01. Will there be any special hardware support in Drakensang, e.g. for DualCore or SLI-/Crossfire?

Jan Lechner: It has not yet been decided if this will be the case. It mainly depends on the available hardware at the time of release. At this point of time, we’re debating whether supporting DualCore or SLI-/Crossfire would make sense or is necessary at all. We want to make the game look as good as possible on average systems, and not on the newest hardware only. For this reason we want to see how far we can exhaust conventional technologies, before we decide to implement support for DualCore- and SLI-/Crossfire-systems.

02. Are the cut-scenes going to be made with in-game graphics or with rendered movies?

JL: The cut-scenes are going to be scripted in-game cinematics. While we can’t reach the visual quality of pre-rendered movies, this way we can implement the characters in the way the player has created and equipped them.

03. Is there going to be a journal, and how is it going to be structured?

JL: Yes, there will be a journal that will keep track of the player’s advances. Important pieces of information will be stored to be read again at any point of time.
The structure will depend on the type of quests the player has accepted: to avoid confusion, main quests will be distinguishable from side quests. They will both be linked with the world map to make orientation as simple as possible. For example, if the player chooses a section in the journal, the game will highlight the corresponding region on the map.

04. Is the pool of characters which is able to join your fellowship always the same, or will it change from game to game? Will you be able to solo the game?

JL: You can invite a variety of different characters to your party. Not only can the player choose between many different characters when the game is played multiple times, but he can also modify the party’s character combination throughout the entire game. The player will be able to invite and discharge members of the fellowship at any time. Every character has their own conditions for joining the party, though. For example, an experienced warrior might not be in the mood to help an inexperienced hero.


You’ll be able to solo the game. That won’t be an easy challenge at all, but basically it will be possible. The game won’t force the player to form a party; it’s only an option that the player will be able to dismiss.

05. Is it possible to be a priest? Do you have developed a specific karma system for this or do you use the magic system for that?

JL: No, you won’t be able to play a priest. We debated that for a long period of time, and finally we decided against it. Unfortunately, this is a question of resources. If we had made the priest a playable class, then we would have wanted to make it properly with a faithful implementation of the karma system.
The karma system in The Dark Eye pen & paper game is completely different from the magic system. We better leave it out before we make the mistake to simply model it on the existing magic system.

06. Is the hero’s inventory limited in any way, e.g. by means of slots, weight or the character’s stamina? Will there be pack-mules?

JL: The hero’s inventory will be both limited by means of slots and weight. Of course, the weight limitation will be dependent on the hero’s stamina.
We haven’t nailed down the number of inventory slots yet. We are going to check how many slots are really necessary to avoid moments of frustration at a later point of time.
Pack-mules are currently not planned, because the player will be able to enlarge his bags on the one hand, and distribute his objects on the other party members. However, this indeed is a nice feature and we might implement it.

07. How many micro-management tasks are planned? For example, do have to eat and sharpen your weapons? Can you get sick or poisoned?

JL: Micro-managment will only be optional. For example, players will have the possibility to eat in order to gain certain bonuses. But no hero will starve or get sick if you don’t feed him properly.
That doesn’t mean that heroes can’t get sick or poisoned, this is still possible, but it will be a result of in-game events: e.g. a mob shooting with poisoned arrows or a bite of an animal.
It’s pretty similar with weapons. We have decided against the decay and maintenance of weapons, but the player will still have the option to upgrade their weapons – if he’s capable of doing that.

08. How does healing work in Drakensang? Do you focus more on healing potions, or are there going to be other ways to heal yourself and your party?

We will implement multiple possibilities for healing. The player will be able to learn healing spells and talents. Besides that, healers and priests offer their services in towns and villages.
It’s a question of balancing on how big the ratio of using healing potions is going to be. Avoiding frustration moments among players has highest priority in the balancing process, but we certainly won’t forget how the pen & paper game deals with that matter.

09. Will there be any groups or guilds the player character will be able to join?

No, this is not intended, but the player is going to get in touch with different groups and organizations and get to know their point of view and actions. He will experience the conflicts between those groups and will have to decide for one side temporarily. The player’s actions will stand for a certain attitude and will open or close a range of options.

10. How many NPCs will be living in Ferdok? Will it be possible to access all buildings? Will it be possible to meet all 3000 inhabitants individually, or will you cut down that figure?

Of course it won’t be possible to portray every single inhabitant of Ferdok as an NPC, but it’s hard to give a figure by now because we are trying our utmost to make Ferdok a lively and interesting town. The city is the epicentre of the events in Drakensang, so there must always be something left to explore every time you come back there.
The same goes for the buildings: not every structure will be accessible. That wouldn’t be realistic in Aventuria anyway, but there are a lot of areas which can be accessed by the player, or be made accessible.