Battle Brothers Pre-Release Thread

[Panzermeido]

It feels like procedural generation doesn't really aid the game. Creating and writing a set, coherent world would be great, considering the generally wonderful writing behind Battle Brothers. Randomness makes it all... less coherent? I'm not sure, but I feel something is lost in the process.
Also, a quick-quick fanart. Don't tell anyone.

Spoiler

 

[Kem0sabe]

It feels like procedural generation doesn't really aid the game. Creating and writing a set, coherent world would be great, considering the generally wonderful writing behind Battle Brothers. Randomness makes it all... less coherent? I'm not sure, but I feel something is lost in the process.
Also, a quick-quick fanart. Don't tell anyone.

Spoiler

I prefer a hand crafted world and content as well, especially in rpgs like battle brothers, the potential for a great story involving a low fantasy band of mercenaries are endless.

 

[Panzermeido]

I prefer a hand crafted world and content as well, especially in rpgs like battle brothers, the potential for a great story involving a low fantasy band of mercenaries are endless.

Yup. What's more, having (at least a set of) pre-written, set characters with story lines associated with them could really hammer the perma-death feature home - you lose them, you've essentially lost part of the story, something players are attached to. Of course, it's not like permadeath is anything to scowl at right now - after all, you're potentially losing an extremely useful member of the company band - but narrative attachment is always stronger than mechanical attachment, in my book.

 

[Jimmious]

On the other hand though the moment I realise that a character has an actual impact on the game, I'm pretty sure I won't let him/her perma-die. And I believe that's true for most people. Permadeath doesn't really work in such cases.
Take for example Fallout 2, how many times did the average player reload to keep Sulik alive? I know I did. A lot.

 

[agris]

On the other hand though the moment I realise that a character has an actual impact on the game, I'm pretty sure I won't let him/her perma-die. And I believe that's true for most people. Permadeath doesn't really work in such cases.
Take for example Fallout 2, how many times did the average player reload to keep Sulik alive? I know I did. A lot.

You, and players in general, wouldn't feel that way if NPC death opened up certain content. Everyone has parents, friends and enemies. People that would care if they died.

 

[Ninjerk]

I'd like that too, but they're the ones who know the budget. If that has to be spared from this game to maintain the integrity of the combat, then I'm all for sparing it.

 

[oscar]

I think a decent placeholder could be a retiring scene based upon how much gold you have (perhaps with some randomly generated vignettes for each merc based on their background, traits and how much gold you have upon disbanding).

e.g 10,000 you retire to a modest country villa and spend your days frugally but peacefully while the rest of the mercs more or less go back to their old lives

50,000 you marry into an impoverished family of minor nobility and gain an estate and bloodline. Some of the mercs do quite well, others blow it or meet untimely fates

200,000 you recruit an army and seize a foreign city state by force, condottieri style and establish a famous lineage.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

Is this worth picking up right now, or is it better to wait for the full release? How finished is the game?

It is far from being finished but it is worth playing imo. Yes - the combat is so much fun in this game. :D

This seems like it's exactly what I want to play and also already looks pretty polished. The thing is, I don't want to spoil myself on an unfinished product.

But then again I'm getting from these posts that most of the content is proceduraly generated? I might pick it up now if I can just play it again upon release and have the game still feel fresh.

EDIT: Well, I bit the bullet, but my toaster's integrated video card doesn't support OpenGL 3.0 so the game won't launch. RIP

 

[agris]

I'd like that too, but they're the ones who know the budget. If that has to be spared from this game to maintain the integrity of the combat, then I'm all for sparing it.

Yea I'm speaking hypothetically. I'd like to see such reactions in some rpgs, but it doesn't really fit in batbros. Unless the npc was aquired as part of a quest/special encounter/scripted sequence.

 

[Ninjerk]

I'd like that too, but they're the ones who know the budget. If that has to be spared from this game to maintain the integrity of the combat, then I'm all for sparing it.

Yea I'm speaking hypothetically. I'd like to see such reactions in some rpgs, but it doesn't really fit in batbros. Unless the npc was aquired as part of a quest/special encounter/scripted sequence.

I agree, and I think they should probably be repeatable given the deadliness in the game.

 

[Zombra]

Having (at least a set of) pre-written, set characters with story lines associated with them [would be good].

Spare me. If I want to read some dumb scripted storyline meant to "emotionally invest" me in prewritten companions I can play Mass Effect. Let there be some games out there that leave something to the imagination.

 

[Panzermeido]

Spare me. If I want to read some dumb scripted storyline meant to "emotionally invest" me in prewritten companions I can play Mass Effect. Let there be some games out there that leave something to the imagination.

It's not like there's a barfight going on between the game's scriptwriter and your imagination, though. The former investing more time into his (generally great) work doesn't force the latter to be any less active, nor does it imply constriction into super-restrictive scripts. The game still is, a in any way should be, about a wandering band of mercenaries, with all the freedom it implies.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Spare me. If I want to read some dumb scripted storyline meant to "emotionally invest" me in prewritten companions I can play Mass Effect. Let there be some games out there that leave something to the imagination.

It doesn't have to Bioware scale of script. M&B companions have backgrond that somewhat upgrade them from just being another redshirt, that you could sometime talk about when you want to, while still having the background itself non intrusive to actual gameplay and imagination. The same could be said for FFT. The unique characters have certain background associated with them (but mostly are unimportant in the game after they join you) that elevate them from "just another mook" paradigm people might have.

 

[Zombra]

Eh. Somehow I always enjoy the mooks more than the scripted dudes.

 

[Ulminati]

The stories that matter in a game iike this are the ones you make yourself. Like the time Hellraiser stood on a hill with a woodsmans axe and killed/re-killed wiedergangers every turn for 14 turns. Until he was overcome by exhaustion and pulled down to his demise.

 

[Jimmious]

What could be done and would be cool, is to hear stories in the tavern about some of your recent battles.
"Did you hear about the massacre in the village X? They say 10 dudes slaughtered everyone there!"
Stuff like that were always something I wanted in turn based strategy games. Some actual in-game "history making"

 

[tiagocc0]

What I want is to find other mercenary groups wandering just like us.
I found a text in-game pointing out that there are groups like that, but I don't think they have been added yet.
If would be great if there was a screen where you could check other groups progress like in Star Ranger 2.

 

[Ulminati]

What I want is to find other mercenary groups wandering just like us.
I found a text in-game pointing out that there are groups like that, but I don't think they have been added yet.
If would be great if there was a screen where you could check other groups progress like in Star Ranger 2.

I had a mission to kill some bandits. when I arrived at their camp, I was told that we had spotted a guy with a huge bounty on his head, which we could claim if we killed him.
We killed him, then shortly after the battle another mercenary band showed up and told my battered battlebros to hand the head over. I refused and they murdered us all in the following battle because we were at low health and with broken armor and shields.

But yes, actual wandering bands on the world map outside scripted events could be cool. Especially if they gobble up contracts from towns they pass through.

 

[GrainWetski]

This game doesn't need more prevalent storyfaggotry at all. Keep it in your precious, linear action games.

What I want is to find other mercenary groups wandering just like us.
I found a text in-game pointing out that there are groups like that, but I don't think they have been added yet.
If would be great if there was a screen where you could check other groups progress like in Star Ranger 2.

So your medieval band of mercenaries has access to a PDA? Progress reports should fit in the game, if they should be there at all. Maybe you hear rumours about the greatest mercenary company getting decimated by a horde of orcs(and it actually happened in the game)? Or how Guts of the Band of the Hawk killed a demon by himself? That might be cool, but not some silly portable leaderboard.

 

[tiagocc0]

So your medieval band of mercenaries has access to a PDA? Progress reports should fit in the game, if they should be there at all. Maybe you hear rumours about the greatest mercenary company getting decimated by a horde of orcs(and it actually happened in the game)? Or how Guts of the Band of the Hawk killed a demon by himself? That might be cool, but not some silly portable leaderboard.

According to your reasoning the window where it tells you your reputation is also a PDA.

 

[Serus]

It could be possible to implement a horse-based combat in a turn-based format like BB (mechanically speaking) but it would require reworking the graphics a lot - those bust-like boardgame characters won't look good on horses...

You mean like the goblin wolfriders? Already in the game. The mount can die seperate from its rider, leaving either a goblin skirmisher or a wolf behind.

You're right of curse, i was so concentraded on human side that i forgot that we already have it in form of goblin riders... Welll then it is only a matter of adding some graphics, specific items (horses, lances), maybe a skill or two but as Oscar said - possibly an expansion material not an addition for the main game.

 

[vonAchdorf]

I think a decent placeholder could be a retiring scene based upon how much gold you have (perhaps with some randomly generated vignettes for each merc based on their background, traits and how much gold you have upon disbanding).

e.g 10,000 you retire to a modest country villa and spend your days frugally but peacefully while the rest of the mercs more or less go back to their old lives

50,000 you marry into an impoverished family of minor nobility and gain an estate and bloodline. Some of the mercs do quite well, others blow it or meet untimely fates

200,000 you recruit an army and seize a foreign city state by force, condottieri style and establish a famous lineage.

Pirates style? Maybe with retired Mercs becoming part of the noble pool in consecutive games.

I think a random world is good for a game like this. I replayed Pirates or Darklands a million times, Blackguards with its story only one time.

 

[sser]

Storyfaggotry is not in the works. You're intended to find your own stories, a la X-Com. Maybe there'll be some overall arcing goal/plot to guide things along, but not for now.

 

[Grimwulf]

If you kill your doomed Battle Brothers in tutorial (One-Eye and former Captain) with friendly fire (circular axe attack / arrow), you get their tier 2 weapons. One more reason to move this tutorial in Scenarios section, and let the players start the game right away, like it used to be.

 

[Agesilaus]

Balance is a lot better, at least. I am able to reliably get off to a decent start on ironman deadly difficulty. Raiders are still omni-present compared to the old version, though, so unless I get some bills or other anti-armour gear, I'm screwed after the first couple of missions.