The Bard's Tale IV - Now on Kickstarter

This is funny…rpg fans who haven't played or heard of bards tale…"hope it will be like might and magic…" my god…

:) I played BT1 back on my C64, as crpgnut said, "when I had young eyes". I think the comparisons of MMX and LoG are just good reference points since they're the two most popular games in the genre from the last decade.
 
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This is funny…rpg fans who haven't played or heard of bards tale…"hope it will be like might and magic…" my god…
Why? Can't you be just too young to have played the old games? Plus the game will be different to the originals to quite some extent (it is said in the pitch itself). Plus what it is said is hope to be more M&M than Grimrock, two games that seem to fit with the pitch to a certain degree, and fit what the old bard tales were supposed to be. So I see it perfectly logic.
 
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I hope it's a little deeper and more difficult than MMX was, with more interesting dungeon design. I thought MMX was a little middling content wise and the puzzles weren't much cop, as solid an effort as it was to continue that series' traditions.

In general, Might and Magic has always been more accessible than the original Bards Tales and Wizardries. To start a party successfully through the first few levels always took care and attention; they were always quite challenging.

The dungeons in Bards Tale could drain your magic points, spin you into a bearing-lost delirium, snuff out your light sources, cancel your spells and even slowly drain your hit-points. It was often such a joy to survive and get back to the surface, then hobble to the review board to level up and sell off gear at Garth's.
Whilst it is conceivable that we won't quite be getting the same kind of severe experience in IV, I'm sure some form or spirit of these traditions will continue. :)
 
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I hope it's a little deeper and more difficult than MMX was, with more interesting dungeon design. I thought MMX was a little middling content wise and the puzzles weren't much cop, as solid an effort as it was to continue that series' traditions.

Really? Did you play MMX on the harder difficulty? I actually found it borderline frustrating at times, and that's a rarity for me.

The puzzles were all over the place though. Some were really easy while others were just too vague.
 
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Really? Did you play MMX on the harder difficulty? I actually found it borderline frustrating at times, and that's a rarity for me.
Yep, on hard as well. Indeed, the last final few fights were a little intense. But it wasn't so bad overall. I think it was hardest for me early on into Act II when I was running out of locations with do-able encounters. After some exploration though, that was quickly solved.
Another additional criticism I had was the insane amount of extra gold I had with seemingly nothing to find to spend it on in the latter stages of the game. But I won't digress the thread any more on this topic.

It'll be very interesting to see how InXile treat the established lore and canon from the series, given players are destined to revisit Skara Brae. Will we see another Death Snare? A dungeon of Tarjan? A wine cellar? Descendants of Garth? Who knows. :)
Edit: Roscoe Jnr confirmed.
 
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You're going to say who is "allowed" to ask for money on Kickstarter, and I'm the one on the high horse? :lol:

There's not going to be "less money" for anyone. Let them make their money and provide a great product in return.

I not saying who is allowed or not but there is point about being nice bit like giving up your seat for the old lady in the bus, I mean you don't have to but ....

Of course there is point about "less money". I have fixed budget for gaming so if I pay, $50 for this, I won't have any money left for an indie KS coming in few month down the line... but I do wish I have lot money like some of you guys to throw around for games as they come along :)
 
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My opinion:

The game can't be made like the old Bard's Tales, it won't sell. Games have progressed massively since those came out. I think a MMX type game with a first person view might be the best way to go. I hope they make sure that the dress-up portion is alive and well on the character sheets, if you're not showing your characters on screen. I like to see my gear.

The humor in the BT remake was pretty lame. I hope they keep the humor mostly to the visual realms. Sight gags require no translation. Bethesda is great at evoking horror from visual cues.

I think the most important thing is to explain how you're spending the money. Be open about costs and show your investors that their funds are being well spent. To be honest, most of the kickstarter money is likely to pay wages between releases. I'm not sure Wasteland 2 is still paying the bills, so they need money from the other 2 kickstarters to stay afloat until those games hit the market.
 
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Thing is...kickstarter needs these games to be on there...it brings people to the website who may other wise not have. Which in turn will allow smaller games to get seen by a bigger audience....I think it's a win win.
 
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The in-engine footage from the new update makes me drool a bit. I'm pretty sure this will be awesome.
 
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Me too, tomasp3n. That was a pretty cool incentive.
 
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I'm not sure what to think of the zoom out to combat, I never played the originals. I think it's an interesting concept though, although things never look quite as scary from further away...
 
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Really? Did you play MMX on the harder difficulty? I actually found it borderline frustrating at times, and that's a rarity for me.

The puzzles were all over the place though. Some were really easy while others were just too vague.

It is very easy on hardest setting. However it is a very unbalanced game, so it might be the party combination you created was far from optimal ?
 
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New demo looks cool. I especially like how the dungeon entrance is activated; hopefully quest markers won't be implemented to dumb down that design element.

Has inXile stated they'll be using zoomed-out combat? Because I didn't get that feeling from the video at all - it was just part of the trailer's cinematography for me.
 
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New demo looks cool. I especially like how the dungeon entrance is activated; hopefully quest markers won't be implemented to dumb down that design element.

Has inXile stated they'll be using zoomed-out combat? Because I didn't get that feeling from the video at all - it was just part of the trailer's cinematography for me.

They did say it in some interview unless I misunderstood. That when combat started it would 'zoom out', and it wasn't decided yet if each character would be a portrait or a full 3d representation (depending on how budget I suppose).
 
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I hope combat isn't zoomed out and its more like Wiz8 and MMX.
 
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I hope combat isn't zoomed out and its more like Wiz8 and MMX.
I'm with you bro, but we won't be lucky apparently. They just said in the current update that
Once combat starts, the combat shifts out of the first person mode.

I don't think a dungeon crawler needs this, and there are many other games with third person combat while very few with first person view party combat, so I'd really wish they change their mind. Not gonna happen though.
 
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I don't share the sentiment. To me staying in combat in 1st person view only because the old Bard Tales were like that is not a valid reason. Changing combat to a tactical map opens up a whole new dimension in tactics. Positioning, flanking, area of control, etc. It works great for games like Heroes of Might & Magic and King's Bounty, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity Original Sin. Losing so many possibilities only because 'the old bard tales were 1st person combat' is a wasted opportunity, it doesn't add anything to the gameplay.
 
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I've been asking for an RPG that really lets PC graphics out of the box for a long while. I really wasn't expecting it to come in the form of the Bard's Tale.
 
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It really sounds like they don't plan on doing this for consoles at all. If that is true, god bless them for not making an underperforming watered down version. The best looking games should always be for the best machine, not the two hundred dollar glorified toaster.
 
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Anyone know if they've mentioned modding or an editor?
 
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