Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale IV Pre-Release Thread [RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Diablo169]

Bard's Tale Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBardsTale

Also, Infinitron where does the comment "Burger takes more credit than she deserves" come from? That sounds more like Brenda Romero.

Drama over the proper crediting for the first two Bard's Tale games. Somebody else can probably give you a better accounting of it. (It's actually a triple-sided drama - Fargo, Cranford and Heineman, though the former two have since settled their differences)

It's actually well documented on wikipedia. I wasn't aware of any of this till I just read it

Rebecca Heineman, who worked at Interplay and would later write the code for The Bard's Tale III from scratch, claimed in a 2010 interview to have personally written much of the game code for The Bard's Tale, in particular graphic, animation and sound routines, as well as the development tools used to make the game (such as a graphic design program that was used to draw the monster and character imagery) and all ports, doing "all the heavy lifting" regarding coding in her words. She also said the work created a rift between herself and Cranford. Cranford, according to the interviewer, had denied this in an email, going so far as to claim that Heineman had nothing to do with the first two parts of the Bard's Tale.[4] In a 2011 interview with the same interviewer, Brian Fargo did not refute Heineman's claims (explicitly referring to the earlier interview) but stressed the development aspect over the pure coding, calling Heineman's role in the development of the first two games was "minimal" and stating that around forty of the thousands of lines of code in the finished game were hers, while at the same time acknowledging her coding genius.[5]

Heineman also claimed that Cranford, after doing some last bugfixes, held the game's final version "hostage" to force Brian Fargo to sign a publishing contract that contained a clause by which the sequel game (The Destiny Knight) would be Cranford's alone.[4] Brian Fargo confirmed the story to be true.[5] When Cranford's contract with Interplay ended, Heineman started to program The Bard's Tale III: The Thief of Fate, threw out all of Cranford's code and started from scratch.[4]

 

[Snorkack]

Thanks for the insight. Geeks having problems with teamwork. Quelle surprise.

 

[Infinitron]

Zombra's cool idea: https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=11838

OK! Bardic music is an iconic feature of the franchise. Anyone disagree? No? All right then.

For those who don't know, in the original games, the music that played was directly representative of the bard songs your party Bard was playing. If you used The Seeker's Ballad buff to provide light while exploring, different music played on your speakers than if you used Falkentyne's Fury to increase party damage. Awesome, right?

Back then, sound cards only had a couple voices, so it didn't sound weird for the music to completely change based on what your bard was playing. But with modern sound, it won't make sense for an entire studio worth of musicians to change. Your party Bard isn't an orchestra.

Here is my proposal!

All game music should be composed as normal - or almost as normal. Different towns should have different themes, there should be a few different battle themes, dungeon themes, etc. There could even be dynamic layering or what-have-you. But! All the basic music should leave some "room" for a melodic lead. It should sound good on its own, but allow for another instrument or two.

You can guess the rest. Several different strong lead tracks should be recorded for each piece, and then play only if the appropriate Bard buff is active. (They shouldn't clash; the party may have more than one Bard!) Each buff should have a recurring musical theme to all its specific tracks, but the theme should be subtle so it doesn't get tiresome for a player hearing it constantly hinted at in all the game music. For example, a haste buff might use more quick, staccato notes; a magic power buff might emphasize weird tonal dissonances; and so forth.

This elaboration will obviously make developing the music for this game much more expensive. I say it will be worth it. Can't make a Bard's Tale game and skimp on the tunes.

 

[Decado]

If you're not limited by what you draw what's the point of it being with cards? So you can collect "moves"?
Also, what did Hearthstone improve upon?

Speed of play, easier learning curve, more strategic choices (no longer just "nuke minions as fast as you can"). Also the art, though the MM card game is better, I think. And the sound, animation, effects, voice acting.

You don't have to like it, but they certainly improved upon the old formula. It is insanely popular.

 

[octavius]

Recruiting monsters was one of my favorite features in Bard's Tale 3. I hope they won't forget that.

It was also in BT1 and 2. Summoned, illusionary and spell bound monsters were also part of the fun.

 

[hiver]

Zombra's cool idea: https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=11838

OK! Bardic music is an iconic feature of the franchise. Anyone disagree? No? All right then.

For those who don't know, in the original games, the music that played was directly representative of the bard songs your party Bard was playing. If you used The Seeker's Ballad buff to provide light while exploring, different music played on your speakers than if you used Falkentyne's Fury to increase party damage. Awesome, right?

Back then, sound cards only had a couple voices, so it didn't sound weird for the music to completely change based on what your bard was playing. But with modern sound, it won't make sense for an entire studio worth of musicians to change. Your party Bard isn't an orchestra.

Here is my proposal!

All game music should be composed as normal - or almost as normal. Different towns should have different themes, there should be a few different battle themes, dungeon themes, etc. There could even be dynamic layering or what-have-you. But! All the basic music should leave some "room" for a melodic lead. It should sound good on its own, but allow for another instrument or two.

You can guess the rest. Several different strong lead tracks should be recorded for each piece, and then play only if the appropriate Bard buff is active. (They shouldn't clash; the party may have more than one Bard!) Each buff should have a recurring musical theme to all its specific tracks, but the theme should be subtle so it doesn't get tiresome for a player hearing it constantly hinted at in all the game music. For example, a haste buff might use more quick, staccato notes; a magic power buff might emphasize weird tonal dissonances; and so forth.

This elaboration will obviously make developing the music for this game much more expensive. I say it will be worth it. Can't make a Bard's Tale game and skimp on the tunes.

Zombra is an imbecile and so are you.

 

[V_K]

Zombra's cool idea: https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=11838

Different towns should have different themes, there should be a few different battle themes, dungeon themes, etc. There could even be dynamic layering or what-have-you. But! All the basic music should leave some "room" for a melodic lead. It should sound good on its own, but allow for another instrument or two.

You can guess the rest. Several different strong lead tracks should be recorded for each piece, and then play only if the appropriate Bard buff is active. (They shouldn't clash; the party may have more than one Bard!)

For it to work all the music should be written in one key, it'll sound extremely monotonous.
Unless they go with dodecaphony, of course, but I doubt the players will appreciate it. And it's not like dodecaphony sounds teribly exciting either.

 

[CryptRat]

Recruiting monsters was one of my favorite features in Bard's Tale 3. I hope they won't forget that.

It was also in BT1 and 2. Summoned, illusionary and spell bound monsters were also part of the fun.

Thanks, i mostly remember the merciless save system of the first one, and i haven't played the second one.

 

[Infinitron]

Even Bard's Tale 2004 had creature summoning (quite a fun mechanic btw and the highlight of the game). It is a core series mechanic.

 

[Zombra]

For it to work all the music should be written in one key, it'll sound extremely monotonous.

Not at all. Every piece would be its own thing. There would just be 6+ different lead tracks written to fit each piece. If the demon fight theme was heavy metal in G, then they'd go, OK, so what should Falkentyne's track be for heavy metal in G? If the brothel music was jazz-prog in C, they'd go, OK, what should Falkentyne's track be for jazz-prog in C? I'd want those two tracks to share a common theme, but they wouldn't be the same track. That would be awful.

 

[Melan]

In my opinion, Bard's Tale was always about the practically-unfair dungeons. They were fucking merciless, for real. For all of my love of Grimrock 1 and 2, the game never instilled in me the feeling that I was being brutally punished. And sometimes, I miss that feeling. I want to step on a spinner, not realize that I stepped on it, and keep mapping on my graph paper for the next 20 minutes before realizing I have fucked it all the fuck up.

All fun and games until shit like the spinner/darkness/magic decrease/trap/stuck combos with constant random encounters, which made BT III. a bit too much of a good thing. No sane person could have completed Malefia without a walkthrough.

 

[Decado]

Recruiting monsters was one of my favorite features in Bard's Tale 3. I hope they won't forget that.

It was also in BT1 and 2. Summoned, illusionary and spell bound monsters were also part of the fun.

Man, that was the coolest fucking shit ever. I remember being in my basement on my old Tandy 1000HX, one light bulb shining over head, four in the morning because I snuck back downstairs, as I used my wizard to summon a zombie. Fucking mind = blown, holy shit a zombie in my party, what lunacy is this?!?!

 

[octavius]

In my opinion, Bard's Tale was always about the practically-unfair dungeons. They were fucking merciless, for real. For all of my love of Grimrock 1 and 2, the game never instilled in me the feeling that I was being brutally punished. And sometimes, I miss that feeling. I want to step on a spinner, not realize that I stepped on it, and keep mapping on my graph paper for the next 20 minutes before realizing I have fucked it all the fuck up.

All fun and games until shit like the spinner/darkness/magic decrease/trap/stuck combos with constant random encounters, which made BT III. a bit too much of a good thing. No sane person could have completed Malefia without a walkthrough.

How so? Malefia was the dimension with all the historical battlegrunds, right? Wasn't too hard if you map properly; the sequence was quite logical if you did.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

The fact is, he said the combat is inspired by card games.

I don't play card games... and why the fuck would I want an 'rpg' combat system that's based on anything other than an rpg combat system.

I have to admit, the lackluster Wasteland 2 has me in SERIOUS doubts as to their abilities these days, I'm not even all that hyped of T:ToN anymore, even with Colin McComb's creativity.. and there will be zero chance of me spending money on a BT sequel, so I guess Inxile are off my radar for the foreseeable future.

 

[FeelTheRads]

If you're not limited by what you draw what's the point of it being with cards? So you can collect "moves"?
Also, what did Hearthstone improve upon?

Speed of play, easier learning curve, more strategic choices (no longer just "nuke minions as fast as you can"). Also the art, though the MM card game is better, I think. And the sound, animation, effects, voice acting.

You don't have to like it, but they certainly improved upon the old formula. It is insanely popular.

I don't get it, man, which game do you mean Hearthstone improved upon?

I surely don't have to like it, but I don't even know what formula you're talking about. Certainly not Bard's Tale so the fact that Hearthstone improved on some formula is kinda irrelevant.
I don't want to have first-person shooting in Fallout because uhh.. Quake improved the Doom formula.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

And sometimes, I miss that feeling. I want to step on a spinner, not realize that I stepped on it, and keep mapping on my graph paper for the next 20 minutes before realizing I have fucked it all the fuck up.

The game will be a dungeon crawler through and through, but don't expect to have to bust out the old-school tools. HUD elements will be kept to a minimum, there will be plenty of puzzles, and immersion will be the focus.
"I don't think in this day and age we can make you break out the graph paper," says Fargo. "We might have a hardcore mode for that."

Better hope for the possible "hardcore mode" then

 

[Gregz]

Recruiting monsters was one of my favorite features in Bard's Tale 3. I hope they won't forget that.

It was also in BT1 and 2. Summoned, illusionary and spell bound monsters were also part of the fun.

Man, that was the coolest fucking shit ever. I remember being in my basement on my old Tandy 1000HX, one light bulb shining over head, four in the morning because I snuck back downstairs, as I used my wizard to summon a zombie. Fucking mind = blown, holy shit a zombie in my party, what lunacy is this?!?!

Lol, I thought I was the only one who did this.

I loved BT1 so much (my first crpg) that I would set my alarm to 3am and get up every morning so I could play a couple hours before school!

 

[Snorkack]

If you're not limited by what you draw what's the point of it being with cards? So you can collect "moves"?
Also, what did Hearthstone improve upon?

Speed of play, easier learning curve, more strategic choices (no longer just "nuke minions as fast as you can"). Also the art, though the MM card game is better, I think. And the sound, animation, effects, voice acting.

You don't have to like it, but they certainly improved upon the old formula. It is insanely popular.

I don't get it, man, which game do you mean Hearthstone improved upon?

I surely don't have to like it, but I don't even know what formula you're talking about. Certainly not Bard's Tale so the fact that Hearthstone improved on some formula is kinda irrelevant.
I don't want to have first-person shooting in Fallout because uhh.. Quake improved the Doom formula.

I think what he means is that hearthstone has a significantly simpler ruleset than its competitors and is easier to get into, but still offers (nearly) the same amount of tactical depth. How that will translate into new BT? I don't know either.

 

[tuluse]

The fact is, he said the combat is inspired by card games.

I don't play card games... and why the fuck would I want an 'rpg' combat system that's based on anything other than an rpg combat system.

You might want an combat system based on a game that has done it well at some point.

 

[Alchemist]

The fact is, he said the combat is inspired by card games.

I don't play card games... and why the fuck would I want an 'rpg' combat system that's based on anything other than an rpg combat system.

Jesus H. Christ!! - Fargo never said the combat would be based on card games. People are seriously failing at reading comprehension here. Look up the word "analogy" and what it means.

Would people drop the card game thing it has absolutely nothing to do with this new Bard's Tale! And talk about Hearthstone elsewhere. Fargo mentioning it was unfortunate because apparently analogies are too complex of a concept for most people.

 

[Metro]

Brothers Kringle, bitches! Herb! One of my favorite things to do in Destiny Knight was to charm (or whatever it was called) 'boss' characters and add them to my permanent stable. Pretty sure I got guys like Oscon and Fanskar... can't remember the others.

 

[Tigranes]

Soooo... can someone tell me what's cool about the Bard's Tale games? I know very little about them, but the old versions basically look like they had WL1 combat, and then the few clips I've seen of the remake show a fugly 3D action adventure thing with terrible, terrible, terrible humour - like Fable trying to be funny. What am I missing? Is there something to make me actually want this?

 

[Baxander]

Recruiting monsters was one of my favorite features in Bard's Tale 3. I hope they won't forget that.

It was also in BT1 and 2. Summoned, illusionary and spell bound monsters were also part of the fun.

Man, that was the coolest fucking shit ever. I remember being in my basement on my old Tandy 1000HX, one light bulb shining over head, four in the morning because I snuck back downstairs, as I used my wizard to summon a zombie. Fucking mind = blown, holy shit a zombie in my party, what lunacy is this?!?!

Lol, I thought I was the only one who did this.

I loved BT1 so much (my first crpg) that I would set my alarm to 3am and get up every morning so I could play a couple hours before school!

Same for me...I would also skip dinner, skip showers, skip school....anything I could do to get more time with it. I just hope the new game has SOME of that magic I got from BT in the past. I know most of it is silly nostalgia, but I am crossing my fingers I can get those feelings of wonder again.

 

[Metro]

Soooo... can someone tell me what's cool about the Bard's Tale games? I know very little about them, but the old versions basically look like they had WL1 combat, and then the few clips I've seen of the remake show a fugly 3D action adventure thing with terrible, terrible, terrible humour - like Fable trying to be funny. What am I missing? Is there something to make me actually want this?

I found a place where you might be more comfortable.

 

[Tigranes]

Soooo... can someone tell me what's cool about the Bard's Tale games? I know very little about them, but the old versions basically look like they had WL1 combat, and then the few clips I've seen of the remake show a fugly 3D action adventure thing with terrible, terrible, terrible humour - like Fable trying to be funny. What am I missing? Is there something to make me actually want this?

I found a place where you might be more comfortable.

bros dont let bros go rpgwatch