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Downloading the Game from Steam/GOG

To create Gothic modifications, you need the original version of the game. Gothic is available on two digital distribution platforms: Steam and GOG.

Which Version?​

For modding, Gothic II: Night of the Raven is most commonly used — it's the most feature-rich version of the ZenGin engine and has the largest modding community support.

tip

If you want to create modifications, choose Gothic II: Gold Edition — it includes the base game and the Night of the Raven expansion.

Steam​

  1. Open Steam and log in to your account
  2. Search for Gothic II: Gold Edition
  3. Purchase and install the game
  4. Default installation path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Gothic II
warning

The Steam version may require additional configuration — in some cases the game uses a newer renderer that can cause issues. Make sure the game runs correctly before starting to mod.

GOG​

  1. Open GOG.com and log in to your account
  2. Search for Gothic II: Gold Edition
  3. Purchase and install the game using GOG Galaxy or the offline installer
  4. Default installation path: C:\GOG Games\Gothic II Gold
tip

The GOG version is usually a better choice for modding — it has no DRM and is closer to the original game version.

Directory Structure​

After installation, the game directory should look roughly like this:

Gothic II/
├── System/             ← EXE files, DLLs, settings
│   ├── Gothic2.exe         ← main game executable
│   ├── Autorun/            ← Union plugins (DLLs)
│   └── ...
├── Data/               ← game data (models, textures, worlds)
│   ├── Meshes.vdf
│   ├── Textures.vdf
│   ├── Worlds.vdf
│   └── ...
├── _work/
│   └── Data/
│       ├── Scripts/    ← Daedalus scripts (we work here!)
│       │   ├── Content/
│       │   └── System/
│       ├── Worlds/     ← world files (.zen)
│       └── ...
└── Saves/              ← save files

The most important directory for a modder is _work/Data/Scripts/ — this is where the Daedalus scripts we'll be editing are located.

Verifying Installation​

Before starting work, make sure that:

  1. The game launches — start the game and check that it runs correctly
  2. You have access to scripts — check that the _work/Data/Scripts/Content/ directory exists and contains .d and .src files
  3. Gothic.src exists — check that the file _work/Data/Scripts/Content/Gothic.src is present
info

If the _work/Data/Scripts/ directory is empty or doesn't exist, you may need to extract scripts from .vdf files using Gothic VDF Tool or GothicStarter.

Next Step​

After installing the game, proceed to installing Visual Studio Code — the editor we'll use to write scripts.