Preview Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter Update #33: Combat System Video

Schizophrenic monolog · Feb 8, 2017

what bothers me the most, is the way the characters portraits jump out when they talk.

Who the fuck in InXile thought it'll be cool?!

On the other hand, the voice acting is pretty damn GOOD!!!

Wizfall · Feb 8, 2017

I'm very impressed by the graphics even if I don't like the UI/character portraits.
Character portrait should remain 2D but with only one view (front not back less work and feel better) and look less "manga".
The "jumping" idea is not awful (cheap as no animation to create while giving an impression of motion) but the execution is : the jumping must be very limited (a 10% zoom in and out would look ok i think)
Also they should not turn their back too imo (less work to do this way and it would feel better).

The game speed should adjustable to great lenght and combat barks short minimum (in order to not become annoying after 1000 combats). Wiz 8 is the way to go.

Overall quite impressive !

Aenra · Feb 8, 2017

Talby said:
, the game.

And someone nails it...

If they did their best to evoke a sense of Eurotrashware-ia, congratulations, as they have succeeded. If their intent was to make an 'AAA' game, i can only point people to what i've already said about Fargo and his ilk.

Skall · Feb 8, 2017

I dug the fairy-tale like spells and effects with the enemies being shrunk down, grabbing their heads when "mind-attacked," and struggling while being lifted up by one leg. The artificial slowdown can only be so extreme while still wanting to play these animations, though, so I hope it does end up being a lot more fast-paced in the end.

theSavant · Feb 8, 2017

Btw. now also the question is answered how enemies are represented in the world and in combat.

The initial options were:
a) 1 creature in the 3d world is also 1 creature in combat -> combat obviously takes place in 3d world
b) 1 creature in the 3d world is a blobb or stack of creatures -> combat takes place in arena or screen overlay

Obviously we have option (a) realized. The only downside with this is the restriction of the 2x4 enemy grid. But I still like to know if they planned battles with more than 8 opponents. If they do, I wonder, if they make it so, that you can see additional monsters behind the combat area, waiting to get a free slot in the combat grid...?

Dorateen · Feb 8, 2017

I need to see a full party in action before I can further evaluate the combat. Using three characters was to demonstrate the banter and some entertaining abilities/spell effects.

I would also like an option of having the character representations as a fixed part of the UI. It would make their appearances less jarring, and would look more like you are playing a game than watching a movie. There can still be a configuration setting to hide portraits and let characters pop out, just like this screen from Wizardry 8:

Darkzone · Feb 8, 2017

Schizophrenic monolog said:
what bothers me the most, is the way the characters portraits jump out when they talk.
Who the fuck in InXile thought it'll be cool?!
On the other hand, the voice acting is pretty damn GOOD!!!

I think that was just a place holder for something that was not quite ready yet. Zombra had a good idea at the inxile forum, where he stated that they should only use their mouths to speak instead of this jumping and wobbeling (easy to make in Unreal with animations for widgets).
The scottish accent is pretty nice, i like this also.

The more i watch it, the more i like overall what i see. Parts of the UI do look like shit, but that still can be easy changed. The monsters in this dungeon enviroment do not look totaly out of place, which was one of my concerns. The music is ok.
The kobolds were funny, like their reactions towards the spells and etc, like the cowards defence. I think that after the great T:ToN disappointment, this will land on it's four legs.

Bitcher1 · Feb 8, 2017

The ui issues and awkward party members' presentation aside, the overall feeling, the ambiance, with all the animations, spell effects, banter, enemy reactions, etc., makes me think of Stonekeep, except done right.
If the game maintains this level throughout, I will certainly be impressed.

Old One · Feb 9, 2017

Irish people seem to have a whole industry of doing voice work for fantasy games.

vonAchdorf · Feb 9, 2017

Why thought the futuristic blue lines would be a good idea? Hopefully one will be able to deactivate the grid, it's not really needed after playing for a while, I guess. I like the queuing - but it's necessary if she spells have awfully long animations (like the goblin rambling for a minute before giving up the ghost.) I think the system can be pretty fast, assuming they support hotkeys for everything.

himmy · Feb 9, 2017

Combat looks fine, but what worries me is that outside of combat there seems to be zero chance for exploration. I hope not everything will seem as scripted. Like, what was that whole business with the glowing circle in front of the bridge? Out of combat spells aren't fun if you only get to use them at designated places marked with glowing circles. They're just extra clicks.

Apexeon · Feb 9, 2017

Dorateen said:
I need to see a full party in action before I can further evaluate the combat. Using three characters was to demonstrate the banter and some entertaining abilities/spell effects.

I would also like an option of having the character representations as a fixed part of the UI. It would make their appearances less jarring, and would look more like you are playing a game than watching a movie. There can still be a configuration setting to hide portraits and let characters pop out, just like this screen from Wizardry 8:

I believe they are going for the movie look.
It will be like the Oscar winning World of warcraft movie.

I like it more immersion !!!
Immersion is like Bacon grease its reasonable.

duanth123 · Feb 9, 2017

Looks like total shit.

And most of you haven't played a decent turn-based crawler in years.

Rendering your opinion as retrograde as this fresh new horror from InXile.

Dedicated_Dark · Feb 9, 2017

Looks awkward and clunky. The UI is garbage, slow gameplay and overall seems like shit.

Lord Azlan · Feb 9, 2017

Hate to say - but I am not impressed.

Blobbers First Rule - Efficiency
Blobbers Second Rule - Increase in graphics = decrease in RPG goodness

Why is the bottom half of the screen filled with crap?

If I close my eyes and forget it is called Bards Tale it might look of medium interest to me.

If the combat is strategic to LoX levels would be acceptable.

Darkzone · Feb 9, 2017

Hmm.. Perhaps inXile should use 3d models for the party members and then they can add dialog animations that would indicate who is talking now. And in combat they could naturally turn around towards the player and then turn back again to execute an action with an animation.
Btw.: The party UI seem to be not the whole time on. The UI appears at 0.26 after the video beginns and then hides around 0.49. Perhas this can be turned on and off or only appears at certain places? The party members as widgets could be seperatly shown without the cloding of the screen with the rest of the useless UI if they talk.