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The Banner Saga Development Thread

animlboogy said:
Everything I've read about this game has been about the combat, or screens of the combat. I had no idea the final game was going to be King of Dragon Pass with complex party-based strategy battles, using the same basic idea FTL uses to propel you forward.

That is awesome.
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As someone who adores king of dragon pass you have my motherfucking attention.
 
Found a useful web-based build calculator for Factions on Stoic's forums:

Factions Battle Planner

I wasn't aware that each specialised class of a unit type not only differ in their active ability, but their max values for their attributes also.
 
Six matches in I'm currently at 102 renown. I haven't promoted any of my units yet, because I thought maybe it's easier to grind renown at lower rank level matches. The last two matches didn't last 10 minutes before my opponent forfeited.

Doesn't help that because of the low player base matchmaking for higher team ranks seem to (allegedly) take forever.
 
Yeah, at the current rate I don't think this is the best way to go forward.

It already feels like a grind to me a couple matches in. The way they handle this freemium stuff is just not the way I like to experience my games. If my character has killed enough foes to earn a promotion, I want to be able to promote them. Cosmetic stuff like recolours or renames, sure, charge money for that. But inhibiting the natural progression to get me to pay (or force me to grind, alternatively), I really, absolutely can't stand that. The biggest F2P sin in my book.

And if I compare the pricing for a proper game with the money they're charging for their IAP, I just get sick. 12,99 for four promoted characters and time-limited consumable "boosters" of up to 9,99 bucks. That kind of money should be enough to get me the whole fucking game, not just a couple characters and a temporary boost to my XP. I don't think I want to be playing any more of this.


That said, I'm still really fucking excited for the singleplayer game. It looks gorgeous, it plays really well, it has interesting mechanics and units. Can't wait to experience the campaign.
 
Just played a couple more matches, game's too good to just ignore it. I really do love everything about the core game except for the slow grind and progression stops they have in place to get you to purchase stuff. It's not Real Racing 3 destructive levels of bad, but it's at least enough to largely sap my enjoyment and enthusiasm for it.

This is one of those games I know would absolutely be obsessed with, but now I just play a handful of matches every couple days.

Very surprised and a bit bummed to see the response to this be so muted, afaik this is the only thread about the game on GAF, and it's basically dead. If that's indicative of the visibility of the game, I can see why they have balanced it so aggressively towards getting you to purchase some of the consumables. >_>
 
I personally just want the single player game. I played Factions for an hour just to test the combat system. It was good enough to make me happy with what was there, but the multiplayer portion of it all is of no big interest to me personally.
 
Looks like the latest update reduced the renown required to promote a character by 25%, so it seems they're willing to ease up on the aggressiveness of the grind a little and are listening to feedback.
 
Haunted said:
Looks like the latest update reduced the renown required to promote a character by 25%, so it seems they're willing to ease up on the aggressiveness of the grind a little and are listening to feedback.
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Not enough imo. I'll just way for the SP and pretend this never existed, after all, that is the game I gave my pledge to. While I understand why they are doing this, I'm finding it hard to play under their F2P conditions.
 
Haunted said:
Just played a couple more matches, game's too good to just ignore it. I really do love everything about the core game except for the slow grind and progression stops they have in place to get you to purchase stuff. It's not Real Racing 3 destructive levels of bad, but it's at least enough to largely sap my enjoyment and enthusiasm for it.

This is one of those games I know would absolutely be obsessed with, but now I just play a handful of matches every couple days.

Very surprised and a bit bummed to see the response to this be so muted, afaik this is the only thread about the game on GAF, and it's basically dead. If that's indicative of the visibility of the game, I can see why they have balanced it so aggressively towards getting you to purchase some of the consumables. >_>
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I think the competitive side of this game was a waste of their kickstarter resources to be honest. They should have put that money towards perfecting the story campaign and getting on more platforms like PSN and XBLA like they said they would consider if they made more money than their initial goal.
 
Eh, I didn't think it took very long before you gathered enough Renown to fully upgrade a crew. Though once you do reach that point, you're a bit burned out on the gameplay. I wouldn't mind if they added in another class or two, perhaps one with a healing ability. Most of all, I would love team battles of 2 versus 2, or more.
 
Dascu said:
Eh, I didn't think it took very long before you gathered enough Renown to fully upgrade a crew. Though once you do reach that point, you're a bit burned out on the gameplay. I wouldn't mind if they added in another class or two, perhaps one with a healing ability. Most of all, I would love team battles of 2 versus 2, or more.
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From what I've read in that extensive RPS interview, the plan is to get the single player done and ready and integrate the units and classes introduced in that campaign into Factions as time goes on.

I like the idea, but I remain skeptical until I'm playing the SP for myself.

I can definitely see how Kickstarter backers who were not expecting the F2P MP portion to release first would be miffed, them mentioning it in the KS pitch video or not.
 
Updates going out without a changelog, Steam achievements still locked (why?), offical stoic website seems to be down.


What are they doing.
 
All they've said about it is 2013 (which is ok by me...I'd rather have an unspecific date that can be met than a specific that won't be).

The website being down is a bit worrying but I hope it's not them closing their gates...
 
Site is back up, crisis averted.

No changelog or mention of the new update in their forums, though. Which was the reason I wanted to go there in the first place, so that's a bit annoying.


Their last SP update talked about a "mid-year" release, which has been revised to a "mid-to late year" in KS update #32 (the SP update was #30) since then. Shame the OP hasn't actually kept up with development for the last six months.
 
Haunted said:
Site is back up, crisis averted.

No changelog or mention of the new update in their forums, though. Which was the reason I wanted to go there in the first place, so that's a bit annoying.
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Build 1.6.43 Release Notes

Biggest changes:
  • Rank 2 & 3 for promoted classes now available
  • Steam achievements are now hooked up.
  • Versus mode now split into Quickmatch and Ranked
Dascu said:
Eh, I didn't think it took very long before you gathered enough Renown to fully upgrade a crew. Though once you do reach that point, you're a bit burned out on the gameplay. I wouldn't mind if they added in another class or two, perhaps one with a healing ability. Most of all, I would love team battles of 2 versus 2, or more.
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Mini-Compilation of Known Unit Info

Besides new units Stoic will also tinker with the horn mechanic in future updates:
  • The horn will be a powerful tool in the single player game, giving you a great advantage over your enemies and important to the story. We've been planning the horn feature for quite a while now, and you can even see this in the Kickstarter t-shirt.
  • In the future the city will include a building that allows you to switch out horn powers to match your play style. Options may include restoring allies armor or affecting an entire enemy team in some way. For now, all horns have the same power to restore willpower.
  • Different horns will have different appearances.
  • Horns are used in the lore as a sign of respect when someone dies in battle, and as a way for others to hear the news that there has been death.
 
Got mine.

I backed enough to get the other two games. At their development rate, I expect to play the third game in 2020.
 
K.Sabot said:
Does anyone even care anymore?
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It looks to be an interesting game, with a nice setting, good aesthetics, and hopefully engaging mechanics. I don't see why anyone would be negative from the outset on this game. The game is still the same as the one that was pitched a year ago and it looks to meet a lot of the expectations and promises.

The hate because of the F2P concept is so incredibly misguided, if that's what you are referring to.
 
K.Sabot said:
Does anyone even care anymore?
Click to expand...

I do! I helped Kickstart it and just got my Steam code.

That business with their F2P multiplayer version of the game definitely didn't instill faith in me about the game or its developers, but I'm glad the promise I paid for is finally coming out. Hopefully it will be pretty good.
 
I'm pretty stoked for this. Hoping I make some more money on the steam market, and then I'll be buying it tonight for the pre-order discount.

I played a little bit of factions, the combat was great, but the renown requirement for leveling your guys was too much. Really excited for the campaign. It looks great.
 
I've received my key earlier today. This January Kickstarter goodness starts strong with this and Broken Age. I won't know which one I'll be playing first hehehe Decisions, decisions.
 
I'm excited. I like the gameplay and the style and setting is divine. I just hope they can deliver a good campaign. It's ok if it's not amazingly great, but something that will inspire confidence that the series is off to a good start.
 
Enduin said:
I'm excited. I like the gameplay and the style and setting is divine. I just hope they can deliver a good campaign. It's ok if it's not amazingly great, but something that will inspire confidence that the series is off to a good start.
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Absolutely. They can always listen for feedback and take some lessons from this first game to tweak the next episodes. It will be a great journey for sure!
 
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