Gothic 3 VR+

Version 1.1.9 beta. An unofficial, fully stereoscopic VR modification for Gothic 3, with tracked head and hands, motion-based combat and controller-operated menus.

How does it differ from the main version?

An enhanced mod that incorporates modern VR mechanics and reflects my vision of how Gothic 3 should be played in VR.

• Added a HUD display on the character's arm.
• Disabled third-person camera views during dialogues, chest looting, reading at a lectern, etc.
• Control layout updated to modern standards
• Fixed the offset between the controllers and the hands for the Quest 3.
• Also includes minor fixes.

Install and play

Download here

Use the release installer and follow the installation and first-launch guide. A separately purchased copy of Gothic 3 is required; Forsaken Gods is not supported.

Windows 10/11 x64, an SSD, a PC VR headset and two tracked controllers are required. Select Virtual Desktop / VDXR, Meta Quest Link / Air Link, or SteamVR in the launcher. The reference hardware is Quest 3 / Touch and RTX 4080; other hardware needs separate validation. Steam, GOG and retail editions were tested with the supported native patch profile.

• Release features and limitations
• Controls and custom controller mapping
• Controller compatibility
• Optional Union+ 1.7.3 integration
• INI tweaks

Quest 3 controls (1.1.9 beta)

Screenshots

In-game captures of combat, exploration, dialogue and trading in VR.

Report a bug

Open a bug report and describe how to reproduce the problem. The form asks for the mod version, headset/controllers, VR provider, PC/settings, installed mods and relevant logs or screenshots. Search existing issues before submitting the same problem again.

Roadmap

• Replace all third-person actions with first-person perspectives or full-fledged VR-native actions.
• Implement finger articulation that responds to specific key presses.
• Fix camera culling issues at close range.
• Add the ability to pick up and equip weapons, potions, spells, and other items that can be carried on the player's body.
• Optimize the engine and implement multithreading.
• Upgrade the combat system to meet modern VR standards.
• Add the ability to issue commands to companions using gestures.
• Add the ability to cast magic using gestures.
• VR parkour?

Build from source

The game/plugin are 32-bit. Meta Link uses a separate 64-bit compositor host. Build both architectures; a standalone plugin DLL is not a complete installation.

Requirements: Visual Studio 2022 C++ Build Tools (x86/x64), Windows SDK including fxc.exe, CMake 3.24 or newer, Python 3.10 or newer for packaging/tests, and Windows PowerShell 5.1. Build tools must be available on PATH for the commands below.

Obtain Gothic 3 SDK separately. The validated SDK revision is 90bfd344de4510dda7ac9da7461cc7f1eac911f7. Place its checkout beside this repository as ../gothic3sdk, or pass its path explicitly. From the repository root:

git -C ../gothic3sdk checkout 90bfd344de4510dda7ac9da7461cc7f1eac911f7
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A Win32 -DGOTHIC3SDK_DIR=../gothic3sdk -DBUILD_TESTING=ON
cmake --build build --config Release --target Script_Gothic3VRDiagnostics Gothic3VRResolution Gothic3VRLauncher Gothic3VRUnionGuard -- /m:1 /nr:false
cmake -S tools/MetaBridgeHost -B build-meta -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
cmake --build build-meta --config Release --target Gothic3VRMetaHost64

Use fresh build directories for production builds. Experimental captures, profiling and renderer trials default to OFF; do not enable them in a public build. No headset or game is required just to compile. SDK bindings and required vendored headers/runtime loaders retain their upstream licenses.

Tests

Tests are registered when BUILD_TESTING=ON. Build the test targets before invoking CTest. The full suite contains GPU, local native-profile and runtime-dependent checks; a missing headset/runtime is not evidence of a gameplay regression. To run the headless Meta transport/wire checks specifically:

cmake --build build --config Release --target DiagnosticMetaPipeTests DiagnosticMetaBridgeWireTests
ctest --test-dir build -C Release --output-on-failure -R "diagnostic_meta_(pipe|bridge_wire)"

tools/Build-Diagnostics.ps1 is a convenience build/full-test wrapper. -SdkDirectory and -BuildDirectory accept explicit paths. It never installs unless -Install is supplied with both -GameDirectory and -PackageDirectory.

Packaging and developer deployment

release/Build-Package.py creates a hash-validated payload from a production build and a supported local reference installation. It intentionally checks the native prerequisites and accepted runtime components; it is not a generic copier for arbitrary DLLs. Its currently pinned Meta host must be revalidated and its pin updated when that host is rebuilt. Never bypass a hash mismatch just to generate a package.

python release/Build-Package.py --game "<supported game directory>" --build build --sdk ../gothic3sdk --output "<new empty package directory>"

The source packaging tool does not install into the game. Compile the Inno Setup script with Inno Setup 6.5 or newer to produce a user-facing installer. For developer deployment of a complete, validated payload matching the selected build:

./tools/Install-Diagnostics.ps1 -GameDirectory "<game directory>" -BuildDirectory build -PackageDirectory "<package directory>"

This delegates to the same release/Deploy.ps1 used by Setup, including process checks, complete Meta/Union components, preference preservation, external backups and rollback. It installs core components; add -FfrBackend to include the optional graphics component. Close Gothic 3, its launcher and Union+ first. Do not copy development backups into the game resource tree: duplicate resource basenames can prevent the game from starting.

Repository contents

src/ contains the plugin, launcher and runtime bridges; tests/ contains validation; tools/ contains development helpers; release/ contains deployment and packaging; third_party/ contains dependency material and notices. Experimental source is kept under experiments/; generated captures, game binaries/decompilations and build outputs are excluded from Git.

License and credits

Project code is GPL-3.0-or-later; see LICENSE. This declaration does not relicense third-party code, commercial game content, trademarks, custom artwork or music. See third-party notices for dependency notices and asset scope. The commercial game and its native patch binaries are not supplied by this source repository.

Modified versions are welcome under the GPL. Preserve applicable notices and identify your changes; independently maintained builds must not be presented as official PeCOS2k5 and ShadowManXR releases. See AUTHORS.md and BRANDING.md.

Special thanks to the developers and contributors whose work has helped improve and expand Gothic 3 over the years.

Gothic 3 Community Patch 1.75.14

• Developed by: Community Patch Team / Mad Vulture Games
• Supported by: Nordic Games

Gothic 3 Update Pack 1.04

• Developed by: Dimus, zandr, Guzz (aka killer-m), and Mechanic

Gothic 3 Update Pack 1.05

• Main Developer: zandr
• Based on: Gothic 3 Update Pack 1.04

Gothic 3 Parallel Universe Patch

• Created by: George
• Additional Credits: MadFaTal, Askanius, Gregox, Robespier, Seeev, Knighter, Hero3000, Feyn, chris-40, controlled, NicoDE, and the Community Story Project team.

Disclaimer

Gothic 3 © THQ Nordic AB. Originally developed by Piranha Bytes.

All Gothic 3 trademarks, characters, artwork, audio, and other original game assets remain the property of their respective rights holders.