I am sure this has been done many times before, but the other day I felt the itch once more and fired up ole PoP and could not believe how much this ancient Warband mod has going for it. Considering its popularity it really makes you wonder why BL devs could not borrow any of its concepts.
1. Faction flavor. Each of the major factions in PoP actually looks and feels unique. When you're in a field battle against Fierdsvain or D'Shar or Ravenstern, you can tell right away whom you're fighting. Even when you approach the lords of different factions, they have different voice-overs. And each faction actually has its strengths and weaknesses. Ravenstern has good archers, Sarleon has good heavy cavalry, etc. In BL you have no reason to ever hire anything other than Fian Champions or Khans Guards.
2. Minor factions. PoP has all kinds of different bands and hosts roaming the map. Jatu, vanskerries, heretics, etc. This not only gives the player someone to fight during peace time, but also makes the world feel alive and deep. BL just has looters and sea raiders.
3. Bandits. Speaking of looters, even the plain regular bandit parties in PoP are somehow more interesting to fight. They are built like an actual army, with infantry and archers and a bit of cavalry. Even in the late game, when they no longer pose any challenge to the player, they can still offer some decent loot and a bit of renown. Looter parties get old after the second time you face them.
4. Knighthood Orders. They add more interesting and powerful units to the game, increasing already excellent troop variety. They provide the player with cool quests well into late game. Any AI lords that have chapters of KO orders in one of their fiefs will field a few of them in battle, further making armies feel a little more unique. During war, the KOs will often send out war parties to help their faction - not enough to affect the outcome of the war in a major way but a fun dynamic nonetheless.
5. Custom Knighthood Orders. Maybe the most popular feature of the mod, the ability for the player to train and equip his own custom troops is completely missing from BL. This is one of those things that adds a ton of replay value. Anyone who has played PoP knows what I'm talking about. You start a new campaign thinking "This time I'm going to make my CKO with shock troops as my knights and mounted crossbowmen as my sergeants.. yeah, wouldn't that be something!" Not that PoP was the only Warband mod that had custom troop feature, but it's the most fleshed out one that I know of. Again, BL never even attempted to do anything of the sort.
6. Unique Spawns. Huge powerful hosts that roam the map and can even give AI lord armies a run for their money. Defeating them provides nice rewards for the player, so these remain relevant until the very end of the campaign. And once more, it's yet another feature that makes the game world feel more dynamic and alive.
7. Qualis Gems. Alternative currency that is very rare and valuable and can be used to slightly boost the player or his companions, recruit a small number of very powerful troops, and many other things. Yet another thing that can give the player something to do late into the campaign.
8. Noldor items and rune weapons. Very high end armor and weapons that are very hard to obtain and give the player yet another thing to look forward to throughout the entire campaign. Almost like "epic" items from MMORPGs.
9. Companions. They actually have some flavor and a story. Yes, their bickering gets old quickly and the "voice acting" in PoP is somewhat of a meme, something that is "so bad it's actually good". But the fact remains that companions in PoP (and WB in general) feel special while BL companions are bland and boring. Oh, and when you turn PoP companions into lords they field unique household troops. Many times I've actually made them into vassals for this reason alone, even though it's not an optimal thing to do, but it's just fun seeing a lord of your faction going around with rare and unusual troops such as the Noldor, for instance.
10. Speaking of Noldor... A special minor faction that starts out hostile to the player, very scary and dangerous. But you can befriend them and gain access to their hidden city and participate in their tournaments which are tougher than normal tournaments but also have much better rewards. Why doesn't BL have anything like this?
11. Player Hideout. PoP has a quest line that can be started at any time, which eventually rewards the player with his own hideout where he can store up a few troops, repair broken items, and do other cool stuff. It serves as a kind of mini-castle while you are not yet a lord and have no land of your own.
12. Feasts. I know this is actually a vanilla WB feature, but still something that has no reason to be missing from BL. Great way to improve relations with your vassals and also just a cool way to see all the lords of your faction in one place.
Well, I could go on but you get the idea. Here we have a Warband mod that is very popular and has been around more than a decade, so it's not like BL designers never heard of it. Why didn't they borrow any of these ideas?
1. Faction flavor. Each of the major factions in PoP actually looks and feels unique. When you're in a field battle against Fierdsvain or D'Shar or Ravenstern, you can tell right away whom you're fighting. Even when you approach the lords of different factions, they have different voice-overs. And each faction actually has its strengths and weaknesses. Ravenstern has good archers, Sarleon has good heavy cavalry, etc. In BL you have no reason to ever hire anything other than Fian Champions or Khans Guards.
2. Minor factions. PoP has all kinds of different bands and hosts roaming the map. Jatu, vanskerries, heretics, etc. This not only gives the player someone to fight during peace time, but also makes the world feel alive and deep. BL just has looters and sea raiders.
3. Bandits. Speaking of looters, even the plain regular bandit parties in PoP are somehow more interesting to fight. They are built like an actual army, with infantry and archers and a bit of cavalry. Even in the late game, when they no longer pose any challenge to the player, they can still offer some decent loot and a bit of renown. Looter parties get old after the second time you face them.
4. Knighthood Orders. They add more interesting and powerful units to the game, increasing already excellent troop variety. They provide the player with cool quests well into late game. Any AI lords that have chapters of KO orders in one of their fiefs will field a few of them in battle, further making armies feel a little more unique. During war, the KOs will often send out war parties to help their faction - not enough to affect the outcome of the war in a major way but a fun dynamic nonetheless.
5. Custom Knighthood Orders. Maybe the most popular feature of the mod, the ability for the player to train and equip his own custom troops is completely missing from BL. This is one of those things that adds a ton of replay value. Anyone who has played PoP knows what I'm talking about. You start a new campaign thinking "This time I'm going to make my CKO with shock troops as my knights and mounted crossbowmen as my sergeants.. yeah, wouldn't that be something!" Not that PoP was the only Warband mod that had custom troop feature, but it's the most fleshed out one that I know of. Again, BL never even attempted to do anything of the sort.
6. Unique Spawns. Huge powerful hosts that roam the map and can even give AI lord armies a run for their money. Defeating them provides nice rewards for the player, so these remain relevant until the very end of the campaign. And once more, it's yet another feature that makes the game world feel more dynamic and alive.
7. Qualis Gems. Alternative currency that is very rare and valuable and can be used to slightly boost the player or his companions, recruit a small number of very powerful troops, and many other things. Yet another thing that can give the player something to do late into the campaign.
8. Noldor items and rune weapons. Very high end armor and weapons that are very hard to obtain and give the player yet another thing to look forward to throughout the entire campaign. Almost like "epic" items from MMORPGs.
9. Companions. They actually have some flavor and a story. Yes, their bickering gets old quickly and the "voice acting" in PoP is somewhat of a meme, something that is "so bad it's actually good". But the fact remains that companions in PoP (and WB in general) feel special while BL companions are bland and boring. Oh, and when you turn PoP companions into lords they field unique household troops. Many times I've actually made them into vassals for this reason alone, even though it's not an optimal thing to do, but it's just fun seeing a lord of your faction going around with rare and unusual troops such as the Noldor, for instance.
10. Speaking of Noldor... A special minor faction that starts out hostile to the player, very scary and dangerous. But you can befriend them and gain access to their hidden city and participate in their tournaments which are tougher than normal tournaments but also have much better rewards. Why doesn't BL have anything like this?
11. Player Hideout. PoP has a quest line that can be started at any time, which eventually rewards the player with his own hideout where he can store up a few troops, repair broken items, and do other cool stuff. It serves as a kind of mini-castle while you are not yet a lord and have no land of your own.
12. Feasts. I know this is actually a vanilla WB feature, but still something that has no reason to be missing from BL. Great way to improve relations with your vassals and also just a cool way to see all the lords of your faction in one place.
Well, I could go on but you get the idea. Here we have a Warband mod that is very popular and has been around more than a decade, so it's not like BL designers never heard of it. Why didn't they borrow any of these ideas?