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

[Jimmious]

Eh well, what can you do.. Back then beliefs and facts where not very distinct. Not that it's much better now, we just don't have as much fantasy

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Aristotle writes, “among Spartans in the days of their
greatness; many things were managed by their women.”22 Aristotle felt that the
influence of Spartan women was mischievous.
Women in Sparta could own property; they could dispose of it how they
willed, they could inherit equal shares from their father’s estates. Aristotle states
that women owned two-fifths of the land in the Spartan region; he thought that
this “avarice naturally suggests a criticism on the inequality of property.”23 He
also felt that their laws dealing with property and women were the ruin of
Sparta.24

Anyway, from the few things known about the Spartan women, we know that they very often directly influenced decisions and the course of Sparta.
And that is mainly because men were simply away most of the time and very influenced from their spouses when back home

Having some influence isn't the same as matriarchal though, is it? They don't even own the majority of property.
("Matriarchy is a social system in which females hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property at the specific exclusion of men, at least to a large degree.")

 

[Irenaeus III]

It's a wet dream of some Swiss cuck. Leave it to rest.

 

[Jimmious]

Aristotle writes, “among Spartans in the days of their
greatness; many things were managed by their women.”22 Aristotle felt that the
influence of Spartan women was mischievous.
Women in Sparta could own property; they could dispose of it how they
willed, they could inherit equal shares from their father’s estates. Aristotle states
that women owned two-fifths of the land in the Spartan region; he thought that
this “avarice naturally suggests a criticism on the inequality of property.”23 He
also felt that their laws dealing with property and women were the ruin of
Sparta.24

Anyway, from the few things known about the Spartan women, we know that they very often directly influenced decisions and the course of Sparta.
And that is mainly because men were simply away most of the time and very influenced from their spouses when back home

Having some influence isn't the same as matriarchal though, is it? They don't even own the majority of property.
("Matriarchy is a social system in which females hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property at the specific exclusion of men, at least to a large degree.")

That's true. I guess matriarchal is not exactly fitting even if it is something that happened indirectly.
Still though it is impressive that in the Greece of these times where women would be closed in houses without windows, in Sparta the situation was so different.

 

[Darkzone]

Sparta was a matriarchal city-state btw, yes the one with the best army and Leonidas etc etc

NO.

Calm down you fucking retard.
Spartan women were basically in control of the political decisions, could own land normally and due to the warmongering nature of the Spartans in general rarely did men actually decide about anything.
So as Aristotle mentioned it was basically a matriarchal society.

NO. According to Aristotle the spartans had two male King's, the Gerusia (28 only male elders (the beautyfull and the good)), the Apella (damos, only true male Spartiates) and the Ephor (a council of 5 male leaders). So you are only talking nonsense.

 

[Irenaeus III]

Just ignore this faggot like I did and call it a day.

 

[Jimmious]

I think you'd have satisfied your needs by reading the next page before answering. Anyway, back to the game now?

 

[V_K]

And still he's the only one citing any kind of sources here, everyone else just talks out of their asses...

 

[Fry]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Sparta

 

[Jimmious]

Yeah I tried to refrain from quoting wikipedia as it is usually..frowned upon.
But yeah let's settle at saying that yes, they were not a matriarchal society according to definition but the women did have matriarchal duties as opposed to any other part of Greece that period.

 

[Fry]

Yeah I tried to refrain from quoting wikipedia as it is usually..frowned upon.

By idiots who don't understand how Wikipedia works, usually.

That article is well sourced. Look at the bottom.

 

[Jimmious]

I agree, I'm not arguing

 

[ArchAngel]

I am not sure why I am still surprised to open a topic I didn't visit for a while only to find 10% on topic posts and 90% off topic bickering

 

[Irenaeus III]

I am not sure why I am still surprised to open a topic I didn't visit for a while only to find 10% on topic posts and 90% off topic bickering

Maybe you should find a forum more to your tastes, I suggest neoGAF.

 

[ArchAngel]

I am not sure why I am still surprised to open a topic I didn't visit for a while only to find 10% on topic posts and 90% off topic bickering

Maybe you should find a forum more to your tastes, I suggest neoFAG.

Sorry, no. FAGs are more of your thing.

 

[Infinitron]

Hey look, a legitimate reason to post in this thread! UPDATE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1533785

Character Art Progress

Hi everyone,

I'm Maxx Kaufman, Art Director on The Bard's Tale IV. The world of Caith is a place of fantasy, adventure, and a bit of mystery and magic as well. In our previous updates and in our original Kickstarter text and touch points document, we've talked a bit about the game's art direction, and how we are building a world that is inspired by Scottish culture.

The Bard's Tale IV is based on legends and folktales, and our artwork and designs are meant to be evocative of all the beauty and artistic traditions of the Celtic and other pre-Christian peoples of the north. This world and its inhabitants are accented everywhere with Celtic elements that we are using to bring a particular personality and design that feels unique to the game, with its own mystical and ancient flair – while also still feeling true to the high fantasy feel of the classic Bard's Tale games.

But you came here for art, so I'd like to share a few new examples of that with you today.

Characters & Monsters
The last few months, we've been churning away on new character art for the game. We've shown you a fair number of environments previously, but now we'd like to show you some of their inhabitants, too. Some of these are familiar to old fans, while others might be new faces.

With all our characters, we're instilling a sense of personality into everything, with ever-so-slightly exaggerated features that touch on their most iconic elements. We're also using things like varied clothing and equipment (with either animation or simulated physics) to avoid repetition and give a sense of physicality to them.

Note that the shots below are renders of our in-game models, but are still works in progress so may change. And, while we are peppering in some hints at gameplay ideas below, bear in mind those details may change as well.

Trow

The Trow are a mainstay of Scottish folklore, and they will be making an appearance in The Bard's Tale IV. Trow are a bit like goblins – short, a bit ugly, and mischievous, with goatlike features. They are most often found in dark places, like mounds, caves and dungeons, far from the light. We're exploring including them as playable characters in your party, but they will also appear throughout the game in other forms, including as enemies.


In gameplay terms, Trow are intended to be lower-level creatures, but still have some tricks up their sleeves. In battle, they will attack with simple weapons like clubs, hammers, and thrown daggers. We want to bring a lot of personality to our creatures in the game, and in the case of the Trow, that means they'll be troublemakers for your average adventuring party. For instance, some of them may be able to cast spells to confuse or charm the player's own summoned creatures, or summon their own magical underlings, making it important for you to deal with them quickly.

Magic Mouths

Almost everyone who played the original Bard's Tale games will remember the Magic Mouths. Found in the dungeon walls, they would speak riddles and hints for you, some more cryptic than others. We offered a glimpse at these in our initial in-engine video, so it's no surprise they will make a return, but we've been testing out a few new designs as well.


The Magic Mouths in The Bard's Tale IV will have a wide variety of styles. Some might appear from within stone blocks, while others have a bit more ornamentation around them. We want their designs to reflect the environments they appear in, rather than using the same everywhere. And like the classic games, their role will be to inform and assist you… but not always in the most helpful or straightforward way.

Ghillie Dhu

The Ghillie Dhu also come from Scottish folklore, but are distinctly more fearsome and mysterious than creatures like the Trow. Ghillie Dhu are large, hulking creatures that are cloaked in roots, grass, leaves and bark – though they share a little bit in common with your traditional ents and other tree-like creatures, they have their own distinct flavor that makes them feel a little bit otherworldly.


In combat, the Ghillie Dhu fight with their heavy fists or tree branches, and use spells related to the natural world, such as roots and vines that will constrict and bind your party members to make them easier targets. The Ghillie Dhu, owing to their appearance, blend into forested environments very well – meaning they might get the jump on the party at the start of combat before you even know they're there.

Maxx Kaufman
Art Director
inXile Entertainment

 

[Irenaeus III]

I like the magic mouths.

 

[Fry]

Bard's Tale 4: The Holes of Glory

 

[Llama-Yak Hybrid]

I hope they will care too look at games that came out between BT3 and this thing and learn on other's(as well as their) mistakes, I mean, how great it would be to see competent, high-budget blobber.

It would be great but knowing inExile we'll get just a mediocre thing like Might and Magic X because they are dumb.

 

[Lady_Error]

It would be great but knowing inExile we'll get just a mediocre thing like Might and Magic X because they are dumb.

Awesome argument. MMX and Wasteland 2 were among the few games I really liked and actually finished in the recent years.

 

[Llama-Yak Hybrid]

They have a huge problems though. I'd say that majority of M&MX flaws come from budget being very short and BT4 doesn't have it great either, by inExile kickstarter standards, let Torment be not-so-wonderfully selling title and they're cooked.

WL2 however is an extremely flawed case because it's shameless nostalgiagrab. It ended up not so horrible because in the end they've pandered to people who had the proper trends(as in - the ones that resulted in good game) in mind but they've stuffed tons of dumb shit and committed the worst mistake they could make - they didn't want to learn from other's mistakes.

Maybe I'll write about it in dedicated thread some day but let's just say I don't like it wholly. In the end both are as I've said mediocre, in WL2 I liked some stuff but also disliked lots. And DC fixed some issues but fucked up other things. So I'm not certain they can pull it off.

I'll just say this - if they'll make BT4 with the same approach as they've made WL2 and with the worsening financial situation reminding M&MX you're going to see tons of people angry, because they've copied the same flaws Wizardry 8(the released one) or Wizards&Warriors had(slow animations or very... meh approach to ranged enemies and tons of other stuff) and that in fact it doesn't sport many great ideas they've had(for example no character banter).

 

[Metro]

It would be great but knowing inExile we'll get just a mediocre thing like Might and Magic X because they are dumb.

Awesome argument. MMX and Wasteland 2 were among the few games I really liked and actually finished in the recent years.

MMX was poop. Dull combat. Dull itemization. Dull dungeons/overworld.

 

[Lady_Error]

Best blobber of the last 10 years.

 

[Llama-Yak Hybrid]

Best blobber of the last 10 years.

If it had any competition in the first place, not counting numerous Tojo blobbers some of which were easily better.

 

[Lady_Error]

What are tojo blobbers?