Bard's Tale Kickstarter

[brandonb]

Another thing to keep in mind the Bard's Tale had a different philosophy on how to handle gameplay. If you had level 30 guys. You might have a thousand hit points. And in battles your guy's are getting hit by 20 points per round. You can see that no single battle would really do much to your guy. Unless you were fighting a special mob like a stone golem that would turn your guys to stone (which is much like death, but you'd have to get unstoned at the temple but it wouldn't give you the stat decrease). So the idea is not about surviving a single battle. It's about the endurance of your party through a dungeon. If you had enough hit points + mana to survive going 5 levels deep in a dungeon. You get nickled and dimed your way through the dungeon. Do you have enough left to beat the boss at the end?

So its different than most games, which is why it was so much fun.

 

[rivethead]

Another thing to keep in mind the Bard's Tale had a different philosophy on how to handle gameplay. If you had level 30 guys. You might have a thousand hit points. And in battles your guy's are getting hit by 20 points per round. You can see that no single battle would really do much to your guy. Unless you were fighting a special mob like a stone golem that would turn your guys to stone (which is much like death, but you'd have to get unstoned at the temple but it wouldn't give you the stat decrease). So the idea is not about surviving a single battle. It's about the endurance of your party through a dungeon. If you had enough hit points + mana to survive going 5 levels deep in a dungeon. You get nickled and dimed your way through the dungeon. Do you have enough left to beat the boss at the end?

So its different than most games, which is why it was so much fun.

Ah. Thanks for the detailed explanation! That doesn't sound so bad to me. I was worried it had more to do with the puzzles being so cryptic you needed to be a scholar in Gaellic mythology to understand/figure them out. Or it was on of those puzzles where you were given a clue hours earlier in the game, but didn't understand it was a clue at the time. So then you bang your head against the wall for hours until you realize you already have a clue.....or go look up the solution on the net (as suggested earlier).

I backed yesterday and what sold me was the item "leveling"....you find a sword, it has runes on it, you figure out the runes and they unlock a poison vial...making the sword more powerful. Sounds like a cool mechanic to me. Liked the art style too...looking forward to this game in a couple of years......

 

[brandonb]

Actually there are puzzles in the game in the in which you find clues for hours earlier. Stuff like a magic door to get the boss at the end where you need to enter a password for. 3 hours earlier, you might have seen some phrase on a wall somewhere that would give you an answer:

The typical type of riddles that you would find in the Hobbit book: For example:

Gollum:
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
[A mountain]

So you'd see that phrase on the wall. And at the door you'd enter the password: "A mountain". And it opens and you fight the boss.

That type of stuff doesn't happen on every level, maybe 2-3 times per Bard's Tale game. Most of it was just the typical dungeon crawl/hack and slash.

The exception was: The Bard's Tale 2. It had a lot of puzzles at the end of every dungeon that were timed. You'd have to get clues are you went through dungeons on the mechanics of the puzzle. Then you'd be thrown into it, and would have to solve it or you're dead.

 

[rivethead]

Interesting. So you really had to pay attention as you progressed. Any hint system? Like after standing at the door for a few minutes one of your party says: "Didn't we see something on a wall earlier? Wonder if that would help?"

 

[brandonb]

When we played these games in the 80's, if we see anything in a certain spot that we didn't know, we'd write it down on a piece of paper at our desk. There was no hint system. But if you seen something, you knew you'd need it later on, which is why we'd write it down. It was a common practice.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I also remember using graphing paper to make my own maps in these games. No need to do that anymore...

 

[GagHalfrunt]

When we played these games in the 80's, if we see anything in a certain spot that we didn't know, we'd write it down on a piece of paper at our desk. There was no hint system. But if you seen something, you knew you'd need it later on, which is why we'd write it down. It was a common practice.

Back in the old days games like Bard's Tale and Wizardry didn't even have automaps. To get through a dungeon you had to self-map with a pencil and graph paper. The standard method of dealing with clues, unknown events, doors which could not be opened, levers without a visible effect when moved, etc, was to make a map notation.

Write an A in a space and then in the sidebar A= stairs down to level two
B in another space and in the sidebar B = "You must speak the word to enter the Wizard's Lair"

etc etc etc

Then when you came across a key or you learned a password you could look back and figure out where it could be used. That was the only way to get through any decent game, you have to draw good maps and take excellent notes. It was tedious at times, but it also aided in the suspension of disbelief. Any real person venturing into a dangerous labyrinth would need a system to find their way back out. So the mapping and note taking was part of being the characters.

 

[xantub]

some puzzles were actually in the map, as you drew the map in your grid paper, the location of walls would form letters on the map as you explored

 

[kn51]

Played the heck out of 1 and 2 on the C64. For some reason 3 didn't blow my skirt my up.

Reading up on it apparently 3 had automapping. I don't remember it. One thing I do remember is the graph paper and those stupid teleports/spin you around squares always pissed me off.

But they were dang good games.

Ah memories...Pool of Radiance as well. Dang, nostalgia at it's finest.

 

[rivethead]

Really good update video posted last night from Brian Fargo. He answered a lot of questions.

Glad I backed this project.....I'm liking what I'm hearing.

 

[Worthington]

Already at 1 mil.

 

[Globe Gadget]

In-engine video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVB6dSckvJI

My god, that's beautiful

 

[xantub]

it seems to have stagnated (I know most kickstarter projects slow down after day 2, but still). Don't think there's a chance of it not happening, but I can't help but smirk at those who checked some site that projects a kickstarter results and it was saying it would end with like $10 million, pfft!

 

[rivethead]

it seems to have stagnated (I know most kickstarter projects slow down after day 2, but still). Don't think there's a chance of it not happening, but I can't help but smirk at those who checked some site that projects a kickstarter results and it was saying it would end with like $10 million, pfft!

Yeah, those projections are over the top. It's definitely slowed down, but I think InXile are confident it will fund.....they introduced the first stretch goal (at $1.3 million) yesterday.

What I like about this financing approach is that InXile is kicking in "at least" $1.25 million on top of what is raised through KS. So both backers and company have skin in this game.

 

[Linflas]

I also remember using graphing paper to make my own maps in these games. No need to do that anymore...

I still have my maps from DungeonMaster all levels. Amazing how much time I spent doing those lol.

 

[exar333]

My god, that's beautiful

THIS

<----------------------excited

 

[xantub]

Just received an update that backers will also receive the original Bard's Tale 1, 2 and 3 for free

 

[OCNewbie]

Just noticed this has reached its goal as of this posting (and probably slightly before).

 

[rivethead]

They've hit a few stretch goals and have added others (mostly "famous" or legendary RPG devs coming on board to work on specific mazes/dungeons).

This is looking like it's going to be a really awesome game for my tastes......

 

[Worthington]

I was excited to hear that they are going to expand the "evolving class" to the fighter types as well. Re-classing your spell casters was a serious choice in the originals but added so much depth. It'll be cool to see how they expand that to non-casters.

 

[rivethead]

I was excited to hear that they are going to expand the "evolving class" to the fighter types as well. Re-classing your spell casters was a serious choice in the originals but added so much depth. It'll be cool to see how they expand that to non-casters.

Same here. Although I never played the originals, I like choice. And skill trees with many, many branches.

 

[rivethead]

Last week for this Kickstarter campaign. It'll be interesting to see if things pick up as right now pledges are almost non-existent.

One of the things I posted on the comments section: I think InXile made a bit of a mistake by focusing too many of the stretch goals on nostalgia and "names".

While I realize that each one of these "names" (i.e. Monte Cook, Chris Avellone, etc.) is being brought in to add content (a dungeon), the names themselves meant nothing to me as I've never heard of these guys. I guess I just pay that much attention to who's designing my games!

I think InXile may have been better off setting stretch goals based upon specific in-game features......attracting noobs like me.

Regardless, the $1.4 million stretch has been achieved and it's likely $1.5 million will too (by the end of the campaign).

$1.7 and $1.9? Nah, I don't see it happening.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Whoa, you really don't

Chris Avellone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Avellone

Fallout 2 (1998)
Planescape: Torment (1999)
Icewind Dale (2000)
Icewind Dale II (2002)
Van Buren (Fallout 3) (2003 - canceled)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004)[7]
Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006)
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (2007)
Alpha Protocol (2010)
Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Wasteland 2 (2014)
Pillars of Eternity (2015)
Torment: Tides of Numenera (2015)

 

[rivethead]

Nope. Got the same reaction in the KS comments too!

I guess I'm just really bad about paying attention during the credits! Of the above, I've only played IWD1 & 2, and NWN2 (I think).

I know Planescape: Torment is considered one of the "Mothers of All RPGs", but I somehow missed it (I'm hoping Beamdog build an Enhanced Edition like Baldur's Gate1&2....I would get that).

Since discovering BTIV kickstarter (or more specifically InXile), WL2 and TToN are now on my wishlist.

Hey, better late than never right?

 

[jqderrick]

This seems pretty darn cool.