Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep - Director's Cut

[Funposter]

Don't know if I should start this or Underworld Ascendant. I know UA pretty much reviewed shit and doesn't seem great, I just want to start it to get it over with instead of it just sitting in my library forever.

UA isn't quite bad enough to be funny, so it's not worth it. Play this instead, even if it's also boring crap.

 

[calgary.alberta]

Well completed Bards Tale IV, and um I found it slightly better than Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. However, the puzzles, omfg the puzzles. I don't think there ever has been a game of such utter non-stop bullshit neverending fucking dick licking shit ass monkey balls amount of puzzles.

I did enjoy most of the art design/level design, again however felt it could have been cut in half several times. Many times I was just bored trying to get to the next dungeon/boss area and getting it with a random puzzle.

Music was fine, I got sick of it after 40 hours, however, it is what it is.

Boss fights were weird some random stupid spikes of difficulty. However, near the end, I was outpacing the game and would just sit there for a few mins between my acts as I was hitting the AI so hard.

If you put me in a room with a gun, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and Bards Tale IV, and say choose one.

I take the gun

 

[Zombra]

I don't think there ever has been a game of such utter non-stop bullshit neverending fucking dick licking shit ass monkey balls amount of puzzles.

Please god put this as the full text of your Steam review.

 

[DemonKing]

If you put me in a room with a gun, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and Bards Tale IV, and say choose one.

I take the gun

I guess you mean it would be more fun and rewarding to go postal, because if you're talking about topping yourself there's no way they're that bad (UA I might understand but not Deadfire/BT4)?

 

[theSavant]

News at 11: A developer in the Steam forums said:

Next patch will reduce # of puzzles, and ways to resolve certain door puzzles faster and easier.

 

[Infinitron]

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/566090/discussions/0/3220528325729716269/?ctp=3#c1742229167174715759

felipepepe's review has an impact!

 

[Morkar Left]

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/566090/discussions/0/3220528325729716269/?ctp=3#c1742229167174715759

felipepepe's review has an impact!

As much as all thousand other players who played the game and came to the conclusion that the puzzles are a bit too plentiful...

 

[felipepepe]

Yup, It was a pretty obvious conclusion, and A LOT of people have been complaining about that.

 

[Zombra]

I'm a little surprised to see such positive reception of the streamlining announcement. I've been waiting for patches so I guess I can look forward to the superior "reduced content version" when I finally play this.

 

[Infinitron]

Microsoft money gets us the free DLC! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/2374457

The Bard Goes Caroling
Posted by inXile entertainment (Creator)

TL; DR - Post-launch check-in, a look at what's coming next

Hi All, Paul here with an end of year check-in! The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep has been out for a few months now, and we wanted to let you know where things are and where things are going. Let's dive right in with a look at the game's post-launch from Creative Director David Rogers!

A Note from David
Hey everyone, David Rogers here to tell you about some of the good stuff we have coming down the pipe in the upcoming 2.0 patch. We've been hard at work poring through our forums, listening to reviews, and talking directly to some of our most dedicated fans so we could continue to improve the game. This patch brings another sweep of balance changes such as:

• Last patch, we focused primarily on balancing player abilities, and you'll see a little more of that this patch.
• We're turning our main focus to enemy tuning and balance in order to ensure our enemies continue to challenge you throughout the game.
• We're also making several adjustments to the end game economy by adding an additional tier of high level, master-crafted, items; adjusting merchants to sell more useful gear; expanded their inventory size for easy of use; and adjusted the gold faucets so gold stays useful and not over-abundant through the end game.
• We're adding additional portraits to character creation which includes 2 new female dwarves and 2 new male elves.
• We've added 9 new fast travel locations to the world. We've buffed many of our unique items and elven puzzle weapons to make them feel more competitive vs. standard gear.

This patch also brings a few long requested features, namely inventory filtering and controller support. These have been two of our most requested features and we're please to be bringing them to you. We hope with all these changes you'll give the game a 2nd playthrough or that one of these features encourages you to dive in. If you've left a review on Steam or GOG and we've made changes that address your concerns, we'd also appreciate you revising that review. We're passionate about making The Bard's Tale IV the best game it can be, and we hope that shows with every patch.

I want to give a very special thanks to everyone who's been active on our forums, written reviews, made reddit posts, and generally everyone who's provided us feedback. So much of what we did this sprint was pointed out by you, the fans. You didn't have to stop and reach out to us to help us improve the game, but you did, and that support has been invaluable. Thank you!

A Note from Jeff & The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep team
Jeff Pellegrin here, and I would like thank everyone who communicated issues, bugs, concerns, and feedback (both positive and negative) on GOG, Steam, Kickstarter, etc. We aggressively tackled many issues and continue to patch and add features to The Bard’s Tale IV based on your input.

One key feature to show that we are listening is an extra Song of Exploration “Struggler's Lament” which can instantly resolve most doors that are locked by puzzles. The ability will not resolve optional content that can be rewarding and could be critical in your adventures, so make sure to still learn our different puzzles systems because that knowledge will come in handy eventually! Best of luck and thank you!

The Best Way To Say "Thank You!"
Hi everyone, Paul back for the remainder of the update. Last summer we held a contest - the more wishlist adds that we got for the game, the more benefits for every player. We never achieved the last item on that list - the free DLC. That was that, but then, as some of you know, the game had a rougher launch than we'd hoped for. Since then, we've released several updates, and as David and Jeff have detailed, we're continuing to support the game with even more improvements.

We knew that we wanted to do something special for everyone that was there at launch, as a way to say thanks for your support at that moment, and we realized the solution was right there for us - deliver the content that we didn't get with the Wishlist Initiative. We're happy to report that every owner of the game will be getting "The Royal Necropolis of Haernhold" DLC for FREE in early 2019, so look forward to a new adventure in the dwarven realm of Kinestia!

Here's what Lead Designer Russell Krueger has to say about the area:

The Royal Necropolis of Haernhold is a new, combat-focused dungeon that lets players travel to Kinestia to uncover the nature of Tarjan’s treachery and undo the catastrophe that has befallen the tomb of the dwarves’ greatest hero, Gaerwyn. We are pleased to announce that this dungeon will feature several new mini-boss fights and two very challenging boss fights.

Fans of our puzzles won’t be left out in the cold either! While the emphasis is very much on trying out and acquiring new, powerful gear and then using it on the most challenging fights we’ve ever made, we are also able to leverage all of our existing puzzle designs and components for a set of new, mind-bending puzzles that players will have to solve to find the secrets of Gaerwyn’s tomb.

Combined with the combat balance updates for end game parties, players will have plenty of content that will keep them on their toes! A friendly word of warning however: once players step foot into the Royal Necropolis, they will be stalked from the shadows by one of the most powerful and deadly minions Tarjan has ever bent to his will. Keep an eye out above you, because you never know when this creature will drop in to say hello…

Mac/Linux Update
For those of you patiently waiting for the Mac and Linux versions of Barrows Deep, we unfortunately do not have a definitive timeline, but work is progressing on both versions. The increased delay is down to the post-release updates and feature additions, and developing both those updates and the Mac and Linux versions at the same time would have been slowed down both substantially. Now that the game is in its current state however, the pace of development is picking up.

Goods Have All Been Shipped
One of the true delights of the last couple of months has been seeing folks react to their physical goods arriving. We love all the pictures that you've sent along, and it's also been great that for such a large project. Fortunately, there have been very few issues with backers receiving their physical goods, and we're continuing to work with backers who have reached out for support. No one was more excited about receiving his goodies than our own Brian Fargo, who has been waiting 30 years to add the newest game to the Bard's Tale shelf!

The Bard In Concert
Of all the features of The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep, the one that has been universally acclaimed has been its rich soundtrack. We're celebrating that with a special concert on January 31st in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in Scotland. The concert features a number of performers from the soundtrack, all conducted by the game's composer Ged Grimes.

Tickets are available here and you can read about how the show came together here. For those of you not in a position to join us in Scotland, we are looking to stream the event, and will share those details on our social media pages once we have them.

Seasons Greetings
Finally, a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all of you! It's been an amazing journey, and thank you all for being a part of it (and helping to make it happen)! With The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep and The Bard's Tale Trilogy, 2018 was very much The Year of Bard's Tale. Heading into 2019, the franchise is still going strong with the concert, your journey to The Haernhold, the arrival of Thief of Fate and Legacy Mode into The Bard's Tale Trilogy, and of course the debut of Barrows Deep on console! Thank you for helping us bring this franchise back. See you all in the new year!

Until Next Time,
Paul Marzagalli
Public Relations & Community Manager
@phimseto

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[ArchAngel]

People complaining about puzzles is the main reason why I have not installed the game yet. When I backed this game on KS I was expecting a combat focused blobber with fancy graphics and a bit "improved" combat/systems.
I got most of that (except combat/systems where "improved" too much) except for all the puzzles. And I hate puzzles in my games. Even when games are focused around it. I don't even like to play old school adventure games because they are basically puzzle games hidden behind other systems.

So I guess I need to wait longer for them to remove at least some of those. Maybe it is finally time to continue playing TToN (I kind of put it on pause after 10h).. and I still need to play WL2DC more than 30% of its total content :D
Inxile and me have a special relationship where I give them money but then don't really play the games because they are not good or fun enough :D

 

[Saxon1974]

I like puzzles but occasional ones not over done as it appears they are in this game. Still waiting to play might as well wait till the next DLC is out that sounds interesting

 

[Zombra]

I dig lots of puzzles. (I enjoyed the The Room games for example.) A bunch of escalating puzzles of the same type in a row wouldn't have bothered me. But I don't want to play a half finished RPG so I'll keep waiting. Ah well!

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I'm impressed they didn't cut their losses. I probably should finish this since I'm relatively far in (Near the end of the Inshriach IIRC) but I petered out due to puzzle fatigue and reaching a point where I stomped every combat encounter on hard even when underleveled. But that was also before patches, and I've seen they've both nerfed some of my cheese and buffed the enemies on hard, so maybe it'd feel better.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

And I hate puzzles in my games. Even when games are focused around it. I don't even like to play old school adventure games because they are basically puzzle games hidden behind other systems.

Same.

 

[Ivan]

People complaining about puzzles is the main reason why I have not installed the game yet. When I backed this game on KS I was expecting a combat focused blobber with fancy graphics and a bit "improved" combat/systems.
I got most of that (except combat/systems where "improved" too much) except for all the puzzles. And I hate puzzles in my games. Even when games are focused around it. I don't even like to play old school adventure games because they are basically puzzle games hidden behind other systems.

So I guess I need to wait longer for them to remove at least some of those. Maybe it is finally time to continue playing TToN (I kind of put it on pause after 10h).. and I still need to play WL2DC more than 30% of its total content :D
Inxile and me have a special relationship where I give them money but then don't really play the games because they are not good or fun enough :D

might i recommend The Talos Principle

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I enjoyed this game. The puzzles were fun, not too easy yet not overly difficult either, and I feel it was paced very well overall. Weird to see so-called RPG Experts not liking puzzles because who can bear a brainteaser in a video game today. Apparently not you...people. Ugh, still can't do it, I couldn't say 'retarded fuckfaces' because I'm too nice of a guy.

 

[ArchAngel]

People complaining about puzzles is the main reason why I have not installed the game yet. When I backed this game on KS I was expecting a combat focused blobber with fancy graphics and a bit "improved" combat/systems.
I got most of that (except combat/systems where "improved" too much) except for all the puzzles. And I hate puzzles in my games. Even when games are focused around it. I don't even like to play old school adventure games because they are basically puzzle games hidden behind other systems.

So I guess I need to wait longer for them to remove at least some of those. Maybe it is finally time to continue playing TToN (I kind of put it on pause after 10h).. and I still need to play WL2DC more than 30% of its total content :D
Inxile and me have a special relationship where I give them money but then don't really play the games because they are not good or fun enough :D

might i recommend The Talos Principle

Yea, do recommend me puzzle only game after my rant..

 

[ArchAngel]

I enjoyed this game. The puzzles were fun, not too easy yet not overly difficult either, and I feel it was paced very well overall. Weird to see so-called RPG Experts not liking puzzles because who can bear a brainteaser in a video game today. Apparently not you...people. Ugh, still can't do it, I couldn't say 'retarded fuckfaces' because I'm too nice of a guy.

When I want a brainteaser, I play Xcom. Not retarded puzzles in RPGs.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

They weren't retarded brah, they were pretty good I thought. Satisfying to figure out some of the harder ones. I didn't feel like there were too many puzzles, but everyone has their own gauge for that. I did enjoy the game but I'd recommend playing on Hard since it can become too easy later on in the game.

 

[ProphetSword]

I think the developers must have been confused and thought that CRPG meant Constantly Redundant Puzzle Game.

 

[Invictus]

Seems that this game turned out to be ok after all; it wasn’t as good as Wasteland 2 but definetly better than Tides of Numenara and let alone Underworld Decline... definetly looking forward to playing it with its DLC and the last patches
Any chance of the review getting updated after the patches and tweaks?

 

[Morkar Left]

They weren't retarded brah, they were pretty good I thought. Satisfying to figure out some of the harder ones. I didn't feel like there were too many puzzles, but everyone has their own gauge for that. I did enjoy the game but I'd recommend playing on Hard since it can become too easy later on in the game.

The puzzles were good. But there were too much of the same kind and a lot of them didn't feel to fit into organically in the gameplay / place of action. Plus I would have liked more puzzled embedded into the lore/history of the game. But that is some high art rarely mastered by gamedevs...

 

[Sacred82]

Kodex whining about BT puzzles is hilarious. They're good enough on the first playthrough and easily remembered on subsequent playthroughs, you can just blast past them. Also combat isn't great enough that it should be happening all the time. Pacing is gud.

 

[ProphetSword]

Kodex whining about BT puzzles is hilarious. They're good enough on the first playthrough and easily remembered on subsequent playthroughs, you can just blast past them. Also combat isn't great enough that it should be happening all the time. Pacing is gud.

“Subsequent playthroughs.” Bitch, please.