A lack of immersion and purpose

Have you felt immersed and purposeful in any of your playthroughs?

  • Yes, a lot

    Votes: 18 7.9%
  • Yes, a little

    Votes: 25 10.9%
  • Kind of

    Votes: 40 17.5%
  • No, not so much

    Votes: 80 34.9%
  • No, not at all

    Votes: 66 28.8%
  • Other (explain)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    229

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Revverie

When I play this game I always wonder, what genre it is? Is it an strategy medieval game? Is it a roleplaying game? The most common answer is that it is an hybrid, but I have to refuse that concept. I think this game doesnt know what it wants to be. In one hand, you can create your own character, you can be a lord and know other people, have friends, have enemies, grow up, get married, summarised, you have a story, a life, a role. In the other hand, you have big armies, you have to buy food to feed them, you need to make money, you have to win wars, and you have to control your armies, lords, fiefs, you need to do strategy. But how deep each of these actually go? As I've said before, you have friends, you have a story, a role, but don't you feel the world doesnt recognize you as a character? You go into a town and are you recognized as a king, as a lord? Did your doings changed people lives, changed how people treats you, did your companions were grateful for their new acquired position, does your wife greets you when you come from war or your lord friends have things to talk, worries, politics? There is nothing of that. So, is it a roleplaying game, does your role really matter? A town being besieged wont hold you any resentment, nobody in this game cares at all.
So no, creating a character, having a wife, making friends wont translate into anything. This game can brand itself as a roleplaying game but it wont convince me it is one, because that factor just isn't there, or if it is, is purely cosmetical. A town turning blue to red and a flag turning from a fish to a lion is just not doing the work. And this is very disappointing, because you can only expect to see this game to expand on it. I played Warband for who knows how many days if not months of my life, but something that always happened in every playthrough is that I got bored, I got bored of the repetitive characters, so many events that can happen, but none of them will be remembered, because the lack of character this game has makes it forgettable. It's a sandbox, yes, but a videogame cant be made just full of sand, it needs more. I can only wait for mods to actually have a personality that doesnt relies on the graphical and cosmetic side to be engaging. Random characters are not good, they're just full of nothingness, a starting story and nothing to say afterwards, lords have nothing to say, they're just tools to get numbers grow. At the current state I can only force a story in my own mind of how people are reacting but imagination can only go so far in a videogame like this. Give us the tools, scrap the terrible idea that an encyclopedia with all the information of the world will make us find out about the world, and make the character do it instead. Make people have a life.

(PD: I've already made a post like this before, I know, but it seems it's nowhere in TW plans to make this game engaging. I just think this can be even be argued more)
 
Indeed, a great post. There's no character, it's on life support with this fact. I have been trying to pin down why I can't get into this game and this sums it up. I am not immersed in this Calradia at all. The randomly generated characters are all the same anyway. The same swordsman with a different name.
 
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Yes, yes it's disappointing, I wanted Animal crossing with medieval warfare but no boo hoo.
There's hope that maybe they will eventually improve this by giving different personalities to NPCs and having them react to you differently by your traits and recent actions. The notables have potential but right now it's just bare bones, but the lord NPCs are somehow worse then warband. In warband they at least had a weird muppety charm to them. In BL looking more real makes their shallow dialogue stand out more.
"I hurd you took'town we're in'"
Oh yeah did you now? Did you notice I destroyed about 3k of you former faction in succession just outside while I starved you and everyone you know for weeks and then took this town, that you live in? Anything else to say about this, to your new owner? Anything?
Oh..... you can't sell your ****ing potatoes and **** so you want me to smuggle them? Gee that's kinda weird to be asking me since I AM THE LAW and should be able to change whatever rules and get rid of whoever I want.

Can only hope they do more at some point, but of course it become clear that nothing is going to be fast or comprehensive in BL improvement.
I guess they could keep what they have as the base line and add more for if you have positive or negative relations or opposing traits.

Beyond NPC stuff, I'd really like some meaty things to do in the world that aren't just beating down other factions and taking their land.
Like really building up and changing the fiefs we have or...... and I know this is asking a lot..... MAKE OUR OWN SETTLEMENTS. Can we have a ****ing animal crossing stupid house to put stupid trophies(that would have to be added to game) and junk in? Can we start out own bandit or merc company? Like it gets bigger and bigger and opens up new gameplay paths... not just "eeh you get some money blaaaaaaah the end".

I want more, lots more. Gonna take loooooooooooong time.
 
It is true, immersion is important.

- Identifying with character.
- Interracting meaningfully with the world.
- Relationships with AI make difference.
- Progression system for one's character.
- Perks / in depth development.
- Item progression (Armours / weapons).
- Village / Castle / Towns development.
- Kingdom in depth customization.

Everything that can make the player feel involved and give goals and individuality will help Bannerlord.
The future of Bannerlord is bright; Yavuz and co. won't just abandon this game like big corps unless they go bankrupt.

When the time arrives when we can play endlessly without quitting tho thats the question, most likely when mods get rolling big.
 
I would just be happy if they get some of the Viking conquest stuff added to the game like BOATS and the outpost you can make. Cause I hate the fact my mercanary company (one play through) can't take a castle and remain a mercanary company. Than you will have to be either a kingdom or vassal. I would love to be able to make an outpost we can add some upgrades to like in VC so we can just remain a mercanary company.

I'm sure once modding tools come out we will see a lot more added to the game. I have several char concepts I have started and would like to play more, but a lot of it is messed up cause kids age way to slow for how fast you can take the map. So what is the point of trying to play a dynasty style play? That and I think the map is to small for that.....Hopefully in the future they will or moders open up the map more.
 
i agree 100%
i expected a role-play game after seeing all the beta ideas in vanilla warband,
but it's just killing looters all over again to rise up
unfortunately TW is still far for making that AAA mount & blade.

still, my favorite game at the end of the day
 
Oh, it is one of my favorite games, I love playing it, but while I'm playing it gets to a point where I can only imagine how good it would be if it had more substantial content, it has an enormous potential, I mean if it went even further than what we have it could be one of the best games of this entire decade, I say this without exaggeration. I always remember No Man's Sky and how much it has grown since release, and I understand we cant have a huge update with RPG content by tomorrow, but I hope the devs take notice of this substantial dread and to our suggestions and expand on this game in the future, I wont mind if it takes years, but it has to be done, and not by the hand of modders.
 
It's impossible to get immersed into a game where nothing makes any sense at all. Part of this is down to the writing, which is terrible, but the main reason is how the game mechanics are designed around making things superficially difficult rather than believable or fair.

1. NPC self-preservation across the board is non existent. NPCs will stand and fight even if it means certain death.
2. Recruitment doesn't make any in-game sense and is more like human trafficking than anything resembling a military.
3. The bandit lair guy just strolls up to you and says "WOTS GOIN' ON 'ERE THEN, LAD?" after you massacre all of his associates.
4. The main story quest makes no goddamn sense, the bandit leader you capture decides to cooperate with you and is remarkably cordial even though you just caved his head in with a sword.
5. All of the quests are awful.
6. The smithing system is broken overpowered, so they added a nonsensical system where you have to take a rest after putting a few logs in a fire.
7. You are allowed to do things like murder chickens in villages and throw javelins or punches at people, but nobody flinches or reacts. They just terminator-walk at you with the same dead expressions on their faces.
8. Cavalry just phases through infantry. Massed formations are completely useless at preventing them from just rightclicking on your archers.
9. The entire game is permeated by the same 2 songs for battles and the same 4 screams with no attention paid to situationality. Your wife might shout "I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE" during a tournament. A looter who is the last guy left after you kill all his friends still cockily shouts "URR-HAHA" before suddenly routing.
 
All the immersion there is (if there is any) comes from my efforts to roleplay in my head :grin:
I also write down some things, important battles, dates of children birth and when I conquer castle or town... The prices, taking screenshots and imagining stories about places.

But the game does NOTHING to help me in that. Every character is same, every bandit is same, every lord is same, every town is same and no matter what I do, nothing changes.

P.S.
And all of these is especially heartbreaking when you see that the potential is there and is just unused/wrongly used.
And so much effort went into creating beautiful scenes of towns with very detailed streets and buildings and it's just such a shame that all of these is just for nothing and nothing ever happens there.
 
I usually do Baybars roleplay, becoming a powerful lord as a foreigner, rising from very depths to highest peaks. I move to Aserai deserts as soon as the game starts, discard everything I had and there it begins. I limit myself to use memlukes only but lack of impact on enemy when I crush massive hostile parties is the biggest con I think.

Say I saved a town from being captured by enemy army, managed to defeat them in front of the walls and the battle was huge, had multiple phases. After that no one makes any comment about that, there ought to be hundreds of lines of reaction/comment on recent actions. This is literally the easiest thing to add, hire a literature student and he/she will write for you if you can't spare any of your employees.

It has been 3 months and there has not been any improvement on this side. I hope it is underway though.

Erdogan will try to declare ASRIKA in 2023, Islamic State of Asia and Africa.
 
It's impossible to get immersed into a game where nothing makes any sense at all. Part of this is down to the writing, which is terrible, but the main reason is how the game mechanics are designed around making things superficially difficult rather than believable or fair.

1. NPC self-preservation across the board is non existent. NPCs will stand and fight even if it means certain death.
2. Recruitment doesn't make any in-game sense and is more like human trafficking than anything resembling a military.
3. The bandit lair guy just strolls up to you and says "WOTS GOIN' ON 'ERE THEN, LAD?" after you massacre all of his associates.
4. The main story quest makes no goddamn sense, the bandit leader you capture decides to cooperate with you and is remarkably cordial even though you just caved his head in with a sword.
5. All of the quests are awful.
6. The smithing system is broken overpowered, so they added a nonsensical system where you have to take a rest after putting a few logs in a fire.
7. You are allowed to do things like murder chickens in villages and throw javelins or punches at people, but nobody flinches or reacts. They just terminator-walk at you with the same dead expressions on their faces.
8. Cavalry just phases through infantry. Massed formations are completely useless at preventing them from just rightclicking on your archers.
9. The entire game is permeated by the same 2 songs for battles and the same 4 screams with no attention paid to situationality. Your wife might shout "I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE" during a tournament. A looter who is the last guy left after you kill all his friends still cockily shouts "URR-HAHA" before suddenly routing.

yep...not exactly the "obscure bugs" I was expecting.....
 
I largely agree with what you say. However, reaching a level of intra-pc/npc interaction of the witcher/skyrim/gta etc style in Bannerlord I see it more than complicated. I would love a total interaction in play, from the basic action/reaction such as "I kill a chicken"---> citizen response ----interaction----> consequence; to a comprehensive system of politics and advanced diplomacy. But let's be realistic... maybe Taleworlds will eventually be able to implement it; however I am not willing to wait another 10 years. :iamamoron:

On a more serious note, I would propose, for example, to implement basic interactions that are not currently implemented (and I am surprised that they are not):

1. Free start. The pc with its background appears in Calradia, no tutorials or initial missions (option in the start menu for a "guided" start). The missions are accrued dynamically as the pc-npc interaction takes place.

2. Getting back the ability to set up a camp (and everything that comes with this possibility in VC), is vital and I do not understand why it is not implemented from the beginning.

3. Freelancer system. For me, it's a disappointment that the same or similar system is not implemented in Bannerlord.

4. Fighting with Lords/parties increases the relationship.

And about the above described I would implement all these mods (referring strictly to pc-npc / pc-world interaction ):
Just Let Me Play
Healthy Relationships
Fighting Together Relationship
Relations With Lords in Politics
Allegiance Overhaul
Messengers
Mercenary Army
I'm Tired
Duel Lords
Shattered Kingdoms
Random Events
AI Reinforcements
Party AI Overhaul and Commands Party AI Overhaul and Commands
Armorer Crafting Mod
Settlement Finances
Entrepreneur
Banditry
More Raiding
Scum and Villainy
Minor Clan Troop Recruitment
Repopulate Calradia
.
.
.
And some other that I'm sure I forget...
 
Lack of immersion is one of the main problems imo. Don't get me wrong this game has a lot of thing done right but also most of the stuff, relations, army commanding, ai, fps mode etc is pretty lacking. Reasons of that might be, things player do are either useless(like walking in a city) or doesn't make sense (like relation with other lords). Thing like no rebellion mechanic atm makes end game without purpose thus less immersive.
 
I strongly agree with you. But its senseless to discuss this in debth when they are still doing some groundwork like coding and working on the combat system. Luckely all these things that add to immersion can get added later on, I hope this thread doesen't perished until then.
 
I strongly agree with you. But its senseless to discuss this in debth when they are still doing some groundwork like coding and working on the combat system. Luckely all these things that add to immersion can get added later on, I hope this thread doesen't perished until then.
Im pretty sure they are taking notes of what to fix or how to fix them. Coders might be working on other things but design team is probably dont work o those right now.
 
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