Sign in to follow this  
Erkki

Mount und Blade

Recommended Posts

Started playing this. I have given it a try earlier, maybe an hour or so, a long time ago when it was in beta or alpha or something and remember not really knowing what to do in the game, what the goal was, or if there even was one.

So I was positively surprised to find a fairly well-done tutorial for the combat. Played the tutorial, created a character, and was somewhat surprised (thanks to raised expectations after doing the tutorial) to find that the game still just dropped me into it's world and gave me no real clue where to go or what my goal was. I guess I deserve it as I chose Wanderlust for my characters motivation :)

Did some training in the place the game began, then went for the nearest settlement and since I didn't know where to start, just asked the village elder for a quest. Now I'm supposed to deliver them some cattle in 30 days. I have no idea how I can do that, but I guess I'll find out somehow. Maybe this game is supposed to be played with a manual, either in the form of the in-game encyclopedia or a Mount & Blade community forum. I'll try to figure it out on my own first, though. Might be a nice change from most other games to have to do that. But I have no idea yet if I will like this completely free-form progression.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The structure of the game is pretty poor from a beginners perspective but after a lot of practice, some fooling around... and maybe a little cheating... you'll soon start to get the hang of it. The singleplayer portion is a huge time-sink, especially with third-party modifications - and the free-form gameplay is reminiscent of Pirates!

...then, when Warband is released, we can take it online. I've been playing in the beta recently and it's just fantastic. 9 times out of 10 there is no lag, whatsoever, and the experience is exactly the same as the singleplayer battles with around 50+ people running around killing one another on horseback and foot. The added complexity of strategies being formed on the fly and all-human opponents takes it a step above as well.

The only problem with it right now is that like the singleplayer portion of the original, it has its quirks, bugs and a rough and amateurish feel. It's like they have this awesome game buried underneath a pile of shit - but assuming you like the core gameplay then that's fine, you'll live with it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I too, have had this experience with Mount and Blade. I relegated it temporarily to "must play in future".... where it remains. Well, the future isn't here yet!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The battles are really awesome, better than in any other game where you control one character! But so far I suck at it, except in the polearm tournament, where the AI seems geometrically challenged. I actually won the first tournament I entered. In the second one I was on foot so got my ass kicked.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought this game back when it was $7.50 on steam and put about 30 hours into it. I had to push through the beginning where you only have a handful of troops and now have a army around 50 men.

The problem i have now is i always feel like i suck at playing this game. Battles dont feel epic at all because the AI just collides and fights in a blob where my forces usually win as long as im not outnumbered by 2x. I use the hotkeys for the orders but they are so broad it barely makes a difference.

The game puts a lot of weight on the levels of your fights (such as trained knights vs footman you recruit from a village) but then you have almost no control over them and whether they live or die seems to be down to just a coin flip.

*I am also in the Warband beta and havent played since the first release which was pretty poor.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not sure how far you've gotten, but once you've started upgrading your troops and in particular you NPC characters you can start to rely upon and trust them a little more. You'll never be able to count on their survival 100%, but to be honest that's something I admire about the game. Death is just a single arrow or glancing blow away - and at least is not a lottery like it in other games, but brutal like it should be.

Try Warband again. Assuming the first release was as bad as you say, you will completely blown away by its current state! It's phenomenally good - and the fact both your team mates and opponents are all human means none of the mass brawling that occurs in singleplayer. There's nothing like preparing a wall of pikemen, organising the archers, and keeping a watchful eye out for approaching enemy cavalry only to see them finally crest a hill in tight formation and stop there, waiting... taunting you. Then the attack comes from the side, your formations are broken, people are running around wildly and the main brunt of the enemy charges off from the hill ready to deal the final blow.

...of course you'll also get in battles were everyone charges head first into one another, but it doesn't take long before they can be coerced into a more tatical approach.

That is the only problem with the singleplayer portion and it's that the AI is very one dimensional. They rush into the battlefield and basically mop up what they can see. The orders as you say are largely, if not completely, useless. But, I still enjoy it immensely so it's a credit to the core gameplay that it's that satisfying - both to take part in the fights and to build and maintain an army. But it is a tough game, and the multiplayer magnifies that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not to sound completely shallow.. but, you know.. it's gonna happen:

How have the graphics improved in Warband? After having played default M&B, that is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this