Statement regarding Plans for Singleplayer and Engine III

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There are a bunch of different factors that are weighed for a clan to get on the ruler election ballot, but the relative amount of wealth a clan has is by far the most important, and tends to drown out all the other factors unless the top clans are close in wealth. If the monarch's clan gets on the ballot based on that set of factors, then they have some other bonuses that make it likely that they'll win. If not, then the crown more or less goes to the wealthiest clan.
the hero we don't deserve but sorely need!
thanks for the explanation!
 
Is there any plans to expand minor factions to being, major? It would be great if they could form their own kingdoms, right now the only reason to interact with them is to farm renown by killing them or hiring them as mercenaries. The lore elements are there and I think there can be a very cool creative direction if civil wars / rebellion expansion / AI kingdom creation is added. Something like the Hidden Hand, for an example, creating their own kingdom after helping a Rebellion.
We are not currently plannıng such a feature.

If abdication is there, at least for the player, I still hope they are preparing succession wars under the hood. Power transition is very much flawless in Bannerlord. Only the ruling clan gets to have the power when the king dies, and there is no competition at all. They went all Japan with this mechanic.
As bannermen noted, a few variables already tie into this albeit it is currently limited. We have discussed succession laws before and may still explore this aspect, but it is not part of our current priorities.

For instance the Gang mechanics which you showed 4 years ago and since then we haven't heard anything.
Gang mechanics in the sense of owning alleys exist within the game for notables currently. If time permits, we may explore player owned alleys further.

Any plans for more music in hideout ambushes?
There is also no music at all in character creation, just dead silence.
I'm not sure about the full todo list for audio, but I can bring these up internally.

Are hideouts in the "adding new scenes" column or the "improving existing ones" column (or both)?
Both.

War / Peace? (because right now the War/Peace decision AI is retarded and I believe mexxico is checking it out)
Mexxico knows these parts well, yes. (When I came to the company some 2 years ago, he explained the WarScore calculation to me :smile: )

While I am not too involved in the issues you are referencing, I would hardly call the AI as such. He has spent a fair bit of time on improving it already but in a world as open ended / dynamic as ours it can be challenging to achieve decision making that is always sensible. Not to mention that in some cases it's a matter of preference (aka the player feels like the AI should have made peace because they lost a number of battles, but the AI "knows" that the numbers are still in its favor). Which isn't to say that it cannot be improved.

Granting of settlements?
You can already grant (as a kıng) and relinquish (as a vassal) settlements when you are in a kingdom.
 
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But this was not what you've previously shown and said, it was very much stated you could make your companions "control" the streets.
Developing anything sees things designed, prototyped, tested, added and removed. The challenge in this case was and is that we want to share part of this process with our players - which can cause situations where content that some folks were looking forward to might not make it into the final version (because it didn't successfully make it through the process). From what I can tell those decisions aren't made lightly and I am sure you can see that we have been much more careful with communication since.
 
Sorry as I know this was most likely not your personal decision and you're just the messenger. But you guys had 4 years to make it work...
And yes I understand you don't want to make false promises, but it's certainly not professional going to gaming conventions showing features which won't be in the game either and being completely silent about it afterwards makes it even worse.


And honestly if time permits it ? You should take all the time in the world it takes to deliever what was promised and not cut corners.
 
@Duh_TaleWorlds
I think I ask for most of the PC community.
Can you tell us how much of the decision making (especially for AI decisions/complex logic and features removed) is affected by console development?

Is the aim to use the same game version for both PC and console, or to have separate versions with consoles basically having a "cut-down" version to make it playable?

I am pretty sure most of the PC community agrees with me that the focus, for now at least, should be on PC, and a console afterwards.
Pretty sure PC community is your biggest demographic anyway.
 
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@Duh_TaleWorlds
I think I ask for most of the PC community.
Can you tell us how much of the decision making (especially for AI decisions and features removed) is affected by console development?

Is the aim to use the same game version for both PC and console, or to have separate versions with consoles basically having a "cut-down" version to make it playable?

I am pretty sure most of the PC community agrees with me that the focus, for now at least, should be on PC, and a console afterwards.
Pretty sure PC community is your biggest demographic anyway.
THIS!!!!!!!!!!! PC should be 1st lol
 
Can you tell us how much of the decision making (especially for AI decisions and features removed) is affected by console development?
I am not aware of any features or AI decisions that were removed in this regard. I think I know what you are referencing but to my knowledge that was simply venting about internal discussions - which of course isn't ideal as it can mislead players. It is normal that various options are discussed and pros and cons are weighed before any decision is made.

Performance, in particular, is also not a concern specific to one platform - as many pc players who experience stutters f.e. on the campaign map will attest.
 
The game is about finished. It won't be long until the modding community gets their hands on it. I can't wait until someone makes a Brittania mod for this game.

The only features I would like to see before release are:

1. Combat a.i. improvements. Seige needs major improvements. It sounds like that's part of the plan. They shouldn't release the game until seige defense is possible, realistic, and fun. A small force should be able to defend to defend a fief against overwhelming odds.

2. Party directives. They could go way in depth with this but I'm expecting a very basic ability to give parties commands. It would be nice to command parties to attack, defend, follow, gather armies, clear bandits, patrol routes, and then be able to define the area to do it in.

3. Kingdom decisions: alliances should be in the game. It would give struggling kingdoms the ability to make comebacks. Alliances would add a lot of depth to the game.
 
So it is official, we are nearing the end, with only balance, improvents and "minor" features on the horizon.

On one side, I am disapointed that the TW gave up on any meaningful roleplaying quality of the game.
  • No real quests outside of the main questline
  • No enhancements to dialogs to add more player variation
  • No Trait influencing dialog options for players
  • No enhacements to Persuasion (which currently is stupid from a RP standpoint, because you pick ALL the options, only the order in which you pick them is up to the player)
  • No improvements to marriage, which is just so terrible from a RP standpoint
  • No feasts, or any events of any kind. All there is is Combat (oh, and Board Games).
  • No dialog support for game features (as a second method to using the menu)
    • No dialogs to give immersion for Kingdom Decisions and Diplomacy
  • No support for Scenes. (Please give me a REASON to visit these scenes!)
  • No interesting companios
  • No gang-related features, making Roguery only meaningful (you guessed it!) in Combat, in the form of Raiding and Loot
  • No further point to Minor Factions, except as extra parties for warfare.
  • I could go in...
On the other side, this means release is much closer than I hoped, which means modders can finally take over...
Yeah... I'd personally would've like a bit more focus on marriage. Right now, It's pretty much just a way to recruit a noble to your clan and making babies.
 
I hate to say it, but it's so disappointing that not a single mention has been made about companions. It would be great if you could let us know about any future plans in this regard?

They're the soul of the game, it feels so shallow to see them not having WB features like their likes/hates,no random dialogues and qualms about many actions...there's no reason to manage them and plan their skill set, as they're currently so expendable.

Without them, it feels like I'm playing a FPS, which is not exactly my cup of tea.
I had hoped they would be unique, to the point of having their own armour/weapon preferences for instance(e.g. a barbarian who refuses to equip any weapon apart from 2h hammers - and tell you off if you try otherwise!).

If balancing is the focus now, I guess they're done with implementing relevant new features.
I can only hope 1.6 won't be the final release.
 
So it is official, we are nearing the end, with only balance, improvents and "minor" features on the horizon.

On one side, I am disapointed that the TW gave up on any meaningful roleplaying quality of the game.
  • No real quests outside of the main questline
  • No enhancements to dialogs to add more player variation
  • No Trait influencing dialog options for players
  • No enhacements to Persuasion (which currently is stupid from a RP standpoint, because you pick ALL the options, only the order in which you pick them is up to the player)
  • No improvements to marriage, which is just so terrible from a RP standpoint
  • No feasts, or any events of any kind. All there is is Combat (oh, and Board Games).
  • No dialog support for game features (as a second method to using the menu)
    • No dialogs to give immersion for Kingdom Decisions and Diplomacy
  • No support for Scenes. (Please give me a REASON to visit these scenes!)
  • No interesting companios
  • No gang-related features, making Roguery only meaningful (you guessed it!) in Combat, in the form of Raiding and Loot
  • No further point to Minor Factions, except as extra parties for warfare.
  • I could go in...
On the other side, this means release is much closer than I hoped, which means modders can finally take over...

This summarizes very well the current situation we have.

So, are we left with "Never mind" dialogue? No reason to visit scenes? No minor faction flavors at all?
 
Developing anything sees things designed, prototyped, tested, added and removed. The challenge in this case was and is that we want to share part of this process with our players - which can cause situations where content that some folks were looking forward to might not make it into the final version (because it didn't successfully make it through the process). From what I can tell those decisions aren't made lightly and I am sure you can see that we have been much more careful with communication since.
So all these statements are not going to deliver a "criminal system"; can we cut it off from the list?

I quote myself (Feb 7, 2019):
We take for granted the doubt about criminal operations since we have explanation of the consequences of a gameplay with criminal aspect. (Dev Blog 07/02/19 Crime and Punishment)

Now we know what consequences our criminal acts could have, but the question is...what criminal acts can we carry out?

Developer Blog 13 - Weekending
When we wander into the backstreets, we are confronted by a group of thugs and the dialogue is automatically initiated by the gang leader. The main advantage of engaging in crime is to make money quickly. It is cheaper and provides a faster return than a legitimate business. However, engaging in criminal activity while rising up the ranks of a faction increasingly puts the player in a difficult position. Regardless, the player can still choose to take part in criminal activity, at any time, even as a King; there are always costs and benefits.
[…] If he doesn't have sufficient income to do so, he may decide to take action, which could be anything from raising taxes on his peasants to setting up a criminal enterprise.

Dev Blog 08/11/18
Slums and backstreet - Dangerous places where smugglers and bandits gather to make money by illegitimate means, diminishing the resources and taxes of the town.

Developer Blog 15 - Valuable Relationships
A crucial change, in the nature of the quests themselves, is that the majority of quests, in Bannerlord, have multiple potential outcomes. As an example, when a character in a town tasks you with clearing out some thugs, who are occupying a local alley, upon meeting the gang, you are presented with a counter offer: go back to the quest-giver, extort money out of them for questioning the gang's authority and keep the profits for yourself. You can even clear out the thugs, as requested but instead of handing control back to the townsfolk, install your own men in the alley and begin a new criminal operation.

PCGamer April 06, 2017 (link)
Getting to know an important NPC doesn’t just confer a recruitment bonus. Later in the game, your friends will offer extra services. “For example,” says Yavuz, “if you need to kidnap someone, that will be much easier if you have some friendly NPCs in the town. They open up opportunities for mischief.” The service is based on the type of NPC you befriend. “Merchant NPCs give you an advantage in trading. A gang leader can give you advantages in ‘special operations’,” Yavuz says.


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Lastly, I'm going to quote myself again with a comment from that same thread (What else remains to be explained?) that has aged magnificently since then. Back in the days of devblogs, the fan as such was hungry for information and the PR response was "we don't want to spoil the player experience™". I never understood that and among other comments, I highlight this one:

I'm terribly afraid of what we're going to find after lifting the "spoiling too much and ruining the experience before you get to play it " blanket.
Mar 27, 2019

Well, mid February 2021. We already know what's under the blanket.
 
First of all, somehow I believe EA won't end in March, it might be expired. Let's say I just feel that way because of a lack of content in the game which is never mentioned under the statements for single-player plans 1,2 & 3. Many features discussed or mentioned already in these statements and topics in the forum but some topics still not get -kind of- response from TW.

For example, in this statement, you mentioned the party command feature however there is nothing about companion interaction. For example, there is a mod called "Sue's More Spouse and Lord From Family (Update)" which allows you to create a clan for your family members or companions and make them clan leaders if you meet the conditions. And also your family members can get married to your companions as well. When you're creating a kingdom from scratch, it's a handy solution or a way to do it.

This kind of feature is really effective and gives game diversity. At this stage, the game doesn't have this kind of feature, and the more annoying part of it the stage of the game pulls modders back to keep update and improve their mods as well.

I do understand how EA progress but it's not only about the game's status now. Lots of features that made us fall in love with Warband are seemed like couldn't make it in Bannerlord. Tbh I almost never played WB without mods and in Bannerlord I'm looking forward to playing the game with mods in a stable version. In one way I'm concern about the game won't have these features but on the other hand, I believe in modders.

My question in my example creating a clan for your family members and companion feature, is there any chance to have that kind of feature in the game?

At this moment progress feels like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I don't think TW will do it but if you announce the deadline of the EA clearly then modders can make much better planning and as a player, we know when we can really start a long playthrough. I'm really looking forward to starting a new campaign and play it as long as I can. Maybe I can see the 10th generation and keep playing it.
 
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So all these statements are not going to deliver a "criminal system"; can we cut it off from the list?
There is a criminal system in the game that largely works in the way described in the most recent statement you shared. (One deviation I think is that instead of a guaranteed death based on crime rating it's a bit softer with corporal punishment being able to kill you if your health is low at the point of pummeling. Another is influence loss while you have crime rating.)

Well, mid February 2021. We already know what's under the blanket.
Since the beginning of EA we have released any content that was ready. We have shared a blanket for a while longer now :iamamoron:

For example, in this statement, you mentioned the party command feature however there is nothing about companion interaction. For example, there is a mod called "Sue's More Spouse and Lord From Family (Update)" which allows you to create a clan for your family members or companions and make them clan leaders if you meet the conditions. And also your family members can get married to your companions as well. When you're creating a kingdom from scratch, it's a handy solution or a way to do it.
The statements provide some insight on our current priorities (aka things we have been working on, are working on or will soon be working on). So using your example, we have prioritized party AI directives over marrying family members to companions.

My question in my example creating a clan for your family members and companion feature, is there any chance to have that kind of feature in the game?
Currently, such a feature is not approved, but I can bring it up at a suggestion meeting. I do think this falls more under polish than essential feature though.
 
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So all these statements are not going to deliver a "criminal system"; can we cut it off from the list?

I quote myself (Feb 7, 2019):



---
Lastly, I'm going to quote myself again with a comment from that same thread (What else remains to be explained?) that has aged magnificently since then. Back in the days of devblogs, the fan as such was hungry for information and the PR response was "we don't want to spoil the player experience™". I never understood that and among other comments, I highlight this one:


Mar 27, 2019

Well, mid February 2021. We already know what's under the blanket.
Recently I asked Duh if involving in crime activities and the ability to take alleys for ourselves is still in plans. Here's the answer:
I am not entirely sure what you are referring to with crime syndicate, but the gangleaders are the only notables that can own alleys and generate power from it. Player owned alleys are something that we are still discussing but it may not make it.
So, there's a big chance for us to forget about the outlaw playthrough for good. Go kill some looters.

Oh, and the campaign has taken a higher toll on horses...
 
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