Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Developer Blog 11 - Some Context

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Hello all!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As many of you may have noticed, we have been rather busy! Last week, we visited Cologne, Germany to attend Gamescom, the largest game conference in Europe. While there, we took appointments to demonstrate some Bannerlord gameplay to the world's media. Along with this, we released a few videos which were used as part of our presentation.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It has been great to see the excited response to the clips and we're very pleased that your feedback has been so positive! Of course, the game is still very much in development and so we had to make decisions about what to put in the videos and how it would be presented.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Here, we have compiled some of the highlights, along with a small smattering of new footage, which we want to present to you the community, along with a little explanation about some of the features.</p></br> Read more at: http://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/13

 

[TheDoctor6546]

And there is a mod, called BattleTime that lets people drop into their friend's battles on the campaign map.
[/quote]

this mod is bulky requires a ton of setup a beefy computer and a ton of work to make it work. before each battle you have to
1. save
2. exit
3. start a server
4. have the battle
5. stop the server
6. reload the game
7. save
8 now you can keep going
not to mention all the stuff you have to do to get it working in the first place.

 

[MRPolo13]

Though that is balanced by the power of larger, stronger weapons to hit more than one foe with a single swing!

I'm seriously disappointed. This is NOT the right way to go. Mount&Blade was supposed to be as realistic as possible while still keeping it fun. This is a step into the fantasy world direction.

I actually have seen a real claymore bash trough three skulls in a single swing so... it IS realistic, also katanas and Scmitars are capable of cutting a man in half without losing speed in the swing.
Check it out by yourself:

Uuuh, right. Anyway, Coldsteel as a whole is not exactly a trustworthy company, which at the very best makes poor quality goods. I'm not even entirely sure what the sword shown in that video was supposed to be, but the blade seems much too wide for a zweihander I think it was supposed to represent while being in completely the wrong style for any other greatswords. I'd imagine the blade, though short, is probably far less wieldy than a realistic replica of a zweihander. Anyway, I suppose it is possible for a sword of any description to cut through three skulls in a single swing if you were strong enough, but the fact of the matter is that no one ever in history of swordfighting had enough time to take a greeaaat big swing that would cost a ton of energy and time at someone who could just stab them. Swordfighting was a very quick affair with no time to draw back your arm.

As on the subject of katanas, in the world of katanafan there is no such thing as laws of physics I guess. If you swung hard enough I suppose you could cut someone in half (especially sideways at around the gut area, since there's little bone there once you get past the spine). But Katanas aren't amazing weapons. In fact, they're pretty shoddy compared to European weapons of same era, and in fact there are few very prominent Youtubers who have made many videos on the matter (though I love Lindy, his videos aren't amazingly sourced and I wouldn't say he's always spot on, but he does explain things very well).

(Apparently not allowed to post links. So these are just the endings for Youtube videos)

Lindy on Katanas:
watch?v=XLWzH_1eZsc
watch?v=lF1JV1eTZVw

Matt Easton on Katanas (probably the best researched person on the topic)
watch?v=VnkVlK3BFLw (First part of a seven part series)
He also made a bunch of other videos on the topic, including a historical account of Japanese pirates attacking an European ship.

Bonus:
watch?v=58NVoTocUOk

I'm kind of more interested in the topic of swords than I should be Obviously bear in mind that all of those people have their biases, but overall the Katana isn't the legendary weapon that most people claim it to be. Cutting someone in half is difficult at the best of times, without having to use a thick blade like that of a Katana.

 

[SoloniusTheMerchant]

Well all this multiplayer discussion aside, I am hoping we have a pretty decent selection of dialog options, if I want to have a second play through I wanna feel like a different character you know?

It also would be nice to see a more lively courts, with Ladies who well you know could be talked to, I often found it extremely hard to even remotely raise my relation with any lords wives.
But I get it this is a war game, not "Game of Thrones" so I don't expect the drama in the court to be too insane.

[Most Important] Also I definitely want there to be more controversy when Women and Commoners have positions of power, while there has been plenty of this I still think more can be done here.

 

[hiul]

I actually have seen a real claymore bash trough three skulls in a single swing so... it IS realistic, also katanas and Scmitars are capable of cutting a man in half without losing speed in the swing.
Check it out by yourself:

Uuuh, right. Anyway, Coldsteel as a whole is not exactly a trustworthy company, which at the very best makes poor quality goods. I'm not even entirely sure what the sword shown in that video was supposed to be, but the blade seems much too wide for a zweihander I think it was supposed to represent while being in completely the wrong style for any other greatswords. I'd imagine the blade, though short, is probably far less wieldy than a realistic replica of a zweihander. Anyway, I suppose it is possible for a sword of any description to cut through three skulls in a single swing if you were strong enough, but the fact of the matter is that no one ever in history of swordfighting had enough time to take a greeaaat big swing that would cost a ton of energy and time at someone who could just stab them. Swordfighting was a very quick affair with no time to draw back your arm.
[/quote]

i don't know much about sword but there atleast some historical big sword wield by pier gerlof donia who famous for his strength and size and being said that he behead multiple people in single swing
http://www.thetallestman.com/images/piergerlofsdonia/piergerlofsdonia%20%282%29.jpg
i believe the sword size will impact the weight too so it will balance with the strength imagine we can create the over size sword like dragon slayer and play as guts from berserk

 

[Aranvardo]

being that the case more on my favor, if a fat guy just came out of an office with a chunk of sharpened, poorly balanced, bad steel blade and cuts two pigs in half with a single swing, then a fully trained warrior with a good quality sword... get my point?

Anyway, beyond the point of legend and truth about greatsword or katanas (BTW those were just examples, noone is saying anything about best weapon or whatever, in fact i don't like katanas either, more bastard sword fan actually) I'm saying that you don't need to cut a man in half to kill him, if you swing a sharp blade the size of a greatsword it will cause damage to whoever it hits, so it is possible to have multiple npc injured with one hit, even kill them, we were, after all talking about immersion breaking by that particular subject, and I belive it does not.

And physics are really simple in these case, you get cut, it hurts, you bleed, maybe you survive (BIG scar) maybe you die on the floor. period.

 

[MRPolo13]

being that the case more on my favor, if a fat guy just came out of an office with a chunk of sharpened, poorly balanced, bad steel blade and cuts two pigs in half with a single swing, then a fully trained warrior with a good quality sword... get my point?

Anyway, beyond the point of legend and truth about greatsword or katanas (BTW those were just examples, noone is saying anything about best weapon or whatever, in fact i don't like katanas either, more bastard sword fan actually) I'm saying that you don't need to cut a man in half to kill him, if you swing a sharp blade the size of a greatsword it will cause damage to whoever it hits, so it is possible to have multiple npc injured with one hit, even kill them, we were, after all talking about immersion breaking by that particular subject, and I belive it does not.

And physics are really simple in these case, you get cut, it hurts, you bleed, maybe you survive (BIG scar) maybe you die on the floor. period.

Of course. It's all in the strength. It's actually probably easier to kill someone with a sword than with a pistol since you can attack a much wider area. And I do admit to not having read the rest of the argument, just that single reply, my apologies.

As for the post above, I love the story of Pier Gerlofs Donia. He's amazing.

 

[aenas]

being that the case more on my favor, if a fat guy just came out of an office with a chunk of sharpened, poorly balanced, bad steel blade and cuts two pigs in half with a single swing, then a fully trained warrior with a good quality sword... get my point?

Anyway, beyond the point of legend and truth about greatsword or katanas (BTW those were just examples, noone is saying anything about best weapon or whatever, in fact i don't like katanas either, more bastard sword fan actually) I'm saying that you don't need to cut a man in half to kill him, if you swing a sharp blade the size of a greatsword it will cause damage to whoever it hits, so it is possible to have multiple npc injured with one hit, even kill them, we were, after all talking about immersion breaking by that particular subject, and I belive it does not.

And physics are really simple in these case, you get cut, it hurts, you bleed, maybe you survive (BIG scar) maybe you die on the floor. period.

you are able to cut more than one opponent if they wear no clothes, once they start wearing cloth armor you will at most cut 1 person
so a game mechanic that allows you to cut through more than one opponent is just wrong

 

[testertesting]

1. Would I find any support upon suggesting the implementation of a first-person-only view multiplayer experience? I think it's quite important to focus on this point due to realism and immersion.

2. Also smoother and more realistic turning paces would be an interesting point, instead of the the extremely rotator-like torque of the characters that we see in mostly all first-person videogames and which unfortunately we seem to have in bannerlord as well.

Might be neglectable aspects in some genres, but when talking about combat simulations (in a sense that's what M&B is), apparently trivial details as such come into consideration.

 

[kraggrim]

2. Also smoother and more realistic turning paces would be an interesting point, instead of the the extremely rotator-like torque of the characters that we see in mostly all first-person videogames and which unfortunately we seem to have in bannerlord as well.

Keep the fast rotation, but implement momentum, dizziness and disorientation. If folks want to spin then they can face the consequences, Yoshimitsu-style . 

 

[DanAngleland]

1. Would I find any support upon suggesting the implementation of a first-person-only view multiplayer experience? I think it's quite important to focus on this point due to realism and immersion.

I don't think that would be a popular choice unless first person was improved with a greater field of view. First person has always been a favourite of mine but a lot of the time, especially in multiplayer, I need to use third person for melee to be fully aware of what my opponent is doing (and what swing I have readied; sometimes I make a mistake and don't realise it until I start the swing because the weapon is held off screen).

 

[Somewhatpro]

I don't even know if that is possible.

 

[NightHawkreal]

1. Would I find any support upon suggesting the implementation of a first-person-only view multiplayer experience? I think it's quite important to focus on this point due to realism and immersion.

I don't think that would be a popular choice unless first person was improved with a greater field of view. First person has always been a favourite of mine but a lot of the time, especially in multiplayer, I need to use third person for melee to be fully aware of what my opponent is doing (and what swing I have readied; sometimes I make a mistake and don't realise it until I start the swing because the weapon is held off screen).

First-person view is very far from realism. It's like a man wearing blinders.

 

[cherac]

People still don't seem to get the cutting multiple opponents well.Its probably the most realistic combat feature in the entire game. Imagine two people standing in front of me If I swing my sword and they are within range of the tip it would basically cut or slash whatever is in its way.So with the right momentum I should be able to cut more than two heads with one swing.It makes perfect sense.Even a javelin should pierce two people if the are close enough but that would be too much realism and gamers might complain.http://www.google.com.gh/imgres?imgurl=http://www.straightdope.com/images/art/2008/dope_081010_swords.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2810/could-historic-japanese-samurai-swords-cut-a-human-body-in-two-with-one-stroke&h=217&w=300&tbnid=YaCE9dmoUkRvuM:&docid=MBgVR1r4WHQm0M&ei=ZRYYVtvJCYri-QHAmaTIBw&tbm=isch&client=aff-maxthon-maxthon4&ved=0CCAQMygGMAZqFQoTCJuQ5N2QtsgCFQpxPgodwAwJeQ

 

[NightHawkreal]

You underestimate the strength of the human body. But I have heard that such strikes would be.

 

[testertesting]

Regarding First person:

First-person view is very far from realism. It's like a man wearing blinders.

Not further than 3rd person, may I add. It adds an enormous amount of realism as far as I'm concerned, even if the current first-person viewpoint can be improved. How? Mainly due to the fact that a view impediment (such as the first person view, especially compared with 3rd person which offers unrealistic vantage points, like seeing behind a corner) plays a very important role in battlefield immersion: one is and cannot be aware 360o around oneself. The need to constantly look around, watch one's back etc. is something which I find of absolute essence within a combat simulator. It is a skill factor - a major, if not the most important one: spatial awareness.

What we currently have is still to date one of the best first-person views and offers the best perspective mechanics I have seen, mainly also because of its simplicity: the head of the character gets replaced by the camera - everything else stays the same: the mechanics and animations should reach the level (which they have to a certain extent) that simply placing the viewpoint should be enough - no major different tweaks for first person views.

Indeed, what @DanAngleland states is true, as far as off-screen weapon readying goes.

I don't think that would be a popular choice unless first person was improved with a greater field of view. First person has always been a favourite of mine but a lot of the time, especially in multiplayer, I need to use third person for melee to be fully aware of what my opponent is doing (and what swing I have readied; sometimes I make a mistake and don't realise it until I start the swing because the weapon is held off screen).

However, the field of view should not be exaggerated but ought to give more awareness of the character itself. It is possible to see what direction one is hitting from using 1st person in M&B by looking downwards and seeing the wrist and arm positions.


Regarding Multiple Hits:

Imagine two people standing in front of me If I swing my sword and they are within range of the tip it would basically cut or slash whatever is in its way. So with the right momentum I should be able to cut more than two heads with one swing.It makes perfect sense.Even a javelin should pierce two people if the are close enough but that would be too much realism and gamers might complain.

I raised this issue in one of my first posts. As reference, it might be of help continuing the discussion and your ideas upon it:

4. Multiple hits
In M&B one can only hit one enemy at the time even if the animations [the blade] goes through multiple enemies. This has to be changed for example a huge axe swing would deffinetely be able to kill a few enemies (if off their guard) at once.

Regarding multiple hits, I don't think that is at all realistic I'm afraid. A weapon might skid off a shield or suit of armour and strike a second man, but anything more than a glancing blow will not have significant momentum after biting into the first body in most circumstances. Also; if, as is likely, you landed the blow with the end of the weapon (which is preferable both for the distance it keeps you from the enemy's weapon and because it imparts the greatest force against the target) the trajectory of the blade could only carry it into further men if they were huddled around you in a semi-circle.

Concerning the multiple hits, why would it be so unrealistic? Of course, I don't mean it in the sense of one swing killing or hitting 5 enemies around the character. I'm all for realism. So think of a situation where the character has a very long phalanx-spear fighting against a massive amount of low-class meele soldiers with no armor [peasant rebellion for instance]: the character could easily thrust their spear through one enemy which would proceed into impaling say 3 more if they're standing in a group or charging.

Of course multiple hits is realistic to a certain extend. The actual debate should be as to what happens to a stuck weapon, such as a spear or axe or even sword? My solution would be a time-consuming animation that would require the character to try and get it out (also applicable for materials such as wood, trees, ground etc.), which would be stoppable at any moment by will - hence the vulnerability.

 

[peenerz]

What would be cool is a flexible system to group soldiers. Instead of being forced to have all units of one type to be assigned to one single group, you should instead be able to choose what soldiers you want for each group and how many. Don't know about you guys but that would make it so much more flexible on the battlefield for me.

 

[Dest45]

What would be cool is a flexible system to group soldiers. Instead of being forced to have all units of one type to be assigned to one single group, you should instead be able to choose what soldiers you want for each group and how many. Don't know about you guys but that would make it so much more flexible on the battlefield for me.

I would like to have multiple groups if various troops as well. We should be able to split our party into groups and maybe even have companions head them and we order the companions instead of the group.

But simply, put we should be able to split Nord Archers(or anyone else) into two stacks/groups for more sttrategic placement

 

[cherac]

weapons getting stuck isn't such a bad idea, and advance army controls might just be what we need because we should be able to ambush enemies place our men at different positions ,battles shouldn't always be armies facing each other and charging  I mean there should be some freewill and flexibility in army deployment especially ambushes should be awesome even total war manages that .Mount and Blade would murder it......And last of all your wife should be able to give birth to children who would take over if you retire or just join as a companion, and lords can be killed in battle after which their son who hates you or their wife who takes over would chase you for revenge and the killing shouldn't be easy they can cook something up Hey!!!It's Taleworlds they are awesome..just suggesting

 

[DanAngleland]

Ambushes are a feature of Bannerlord, this was mentioned in an early blog, so you will get your wish. It is a feature I am looking forward to as well. In blog 7 they also said that the Battanians like to ambush their enemies in their native forests.

 

[Dest45]

Ambushes are a feature of Bannerlord, this was mentioned in an early blog, so you will get your wish. It is a feature I am looking forward to as well. In blog 7 they also said that the Battanians like to ambush their enemies in their native forests.

I hope, but that could just be backstory for the faction and not an actual feature