Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

[ERYFKRAD]

After playing the beta some I have to say the combat felt good. The impacts was really damn satisfying... but god, the multiplayer enrages me. I can play for maybe 10 minutes before the rage becomes too much.

Why

 

[Alienman]

It has that Counter Strike effect on me, where every death after a while feels like bullshit.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I found MP combat in the beta to feel pretty much just like Warband.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

It has that Counter Strike effect on me, where every death after a while feels like bullshit.

Yeah, it because of this shit I stopped playing CS:GO.

 

[Jenkem]

when can i buy this piece of shit?

 

[Zariusz]

Do you think we will be able to conquer world through dynastic expansion?
Or should i stick to CK2 with its family circles instead of family trees.
I hope that modders are going mod the shit out of Bannerlord.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/261550/announcements/detail/1705106180203215678

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

Medieval kingdoms were fraught with internal power struggles, and in many instances, the most powerful people in a realm didn’t sit directly on the throne. Instead, they wielded their influence to shape the kingdom in their image or changed the course of history completely by throwing their weight behind sweeping changes that eroded the power of those above them. Bannerlord’s kingdom decision system is a solution that allows us to represent these kinds of internal politics, leading to a more dynamic sandbox that evolves and changes throughout a playthrough as clans rise and fall. In previous blogs, we briefly touched on the subject of decision making, however, the rabbit hole goes a lot deeper, and so, in this week’s blog, we will be expanding on this topic by discussing how decisions are brought forward, and the outcomes and consequences of voting.

Kingdom decisions come in various types. Kingdoms may have to make decisions on which policies to enact as well as things like who will get a newly captured fief. In these cases, while the ruler makes the ultimate decision, all clans in the kingdom get to have their say by supporting one or the other choice by putting their influence behind one of the options.

When clan AI evaluates whether to put their weight behind a proposal, it will consider a number of factors:

• Interest in the outcome of a proposal: A clan will, of course, consider if the proposal is to its benefit.
  
• Available influence: Generally, a clan will be less likely to use influence to affect a decision if doing so will deplete its influence.
  
• The chance/cost to succeed: Clans will be unlikely to waste influence to support a lost cause.
  
• Time since the last vote.
  
• Relationship with sponsors: A clan may be more likely to support a proposal if it is on good terms with the sponsor. Conversely, they may reject if they hate the sponsor and want to spite them.

General Decision Proposal

Before a clan leader can make a proposal, there is a check to see how much time has passed since the previous vote. This is done to help ensure that the system doesn’t become too overwhelming or disruptive for the player, nor create too much instability within a faction. If a sufficient amount of time has passed since the last vote, a decision type is selected randomly, albeit with weighted probabilities.

These types are:

• Kingdom Laws / Policies
  
• War / Peace decisions
  
• Annexation
  
• Clan expulsion

The system then checks if a clan has enough influence to propose and vote on the decision type, with varying costs per type. Once a decision has been selected, it is evaluated by the clan in question. This evaluation stage is partially unique, as the clan leaders determine their interest independently for each decision type, and with varying factors. If there is no interest in a decision, the evaluation ends without any further steps. However, if there is an interest in a decision, this represents value to the clan leader. This value is reviewed together with the chance that the proposal will succeed and the available influence.

Sponsors

If a proposal is made, the respective clan leader becomes the sponsor of the kingdom decision. Depending on the decision type, an opposition sponsor is then decided. In the case of annexation or expulsion, naturally, the opposition will be the clan leader that the action is targeted against. However, with kingdom policies and diplomatic actions, similar checks to those used to select the sponsor take place to determine the opposition.

Every decision has at least one sponsor and opposition sponsor. Some decisions, such as the distribution of fiefs, may have more. Supporters (other clan leaders) then vote in favour of their chosen sponsor. Once a vote is cast, a supporter gains relationship with the sponsor they vote in favour of, while losing relationship with the other(s).

The Ruler’s Vote

Of course, Bannerlord’s decision system represents politics in a feudal kingdom rather than democracy, and therefore the ruler has the ultimate word. However, in order to overrule a decision, the ruler needs to spend influence that is equivalent to the difference between the majority and minority vote. Also, this does risk drawing the ire of their vassals. Consequently, the more support a decision enjoys, the more expensive it becomes to change it. Similarly, if there is a tie, the ruler can freely decide on whether they want to pass or reject the decision.

In the end, we feel that Bannerlord’s kingdom decision system goes a long way in helping to represent the dynamics and power struggles that were at the forefront of feudal kingdoms among the ranks of the nobility. It creates an additional strategic layer to the game that wise players can bend and subvert to achieve their own goals. Finally, it presents players with fresh challenges to assess and overcome throughout their playthrough as they rise through the ranks and attempt to cement their position among the ruling elite.

 

[Zanzoken]

That all sounds reasonable. The big question is whether the AI will be able to keep everything from going to shit like it does in Warband.

 

[vota DC]

That all sounds reasonable. The big question is whether the AI will be able to keep everything from going to shit like it does in Warband.

You mean the retarded landless lords changing factions all the time? I hope they will just kill them (lords can be executed).... people switching sides all time are modern age politicians. Clans when their castles get conquered should accept being demoted or focus on revenge against the invader instead of just being unhappy and blaming the king.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I wish they'd put up the pre-order for christmas. People are always lost as to what to buy me and it's a handy way to mop up pre-orders if I happen to have any waiting. I guess I'll just say steam vouchers

 

[Zanzoken]

That all sounds reasonable. The big question is whether the AI will be able to keep everything from going to shit like it does in Warband.

You mean the retarded landless lords changing factions all the time? I hope they will just kill them (lords can be executed).... people switching sides all time are modern age politicians. Clans when their castles get conquered should accept being demoted or focus on revenge against the invader instead of just being unhappy and blaming the king.

Correct. It's a problem with the way Warband handles relationships between AI lords, particularly gain / loss when fiefs change hands. Because of the way the values are set, relations inevitably deteriorate over time, many lords end up landless and alienated, and every kingdom turns into a disloyal clusterfuck.

I think killing the landless lords is an essential option to have, but I'm also hoping Bannerlord will do a better job of maintaining kingdom unity. None of this kingdom / clan management stuff will matter if they can't get it to behave in a fun and satisfying way.

 

[Catacombs]

People are always lost as to what to buy me and it's a handy way to mop up pre-orders if I happen to have any waiting.

That's actually a pretty good idea.

 

[Nutria]

This is why you gotta have social mobility, noble clans that die out and are replaced by upwardly mobile commoners. C'mon people, we had this in Sword of the Samurai in 1990. How did MPS do everything better back then than we do today?

 

[Metro]

Only slightly related. One thing I wanted in Warband was the ability to be independent but still have your own castle (or at least some kind of minor base). That or, if you align with a faction, make the AI such that it is not completely moronic thus forcing you to be Marshal and be in charge of the tedious slog to conquer every other faction.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

One thing I wanted in Warband was the ability to be independent but still have your own castle (or at least some kind of minor base).

Can get one of those in Viking Conquest

 

[LESS T_T]

Talking about AI: https://steamcommunity.com/games/261550/announcements/detail/1690470748470737293

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

The continent of Calradia is a hive of activity. From small bandit parties preying on merchant caravans to huge armies embarking on campaigns, Bannerlord’s dynamic sandbox campaign presents players with an ever-changing, albeit hostile, medieval world. And no matter if players directly involve themselves in unfolding events or if they simply watch on, the kingdoms, clans, and lords vying for power press on with their own ambitions and goals in mind.

In this week’s blog, we take a look at one aspect of Bannerlord’s campaign AI that helps to support this idea of a living, breathing world, ensuring that lords make sensible choices and prioritise their actions on the campaign map in a logical way that accounts for their abilities, limitations, and needs.

Just like the player, NPC lords spend much of their time traversing the campaign map as they go about their business. And unlike our previous game, Mount & Blade: Warband, in Bannerlord, NPC lords are bound by many of the same restrictions and rules as the player. This change in approach to NPC parties meant that we needed to ensure that NPC lords not only create and react to events in the world but can also perform many of the actions that players are required to do to maintain their party and ultimately progress through the game.

To find an appropriate solution, we first had to consider the different factors that would be important when making these kinds of decisions. The first (and only consistent factor across all possible actions) is the distance that the party would need to travel to perform the action. Naturally, the NPC lord will generally favour closer targets, providing its requirements can be met, of course. In addition to this, the NPC lord will also look at several other factors when deciding which action to select and how to carry that action out.

Go To Settlement
NPC lords will need to visit settlements to restock their supplies, recruit fresh troops and ransom prisoners. Lords may also decide to visit a settlement, especially if it is one of their own, if they have been out in the field for some time. After all, even NPCs deserve a little rest and recuperation! If a friendly settlement looks to be being threatened, an NPC lord may decide to lend their support to the settlement to try and dissuade the enemy from attacking, or if need be, defend it.

Patrol Around a Settlement
If a party’s needs have been met, and there aren’t any other pressing matters to attend to, NPC lords will lead their troops on a patrol around their clan’s settlements, prioritising ones where hostile troops have been spotted in the vicinity of recently.

Defend a Settlement
NPC lords will ride to the defense of settlements when the need arises, either with just their party in tow or at the head of an army. If the besieged settlement is particularly prosperous or is owned by the NPC lord, then they will be much more likely to make an effort to defend the settlement.

Raid a Settlement
Wars aren’t won on the defensive and under the right circumstances they can be quite fruitful. NPC lords, given the opportunity, will try to get in on the action! When looking at enemy settlements, the lord will check to see how valuable the production of the settlement is, as well as, the strength of the settlement. In addition to this, the lord will consider the relations between their clan and that of the owner of the settlement, favouring to attack ones that they are feuding with. Finally, a lord may decide to raid a settlement that is providing supplies to a connected castle, with the castle being the true target of the action.

Besiege a Settlement
NPC lords will try to lay siege to enemy castles when they are confident that they can succeed with the attack. While looking for a suitable target, Warband veterans will be pleased to hear that one factor that is checked is the proximity of the targeted castle to their own faction’s territory, which should help reduce the chances of those crazy expeditions deep into enemy territory to capture a castle they have little chance of holding on to. In addition to this, the strength of the castle is looked at in relation to the lord’s party strength, the prosperity of the castle, as well as, any enemy parties that are known to be in that region at the time.

Chase an Enemy Party
The final aggressive action that an NPC lord can pursue is to chase down enemy parties. If the enemy party is already being chased down then the lord may decide to safely ignore a particular party, however, if a hostile force is considered to be encroaching within the lord’s faction’s territory, especially if they advance near to a settlement, then the lord may decide to give chase. However, with that being said, a lord won’t foolishly chase after a party that it knows to be faster than their own party, at least not for an extended period. Finally, if an enemy party’s clan has low relations with the lord’s clan, then they might be seen as more of a desirable target that is worth giving chase to.

Sturgian Lords gather to break the siege at Ustokol Castle

And that's it for 2019! We will be back in the new year with more blogs and details about Bannerlord's early access in March so make sure to follow us on our social media channels to stay up to date with all of the latest news. We hope you all have a wonderful time over the holiday period!

 

[Maggot]

 

[a Goat]

One day closer.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

This is not how a light horse charge works IRL.

 

[Perkel]

Fucking march. It will take a while for Prophecy of Pendor 2 but it will be worth the wait.

 

[vota DC]

Those custom battles are strange. 500 sturgian bandits destroy legionaries as they would be shieldless.
Cavalry performs very bad...especially cavalry with shields.
I guess custom Battle (that are just a 0.1 unsupported alpha) have individual ai deacticated.

 

[Aemar]

The purpose of this video is most likely just to convey the fact that the new engine can handle much larger battles than in Warband.

To be honest, I'm starting to believe it will take at least a couple of more years to exit Early Access judging by the number of issues they seem to have still not figured out yet despite having probably at least 100 people working on the game at any given time.

 

[Edija]

F for the Anons that will succumb to the new China flu before Bannerlord hits, maybe even with the early access steam screen in front of their eyes, in the tunnel of light, reaching for it with their last remaining strength.
Truly tragic.

 

[Valky]

It's not coming out.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Have they mentioned a price yet?