Prophesy of Pendor Version 3.0 Status Update

[mr48]

Just saw the new update on the front page and wanted to once again express my amazement at the amount of work you guys (and gal) put into this mod. I'm genuinely humbled by your dedication and work ethic.

Rock on!

 

[Fawzia dokhtar-i-Sanjar]

We have a new female team member, Still Standing, who has done some wonderful artwork on our new splash screen and is doing some art for the new PoP 3 Wiki as well.  So, we actually have 2 women on the team now.  Cheers, F

Edit: @Sir Drinks a Lot - sorry, but my AK-47 will not be in PoP 3.  Abyss just gave it to me for fun.  There are no historically inaccurate weapons in PoP 3, (see previous posts concerning "realism Nazis" on the PoP 3 team) particularly automatic ones.  I just posted the picture for grins and to thank Abyss for making it.

 

[Poland Skrzetuski]

Tournaments are much more difficult than before. I saw this point.  I told that tournaments are quite easy or medium but you wrote that they will be more difficult. Hmm challenge. But what it mean? Champion fighter have about 80 point of health. And what will be now,  - about 100!? That will be good fight, hehe. 

Empire gladiator have about 100 points of health. I hit him into the head. You know what, I use two-handed sword (which I prefer) and he still alive.

Let's speak about tournaments. My favourite type of tournament is tournament on foot, like in Valonbray. I don't like tournaments in which enemy use bows and javelins. They are difficult (but I prefer bows too). Tournaments in Sarleon with lances are hard. If enemy strike you first, he can defeat you, even on easy difficulty level (he can do 90 damage without problems)...

 

[bill2505]

Tournaments are much more difficult than before. I saw this point.  I told that tournaments are quite easy or medium but you wrote that they will be more difficult. Hmm challenge. But what it mean? Champion fighter have about 80 point of health. And what will be now,  - about 100!? That will be good fight, hehe. 

Empire gladiator have about 100 points of health. I hit him into the head. You know what, I use two-handed sword (which I prefer) and he still alive.

Let's speak about tournaments. My favourite type of tournament is tournament on foot, like in Valonbray. I don't like tournaments in which enemy use bows and javelins. They are difficult (but I prefer bows too). Tournaments in Sarleon with lances are hard. If enemy strike you first, he can defeat you, even on easy difficulty level (he can do 90 damage without problems)...

javelins are the best

 

[OldGreyBeard]

Sarleon tournaments for life! I am the master lancer 

The text under my avatar sums up what I think of "master lancers"!  

Yeah, I know it's old for a reply, but I couldn't resist. Just "pining for the fjords" ... er PoP 3.0 release.

@SD & team: Can't believe the amount of work and skill in all this! Wish I could help, somehow, can't imagine what I could contribute, though.

 

[Poland Skrzetuski]

javelins are the best

I prefer bows. But javelins are Ok when I strike enemy into the head.

 

[Diavolo]

hey all, this is my all time favorite M&B mod. THE best, of the many many great mods there are. So here is my question: will you focus on a port to Warband? Warband is the future with improved battle mechanics, multiplayer and the ability to marry and become a king and all that. I think that this mod ported to Warband would be the best thing ever! (would even beat if Diablo3 was released tomorrow it would be that awesome)

Anyway, keep up the good work with whatever you decide to do. 

 

[Fawzia dokhtar-i-Sanjar]

PoP 3 is for M&B V 1.011.  A port to Warband is in process, but we have no idea when/if it will be done, so please don't ask.  I'd advise playing PoP 3 when it comes out until you see a release date for the Warband port a long time in the future.

Welcome to the Pendor forum.  All of us on the Dev Team are glad you are having fun with PoP V 2.5.  Before you get jumped all over, your question about a Warband port for PoP 3 has been asked and answered a number of times, and before you ask a question next time, if you'll check the various threads for the answer first , we'd like it a lot.  Cheers, Fawzia

 

[Diavolo]

thanks for the nice reply, sorry to hear that V 3.0 is for 1.011, guess I'll have to redownload original M&B then.

I'll read around a bit before asking next time.

 

[soet]

There remains much to release? I check every day several times  please tell me if it is possible for you, oh when will be released mod ?

 

[Ãbyss]

Go and come back 15 days later.

~Ãbyss

 

[Poland Skrzetuski]

You finish in about 15 days ?!

CUDOWNIE!    Wonderful. 5 months of waiting come near end.

 

[Fawzia dokhtar-i-Sanjar]

Same answer as the last 20 times someone asked:  When SD decides it is of sufficiently high quality, sufficiently bug-free, sufficiently balanced.  Have you any idea how long testing large numbers of succesive betas takes?  Test - fix bugs - add new stuff - test - fix bugs - balance or change new stufff - test - fix bugs ad nauseum.

There is also the small matter of new weapons and armor, and numerous other new features which have to be tested to make sure the AI is not screwing up.

We are AIMING for the end of June/early July, but don't know for sure it will be ready.

 

[Poland Skrzetuski]

Don't be nervous. Calm down.

I know.    For example premiere of "With Fire and Sword" dalayed about few weeks. Only same tests can last few weeks.

 

[Fawzia dokhtar-i-Sanjar]

The testing and getting things right has been pretty heavy duty.  We don't want to release it and get dozens of bug or crash reports because we've overstrained the engine's abilitites to handle what we've given it, or because a lower-end
machine or lower quality video card can't handle it.

 

[Poland Skrzetuski]

That's right.

Better do something later, once and good than do something early and with tens of bugs.

 

[Achilla]

Same answer as the last 20 times someone asked:  When SD decides it is of sufficiently high quality, sufficiently bug-free, sufficiently balanced.  Have you any idea how long testing large numbers of succesive betas takes?  Test - fix bugs - add new stuff - test - fix bugs - balance or change new stufff - test - fix bugs ad nauseum.

There is also the small matter of new weapons and armor, and numerous other new features which have to be tested to make sure the AI is not screwing up.

We are AIMING for the end of June/early July, but don't know for sure it will be ready.

Take your time, we are not in a hurry 

Patience is a virtue and goes both ends. The last time I tried to develop something pretty small, it turned out that bulk of work is repetitive and boring fine-tuning period, rather than happy and creative active content development. It can and does drive nuts.

Perhaps you could make an open beta of sorts?

I'm too busy with my own stuff, but perhaps some players will volunteer to go through the usual gameplay routine and report the bugs/oddities that players will be likely to find on 3.0 release. That way instead of aimlessly coping with many priorities, you could focus on few chosen areas.

Bugs. Bugs happen

 

[Fawzia dokhtar-i-Sanjar]

We have different team members whose specialties are in one area or another focusing on those areas, plus general bug chasers.  Combat strategists test strategy, power players test the power play aspects, slower more measured players test new quests and general exploration, I chase typos and dialog bugs and keep adjusting audio and ambient sound levels as needed, MV fixes the reported bugs and redid the autocalc and autoloot and we are testing that now.  SD has been adding some very interesting new adversaries and they will need testing in this weekend's beta.  Combat balance is being tinkered with now, as one faction is too strong.  Bowmen are testing the new bows, 2-hand players are testing the new 2-hand axes and swords, 1-hand players are testing the new 1-hand weapons, lancers are testing spears and lances.  Noosers did a complete rebalance of all the weapons, but that still needs some adjusting.  Weapons carried only by kings and specialty spawns need testing.  We are still trying to find all the areas where somebody might get stuck and fix them - the odd new one keeps popping up.  We are trying to integrate the new Empire palaces and towns and be able to fight in them without crashes.  We keep finding weapons which need LODs and don't have them and then they have to be added.  Some of Abyss' new weapons still need texturing and all the weapons need more testing.

(You should see what Siggy can do with one of the new 2-hand axes at the head of a siege ladder.  He and Sir Roland between them pretty well emptied the battlements in one Ravenstern castle.)

At the same time we are doing all this, we are trying to complete a PoP 3 Wiki (Mordred leads, TalonAquila and others writing) in the hopes people will read it first since so very many things have changed from V 2.5 to PoP 3.  SD needs to finish the next part of his story for you all to read.  Pendor's history has expanded in very interesting ways.

Singal has to be repurposed - it will change a lot and has a unique character now.  All the specialty spawns are rebalanced and some are a LOT tougher, in addition to some nasty new ones.

We will of course, have a bug thread for the game when it is released.  Still, our hope is that it will be relatively bug-free,
exploitable bugs and loopholes closed (we have somebody rather clever working on trying to find loopholes that can be exploited.)  Strategy is going to be a lot more important than force in PoP 3.

 

[Qtee]

exciting! , that stuff has me chomping at the bit, grawwaaarrr!!

 

[noosers]

Save your precious 5cm thick oaken desk plate for the moments of Epic Failure you´re bound to encounter. You´ll apprecite the bite.