Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

[PulsatingBrain]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy. Everything is broken and so much stuff that's in Warband is not implemented yet.

No-one bought this thinking it was finished.

 

[Black Angel]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy.

Thanks, Captain Obvious!

 

[Grampy_Bone]

No-one bought this thinking it was finished.

After eight years and all those dev blogs I thought it was closer to finished than this.

It's still a fun and addictive game. But so many of the fixes in the last weeks have been such low-hanging fruit it just makes me want to tear my hair out. Dafuq were they even doing all this time? LIke, hey, let's make sure the basic skill system works. Let's make sure the perks actually do anything. Let's make sure all the units have stats that make sense. Let's make sure all the items aren't fucking commented out of the game. This is easy-as-pie stuff fixable by typing in an xml editor.

Their priorities are baffling as shit.

 

[Alienman]

You gotto go into this with the mind set on the long run. Just think about the mods, I mean the mod scene is already active! It's fun browsing Nexus just to see what people come up with.

 

[Zanzoken]

Just about any EA release is going to have crashes, weird bugs, and performance problems, but in this case there are also many issues that reek of poor quality control. At least now that it's out, there can be a dialogue between the player base and the devs, and to Taleworlds credit they are clearly listening to feedback and working diligently to fix and improve the game.

Speaking of mods, I consider Bannerlord Tweaks and Fast Dialogue to be essential but haven't really messed with any beyond that.

 

[AwesomeButton]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy. Everything is broken and so much stuff that's in Warband is not implemented yet.

An alpha means all the features are implemented. Therefore this Early Access is not even an alpha.

 

[dehimos]

There is other mod with deep change, Combat and Movement improvements: https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/368?tab=description

The aim of this mod is to make combat and movement feel realistic and immersive. All the changes are done purely through modifying the native .xml files.

 

[Harthwain]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy. Everything is broken and so much stuff that's in Warband is not implemented yet.

An alpha means all the features are implemented. Therefore this Early Access is not even an alpha.

Technically this is true, but I think the times have changed and this no longer applies. I remember playing Battle Brothers and they had features implemented pretty late in the development (injuries' system, for example).

 

[Spectacle]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy. Everything is broken and so much stuff that's in Warband is not implemented yet.

An alpha means all the features are implemented. Therefore this Early Access is not even an alpha.

No, that's what beta is supposed to mean. Alpha just means you have something that's complete enough that it can be tested.

 

[ArchAngel]

This Early Access is basically a beta version you can buy. Everything is broken and so much stuff that's in Warband is not implemented yet.

An alpha means all the features are implemented. Therefore this Early Access is not even an alpha.

No, that's what beta is supposed to mean. Alpha just means you have something that's complete enough that it can be tested.

All those names don't matter as Early Access games work differently. In EA games get new features that usually get polished to release quality and only then they work on next feature. It is more like they add free DLC/expansions over time.

 

[Turisas]

Beta Branch e1.1.0

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

Since the release of Bannerlord, we have shared a number of hotfix patches with you to address some of the most prevalent challenges that players were experiencing. At this point, we want to begin establishing a more structured patch process to better support content changes that bear a greater risk for your gameplay experience.

For this purpose, we intend to introduce 2 additional branches to Steam. Aside from our public branch, which players will use by default, we will also offer opt-in alpha and beta branches.

The beta branch will include content that has gone through our internal testing and will be exposed to public testers for at least one week. During this period, we will address discovered issues with hotfixes. Our goal is a weekly cycle where we push our internal version to the beta and the prior beta version to the main Steam build. However, if serious challenges arise, we may delay an update until those issues have been addressed.

The alpha branch will include content that is untested. It is intended for players, modders and explorers that wish to be as close to development as possible - even at the cost of stability. Our goal is to update it daily with our latest development branch.

Please be aware that opting into the alpha or beta branch may negatively impact your experience.

You can find the patch notes for the beta branch below. We will publish the alpha branch at a later date.



Versions
Native: e1.1.0
SandboxCore: e1.1.0
Sandbox: e1.1.0
Storymode: e1.1.0
CustomBattle: e1.1.0


Singleplayer

Crashes

• Fixed a rare formation AI exception.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when a mount without a rider heard an arrow.
• Fixed a crash that occurred at the end of the "Army of Poachers" quest when the AI tries to continue fighting.
• Fixed a crash that happens when a campaign is started for the second time without exiting the game.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when selecting the option to attack in the “Rival Gang Leader” quest after loading a game.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when AI characters tried to barter prisoners.
• Fixed a bug where talking to a companion in settlements during the main storyline would crash the game.
• Fixed a crash in main storyline conspiracy phase.

Performance

• Ram and VRAM usage is reduced and many leaks are fixed.
• Scene loading performance improvements.

Localisation

• Improvements, additions and corrections for Turkish and Simplified Chinese translations.

Art

• Added new armour "Northern Lamellar Shoulders".
• Added new armour "Plated Helmet".
• Assigned a banner to poachers and other neutral parties.
• Overhauled all of the NPC faces to reduce asymmetry, tone down exaggerations and create culturally appropriate and appealing phenotypes.
• Updated some of the lords and ladies faces for a more culturally appropriate look.
• Updated nav meshes in “sea_bandit_a”, ”battle_terrain_p”, “battle_terrain_020”, “battle_terrain_029” and “battle_terrain_030”. This should resolve unwanted fights in water and improve fleeing behaviour in these scenes.
• “Aserai_town_a” civilian scene related fixes.
• “Aserai_town_b” civilian scene related fixes
• “Empire_town_j” siege scene siege related fixes and seasonal improvements.
• “Khuzait_town_004” siege related fixes and visual improvements.
• “Aserai_castle_002” siege related fixes.
• “Vlandia_castle_005a” siege related fixes.
• “Sturgia_castle_003” siege related fixes.
• “Khuzait_castle_002” siege related fixes.
• Night atmosphere illumination amounts adjusted.
• Visual fixes for battle scenes.
• Winter season issues with steppe scenes have been fixed.
• Winter related problems with the outer meshes are solved.
• Low-poly tree meshes are now used in hideout prefabs.
• Agent spawn positions in some scenes are fixed.
• Fixed a season problem with Aserai's arena.
• An issue with Battania arena spawn points being too close to each other is fixed.
• Fixed some scene issues of Aserai Village.
• Fixed merlon physics issues of Vlandian Castle parts.
• Fixed some lighting issues of Empire Lords Hall.
• Fixed physics issues of Battania Castle Wall.
• Fixed UV issues of Sturgia Castle Gatehouse.
• Fixed an error while opening the Forest Hideout scene.
• Refined snowy atmospheres.
• Beard intersecting helmet issues were fixed for
  • -western_plated_helmet
  • Empire_guarded_lord_helmet"
• Nordic sloven armour's bones problem fixed.
• Fixed clothing clipping issues.
• Replaced some textures and meshes.
• Updates on Hero Creation Stages:
  • Some clothes updates.
  • Poses overhaul.
  • Face animation.
  • Scene lighting.
  • Skin shader updates.
  • Specular texture channels updated.
  • Diffuse Texture updated.
  • Beard /tattoo material:
    • Alpha and colour updates.

Campaign Map

• Parties participating in an event are no longer moving, which fixes some footstep sound issues.

Audio

• Fixed that Campaign music could play many tracks in quick succession.

UI

• Implemented trade perks that relate to profit in inventory.
• Minor UI tweaks and fixes in Crafting, Barter, Save/Load, Recruitment, Board Game, Siege screens.
• "No Saddle" visuals in Inventory.
• Removed helmets from hero portraits to see their faces more clearly.
• Added Weight Carrying Mount and Speed Mount icons in inventory mount tooltip panel.
• Fixed a spacing issue with 'ğ' character in Turkish localisation.
• Fixed barter offer item visuals not being visible.
• Enabled being able to give names with space and numbers in creation.
• Fixed two hints showing up in inventory equipment slots.
• Changed character developer traits from texts to icons.
• Implemented a basic item tooltip, now players can see the basic stats of a tournament prize item.
• Added a "Busy with an issue" or "Busy with a quest" or "Busy with a common area" notifications in Create a Party instead of just a "Busy" explanation.
• Fixed attribute and focus point tooltips to reflect correct numbers.
• Moved NumberOfCorpses and MaxSimultaneousSoundEventCount to performance options.
• Implemented being able to sort/move modules in the launcher.
• Renamed "Resume Game" to "Saved Games".
• Added minor faction filter to clan page list page.
• Added tooltips to map bar circle notifications.
• Added new perk icons.
• Fixed banner visual errors with some icons and banner icons not matching with the UI.

Battles and Sieges

• Simulated battles no longer give more XP than fought battles.
• Added missing patrol spawn positions to forest hideout scenes. Forest hideout missions should now open normally.

Combat AI

• AI quality for NPCs is now determined by skill points in the current weapon's governing skill instead of overall character level.
• A tactics bug related to the defensive ring that occurred when archers ran out of ammunition has been fixed.
• An issue in caravan/villager battles that could potentially cause unexpected behaviour at agent processing level was corrected.
• Cavalry not being able to hit enemies right next to them when they had swingable weapons and circling each other endlessly issue fixed.
• Bodyguard troops could rarely stop moving when their commander died, this is now fixed.
• Mounted agents can calculate enemy positions better and thus more accurately aim their thrust attacks.
• Some agents couldn't move properly due to invisible scene AI barriers. This has been fixed.
• Fixed some Sea Bandit AI issues.
• Agents attack less often if the combat AI difficulty is set to normal.
• Holding ready duration for attacks was added as a driven property and tied to melee combat skill in order to make easier/less able AI agents fight less relentlessly (i.e. they will wait for a while before releasing their attack).

Character Development System

• Level 1 characters now start with 120 skill points.
• Reduced XP required to learn higher skill levels.
• Troops can now upgrade more easily.
• Reduced wanderers' skills outside their main area of expertise, making them easier to level up.
• Made wanderer age correlate roughly with their skills.

Kingdoms and Diplomacy

• Fixed bug where fiefs were regarded to have a negative value in barters if the “Everything Has a Price” perk was enabled.
• Fixed a rare bug where the AI proposed a kingdom decision on behalf of the player clan.

Economy and Trade

• Prices for armour were changed and high tier boots and gauntlets now cost more.
• Range weapon prices have been re-adjusted.

Quests & Issues

• Reviewed about a third of the quest issues, improving dialogues and persuasion:
  • Major changes in particular to “Family Feud” and “Spy Party”.

Other

• Icons on banners and shields were not appearing. They are fixed now.
• Updated "Imperial Legionary" equipment.
• Minor updates to Sturgian troop tree equipment.
• Added more variation to caravan master's equipment.
• Added more variation to helmet drops from troops.
• Various other fixes to troop trees and stats.
• Armour values of various equipment have changed to better match their visuals and increase faction armour variety.
• Armour values of mount bardings and harnesses were changed to match their visuals.
• Riding a horse without a saddle now incurs 10% penalty to max horse speed and manoeuvring.
• NPC agents carrying heavy items (apple baskets etc.) will no longer run (with items in hand) when the player asks them to take him/her to a particular agent.
• Added an "Exposure Compensation" option that allows players to adjust the brightness levels of the visuals to their preference.
• Fixed missing items for blacksmith characters in towns.
• Some grammar mistakes and typos were fixed.
• Fixes a bug that caused the player character to be invisible.
• Fixed a bug that caused characters to spawn without any equipment.

Multiplayer

Animations

• Fixed some wrong cavalry idle animations.
• Fixed a rare condition in which client rider gets stuck in defence animation after a successful hit.
• Audio
• Implemented a Voice Spamming Filter for multiplayer.
• Design & Balance
• Damage interrupt threshold values are set as 5.
• Headshot damage multiplier is increased from 1.7 to 2 for pierce damage.
• Map Related
• Bug fixes for Harbour of Ovsk.
• Bug fixes and improvements for Castle of Fen Altai.
  • Some spawn locations are re-adjusted for team balance. Atmosphere has changed.
  • Added particles to be formed when the breakable wall is damaged.

Other - Miscellaneous

• Slow-motion and pause cheats are disallowed during multiplayer matches.
• Performance
• Decreased bandwidth usage of impact sounds.
• Server & Network
• Server Improvements.

Both - Singleplayer & Multiplayer

Crash

• If the AI is not holding a ranged weapon, it tries to find a ranged weapon in its equipment and uses this weapon to calculate attacking scores against distant enemies. During this weapon selection, some equipment was causing a crash. This was fixed.

Performance

• Improved the performance of the sound system.
• Big improvements for the multi-core performance of the game.
• We now select Maximum sound count according to your CPU's core count. You can increase this setting if you have a recent CPU. We've also added a new very low(64) option.
• Some other minor performance improvements.

Audio

• UI sounds don't get cut by other UI events anymore.
• Added "is missile" check to crafted weapons' impact sounds (like Throwing Axes).
• Fixed Ballista reload sound phasing.
• Minor changes in the hearable distance of loud sounds.
• Fixed some Vlandian scenes opening up with an echo.

Combat AI

• Improved the calculation of ranged units for the enemy's future position.
• Ranged units can target mounts or different enemy bones. Cases that caused errors during this calculation are fixed.
• After issuing the "Hold Fire" command, the AI weapon selection gives less priority to ranged weapons that have a secondary melee mode.

Other

• Added an option to disable controller vibration.

 

[Hellion]

Quite a large update, 2.3 gb on Steam.

 

[Aemar]

A shitton of required fixes for a game of this magnitude.

 

[IDtenT]

 

[Aemar]

Combat AI difficulty: normal, veteran, challenging.

 

[Tacgnol]

Dafuq were they even doing all this time?

Focusing on the multiplayer component most likely. That's what all the beta testing has been focused upon.

Gotta get them twitch streamers apparently.

 

[IDtenT]

I apologize if this has already been brought up already (I only checked back 5 pages or so) but the fief economy/garrison interaction is fundamentally broken.

The higher a settlement's prosperity the higher the food requirements, and in turn starvation lowers prosperity. This is a find and dandy mechanic for tying prosperity (partly a factor of population size) to how much food it is either able to imported or grown in linked villages, but the problem is that having starvation also kills off your garrison.

And the way the mechanic works EVERY town will eventually always reach starvation once its prosperity grows to the max level the food can support it. As a result towns at PEAK prosperity (or peak for the current conditions) will constantly be losing garrison, which is more than a little ridiculous. I believe this is also contributing to the snowballing problem as many settlements are unable to be properly garrisoned due to starvation issues.

While I agree that food shortages caused by sudden shortfalls (war and raiding) should be able to kill off Garrison, a food shortage caused by a settlement just naturally reaching peak prosperity (or natural variations from trade) should not cause the town to be ungarrisonable.

This mechanic needs to be reworked. As things currently stand, if you want to actually have a large garrison so the settlement has a halfway reasonable chance of being able to defend itself it is better to have as little prosperity as possible.

I think having prosperity contribute to the garrison cap instead makes more sense. That way more prosperous settlements can naturally support larger garrisons, and having prosperity drop from starvation will reduce the garrison size, and having the prosperity drop from raiding/war will still be able to reduce garrison size by reducing the garrison cap.

Yeah the towns are definitely broken. I rarely ever siege a town that have any food stores. In a real world scenario you'd rarely ever see this kind of growth where everyone seems to breed themselves into famine.

 

[Turisas]

In a real world scenario you'd rarely ever see this kind of growth where everyone seems to breed themselves into famine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

 

[dehimos]

What the fuck, Rob Liefeld works now with TW:

 

[AwesomeButton]

Оk, I confused beta with alpha regarding the feature-complete status. Quite a patch though. Maybe I should still wait before I play.

It recently occured to me that I never finished a With fire and Sword campaign, and only got relatively far one Brytenwalda campaign. I just keep restarting, is the problem, I have hundreds of hours probably.

 

[Zariusz]

Quite a large update, 2.3 gb on Steam.

2.3gb? Why then i have to download 7.35gb with my shitty net?!!!!!!!

 

[Turisas]

Steam can sense your fear and makes you download extra.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Simulated battles no longer give more XP than fought battles.

That explains a lot.

 

[ArchAngel]

That beta patch has two buffs to melee cavalry. They might be very fearsome now. Also archers seems to be able to take out mounted units better now. Probably a nerf to mounted archers vs normal archers.

 

[user]

Got a weird bug with many lords running around with 0 army... Got the increased armor, better time, cultured start mods. Does anyone have any idea why this happens?