Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Old Discussion Thread

[Salmonsy]

We don't even know how development went for the last years for Bannerlord. As far as we know it could either be going perfectly or it could have stalled years ago. This is pointless guessing.

It's speculating based on what we know so far, but not mere guessing without any kind of information whatsoever. There's a difference there and I think I made some good points and backed them up with statements made by the devs themselves. Sure, there's always room to interpret a statement one way or the other, but there have been games in the past that had a somewhat similar history. Now I'm not saying that Bannerlord will most certainly be the next DNF, I'm just saying that there are some parallels.

It's always a good idea to check what someone says against the reality, a practice commonly called a reality check. If we do a reality check on both of your statements you've hastily thrown in to cement your point, i.e. that we don't know anything and the development cycle might either be perfectly going according to plan or the development halted years ago, they'll crumble pretty fast.

If the development of the game would proceed as planned, some sort of playable version should've been already released. Also, the premature announcement 5 years ago speaks against that as well. The concept phase should also be already left behind, yet in parts it is obviously still there, being that the devs are not sure if earlier announced features are actually going to make it - character aging was confirmed in blog 12 only to be later downgraded to a 'maybe'.

If the development halted years ago, they wouldn't have been able to present gameplay on the PC Gamer Weekender in March and the E3 in June 2016. And they sure as hell wouldn't have hinted at some sort of release at the end of 2016.

Again, if you can be bothered to snoop around for tidbits and snippets regarding the development of Bannerlord - the glassdoor reviews being the most important thing here - it is easy to see why the development takes so long, especially if you have a similar development cycle to compare it to. So yes, it's still speculating, no you don't have to believe me, you are free to make your own conclusion but it's not like we know absolutely nothing and pointless guessing is all that is possible.

 

[froggyluv]

Good God this is still going on. I come and check here like once a month and just cant believe the Bannerlord Blog has had zero updates in like 7 months..??! Shirley they know how starved people are for heck, anything they could throw a bone. Hell even a

"we're playing it like crazy at the office  and..its awesome. You girls are missing out BIG!"

would do wonders for morale around here

 

[578]

Turks were never good with sharing information anyway. They are too busy tresspassing Greece's seas at the moment. Considering their goverment pays TW too, they probably stopped the development of the game for a few months so they can go to some greek islands with expensive warboats. 

 

[Kehlian]

Bannerlord Versus, featuring a story of fallen western empire prince and his comrades to take back the throne and unite the empires again. 
Just kidding

That would actually be cool. They stated they wanted to implement a story, just like they did in VC.

 

[FLESHCER]

Turks were never good with sharing information anyway. They are too busy tresspassing Greece's seas at the moment. Considering their goverment pays TW too, they probably stopped the development of the game for a few months so they can go to some greek islands with expensive warboats. 

 

[Ulusamai]

Turks were never good with sharing information anyway. They are too busy tresspassing Greece's seas at the moment. Considering their goverment pays TW too, they probably stopped the development of the game for a few months so they can go to some greek islands with expensive warboats. 

 

[Plovercrest]

They can't afford to stall Bannerlord much longer... I won't buy it in 2018 and I'm sure other people think the same.

I wouldn't go that far. My want to purchase has gone from a day 1 buy, to a wait for reviews and get on sale buy. Unless of course they come out with something that blows my mind (better graphics and animations please). I'm actually becoming more interested in Kingdom Come: Deliverance now. Yes, I know it isn't the same. It scratches much of the same itch.

 

[Rungsted93]

They can't afford to stall Bannerlord much longer... I won't buy it in 2018 and I'm sure other people think the same.

I wouldn't go that far. My want to purchase has gone from a day 1 buy, to a wait for reviews and get on sale buy. Unless of course they come out with something that blows my mind. I'm actually becoming more interested in Kingdom Come: Deliverance now. Yes, I know it isn't the same.

Yeah i feel a bit the same... lost a lot of hype over the years... If there's no Co-op i can play with my friends i'm not even so sure i'm going to buy the game before a sale as well
I'm not doubting the game eventually will be good but rarely when a game is being redone multiple times with no clear direction it doesn't turn out perfectly... But we can hope!
Just wish some day to see a mix of Crusader kings and Mount & Blade! That would be the perfect game.

 

[SirMairaki]

Just wish some day to see a mix of Crusader kings and Mount & Blade! That would be the perfect game.

Crusader Kings and M&B? Those are about as different of genres as you can get. Are you hoping for a CK but you fight in each battle? That would take ages to finish

 

[DanAngleland]

They are broadly very similar; based in medieval times, simulating kingdoms and warfare, with castles and towns that can be captured and provide income to lords. The detailed hierarchies and laws etc. of Crusader Kings could add a lot to M&B, whereas obviously M&B has RPG gameplay and a much less abstract simulation of combat.

 

[Rungsted93]

I didn't say it would be easy to make the game it would obviously be on a smaller scale But i would love having a huge open world with counties, baronies etc. And in this world make a living! Imagine actually inviting people to your castle and make a red wedding type of thing etc. Armies could be same size and scaled same way as in Warband/Bannerlord

 

[Looter]

I think we should stop suggesting features lest TW actually listens and prolongs its development creep.

 

[Tareth]

Let's not dream too hard...

Character permadeath, faster passage of time, aging, "character traits" and "political factions"...
Note that the first Q&A implies that there'll be a battle time limit - LOL.

Spoiler

Q: What determines the General’s strategy?
A: Lords have their own skills like in the prevous games, but they also have their own personal attributes as well. So "X" character might be a lord who plays defensive so he could be more passive in battles. Also in a battle we might be the aggressor which means we would have to attack as well. So he could get away with playing defensive because if we do nothing then we will just lose the battle.

Q: How are the political options in the game?
A: We haven’t really expanded with options and we can’t talk about all of them right now. One new feature we have are clans within the factions so families that kind of group together -- as in the way that you have a relationship with a lord is going to affect how his brother in law thinks of you. We’ve really deepened and improved diplomacy.

Q: Does the feudal system in Mount and Blade 2 remain the same as Warband, which is the 2 tier (King and vassals) system or is that different?
A: Each faction has a monarchic ruler and then the vassals below that as well. They’re still ranked as vassal but the influence that different lords have in the kingdom is going to vary based on if their the owner of a town or just an owner of a village so different lords are going to have different amounts of power and sway in the faction but -- they’re all “Lords”, yeah.

From "The Passage of Time" blog
One major change from Warband is how time progresses; the yearly cycle has been shortened to twelve weeks, which adds more importance to the changing seasons and ageing of characters.

 

[kraggrim]

Note that the first Q&A implies that there'll be a battle time limit - LOL.

I'd be very surprised if that's the case. The AI already has infinite patience, there's no need to artificially force the player to be the aggressor. Presumably he just meant the player's choice is either attack or retreat from the field in this situation.

 

[Tareth]

I too would be surprised and even disappointed if it were the case. Obviously they can't be going down that path.
But I wonder if it isn't possible to let very aggressive characters abandon their defensive positions. Would make the game a little more unpredictable and replayable if there were more variation in such AI behaviours.

 

[fragonard]

What? A whole day and no posts. Has everyone finally given up?

 

[aekilju]

Hibernating until E3

 

[Looter]

I'm currently held in the dungeons of Ryibelet Castle owned by Count Delinard. Free me and I shall post to your content!

please I haven't eaten in three days

 

[Silen]

I'm currently held in the dungeons of Ryibelet Castle owned by Count Delinard. Free me and I shall post to your content!

please I haven't eaten in three days

*Infiltrates in pilgrim outfit and hood and frees the Looter*

"It's almost harvesting season!"

 

[LonelyStep]

What? A whole day and no posts. Has everyone finally given up?

...and you ruined it