Sweet Realistic Medieval Combat (Mount and Blade)

[Graphic]

Anyone have any tips for what to do early on? I don't know how to join a faction. So basically all I keep doing is first, rescue the merchant's whatever, then wander around fighting bandits, losing in the arena, or occasionally doing a quest for a town elder. This goes on until eventually I lose all my men and get taken prisoner 10 times in 3 minutes and quit.

I need to know how to get on my feet.

[johnhughthom]

You should be looking for looters, they are the easiest class of bandit to kill. Don't get much loot or experience, but they give you practice before moving on to the better enemies. Also, stay away from Sarranid and Khergit lands early on, the steppe and desert bandits are fast and will chase you down.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Looters are the ones you want to attack early on. Recruit some peasants in villages and fight looters to level them up. Also, fighting in the arena lets you practice fighting without the risk of getting taken prisoner.

Does M&B need Pixel Shader 3.0? Recently, every game I have bought need it!

The original? I don't think so.

Warband - again, I don't think so.

Probably not for With Fire & Sword either.

CR

[Graphic]

Just realized that the gameplay is basically Sid Meier's Pirates! but with deeper (and ground) combat and no end goal.

Not saying that to put it down, its just interesting.

[Veho Nex]

Just realized that the gameplay is basically Sid Meier's Pirates! but with deeper (and ground) combat and no end goal.

Not saying that to put it down, its just interesting.

How so? Ive played both a lot and the only thing i can see they have in common is the basic RPG elements.

[rajpoot]

Just realized that the gameplay is basically Sid Meier's Pirates! but with deeper (and ground) combat and no end goal.

Not saying that to put it down, its just interesting.

That is just exactly what I'd thought when I'd first picked up the game. Sid Meier's Pirates, but on land and more fleshed out 'encounters' with simpler world map.
The game even has a closing screen like Pirates had, where your stats through out the game and their outcomes are displayed.

Edit:
Infact I have a query from everyone who has tried retiring. Has anyone been able to get an epilogue with a better rank than a 'powerful noble'? I mean I tried with a game where I had my own kingdom and my right to rule was 98 or something, and still I got the 'powerful noble' rank.

[Graphic]

How so? Ive played both a lot and the only thing i can see they have in common is the basic RPG elements.

Maybe you're thinking of the original Pirates! I've only played the recent remake. As for how so, I don't even know where to start. They're actually nearly identical in most respects.

Go to towns to hire volunteers
Defeat navies/armies to gain loot and experience
Select from a short list of things to do while in that town including visiting the market, speaking to the local leader, etc. These screens are nearly identical in both games.
Pledge your services to a nation
The armies/navies wandering around the campaign map fighting eachother, capturing towns, etc. including pirates/bandits

Actually the only huge difference I've found is the more complex M&B battles being on land and Pirates! minigames. If there were more games like this they would form their own specific sub genre. They're as close as GTA and Saints Row/Just Cause/Mercenaries etc.

[edyzmedieval]

Just bought Fire and Sword for 10% off on Steam, pre purchase. Anyone else getting it?

[Graphic]

I'm going to wait and see if Warband keeps my interest.

[johnhughthom]

Just bought Fire and Sword for 10% off on Steam, pre purchase. Anyone else getting it?

Pre purchased it myself, not expecting anything massively different but happy enough to pay £9 to see what it's like. If I get a tenth of the gameplay I got, and am still getting, from Warband it will be a steal.

[Greyblades]

It'll be interesting to see how the creators handle the reload animations for rifles, the mods have always had them be realy awkward.

[edyzmedieval]

It'll be interesting to see how the creators handle the reload animations for rifles, the mods have always had them be realy awkward.

The Mount & Blade trailer shows that the reload and shoot animations look natural, so I guess it's a good starting point.

Get Fire and Sword off 10% on Steam until tomorrow, pre purchase and you get 2 TF2 hats as well.

[Graphic]

I think what I needed to get into it was a mod set IRL. I was just wandering around aimlessly in native and Prophecy of Pendor. King Burglekutt, Jerkhick Steppe Warriors, etc. Just a bunch of randomness I have no connection to. Hundred Years War mod fixed that. Now I'm addicted.

I hope the Honor rating doesnt count for much, because Ive spent pretty much my whole game killing English peasants and pillaging English villages.

Also its nice to finally start getting some cool gear for the first time.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[rajpoot]

I hope the Honor rating doesnt count for much, because Ive spent pretty much my whole game killing English peasants and pillaging English villages.

I haven't tried the latest version of that mod so I don't know, but in Native, honour counts when you're attacked by a lord and want to get off without a fight.
What it basically does is that it increases your relation with the 'good' lords automatically. The more honour you have the higher it will go. So, if one of them assaults you in a war you can simply ask them to let you off that once.

[johnhughthom]

Yes, I always have very high honour as I never raid villages, always let Lords I defeat go free (unless they've annoyed me or I have a capture a Lord quest) and don't accept a reward when kicking bandits out of villages or completing a bounty questy. I always end up with a huge string of Lords as friends, even though I've never actually met half of them.

[rajpoot]

I haven't bought With Fire and Sword yet, and I've seen that it's been getting some pretty negative scores for a M&B game on other forums. Will someone here who's already bought it care to post a review so that the everyone can have some insight?

[johnhughthom]

I haven't played a lot myself, but I'll give my impressions. The firearms are lethal but very innacurate as we were told, they are a bit odd to use though, they seem to have the same mechanics as archery so you can't fire to your left. I've only used a pistol, rifles may be different. The early game seems much more difficult than Warband, especially as the bandit groups seem to have modern rifles, rather than the innacurate things the player has, well they seem to be able to kill your troops from across the map anyway. The towns are much larger, though they seem to have fewer people in them so seem very empty. I haven't tried any quests yet, though they are pretty buggy from whats being said on the forums. Recruitment has been changed, you can't recruit from villages unless you own them, now there are merc camps. These mercs cannot be upgraded, though that seems to be a bug, rather than design. You can't create your own Kingdom, only a rebel branch of an existing Kingdom. The big change that seems to be causing a lot of angst is that you can no longer play as a woman...

I would advise anybody looking to buy to check out the Taleworlds forum to see how the differences are likely to effect the game for you. Personally I just found it a bit meh, not a period of time I'm hugely interested in and not very different from Warband. I've already started playing Warband again, as I'm sure a lot of others have.

[Greyblades]

Am I the only one finding the background in the inventory screens and others utterly repulsive?

[johnhughthom]

Am I the only one finding the background in the inventory screens and others utterly repulsive?

No, no you are not.

[Graphic]

Am I the only one finding the background in the inventory screens and others utterly repulsive?

Mount & Blade is cool but I keep wishing to myself that a bigger developer would buy Tale Worlds (perhaps Valve). I'm not a graphics whore by any means, but with M&B...just, damn. As far as polish goes, its like an amateurish mod for some other game instead of a full retail game. I can't believe I used to kind of say the same thing about Bethesda games, which look like Mass Effect 2 in comparison.

There's so much potential for a truly immersive and epic experience if it had some A-list shine. Its addictive and worth playing because the combat is great and the desire to get better armor and upgrade your troops is strong. Pretty much every other aspect of the game is lacking severely, though.

[edyzmedieval]

There's a lot of flak for the game, very unusual for a M&B release. The main problem is that the game is very bugged, tons of glitches, bugs, quests that aren't that logical, upgrading of existing units. So it's a bit of a turn off for many players.

I love the era, Eastern European warfare, combination of old and new, but this is not really helping the case. Game is too bugged for me to enjoy.

I can't wait for a patch. Seriously, I can't wait to see it polished and properly reworked.

[johnhughthom]

Mount & Blade is cool but I keep wishing to myself that a bigger developer would buy Tale Worlds (perhaps Valve). I'm not a graphics whore by any means, but with M&B...just, damn. As far as polish goes, its like an amateurish mod for some other game instead of a full retail game. I can't believe I used to kind of say the same thing about Bethesda games, which look like Mass Effect 2 in comparison.

There's so much potential for a truly immersive and epic experience if it had some A-list shine. Its addictive and worth playing because the combat is great and the desire to get better armor and upgrade your troops is strong. Pretty much every other aspect of the game is lacking severely, though.

Indeed, I generally give up my campaigns due to frustration with game mechanics rather than getting bored with it. The poor graphics don't bother me at all though. I'd happily accept worse graphics for improved AI on the campaign map and from your allies in battle.

[Graphic]

Indeed, I generally give up my campaigns due to frustration with game mechanics rather than getting bored with it. The poor graphics don't bother me at all though. I'd happily accept worse graphics for improved AI on the campaign map and from your allies in battle.

Maybe I came off over emphasizing graphics. Better graphics would be nice, but it just needs polish in general. Bugs, features, some voice acting, music that's not just an endless loop of tracks that plays through all menus and locations, etc. but that could also include making the game look more detailed and interesting graphically without changing the engine or system reqs.

[Who am i?]

Hello.

Do not buy it.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Maybe I came off over emphasizing graphics. Better graphics would be nice, but it just needs polish in general. Bugs, features, some voice acting, music that's not just an endless loop of tracks that plays through all menus and locations, etc. but that could also include making the game look more detailed and interesting graphically without changing the engine or system reqs.

I think M&B 2 will be much more polished. The original started as a husband and wife team where they built their own engine. I recall Armagan saying he plans to license an engine for the next game. With that and actually having a multi-disciplined team at the beginning of the project I think the polish will be up there with A list games.

CR

[Graphic]

I think M&B 2 will be much more polished. The original started as a husband and wife team where they built their own engine. I recall Armagan saying he plans to license an engine for the next game. With that and actually having a multi-disciplined team at the beginning of the project I think the polish will be up there with A list games.

CR

I didn't know that was already announced. Sounds good. I can see how it would kinda stay within the original framework of the amateur project even when they eventually got a development studio, so I think what you say will be the case.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I don't think it's been officially announced, yet, actually.

CR

[Beskar]

I dislike how they removed some features of Warband I liked, like setting up your Kingdom.

I wanted to recreate Prussia in koningsburg.

[Centurion1]

bump I dont want to see my new favorite game diminished to the second page.

Also it does my heart good to see you playing it again or now panzer However, everytime i see you are playing I have to play...................

okay so the actual substance to my post is based around this. Prophesy of Pendor is the best mod i have ever played. It is the greatest mod ever made for warband. Trust me i have tried every single one. Brytenwalda? Buggy as hell i had to quit though i love the setting. 1250? buggy as hell was a little too grand with too little polish. TEATRC? Good but buggy as hell was doing some wacky stuff. Hundred Years War? no interest. Blood and steel? Troop lines suck it pisses me off..... guess what i like troop trees. also too big and excessive. (note: would probably like blood and steel but THE TROOP LINES ARE ANNOYING). Other mods that are half finished and betas or outdated........ not worth the mention.

POP is perfect. Call me goldilocks but this is the porridge i want. EVERYONE GO DOWNLOAD IT NOW

Note: Diplomacy is excellent if you simply want an altered native gameplay experience.

[naut]

Prophesy of Pendor? Haven't tried it. I do like Floris Expanded Mod-pack, simply because it draws the best mods around into one package and lets you go from there. Sure, its just a dolled up native, but is still good. However, I always find I get to about level 25-30, I have 3 or so fiefs and I cannot find the will to play any-more, I just lose interest and focus. I have a decent amount of troops, money and fighting ability -> I could continue trying to make my own faction or defect and support a claimant, or become a bandit (lol, nope, that'd be stupid). I just cannot find the will to go any further.