Dev Blog 10/05/18

[parsehtml]<p><img class="frame" src="https://www.taleworlds.com/Images/News/blog_post_39_taleworldswebsite.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="290" /></p> <p>The ultimate goal for most players of Bannerlord will be to carve out their own piece of Calradia through bloody conquest, however, Mount & Blade games are about more than just raising an army and leading it into battle. A big part of the game revolves around plotting your rise to power and building up a war chest that is capable of making your ambitions a reality. In this week’s blog, we will take a look at one of the ways that Bannerlord’s deep economic system enables players to raise the funds needed to equip themselves, gather an army and set forth on a military campaign: productive enterprises.</p></br> [/parsehtml]Read more at: http://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/59

 

[Karkurdu]

So game is not released until summer? At least i got that.

Not in this year.

And trust me, I know.

 

[Iberian Wolf]

Now that was a lovely blog, thanks Callum!

But I noticed the wine press is not included in the list. Did you forget to include it or Calradians hadn't discovered wine 200 before Warband? 

 

[FBohler]

Honestly I was hoping for a deeper enterprise system.
Something like hiring workers or designating companions to manage the enterprise, and maybe capital investments to enhance productivity and increase production.

 

[DaciaJC]

Cool blog, I like that the idea of economic warfare is getting more attention with Bannerlord.

A shame that the game is all but confirmed to not release until, at best, late 2018, or more likely 2019. *sigh*

 

[monoolho]

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(This is based on the previous, not that interesting blogs)

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Thank you TW, and Callum!

Man, now I feel sorry for Callum for no reason 

I feel so, but I have a good reason. Good for me at least:
I've been meaning to write a long post on how I feel bad for the TW devs and mods=gods that have to actually read each post, making the very same argument, saying the same stupid crap, every damn week. Some of them containing threatening interpretations, foreboding fantasies, awkward and endless streams of "why the game is dead if it doesn't release yesterday" or just plain bull****. I feel really privileged that I only have to come twice a week and I can just turn it off, but the staff of the forums have to deal with these posts on a daily basis. Really twisted crap... TW staff, you have my heart and my respect. (Other users who also have to suffer it... you have my sympathies as well)

Honestly I was hoping for a deeper enterprise system.
Something like hiring workers or designating companions to manage the enterprise, and maybe capital investments to enhance productivity and increase production.

I see your point, but the system seems designed to allow for multiple enterprises, even on the same town, so you would quickly run out of companions to manage stuff. Also it seems a bit odd that you would find a brother in arms who is ready to take a lance to the eye beside you on the battlefield, and then just give them a desk job... Nothing really against it, but... seems awkward, you know? And usually warriors would never accept doing bureaucratic management on butter, it would be beneath them, more suited to a burgher who knows the business (or is ready learn...). Not that no warrior ever did that stuff, it's just that on the grand scale of things, these were the exceptions.
You also would need dozens of companions with maxed out Trade and Persuasion skills...
I will love micromanaging one enterprise for a while. But after I end up buying 3, I won't have the patience to micromanage anymore and go have my fun in other ways and places, and I'm fairly certain this is part of their intended approach - to allow some micromanaging, but not overdoing it.

But I got a couple of questions:
If all the enterprise locations are bought in a town, how do we free them up for us? Or is it too late, and I should've bought them before? Or does the AI not occupy the "for sale" places and instead set their businesses in locations not for sale to the player?

and...

Can we make butter?
I need this:

 

[Zombie Warrior]

At last, a wonderfully penned blog with plenty of new information. I'm glad I have waited this long for a blog that finally mentions the new features without ambiguity and more of what we can expect from bannerlord. I must admit, the other blogs had me completely at lost and confused, indeed why speak about stuff which is already in warband? But now I see, it was merely an appetizer; the real meal is now served!

I'm completely hyped for gamescom and can't wait for the release of the game, you must have been waiting for a time to announce it properly and I am sure everyone's happy with that, but to be honest, I would've preferred if you had announced it a gamescom rather than within the blog. I feel like someone just told me the end a movie I was planning to watch! I was even saving some precious groats for the flight and hotel expenses.

Oh well, I'll still go to the gamescom to try the new demo you've promised to show. Now about the beta, I know you fell in love with steam and all, but would it be possible to make it available from the taleworlds site? I also think that the release of the beta shouldn't be so close to the official release date, but oh well, I'm not complaining.

Anyways, cheers!

 

[hiul]

Honestly I was hoping for a deeper enterprise system.
Something like hiring workers or designating companions to manage the enterprise, and maybe capital investments to enhance productivity and increase production.

also slave worker, it can lower reputation or something like that to counter it, or like roman they can be free if they work until certain period.

i guess stable will also sell the mount armor rather than just horse (what about the camel ? ).

 

[SirNerdyBrit]

Love you guys at TakeWorld. I know people are getting impatient, i've been guilty of that myself sometime. But seriously, take your time to make what looks like could be the game of the decade. Or next decade. Whenever it comes out. Don't rush it, and remember, for every individual that screams at you for release date, there are two silently applauding your dedication.

 

[Moton]

Awesome! Cant wait for next uppdate!

Great work Callum.

 

[Bustah]

Is it going to be deep or not. I mean it's cool that there's a couple new shops and that they have scenes made for them but what's going to be deep about running the business? Is it going to be like Warband where you buy it and then you never return and magically get a few hundred denars a week?

Can I set my prices? Can I limit how many I'm willing to sell? Can I tell my workers not to sell below a certain price? Can I hire more workers and buy more/upgrade equipment, expanding my business? Can I set up trade between multiple enterprises of mine? Can I buy lumber camps or farmsteads or mines or clay pits so that I can control my source of production as well as the means to produce my goods? Can I trade and initiate diplomacy with other enterprises directly? Does my business operation affect relations with the towns they are in? If I'm a lord, can I restrict or ban people from starting an enterprise of a certain type? Does the enterprise affect anything (if there are locals who own weaponry workshops and armouries will a rebellion/riot be more likely or more dangerous, or if my town is full of valuable workshops will it attract artisans from around Calradia and become the equivalent of Brussels or Venice of the Middle Ages, etc.)?

I could ask so many more questions but I'm sure the answer is no to all of them. Why? "Deep" doesn't mean a few more workshop types and the same system from Warband where a shortage of inputs or an excess of outputs affects profitability... that's just the same.

You could have looked to your own community (Nova Aetas for example) and seen the massive potential in the economic side of the game but I can already tell it's going to be the same as Warband where you buy a business and then leave it OR sit around for hours micromanaging to get the perfect profit because you just started. It's boring.

I get sidetracked v

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I've also just come to the realization about one of the main things Warband was missing, and that's story telling. You never set up a business and put your companion in charge but he was killed in a raid by an infamous bandit on one of your caravans and so you set out to get revenge, revealing some conspiracy about how the bandit was paid by one of your petty rivals within your faction and you stir up support with your friendly lords and blah blah blah something interesting. You just kinda dicked around for a while until someone raided your village that you had no emotional connection to besides "hey im not going to get my 800 denars this week " and decided you hated that guy. Then you took his castle and expected owning a castle to be a game changing experience that added depth to the non-fighting part of the game, but nope. You get a little money. You can store troops here. Do you remember why you wanted to take that castle? Who you took it from? When you took it? What was the battle like? Did someone you care about or hate die? What was the impact on the game? 99% of the time you don't remember, it's just more rightful player clay. I declared war on you because... I want your land. I took this from you because... you're my enemy. You're my enemy because... I declared war on you. I declared war on you because.... you see where I'm going?

The only reason anyone here has spent more than a hundred hours on this game is because of mods that address this or add a fresh layer to the base gameplay, but even these are limited. Let's be honest. Native is just so shallow. Please don't let Bannerlord be the same.

Anyways good to see a campaign blog, I sincerely hope I'm very wrong about the complexity of the enterprise system.

 

[White Lion]

Good blog lads! Can't wait the next one.

 

[rreojs]

Still no release date

 

[SenorZorros]

Good blog. I hope though that there will be a way to do a hostile takeover and buy out your rivals...

 

[Crowcorrector]

Good blog. I hope though that there will be a way to do a hostile takeover and buy out your rivals...

On a simiar note,  if you go down the criminal gangs route I hope you can 'raid' other Lords productive enterprises....  it would trash the place, take it out of comission for a while and give you some money and produce.  Similar to how Warband raids work on villages but on a smaller scale.  Would be nice to covertly cripple your enemies from the inside

 

[Rackie]

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I'm sorry. I really look forward to this game. I am more hyped for this game than any other and that does say something. But the whole release date thing is angering me. I started following this game 2 years ago, I know many of you have longer but in general, 2 years of following a game pre-release is a long time. That was in July of 2016. I had played Warband before this and noticed a new one was in development. I immediately showed it to my friend and we both became very hyped instantly. Taleworlds told us the game would be coming out before the end of the year. However, as we eased into November, and there still was little more info on this and I became skeptical.

December passed with no word on release. I do believe a Steam page was created shortly after in January of 2017 though. We were told it should come out in 2017. In July and August at E3 and Gamescon, we were told they were confident it would be finished before the end of the year. 2017 would pass. Dev Blogs became less informative and seemed to be more about stalling than giving us meaningful info on the game. We were promised a playable form of the game in 2017. This never happend.

Here we are, nearly halfway through 2018 and there has been little word on release until now-- We will see new stuff of Bannerlord at Gamescon. That is 3 months away. There will be 4 months left of 2018 at this time and they are going to be showing us gameplay footage. If this gameplay footage follows the pattern of previous, it will be meaningless;  showing maybe some new multiplayer footage against bots. It's safe to say the game will not be coming out in 2018. This is extremely frustrating. From what I've heard it was supposed to come out in 2014 originally but has been repeatedly delayed to where we are now. As a fan, I feel lied to and stalled.

People will say that it is better for developers to take their time with games so they don't come out a rushed, buggy mess. These people are correct but I think that 6 years is more than enough time to sort bugs out. The developers have said that they want to release the game perfect. This worries me. The game will never be perfect. No games are perfect. Don't waste your's and my time trying to make a game perfect. It doesn't need to be and if that is what you are trying to do then I have my doubts this game will ever be released. Games can always be updated and improved. But by not releasing after this long wait you are causing 3 things:
            1. You are dividing the fanbase before the game is even out.
            2. You are raising expectations with every month that passes.
            3. The game is becomes more outdated.

That is all I have to say. I know this wall of text is far from a masterpiece but I needed to vent. If it is grammatically incorrect I apologize. I typed this on a phone and I have large, clumsy thumbs. Spellcheck made dozens of corrections during this, I doubt they are all correct. I genuinely am excited for this game. I say this as a fan, not as a hater.

They didnt take 6 years fixing bugs. They have possible done that since last summer. And no, its not only about that. Its also improving features, maybe even still adding some more. Who knows, maybe they do work on co-op? Probably noy, but whatever it is, its not useless. Do you think a developer would just not release a game to not release it? You think they dont release it to make the fanbase angry? And yes, they want to make the game perfect, both for themselfs and for the consumers. Most of the fans agree. There is a toll about that. And it being outdated? Nah. I still play games from 2003-2017. I pkay warband. Sure, the graphics aint the best, but gameplay wise, its far superior. For example, a new game with amazing graphics (KD:C) which had really good combat features and was really fun.. Well. I played it for about 100hours. Not more. I have uncountable times more time on warband. Both mods, multiplayer, and also native. I honestluy dont mind. I expect a release before 2020 (no joke), but also, even if it will be the game ill spend most hours on (probably), people dont realize its just a game. People with no lives that is

 

[MackCW]

If the game is released this year I will give everyone from Taleworlds a beer from my in game brewery.

Love you guys at TakeWorld. I know people are getting impatient, i've been guilty of that myself sometime. But seriously, take your time to make what looks like could be the game of the decade. Or next decade. Whenever it comes out. Don't rush it, and remember, for every individual that screams at you for release date, there are two silently applauding your dedication.

 

[Bonky!]

  The shops, the village overhaul, and the barter system will make playing as a merchant much more interesting.  It'll sure beat going to the same town, buying the same product, and taking it to that one town.  Warband's economy did fluctuate and I think this will be a big improvement.
I'm betting that crime will play into the economy somehow.  Why else would the local lord hate you? 

  Even a few seemingly simple changes is a big leap, from warband, for what the platform can do.  I enjoy playing a merchant and I'm seeing a more involved game this time around.

 

[Slayton]

I don't want to get too hyped or jump on the release date bandwagon, but can we at least have a release date for the release date? Just so we have something to look forward to?

 

[Stan546]

Gutted about the E3, really feel the marketing was terrible the last few years, it feels much more focused now.

Ahh well, we keep waiting!

Good blog though

 

[AmateurHetman]

At first I want too impressed, but the more I read the more new details emerged.