A summary of what is known about the game.
Quote:
The list contains minor spoilers
Source: initially, WoR Russian (with simplications and slight adaptations); then information provided by Deep Silver and Piranha Bytes representatives on various forums (see "source" links within the text).
ABOUT THE GAME
1. the game was announced at the GamesCom, August 18, 2010.
2. there will be no Mod kit. (source)
3. the game is scheduled to make some changes, sometimes very significant. They will affect virtually every area.
4. there will be a new video for the logo of Piranha Bytes (do you remember the cow ?).
5. PB has purchased a new Project Management software in order to optimise the planning of Risen 2.
6. the game is at a stage where it is possible to pass usefull information to players, but do not expect spectacular news.
7. the game is in development since 2 years.
8. it is finished at 80% (pre-alpha phase).
9. the game will be available on PC, XBOX and PS3 (not necessary at the same time).
10. Piranha Bytes have absolutely denied the presence of a multiplayer mode.
11. the release date and even the year have not yet been settled (quality first: only when the game will be ready) (source)
12. the play time will be about 50% longer than in Risen 1 (average of 60 hours vs. 40 hours) (source)
13. a PC that meets the recommended configuration for Risen 1 will be able to run Risen 2 (source)
VISUAL PART
1. as compared to Risen 1, the graphic level is of course improved: the processing engine is enhanced and more polygons are added to the graphics.
2. a special care has been devoted for improving the models of female NPCs.
3. the Motion Capture Technology is still used for animations which by the way are now developped by a third party company.
4. textures are sharper and more individual
5. death of animals and enemies are more realistic - for example, no more wolf flying away as in Risen 1.
6. all the animations for characters, monsters, etc. are completely rebuilt. They are smoother and much more various (e.g. possible to recognize to which faction a NPC belongs just by his/her way to walk).
7. the water rendering is improved.
8. a mist rendering is implemented
9. animations related to gestures are improved and there are basic emotions on the face of NPCs during conversations.
10. the sunlight effects are maintained.
11. when the hero jumps, there is a little animation illustrating his landing (i.e. more realistic than in Risen 1); as his progression is stopped for a moment, jumping would be slower than running (not the case in Risen 1).
12. there is more diversity in NPC faces (i.e. less cloning)
13. in the graphics settings, one can enable / disable the vertical synchronisation
14. there are HDR (High Dynamic Range) effects, but without excess of luminosity
15. there is in the graphics settings an option "Ultra High" to set all the sliders to their maximum
16. the animation when drinking potions (if any) is still under discussion
17. the game is using the "bump mapping" technique and displays realistic clouds in real time instead of a skybox.
18. animations will be smoother and more detailed
19. each island corresponds to a loading zone but streaming is still used within a given island
STORY AND MISSION PART
1. the plot is written; only some polishing could still occur.
2. there are still missions such as "Find the murder of ..." (as for the murder at the monastery in Risen 1)
3. quests are better balanced between the chapters (in the opinion of many players, Risen 1 is lacking of quests after chapter 2).
4. one of the islands is still held by the Inquisition.
5. the plot is more comprehensive and complex.
6. the beginning of the game is rather linear and the game leads the player; but at a certain point of the story, the world becomes open and events can be influenced (somehow opposite than in Risen 1)
7. some quests have several decision points leading to different possibilities at each stage of the quest (e.g. quest to find a cannon given in the city of Antigua)
8. some decisions have consequences on the flow of the story.
9. different methods will be used to trigger some side quests.
10. the story starts in a small port village called "Caldera".
THE HERO
1. the hero is not a "muscular" type (as in Gothic 3).
2. the hero is the same as in the former opus, but he is a broken and disillusioned person who turned to alcohol.
3. under his eye patch, the hero wears the Inquisitor's monocle
4. the hero remembers Risen 1 events
CHARACTERS
1. the hero has more friends.
2. there may be more options for those NPCs
3. Patty and Commandant Carlos are still part of the story.
4. of course, expect many pirates; but not "Caribbean" type, rather the "bandits sailing the seas" type.
5. it is possible to evaluate how tough an opponent is by looking at his body language (they can even run away if they feel too weak). (source)
GAMEPLAY
1. Piranha want to surprise us with something new in terms of crafting (for instance possibility to build objects from some raw materials).
2. there are mini-games allowing to earn money.
3. the skill system is similar to Risen 1
4. teachers are still mandatory for learning/improving skills.
5. work is underway for ameliorating the AI opponents in battle.
6. the combat system is slightly different than in Risen 1 and not easier.
7. there are some improvements in the daily routine of the NPCs.
8. the hero still reads aloud the books he finds.
9. eavesdropping will be rewarded (e.g. to learn that a guard is abondonning his post at a certain hour).
10. there is still magic but with a totally new system (e.g. vodoo dools).
11. day and night cycles will impact the gameplay (source)
INTERFACE
1. the interface is redesigned.
2. the inventory is still without limit.
3. it is likely that the inventory management can be dealt with the keyboard only; it is not clear yet whether it will be compulsory and the only solution.
4. while running, the camera takes its usual form: when using the mouse, you can control the hero; but when the hero is still, the mouse can rotate the camera around him (as in Witcher for example)
5. there are some visual helpers (e.g. quest markers on the map) and we assume that they can be desactivated
6. possibility to filter the inventory items by categories and to make comparisons
WORLD, FLORA AND FAUNA
1. it seems that apart from the guilds, something new is waiting for us.
2. the world is bigger than in Risen.
3. it is again a fantasy world with pirates as centric thema.
4. there are no children.
5. there is a high probability that there will be a brothel.
6. there are toilets (latrines).
7. there are several islands (vs. only Faranga in Risen 1); each island will be between 1/3 and 2/3 of Faranga size (source)
8. travel between island is by ships but still unknown whether you can control and navigate your own vessel.
9. the islands have different climates and environments.
10. there is a mechanism to quickly move between the islands (teleportation ?).
11. monsters are both real and invented by Piranha Bytes.
12. some animals are terrible and unusual.
13. there are new small creatures.
14. we shall meet again with the gnomes.
15. we shall meet again with the scavangers.
16. in addition to fantastic animals, there are monkeys, wild boars, ...
17. the sea is populated by various sea creatures attacking the ships
18. all "background" animals can be killed
EQUIPMENT
1. there are "ranks" allocated to the armors (light, medium, heavy) - the rank is directly related to armor efficiency.
2. there are new types of long-range and melee weapons but no more bows and crossbows
3. there are more "unique" type of weapon (as Urizel, for example).
4. there are firearm: muskets, pistols, etc...; they will offer a larger itemization than the conventional (cross)bows (e.g. number of shoots)
5. there are even canons at certain point(s) of the story.
6. armors consist of individual sets of boots, gloves, hats, upper and lower clothing, etc
will carry 1H weapons at the side (and not on the back)
MUSIC
1. the composer's name is still unknown.
2. most of the music is already written
