Game News Blackguards 2 Announced

[Darth Roxor]

But saying that there main two ambitions with the sequel is to a) include faction mechanics in a fundamentally linear game

> implying the sequel will also be fully linear as the first one

 

[Infinitron]

Blackguards 1 was a departure from the usual games Daedalic makes, which in my mind gave them a bit of leeway. We ended up with a game that was a curious mix of tactical battles using a tried-and-tested pnp rpg system combined with set-piece battles in a fairly linear adventure game style storyline.

For Blackguards 2, and purely based on the press release of course, it seems they're going further down the adventure game line, with a progression that will no doubt be tightly on rails. They also mention tweaking the pnp rules further, which is likely to be a mistake as their ability to balance the rules will probably be inferior to playtesting over the years in the pnp version (you can see this in BG1 where one of the key departures was not allowing wounds to kill, which significantly rebalanced the game to favour hard hitting weapons that could make use of mighty blow or whatever its called).

So I'm quite disappointed: they have a combat engine that could really provide for a lot of good tactical battles, but they're marrying it up to a game style that is more JRPG on rails than western RPG.

I hope this clarifies my thoughts, and why I don't think I'm being inconsistent when I say that I liked BG1 for what it was, but am disappointed that BG2 will incorporate more elements I dislike while losing things that I absolutely insist on in an RPG - the most important one being able to create my own main character rather than have a set protagonist (who worse still is a woman probably purely for bullshit politically correct reasons).

What Roxor said. How does the inclusion of "faction-based" gameplay and implied "conquest of territories" tell you the game is going to be more of a linear adventure game or JRPG? Seems like the opposite to me. Looks like everybody sees what they want to see.

 

[felipepepe]

They did? One of the biggest complaints here was documentation, something they repeatedly stated they were aware of. What did they end up doing? They included felipepe's homemade guess-work guide and called it a day. AFAIR, felipe wasn't even compensated with a small gift or nothin'.

Yeah, I didn't ask for anything, but they could have been bros and given some of their games... or even just the DLC.

 

[Zed]

rebus

+

 

[evdk]

They did? One of the biggest complaints here was documentation, something they repeatedly stated they were aware of. What did they end up doing? They included felipepe's homemade guess-work guide and called it a day. AFAIR, felipe wasn't even compensated with a small gift or nothin'.

Yeah, I didn't ask for anything, but they could have been bros and given some of their games... or even just the DLC.

So you got fucked over by the industry - it's like you are a game dev already.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Security apples?

I dun geddit

 

[felipepepe]

They did? One of the biggest complaints here was documentation, something they repeatedly stated they were aware of. What did they end up doing? They included felipepe's homemade guess-work guide and called it a day. AFAIR, felipe wasn't even compensated with a small gift or nothin'.

Yeah, I didn't ask for anything, but they could have been bros and given some of their games... or even just the DLC.

So you got fucked over by the industry - it's like you are a game dev already.

Nigga, I wrote for a game's manual. I'm like the new Brenda Romero.

 

[you know what time it is]

Less bloom this time, i hope.

 

[evdk]

Nigga, I wrote for a game's manual. I'm like the new Brenda Romero.

Kickstarter campaign when?

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I liked Blackguards a lot. Now they just need to flesh it out. I think Deadelic has shown they listen to the community.

They did? One of the biggest complaints here was documentation, something they repeatedly stated they were aware of. What did they end up doing? They included felipepe's homemade guess-work guide and called it a day. AFAIR, felipe wasn't even compensated with a small gift or nothin'. They certainly ENGAGED a lot with the community and kept us informed, but I see no proof that they listened, beyond the fact that they made an optional non-class character creation option (which was indeed very cool).

I, too, and hyped for this, as I had tons of fun with Blackguards. But saying that there main two ambitions with the sequel is to a) include faction mechanics in a fundamentally linear game and b) simplify an already pretty simplistic system, does not inspire the utmost confidence.

Maybe I am just a pessimist here, but once they show some improvements I'll be:

I don't know if they did anything special for Felipepepe but they did put him in the credits under his own "Game Guide" section. They did add some additional information but that they didn't have to change much is really a testament to Felipepepe's excellent guide.

*EDIT* Looks like he got aonly a nod in the credits, which is kind of douchey.

Considering the feedback was largely post release, I thought they did a reasonable job of trying to accommodate requests.

 

[Loriac]

What Roxor said. How does the inclusion of "faction-based" gameplay and implied "conquest of territories" tell you the game is going to be more of a linear adventure game or JRPG? Seems like the opposite to me. Looks like everybody sees what they want to see.

Ok, let me put it differently.

If someone asked me what I'd like to see in BG2, it would be a game that kept the battle mechanics of the first one, and gave you full freedom to create your own party which would then be free to roam in a Darklands type world (which would work well with the static screens for towns and stuff, combined with say mini-CYOA style text stuff to segue into combat at various locations around the world).

In other words, the kind of game that I think is a true western RPG, allied to a well established pnp ruleset.

I can't begin to say how much I dislike the fact that they're reusing the BG1 characters, who are largely banal, and then giving you a main protagonist with a motivation that sounds retarded as written ('she wants to rule her lands even if its for just 1 day' - wtf is that, does she have a bet with a friend or something for a dollar like the two old guys in trading places? it just sounds moronic).

You're right that we have to wait and see how BG2 develops, but the press release makes me think that I'll be giving this one a wide berth when its finally released.

 

[Crooked Bee]

What would in fact be counterproductive is making an open-world Darklands-like RPG on Daedalic's limited budget. BG1 was an excellent, focused tactical RPG; let the sequel keep that focus.

I do agree re: party customization though.

 

[Infinitron]

They could add optional full party creation like Pillars of Eternity is doing, but the game wouldn't be the same without your merry band of Blackguards (who are awesome, fuck you)

 

[Darth Roxor]

i dont care since zurb is back and he's coolio

 

[Athelas]

your merry band of Blackguards (who are awesome, fuck you)

 

[Grunker]

I don't know if they did anything special for Felipepepe but they did put him in the credits under his own "Game Guide" section.

1) Documentation is shitty, fans point it out.

2) Devs respond immediately, say they're on top of it.

3) Devs publish game with 0 added documentation except a fan-made guide.

4) As "thank you" he is mentioned in the credits.

^ this is not "listening" to the fans.

Again, the devs were very active in the communities, but beyond the possibility of open editing, I'm not sure I can see that activity in the actual game.

What would in fact be counterproductive is making an open-world Darklands-like RPG on Daedalic's limited budget. BG1 was an excellent, focused tactical RPG; let the sequel keep that focus.

I do agree re: party customization though.

They could add optional full party creation like Pillars of Eternity is doing, but the game wouldn't be the same without your merry band of Blackguards (who are awesome, fuck you)

It genuinely surprises the fuck out of me that you have any sort of connection to that shitpile that was Blackguards writing. Game was totally awesome in spite of its attempt at context, not because of it.

Also: why should story context for NPCs mean I can't customize them? At least allow the option for those of us who don't give a fuck about that shit in a game like this.

I play BG with SCS cranked up to 11 with NPCs all the time - Level1NPC allows me to mold their stats, classes, etc so they can actually contribute on the level of the protagonist, and it doesn't really hurt their story context.

 

[felipepepe]

To be fair they did add some stuff, like the character creation and the expanded battle log. And they added some stuff to my guide as well.

What I find weird is how they listen much more to the press than the fans. I remember when everyone in the beta forums was happy with the game, then they showed it to the press and decided to dumb it down horribly because none of the journos could get past it... And then the game gets released, and get almost zero coverage from the guys they changed the game for.

 

[Infinitron]

Grunker *shrug* It's kind of like the movie Looper. Sure, the plot ultimately went to an uninteresting place, but it was still well-written.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I remember when everyone in the beta forums was happy with the game, then they showed it to the press and decided to dumb it down horribly because none of the journos could get past it...

Stop right there criminal scum.

You are conveniently forgetting that guy who couldn't beat Takate after trying 50 times in the beta forum

 

[Loriac]

I remember when everyone in the beta forums was happy with the game, then they showed it to the press and decided to dumb it down horribly because none of the journos could get past it...

Stop right there criminal scum.

You are conveniently forgetting that guy who couldn't beat Takate after trying 50 times in the beta forum

Perhaps if they'd had better documentation the guy would've worked it out.













Lol I kid, retards gonna retard and there were a lot of them on the steam forums bitching about how 'hard' the game was. The 9 fights without a save in between was also a source of righteous butthurt iirc.

 

[Grunker]

Grunker *shrug* It's kind of like the movie Looper. Sure, the plot ultimately went to an uninteresting place, but it was still well-written.

wat

It's the opposite of Looper. Looper was, on the surface, a stupid story about stupid characters. Dumb nonsensical action. However it was written and executed incredibly well, so it didn't matter what it was. The characters had consistent struggles and motives. Looper is another proof that any concept can work if the craft is good enough. Blackguards was interesting on the surface: a bunch of misfits travelling together out of necessity trying to run from the law. In practice it was written so horribly that characters could switch from Paladin-like "I SHALL VANQUISH YOUR FOES AND SAVE YOU FRIEND, IF IT COST ME MY LIFE" to "better pay cash up front sonny-boy 'cause i'm all blackguardy and shit", sometimes in the span of the same fucking conversation. For example, there isn't much time between the protagonist damning slavery as fundamentally evil and praising the arena master for his courage and "putting men to the test" or somesuch. Blackguards is another proof that any concept will fail if the craft is bad enough.

 

[felipepepe]

The way the forced you to try to save the slaves just to be captured and thrown in the are was retarded. I'm running from the law AND assassins, why the hell should I stop to help slaves?

 

[Infinitron]

The way the forced you to try to save the slaves just to be captured and thrown in the are was retarded. I'm running from the law AND assassins, why the hell should I stop to help slaves?

Yes, that one specific instance was bad and should have been rewritten. I even mentioned it in my post-completion impressions: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...eye-world-released.81508/page-76#post-3255067

Nothing else was as glaringly inappropriate, though. Also, I guess you could chalk it up to a feeling of invincibility after having successfully defeated the Bailiff's men and crossed the border. "YEAH, WE'RE HOME FREE NOW FUCKERS, LET'S BASH SOME HEADS oh fuuuuuuuuuu"

 

[felipepepe]

I think overall you were just too nice. You would be ordered around like a FEDEX boy, and could never even ask for more money, threaten people or stuff like that.

When even Renegade Shepard sounds more menacing than your band of blackguards, something is wrong.

 

[Infinitron]

I'm not sure they were supposed to be more menacing. The vibe I got was that your characters were "down on their luck dirtbags seeking glory", not jerks or villains.

But now I'm repeating myself.