Preview Telefragged praises Mount & Blade

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Mount & Blade; TaleWorlds

<a href=http://www.telefragged.com>Telefragged</a> has posted a <a href=http://www.telefragged.com/previews/mount&blade/>preview</a> (someone should tell them that the game is out) of <a href=http://www.taleworlds.com/>Mount & Blade</a>, an indie RPG featuring the best mounted combat known to man.
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<blockquote>The game seems pretty simplistic, but trust me on this - there's plenty here, even for hardened veterans of full-price RPG titles out there. As you level up and build your skills and weapon capabilities, you'll find that Mount & Blade offers a dynamic style of combat that's unlike any other. Not only will you need to make some important tactical decisions to win (for example, fighting at the top of a hill so that enemy mounted troops can't charge you, since the horses slow down when going uphill), but you'll need to have a character that's built well to use whatever weapon's in your hand. Finally, all action occurs in real time so you'll need good reflexes - and precise aim as well if you're using a bow, crossbow, or throwing weapon.
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Here's an example of a situation that can commonly occur in mid-battle: you'll be on your horse, plunking away with your bow when you realize that some enemy mounted troops have snuck around behind you. They charge up with their swords, brutally crippling your horse as you topple to the ground. You'll fight your way back to your feet and fire off a shot that one of the mounted riders blocks with his shield (and the arrow will stay stuck in the shield!), doing a grand total of zero damage. A horse tramples you, hurting you somewhat but not too badly. Again you get on your feet, and then you realize that one of the horsemen has no shield - a couple seconds later, with an arrow sticking out of his neck, he drops off of his horse and you take this opportunity as a chance to get away. You jump on the dead guy's horse to barely escape two more mounted units, and as you ride off, you turn to your side in the saddle and start scoring more killing blows with your bow.</blockquote>Sounds appealing, doesn't? Support indie developers and get the demo today
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgdot.com">RPG Dot</A>

 

[Chefe]

That's impossible. Everyone knows that mounted combat just can't be done in today's games. They must have a trillion dollar budget and be from 20 years in the future.

 

[Whipporowill]

Isn't it still in a "beta" stage though VD? So, while you could review it in it's beta apparition- it's not out in it's retail version, according to Taleworlds.

 

[Balor]

Hmm...
In fact, its NOT out. What he sells is a beta - highly playable one, but still beta.
I wish it'll be more Darklands-like in the future, though - right now, after you get all the phat loot - you don't have anything meaningful to do.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Isn't it still in a "beta" stage though VD? So, while you could review it in it's beta apparition- it's not out in it's retail version, according to Taleworlds.

If people are buying a product, then a review of what you can purchase right now is in order. Previews are for products not available to public. It's not hard to mention that this particular review is based on a beta or version #... . My 2 cents.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Hmm...
In fact, its NOT out.

Can you buy it and play it? Then it's out.

What he sells is a beta - highly playable one, but still beta.

So? They can review a "highly playable" beta, can't they? I've seen many Dungeon Lords reviews, and that was a hardly playable beta.

 

[Levski 1912]

Mount & Blade puts Bethesda to high shame. Its combat is way better, and it's mounted as well...hmm. I guess sucking off Patrick Steward took up the time that was alloted to developing mounted combat.

 

[Balor]

Mount & Blade puts Bethesda to high shame. Its combat is way better, and it's mounted as well...hmm. I guess sucking off Patrick Steward took up the time that was alloted to developing mounted combat.

Doubt so. Most likely to finetune the kewl graphix and crush gamestopping bugs.
I bet mounted combat will appear in an expancion. For extra $$$.
And spears. And other stuff.
Sims FTW, heh.

 

[crpgnut]

Mount and Blade is mostly a medieval combat simulator, which it does very well. Unless it's changed a whole lot, there's not much to the game outside of fighting. Hard to compare it to TES with its magic, alchemy, quests, thieving, factions, etc.

 

[Deacdo]

Mount and Blade is mostly a medieval combat simulator, which it does very well. Unless it's changed a whole lot, there's not much to the game outside of fighting. Hard to compare it to TES with its magic, alchemy, quests, thieving, factions, etc.

Give them the budget of a TES game and I'd bet they could combine the two, no problem.

 

[Balor]

Well, why not go Darklands way, again?
It's mostly text and stuff, that does not require inflated budget like uber-kewl graphix or Patrick Stewart!!!.
Only brains and creativity.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Mount and Blade is mostly a medieval combat simulator, which it does very well. Unless it's changed a whole lot, there's not much to the game outside of fighting. Hard to compare it to TES with its magic, alchemy, quests, thieving, factions, etc.

Your point being?

Yes, the two games are very different: one is made by a husband & wife team, another is made by a large team with a budget large enough to pay for celebrities. While we can't expect the first game to be anything more, we shouldn't expect the second game to be so fucking much less.

 

[LlamaGod]

I already purchased the game about a year ago

its pretty spiffy

 

[Dgaider]

Yes, the two games are very different: one is made by a husband & wife team, another is made by a large team with a budget large enough to pay for celebrities. While we can't expect the first game to be anything more, we shouldn't expect the second game to be so fucking much less.

I would daresay that one has to keep in mind that the entire focus of Mount & Blade is solely based on its horse-riding and mounted combat (which it apparently does very well), whereas a game like Oblivion must do many, many more things. "So much less" is a comparison you can make if you're looking only at that one aspect... when even you have to admit that Oblivion obviously does much, much more.

As it should, being a much larger development team.

The issue is one of resource allotment. A game like Oblivion has far more resources to allot, but also many more features that it is expected to cover as an RPG -- a genre that I would say is more involved, feature-wise, than just about any other. Horses and mounted combat are far from impossible (I don't think anyone's saying that), but it's a very expensive feature to do well. At some level the decision has to be made whether or not such expense can be justified on a feature that isn't necessarily integral to an RPG... and whether or not you think it's a good decision or not, the answer tends more often to be no. Obviously the answer for Mount & Blade's creators is yes... and good for them, but as near as I can tell (not having played it myself) it's the only feature they have.

Not that most of you don't already know this, I'm sure. I just find it interesting that some folks think that there is a mythical RPG that can be created by taking the best elements from other games out there without also considering the trade-offs that each of those individual games had to make in order to do what they did well.

 

[Claw]

I daresay that this is a smoke screen. Your justification is an abstract, ignoring the actual effort required.
It's not a matter of design focus. It's a matter of two people doing far more than just implement mounted combat.
So you're telling us Bethesda couldn't afford two developers dedicated to combat (not just mounted combat) for the required amount of time?

Hey, maybe you are right after all, and combat in Oblivion was slapped on in a single afternoon by one programmer who spent the rest of his time on more important features.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I would daresay that one has to keep in mind that the entire focus of Mount & Blade is solely based on its horse-riding and mounted combat (which it apparently does very well), whereas a game like Oblivion must do many, many more things.

Goes without saying. However, let's forget that M&B is a game, and let's call it a feature. Apparently, it took 2 amateur developers to make such a feature. I would daresay that Bethesda could afford to hire 1-2 extra people to design mounted combat since horses are already in. It's like having all kinda weapons, but only hand-to-hand combat because there was no time to develop proper melee combat.

A game like Oblivion has far more resources to allot, but also many more features that it is expected to cover as an RPG

I agree with you here. I too have high expectations when it comes to RPGs. Features like soil erosion, forests in full bloom, and celebrity voices are very important to me. I hope you, guys, have already signed Patric Stewart to work on Dragon Age. Trust me, it's not the same without his lovely voice.

At some level the decision has to be made whether or not such expense can be justified on a feature that isn't necessarily integral to an RPG...

Couldn't agree with you more. No, seriously. We are just talking about different things.

 

[Zomg]

Let's be honest and say that armagan is a singular talent, though. I'm sure if some dev house grabbed him (and if he's as productive with someone else's work as he is on his own) he'd be a mainstream star (insofar as designer/programmers can be stars). He's not just a middling guy out there doing sloppy work and still competing favorably with aspects of megabudget developers.

Still, M&B should shame developers that need ten million dollars to be fucking boring.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Exactly.

 

[Volourn]

How is a game that seems to be totally dedicated to mounted combat deemed worthy of the news section on the HARDCORE RPG CODEX!?!

R00fles!

 

[Section8]

I would daresay that one has to keep in mind that the entire focus of Mount & Blade is solely based on its horse-riding and mounted combat (which it apparently does very well), whereas a game like Oblivion must do many, many more things. "So much less" is a comparison you can make if you're looking only at that one aspect... when even you have to admit that Oblivion obviously does much, much more.

Well, that's fair enough, but the "law of diminishing returns" is coming to the fore in a big way here. Let's say that Mount and Blade cost $100,000 to make. Let's say Oblivion cost $10,000,000. That's a pretty significant resource increase. Is Oblivion going to be 100x better?

I think that's what VD was getting at.

 

[Levski 1912]

I really doubt M&B cost more than, say $5000 to make- after all, it's an indie game being developed by a husband-wife (thus no salaries) team in Turkey, where costs are much lower (in dollars) than here. Especially software-wise...it's quite easy to find cheap pirated copies of Photoshop and 3dsMax on sale in Eastern countries.

 

[Dgaider]

So you're telling us Bethesda couldn't afford two developers dedicated to combat (not just mounted combat) for the required amount of time?

Well, that is essentially the question, isn't it? Assuming that there weren't other issues involved with integrating Mount & Blade-style mounted combat into the rest of the game (and there would be), you'd have to decide if it was worth it to take two members of the team and dedicate them towards that feature and nothing else.

Being able to "afford" it is as much a question of time and use of skills as it is of money, and even if it weren't I don't know any developer who has extra money lying around that they can throw it at features they don't consider essential. It's not as if the features they already do have couldn't use that time/skill/money just as urgently, after all.

That's not to diminish the achievement of the people making Mount & Blade, certainly, as it's impressive and no trivial amount of work. And I wouldn't mind seeing riding and mounted combat being assigned a higher priority in a major release RPG, as well. I suspect at some level that it would need to be about riding before you would see it at more than a superficial level, though.

 

[LlamaGod]

Mount and Blade has more then just mounted combat, you retards.

Actually play it first.

 

[Fresh]

Beth are holding back with the mounted combat til one of the expansions. It's a smart decision. Same as with the werewolf-thingy.

 

[Balor]

*nods*
Yea, it's smart decision indeed, in 'TEH EVIL!' kind of way. Well, cannot really blame them for loving money... one the other hand, when money seem to be SO more important then customer's desires...
And Llamagod is right. There is much more to M&B then mounted combat.