Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Developer Blog 13 - Weekending

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Greetings ye faithful and thank you for coming to read the, somewhat belated, thirteenth of our here Bannerlord blogs. As promised, we're giving a rundown of what we showed at the PC Gamer Weekender (video below) in March, with some added detail, guided by the questions we received on the forums. Thanks to everyone who got involved whether directly asking questions or just discussing in general!</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bbrnPtybNd4" frameborder="0" width="560" height="370"></iframe></p></br> Read more at: http://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/15

 

[TheFlyingFishy]

Alternatively, you can boost morale by eating the stable boy.

 

[adrakken]

Is there a dedicated forum section for Bannerlord, or is this really It, and if so why on earth? I'd like to say that having a "My Refuge" for Bannerlord is a Must, I've enjoyed it with Viking Conquest and want this option for the upcoming title, and something a little nicer as well, perhaps a tiny castle like a tower house or tower etc, something that's Mine.

There is no forum section for Bannerlord because there is no Bannerlord.  There was no forum section for Viking Conquest until after Viking Conquest was released.  I anticipate the same for Bannerlord.

Yet wouldnt it be great if there was a way for the community to show that they would totally buy an early access to a beta release...say, on Steam...you know, buy a copy now, play its beta until release.

It would even help get the modding tools into modders hands early so they know what they are doing at release and speed up the mod releases...hint.

 

[Lord Brutus]

Oh Lord, not on Steam.  Straight from Taleworlds when the time is right.

 

[Darky5]

Oh Lord, not on Steam.  Straight from Taleworlds when the time is right.

^ Always.
Gotta support the developers with all of my money

We really need to push to get them to get a pre-order on Steam that allows beta access. It will not only allow us to help find bugs but also get the modding tools in modders hands even sooner!

But its more just so I can start playing it now damnit...now...like........now.

I'm proud to say that I would rather wait for them to release it when it is ready, instead of pulling a fast one like most Steam Early Access games.
I've played Mount and Blade since 0.303 and was really excited playing it then as I will be playing Bannerlord when it releases.
The main difference now is that they have an actual studio to develop the game in, instead of working on it in their free time as was the case with Mount and Blade in the beginning.

When I was invited to play in the Mount and Blade: Warband early beta to test the infrastructure there were many people who committed a lot of time to help them develop the multiplayer potential.
So I'm not against Open Beta, but I am just concerned that nowadays it's mostly just to get to play the game instead of helping to develop, as is the "trend" in the gaming industry today.

 

[cherac]

Well said Darky5  , we all badly want this game , but we should wait for a finished top level game with minimum bugs . not ruin the game for us with bad buggy beta or alpha . Big  games don't give beta and alphas that's why they are big games those that do end up losing their hype. I really wanted to invest some time in star citizen but after looking at the beta gameplay on youtube with all the bugs , I can't bring myself to even play it. We don't want that for bannerlords do we?

 

[DanAngleland]

How do you think the majority of bugs get found? Play testing, and giving access to the public gets you lots of play testers (as well, admittedly, as a lot of people uninterested in providing useful feedback, plus a lot of duplicate bug reports).

 

[cherac]

Then only a few people should be allowed to test it , it shouldn't be released in any unfinished form , whether beta or alpha . I think thats their aim currently , I really doubt they would release an alpha from the way the they speak at interviews , they are planning to release a fully finished game , and are willing to take as much time as they can to achieve that .

 

[adrakken]

Oh Lord, not on Steam.  Straight from Taleworlds when the time is right.

^ Always.
Gotta support the developers with all of my money

We really need to push to get them to get a pre-order on Steam that allows beta access. It will not only allow us to help find bugs but also get the modding tools in modders hands even sooner!

But its more just so I can start playing it now damnit...now...like........now.

I'm proud to say that I would rather wait for them to release it when it is ready, instead of pulling a fast one like most Steam Early Access games.
I've played Mount and Blade since 0.303 and was really excited playing it then as I will be playing Bannerlord when it releases.
The main difference now is that they have an actual studio to develop the game in, instead of working on it in their free time as was the case with Mount and Blade in the beginning.

When I was invited to play in the Mount and Blade: Warband early beta to test the infrastructure there were many people who committed a lot of time to help them develop the multiplayer potential.
So I'm not against Open Beta, but I am just concerned that nowadays it's mostly just to get to play the game instead of helping to develop, as is the "trend" in the gaming industry today.

Oh lord...

1. Taleworlds would still get 100% of what they want for the game.
2. Are you saying that Taleworlds would suddenly become a garbage company wanting to screw people over just because of an early buy and play test option on Steam?
3. Mount and Blade at .303 had bugs...

You make no sense at all and I feel you are doing this just to argue.

 

[The Meddling Monk]

If TW released it on Steam Early Access, most people (who didn't know about it) would immediately think that it is a crappy game just because it is Early Access.

 

[Lord Brutus]

It would automatically be crap just by being on Steam.  Steam sucks.

 

[adrakken]

It would automatically be crap just by being on Steam.  Steam sucks.

Yeah I know right, that GTA 5, Fallout 4, Skyrim...total crap games...

 

[The Meddling Monk]

It would automatically be crap just by being on Steam.  Steam sucks.

Yeah I know right, that GTA 5, Fallout 4, Skyrim...total crap games...

I believe that he is speaking about Steam or the Steam client itself, not the games sold on Steam.

 

[adrakken]

It would automatically be crap just by being on Steam.  Steam sucks.

Yeah I know right, that GTA 5, Fallout 4, Skyrim...total crap games...

I believe that he is speaking about Steam or the Steam client itself, not the games sold on Steam.

Nope, he is clearly talking about the game. Funny thing is, everything Mount and Blade related is currently being sold on Steam, has been for years...and it is currently showing that 9,317 people are playing it at the moment of me writing this.

 

[kalarhan]

Mount and Blade related is currently being sold on Steam

Some people love Steam (I do), some don't. It doesn't change the facts:

1) Steam is great to increase sells numbers.

2) Steam takes a big part of the pie (lets say 30%).
They don't work for free. A $50 bucks game would give $15 to Steam.
Then you have to pay taxes, etc... the publisher takes the pie and then splits what is left with the developer.
As WB2 is self-published (WB had Paradox), TW keeps both parts of the pie.

3) TW can sell directly on the website. It still needs to split the pie with taxes, the billing company/service, and the costs related to it (managing downloads, support, etc). I expect its cheaper this way (so less than what Steam would take)

The problem is: if you keep more of the retail value, but you sell fewer copies... you end up with less money.

 

[Meevar the Mighty]

I'm pretty sure Taleworlds has already confirmed that they will be sticking to the DRM model that they used for previous games, which means that it will be available through Steam or as a standalone game.

 

[Darky5]

Oh Lord, not on Steam.  Straight from Taleworlds when the time is right.

^ Always.
Gotta support the developers with all of my money

We really need to push to get them to get a pre-order on Steam that allows beta access. It will not only allow us to help find bugs but also get the modding tools in modders hands even sooner!

But its more just so I can start playing it now damnit...now...like........now.

I'm proud to say that I would rather wait for them to release it when it is ready, instead of pulling a fast one like most Steam Early Access games.
I've played Mount and Blade since 0.303 and was really excited playing it then as I will be playing Bannerlord when it releases.
The main difference now is that they have an actual studio to develop the game in, instead of working on it in their free time as was the case with Mount and Blade in the beginning.

When I was invited to play in the Mount and Blade: Warband early beta to test the infrastructure there were many people who committed a lot of time to help them develop the multiplayer potential.
So I'm not against Open Beta, but I am just concerned that nowadays it's mostly just to get to play the game instead of helping to develop, as is the "trend" in the gaming industry today.

Oh lord...

1. Taleworlds would still get 100% of what they want for the game.
2. Are you saying that Taleworlds would suddenly become a garbage company wanting to screw people over just because of an early buy and play test option on Steam?
3. Mount and Blade at .303 had bugs...

You make no sense at all and I feel you are doing this just to argue.

1. Steam do take a part of the earnings made, and I personally feel better knowing that I bought it from Taleworlds directly like all Mount and Blade games I've purchased so far.

2. No, I'm just saying that attaching an Early Access tag to the game might be a poor choice. (Early Access currently being associated with the real potential that it is just a fast money grab for whoever managed to get their Early Access "game" on Steam for people to buy. There being a plethora of current examples of games that were abandoned as soon as they got plenty of money from it) My problem lies with Early Access games in general, not Taleworlds or Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord at all.

3. I made no remarks about bugs, I was just emphasizing that I love the Mount and Blade series and that I'm eagerly awaiting Bannerlord release as well.

 

[Dest45]

Bannerlord is far past the "early access" stage. Early access is for games that are in pre alpha or I swear, even pre development, I went there but its true. Bannerlord, close to being a finished product is probably in the alpha stage, close to beta.

There is no need for them to release an unfinished product except to meet our outrageous demands which they have pretty much agreed to do by the end of the year.

Btw steam takes a 30% or more cut from sales

 

[MrSplashy]

I was wondering about how the Political System(Diplomacy) will work in this game? If it have information, would anyone please kindly give me a link to it. Thanks. Also, will we be able to make our own Dynasty or a House in-game so that we can continue playing as our sons/daughters and have them become the Head of the House/Dynasty or become our Heir/Heiress that will soon rule the kingdom like in CKII? It would be good and it will add more immersion to the game as I would love to have my own Dynasty that spans a hundred years to the future or something like that.

EDIT:
I would love for it to be on Steam as I would love to play it as soon as I can and help find bugs.

 

[SenorZorros]

steam has a lot more exposure than a website. furthermore steam has infrastructure that taleworlds doesn't have. I doubt for instance that taleworlds can have a way to let people pay with their bank card. furthermore while steam takes a cut it is probably still cheaper than retail and I expect that the additional sales make up for it. especially since multiplayer games live or die on the size of their community.

 

[DanAngleland]

You can pay for Warband with your credit card on the Taleworlds site. However, like you say, putting it on Steam as well gets you more customers; they sold Warband via Steam (as well as other third party digital & physical retailers, and their own site) and will probably do the same with Bannerlord.

There would be no need to put it on Steam until the final release though. Doing so beforehand could result in bad press, while advertising it only at the forum (or giving access to a few hundred random forumites) would satisfy the existing fans of the game and give Taleworlds plenty of bug catchers.