Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

[Fedora Master]

YOU CAN NOW SELECT YOUR TROOPS BEFORE A HIDEOUT ATTACK

 

[Zariusz]

YOU CAN NOW SELECT YOUR TROOPS BEFORE A HIDEOUT ATTACK

 

[Perkel]

Bannerlod nicely teaches you why no one used maces or swords on horse but lances. You quickly learn it when you try to do it and dudes just block with shield and kill your horse.

Unlike warband you need some reach on horse because AI is no longer stupid when they fight someone on horse.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Bannerlod nicely teaches you why no one used maces or swords on horse but lances. You quickly learn it when you try to do it and dudes just block with shield and kill your horse.

Unlike warband you need some reach on horse because AI is no longer stupid when they fight someone on horse.

I've used nothing but lance or long spear when mounted in both games and it was always super effective. Although I've only played around 80 hours of Bannerlord

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Some nice incline, but I and my ginger brethren still having to use mods to be represented is UNACCEPTABLE in current year

 

[Fedora Master]

We're still heavily loosing the war because the AI is retarded.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Go to the army tab. Search parties by distance. Hire those who are nearby to your army.

 

[Catacombs]

View attachment 13788

We're still heavily loosing the war because the AI is retarded.

I've dealt with this, too. Somehow, armies that are significantly larger than mine are always able to outrun my group.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Maybe they just have more horses.

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Better don't lose any during the battle. It would be a sight to behold, a richly clad warrior wandering on the recently held battlefield, asking dying soldiers politely but insistingly if they have seen one of his javelins.

 

[thesheeep]

View attachment 13797

It comes with special instructions:

First shalt thou equip the Holy Javelin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less.

Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three.

Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.

Five is right out.

Once the number three, being the third number, be reached,
then lobbest thou thy Holy Javelin of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[Zanzoken]

Well, I started playing again for the first time since release.

I guess I'll start off by saying something nice. The overall "feel" of combat is very good, and has been since release. It's faster-paced, harder-hitting, and grittier than Warband. The game performs adequately overall, with only the occasional crash or hiccup. And the biggest change I can see since release is they've apparently tried to address the snowballing issue. After a few years in my current run, some territory has changed hands but every faction is still viable.

That concludes the good part of this mini-review.

The character system is irredeemable shit. The itemization is retarded. Fief management is idiotic. AI lords are bland, unconvincing automatons. Major kingdom decisions -- such as army mobilization, fief assignment, and policy -- are made entirely through the numerical influence system, with no room for actual strategy or negotiation. Consequences are unimportant -- support someone, or go against them, and the most you will see is a shift in their linear relationship score, for whatever that's worth. The fact that you have relationships with entire clans, instead of individuals, is patently ridiculous given that history is rife with examples of nobles screwing over their family members in exchange for power. Being part of a kingdom really just amounts to having better enemies to fight. If you do try to help your kingdom expand, carefully saving up influence and leading an army to conquer an enemy castle or town, often as not the ruler will not even put you in consideration for being its new owner.

Don't get me wrong -- the problem here is not that the game isn't adequately rewarding you for your effort. Being passed over for something you deserve happens all the time, and that's fine. The problem is that the game isn't sophisticated enough to even register this as a potential issue. In real life, if a lord led a successful campaign only to be completely snubbed by his liege, he would be angry. He might go to the king, and ask him why he did that. Maybe the king would make it up to him, or he might double down and make the snub even worse. That could cause the lord to start a conspiracy to have the king assassinated. The king might have him arrested for treason in order to prevent that. If that lord was popular and the king wasn't, the other lords might take the lord's side and bust him out of jail to start an open rebellion.

Point being, this is an example of an event that could be a big deal, and something that would be fun to play out in the game. But Bannerlord doesn't even begin to have the capacity to model a story like this.

I guess that is the biggest disappointment for me. The big battles and sieges are cool, and can be a good source of action and drama. But ultimately Bannerlord is just not a good simulation of what being a feudal lord might've been like, or at least what we imagine it may have been like from watching Game of Thrones or whatever. And I don't think Taleworlds has the talent to improve upon this to any meaningful extent. They had every opportunity to make robust systems that support good role-playing, and they failed at pretty much every aspect.

 

[Jrpgfan]

Mods will fix it™

 

[Zanzoken]

So I recently discovered Sword of the Samurai, an old Microprose game from 1989. I have loved Sid Meier's Pirates for years so not sure how I missed it. If you are also unfamiliar, it is available on GOG here.

Long story short, you roleplay as a feudal lord climbing the ranks in Sengoku Japan, with an ultimate goal of becoming Shogun. And it's one of the best sandbox games I have ever seen.

The game has:

- A huge map of feudal Japan with 48 provinces and clans based on actual historical figures
- Samurai duels
- Field battles between samurai armies
- You can conquer enemy lord fiefs, and they can conquer yours
- Fighting single-handedly against bandits, rogue peasants, unruly priests, etc to increase your honor like a true samurai bad-ass
- Marriage, childbirth
- Permadeath, but if you die you will continue as your son
- Both you and AI lords age and die, and can be killed in battle
- A persistent reputation meter (Honor) which rises and falls based on your actions
- Relations with rival lords within your faction
- TREACHERY -- AI lords can and WILL try to assassinate you, frame you for dishonorable deeds, start peasant uprisings, take your family members hostage, intimidate you
- You can do treacherous things too, but if you get caught you may have to commit seppuku, or your whole family might be purged
- A clear endgame goal, with a clearly defined rule that allows you to initiate it

It's kind of crazy how much they were able to do, given the limitations. And although some of the gameplay hasn't aged all that well, I think the simulation is actually better than Bannerlord.

The question I have is, how does a 30 year-old game made by like 5 people manage to create a more believable simulation than a modern title from a 100+ person studio? It's disappointing to think how little sandbox games have progressed in that time, compared to the rest of the industry.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I mean, I got Sea dogs: City of Abandoned ships to sate my patience whilst Bannerlord readies itself.

 

[Fedora Master]

So I recently discovered Sword of the Samurai, an old Microprose game from 1989. I have loved Sid Meier's Pirates for years so not sure how I missed it. If you are also unfamiliar, it is available on GOG here.

Long story short, you roleplay as a feudal lord climbing the ranks in Sengoku Japan, with an ultimate goal of becoming Shogun. And it's one of the best sandbox games I have ever seen.

The game has:

- A huge map of feudal Japan with 48 provinces and clans based on actual historical figures
- Samurai duels
- Field battles between samurai armies
- You can conquer enemy lord fiefs, and they can conquer yours
- Fighting single-handedly against bandits, rogue peasants, unruly priests, etc to increase your honor like a true samurai bad-ass
- Marriage, childbirth
- Permadeath, but if you die you will continue as your son
- Both you and AI lords age and die, and can be killed in battle
- A persistent reputation meter (Honor) which rises and falls based on your actions
- Relations with rival lords within your faction
- TREACHERY -- AI lords can and WILL try to assassinate you, frame you for dishonorable deeds, start peasant uprisings, take your family members hostage, intimidate you
- You can do treacherous things too, but if you get caught you may have to commit seppuku, or your whole family might be purged
- A clear endgame goal, with a clearly defined rule that allows you to initiate it

It's kind of crazy how much they were able to do, given the limitations. And although some of the gameplay hasn't aged all that well, I think the simulation is actually better than Bannerlord.

The question I have is, how does a 30 year-old game made by like 5 people manage to create a more believable simulation than a modern title from a 100+ person studio? It's disappointing to think how little sandbox games have progressed in that time, compared to the rest of the industry.

What it doesn't have is an interface and graphics that's NOT SHIT.

 

[Infinitron]

In this development update, we take a look at some recent and upcoming changes to the game, as well as the first batch of modding tools that we hope to share soon!

 

[dehimos]

Attack with spear?

 

[Zanzoken]

Auto-block is decline. I always used it back during my Warband days, but since Bannerlord forced me to git gud it would feel like an unfair crutch now.

I'm not sure how I feel about the new spear tactics. Heavy cavalry already got a big nerf from Warband, which was needed, but imo it's a bit too easy for infantry to connect solid hits on riders as is. Spear-bracing techniques need to have a clear drawback, such as taking a few seconds to get in / out of position. But I like the idea that it forces the player to be smart about when and how cavalry are used.

 

[Catacombs]

Attack with spear?

Never trust a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line.

 

[Jrpgfan]

The question I have is, how does a 30 year-old game made by like 5 people manage to create a more believable simulation than a modern title from a 100+ person studio? It's disappointing to think how little sandbox games have progressed in that time, compared to the rest of the industry.

How many monkeys does it take to change a lightbulb?

Btw, I guess taleworlds can't even make its AI change a lightbulb since they can't properly program it to climb a ladder.