Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale IV Pre-Release Thread [RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

BlackGoat

Arbiter
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
505
Do they think that pulsing/boucing shit the characters do is cute or something?
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014

Looks like they edited in this piece after published the update:

The Bard in 2018
Now that we're in 2018, a number of you have asked "when" this year you can expect to see the game. We're happy to announce that the game should be out in Q3 of this year. We're looking forward to getting the game to you (with alpha (soon!) and beta access to those backers along the way)!
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,538
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Do they think that pulsing/boucing shit the characters do is cute or something?
Believe it or not, there are people who say they like it. They're outnumbered by people with good taste, but they are out there. Worse than that, their UI artists are apparently married to this stupid idea, or maybe Fargo said he thought it'd be cute so now they have to do it no matter how bad it looks, so I gave up on trying to get it removed entirely and now I'm just asking for a toggle in the options menu. If you have an inXile forum account please support the idea by politely replying to this post with a "yeah I don't want that either". We know they're reading that thread, not so sure they're reading this one.
 

imweasel

Guest
The game is actually turning out nicer than I expected. :)

The pulsating avatars do really stick out. It doesn't really bother me, but an option to turn it off would be nice.
 

d1r

Busin 0 Wizardry Alternative Neo fanatic
Patron
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
3,576
Location
Germany
Didn't expect the UI to be that JRPG-y.

I like it nontheless.
 

Jarpie

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
6,603
Codex 2012 MCA
I wonder what's happening with the remastered original trilogy, was it cancelled?
 
Self-Ejected

theSavant

Self-Ejected
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
2,009
I have forgotten how terrible this really is. Watched again the animated gifs from the update and agree with Zombra... the swinging, flipping, pulsating, throbbing, wobbling, jittering characters are stupid. And I'm pretty sure they will become annoying in the long run. Also that 2.5D camera perspective looks innovative at first, but it just plays out wrong. I think they went for this approach because they wanted the view to be "intuitive" and "realistic". But all this innovation falls apart with this:

1) Character (i.e. female Bard) has turned her back towards us
2) you select her -> she flips around
3) you command her to play an attack song -> she plays song... but looking at you instead of looking at the enemies

Why does she look at me? If it were "intuitive" and "realistic", she would have to flip around again first (because she must face the enemies) and afterwards play that song (so we see her back swinging around...). Of course that would look stupid as well, but it were more logical. After all they put so much effort in making a tactical grid with our party members facing the enemies.... so let's stay realistic. But nope, it's like she plays that song only for us... how cute :roll:
Now I also re-watched that Combat Demo from last year and it's the same shit: your melee attacker always looks at you while he attacks the enemy. Wtf? So he fights the enemies with hands on his back? Yeah... so how is that logical?

:negative:


I don't see how this is better or "more intuitive" or "more realistic" than 2 simple rows with character portraits always facing you. This just produces more confusion, weirdness, illogicality.

Must be a nightmare for the developers to program such a weird system instead of going the established approach...
 
Last edited:

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I don't think it's meant to be realistic at all. The character faces you to indicate that that's the currently active character. You guys are way overthinking this, it's just trying to be intuitive in a silly/cute way. These character portraits should be understood in the same spirit as the goofy faces of oldschool Might & Magic games.
 
Self-Ejected

Sacred82

Self-Ejected
Dumbfuck
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Free Village
what would be the point of looking at the back of your characters' heads all the time? Ancient static portraits would be better than that.
 
Self-Ejected

theSavant

Self-Ejected
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
2,009
it's just trying to be intuitive in a silly/cute way. These character portraits should be understood in the same spirit as the goofy faces of oldschool Might & Magic characters.

Yeah... but... this is not the Bard's Tale 4 I wanted:

giphy.gif
giphy.gif
 

imweasel

Guest
what would be the point of looking at the back of your characters' heads all the time? Ancient static portraits would be better than that.
The attacking character faces the player and the other characters face the enemy while waiting for their turn. I think that is what bothers him. I'm fine with it, but maybe the concept is a bit too abstract.
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,538
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I don't think it's meant to be realistic at all.
It's neither fully realistic nor not realistic. It's blatant committee design. Let's have the characters facing the enemies as if they're "really" standing there, but then do a bunch of other wacky things to ruin that illusion, such as make them face away from the enemies when taking action.

I think they should do it in the Might & Magic style instead ... in M&M it's clear that the portraits are UI only and not "part of the world". There is no such clarity here.
 

Dorateen

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
4,332
Location
The Crystal Mist Mountains
"part of the world".

I think you put your finger on it there. InXile's two recent games are Wasteland 2 and Torment, both isometric, right? It seems to me they are designing Bard's Tale IV to appeal to their mainstream audience. The idea of a line up of stationary portraits representing the party members is too abstract, and must seem alien to them.
 

imweasel

Guest
It is just player feedback. The character facing the player is taking commands, which is a concept that everyone and his mom can understand.
 

Bester

⚰️☠️⚱️
Patron
Vatnik
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
10,992
Location
USSR
They praise their direct relationship with their audience, how kickstarter/fug just lets them have a dialogue with their customers directly etc, yet they can't explain a simple fucking decision about those portraits. Let the person who took that decision just explain his point of view, that's not complicated. Just fucking do it.

Can you repost it on their forums or smth? Maybe they're not 100% hypocrites and will answer?
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
27,012
The bouncing blue balls are annoying.
I don't see the problem with the character facing you when active.
Severe case of consolitis by the way.
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,538
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
They praise their direct relationship with their audience, how kickstarter/fug just lets them have a dialogue with their customers directly etc, yet they can't explain a simple fucking decision about those portraits. Let the person who took that decision just explain his point of view, that's not complicated. Just fucking do it.
Can you repost it on their forums or smth? Maybe they're not 100% hypocrites and will answer?
:roll:

It's true that their communication has always been pretty crap, but this "all they have to do is write an article explaining this one thing" is ridiculous. Really? If they explain this one decision then you'll be satisfied and never ask anything again? Or will you continue to expect a formal response every time you feel the urge to complain about anything? There's a reason you don't see weekly updates for any video game kickstarter ever.

Seriously man, if you haven't figured out by now that Brian Fargo isn't returning all our phone calls like he said he would, you're about five years behind the rest of us.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Well you don't need Fargo. sea is pretty responsive on the inXile forums, somebody should try to ask.
 

IHaveHugeNick

Arcane
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
1,870,123
Active character faces the player so the player knows who is the active character. I don't see what the problem is exactly.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Active character faces the player so the player knows who is the active character. I don't see what the problem is exactly.

They just think it's dissonant that the characters face towards the enemy (unlike in standard blobbers) ostensibly for the sake of realism, yet when they perform their attack animations they face towards the player.
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,538
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Well you don't need Fargo. sea is pretty responsive on the inXile forums, somebody should try to ask.
Sure. sea does give some good feedback from time to time; usually he posts in spurts and answers 3 or 4 threads at once, then disappears again. I can tell you for sure he is already aware of the complaints about the portraits and our constant desire for dev feedback on this (and every other) issue. Our ideal is to be able to say "Hey devs! What did you have for lunch today and why?" and get a comprehensive answer within a couple hours ... but they're not going to do that. Even with a dedicated community manager, these guys need to pick their battles. I think I'm the #1 most vocal opponent of the "butterfly portraits", and even I don't expect them to drop everything to make an apologetic public statement about what after all is a cosmetic issue.

What's actually happening with this: they released the update, they read the responses, they saw some people who don't like the animations and some that do. They'll consider at least some of the posts on the board and the ks comments, they'll take that feedback back to the art team and the decision makers, they'll continue to tweak things, and next update we'll see something (slightly or radically) different based on that feedback. Nobody knows yet how all this is going to end up, so there's no point in making a formal response beyond "We're reading the threads", which they do reiterate frequently.

Imagine we did manage to "force summon" sea and get a reply out of him. Would anyone expect him to say anything but "It's still in development and not final. We're reading all your feedback. Thank you for your input" ?
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom