GOTHICColony for Two
Two prisoners walk toward the Old Camp gate beneath the magic Barrier

A co-op mod for Gothic 1

Play the original Gothic online with a friend. One world, shared quests, shared loot — and an endless argument over who gets the ore.

Notify me at release What already works

The same old Colony. Only now there are two of you

This is not a new game and not the remake. It is the original Gothic 1, rebuilt for co-op: both players live in one world, see the same NPCs, take the same quests and share the same loot.

And it is not just a second hero dropped into a single-player game. Quests, rewards and balance are being reworked for a pair, and big decisions are made together: you argue, split roles and, when you can’t agree, let the dice decide.

Not just another co-op mod

Co-op mods for Gothic already exist — and we have played them. Usually they are a single-player game that two people can join. Colony for Two is the opposite: Gothic rebuilt as if it had been made for two from the very start.

  • Connecting

    Typical co-op modsIP addresses, Hamachi or Radmin, port forwarding

    Colony for TwoAn invite from your Steam friends list

  • Quests

    Typical co-op modsEach player has their own; you must pick the same dialogue answers

    Colony for TwoOne shared journal: one takes a quest, both have it

  • Dialogue

    Typical co-op modsThe second player can’t hear what NPCs tell the first

    Colony for TwoBoth hear it, with subtitles

  • Loot

    Typical co-op modsSeparate for each player

    Colony for TwoOne world: what one picks up is gone for the other

  • Balance

    Typical co-op modsA single-player game that is simply easier for two

    Colony for TwoMore and tougher enemies, XP split in half, rewards shared or rolled for

  • Decisions

    Typical co-op modsWhoever gets there first decides

    Colony for TwoBoth players are asked, wherever they are; dice settle disputes

  • Playing solo

    Typical co-op modsOne player can rush ahead in the story

    Colony for TwoNo: the shared world only starts with both of you

  • Connection

    Typical co-op modsStutters and lags on high ping

    Colony for TwoBuilt for 250–400 ms and packet loss

Some of this is still in development — the honest status of every mechanic is below.

How it will work

  1. Install the launcher

    It sets up the mod and the required patches for your Gothic 1 from Steam or GOG.

  2. Pick the party rules

    Difficulty, modifiers, looks — you decide together before you start.

  3. Invite a friend

    Straight from your Steam friends list. No IP addresses, no port forwarding.

  4. Welcome to the Colony

    You’re both thrown behind the Barrier. Good news: this time you won’t be the only one getting punched on arrival.

What the mod brings

The labels are honest: “works in tests” means it passes automated runs with two copies of the game, but is not polished yet.

One world for two

You see each other, the monsters, the weather and the time of day exactly the same. Each monster is run by whichever player is closer, so the world never “falls asleep” around your partner.

Works in tests

Connect through Steam

Invite a friend from your Steam friends list. All you need is a free Steam account — your copy of the game can come from Steam or GOG.

In development

Shared quests and dialogue

A quest taken by one player shows up in both journals. Your partner hears the conversation with the NPC and sees the subtitles while still walking around freely.

In development

Fight side by side

Swords, bows, crossbows and magic for both players. A fallen partner can be helped back up as long as one of you is still standing.

Works in tests

Experience split in half

Experience from monsters and quests is shared equally. Nobody outlevels the other, and nobody ends up just carrying the torch.

Works in tests

Ore is worth fighting over

One shared world: whatever one player picks up is gone for the other. The ore you find is yours. Lost it to your partner? Win it back.

Works in tests

Two d20 settle disputes

Disputes are settled by dice right on screen — no pauses, even mid-fight. Double ones: failure for both. Double twenties: success for both.

Works in tests

A teacher takes one student

Every skill teacher — lockpicking, weapons, magic — takes only one of you. Roles appear on their own: thief, warrior, mage.

In development

Time waits for both

Time only skips once both players have gone to sleep — each in their own bed, wherever they are. Nobody loses half a day while their partner is still busy.

Works in tests

A map for two

Marks and drawings on the map appear for your partner in real time. In different colours. With an eraser — for when someone draws something that shouldn’t be on a map.

Works in tests

Party rules

Before you start, pick the balance and modifiers: “Save only in camps” and “Shared backpack”.

In development

A wardrobe with a cracked mirror

Change your face, head and armour colours, so it’s always clear who is who in matching armour.

In development

Tavern games

Poker dice, checkers made of bread, meatbug races and a shell-game swindler. Play against NPCs or each other — for ore or just for fun.

Planned

Dice settle the argument

When you both want the same thing — a place with a teacher or a quest reward — it’s up to you: you can simply let your partner have it. The dice only come out when neither of you will give way: then two d20 roll right on screen, and it isn’t decided by whoever runs there first.

Why: every player ends up with a role of their own, and every dispute becomes a small moment you will remember.

When it happens

  • A skill teacher takes only one student, and you both want to learn.
  • A quest has one reward, and you both claim it.
  • A vote on a shared decision ends in a tie.

How it works

  • The other player gets the question wherever they are: give way or contest it. There is no timer — nobody can run ahead and decide for both.
  • If you contest, the screen dims slightly and the dice leap in from the edges. The game never pauses — you can roll even mid-fight.
  • The higher roll wins. A tie means a reroll.
  • Double ones — critical failure: nobody gets it. Double twenties — critical success: you both do.

Luck traders

Lucky bones will be sold by familiar faces: Scatty, who takes bets at the Old Camp arena, has them from the very start, and later Fortuno in the Swamp Camp sells them too. Contest with a lucky bone and you roll two d20 instead of one, keeping the higher. The bone is used up on that roll — if it ends in a tie, the reroll uses ordinary dice.

Diego · lockpicking teacher

Your friend wants to learn lockpicking. Contest it?

Show: · ·

No lag, even when ping spikes

Friends often live in different cities or even countries, where ping easily reaches 250 ms and never stays still. So every change to the mod is tested on a bad network, not a perfect one.

250–300 msthe normal case, with spikes up to 800 ms
400 ms, 8% losshow we test every update
2–5 s dropoutscombat pauses and resumes once the connection is back
  • Your swings, movement and sounds never wait for the network — they happen instantly.
  • Your partner’s movement is smoothed and adapts to ping spikes.
  • Important events go first, and bandwidth use stays low.

Development progress

Colony for TwoUpdated:
  • Network core and shared worldWorks in testsmovement, NPCs, time, weather
  • Combat, magic, wounds and revivalWorks in testsbeing stabilised
  • Loot, experience and economyIn developmentpickups, storage, shared XP
  • Quests and dialogueIn developmentshared journal, auditing the game scripts
  • Saves and level changesIn developmentthe Old Mine already loads for both players
  • Steam connectionIn developmentcode is written, waiting for testing
  • StabilityIn developmentlong automated test series on three network profiles
  • First games with friendsPlannedclosed test
  • Co-op mechanicsIn developmentdice and map done, teachers and looks in progress

Every mechanic is tested on its own: combat, loot, quests, saves and networking are run on two copies of the game at once — on a good connection and a bad one. Only what works reliably for both players makes it into a release.

FAQ

Why make this mod at all?

We have played hundreds of RPGs, and none of them felt like Gothic. A harsh, living world where nobody holds your hand and respect has to be earned — maybe the best thing that ever happened to the genre. We want everyone to visit the Colony: with a friend through our mod, or alone, the way it was in 2001. What matters is that you play it.

Is the mod free?

Yes, the mod is free. It will be installed through its own launcher, which downloads the required patches, checks your installation and keeps the mod up to date.

What do I need to play?

Each player needs the original Gothic 1 (Steam or GOG) and a free Steam account. Windows is required; Steam Deck and Linux via Proton will be tested separately.

Is this for the Gothic remake?

No. The mod works with the original 2001 Gothic 1 — the one with the blocky faces and the timeless atmosphere.

How many players?

Exactly two. This is not a massive multiplayer server but co-op for a pair: the whole design is built around two players — dice, teachers, shared decisions. Two’s company — even in the Colony.

Are there any limitations?

Yes, and they are deliberate. You can’t join different camps: you choose a camp together and join it as a pair. Moving between areas — into the Old Mine or the Sleeper’s Temple, for example — also works only when you go together. Gothic’s story was never meant for heroes serving rival camps, and the engine keeps only one area loaded at a time. So, at least for now, there is no other way: an honest limitation beats broken quests.

When will it be released?

Chapter 1 comes first — fully tested from start to finish. The remaining chapters will follow one by one. We are not just letting a second player into the world: quest endings are being reworked for a pair, so each of you gets a reward of your own instead of both getting the same thing. That takes careful work, so we would rather release the mod in parts, each one properly finished. Leave your email and we will write as soon as Chapter 1 is ready.

Found a bug — what do I do?

Press one button right in the game. The mod gathers the report itself — logs, save and screenshots — and sends it to us in one click: no digging through folders or attaching files by hand. That way we see exactly what you saw and can fix it faster.

What about Gothic 2?

After Gothic 1. Working title: “Khorinis for Two”.

Will it work with other mods?

We plan to support the GD3D11 graphics renderer and the zGamePad controller plugin. Story-changing mods, though, are unlikely: this mod reworks too much of the original game’s scripts, so they would clash.

Do you build on other people’s work?

We studied the existing Gothic co-op mods closely, but we are building ours from scratch on the open Union framework. None of them met our requirements: a shared world and shared quests for both players, shared loot, connecting through Steam, and holding up on a bad connection. We would have had to rework almost everything, so we laid a foundation designed for exactly this kind of two-player game from day one.

Be the first to know

Leave your email and we will write when the first version is ready, plus the occasional big news. No spam — a prisoner’s word of honour.