Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat (Mount and Blade)

Ever wish you could actually get in on the sword-swingin' action on Medieval and crack some skulls? Well now you can!

The game is Mount and Blade, at www.taleworlds.com, and its a realistic combat/rpg game with loads of different weapons and armor. You can even ride down peasantry as a lance couchin' knight!

The demo of the beta is only 35 mbs and the full game only costs $12 (though its in beta currently.)

While content is limited, and the battles are very small by total war standards, the fighting is still fun.

EDIT: Check out page 9 for a small mod I made, HRE and French surcoats for the tournament grouds!

EDIT2: A screenshot, just to spice things up;
https://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1259/292if.jpg

Crazed Rabbit

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Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit

Ever wish you could actually get in on the sword-swingin' action on Medieval and crack some skulls? Well now you can!

The game is Mount and Blade, at www.taleworlds.com, and its a realistic combat/rpg game with loads of different weapons and armor. You can even ride down peasantry as a lance couchin' knight!

The demo of the beta is only 35 mbs and the full game only costs $12 (though its in beta currently.)

While content is limited, and the battles are very small by total war standards, the fighting is still fun.

Crazed Rabbit

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Thank you for the link mate...

This is freakin awesome. I may well get the full game.

Downloading it now , looks great.

Downloaded it, played it, bought it.

Now before anyone else does this... It is far from done! Only one city is anywhere near finished. And it has a feeling of unfinishedness about it all the time.

But the good stuff is this.

You absolutely want to use a shield! Without it you become a pincushion for archers, javelineers and even rockthrowers. At the same time you want to have a ranged weapon yourself. I chose a crossbow, and man, it can really dish out damage. If you are good you can snipe people for a good range, and headshots do significant damage. But reloading is fairly long (compared to a bow), but then again you can aim for as long as you want without decreasing accuracy (with the bow you get tired). You can even shoot it from horseback, though not reload it then (but you can with a bow).
Arrows, bolts and javelins all stick to their target, when I was hit by two javelins it looked rather silly with me running around with two large sticks in me, but it looks great when a shield has been filled with arrows or bolts or you findt one of your headshot targets with a bolt sticking out of his eye.

I used to hate the monted combat, but now that I have gotten hold of a good spear it it great fun. If you get the horse up to speed you can run down infantry with a couched lance attack. If you are good it is instant impalement and one less enemy to worry about. But in any case he is dropped to the ground. In this position you have to use the horse for aiming, but beware that slopes will slow you down and it is hard to maneuver the horse when it is running fast. Also horses come in various types, some certainly better than others.
Also if you switch your lance for sword and shield on horseback, you are still a very dangerous foe, running at enemies and swinging at them will knock them down unless they block your swing. So cavalry is very strong against infantry, but as soon as teh infantry manages to halt the cavalry they are cut to pieces. GREAT!!!! You can't even run down two men right after each other with the couched lance, you need a few seconds to reposition the lance.
If you kill a mounted enemy but not his horse you can take the horse and thus become monted. Very effective if his horse is better than yours or you have lost yours in battle.
Beware that men on horses can swist in the saddle quite far and reach almost everyone who is attacking him, but from the rear he is helpless, but sadly when you kill a mounted enemy from the ground you often kill the horse too.

I learned the hard way that you most certainly don't want to fight a melee against superior numbers. Being a hero I thought I could take on large groups of lousy enemies. WRONG! When they gang up on you they will hit you all the time, and each hit interrupts your attacks, so you can't hit back enough. Protecting yourself with the shield is about the only possible action while retreating. But eventually they will break the shield and then you are in deep trouble.
So you need to hire local soldiers, they are for the most part lousy fighters and will get ripped to pieces by anything better than pirates. But if they manage to do some damage and survive (there is chance that they will just get knocked out if they get 'killed') they will advance to new levels. If you even maange to get just a few Men-at-arms or knights your have a most powerful mounted force on your side.

I remember a massive battle I had against some 30 steppe bandits. My mission was to protect a caravan. It had only a few mounted warriors and a big group of rabble protecting it. My group on the other hand was a small strong force of professional warriors. As you can guess steppe bandits have lots of cavalry, and plenty of horse archers. The battle was long and very hard, bodies were strewn everywhere. I had been sitting on a hill sniping the enemy infantry (cavalry is too fast for proper sniping), but when I ran out of bolts (only have 21) I ran to my inventory and grabbed my spear, mounted my horse and began to charge every enemy I could find. That couched lance really helped a lot. I finally ran down the last horse archer by gaining on him on his blind side (horse archers only have a free attack to their left, the right is obstructed by the bow).
The result was that of the 24 caravan people only 9 survived, of my 9 warriors only 5 survived (of which three of us always get knocked out if we get 'killed'), but we managed to capture 4 bandits.
Capturing enemies is done by using blunt weapons, but they are not as good in reach or power as swords for instance. Captured enemies can then be sold into slavery at a few places. Lovely!

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Originally Posted by Efrem

Thank you for the link mate...

This is freakin awesome. I may well get the full game.

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My thoughts exactly. Great find! Thanks Crazed Rabbit :bow:

Wow, Kraxis, that's a pretty enticing recommendation. Downloading now... What's the "campaign" or "quest" system like, that glues together the combats?

Hmmm. I've played a couple hours so far. The combat is excellant, though I am unskilled. I need more money to get better weapons. That seems to be the hard part.

The towns and things feel unfinished, but that (hopefully) will be corrected when it's finished. And for $11, I might just try it.

Here is a review I found online.

Another review with some screens.

The official page.

Multiplayer combat would be amazing, I suspect. Though I doubt it will happen.

~:cheers:

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Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Multiplayer combat would be amazing, I suspect. Though I doubt it will happen.

~:cheers:

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No kidding. I could see a zillion clans and tournaments popping up if MP was added. A fully realized jousting arena with this combat would be pure gold!
Full battles of 16-32-48 people would be a sight to behold and 1 on 1 combat would be very intense! :duel:

I must admit I found it on the ME:TW forums.

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Wow, Kraxis, that's a pretty enticing recommendation. Downloading now... What's the "campaign" or "quest" system like, that glues together the combats?

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There is, as of yet, no main quest or story. YOu can choose between two warring sides, however.

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Hmmm. I've played a couple hours so far. The combat is excellant, though I am unskilled. I need more money to get better weapons. That seems to be the hard part.

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There's a salt mine you can buy salt from for 78 gold and sell for 160 gold in Zendar, though don't load yourself down so much that you get caught by bandits. The best weapons come from the battles, though.

My favorite thing is joining a huge Vaegir-Swadian battle.

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No kidding. I could see a zillion clans and tournaments popping up if MP was added. A fully realized jousting arena with this combat would be pure gold!
Full battles of 16-32-48 people would be a sight to behold and 1 on 1 combat would be very intense!

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Amen to that! Actually, I believe the next release will incorporate modding tools, so if anyone is skilled enough...

I'm gonna buy this soon, and I can't wait for the mods sure to be made!

Crazed Rabbit

Indeed, there is no main quest or even a storyline. But there is a little indicator that there might be in the full release. It seems to me that there might be more to the war than meets the eye and there are also 'dark' forces out there (and they are strong)... Maybe they will work on that.

I don't mind much that the towns are so unfinished, only that the tavernkeeper is so far away in his building.

I agree with rabbit that the best equipment comes from battles. You just need to beat up big groups of enemies. So look around for caravans under attack. They are normally rather well protected and withyou and your buddies you should be able to win against even rather large groups of enemies.
Make sure you do missions for the merchants, they give you 700+ for just escorting a caravan to a nearby town, a lot more if it farther away. Some times you will even be charged with missions to deliver goods somewhere, again at a good price (I accidentally sold the goods the first time and ended up owing the merchants 18600 gold, no trade until that was paid with interest).
Beware of the Sea Raiders though... They are not as weak as their name suggests. When engaging them, be sure to have at the very least 2/3rds of their numbers, and if you feel you haven't got enough, just hire peasants in large numbers. They are bad fighters on their own, but I saw how they dealt with a number of Swadian deserter knights. The knights stormed in, but they were soon halted by the mass of men (and women) and before long they were either dead or their horses were dead. One poor knight actually survived and was ganged up on by 5-6 peasants, his HP and armour obviously helped him a long way as he took hits all the time, his shield splintered and he simply couldn't defend himself, he couldn't even retreat away. Eventually I had to step in and put an end to his misery. But the visage of pitchforks, sickles and clubs striking the defenseless man was impressive. And very good by the way. The knights charged headlessly in and suffered from it. The infantry that followed proceeded to make mincemeat of the peasants until I and my men rescued them.

MP? I can't see why this can't be made, it is perfect for it. The Tournament in Zendar is a perfect setting for it and almost looks like a test for future MP.

MP will not be coming out for M&B 1 but Amargan (One of the only two developers) has hinted that it might be included in M&B 2.

I've had the game for a week or so, and it is amazing. I'm currently lv 27 and with my band of Swadian Infantry. Having 20 crossbowmen in one place blunts any cavalry charge. ~:)

I constantly run into trouble as soon as I have a nice army.
I had 3 knights, 5 sharpshooters, 4 crossbowmen, 7 men at arms and finally 7 Footmen.

A nice army that should be able to take on anything, especially bandits (you know those quest bandits). I ended up in a battle against 34 of those bandits. And yup, they managedto take out my entire army eventhough I dropped them like flies. Finally my crossbow ran out of ammo and my horse got knocked out from under me and I still faced some 6-7 enemies, of which 2 were mounted.
I got beat so bad.

Then it was simply goodbye army, one I had used so much time in building to a proper state (I had just handed over 5 knights and 6 men at arms for quests so this was the beginning of a new round of troops). RATS!

I travel with 53 men, I can quite easily take down Vaegir War Parties of 90 or more men. Quite Fun really being on my Spirited Charger, ordering my guys to hold a hill and then chraging into the melee as the hail of bolts flies from my men.

Crazed Rabbit you bastard! Last night I was ready to hit the sack around 11:30 so I could catch some quality REM sleep that I missed the night before. However, just before shutting my computer down for the night I caught this thread here in the Arena and simply had to see what all the ranting and raving was about...

I didn't get to sleep until 2am! :furious3:

This game is great! Talk about an impressive debut! At first you think it's some obscure 'ho hum' rpg but then you actually get to fight! I found myself yelling at the screen quite a number of times; I yelled at myself, yelled at the enemy and also found myself yelling at my comrades in and out of the arena to warn them or danger or come to my aid!

About the only thing I don't like is that the horse doesn't seem to impart any mass when it hits an enemy soldier. Sure, you can knock the bugger on his buttocks but at the same time your horse will stop and rear up on his hind legs. In the very least swiping a soldier with your horse should provide some kind of hit and run effect. Now I totally understand the realism/balance issue at work here. However it doesn't make sense that a very expensive, high quality warhorse couldn't knock over an enemy soldier (at least those without spears or polearms) while at a full gallop and keep going. In the very least each knocked over soldier could slow the horse down so as to not make mounted troops nigh invincible. The mounted AI also needs some work, horsemen in the arena or in constricted spaces will sometimes run their horses into a wall or obstacle, leaving them extremely vulnerable until they can turn around and ride in another direction. But these are amazing small quibbles considering the game is still a work in progress.

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Originally Posted by zelda12

I travel with 53 men, I can quite easily take down Vaegir War Parties of 90 or more men. Quite Fun really being on my Spirited Charger, ordering my guys to hold a hill and then chraging into the melee as the hail of bolts flies from my men.

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53 vs. 90! ~:eek: I didn't know the battles could get that large! That's fantastic! I wonder if the developers programmed a maximum number of men per side in any given battle. How was your framerate during that battle and what CPU & 3D card are you using?

For the next version I'd like to see them add group formations to the orders menu. I see no reason why seasoned, higher tier soldiers cannot set themselves into a rudimentary formation.

The core of this game, the combat, is so brilliantly done that it would be an absolute crime if the developers changed gears and made it into a more 'traditional' rpg or worse, dropped the project altogether! ~:eek:

I seriously hope this husband and wife developer team is able to take this game/idea/engine to the next level. Hopefully they can get some additional artists and programmers on board and flesh out the existing game. Once the word gets out on this little gem I seriously doubt there will be a lack of modding type volunteers who are willing to help out!

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Originally Posted by Spino

53 vs. 90! I didn't know the battles could get that large! That's fantastic! I wonder if the developers programmed a maximum number of men per side in any given battle. How was your framerate during that battle and what CPU & 3D card are you using?

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When I say that much they do it in segments with around 15-20 men o each side. I imagine that you could probaly squeeze more men in but Amargan hasn't commented on it yet.

On the other subjects Amargan has been saying that he is going to get some more people on board to help him out. Here's hoping we are seeing the birth of one of the futures greatest game developers.

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About the only thing I don't like is that the horse doesn't seem to impart any mass when it hits an enemy soldier. Sure, you can knock the bugger on his buttocks but at the same time your horse will stop and rear up on his hind legs. In the very least swiping a soldier with your horse should provide some kind of hit and run effect. Now I totally understand the realism/balance issue at work here. However it doesn't make sense that a very expensive, high quality warhorse couldn't knock over an enemy soldier (at least those without spears or polearms) while at a full gallop and keep going. In the very least each knocked over soldier could slow the horse down so as to not make mounted troops nigh invincible. The mounted AI also needs some work, horsemen in the arena or in constricted spaces will sometimes run their horses into a wall or obstacle, leaving them extremely vulnerable until they can turn around and ride in another direction. But these are amazing small quibbles considering the game is still a work in progress.

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If you're going fast enough, you will [sometimes] run right over the guy. Strangely, it doesn't do that much damage - less than I would expect. And I have to agree, it would be nice if some of the AI was better. But still...

How do you equip soldiers in your party? Do you have to have the equipment avaliable? Do newly hired people come with any weapons?

I think the engine is mostly done, and they just need to flesh out details (like a plot...). All in all very, very cool.

All soldiers come with their own equipment, except for the two named characters Borcha and Marnid, who you can equip.

You can even change your character's face! Try and guess who this is:

http://img227.echo.cx/img227/3702/johnkerrys1ed.png

Crazed Rabbit

~:eek:

I wonder if he's a good fighter.... :book:

:laugh: :laugh2: :laugh3: :laugh4:

And thanks, I'll try getting some peasants to join my quest against the river pirates!

I really like this game. I have to say there's satisfaction in putting an arrow in the eye of a river pirate at 50 yards ~;) ~D

Glad to be of service. And watch out for Sea Raiders: they are basically Vikings. And like vikings, they are very tough. Great ranged attacks and deadly close combat. They lack only in mobility.

Crazed Rabbit

I bought the beta today. Very happy to support such a fine product. I can't wait to see what they manage to get in the full release version. It's positively oozing with potential. ~:cheers:

I think I just hit lvl 10 and the Sea Raiders are kicking my backside at every corner but that's the way I like it. :charge: Crazed Rabbit is right, they are basically Vikings and they fight like it! Very deadly in the open field with their thrown axes and javelins and very aggresive in melee combat. Now I will take a moment to reflect on the 100s of poorly trained peasants and militia that have died under my command... ~;)

I really wish I could join the steppe bandits faction and do some Mongol style raids on the populace. Maybe in the next patch ~D

supposedly that is something you'll be able to do later. Hence the Bandit Stronghold.

hmm...guys, I just dl the demo thinghy yesterday, but it doesnt run. As in I click the executable file and it just ignores me.... do I have to do something different? lower the screen resolution or something?

I didn't.

Wonderful game. I bought it. Thanks, Crazed Rabbit and Kraxis.

Anyone got any combat tips? I am not sure I am getting the whole "feinting/direction of attack" type thing, nor am I much use on a horse. Anyone care to spell things out to a newbie, I'd be grateful. I got through the training and am about level 9, but usually lose the tournament and win battles more by picking which ones are winnable than by in-battle heroism. I'm pretty decent with a bow though.

First off get yourself a nice large party, lot of extra swords help, alot. Then when you deploy its best to press '1' to order your troops to hold this position. When the enemy arrives they'll come in dribs and drabs and your boys can easily overpower them. Also when in combat look for when your enemies are going to attack and use your shielf to block their attacks and then counterattack. If you are getting swamped try running backwards as they'll usualy follow you and you can deal blows out whilst they very rarely can all hit you together.

Oh and get your riding skill up, save up and buy a charger and a balanced great axe. Then let the good times roll! ~:cool:

Also to all of you who are saying the horse doesn't knock the enemies over you need to get a faster horse with a much better chrage rating. I guarantee you that if you get a spirited charger you will be able to knock groups of 3 or 4 enemies flying with as much as 20 damage depending on your speed. ~D

The game is fun, but it also randomly crashes my computer. A major source of irritation, that.

Damn, I had another 'up til 2am' session last night! Glad the boss isn't in the office today because I'm a walking zombie... ~;)

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Originally Posted by zelda12

Also to all of you who are saying the horse doesn't knock the enemies over you need to get a faster horse with a much better chrage rating. I guarantee you that if you get a spirited charger you will be able to knock groups of 3 or 4 enemies flying with as much as 20 damage depending on your speed. ~D

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You know, I was secretly hoping this would be the case and now I'm positively giddy that it's true. I haven't gotten my hands on a high quality warhorse yet but I'm certainly looking forward to it! I love the fact that the developers have taken the 'little things' like this into account.

I can't wait for the next update!

Yeah it is lovely to watch 6-7 knights totally flatten a group of enemy infantry with their great horses.

Right now I only have a Heavy Hunter as my horse (riding skill too low for chargers or war horses) but damn it is good. Fast, maneuverable, durable and a nice charge. But I truly expect the Spirited Charger to be the best... Have you noticed if there was any Heavy Charger? But for a true eastern style horse archer it would have to be the Spirited Steppe Horse or the Spirited Hunter, they are very fast and very maneuverable.

Personally I prefer to use my heavy crossbow with extra ammo in the inventory. But as a safeguard I have a thick steel shield and a balanced longsword for when enemy cavalry and infantry get too close. In my inventory I also carry a Great Lance, perfect for riding down the enemy.

So when out of ammo I change into a knight and go about killing the enemy in melee. Often by then the enemy has been depleted and dispersed making it easy to rip them apart with couched lance attacks.

SA... Be sure that you get to know the shield before you fight too many enemies. Keep it up when the enemy has ranged capabilities. When an enemy is within striking range, let him attack you first, then quickly drop the shieldstance and strike at him. He might parry but keep up the attack and he will not be able to strike back at you. If he keeps parrying, then halt and use the shield again.
It is wise use variety in the attack. Attack with swing from either side, then a stab and so on. Notice the arrows, they indicate to which side you will pull the weapon. This is very helpful on horseback where you need to see where the enemy is heading and thus choose the right side to swing the weapon.
But often relentless attacks often prevails.
Many enemies at once can be a problem, if that is the case, up with the shield and backpedal then use the same tactics as there will often only be one enemy within range of both your weapons.

Don't be afraid of horses. In the arena they are hard to control, but they aer lousy horses and you have no room. Better horses in the open are great and will grant you a good deal of ability. Bring a fair horse (a saddle horse is often good enough, but it must be at least 8 in speed) next time you go into battle against a weak enemy. Then you can practice attacks on enemies. But never rush into a fight and never charge into the center of a group. That is a perfect way to end up dead.

Thanks for the tips, folks. The pressing "1" at the start of the battle is a life-saver - stops my horsemen charging off to their deaths. I am still relying on my bow, but have now bought a charger and am building up my polearm skill.

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Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit

All soldiers come with their own equipment, except for the two named characters Borcha and Marnid, who you can equip.

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How can you equip Marnid? He needed a padded cloth to join up but since then seems to be stuck with his padded cloth and club despite going up a few levels.

Also, where is Borcha?

This game is so addictive, it's given me a migraine. :dizzy2:

You can Find Borcha at Revachig or whatever its called, the town to the North west of the one you start in, to give them weapons go to the map screen and go to party by pressing 'p' then select Marnid or Borcha and click talk. Then the conversation is pretty straightforward.

Great thing to recommend guys -- I think I'm gonna go buy it, if only to see this game grow into a great project that'll take the game world by storm.

I love the combat -- it's amazing how such a seemingly simple, boring game can be so addictive due to just that one part of its experience. Although I do think there a whole lot of loose ends around, especially considering the story and the map, but this is a beta and I'm sure the end version will be much improved.

At first I had the same impression as Spino, in the sense that this was going to be the same old thing, with a bit of a spin given to it by way of the special combat system I had read about. But when my first real fight with river pirates started, I was hooked!

There is enormous promise in this game, and here's a lot of hoping that, with a fleshed out team, the game itself can be hugely fleshed out. The fact that this bare version can be so immersing gives me a lot of hope. But think of this game with the Havok 2.0 engine, with a good storyline, a(n even?) deeper combat system, and, the cherry on the oh-so-sweet pie: multiplayer! Drool...

This thing is shaping up to deliver the same shocking impact Diablo had back in the day -- certainly where my addiction is concerned! ~D



~Wiz

Got to level 6 ,and had to buy the full game.
Great find .
Best horse riding I've ever seen in a game .Nothing like slicing a sea raider through the neck as I charge past at full gallop.

Don't worry SA... I only learned about giving Marnid and Borcha equipment fairly late. Now they are quite well equiped, and they last a good while now.

It is interesting that there is a Merchant class, when it is really not that fun to trade. And I can't possibly believe that it will ever be that much fun.

By the way, if you are in a great need of money the best thing you can do is to travel to the salt mine and then back to Zendar again to sell it. It is a good and very fast way of making money. And after you have drained the mine you would have made enough money to buy yourself some nice equipment.

Of course it is better to do this very early in the game when there are no bandits.

Wow. Just fought a nice battle. About 30 vaegirs (sp) and 30 swadians were fighting it out, and since I'm a new vaegir recruit, I figured I help out my friends.

Chaos. Guys dying everywhere. Those enemy knights are tough! And me, little old me, in the thick of it! So cool.

I *will* pay the $11 for this game. :duel:

This looks very good. I will certaintly investage this when it comes out. :bow:

Can you be a horse archer? Please... please...

Wow, this game is class, I just had to buy it when I reached level 6.

I had a gang of 10 Vaegir Knights who were riding about laying down the law bt theyve lost it a bit now (on account of all being killed by dark knights) and I've resorted to mass peasent attacks again.

Still a big up to crazed rabbit for reccomending the game.

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

Can you be a horse archer?

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Yes, you can. ~D
Played it the whole day, going to buy it ASAP(not sure about money right now).
This is almost what I always wanted. ~:cool: :charge:

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Originally Posted by The Scourge

Best horse riding I've ever seen in a game .Nothing like slicing a sea raider through the neck as I charge past at full gallop.

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True, true. I'm loving that more than anything right now. I'm loving my spirited steppe horse and scimitar. The horse runs so fast none can catch me. The speed of scimitar is great in close. I've developed into a light, fast fighter. It's been very effective for killing sea raiders. :charge:

No other game has quite the good feeling you get at the end of battle with four throwing axes lodged in your shield, a javelin stuck in your leg, and dead sea raiders strewn across the landscape. ~D

Thanks for the advice on equipping Borcha and the other NPC (also on levelling them!). It adds another dimension when my main character is pretty much tricked out and I have them to work on.

BTW, is there any trick to using a "couched lance" attack? I've got a charger and a great lance, but my lance does pitiful damage (when I can get it to connect with anything). Is there a skill prerequisite? My polearm skill was a little below 100. I haven't practised it much, as my archery seems more useful but I'd like to get the hang of horse combat.

EDIT: Feeling dumb now, I just found the "quick and dirty" manual thread on the forum:

http://taleworlds.com/v-web/bulletin...opic.php?t=584

It sounds like the couched lance attack is rather different.

Arrrgh! This 6th level thing is ridiculous! If I didn't know it wasn't allowed, I'd ask for someone to PM me the details of skirting that annoyance.

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

Can you be a horse archer? Please... please...

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Yeah...but is it ever bloody HARD! Horse archery is ridiculous!

Oh...and don't try starting as a former priest. There is basically no way to get going without already having weapons and a horse.

The aiming for the archery reticle gets smaller the slower you go, and hunters have the highest starting archery skill (and a bow instead of crossbow).

Nevertheless, you need to pump your starting archery skill a lot to get good at horse archery.

Here's a screenie of one battle I joined (This was near the end, but there were still 10-15 people left (unfortunately all but 2, including me, on the other side)):

http://img211.echo.cx/img211/5452/mb29mt.th.jpg

Lots of bodies!

Crazed Rabbit

http://taleworlds.com/v-web/bulletin...pic.php?t=1363

Thread on using lances.

I'm playing as a merchant and loving it!!

Hell I got to Level 4 and 6000 denars without EVER swinging a sword or any other weapon for that matter.

I'm going to download this puppy today - sounds grreat.

eh - is there some way to edit/cheat? :embarassed:

Damn, this game sounds GREAT!!! I am going to download and buy but... how big is the file and is it only available online?

Played this to level 6 last night and considering it is written by a husband and wife and started as a hobby it is a very nice game and I will be paying for the full version tonight.

My impressions so far.

The class you pick at the beginning reflects the equipment you start the game with, I chose hunter and started with a horse, an axe and a bow. I believe the priest doesn't have a horse in the beginning so you would need to earn enough to buy one as they are a pretty vital bit of equipment.

After you've done the training be sure to enter the arena, if you bet on yourself and win you double your money but you can only bet a maximum of 200d a time.

I didn't bother buying weapons or armour before I left town, when you win battles you will pick these up from the battlefield though it might make your first few battles harder.

Don't leave town without some backup, you'll die. You can hire help from the tavern, which I believe is the building in front of where you start (just walk up to it and press f to enter). In here you can hire a henchman, Mendin or something like that (Could be Fu Manchu as far as I know, my memory isn't the best), he is the the first guy on the right of the 4 people you see when entering and will want a set of padded armour before he joins you (the armour can be bought from the merchant outside). You should also see the tavern keeper to hire some townsmen, he is behind the pillar just past the 4 people, these are pretty poor to begin with but they do upgrade as they gain experience so get yourself 5 or so of them.

In the other door is the merchant and as stated before you can make quite a bit of money by selling him salt form the salt mine to the north. He will also give out quests which are escorting merchant caravans, these are easy money and experience.

After this you are just about ready to leave town and this is where the game really begins. From here there are three main options, trading, quests and hunting down bands of bandits. The quests are pretty much as stated earlier, if there are different types I haven't found them yet, trading is as it sounds ou buy low in one town and sell high in another, and then there's my favourite, hunting. The map screen is similar to Pirates of the Carribean, except on land, where if you roam around the map you will see other groups of people, how far depends on your spotting skill. These groups are either neutral, friendly or aggresive, a good tip is to find a group that has been attacked by river pirates and then pitch in, this has the advantage of you having allies in the fight against the pirates and makes the fight much easier.

This is the very basics of the game, I'm at work so I can't type any more ~;) , if I get time I might go into combat later ~:cheers:

Rosacrux, it's about 35MB total, and so far as I know it's only available this way.




:sigh: Now the frog is an addict too ~:mecry:

I downloaded the game when this topic was first posted, but I only just had time to tinker with it. I've done about 20 minutes, and so far it's been a rather wild ride. I've passed the training, and got the sea raider quest. I gathered 5 peasants and off I went questing. I was hired to escort a caravan, but the will-die-when-I-find-him! merchant didn't pay me! Then I helped a patrol deal with some raiders ... and my allies turned on me and slaughtered my men, horse and beat me unconscious. So at this point I have 6 dinars left, and the starting equipment of a squire minus the horse, and a round shield.

I tried two more 'help the good guys' battles with the raiders. I got killed in one because all my allies died, and I got mobbed by about 7 angry and hairy men. The second I survived, and I got some very rubbish armour to take away. That'll give me about 600 dinars total, no men, no horse and the same rubbish equipment. That is where I am right now, at level 3.

I've tried the arena, but it has this wonderful gift for dumping me on a terrible team and with the weapons I am worst with. I have no idea how to use a lance or fight on horseback, and when it's not making me attempt to do that I'm stuck as an archer with no other weapon besides my bow. Heh, the AI can change weapons, but in the arena I can't. I did win one battle, but I got nothing for it. I presume you have to bet and win, but I don't have the cash or skill to really do that.

I like the longsword/shield comb, and the staff. The bow and crossbow seem nice, but I haven't used them much yet. I hate two-handed swords! I can't use a lance to save my life (literally).

So ... suggestions? I'm going to keep on trying to scavenge off easy battles until I can afford a horse, armour and some men.

And how do you get those merchants that pop up on the world map to pay you for escorting them?

Any tips for mounted combat? I can't hit anything, and I've had opportunity to fight with both sword and lance.

Froggy: Intrepid wannabe knight (I want full Norman style mail armour, a nasal helm, and a clipped kite shield to go with lance and a long sword. Mmmm, nice armour …), heading back to the field instead of eating lunch!

To get the merchants to be escorted you have to go into town and ask the merchant there if he has any jobs for you. Then you'll get to escort the caravan to their destination.

Also the arena takes practise but it is a nice little money earner in the early stages of the game. And good for leveling up early on, but after around level 8 its better to kill river pirates.

If you want a spirite Charger at the start of the game pick female then Court Lady. I was messing around with different classes and other things and found that out.

It's pity that the game sometimes unexpectedl freezes on my comp between places. Also theres a bug that if you have no mounted troops in your army, if you order them to mount or dismount a eroor message comes up which then causes my comp at least to automatically shut down! But being a beta this is an excellent game!

You just have not attack with lance. But try to hit your opponent with the end of the lance when it is pointed down. You need a not c**p horse to do this. If you can hit a crouched lance you can waste anybody.

For Caravan quests, you talk to them when your very close to the destination, then they will pay you.


I have about 12,000 denars and was on my way to buy perfect knight gear when I reached level six. I'll somehow have to get my dad to buy me this and then I pay him back in cash.


make sure you get a skill in trainer, then just buy as many peasants as you can. SPARE NO EXPENSE. Men equals winning battles equals money equals more men/better equitment equals more won battles.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

So ... suggestions? I'm going to keep on trying to scavenge off easy battles until I can afford a horse, armour and some men.

And how do you get those merchants that pop up on the world map to pay you for escorting them?

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The Constable in the starter town gives you a quest to fight river pirates. These are the easiest enemies so you can target small groups of them. (I could solo five or less at the beginning with just a bow).

I would hire Marnid in the starter tavern asap. Talk to him on the campaign map and you can level him up, equip him etc. There's another one, Borcha, in Rivacheg.

At every town, visit the Merchant and ask for a job. They give decent money and experience. To escort a caravan talk to it and get it to follow you.

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Any tips for mounted combat? I can't hit anything, and I've had opportunity to fight with both sword and lance.

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I have not really cracked this. Archery on foot with a sword and shield to fall back on seems better.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Any tips for mounted combat? I can't hit anything, and I've had opportunity to fight with both sword and lance.

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Mounted Combat is one of the best ways to fight, first get a good fast horse, then either a two handed weapon (great axe for preference) or get a nice sword and shield combo. When you charge the enemy time your swing so that you swing down just as the enemy is knowcked over, this will allow you to get rid of their shield defence.

Or you can use the mass cavalry charge.
http://img260.echo.cx/img260/6227/39wg.jpg
http://img194.echo.cx/img194/4763/28qv1.th.jpg
http://img203.echo.cx/img203/7206/17ur.th.png

Zelda12 - I'm just wondering how come you have a Kradus and (two?) Xerina's in your screenshots? IIRC, aren't they two of the characters in the starter town tavern? Can they join you at some stage?

Not really, but there is a mod to help you out.

http://taleworlds.com/v-web/bulletin...t=1446&start=0

Ok it seems a few people have some trouble...

Couched lance is about the only way to go with lances. Normally they are slow and do not do much damage. I noticed the couched lance technique in the Arena when I got speared out of my saddle on the first pass.
To do it:
Get a horse that has at least 8 in speed (and be certain that you are good enough at Riding to control it). Then speed it up to full speed, then at some point you will notice the lance drops. Now you are ready to run people over. When you have a target in your sights, make certain he will end up slightly on you right side, or else you will miss (possibly do some charge damage with the horse and knock him down if he is infantry). If he is infantry make certain that you look downwards a good deal, how you look is how the lance is positioned. Thus you can even kill a horse under a knight, but I prefer to kill him.
If you are up against lots of ranged infantry, be sure you have a shield and keep it up while you are heading for them. It will take any ranged attacked, then about 7 meters from them let go of the shield and the lance should fall into place just in time. But beware, the archers might just have time to shoot you and then you lose your concentration and will not impale him.

Also beware of slopes, there is nothing worse than charging at archers only to realize at the last instance that the lance simply won't drop down while you are getting plastered by arrows.

Horse Archery:
Get a bow, get a fast horse with good maneuverability, fight. It is that simple, but to be effective as a horse archer you need to have some skillpoints in Horse Archery. That will lower the reticule spread a bit. Of course the best way to be a horse archer is to stand still while shooting, then scoot to another great position of shooting. But you can draw enemy infantry around in circles letting your own ranged troops kill them. But be certain the enemy is on your left side, you can get the bow across the horse's neck (and it is rather hard to shoot a bow to right side of the body).

The Arena:
You get 20 denaries after each bout in the Arena, but only when you talk to the master.

Caravans:
Make sure you talk to the Caravan Master a short distance before it enters the destination.
Caravans are also great at attracting bandits and give you the added strength to beat them senseless. But the caravan won't come to your assistance if the bandits think you are a better target, so make sure it is the caravan they want before you head for them.

Btw, I have now reached level 26, have a full panoply of Black Armour (give me a white tree and I will be a gondorian knight from the films, but not as whimpy). I have a balanced longsword, a thick steel shield (though it is quite ugly round it gives me 846 points of protection enough to soak up all the ranged attacks you can imagine), a great lance and a sniper crossbow with two large bags of bolts. I'm a walking talking killingmachine.

I find, starting out as a squire, that I can usually take groups of four or five river pirates by myself. Also, it is good to go to the trainer and practice in the arena in Zendar.

A few tips for on foot combat:

When you are on foot with a group of enemies coming towards you, walk backwards while swinging. If you have any missiles, preferably some throwing items, use them.

While walking backwards, swing at your enemies. After a bit of practice you can get the timing down to kill them. Hopefully you'll be able to kill them off one by one. What you do not want to do is stop, because then you'll be swamped. If your horse gets dropped in a swarm of men, raise your shield and back out.

In one on one, keep on attacking after you hit the guy. Don't let up, and you'll usually get him. Also, slashing attacks have a wider range than the downward slashes.

For horse combat, hitting people with a sword is rather simple. Just ride towards the side of a person, then look to whatever side they are on (to make your attack go to that side) and swing. Be wary of getting your horse injured, though, as it could become lame (and much slower).

My current character is level 8, and has a good steppe horse, a fighting axe, nordic sword and throwing axes. I got that sweet loot from a battle between manhunters and sea raiders I joined.

One time, it was my and faithful Borcha against some 8 river pirates. WHle Borcha charged and got himself knocked out, I rode around throwing axes at them. With only 7 axes, I managed to get 3 or 4 headshots. After that, I rode amoung them, slashing with my sword. After a while, I noticed my horse was damaged, so I rode off a bit and dismounted, and finished the remaining foes on foot.

And Zelda, how do you take screenshots?

Crazed Rabbit

F11 will generate a screenshot.

Or you can use...Fraps!

Well, after my terrible start I managed to recover and work my way up to level 6.

I spent a while working the arena for 20 denars a time, not daring to place bets even when I finally scraped the cash to do so. I found the fights entirely too unpredictable, and often too unfair. I was most often dumped in as a foot archer, despite only having about 28 points in bows ... That meant I couldn't hit a thing, and having no other weapon I just got killed the instant anyone got close to me. Also the arena horse is just too bad to fight on; it has the turning circle of a dead whale. I suspect that's the main reason I was having trouble; I spent ages running about trying to get lined up for an attack, and probably still ended up slightly out of line anyway, or not looking down far enough to hit infantry. I do wonder why they bothered putting mounted combat in with such useless horses; they should have dished out average mounts, to match the average armour you get loaned.

My break came when I gave up on the noble arts of war and decided to cheese it as a salt merchant for a bit. I soon earned a pile of cash taking salt from the mine to the nearest village. I got myself a decent saddlehorse and 10 peasants, and then did some very cautious battling against the 10 man strong groups of forest bandits. That led to nice equipment and better horses, and slaves and booty to sell, and from there things picked up quite decently. I found I did far better by giving up on horse riding and sticking to a sword/shield combo for melee, and using my crossbow like a madfrog at every opportunity.

Properly equipped, backed up, and not stuffed in the arena it turns out I'm quite a good shot with a crossbow, and rather mean with my sword. :gring: I didn’t risk any more mounted combat; I hadn’t got to the point where I could afford to risk losing a horse.

I'm going to start a second game with another character, and build up to much better cash and equipment without levelling up. I want to try out reasonable skill level/good mount combat, and a few other things, before I consider buying or not. The equivalent of £6 might not be much for a game, but it’s the price of a good book, and a frog always has at least ten books she wants to buy at all times.

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When you are on foot with a group of enemies coming towards you, walk backwards while swinging. If you have any missiles, preferably some throwing items, use them.

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I found I couldn’t do that successfully; I was always being stabbed repeatedly without even chance to get in an attack of any sort. My enemies seemed a bit faster than me. It was most noticeable in the arena, during all this confounded bouts where I was dumped in as a foot archer.

Well I downloaded it, and I suck. Quite interesting though. I just finished the training, and I was trying accsess my equipment screen (if there is such a thing...) Somehow, it CTDed on me... But I really like this game!

And can I use a shield with a bow? Or should I not invest in shield if I'm gonna be a mounted horse archer?

You can't use a shield. It's quite a bit of fun being a horse-archer, but those 20 arrows sure get spent fast...

I'd go for archery and polearms (incl. lances, but some have been reporting problems with them?) or 2-handed and archery for weapons. This way you can have 2 weapons and 2 sets of arrows at the ready.

now :charge:

Mounted with one handed sword+shield is my favorite combo right now for a few reasons.
I can survive the hail axes and javs the sea raiders throw at me and a bit of close combat if my horse becomes bogged down because of the shield.
Most one handed swords have a fast attack speed so if your first attack is deflected you can usually get in another attack before you pass. If you knock them down sit there and slash away. That's another plus with one handers because in close a polearm can't reach full extension and you will deal almost no damage.
Like most things involving mounted combat you really need a fast horse. I try to stay as mobile as possible and never charge into groups of more than three.
If you hold down the attack button you can charge your swing and then release just as you pass. This makes mounted attacks much easier to land. You don't always have that luxury though as you may need your shield up if your coming at an archer.
Lastly try to attack at full speed because of the speed bonus.

I Really like this game. It took a while getting used to the controls, but it's really fun. I'm trying to get money to buy a cloth thingy for that one guy in the town that you start out with so he can join me.
I'm a hunter that specializes in horse archery. Bet you coulda guessed that. I currently have 3 other soldiers... is that enough to try and start a fight? I'm struggling trying to get money in the arena... I can win, but only sometimes...
Which side should I join Swabians or the other guys?

Steppe - you can take down maybe 5 river pirates by yourself, assuming you have a bow, horse, and hand-to-hand weapon. 5 other guys makes it overkill, as long as you help out in the meelee.

The two sides seem to be the same. It doesn't matter much.

I was having fun with my crossbow and company of brave foot soldiers until I leveled up. Wah! Need to get the license now...

Pick the Swabians as the pay is better.

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Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Steppe - you can take down maybe 5 river pirates by yourself, assuming you have a bow, horse, and hand-to-hand weapon. 5 other guys makes it overkill, as long as you help out in the meelee.

The two sides seem to be the same. It doesn't matter much.

I was having fun with my crossbow and company of brave foot soldiers until I leveled up. Wah! Need to get the license now...

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i'm thinking about getting a license, it's only 12 bucks (US) and apparently you won't have to pay more as the game is further developed. i'm a pussy about spending money, though, so i need to think it over. :undecided:

I always join the vaegirs, mainly cuz they're closer, and I here the quests they give are better.

@Froggy:
Increasing your athletics skill will make you run faster.

Crazed Rabbit

The first Swadian quest I recieved was to buy 6 great helms or something. That's about 70K! Needless to say I haven't been able to finish it yet. I'm only lvl 12 though.

Steppe Merc, it is very much worth it for you to invest in a shield. Even a Nomad shield.

As a horse archer you can consider yourself a Turkoman or Szekely if you pack a shield and saber... And teh right armour of course. I actually had Borcha as one such for a while until I got good money (when you are able to defeat big bandit groups 'alone' you will swim in goods). I even altered his face so that he would look more eastern. It was lovely to see him scoot about as a horse archer looking like a mongol from hell. He was lousy at it though, but hey... ~D

If you keep running out of ammo keep another or even two bags in the inventory. At any time in battle you can return to the chest and exchange your current supply. I usually carry two large bags of bolts (only 21 bolts compared to 20, unlike arrows that are 24-25 compared to 20). But to use this effectively you need to have a horse so you can return fast.

I have chosen to follow the Swadians... They just looked cooler to me, you know real feudal warriors, while the Vaegirs look like barbarian raiders.

Btw, try saving some peasant women from an enemy group. It can be great fun to have them level up, they are supposedly very strong when they have leveled up a few times. I still need to do it myself. Those Sword Sisters are quite luring.

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Originally Posted by Kraxis

Btw, try saving some peasant women from an enemy group. It can be great fun to have them level up, they are supposedly very strong when they have leveled up a few times. I still need to do it myself. Those Sword Sisters are quite luring.

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I used to have two sword sisters in my party. They can easily go toe-to-toe with sea raiders, steppe bandits and the like. But if they get swarmed (like mine did) they die. :embarassed:

Kraxis, yeah, that was what I was thinking. Bow, then close in with saber and shield. However, lances are quite fun, but saber is easier to manuever with, at least for me.
My character is going for the Iranian nomad look (couldn't quite figure out how to do a Turkic or Mongloid features...) .Redish blond long hair, with blue eyes, and sort of scary looking.

This game made me understand how hard it is to control a horse in combat. The game is great even if it´s not finished. My 11 y/o son shanghaied the pc for 6 hours playing tournament. He's good with sword and shield and a real mongol with the mounted bow. The mother is not so crazy about the game (that's why I haven't bought it...yet) But it's a fine way to find our male bonding. This game is here to stay. Cheers!

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

My character is going for the Iranian nomad look (couldn't quite figure out how to do a Turkic or Mongloid features...) .Redish blond long hair, with blue eyes, and sort of scary looking.

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Well you won't get a true mongol, but something that looks fair enough. Besides with all the armour and the helmet...

I just gave him a short flat face (big cheekbones, non-sunken cheeks, flat semi-wide nose, short nose-mouth and chin and finally fairly wide jaw) low eyebrows, flat eyes that are slightly upturned in centrally placed. The hair and colour was easy, but the beard that a tough one, so I settled for the thinner moustache, but it isn't really good at all.

Bah, this game is freaking evil. Before I knew it, I had spent the $11 and and am now level 29! This is horrible! Its so addicting. I just can't help slaughter a group of deserters with my Knights and Hired Blades. My character is not yet strong enough to do more then raid Foragers and the occasional weak caravan. But just a word of advice, if your really into Horse Archery, you can sacrifice your shield slot for another quiver of arrows. I personally have about 25 armor for head, body, and feet. I then have a Nomad Saber, two large bag of arrows, and a longbow along with a heavy courser. I just can't stop shooting up unshielded foes in the head, I just need those arrows!

Evil indeed... curse the guy who brought this up, I've downloaded it last night (took a while in my 64K connection...) started venturing around 11 (wife went early to bed, thank god) and before I even knew, it was 4 in the morning! Darn, and I had to wake up early today...

I never thought that a kind-of-RPG completely lacking any kind of story line, would hook me up so badly... It's an extremely addictive great little gem and I am going to purchase it ASAP! I am lvl 5 now and soon to become lvl 6, and I just have to keep on playing!

They got to bring this game to a higher level, they just have to. It's gonna be a big major hit for any company that takes the (whatever) risk to invest on it and release it after (letting the guys who do it right now) fleshing it out accordingly.

Some observations:

- I tried out an ex merchant as my character. Not great in battle, but starts off with some goodies you can sell for cash and get some retinue pretty early. I have skipped the bloody pirates and started the escorting and quest and of course trading business fairly soon, so now I am lvl 5 and have more than 10K, a decent set of equipment (for the lvl I am in, at least) a nice retinue and that guy from the first tavern fully outfited.

- Mounted battle is difficult. I've managed to strike a few couched lance hits in arena, but controlling the damn thing (I've now a steppe horse) is a real pain in the butt. Sometimes I just unmount and start chasing the buggers on foot...

- Archery isn't as difficult as some seem to imply... I've landed quite a number of shots in the arena, although in real combat I still have to find the way to shoot before getting massacred. Although everybody and his baby sister is a better shooter than you, in the games world.

I'll keep venturing and let you know!

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Originally Posted by Rosacrux redux

Evil indeed... curse the guy who brought this up, I've downloaded it last night (took a while in my 64K connection...) started venturing around 11 (wife went early to bed, thank god) and before I even knew, it was 4 in the morning! Darn, and I had to wake up early today...

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Only 4? Hell, I didn't even go to bed last night. That's what happens when you stumble on a fun new game at 3 in the morning :laugh4:

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Originally Posted by Rosacrux redux

Mounted battle is difficult. I've managed to strike a few couched lance hits in arena, but controlling the damn thing (I've now a steppe horse) is a real pain in the butt. Sometimes I just unmount and start chasing the buggers on foot...

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Yeah, it's hard. I had all sorts of trouble just controlling the horse in the arena. I'm still only a level 2 character, BTW.

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Originally Posted by Rosacrux redux

Archery isn't as difficult as some seem to imply... I've landed quite a number of shots in the arena, although in real combat I still have to find the way to shoot before getting massacred. Although everybody and his baby sister is a better shooter than you, in the games world.

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Actually I was getting whupped in every river pirate battle until someone on this thread said you don't even need a party to beat those guys. And I realized he was right.

I have a squire mounted on an old nag who unfortunately has little bow skill and owns only a crossbow, which can't even be reloaded on horseback. However I've figured out how to beat the pirates.

What I do is gallop to one edge of the battle map and wait till the pirates arrive, then shoot from my stationary horse and race to the other edge of the battle map. This gives me time to get off the horse, load another bolt and get on the horse again. When the pirates approach, shoot the bolt, race to the opposite edge of the map once more, and repeat the whole process as often as necessary.

A side effect of this tactic is that I've become much better at controlling a horse. I'm hoping to do better in my next foray into the arena, although I agree that those lances are darned hard to aim.

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Originally Posted by Rosacrux redux

Archery isn't as difficult as some seem to imply... I've landed quite a number of shots in the arena, although in real combat I still have to find the way to shoot before getting massacred. Although everybody and his baby sister is a better shooter than you, in the games world.

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I find archery by far the most effective combat style. Firstly, it is relatively riskless - you don't take damage and so can fight more rounds/more battles. Second, it's reach means you can take down multiple enemies very quickly - you don't have to run around trying to get into action.

It's probably good to start off with a decent archery statistic - I chose hunter and so started at 68. I did not put many points into it after that, as it rises naturally with hits. You can buy a long bow fairly quickly.

It is hard to solo as an archer - at the beginning, I can take down 4-5 river pirates but it's hairy. The trick to avoid being massacred is to make sure they are preoccupied. When battle starts, I tap "2" to get my men to follow me and head for the steepest hill. When you are comfy, tap "1" for them to hold ground. The enemy will tend to focus on your screen of melee guys and being on a hill slows them down if they want to get you, especially the horse. You may want to go slightly to the side of your line to avoid it obstructing your vision.

I tend to focus on the infantry - enemy cav is too fast unless it's close and usually your guys can handle it. I start shooting from the moment I see them - you may get lucky - but the sweet spot tends to be just before they reach your lines. I tend to go back for a second quiver of arrows, seldom a third (mopping up is time for the sword and shield). If you hold your head you can do awful damage from really close up - there's nothing like the satisfaction of headshotting the rider who just knocked you over - but you do risk killing your own men in the scrummage.

I rather like the archery duels - like Legolas against the orcs at the Bridge at Kazadum - although I confess I am still playing on the default easy difficulty level.

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Originally Posted by Rosacrux redux

Archery isn't as difficult as some seem to imply... I've landed quite a number of shots in the arena, although in real combat I still have to find the way to shoot before getting massacred. Although everybody and his baby sister is a better shooter than you, in the games world.

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It's very dependant on your character's skill level. For example my squire had 28 in bows, and the aiming cursor was massive. I don't really care about that; it's easy enough to compensate and learn to shoot without a cursor. More importantly, the arrows flew pretty randomly, so even if I aimed correctly I seldom hit anything because the arrow went wide. This was a problem even at close range; I aimed ahead and shot my feet. But the starting 60ish points in crossbows meant he had a good chance of hitting with them; the aiming reticule was much smaller, and the bolts went where you expected.



I started a second character and have been playing quite a different game. I put an early and heavy emphasis on trade until I had a good horse and decent equipment, and only then started to fight. The result is that I'm getting a better idea of mounted combat, since I'm using a good horse and weapons. Now I'm beginning to enjoy descending on hapless bandits at full charge, swinging my sword. I might buy the game ...

Addendum to that last post: About twenty minutes after I posted the game crashed with a dialogue about horses and would I like to cancel, retry, or ignore. Heh, nothing and no big problem, I thought, given that the game's a beta and all. I picked ignore, and the message kept on generating. So I tried retry; it rebooted my PC instantly. I have only just got my PC working correctly again. It was messed up so badly windows dropped into a black screen instead of the desktop when starting up; only safe mode worked correctly. Unsurprisingly the game is now off my system and will never get back on it, and I'm very glad I decided to play my second character up to level 6 before buying.

So a warning to everyone still playing - if you are shown an error message in battle and are given the choice between cancel, ignore and retry for heaven's sake don't pick retry! Much pain follows if you do..

Shame; it was getting to be very good.