Bought the GOG version 2 days ago. clicking the desktop icon and it starts to load but black screen and no sound. All my other GOG games run OK.

Running windows 10 64 bit.

It's several minutes after...
Also installed on Vista business 32 bit. Still just blank screen and no sound.

run as administrator with xp compatability. also try running as a DEP exception.

pretty sure thats what i did though i played it on an earlier version of win 10.

Running as admin and xp still shows same message:
Compile shader material cache, this may take several minutes

I have the collection titled Gothic Universe, 1, 2, and 3. I installed Gothic 3 v1.6025 and the game starts just fine.
Then I applied the 1.7514 patch and once again the game starts just fine. Therefore, something is wrong with the pre-patched version of the GOG Gothic 3. Maybe there's something wrong with the GOG downloaded Gothic 3 pre patched game.

.....

Actually, just re-installed the GOG version of Gothic 3, then installed a separately downloaded 1.7514 patch. Now GOG G3 runs just fine. Therefore, the pre-patched G3 from GOG is badly patched?

Maybe, but not for everybody. If you're not knowledgeable enough to share more information about your system(s) (hardware+software) here, then you should contact GOG support.

Actually, I could care less since I have other purchased hard copies. I'll just let the GOG purchase be as a contribution.

Thanks for your time and effort.

This link says that pretty much 1.75 is highly recommend for modern OS's (like W10):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=922996693

Curious: Any reason you're trying to run an older version of the game on W10?

As always, before tampering w/ stuff: back up whatever you need to, that you are going to tamper with.
Back-up your old saves folder somewhere else or rename it, before tampering around w/ stuff like this.
Back-up any full-blown game-folders if need be (if you're modding that).
That way, you can always go backwards to a "clean/working/original" state, if you need to revert to a cleaner/original/working state.

If you are using an older version of G3 b/c of a "saves compatibility issue" with an older save of trying to get old saves from 1.6 to say work on 1.75, check this - looks like you can take saves from 1.6 over to 1.75, if you follow these instructions:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1422348394

Might be a bit of work to get it going - but, could be worth it.

I should check this out myself, actually!
(I have G3 from retail, on disc).

I don't know why 1.63 is having issues w/ booting as you get the blank screen - but, here's a suggestion: did you try attaching DGVoodoo w/ that version or some older say DX Wrapper? You might lose some performance (depends on your rig, the game, and how DGVoodoo handles stuff w/ DX calls and whatnot) - but getting a game going is half the battle here.

Gothic 3 is an older DirectX game - and sometimes, those just have issues w/ W10 with newer DX versions. Some older games, DGVoodoo can really help get a game running.

For example, I had issues w/ getting say Blood 2, XIII and Dungeon Siege 1+2 on W10 - and applying DGVoodoo myself really straightened out a lot of problems there alone.

Another thought - did you say turn off Xbox Game Bar and any other Microsoft stuff that can get in the way on W10? Sometimes, even something like that can really help.

It's rather strange that the GOG game that's already pre patched to 1.7514 would only work after re patching it to 1.7514. That's good enough for me.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it. If it is broke, don't worry about it!"

Gogs installers are not perfect, and if there are specific reproducable problems then I am happy to add these to my posts here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/provide_a_full_and_complete_changelogged_download_system

It would not be the first time that updates are worse than before. Some questions though:
Are you using galaxy?
Are you installing to windows folders?
Are you utilising the offline version Installers?

We have had this on other threads. Please be clear.

Not using Galaxy
default installation with off line installers

Right. Just download the latest version from GOG: setup_gothic_3_1.75.141_(21829).exe
Ran the installer to c:/mygames
Ran the game and indeed got the black screen, and a box which stated shaders compiling. Left it for a while nothing. Then got some sound but still black screen. So I right click on the game shortcut and opened location. Right click on gothic3.exe and select properties. Under compatability I choose Windows XP service pack 3, then click apply and close. Then I run the game and it works fine, videos show and sound and it goes to menu, no problems.

So the key step here appears to run it once, then close it. Then set compatability on gothic3.exe to Windows XP service pack 3. It will then work.

AHH... I see... said the blind man as he picked up the hammer and saw.

TNX

Yes, sometimes you need to set compatibility manually. Sometimes windows does it for you. Should really be set by the installer upon installer, but that would mean filling in a bug report etc.