Bard's Tale IV - Remasters Update

A small update from InXile announces that they have changed their mind regarding releasing the remasters into early access. Instead a complete build of The Bard's Tale I will arrive mid August for GOG and Steam with the rest to come later.

Update on The Bard's Tale Trilogy remasters

Remasters Update

Hi All,

This week, we decided to not release the Bard’s Tale Trilogy remasters into Early Access and instead will continue pushing toward a fully complete build of the original Bard's Tale in mid-August. As we evaluated it, we felt like it was closer to a final build than we thought it would be at this point in development, and it wouldn’t be beneficial to put it into Early Access. Another plus is that we can include GOG then as well, a feature that we have been asked for during the last few weeks. The fully complete versions of The Bard’s Tale II and III will then be added in over the following months.

The wait will be a bit longer, but the end result - for all of our backers - will be worth it.

Until Next Time,
Paul Marzagalli
Public Relations & Community Manager
@phimseto

More information.

Good tactical move!

Have they shown any screens of the new remasters in comparison to the originals?

Yes, they've released a few, and it's a big improvement. Let's face it… the originals have not aged well. Their horribly pixelated graphics are simply too painful to look at, especially on my 55" PC monitor.









And of course they're all animated:


Personally, I can't wait. I'm looking forward to the remasters as much as Bard's Tale IV.

You have a 55" PC monitor?

Sounds pretty painful. Anything bigger than 27" or so is too big for gaming IMO, forces too much eye movement to take in entire scenes. Though that does assume normal viewing distance (sitting at a normal-depth desk, monitor sitting on the desk…)

Originally Posted by JDR13
You have a 55" PC monitor?

Yes, and it's an OLED! Great for 4K gaming, but not so much for 320x200 classic rpgs.
BTW, no burn-in yet.

Originally Posted by Stingray
Sounds pretty painful. Anything bigger than 27" or so is too big for gaming IMO, forces too much eye movement to take in entire scenes. Though that does assume normal viewing distance (sitting at a normal-depth desk, monitor sitting on the desk…)

I have it mounted on the wall behind my desk. It's about an arm and a half from my seated position, but I agree it really is too big for gaming. For 4K, 40" would be just right, but I couldn't find an OLED smaller than 55"… and I just had to have an OLED.

The re-masters just by themselves stand a very good chance of sucking my game playing life away for a few months.

Will the remasters have an auto map? Those dark areas and spinners and teleporters may drive me nutty if I have to do that all again.

I had never seen those remaster images before, and they look fantastic!

In one of the presentations they discussed that auto map would be added however that was before they had to switch to a new implementer. I presume it will still have auto map but i guess we won't know for sure till it is released (unless you want to ask them directly).

Originally Posted by Hastar
Will the remasters have an auto map? Those dark areas and spinners and teleporters may drive me nutty if I have to do that all again.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
The re-masters just by themselves stand a very good chance of sucking my game playing life away for a few months.

Yeah I only ever played the first one back in the day and I didn't finish it. I'm looking forward to this, and I plan to beat it this time!

If any one of you completes all of these remasters, I will make a decent donation to the kickstarter of your choice

Originally Posted by Darth Tagnan
If any one of you completes all of these remasters, I will make a decent donation to the kickstarter of your choice

Ha! I intend to beat the first one, not sure about the others yet. Depends how much I enjoy the first one I guess…

Originally Posted by Pongo
Ha! I intend to beat the first one, not sure about the others yet. Depends how much I enjoy the first one I guess…

They’re extremely old school, so I think getting through them deserves a reward

I place odds on Carnifex to be the first one (here).

Originally Posted by Darth Tagnan
They’re extremely old school, so I think getting through them deserves a reward

I suggest that someone better have their wallet at the ready! I do suspect it will take me some time to get through all three again, though.

Originally Posted by Hastar
Will the remasters have an auto map? Those dark areas and spinners and teleporters may drive me nutty if I have to do that all again.

Yes, there is an automap and the games will be streamlined to cut down on grinding time. For those who want a more hardcore experience, there is a classic Legacy mode. But be forewarned, I remember these games as being tough and lengthy… I don't have a ream of graph paper and 300 hours to kill, so it's the streamlined mode for me.

I've never played any of the PC versions of the original trilogy. I played some of BT 1 on the NES, but I'm pretty sure that was already quite streamlined compared to the PC version.

Iirc, some of the mobs you encountered in the late game could number close to 100. How long did those battles take?