Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Developer Blog 15 - Valuable Relationships

<p>Greetings all and thanks for making your way over to our 15th Development Blog. It's been a little while since we updated the blog, but we've been hard at work on the game and we're excited to talk a little about something we've been working on recently.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" lang="en-GB"><a href="https://www.taleworlds.com/Images/Blog/NPS_02.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="frame" src="/Images/Blog/NPS_02_575.jpg" alt="Command" /></a></p></br> Read more at: http://www.taleworlds.com/en/Games/Bannerlord/Blog/17

 

[xdj1nn]

EDIT: sum more mordhau including mounted-combat -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNYXAKqOtjo&t=230s - I have to say, M&B with this combat system would be the perfect game for sandboxing. BTW I've mentioned MP but I've always hated M&B MP, whilst I will most likely buy Mordhau as soon as it releases, odd huh? haha

You should throw an 'IMO' in there somewhere because not everyone would agree with you, myself included. I'm not a fan of that combat style, personally. It feels strange and almost arcade-y, which is not what I would want in M&B. I would rather have M&B's combat to be a little more down-to-earth, as the rest of the game is. I understand the draw to it, as it does seem like a deep combat system, but I'm just not a fan of it.

That opinion translates into lack of skill and willingness for easy-mode combat... Oo
M&B's stiff, unrealistic, and counter-intuitive, whilst Mordhau's the closest thing you can get from realistic melee combat in a game, so far... I'd rather have "realism" than the stiff combat, also, the pseudo-realism made by Brytenwalda's team is really bad, yet a massive amount of players like it, are you one of those? If yes than your issue is with having bad taste =P

I'm rather have a fast-paced semi-realistic combat where elite troops steam-roll lesser troops, where armor isn't slowing you down (srlsy, it weighted less than a US Marine's gear to date, and US Marine's don't lose agility, accuracy nor they get any other encumbering "debuffs" irl hahaha). The "realism" confabulated by M&B's community is the most seriously dumb thing I've ever seen =P Tbh I was an Jiu-Jitus and Judo athlete, so I know how bio-mechanics work, and "bigger the slower" and other bs things I see in games bother me to the bones, that's why I'd rather have Mordhau's combat into a game, so that I could immerse for real without being bothered with stupid assumptions of realism

Also, it'd be epic to watch some youtubers getting torn apart by AI from more elite troops, instead of the classic back-pedaling one-man army we've had for M&B since forever... Or the horse-back attack spamming one-man army... But then again, I'd love to see realistic effects on tactics like Knights getting knocked-down horses by some troops, or an infantry shield wall failing to break formation due to high discipline making knights fly above it like idiots when charging haha

For me the closest to reality the better, and I'm not alone in this, I'm sure of it...

 

[SirMairaki]

That opinion translates into lack of skill and willingness for easy-mode combat... Oo
M&B's stiff, unrealistic, and counter-intuitive, whilst Mordhau's the closest thing you can get from realistic melee combat in a game, so far... I'd rather have "realism" than the stiff combat, also, the pseudo-realism made by Brytenwalda's team is really bad, yet a massive amount of players like it, are you one of those? If yes than your issue is with having bad taste =P

I'm rather have a fast-paced semi-realistic combat where elite troops steam-roll lesser troops, where armor isn't slowing you down (srlsy, it weighted less than a US Marine's gear to date, and US Marine's don't lose agility, accuracy nor they get any other encumbering "debuffs" irl hahaha). The "realism" confabulated by M&B's community is the most seriously dumb thing I've ever seen =P Tbh I was an Jiu-Jitus and Judo athlete, so I know how bio-mechanics work, and "bigger the slower" and other bs things I see in games bother me to the bones, that's why I'd rather have Mordhau's combat into a game, so that I could immerse for real without being bothered with stupid assumptions of realism

Also, it'd be epic to watch some youtubers getting torn apart by AI from more elite troops, instead of the classic back-pedaling one-man army we've had for M&B since forever... Or the horse-back attack spamming one-man army... But then again, I'd love to see realistic effects on tactics like Knights getting knocked-down horses by some troops, or an infantry shield wall failing to break formation due to high discipline making knights fly above it like idiots when charging haha

For me the closest to reality the better, and I'm not alone in this, I'm sure of it...

I'm in awe of your ability to make assumptions. I've never played Brytenwalda and I have no idea what its combat is like, so I've got no input for that.

As for all the realistic stuff, I think neither have very realistic combat at all. And don't assume I'm making poor assumptions about what realism is. While I wouldn't call myself much of a medieval era buff, I certainly enjoy it, and I understand the ins-and-outs of fighting with swords, armor, and medieval warfare in general. As for these two games though, we know M&B isn't realistic and I don't think it has ever really pretended to be. M&B's combat is good for its simplicity and functionality. It doesn't need to be hyper-realistic, because the current system matches the style of the game. As I've stated, Mordhau's combat doesn't appeal to me. IMO, its not particularly realistic. The movements are a little too fluid, for lack of a better word. It looks like just constant movement, swinging and running. Arcade-y, as I said before. I just don't think it matches M&B.

I'm with you though, I like realism. I nerd out for a lot of simulation games that some gamers find too slow and boring. But I just don't think Mordhau is all that realistic. I'm not asking you to agree with me on that, everyone to their own. I just wanted to point out that putting that combat into M&B wouldn't necessarily make it a much better game. Depends on whether the majority like it or not.

Do we consider Paradox games AAA? Asking the real question here.

Not entirely sure if there was some sarcasm in this or not, but I would say yes. They also aren't the only ones with crazy expensive DLC. EA would be another example (except sports games).


Edit: I don't always have my way with words, I'm no English major, so I'm gonna throw in that I'm trying not to sound aggressive or anything, in case any of it sounded like that. (Except that first sentence, that was a joke though).

 

[xdj1nn]

That opinion translates into lack of skill and willingness for easy-mode combat... Oo
M&B's stiff, unrealistic, and counter-intuitive, whilst Mordhau's the closest thing you can get from realistic melee combat in a game, so far... I'd rather have "realism" than the stiff combat, also, the pseudo-realism made by Brytenwalda's team is really bad, yet a massive amount of players like it, are you one of those? If yes than your issue is with having bad taste =P

I'm rather have a fast-paced semi-realistic combat where elite troops steam-roll lesser troops, where armor isn't slowing you down (srlsy, it weighted less than a US Marine's gear to date, and US Marine's don't lose agility, accuracy nor they get any other encumbering "debuffs" irl hahaha). The "realism" confabulated by M&B's community is the most seriously dumb thing I've ever seen =P Tbh I was an Jiu-Jitus and Judo athlete, so I know how bio-mechanics work, and "bigger the slower" and other bs things I see in games bother me to the bones, that's why I'd rather have Mordhau's combat into a game, so that I could immerse for real without being bothered with stupid assumptions of realism

Also, it'd be epic to watch some youtubers getting torn apart by AI from more elite troops, instead of the classic back-pedaling one-man army we've had for M&B since forever... Or the horse-back attack spamming one-man army... But then again, I'd love to see realistic effects on tactics like Knights getting knocked-down horses by some troops, or an infantry shield wall failing to break formation due to high discipline making knights fly above it like idiots when charging haha

For me the closest to reality the better, and I'm not alone in this, I'm sure of it...

I'm in awe of your ability to make assumptions. I've never played Brytenwalda and I have no idea what its combat is like, so I've got no input for that.

As for all the realistic stuff, I think neither have very realistic combat at all. And don't assume I'm making poor assumptions about what realism is. While I wouldn't call myself much of a medieval era buff, I certainly enjoy it, and I understand the ins-and-outs of fighting with swords, armor, and medieval warfare in general. As for these two games though, we know M&B isn't realistic and I don't think it has ever really pretended to be. M&B's combat is good for its simplicity and functionality. It doesn't need to be hyper-realistic, because the current system matches the style of the game. As I've stated, Mordhau's combat doesn't appeal to me. IMO, its not particularly realistic. The movements are a little too fluid, for lack of a better word. It looks like just constant movement, swinging and running. Arcade-y, as I said before. I just don't think it matches M&B.

I'm with you though, I like realism. I nerd out for a lot of simulation games that some gamers find too slow and boring. But I just don't think Mordhau is all that realistic. I'm not asking you to agree with me on that, everyone to their own. I just wanted to point out that putting that combat into M&B wouldn't necessarily make it a much better game. Depends on whether the majority like it or not.

Do we consider Paradox games AAA? Asking the real question here.

Not entirely sure if there was some sarcasm in this or not, but I would say yes. They also aren't the only ones with crazy expensive DLC. EA would be another example (except sports games).


Edit: I don't always have my way with words, I'm no English major, so I'm gonna throw in that I'm trying not to sound aggressive or anything, in case any of it sounded like that. (Except that first sentence, that was a joke though).

You're talking to the right guy then! haha I don't take forum discussions seriously, so to me it's like a game where I have a laugh after (that's why I'm "un-trollable") so no worries. I do get what you are stating, and as far as I can tell I also agree that it isn't REALISTIC, it's just the closest it can get. I would love to see some realism applied to M&B so that field tactics actually function like they would irl...
I mean, who wouldn't want to see knights getting pwned by Infantry as it should happen in some cases? =P The only real reason why Knights shone at their time was due to lack of courage by most soldiering brats who would get recruited, if an Roman infantry faced them it would be funny as hell to see Knights getting pwned over and over again... Main weapon they had was fear, if the opponent didn't fear them they were already beaten... Happened once or twice in history though, which is sort of laughable given the cost to be or maintain knights...

 

[Ki-Ok Khan]

This is just funny.

 

[killer-blead]

How did you/we ever know Taleworlds..? They have always been completly silent at all times. It hasn't really been different 5 years ago.

I know the Taleworlds Devs to be cool people who really love their job. I remember when they would organize small events where you could fight against the developers on M&B warband multiplayer. I know of tons of their responses to us on all the old threads, just regular people wondering what people think of their game. Heck I even knew Lust before he became a dev and flew to Turkey because I had him on MSN.

The thing is a lot of things have changed around Taleworlds, They are no longer with Paradox (which is good in my opinion, it gives them more freedom) and they are working on an entirely new game, they even reworked the Warband engine because it simply was not enough.

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta. But think of how long it took after that to polish everything, and then still they kept releasing more and more patches and features.

This game is going to be many times bigger and richer and I think we are all going to pump in double the hours into it that we already did in Warband. Which is a lot because I'm pretty much the only one of my friends who has less than 1k+ hours into the game. Some even have over 11k hours in the game.

They gave us so much fun times, the least we could do to them is remain supportive and let them know that they are amazing people.

I do not mind if they charge me more than 40 euros for the game. I am sure that it will be worth it. (and that's a dangerous statement to make)

 

[SirMairaki]

You're talking to the right guy then! haha I don't take forum discussions seriously, so to me it's like a game where I have a laugh after (that's why I'm "un-trollable") so no worries. I do get what you are stating, and as far as I can tell I also agree that it isn't REALISTIC, it's just the closest it can get. I would love to see some realism applied to M&B so that field tactics actually function like they would irl...
I mean, who wouldn't want to see knights getting pwned by Infantry as it should happen in some cases? =P The only real reason why Knights shone at their time was due to lack of courage by most soldiering brats who would get recruited, if an Roman infantry faced them it would be funny as hell to see Knights getting pwned over and over again... Main weapon they had was fear, if the opponent didn't fear them they were already beaten... Happened once or twice in history though, which is sort of laughable given the cost to be or maintain knights...

Yeah you're probably right that Mordhau has the most realistic combat of any games existing right now, but I still think it doesn't quite match M&B. Either way, I agree it would be nice for M&B to have some more realism though.

This is just funny.

Haha, That's almost impressive, Paradox.

 

[Orion]

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta.

If there was anything externally available before the 0.500 beta then I'm unaware of it.

 

[kalarhan]

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta.

If there was anything externally available before the 0.500 beta then I'm unaware of it.

alpha, beta, 0.500, those are just labels, and each company/project can use them in different ways. What TW did was a early release (using a recent term) + proportional discount to help finance the game.

It was before Steam, KickStarter, etc, so what they did was sell keys to the game that was still being developed, you could then play the unfinished game and keep getting updates until gold version. That lasted what, 3-4 years or so? 2004 to 2008 ish

MB the "father of early release games" 

 

[xdj1nn]

How did you/we ever know Taleworlds..? They have always been completly silent at all times. It hasn't really been different 5 years ago.

I know the Taleworlds Devs to be cool people who really love their job. I remember when they would organize small events where you could fight against the developers on M&B warband multiplayer. I know of tons of their responses to us on all the old threads, just regular people wondering what people think of their game. Heck I even knew Lust before he became a dev and flew to Turkey because I had him on MSN.

The thing is a lot of things have changed around Taleworlds, They are no longer with Paradox (which is good in my opinion, it gives them more freedom) and they are working on an entirely new game, they even reworked the Warband engine because it simply was not enough.

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta. But think of how long it took after that to polish everything, and then still they kept releasing more and more patches and features.

This game is going to be many times bigger and richer and I think we are all going to pump in double the hours into it that we already did in Warband. Which is a lot because I'm pretty much the only one of my friends who has less than 1k+ hours into the game. Some even have over 11k hours in the game.

They gave us so much fun times, the least we could do to them is remain supportive and let them know that they are amazing people.

I do not mind if they charge me more than 40 euros for the game. I am sure that it will be worth it. (and that's a dangerous statement to make)

They should fire their current PR and hire someone who knows their stuff, then this wouldn't be happening... Honestly I have the feeling that they don't actually have an PR person or department, which's really bad and the culprit for having so many issues... If they have a PR person or department I can't even put into words how bad they are at their jobs...

 

[MrMundy]

How did you/we ever know Taleworlds..? They have always been completly silent at all times. It hasn't really been different 5 years ago.

I know the Taleworlds Devs to be cool people who really love their job. I remember when they would organize small events where you could fight against the developers on M&B warband multiplayer. I know of tons of their responses to us on all the old threads, just regular people wondering what people think of their game. Heck I even knew Lust before he became a dev and flew to Turkey because I had him on MSN.

The thing is a lot of things have changed around Taleworlds, They are no longer with Paradox (which is good in my opinion, it gives them more freedom) and they are working on an entirely new game, they even reworked the Warband engine because it simply was not enough.

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta. But think of how long it took after that to polish everything, and then still they kept releasing more and more patches and features.

This game is going to be many times bigger and richer and I think we are all going to pump in double the hours into it that we already did in Warband. Which is a lot because I'm pretty much the only one of my friends who has less than 1k+ hours into the game. Some even have over 11k hours in the game.

They gave us so much fun times, the least we could do to them is remain supportive and let them know that they are amazing people.

I do not mind if they charge me more than 40 euros for the game. I am sure that it will be worth it. (and that's a dangerous statement to make)

They should fire their current PR and hire someone who knows their stuff, then this wouldn't be happening... Honestly I have the feeling that they don't actually have an PR person or department, which's really bad and the culprit for having so many issues... If they have a PR person or department I can't even put into words how bad they are at their jobs...

The PR guy can't show anything if the company doesn't want him to. Getting a new PR guy wouldn't change anything for the better, espacially since Lust is indeed involved with the community. Just not the way he's supposed to

 

[AmateurHetman]

You're talking to the right guy then! haha I don't take forum discussions seriously, so to me it's like a game where I have a laugh after (that's why I'm "un-trollable") so no worries. I do get what you are stating, and as far as I can tell I also agree that it isn't REALISTIC, it's just the closest it can get. I would love to see some realism applied to M&B so that field tactics actually function like they would irl...
I mean, who wouldn't want to see knights getting pwned by Infantry as it should happen in some cases? =P The only real reason why Knights shone at their time was due to lack of courage by most soldiering brats who would get recruited, if an Roman infantry faced them it would be funny as hell to see Knights getting pwned over and over again... Main weapon they had was fear, if the opponent didn't fear them they were already beaten... Happened once or twice in history though, which is sort of laughable given the cost to be or maintain knights...

Yeah you're probably right that Mordhau has the most realistic combat of any games existing right now, but I still think it doesn't quite match M&B. Either way, I agree it would be nice for M&B to have some more realism though.

This is just funny.

Haha, That's almost impressive, Paradox.

Mordhau (especially for the longsword) contains some realistic stances/holds, but it doesn't fully simulate the mediaval style combat that HEMA does. Of course you can't compare a game to a martial art, but nonetheless.
I agree that M&B simulates medieval combat even less, but it's not intended as a realistic combat game, but it provides a combat system that flows, and is complicated enough to provide a challenge. I wouldn't say it is clunky or slow, as M&B combat can get extremely fast. Most importantly in my opinion, M&B provides the best mounted combat, with great control and options. I've seen the sneak peak of Mordhau's mounted combat, and it looked too restricted.

 

[xdj1nn]

How did you/we ever know Taleworlds..? They have always been completly silent at all times. It hasn't really been different 5 years ago.

I know the Taleworlds Devs to be cool people who really love their job. I remember when they would organize small events where you could fight against the developers on M&B warband multiplayer. I know of tons of their responses to us on all the old threads, just regular people wondering what people think of their game. Heck I even knew Lust before he became a dev and flew to Turkey because I had him on MSN.

The thing is a lot of things have changed around Taleworlds, They are no longer with Paradox (which is good in my opinion, it gives them more freedom) and they are working on an entirely new game, they even reworked the Warband engine because it simply was not enough.

Yes they gave us Warband earlier in the form of an Alpha(if my memory is correct) and than a Beta. But think of how long it took after that to polish everything, and then still they kept releasing more and more patches and features.

This game is going to be many times bigger and richer and I think we are all going to pump in double the hours into it that we already did in Warband. Which is a lot because I'm pretty much the only one of my friends who has less than 1k+ hours into the game. Some even have over 11k hours in the game.

They gave us so much fun times, the least we could do to them is remain supportive and let them know that they are amazing people.

I do not mind if they charge me more than 40 euros for the game. I am sure that it will be worth it. (and that's a dangerous statement to make)

They should fire their current PR and hire someone who knows their stuff, then this wouldn't be happening... Honestly I have the feeling that they don't actually have an PR person or department, which's really bad and the culprit for having so many issues... If they have a PR person or department I can't even put into words how bad they are at their jobs...

The PR guy can't show anything if the company doesn't want him to. Getting a new PR guy wouldn't change anything for the better, espacially since Lust is indeed involved with the community. Just not the way he's supposed to

We just want cookies, can't they see?

 

[Kinsume]

So I see that Steam still has the game's release date as TBD, has there been any more information regarding that? Is Bannerlord something we can expect to see in beta or released in 2017?

 

[MrMundy]

So I see that Steam still has the game's release date as TBD, has there been any more information regarding that? Is Bannerlord something we can expect to see in beta or released in 2017?

Essentially the same as with the "we hope we can have it out by 2016" stuff.

 

[Mr.Messy]

Well, at least is something to remind us they still haven't released it!
I mean, I want them to take as long as they need to make another awesome game. But they could at least talk to us a little bit more, know what I'm saying?
Like I want to know stuff! And the way they are conducting this pre-release makes me think they said it all. It seems there is NO other new feature other than the ones they already showcased. They are just taking a REALLY LONG TIME on creating the whole of the game. Which is really sad.
Please, Taleworlds, SHOW US MORE! TALK TO US!

 

[Nipponsei]

Well, at least is something to remind us they still haven't released it!
I mean, I want them to take as long as they need to make another awesome game. But they could at least talk to us a little bit more, know what I'm saying?
Like I want to know stuff! And the way they are conducting this pre-release makes me think they said it all. It seems there is NO other new feature other than the ones they already showcased. They are just taking a REALLY LONG TIME on creating the whole of the game. Which is really sad.
Please, Taleworlds, SHOW US MORE! TALK TO US!

This is my problem with Taleworlds, they dont talk to the community. The last devblog update was in March, we are in May now... We havent heard from them in a month. At least its not as bad as last year. They did a blog update in October 2016 and then silence until March 2017..
Just show a screenshot, some concept art, a picture from the guys sweating behind their desks.. anything really just update more frequently.

 

[pellehard]

Well, at least is something to remind us they still haven't released it!
I mean, I want them to take as long as they need to make another awesome game. But they could at least talk to us a little bit more, know what I'm saying?
Like I want to know stuff! And the way they are conducting this pre-release makes me think they said it all. It seems there is NO other new feature other than the ones they already showcased. They are just taking a REALLY LONG TIME on creating the whole of the game. Which is really sad.
Please, Taleworlds, SHOW US MORE! TALK TO US!

This is my problem with Taleworlds, they dont talk to the community. The last devblog update was in March, we are in May now... We havent heard from them in a month. At least its not as bad as last year. They did a blog update in October 2016 and then silence until March 2017..
Just show a screenshot, some concept art, a picture from the guys sweating behind their desks.. anything really just update more frequently

theres an "blog update" now....for warband hah

 

[Nordmann]

Well, at least is something to remind us they still haven't released it!
I mean, I want them to take as long as they need to make another awesome game. But they could at least talk to us a little bit more, know what I'm saying?
Like I want to know stuff! And the way they are conducting this pre-release makes me think they said it all. It seems there is NO other new feature other than the ones they already showcased. They are just taking a REALLY LONG TIME on creating the whole of the game. Which is really sad.
Please, Taleworlds, SHOW US MORE! TALK TO US!

This is my problem with Taleworlds, they dont talk to the community. The last devblog update was in March, we are in May now... We havent heard from them in a month. At least its not as bad as last year. They did a blog update in October 2016 and then silence until March 2017..
Just show a screenshot, some concept art, a picture from the guys sweating behind their desks.. anything really just update more frequently.

This.

You would think they would have more to show, considering it has been in development since 2012! Five years folks, let's just think about that for a minute.... five years. Some poor buggers are going to be dead by the time they release this, let alone actually show more of it off to the community!

TaleWorlds really need to get with the program, because by the time they are done with this, it will be old hat surpassed by newer releases. As much as I love M&B, five years of near silence is a lot to ask of anyone, even the most die-hard of fans.

 

[Яowan]

This.

You would think they would have more to show, considering it has been in development since 2012! Five years folks, let's just think about that for a minute.... five years. Some poor buggers are going to be dead by the time they release this, let alone actually show more of it off to the community!

TaleWorlds really need to get with the program, because by the time they are done with this, it will be old hat surpassed by newer releases. As much as I love M&B, five years of near silence is a lot to ask of anyone, even the most die-hard of fans.

Five years is very normal for development. Skyrim apparently took four years (Fallout 4 six) with a AAA team that is very experienced with creating and pushing games, and presumably there would have also been pre-development (ie very small team working on it before proper development).

Difference is, Bethesda and other AAA companies announce the game at the end of the cycle, Taleworlds did the opposite and announced at the beginning.

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Fallout 4 and Skyrim also use a very similar engine to the one they've been using since morrowind, with the same NPC data setups and what looks like the exact same door loading menu system. The early development phase was probably quite short.