The Steam Workshop is a convenient way to manage modifications and plugins for Gothic 1 and Gothic 2. You subscribe to the mods that interest you, enable the plugins, and launch the game. However, the solution itself (the Workshop beta) still suffers from various shortcomings. It turns out that for more than two years, several of its significant issues have been solvable by using a fan-made patch created by a user known as Gratt, the author of the popular Union framework.
What does SteamLauncherOptimizer improve?
- Instant mod launching
By default, before launching a modification, the Steam Workshop copies its files into the game directory. Copying 1 GB of mod data typically takes about 10 seconds. This long wait time is especially noticeable with mods that include voice acting. SteamLauncherOptimizer avoids copying files by using a hard link or a symbolic link instead. - Correct file loading order
While copying files, the Steam Workshop changes their timestamps. The Gothic engine loads files based on these timestamps, which means that the “newer” a file is, the earlier it is loaded. Changing the timestamp can, for example, prevent a modification’s translation from loading correctly. - GothicStarter support
When launching Gothic 1 or Gothic 2 through the Steam Workshop, a window will appear that allows you to run the GothicStarter and play with modifications not installed through Steam. - Reducing the size of the event log file
If you have ever looked into the Launcher folder, you may have noticed the filelogs.txt. After a year of active use, it can grow to as much as 1 GB. With SteamLauncherOptimizer, its size is limited, making it easier to share – for example, to get technical support. - Reduced disk usage and protection against overflow
By default, the solution used in the Workshop, as mentioned in point 1, results in having two copies of the files on your disk while playing. With SteamLauncherOptimizer, you use less disk space and avoid the risk of reaching the disk capacity limit when launching a modification1.
Installation
- Download SteamLauncherOptimizer.zip
- [For Gothic 1] Unpack d3d11.dll file into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Gothic\launcher - [For Gothic 2] Unpack d3d11.dll file into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Gothic II\launcher
If the Steam Workshop and the game are located on different drives, you need to run Steam as an administrator.
P.S. Using this patch will not get you banned. It only changes the way modifications are launched on Steam. : – )
- The description is based on the description from GitHub repository owned by Gratt [Access at: 12.12.2025] ↩︎
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