I totally missed that part. I was debating if backing but this makes me lean towards no.
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Kickstarter: Bard's Tale IV (inXile, 1.25 mil, PC, Mac, Linux)
- Thread starter hemtae
- Start date
I totally missed that part. I was debating if backing but this makes me lean towards no.
Xaero Gravity
NEXT LEVEL lame™
Aaaaand backed.
Chairman Yang
if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
I won't be backing this.
I hope it succeeds, and I'm definitely somewhat interested in the game, but my RPG needs are already completely satisfied right now, and that's just with currently-released stuff. I'm even overloaded with dungeon-crawler RPGs; I have yet to play Might and Magic X or Grimrock 2.
If Bard's Tale IV turns out amazingly well, it might jump to the top of my RPG-playing queue; but until then, I don't see much reason to buy it now.
I hope it succeeds, and I'm definitely somewhat interested in the game, but my RPG needs are already completely satisfied right now, and that's just with currently-released stuff. I'm even overloaded with dungeon-crawler RPGs; I have yet to play Might and Magic X or Grimrock 2.
If Bard's Tale IV turns out amazingly well, it might jump to the top of my RPG-playing queue; but until then, I don't see much reason to buy it now.
BrokenFiction
Member
I get ya, but October 2017 is a long way off.
Shalashaska161
Member
Hope it succeeds and it looks like it will but I'm not backing any more projects. I'm too lazy to actually follow these things during development. I'd rather just get it whens its out.
Chairman Yang
if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Honestly, I expect the RPG backlog to get bigger by then, not smaller.
BrokenFiction
Member
We can only hope!
MightyHedgehog
Member
Mark Morgan is working on this as primary composer, right? I don't recall seeing his name anywhere but in one of the descriptions of higher tier rewards texts.
Starting fast at almost $300k pledged in less than three hours into the KS.
Starting fast at almost $300k pledged in less than three hours into the KS.
BrokenFiction
Member
A little over $100K per hour - I hope this keeps up the pace.
SuperDowns
Banned
Is there gameplay that someone can point me towards that would be similar to this game? I'd like to know before I fund this.
This already has received more money than Shadowrun Hong-Kong did on day 1. I wonder if there's bigger appetite for inXile's games or if simply Harebrained should have made the base goal bigger and fans would feel kinda pressured to pledge more money for the project to succeed.
Basileus777
Member
And it probably won't make that date if past history is any indicator.
I think InExile is just more widely known.
MightyHedgehog
Member
It's nothing like the IE games. From descriptions and early looks at the visuals, seems to be a visually lavish first person dungeon crawler, like the original trilogy, but according to some text, there will be animated characters playing out actions on-screen along with 3D item manipulation. It would be nice to see a prototype battle, though.
Elaugaufein
Member
One of the very first RPGs that I remember playing was one of those Bard's Tale Construction Set games, so I'm in.
MisterShine
Member
Wasn't terribly impressed with Wasteland 2 (only got it due to my funding of Torment), but a grid dungeon crawler sounds pretty fun. I'm in for 20.
MightyHedgehog
Member
Well, to my knowledge, HBS has so far only KS'ed similar Shadowrun games while inXile has gone for three distinctly different CRPGs, each with massive nostalgia factor by being direct or spiritual sequels to legendary CRPGs. As well, they conjure up a lot of interest by claiming known creatives in their staff behind the projects. Fargo and company know how to handle a KS, with plenty of build up to the actual KS funding period, and a well-thought out backer rewards offering and plenty of information to go with a solid video. There's a lot to differentiate between the two studios' efforts on KS.
witchedwiz
Member
a new bard's tale?
YES!
YES!
Shake Appeal
Member
Yeah. All of this, plus I have no investment in this series and I'm worried inXile are stretched thin as it is.
CastorTroy
Member
That has to be one of the most cringe-worthy KS videos I've ever seen.
Pilgrimzero
Member
Kickstarter isn't a "pre-purchase" it's a donation to help get the game made (as it might not without the donations) with a reward for donating.
firebricks3
Member
Can anyone explain to me what kind of game this is? I've never played any of the previous entries and was wondering how it differs from other crpgs
The kickstarter for Torment started a year and a half before Wasteland 2 came out, so I doubt that this is the case. Currently, the inXile production team is hard at work making Torment, and they'll keep at it until it releases. They also have a preproduction team that has wrapped up what they needed to do on Torment, and has been working on the Bard's Tale for a while now. They feel that they have put enough work to know the scope and scale of this project and so are confident with going ahead with kickstarter. And so they'll have one and a half projects on the go at tany one time.
I think that inXile has better project management now than when making Wasteland 2, so it shouldn't take so long for Torment to come out. However, I still wouldn't expect it to release this year.
The original Bard's Tale games were party-based first person dungeon crawlers like Wizardry or Etrian Odyssey. I imagine that they're going the same direction with this game but with some modern sensibilities like the Legend of Grimrock games have.
I'd expect Shadowrun to be a bigger brand than either inXile or The Bard's Tale to be honest, at least on GAF I remember a lot of nostalgia about SR when I registered here in 2006).
I thought Hong-Kong was a great KS campaign in itself. But perhaps there's truth to what you're saying overall, I can't really judge it since I'm not that excited about the game (I did want to back it though but KS won't accept any of my payment options... Amazon payments or Paypal would be welcome
).
cleveridea
Member
In for the early bird CE.
I'll enjoy watching insane ebay CE prices once they are finally out, then opening anyway
Fun fact - the last set of sealed gwent deck cards (free within the xbox one CE of Witcher 3) sold for $140
I'll enjoy watching insane ebay CE prices once they are finally out, then opening anyway
Fun fact - the last set of sealed gwent deck cards (free within the xbox one CE of Witcher 3) sold for $140
It's simply that Brian Fargo is a marketing genius.
I was honestly worried about this one with its large goal and the absolute flood of RPGs of all types available from early 2014 until now, but it seems that was premature.
BrokenFiction
Member
Launching on a Tuesday at 9am EST - betcha it's moving slower than it might have otherwise. West coast is just getting up and isn't Europe rolling home from work?
I personally am still worried.
Not that this won't meet it's goal, but rather that I won't have any time at all to play all these games. I have only barely gotten through a single playthrough of Eternity. (I'd love to do another) I am anticipating Xenoblade Chronicles X later this year, and still have the an ongoing game of Wasteland 2 to finish. Torment is coming eventually, as is the Eternity Expansion, this game, etc. Our cup runneth over, finally! This is a terrible (awesome) time to love these kinds of games.
thehillissilent
Member
I backed this. I expect them to release a PC version first, release a Director's Cut edition and console versions a year later just like the did with Wasteland 2.
autoduelist
Member
Please for the love of all that is good on this earth, SUPPORT this.
I'm currently replaying the first (the trilogy) right now -- such a great game. Sure, it has issues [especially now] but it is still just so much fun.
ZZGO! GO! GO!
EDIT -
"The original Bard’s Tale games allowed you to evolve your magic class characters from the Conjurer and Magician to the more powerful Sorcerer, Chronomancer, Geomancer, and even the feared Archmage, each providing new spell trees to explore. We’re extending this system to all class types for increased levels of customization and tinkering"
I still remember that feeling of 'progression' back when i was a kid, playing this with my best friend, mapping everything out. I remember our mage and conjurer, slowly going up through the ranks, building up all 4 magic trees and then finally becoming archmages. It's a truly happy memory -- one of the few games that truly nails the sense of becoming powerful.
That they're extending this to all classes is straight up amazing.
I'm currently replaying the first (the trilogy) right now -- such a great game. Sure, it has issues [especially now] but it is still just so much fun.
ZZGO! GO! GO!
EDIT -
"The original Bard’s Tale games allowed you to evolve your magic class characters from the Conjurer and Magician to the more powerful Sorcerer, Chronomancer, Geomancer, and even the feared Archmage, each providing new spell trees to explore. We’re extending this system to all class types for increased levels of customization and tinkering"
I still remember that feeling of 'progression' back when i was a kid, playing this with my best friend, mapping everything out. I remember our mage and conjurer, slowly going up through the ranks, building up all 4 magic trees and then finally becoming archmages. It's a truly happy memory -- one of the few games that truly nails the sense of becoming powerful.
That they're extending this to all classes is straight up amazing.
wanderjahr
Banned
So why does this need a Kickstarter again?
Yea after Underworld barely squeaked by I was worried as well, but it's looking good. It's not going to be a gangbuster success like Torment, but it should do fine.
MightyHedgehog
Member
So thousands of fans and people excited by the project description can help make the proposed scope and ideas a reality? KS isn't just about making something happen, it's about making something happen to a specific quality and that may not be possible without greater monetary support and a show of interest in the marketplace that justifies it. Enough backers pledging money provides both of those things.
Remachinate
Member
This may sound weird, but I'm glad it looks like this game will get funded without me.
BrokenFiction
Member
Torment did $1.48M the first day with 27,939 backers. I can't find an hourly breakdown for it, but BT4 is doing about $100K per hour right now. I doubt it can keep this up, but I'm really interested to see how the 1st 24 hours goes.
autoduelist
Member
Bard's Tales 1 through 3 are early entries in the 'dungeon crawling' genre -- more specifically, drpgs as they're called nowadays. Turn based, exploration based, grid-based dungeons full of teleport traps, spinner traps, lewt, and enemies.
The first one, especially, is known for being extremely difficult to start --- this is back when games were no joke and your level 1 party was more likely to die venturing out into the city than anything else. Once you leveled up a couple times, however, you were good to go. You explored the city, finding cellars, dungeons, and towers to explore.
Later games added more outdoor exploration, etc.
The Bard class, as per the title of the game, uses instruments to play magic songs that can buff your party, a sword in combat, or magical weapons like fire horns to mow down enemies.
Combat (in the originals) is standard drpg fair -- you set up your parties actions, then watch it happen. It sounds like they're modernizing this a bit, but I'm sure they'll do a good job.
The originals still hold up in gameplay (I'm replaying the first one right now, actually) though the interface is archaic. Back then, all your spells were 4 letter codes (like DRBR for Dragon Breath) and you had to memorize them. Obviously, this new version will modernize stuff like that... but it says a lot that I still know many of the spells from my childhood.
Magic was important. Your party could start out with Conjurors (summon beasts!) or Magicians, but once you mastered 7 levels of that, you could switch between all 4 classes (Sorceror, etc) and eventually become an Archmage. This sense of progression was amazing back in the day. According to the kickstarter, they are extending this to all classes, which is my favorite 'new' feature from the sounds of it.
Bard's Tale (the original) got a lot of things right. It wasn't the best drpg franchise, perhaps, but it was many people's favorite anyway (including mine). Mapping out dungeons on grid paper (i'm sure this will have an automap option for those that want it), slowly becoming more powerful, etc.
Similar games - Wizardry, Etrian Odyssey, Might & Magic series (the modern M&M Legacy X might be a good example of where they can take this).
Legend of Grimrock is similar, though not turn based -- it is real time and based off Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, etc. Bard's Tale will be turn based - nothing moves in the dungeon till you do.
BigWeather
Member
To answer my own question, I wrote to inXile and they added a $230 tier with both boxes. Soooo, looks like I'll get the $95 version and see if I can buy the Album box separately on eBay (or worse case spring $65 for it and sell off the key to the game).