Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale IV Pre-Release Thread [RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Nyast]

Yeah, also each save point only saves the game once (at least from what I can tell), once you 'bind' yourself to a save stone, that's it for that save stone as you can't ever interact with it again. There's two save stones in the adventurer's hub that don't allow you to do this, and appear to be infinite use.

I don't think that's true. Stones seem to run on a timer. After a while, you can save there again. I'm not 100% sure of that but it's been my impression so far.

 

[Zombra]

Yeah, also each save point only saves the game once (at least from what I can tell), once you 'bind' yourself to a save stone, that's it for that save stone as you can't ever interact with it again. There's two save stones in the adventurer's hub that don't allow you to do this, and appear to be infinite use.

Yeah. It's complicated and I don't completely understand it. I believe that once you save at a stone, you can't save at it again until you save at a different stone. So you save at Stone A, then you have to make it all the way to Stone B before you can save at Stone A again. Running back and forth spamming saves on one stone is not a thing. Except for certain ones like there is one "home base" Stone in every area you can spam saves on.

I don't think that's true. Stones seem to run on a timer. After a while, you can save there again. I'm not 100% sure of that but it's been my impression so far.

I think it has to do with where you saved last. Can't save on the same stone two times in a row except for "home base" ones. But this is just a theory.

ok, can you farm an encounter or not? I still don't know the answer to this question.

Nope, not that I've seen. All content so far appears nonrepeatable.

I've also felt zero desire to farm or stack levels. No reason to powerlevel in this game.

 

[aweigh]

trying to rethink shit when it would've been just as well, and much simpler, to simply designate some areas where you can save and some where you can't.

easiest fucking non-problem in the fucking world.

 

[Castozor]

Game definitely not designed to be played without quest markers. No one gives any kind of verbal directions to anything, even when they should know exactly where you should go. "Go save my shop from bandits", "We have to go to my friend's house", either use markers or blunder around completely blind.

That's what I was afraid of, not really a deal breaker for me but you'd think if they make it a toggle they would at least provide basic pointers. As for non-repeatable encounters, it can work and I'm not really opposed to it as long as there are plenty of fights.

 

[theSavant]

That thing with the Save-Stones is on purpose I believe (I've read something like that in the official forums): so that you "think" a bit before engaging every enemy in the wild. Not as punishing as the old Bard's Tales, where you had to return back to town to save, but still punishment enough to act more carefully.

 

[Zombra]

The fight about save systems has been going on for 5 years. Whatever the details are, I'm proud that I and others kept the question alive enough for inXile to actually think about it and not just make the instant gratification quicksave system everyone expected.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Please kill respec next.

 

[Dorateen]

Please kill Melody next.

 

[Grotesque]

Remember to wait at least half a year after release.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

Please kill Melody next.

Why? She has like 3 lines of dialogue before you can just generate a new character.

 

[Zombra]

lol. So I finally got some mercenary tokens during a major dungeon. Was looking forward to going back to town to make the rest of my party. Then at the end of that dungeon the beta ends.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

lol. So I finally got some mercenary tokens during a major dungeon. Was looking forward to going back to town to make the rest of my party. Then at the end of that dungeon the beta ends.

Are the Merc tokens random drops or?

 

[aweigh]

day 1 mod idea: instant tokens upon new game.

also for bonus points: immediately tweet mod at Fargo and ridiculing him.

 

[Zombra]

lol. So I finally got some mercenary tokens during a major dungeon. Was looking forward to going back to town to make the rest of my party. Then at the end of that dungeon the beta ends.

Are the Merc tokens random drops or?

I suppose they are issued at certain points in the story. Actually I have no idea how I got them, I just saw something unfamiliar in my inventory at one point and the tooltips said they were tokens. I might have received them hours before, maybe one of those disappearing 1 second popup notifications told me I got them but I never knew about it.

 

[Bester]

mod

Im afraid ue4 games arent moddable, unless shipped with a mod kit like ark and shit, which I know nothing about. I only know that 8 games only ever did it, and that fargo never talked about it.

 

[aweigh]

 

[Shadenuat]

Removing/delaying full party creation from a blobber is like removing pause from RTwP game or DLCs from Paradox strategies. People who like these niche genres play them because of their traditional features.

It is honestly a backwards design. They could have made single character introduction a Tutorial feature. At least it belongs somewhere within realms of Tutorial-button under "new game > build your party".

 

[Infinitron]

 

[imweasel]

Sounds like waifu simulator music... or is that just the brothel tune?

Eh, no bother. I am prepared with my own MP3s.

Spoiler

RIP Basil Poledouris.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

Sounds like waifu simulator music... or is that just the brothel tune?

Eh, no bother. I am prepared with my own MP3s.

Spoiler

RIP Basil Poledouris.

I believe that it's just a brothel tune.

 

[theSavant]

Are there any keyboard commands for combat or is it a full clickfest?

 

[Zombra]

Are there any keyboard commands for combat or is it a full clickfest?

I think you can press 1-5 to choose your action but it kind of doesn't matter as you still have to click to select the active PC and click to target your attacks, even straight up "punch forward" attacks. I didn't bother trying 1-5 since I was on the mouse 98% anyway. A few people have sent requests for better keyboard controls on the QA form but my hopes are not high.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/07/18/...rds-tale-iv-and-the-bard-keels-over-mid-fight

Drink Too Much in The Bard's Tale IV and The Bard Keels Over Mid-Fight

As the hitman Jules observes in Pulp Fiction, "a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way." Not that I'm directly comparing the latest iteration of InXile's Bard's Tale to man's best friend, of course, but if there's a reason to be interested in this dungeon-crawling RPG over the obvious competitors, it comes down to what it does differently. This is a world that may not have some of the fancier bells and whistles of today's super-productions, but what it does have is charm, humour, and booze by the barrel-load.

The Bard's Tale IV plays out in two styles. While exploring you move around in firstperson, chatting away to NPCs, poking your nose into crannies, gathering ye olde loots and so on. As I was playing the opening hour or so of the game, the early town area shuttled me between some chats to establish what was going on, and guided me to the Bard's Guild where everything starts proper: the rest of the time was more combat and quest-oriented, so I didn't get a sense of how the exploration might open up afterwards.



You start fights by running into enemies and, if you get the drop on them, this allows for a first strike. Combat in BTIV moves seamlessly from the firstperson exploration view into a turn-based system built atop a positioning grid. This makes movement a big part of the fights and something the enemies soon start to take advantage of — attacks that damage whole columns, spells that go across multiple squares, and so on. You can of course execute similar moves yourself, as well as setting up defences: a successful tactic for me, in tougher moments, was lining up my party behind one member, who would cast a protection spell while they all buffed up for the next turn behind him.

Everyone's played a hundred turn-based combat games, so I won't go on about the familiar elements, but what distinguishes BTIV is first of all the surprising number of ways the grid affects your tactics, and then the nature of alcohol. Grid-based systems are not new but this has the kind of flexibility and ability to 'exploit' certain moves that suggests there are serious depths to come. Even using it in a basic style is fun, but it's when you start getting pissed-up that things really take off.



I'm a bit of a sucker for games where booze plays a key role and here, just as in the real world, it is gloriously OP until you drink too much. I'm not sure what the lore is but a bard in this game is, to all intents and purposes, a wizard with a lute and a drinking problem. Your spells have a certain level of power, but start getting lubricated and their effectiveness will increase, up to a point where you're really nailing fools left and right. Your characters are angry drunks which, in a purely fictional context, is exactly what you want (they can even hurl empty drinking vessels at enemies, which you've just got to applaud.)

So drink a little bit and, not only are you fine, you're actually better off for it. This is me on the pool table during the first couple of pints, sinking shots with swagger like there's no tomorrow.



If you drink too much, unfortunately, your character basically blacks out. I think there's a chance they also get belligerent and start attacking their mates, but in my experience of getting drunk several times all they did was basically switch from Gandalf-on-steroids one moment into a snoring lump the next. Making them useless in a fight they started.

Yes BTIV is set in Britain, funnily enough, though the jumping off point for this world's fantasy is the Scottish Island of Skara Brae. This turns out to be one of the best aspects of the entire thing because, despite being made by a team in sunny California, the drive towards authenticity can be heard and seen everywhere. There's something pungent in the atmosphere, and the thick Scottish accents (mixed in with others) give this place both a jolly folksy quality and, at times, a sudden switch into growling and sinister.

While moving around you'll also, appropriately enough, overhear snatches of song, and can stop to listen to the whole thing. The lyrics include 'legends' from the game's world that, if followed, may result in you finding something, but the songs themselves are gorgeous things and give the whole atmosphere an otherworldly tinge.

It's important to realise that BTIV is not quite the game it might look like in screenshots. The first-person aspects and the transitions into combat are perfectly decent, but anyone buying this expecting a Skyrim-style adventure is in for a disappointment. It clearly doesn't have the kind of budget that certain other games can throw around, and if you want to go in there and find rough edges you probably will.



The attraction here is the systems, the world, and the atmosphere the game is trying to create around your party's journey. Will it be able to hold players' attention spans over the long stretch, and draw them in? I can't tell but, while I was playing, I did notice little detail after detail that impressed. One of the developers pointed out to me that the title screen is a reproduction of the original game's box art. That's nice enough. Then he pointed me to a different save file which, once selected, saw the view zoom in on that very scene, as the bard sang a song of the hero's journey so far.

It's an endearing touch, as well as of real practical value, and crafts a hearth-flecked illusion that fires your imagination. Everyone gathered round the fire, the drinks flowing, the grand storyteller tuning his strings, and then — hours pass, barely noticed, as the next stretch of some sprawling, bawdy and mellifluous saga is sung.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07...iv-a-reminder-of-what-made-rpg-classic-great/

Preview: ‘Bard’s Tale IV’ a reminder of what made RPG classic great

The “Bard’s Tale” franchise is beloved among role-playing game aficionados. Released in 1985, the PC title touted revolutionary 3-D visuals and character portraits. Those were rarities at the time. It also introduced the concept of the Bard, a character that can boost allies or weaken foes with their singing.

After three games and a construction set, the series has lain dormant until inXile Entertainment, a studio founded by Brian Fargo who worked on the series, launched a Kickstarter for an official sequel. “The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep” updates the 33-year-old franchise with a fully realized world in the vein of “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.”

I had a chance to play the first hour or so of the game and I was surprised with the beta. The full game itself officially launches Sept. 18 on PC and will be on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac and Linux later in the year.

Upon firing it up, players are thrown into the world of Caith, but this is a fantasy world set more than 100 years after the mad god Tarjan destroyed Skara Brae in “Bard’s Tale III.” Fortunately, players don’t necessarily have to know the past events, but they’ll appreciate the project more if they played previous entries.

In this future, a new city has been built on the ruins of the old one. The xenophobic Church of the Sword Father has become one of the major factions in Skara Brae, and they are hanging those who break their rules. The church blames the poor state of Caith on nonhuman species such as the dwarves, elves and trow.

That puts the Adventurers Guild in direct opposition to the Church of Sword Father because the guild accepts those races into their ranks. That’s what sets up the initial conflict as Fatherite zealots raid the guild and Melody, the default name of the protagonist, flees with the Rabbie, the guild leader, through a hidden passage.

That takes them to the underground ruins of the old Skara Brae, which is based on the map of the original “Bard’s Tale.” From there, players can customize their hero, who can be male or female. They can also pick from seven races, which include dwarves, elves, trow and four types of humans. From there, the must choose one of four archetypes: bard, practitioner (mage), fighter and rogue.

Each class has at least 60 skills and several different subclasses that players can mix and match from. There’s even a quest to earn the abilities of a cleric. With practioners, players can specialize in being glass cannons, a party member that deals massive damage to foes but is weak physically. Fighters serve as damage sponges protecting the rest of the party while rogues can serve as assassins that kill dangerous adversaries or crowd-control the battlefield. In addition, rogues can pick locks and reduce damage from traps.

The titular bard is the linchpin of a party. The class can empower allies and cripple foes. The hero can drink and gain strength with some liquid courage. Using these moves, they can initiate powerful combos in the turn-based combat.

In the first part of the six-hour beta, players will explore underground Skara Brae, which is filled with all sorts of monsters. It’s essentially the first dungeon and laid out in a way that’s reminiscent of “Dark Souls.” That means the initial run-through will take players through out-of-the-way routes, but as they explore, players can unlock shortcuts that make the map smaller.

They’ll also have to use stealth and judgment when fighting foes. Players can sneak up on enemies and attack, giving the heroes the chance to strike first. That’s important because “Bard’s Tale IV” turn-based combat relies on positioning and planning and getting to strike first is a huge advantage. The party is given opportunity points, which represent actions that the heroes can perform.

Creative director David Rogers compared the system to “Hearthstone” and essentially the opportunity points are mana that players consume per turn. Actions such as moving one character a space so they can attack costs an opportunity point. Some actions such as a charge attack cost a point but requires a turn to power up. Thankfully for the bard, drinking doesn’t cost anything, which gives them an advantage in battle.

With the way”Bard’s Tale IV” is set up, players have to plan and think ahead. Rabbie, the player’s first ally, can move to attack a foe to the side of him. Attacks hit certain areas, requiring maneuvering. Once that happens, a bard can use a song to boost Rabbie’s defense so that he’s protected when adversaries retaliate. As characters level up, they add more opportunity points to the pool and they become more dangerous as more combo options open up.

Along with easy-to-defeat foes, players will also encounter more powerful adversaries. They’re marked with a red icon above their heads. That’s when players have to use their stealth skills and avoid them.

Like any other dungeon crawl, players will run across treasure. Loot is scavanged off defeated foes. There are runes that offer clues to items and simple gear puzzles to solve. One of the more interesting elements are Luckstones, which act as save points similar to bonfires in “Dark Souls.” There are also Ancient Luckstones, which gives player the opportunity to destroy it for experience points but they also lose a save point. Players need to be confident in their abilities to survive to do that.

Another interesting wrinkle is the cut-scene intros that introduces the game to players after loading a saved game. The videos act as a “Previously On” segment that reminds players what happened during their previous session. It’s not the most revolutionary addition but it is a thoughtful touch to make the experience better.

Rogers, the creative director, says the game takes about 30 hours to complete without sidequests, but if players take their time and explore “Bard’s Tale IV,” it can easily be longer.

 

[Zombra]

I'm convinced that some marketing company said once that "Dark Souls" has 3x the web searches of any other RPG title. So now any time any website mentions any RPG their boss tells them they have to bring up Dark Souls to get more hits and more ad revenue.

 

[Strange Fellow]

It doesn't hurt that Dark Souls has become a synonym for "challenging" in the gaming community, and since game journalists find to be challenging any game that doesn't literally play itself it gets mentioned in every other article they publish. It's also a synonym for "level design", with similar results.