Banner-barebones-lord

[EfBee]

I have played all the M&B from 2008 and am still playing them.
I like Bannerlord very much. My Steam time on the game doesn't reflect actual time as I play with mods and have to play the game offline most of the time or some mods will have problems. To me, mods = problems, in any game, but many of them are so useful and simply downright ingenious I wonder why those guys don't get together and make their own game. I'd certainly buy that. Like Freeman Guerrila Warfare based on M&B engine. It wasn't AAA but I did buy it and like it a lot.
The problem with mods in Bannerlord is that too many of them aren't up to date and when they are, the .xml file version ( along with some of the code ) do not reflect the game version, even when the mods claim they do. But, well, beggars can't be choosy...
Yet, I don't think I could be considered a beggar when I paid full price for this game at first day of release. I do not regret it. With all its shortcomings bannerlord is still a good game to play. I just wish the developers had given more attention to content than functionality... or the same attention perhaps.
The game feels bare-bones. I can't get around that feeling when I start a campaign. I didn't get that feeling when playing Warband, Fire & Sword, Viking Conquest... Those games had a je-ne-sais-quoi that kept me playing on and on to the point of missing dinners. But with Bannerlord, although I like to play it, it all feels devoid of soul, it feels like I'm not competing against other lords but against a machine that tries to keep up with my insane gameplay.
Some of that can certainly be attributed to nostalgia.
But is it nostalgia to expect to be able to fight at sea when Viking Conquest had sea battles back in 2014 or is it a realistic expectation based on the technologies developers now have? Is it nostalgia to expect a fully fleshed-out Diplomacy system when Bannerlord is all about dealing with lords/ladies/brigands or is it an acceptable expectation based on what M&B used to be and what BannerLORD is today?
The feeling of bare-bones game doesn't taper off when one realizes that Feasts won't be included or if they will be it may be sometime in our distant future, like when humans have a base on Mars.
Added to that are the generic dialogues. Every lord introduces him/herself with the exact same phrases, which amount to two or three greetings. Every NPC character acts or reacts like they all came out of an assembly line. Same for the companions. Whether they like me or not they all have the same things to say. They have no character, no personality. Gender isn't a distinction either. Men or women = all the same reactions/actions. It all feels too robotic and without soul.
Finally, the character creation. Character Creation in M&B has never been a highlight. It's sloppy and neglected. I could understand that back in 2008 when Taleworlds was a few people planning things in their kitchen but now I don't. There is no excuse in my mind that in 2023 the Character Creation step should be as bad as it is. A number of hairdo able to be counted on two hands, same for beards, less for women. Only five sliders for overall character distinction, no slider for body nuances or proportions, not much choices on the faces or ears. The character creation system wears 'bare-bones' so proudly that I try to be done with it as soon as humanly possible.
I love this game. I just wished that the developers hadn't chosen to give us the bare minimum in the hopes that the modding community would fill the gaps. That's beyond lazy.
But what do you make of all that? Are you okay with a game that's barely finished even after release?

[Ruffio]

Game should be on pair with your paragraphs then... -)

How do you want to personalize greetings and such for characters when there is a birth and death with new characters being born and come of age all the time?

If you had more fun in the previous games, no one keep you from keep play those though.

[Teralitha]

The game is still in development and will be for years because its rather slow paced. Check back in a few or 10 years.

[JE55BUNN1]

I feel the same way. Yet up until this point I have been utterly blow away by the scale and epic battles I have had. I first purchased Mount and Blade in 2010, I think? I dunno, you had to go onto their website and get a key code to fully activate the game. But yes, and now Mount and Blade: Warband is amazing.

So I hope, in time, Bannerlord will evolve and mature in such a manner in both vanilla and the modding community.

Possibly the best way forward is to be positive and continue to suggest and give feed back to the developers.

It's just one of those things =)

[EfBee]

Originally posted by Teralitha:

The game is still in development and will be for years because its rather slow paced. Check back in a few or 10 years.

I won't have to, my copy of Bannerlord updates automatically so I do check on it a couple of times a month and do play it.
Thank you for your reply and letting me know what to expect. I guess my next review on this game will be in five years :))

Originally posted by JE55BUNN1:

I feel the same way. Yet up until this point I have been utterly blow away by the scale and epic battles I have had. I first purchased Mount and Blade in 2010, I think? I dunno, you had to go onto their website and get a key code to fully activate the game. But yes, and now Mount and Blade: Warband is amazing.

So I hope, in time, Bannerlord will evolve and mature in such a manner in both vanilla and the modding community.

Possibly the best way forward is to be positive and continue to suggest and give feed back to the developers.

It's just one of those things =)

Yes, "one of those things" indeed.. Like you, I also very much like the battles. Some players call Bannerlord a "battle simulator" and I can't say I blame them.
I agree with you about staying positive. I myself cannot make suggestions on the game because some trolls made sure I got banned on Taleworld's website but I trust the rest of the community to keep suggesting addons that make sense to the game.
thank you for your thoughtful reply.

[Ruffio]

Originally posted by fbelmedioni:

Yes, "one of those things" indeed.. Like you, I also very much like the battles. Some players call Bannerlord a "battle simulator" and I can't say I blame them.
I agree with you about staying positive. I myself cannot make suggestions on the game because some trolls made sure I got banned on Taleworld's website but I trust the rest of the community to keep suggesting addons that make sense to the game.
thank you for your thoughtful reply.

How can trolls make sure you got banned? You can only get banned for what you post yourself.

[Urmel]

that arent trolls,
they are roboter, controlled by a super-AI, dominate the world from the shadows.

and cawse i know this secret, they hunt me and try to kill me.

[Exaxis]

Originally posted by Urmel:

that arent trolls,
they are roboter, controlled by a super-AI, dominate the world from the shadows.

and cawse i know this secret, they hunt me and try to kill me.

nice ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dude everyone knows that alien reptiloids control the world through 5G and bill gates

[Rift]

Originally posted by Exaxis:

Originally posted by Urmel:

that arent trolls,
they are roboter, controlled by a super-AI, dominate the world from the shadows.

and cawse i know this secret, they hunt me and try to kill me.

nice ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dude everyone knows that alien reptiloids control the world through 5G and bill gates

I'm particularly fond of the "all birds are actually flying video cameras", and "the Moon is actually an alien spaceship and the aliens colonized our hollow Earth". The Lulz are strong with them.

[PorkyDAporquipine]

games A $$$ my boy . im still salty almost 2 years later spending 50 bucks on it

[EfBee]

Originally posted by milkysilk:

games A $$$ my boy . im still salty almost 2 years later spending 50 bucks on it

It's better than A.$$ but I don't blame you for feeling that way. I don't regret paying for it, especially when I played all the others for free when my friend gave me his PC so I felt like giving a little money to the devs to thank them for their work.
I think the game is worth 50 bucks if only for the battles and the open-world sandbox. I also like the armors and weapons... I can see that they did their best and are still updating the game.
I'm just very disappointed knowing that some elements will never make it into the game or will be added when we're in the retirement home. Also very disappointed at the character creation.
There's a mod called "Fire Arrows". No one could convince me that Taleworlds couldn't put fire arrows in the game. I mean, c'mon!