Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

[ragnor]

I don't think so. I think weapon crafting will be a single player campaign only option but thats my opinion, i'm not sure if they say anything official about that.

 

[Dakka]

They can give the MP players rocks and sticks for all I care. I only ever played the single player of Warband.

 

[Iznaliu]

This week's dev blog is about physical properties of weapons: http://steamcommunity.com/games/261550/announcements/detail/1448331873874783364

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

Mount & Blade’s deep and intuitive combat system is one of the core features of our games. Our directional attacking and blocking mechanic is intuitive in the sense that it is easy to pick-up, and deep in that it allows players to continuously develop and adapt their own fighting style through the use of feinting, chambering and good footwork (including a well-timed kick!).

In previous Mount & Blade games, there is, however, an element of randomness in combat. Damage is calculated using a number of variables and weapons are hardcoded to deal a randomly selected amount of damage from a predefined range (before other factors are added to the equation, such as the attacker’s weapon proficiency, the speed of the combatants and the armour value of the unlucky soul on the receiving end of an attack). We feel that, for the most part, this system works well, but, there is still that one part of the damage calculation that can’t be controlled or reliably predicted by the player.

In Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, we wanted to improve this aspect of combat to make it both fairer and easier for players to understand, especially in a multiplayer setting. We decided that the best way to go about this would be to make a physics-based system which would take into account the physical properties of a weapon and use a simulation to derive the combat stats, such as weapon speed and damage. We hope that this system will balance weapons in a more natural and realistic way.

Another advantage for the physical stat calculation is that it can be used in our new weapon crafting system. The physics-based system fits naturally with crafting because all we need to do is to acquire the physical properties of crafted weapons and then feed these into the stat calculation system. This will, in turn, provide us with the stats for the weapon.

When crafting a weapon, the player first selects a template. A sword, for instance, is made up of a blade, a guard, a grip and a pommel. Each of these parts may give the weapon certain bonuses or penalties outside of the physics simulation (a particularly large guard may increase the wielder’s hand armour, for example). Each part also has certain physical properties that are used for calculations. Once the player selects each part, we combine the physical properties of the parts to make up the overall properties of the weapon.

These properties are:

• Length: Determines the reach of a weapon.
  
• Mass: This is important for thrust attacks and is used to determine the speed and power of thrusts. Light weapons are faster, but have less energy and cause less damage. Making the weapon heavier will slow it down but also make it more powerful, up to a point. If too heavy and too slow, a weapon will make contact with your opponent before it could reach its full speed, making it feeble and ineffective.
  
• Weight Distribution and Inertia: This is important for swings. Unlike thrusts, swing speed is affected not only by weight but also by the distribution of weight around the pivot point of the swing. Increasing the weight may increase the damage (within certain boundaries), but, it will also increase the inertia, meaning that more energy would be required to achieve sufficient speed on impact. Thus, these weapons will typically be slower and increasing the weight will only positively affect damage up to a certain point.

After deriving these physical properties, we then use them to determine the weapon’s swing and thrust speed. Doing this with perfect precision would be rather difficult, since we would have to take into account all the motions a fencer goes through, all the muscles that are involved, their performance limits, etc. We simplify all of this with a basic model where we assume the fencer is made up of three simple motors. One motor representing the legs and hips, one for the chest and shoulder, and one for the arm and wrist. We then run a simulation where the motors work together to speed up the weapon until it hits the target. (Actually, we run two simulations, one for swing and one for thrust.) After these steps, we get the length, mass, swing and thrust speed of the crafted weapon. But, there is still the rather interesting problem of determining its damage...

This level of detail kind of explains why they're taking so long to complete everything.

 

[Latelistener]

They can give the MP players rocks and sticks for all I care. I only ever played the single player of Warband.

MP is good. Lots of people still playing it after so many years.

 

[Zanzoken]

M&B did not need a crafting system.

 

[Iznaliu]

M&B did not need a crafting system.

Crafting systems are mandatory these days. I heard a person referring to "crafting" as one of the main elements that made a game a RPG.

 

[Spectacle]

I guess this doesn't surprise anyone, but all hope for a playable build of Bannerlord in 2017 is lost:

 

[Iznaliu]

I guess this doesn't surprise anyone, but all hope for a playable build of Bannerlord in 2017 is lost:

I would rather have the game delayed until it's ready than rushed out the door.

 

[Dakka]

I guess this doesn't surprise anyone, but all hope for a playable build of Bannerlord in 2017 is lost:

I would rather have the game delayed until it's ready than rushed out the door.

I couldn't agree more. I for one want a proper sequel, not the same game again with prettier graphics. This is a hell of a lot better than releasing it unfinished and waiting for DLC to fix it. We may as well just wait either way.

 

[Metro]

I guess this doesn't surprise anyone, but all hope for a playable build of Bannerlord in 2017 is lost:

I would rather have the game delayed until it's ready than rushed out the door.

Game was been fucking delayed into oblivion. This is reaching Overgrowth levels of retardation.

 

[Dakka]

Game was been fucking delayed into oblivion. This is reaching Overgrowth levels of retardation.

Surely it's not as bad as Overgrowth. Hasn't that game basically stopped being developed in all but name?

 

[Metro]

They released it after about eight years. Bannerlord is at five and counting. And this is Taleworlds. You really expect a complete game? Going to take modders another year or so after release to patch up the lazy bits. There has been ample time for them to put something relatively complete out. I'm done with this 'taaaaaaaaaaaaake aaaaaaaaaaaaalllee dderrr timez j0000 neeed' shit.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Seeing as they are to release it in early access first, they might as well sodding release it anyway.

 

[vota DC]

But unlike Duke Nukem Forever this game won't rape players but will be designed to be raped by players and changed in every way just like m&b 1 and warlord, so the wait is worth.

 

[LESS T_T]

Oka, this weeks' devblog is the second part of... uh, no, it's about a faction Khuzait: http://steamcommunity.com/games/261550/announcements/detail/1450584314912924463

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

A century ago, the eastward expansion of the Empire met the great sea of grass in the centre of the continent. Beyond that, with no farmland where the legions could forage, they could conquer no more. They fortified their most recent acquisitions, the great trading cities on the steppe's edge, confident that the disorganized horse tribes beyond the frontier posed no major threat. Khuzaits, Nachaghan, Arkits, Khergits, Karakhergits - imperial officials barely even bothered to learn the names of the various clans and peoples, except when it was necessary to turn one chief against another with a bribe, or remove a rising khan with a vial of poison.

The steppe tribes were well aware how the Empire toyed with them. But they were jealous of each other, and an imperial title, a princess bride, or a chest of gold could give them a slight edge in the endless struggle for prestige and precedence. They raided, traded, took protection money to "escort" caravans across the steppe, and left the game of conquest to the settled peoples. Two generations ago, however, something happened far away to the east - a change in the winds, perhaps, or some terrible but distant conqueror - and the horse clans were set in motion. New tribes pushed westward, seeking fresh pastures. Unwilling to be crushed in the middle, the clans nearest the empire formed a confederacy under Urkhun the Khuzait. They caught the Empire in a moment of overconfidence. A force of legions was annihilated, the trading cities capitulated, and Urkhun's confederacy was now a khanate.

The horse lords now ruled over towns and farmers and counted tariffs and cropland. Urkhun imposed discipline on the unruly clans, forcing them to ride to war on his command instead of simply when they wished. But with the coming of statehood and its burdens, the spirit of unity was lost. Urkhun died, and though his descendants still rule the Khuzait Khanate, the other clans feel that they should be the ones to raise the nine-horsetail banner that symbolizes the supreme authority.

The Khuzait Khanate draws its inspiration from the steppe peoples of central Asia. Genghis Khan's alliance is probably the best known example, thanks largely to the remarkable document, the Secret History of the Mongols, which chronicled the Khan's rise from lone fugitive to the ruler of one of the greatest empires the world has seen. The Khuzaits are based partially on the Mongols but also on their more modest cousins, the Avars, Göktürks, Kipchaks, and Khazars, who were more regional powers than global ones.

The nomads-turned-kings swiftly took on many of the cultural aspects of the peoples they conquered, so that the various Mongol or Turkic dynasties dressed, feasted, worshipped and administered their lands like the Chinese or Persian rulers who came before them. But it's clear that they still fondly remembered their heritage out on great grasslands. Travellers to the Uyghur capital of Ordu-Baliq wrote that the khan built a great yurt on top of his palace, apparently feeling most at ease in the felt tents of his ancestors even as he also enjoyed the protection of walls. We try to make the Khuzaits' settlements reflect this cultural mixing. And for those holdouts who would never submit to a khagan no matter what security or riches he offers, we have a minor faction, the Karakhergits, who keep the old ways.

The Khuzaits' military strength is their horse archers, who combine firepower with mobility. Computer games traditionally have a hard time striking the right balance for mounted bowmen - sometimes they could stay out of reach until the enemy broke, such as when the Parthians wiped out Crassus's legions at Carrhae, but they could also be brought to battle and broken, such as when Attila the Hun was defeated by Aetius at the Catalaunian Fields. There are many reasons why even the swiftest horse archers couldn't just dance away from close combat forever - the endurance of the horses and the supply of arrows, the need to protect baggage and ensure a water source. Usually the horse armies' greatest victories, like Kalka River or Manzikert, ended with a final climactic melee. With this in mind, Bannerlord is working to make control of the battlefield more important, so that skirmishing is usually a prelude to a clash and horse archer armies are exciting both to command and to fight.

 

[Metro]

But unlike Duke Nukem Forever this game won't rape players but will be designed to be raped by players and changed in every way just like m&b 1 and warlord, so the wait is worth.

We've waited long enough. Saying 'the wait is worth it' might be legitimate after two or three years. Not anymore. You can fuck right off, Joey!

 

[Iznaliu]

We've waited long enough. Saying 'the wait is worth it' might be legitimate after two or three years. Not anymore. You can fuck right off, Joey!

You are getting too obsessive over what is simply a game.

 

[Dakka]

But unlike Duke Nukem Forever this game won't rape players but will be designed to be raped by players and changed in every way just like m&b 1 and warlord, so the wait is worth.

We've waited long enough. Saying 'the wait is worth it' might be legitimate after two or three years. Not anymore. You can fuck right off, Joey!

First off, I understand your frustration. I really do. Don't you think we want to play Bannerlord too? I do wish they could release soon! However, if it's not ready yet, then why release? Why spend a year waiting for patches, mods, and DLC to fix it when they don't have to?

Unless you have access to the same files they do, you cannot really say whether we have waited "long enough" or not. We already know from what info they have released that they have suffered setbacks and are going into meticulous detail with the game. These are perfectly valid reasons to be taking so long, especially for a game of this scope by such a small team. In case you weren't aware, companies do not wish upon a lucky star and magically poof a full sandbox game into existence.

 

[vota DC]

Well let's hope that we can steal baggage so those pesky horse archers won't run in circles forever.

 

[Latelistener]

 

[ERYFKRAD]

We've waited long enough. Saying 'the wait is worth it' might be legitimate after two or three years. Not anymore. You can fuck right off, Joey!

You are getting too obsessive over what is simply a game.

This is the motherfucking codex, bitch.

 

[Metro]

We've waited long enough. Saying 'the wait is worth it' might be legitimate after two or three years. Not anymore. You can fuck right off, Joey!

You are getting too obsessive over what is simply a game.

I don't have to take that from a 2016 newfag.

 

[Iznaliu]

I don't have to take that from a 2016 newfag.

Actually address my point.

 

[Dakka]

You are getting too obsessive over what is simply a game.

I don't have to take that from a 2016 newfag.

I'm sure everyone is very impressed that you spent 8 years on a forum.

Jesus Christ, dude, chill out.

 

[Zanzoken]

Let's not get off track here gents. They just released some very important info about the Mongol um Khergit I mean Khuzait faction. How can you be so impatient when we are getting deep lore updates like this?