Dev Blog 18/01/18

[parsehtml]<p><img class="frame" src="http://www.taleworlds.com/Images/News/blog_post_23_taleworldswebsite_575.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="290" /> Mount & Blade is RPG, strategy, epic battles... and it's also a unique world which acts as the perfect framework for your own adventures and heroic deeds. Calradia, the continent where Mount & Blade takes place, is a low-fantasy setting deeply rooted in history: its past and factions are inspired by real kingdoms and conflicts of old, but it also adds its own doses of imagination. It's a delicate balance: you have to combine creativity and imagination with thorough research and interpretation of historical sources. The result, however, is worth all the efforts: Calradia may be a fictional place, but it feels as alive and real as our world. It takes a lot of talent and hard work to create such a place, and today we want to introduce you to a member of our team who plays an essential role in its creation: our writer and designer Steve Negus.</p></br> [/parsehtml]Read more at: http://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/42

 

[gypsydevil]

Another Thursday, another blog.  Nice work on keeping the lines of communication open.  Can't wait for the next one.

 

[Dest45]

Yes! YES! I Love it! Characters dying opens up so many doors for storytelling and Tragedy makes some of the best stories, and thats what I look for when I play a game. Good stories that is.

I love reading the AARs and watching The Reformist series lol Borgar Beartilde.

 

[aged3]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

 

[Dest45]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

soon

 

[Wolfang230]

Wait time out companions can die now? I see my future with a lot less companions after two or three battles then. But, also on that note if companions can perish, can lords be able to die in combat and have their heirs take over for them?

 

[aged3]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

How would u now it is SOOOON??



WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

soon

How do u know ??

 

[kalarhan]

Wait time out companions can die now?

Can die and dying in battle are two different things

 

[Rackie]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

How would u now it is SOOOON??



WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

soon

How do u know ??

Because he knows the way my frend

 

[The Raven of Time]

"WHAT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT THING THAT YOU SOLVED SO FAR?
“The game is not out and I don't know if we've solved this problem, but one of the big challenges is to have events that are generated by dynamic sandbox events, and are good strategies for the NPCs to adopt, but that also make sense to the player. An example of what we want to avoid, from Warband: we introduced feasts, which were a way that factions could spend resources to repair relations between lords that were damaged by the ebb and flow of war. The problem, though, was that the strategically ideal time to hold a feast was when you were in the middle of a war, which didn't seem right from a narrative perspective. So there are a lot of moving parts in the game, and we're trying to get them to work together in a way that makes sense from both a strategy and an RPG perspective.”

WHAT DO YOU CURRENTLY WORK ON?
“I'm currently working on dialogs for quests. These can get quite complicated, because we want to have lots of small quests that offer meaningful branching choices but may also be given out by characters with different personalities. We're also trying to work out a main storyline quest that absorbs the player but complements the sandbox struggle for power rather than seeming like two parallel games.”"

Oh dear. That doesn't sound like they are even remotely close. You should have already nailed down a main quest at this point in the production. Yeesh.

Not really, no.

It's just a complement to the game mechanics, which always come first.

Given they started work on Bannerlord in 2010 I'd think quests would have been discussed by now and a main one nailed down. If he's still working on side-quests that is understandable but a main one should have been thought off and scripted by now.

Hopefully, they had some form of a premise in mind for it at the beginning and have most parts of it outlined. But I sort of guessed they were still writing quests based on the content of an earlier blog which really concerns me because if main quests are unfinished how far are the side quests and other aspects of Bannerlord in development? Hopefully, the game releases sometime in the next 2 years completely finished.

 

[Ki-Ok Khan]

Will those birds be usable by lords , player or high ranked soldiers during battles? What about multiplayer? Will there be other types of pets? If so what are some of those?

 

[aged3]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

How would u now it is SOOOON??



WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

soon

How do u know ??

Because he knows the way my frend

Does He really know De Way??? Like I would like to see De Videos

 

[KhergitLancer80]

Someone in twitter turned the cross ball given by TW into a very nice goal

https://twitter.com/Mount_and_Blade/status/954003768797954048

sit and wait:neverlord

 

[Dest45]

Next blog....

https://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Features

We are working on an entirely new website at the moment, it would be a waste of time and resources updating that page.

How would u now it is SOOOON??



WHEN WILL THIS HAPPNED WEEKS FROM NOW, MONTHS YEARS ???? TELL US LORD CALLUM

soon

How do u know ??

Because he knows the way my frend

‘the way’ or ‘da wae’?


Also you arent going to lose all your companions in just a couple battles. I’m sure it will be done in a way that is prudent and impactful. And yes to those that don’t know, lords can die too. We don’t know the specifics of it all yet except that it can happen

Someone in twitter turned the cross ball given by TW into a very nice goal

https://twitter.com/Mount_and_Blade/status/954003768797954048

sit and wait:neverlord

I am a huge fan of the new clothing we have been seeing! More linen!

some clothes like that and I’d be ecstatic. I’m really impressed with all the little details so far TW. Doing great work

 

[Bustah]

This is getting more and more disappointing. Nothing wrong with this guy, just doesn't really tell us anything that we haven't heard or really care about. I'm sorry but your experiences in Iraq and your thoughts of free will or whatever may be interesting to some people but have nothing to do with this game. We have been waiting many years and all you can do is once a week a few paragraphs of 'information'? That's like an hour (max) of work a week for telling people what the hell is going on... honestly not good enough. If you want people to be excited for what I'm absolutely sure is a masterpiece, you need to tell us what is happening. You guys kept giving false release date time-frames, and when we criticized you for it you pretty much blamed it on us and said "not having a release date is a good thing" and that you shouldn't be rushed. Now, of course we are not rushing you. We wouldn't want a slimmed down version of the game, we are just begging the question: what are you guys doing? When we see less and less information (this blog contained virtually none) regarding the game and what we are seeing is unnecessary or something no one was asking for, we are utterly confused.

I'm not asking the devs to release the game tomorrow in whatever state. I'm wanting them to be honest with us about the state of the game, the content of the game, the features, anything but these repetitive dev diaries that tell us nothing. And to tell us that "we are so busy making the game that we just don't have time to give more information/a release date" is an absolute slap in the face. How hard can it possibly be to roughly summarize some features? How hard can it possibly be to make those faction exposition blogs (which I like) at a much higher frequency? I could whip up a "dev blog" for Warband in like 20 minutes. If there is so little to talk about that you HAVE to talk about the game every two weeks, I am DEEPLY worried. Where has 8 years gone if you only have enough interesting content for a bimonthly blurb of information about FACTIONS (literally something you can pull out of your ass), not even features? And if there is a lot of stuff then how could we possibly be so far from release that this bimonthly schedule is necessary?

I love Mount and Blade. Even if you tell us nil and release Bannerlord in 10 years for $200 I will buy it and all the DLC and play it for thousands of hours. I am just sick and tired of getting absolutely NOTHING from the devs. This diary was a guy who talks to Armagan twice a week about dialog telling us 5 times about how there is a mix between history and fantasy... I'm sorry to break it to you but we already know this... we've known this for a decade. The biggest mistake Taleworlds ever made was announcing Bannerlord when they did. I feel sorry that they are in this position but they are hurting their fanbase and tormenting the M&B faithful with their current press policy. No more good screenshots? Fine. No more videos? Fine. No release date? Fine. No guarantees of a playable form within the foreseeable future? Fine. No meaningful information whatsoever for months on end while churning out a half page of unrelated ramblings once a WEEK? Unacceptable. Unbelievable. What the hell.

Also,

We're also trying to work out a main storyline quest that absorbs the player but complements the sandbox struggle for power rather than seeming like two parallel games

Is there any coordination going on here? That seems like day 1 work whereas the combat footage we've seen looks polished and functional.

 

[Dest45]

These blogs where they interview the dev team are just that. Get to know the team and their connection to bannerlord. You don’t need to read them. Nobody is making you...? Blink twice if someone is forcing you to read these blogs.

Also the main quest isn’t what M&B is known for and I don’t expect it would be the main part of development. Also quests and voices and all that are usually added to games near the end of development. Adding that stuff in is the easy part and does’t take too terribly long. What are quests really aside from text dialogues, event triggers and some voices? Maybe a few cutscenes. The hard part is the engine and the mechanics.

 

[Crowcorrector]

This was a good blog!  He confirmed some good story details. 

 

[Bustah]

Blink twice if someone is forcing you to read these blogs.

Please, please read my post before you respond. Thanks in advance. Should only take a minute or two, perhaps 10 to 20 for you.

Also the main quest isn’t what M&B is known for and I don’t expect it would be the main part of development. Also quests and voices and all that are usually added to games near the end of development. Adding that stuff in is the easy part and does’t take too terribly long. What are quests really aside from text dialogues, event triggers and some voices? Maybe a few cutscenes. The hard part is the engine and the mechanics.

Again, please read what I said. I am quoting where he says he wants to tie the main quest as a part of the game mechanics, and if they are still "trying to work it out" what stage are the mechanics? Coordination I said. Why is something supposedly so integrally related to the game mechanics still not even figured out if the mechanics are done? And if the mechanics aren't done, why are the combat mechanics so finished and the mechanics to do with quests and campaigns so unfinished? Coordination.

 

[Dest45]

Blink twice if someone is forcing you to read these blogs.

Please, please read my post before you respond. Thanks in advance. Should only take a minute or two, perhaps 10 to 20 for you.

not reading that wall of text, the beginning was enough, thanks. Thesis wasn’t good enough for me to read that article you wrote. Lets just say I was responding to your thesis and leave it at that.

 

[Bustah]

not reading that wall of text, the beginning was enough, thanks. Thesis wasn’t good enough for me to read that article you wrote. Lets just say I was responding to your thesis and leave it at that.

Then don't respond. Literally waste of your time and now my time. You missed the point of my post and responded to nothing. Also there is no thesis...

 

[vicwiz007]

Ok so it is now confirmed companions can die... This is great news. Can we also confirm that Lords can still die as we've seen in a past video? A simple yes or no please XD

Other than that, the part added as a forum comment was also good. I hope to see some more detail on this stuff soon! Heritage system plox