Some details have recently emerged regarding the fourth instalment in JoWood's popular RPG series Gothic. Subtitled Arcania, the game will be set ten years after Gothic 3, on various islands in the south of the world.

These new environments are set to be rendered in DirectX 10, with advanced shader technology ensuring realistic effects such as the sunlight being dimmed and dappled beneath a tree.

There'll also be proper weather effects, a full day and night cycle and the ability to mess with this using magic, so you'll temporarily be able to turn day into night (sounds like fun). Beast mounts will be introduced, and apparently many requests from the fans of the series are being taken into consideration by the developers.

Gothic 4 will be available on the PC, X360 and PS3, with the release date still to be confirmed.