Mount & Blade - To Be Published by Paradox Interactive

magerette

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TaleWorlds Entertainment's medieval action-oriented RPG has picked up a publisher and is slated for worldwide release in Quarter 2, 2008. Gamebanshee has posted the press release here
Excerpt:
Paradox Interactive signs much awaited Mount & Blade

The PC action/role-playing game gears up for official release

New York, USA (January 24, 2008) – Paradox Interactive announced today great news for all fans of medieval combat title Mount & Blade. After several years in BETA, the game is close to completion and scheduled for a worldwide release during Q2, 2008.

Mount&Blade is a single-player, third- or first-person action/role-playing game with a focus on medieval combat. Developed by the Turkish development house TaleWorlds Entertainment, the BETA version of the game has received acclaim worldwide by gamers impressed by everything from the realistic horseback combat to the sandbox gameplay. The latter enables players to roam the map freely in a medieval world that offers options ranging from hunting down bandits, trading for profit in the game's deep economical system and becoming a commander and taking part in the wars ultimately becoming a great lord of the realm.

"We believe Mount & Blade could be a genre defining title and we are thrilled to be working with TaleWorlds Entertainment to bring the game to a worldwide audience, said Fredrik Wester, Executive Vice President of Paradox Interactive. "In BETA, the title has already garnered much deserved attention and excitement in the gaming community and this will be a release to look forward to."

"Paradox Interactive has reached great success because they know their market and understand gamers, which is the main reason we chose to partner with them for this significant release, said Armagan Yavuz, Co- Founder and lead programmer of TaleWorlds Entertainment. "Our vision for Mount & Blade has been an ambitious one and now that we are so close to completion, we can't wait to invite gamers into the world we have created".
More information.
 
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Well, a big congratulations to the gang behind M&B. It's good to hear all their hard work is paying off.
 
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They had a very interesting sales model, where thousands of dedicated gamers paid to beta-test and critique the ongoing project.

We often see this with such bug-ridden classics as Gothic 3 and Oblivion.

But in the case of Mount & Blade, players paid a scaled down percentage of the projected retail price, $39.95. People who got into it in version 0.6 paid $12 or something. I paid $22 late last year, and it's currently $25.

Worth every penny this late in the beta.
 
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Yeah, they do have a very good sales model. I bought a while ago for about 18$ and I play the game on and off every time a new version hits the net.

And I like it very much, especially the combat is very, very good.
 
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Not only that, they have built a good fan base. Nice work!
 
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It's been a while since I tried the demo - what can one expect for the final release?
 
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By team, you mean the two people that made this right?

Its quite a shock to see this actually get finished. I remember one of the Bioware devs (the one from Germany) dismissing this entirely. M&B is an embarrassment to any all major league RPG devs that gave up on mounted combat (NWN2) and did a poor job of it (Oblvion).

That two people get something like this done is verification of a line from my Software Engineering class about adding more people to a project, "When a woman is pregnant it will still take 9 months for the baby to born no matter how many extra men you put on the task."
 
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This is most welcome news, indeed. When last I played, the game wasn't really 'doing it' for me, but I could tell that there was an honest effort being put forth. My main problem was that the focus was more on building a squad > platoon > army instead of focusing on one vs. one or one vs. many melee. That means I was approaching it with different expectations than the design goal and that's my fault for not realizing the games intentions.

I've heard nothing but positive things about the mounted combat and general combat mechanics from folks that are into it. I think it's awesome that these folks can come out of nowhere and show the established shops how it's done.
 
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good news, but I wonder if it really will be in a finished state by then. The game has barely changed in the last year and some of the bugs have been in for over 2 years. Despite that it certainly is a fun game for a awhile, till you reach the flawed endgame.
 
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I have enjoyed playing the game in the past. I'm the type of person that needs more story driven questing as opposed to sandbox, so I have a hard time maintaining interest in this type of game for long. Still, I'll probably buy the full version eventually.

I think they may have a harder time selling newcomers on the game because of its difficulty. Mounted combat is hard, and the current market trend seems to favor lazy gamers.
 
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If you look at M&B as more of a combat sim than an RPG you're much less likely to be disappointed. For example, I feel that it has changed a great deal over the past two years, but I can see why some would feel differently. Indeed, the story and quest elements are still only a little less rough than they were when I first bought it. But much of the remainder of the game has improved significantly.

It is most definitely a sandbox game though, so you have to be willing either to just enjoy the game as an extremely high-quality and fun combat sim or be skilled in writing your own mental story as you go.

Additionally there is some quality modding going on (limited, in my opinion, primarily by the current need to keep updating the mods over and over again for new game releases), including some really impressive work by Chinese modders that looked to be more story-driven. I think once the game is "final", modding will add an even more significant amount of value to the game with hopefully some better story and quest driven options for us RPG fans.
 
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i think this is great news for a game that started as an indie project.. reminds me of the penumbra game.
That two people get something like this done is verification of a line from my Software Engineering class about adding more people to a project, "When a woman is pregnant it will still take 9 months for the baby to born no matter how many extra men you put on the task."

btw, cool quote there.
 
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I played one of the early M&B releases, and while there was a lot of potential there I didn't stick with it and haven't really looked back at it too much.
It's my understanding that M&B is more an engine than an actual game, is that still true, or is there a game attached to it at this point? Back then, it seemed to be an engine onto which a game could be attached, be it a fantasy or real-world RPG or the like.
 
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It's my understanding that M&B is more an engine than an actual game, is that still true, or is there a game attached to it at this point?
It depends how you look at it. I bought it pretty early in the "beta process" after I think only the first price increase and it seemed very much a game even then. But it was (as I mentioned in my above post) a combat game and not something tied to story or character development nor did it have an definable end.

While the sophistication of the game has increased significantly over the years, I would still describe it the same way, as a very enjoyable combat game. While the engine does have the ability to have some story and conversation elements, it's definitely not the strong point. It's a sandbox combat sim through and through with significantly improved tactical elements from the early days and some elementary strategic elements in the mix as well. For us RPG fans, it remains weak in many of the genre staple elements we love so much, but it doesn't, to me, strive for those. What it does well, what the devs have focused on, it does better than any other game I've played.

The demo is an excellent start. For people who are on-the-fence about the strength of the RPG features, you should probably wait until the final is released before trying it. I suspect they will be at least a little more fleshed out by then.
 
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There is much more to it than the early days - more "game", but maybe not what some people are looking for. There are a lot more quests and features like castle sieges make it more of a finished game - albeit still sandboxy.
 
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