s) with wom(e/a)n
  • dynamic weather and day and night cycles; different climates in different regions
  • playtime between 50 and 80 hrs
  • vehicles don’t quite fit into their game; so no motorbikes or cars unfortunately
  • more then at least 80 trees ingame
  • clothing is and works basically in the same ways as in Risen/Gothic series (head,top, bottom, shoes; armor serves as identification)
  • endurance bar for more tactical approaches in melee combat
  • (not sure if i did understand correctly); npcs won’ take turns and will attack you all at once if there is need
  • you have to decide for a faction/guild at the end of the day
  • NPCs won’t have a dynamic daily routine; will stand in place just to be there for you for gameplay’s sake (indirectly confirmed)
  • no resource-management: you won’t have to eat/drink/sleep to stay alive
  • no real minigames
  • basic party-system (one slot for party member; depending on the main story occasionally more)
  • no DLCs planned

Thanks Reddit

gamescom 2016 | Elex - Interview: Michael im Gespräch mit Björn Pankratz & Harald Iken | 18.08.2016