Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale Trilogy - remaster by Krome Studios

[Lady_Error]

I'm sorry, but this looks absolutely horrible. Did BT really need a cheap mobile port?

Well, I'm sorry for you that the graphics trigger you so much.

 

[octavius]

The old animated Amiga and Apple II graphics still look great. In a time when some games use fake pixelation, why not keep them?

 

[Infinitron]

I'm also wondering who is actually the target audience for this. Most people who like these games will have no problem playing any of the original versions. On the other hand, even if they manage to get newer players, even the cartoony graphic can't hide the old-school gameplay below the surface and how many of them will abandon it once they realize it's not a modern game. Makes me also wonder how many players actually finished the updated Wasteland 1, instead of turning it on, playing for 10 minutes and then abandoning it forever.

lol target audience. Nobody expects this to be a profit-making enterprise, it's just a perk for Bard's Tale IV backers.

 

[tindrli]

i discovered RPG by playing Bards tale III on Amiga.

Staring at it brings up nice memories
I dont mind this graphics at all.. they are maybe a little too much cartoonish but ill live

 

[getter77]

It has a chance, though all things considered...I have to think at least visually things would've fared better vs this new style had they approached and somehow worked out a deal with the lead on Shrine of Orm in terms of bringing the original style to life with more of a sense of fitting panache and splendor.

 

[Shackleton]

Cartoon network graphics aside, I'll be ecstatic if the remastered trilogy gets released after all. I had just about given my bt4 pledge up as wasted cash but being able to play the originals without getting a splitting headache from the pixels would make it worth it, even if bt4 turns out to be a casual, dull and easy crawler.

Like a previous poster said, something like Dark Spire art would have been perfect but as long as the rest of the game is the same as the originals I can live with it .

 

[Daemongar]

The old animated Amiga and Apple II graphics still look great. In a time when some games use fake pixelation, why not keep them?

You are spot on. Folks are looking for that cheap, retro look. What they could have done is:
* Kept the pixelated images, but added more frames of animation to each enemy/image/buff spell/figure/magic mouth/whatever. Kept the style but added more to make the images more engaging.
* Instead of having the same image for each Jade monk/Scarlet monk/Azure monk/Ivory monk (that is, having the same image and calling it something different), have the same base animation and some other animations for each variation of the same enemy. Or had different colors palettes for each of the same enemy. Or better, have the enemy do a different animation during their attack based on the type of attack used
* Added more dungeon wall sets (probably did this) and better dungeon lighting.

I'll probably play all 3 games once the remastered versions are released, with the same party from start to finish. Probably will take some time off work to do this, but I think it would be more than fun.

 

[Invictus]

If they ran with the idea and came up with different portraits for each enemy type like the monk example it would be great, but to be honest just the fact we are getting these at all is enough for me... although I would love to use the original Amiga graphics too
Oh my and having these games for IOs would be fantastic!

 

[octavius]

I may play the remasters eventually, but not with the same party.
It makes the games too easy, and you miss out on the fun of leveling up and finding you first magical items.

 

[Old Hans]

The old animated Amiga and Apple II graphics still look great. In a time when some games use fake pixelation, why not keep them?

I use to be so jealous of those amiga screenshots on the back of the box

 

[octavius]

The old animated Amiga and Apple II graphics still look great. In a time when some games use fake pixelation, why not keep them?

I use to be so jealous of those amiga screenshots on the back of the box

That first specter you meet sure looked great on the Amiga.
Got to give kudos to EA for making some great Amiga conversions, and not just porting from the basic Apple version.

 

[aweigh]

Dark Spire art would've been godlike.

 

[octavius]

Dark Spire art would've been godlike.

That actually looks very nice and distinct.
Much better than the BT bland remastered art.

 

[Gord]

So basically what you are saying is that when they promised remastered BT1-3 they should have actually replaced every piece of graphics with something sporting a completely different style and theme?

 

[octavius]

So basically what you are saying is that when they promised remastered BT1-3 they should have actually replaced every piece of graphics with something sporting a completely different style and theme?

No, I already said what they should do.

 

[Gord]

If you want the original art, play the originals. Not that I would mind a remastered version with just some quality-of-life-improvements and possibly a toggle between old and remastered art.
It's just so pointless to complain about remastered art looking bland when it actually is pretty faithful to the original (minus the pixelation). Well, maybe you find the original bland, but then, why bother?

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

If you want the original art, play the originals

And what if I want the art from Amiga versions without bugs from Amiga versions?

 

[Old Hans]

Dark Spire art would've been godlike.

the first 2 levels of that game were pure perfection

 

[octavius]

If you want the original art, play the originals

And what if I want the art from Amiga versions without bugs from Amiga versions?

Play the Apple IIGS version?

 

[Daemongar]

So basically what you are saying is that when they promised remastered BT1-3 they should have actually replaced every piece of graphics with something sporting a completely different style and theme?

To be fair, replacing "every piece of graphics" in a Bard's Tale game would probably take an afternoon or two for a seasoned graphics artist. Those games weren't exactly a cavalcade of graphics.

Speaking for myself, I don't think they should go too far with the graphics, but the current graphics look like the old graphics run through a scaler and then massaged a little. I just don't like the roundness of everything that scalers produce. Every edge is a soft edge. Just me.

 

[Gord]

Speaking for myself, I don't think they should go too far with the graphics, but the current graphics look like the old graphics run through a scaler and then massaged a little. I just don't like the roundness of everything that scalers produce. Every edge is a soft edge. Just me.

I don't like scalers much either, but here (the few pics I've seen so far) I think they rather had someone retrace it manually than use an automatic approach. Too detailed and too little of the typical scaling artifacts.
They did want to stay close to the original look&feel apparently, minus the pixelation, which produces a somewhat cartoony look.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

If you want the original art, play the originals

And what if I want the art from Amiga versions without bugs from Amiga versions?

Play the Apple IIGS version?

That's what I usually do. But I also want to play BT3.

 

[Sigourn]

As a short list, our goals for the Trilogy remaster are:

• Up-res the original art, but keep the art in theme with the originals (the original examples are from the Amiga version of Tales of the Unknown):

These look terrible. Why is it that they feel the need to smoothen everything out? It's the exact same crap they pulled with Wasteland.

 

[agris]

It's xBR with minimal corrections.

 

[aweigh]

Old man with dagger looks like a WW2 Axis leaflet.