Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord News

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

In Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, you need to keep your head about you at all times. And with the game’s new death system, this rings especially true, lest your adventures come to an abrupt end to the executioner’s axe!

Executions make for quite a natural addition to the series. The medieval period is infamous for some of its troubling, if rather inventive, methods of execution. From dealing with treacherous vassals to striking fear into the hearts of the ruled, executions were a simple solution to otherwise complicated problems.

Our approach to this feature is like with most systems in the game: it should be simple enough to understand and use, yet achieves complexity through its interaction with the larger simulation.



As shown in the screenshot above, players are able to execute characters through a button on the party screen. Choosing to do so leads to another interface for confirmation that the player wants to carry out this action, with a short animation that follows if the player decides to press ahead. The execution itself has a number of consequences that help to ensure that it is a powerful, yet costly action. These consequences differ in severity depending on whom the player chooses to execute. Executing a dishonourable lord is a lot more acceptable in the eyes of your peers than killing an honourable one, but it is still frowned upon. After all, lords are part of the ruling elite, and such punishments are not befitting of their status! Likewise, the executed character’s clan and faction won’t take too kindly to seeing one of their kin slain in such a manner, and as such, relations between the two sides will be severely affected. What’s worse, executing an honourable lord will decrease your own honour rating, so you may end up being marked as dishonourable yourself.



If you do end up as dishonourable due to executions you carry out or for any other reason, it’s not exactly the end of the world. You’ll receive some penalty to your relation with most other nobles, but you can still make it work. However, you will now need to be very careful. Executions are an option available to AI lords as well, and now that you are dishonourable, your enemies will be much more likely to chop your head off if they manage to capture you. When deciding whether or not to execute the player, the AI lord’s personality, the honour rating of the player, and the relationship between the two are all taken into account.

In the end, we think that executions are a solid addition to the game. Like many of Bannerlord’s mechanics, if used wisely, it can help to further your goals within the game. Likewise, it opens up new avenues for roleplaying and feeds into the emergent narrative that the sandbox encourages.

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Greetings warriors of Calradia!

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord’s singleplayer campaign takes place in a vast sandbox with numerous systems working together to provide players with a deep and engaging gaming experience. Bringing these systems together and ensuring that they work alongside and complement each other is no small task. And with multiple programmers working somewhat independently on each system, an additional layer of complexity is added to the mix. This is where Ömer Sarı steps in. It is his responsibility to coordinate and organise the campaign team while ensuring that the programming work is of a consistently high standard.



Ömer Sarı


Kocaeli, Turkey


2014


Computer Science, Bilkent University


Lead Programmer (Campaign Team)



“I do code reviews and small meetings with fellow team members to ensure good code quality in the campaign project. Other than that, there are times when I attend design meetings to discuss the technical details of game features. Every couple of weeks I organise internal single player tests and review the feedback from my colleagues.

I try to implement new features and/or solve bugs with the rest of the time I have. The feature which I work on usually varies depending on the priority of the task and the immediate needs of the campaign sandbox.”


“I like being immersed in an alive and ever-changing Calradia; The game is made up of complex systems running in the background, such as the trading system, resource production, prosperity, loyalty, etc., and I’m particularly interested in how these systems can affect each other. Raiding villages and looting caravans in an area can hinder the production of a certain trade good, which in turn can have an impact on the economy of a faraway kingdom.

I like the ability to directly change the living world around you through your actions.”


“I gained the role of campaign lead programmer a few months ago. Before that, I was mainly writing code all day long. Now, I also have to be available to other campaign team members or for design meetings, code reviews, and so on. So, currently, my biggest challenge is to manage my time in a way that allows me to take care of my team, review their code and yet still find time to create content myself!”


“I am working on optimising the pathfinding usages by campaign parties, as well as, translation/localisation support.

We have a lot of parties moving around the campaign map, with each of them constantly calculating the distance between their position and their potential target’s position to figure out if they should really go to that target. I am trying to increase the precision in their calculations while improving performance at the same time.

Each language has its own needs and rules. Our text system enables the player’s attributes and actions to change the way other characters address the player. For example, if the player is an honourable king with a family, his wife will address him as husband, his foes will address him with respect, etc. Our text system is able to replace specific parts of the text to achieve this role-playing element, and I am trying to ensure that this system works for every language.”




“I like Khuzaits the most. I like their tribal nature and their troop tree. Watching your enemies getting crushed and trampled under hordes of mounted men is always a spectacle. Also, horse archers always tend to make things easier!”


“It is usually difficult to predict what will be affected by a new feature since the project is fairly large and complex. Any new feature that is being added, no matter how small it is, may require additional work to remove any discrepancies with other systems. Luckily, we are not adding as many features as before.

One recent example that I can give is our work on the party speed and inventory mechanics. When we tweaked the penalty for parties transporting cargo beyond their capacity, we discovered that a range of AI parties tend to go beyond their limits. This was perfectly fine with the previous (very forgiving) set up but caused them to slow down excessively after the change. Of course, we could have simply reverted the changes, but that would leave the capacity system feeling rather toothless. And maybe worse, it would not address the underlying problems. So instead, we set out to find a better solution (or several in fact). In some cases, like villagers transporting goods from their home to the town, this simply meant adjusting the frequency of their deliveries to better match the rate of production. In other cases, like caravans, we introduced the ability to purchase additional pack animals. However, even with a number of eventualities addressed, we felt that there should be a failsafe in place. After all, what if a party acts according to plan but is attacked and loses a lot of men? Suddenly, they may be carrying goods well beyond their capabilities. So, currently, we are looking at if and when a party should be able to rid itself of some of its cargo, prisoners... or wounded men.”

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Greetings warriors of Calradia!

As Bannerlord’s multiplayer beta draws ever closer, we thought it would be a good time to discuss another of the game’s exciting game modes: Captain Mode.

With Fire & Sword and Napoleonic Wars veterans will already be somewhat familiar with the concept of Captain Mode, with a rudimentary version of this game mode appearing in both of those games. Likewise, if you have been following the development of Bannerlord for some time now, you will know that we took Captain Mode to gamescom back in 2017 and perhaps saw one of the videos we put out around that time. But for those of you who are unfamiliar with Captain Mode, allow us to give you an overview.

Captain Mode is a multiplayer game mode that pits two teams against each other in a player-vs-player battle, with each player having command of their own detachment of AI troops. With Bannerlord, the game mode has been revamped to provide players with a more structured and enjoyable experience, and on a much larger scale than was possible in our previous games. It shares some of its mechanics with Skirmish, which we talked about a few weeks back, but there are a few distinct differences between the two, other than the bots of course!

Like Skirmish, Captain Mode makes use of our new morale mechanic, which is something that was introduced to encourage players to engage with the enemy throughout the course of a round. The morale system is tied to capture points on the map, which teams can control to diminish the enemy team’s morale. If a team’s morale is completely depleted, then they are considered to have been driven from the field of battle and lose the round. Likewise, if a team is completely wiped out, then they will lose the round. But, this is pretty much where the similarities between the two modes end.

In Captain Mode, both the player and their troops have a single life. However, players have the option of switching to one of their troops upon the death of their character. Allowing players to take control of their bots upon death was something that we felt made a lot of sense. After all, they are playing the game, not watching it, and allowing players to take control in this way means that there is less downtime, and more opportunities to take part in the action! And in this game mode, it is actually rather essential that we allow this as it helps to prevent players from sniping enemy captains with the intention of cutting the head off the snake, so to speak. You see, in Captain Mode, there is actually a lot of cross-over with what you would expect from a single player battle. You have full control over your troops, meaning you can issue commands and change formations at will. And with this being a player-vs-player game mode, we knew that it would be important for players to retain control over their troops, even after death. Our solution was to enable players to do this, but only by exposing themselves to risk by stepping back onto the frontlines alongside their troops!

Balancing Captain Mode has been a little tricky because there are simply so many factors at play, and admittedly, we still have some work to do on this front. Mainly, the balancing issues arise from the AI detachments that players can lead into battle. Bannerlord’s multiplayer features six unique factions, and no two troops are the same: each has their own loadout and stats, which are tailored to their role on the battlefield. We found that the best way to balance the factions and troop types across the board was to configure the number of troops that each detachment can hold based on their troop type. So, for example, if a detachment of light infantry can field 30 men, then a detachment of heavy cavalry in the same match would only have 12.

With that being said, in Captain Mode, and well, with Mount & Blade games in general, individual player skill counts for a lot! However, Captain Mode aims to strike a balance between the individual skill-level of a player and their tactical prowess. This means that players that perhaps aren’t the best with the combat system in the game can still be highly effective in Captain Mode, purely through using superior strategy and tactics, and by effectively communicating with their teammates of course!

Overall, we feel that Captain Mode makes for a fun, fast-paced, team-based game mode that encourages communication and teamwork while allowing players to shine through either their individual combat skill or tactical prowess.



In next week’s blog, we will talk with the lead programmer of the campaign team, Ömer Sarı. If you have any questions you would like to ask him, please leave a reply in the comments and we will pick one out for him to answer!


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Greetings warriors of Calradia!

One part of game development that is often overlooked or undervalued is Quality Assurance (QA). Testing a game is an integral part of the development process, and with a game of the scale of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, the testing process is paramount in ensuring that the many different features and systems, that more often than not are intertwined and dependant on each other, work as intended to provide players with a fun and enjoyable experience. In this week’s blog, we talk with one of the people responsible for making sure that the game meets the standards that both we and our players expect, QA Tester, Onurcan Dönmez.



Onurcan Dönmez


İzmir, Turkey


2015


Aviation Management


Game QA Tester


“I play Bannerlord from morning till night... At least my friends think so. But, this is not the case of course. As the QA team, we have a specific workflow and test scenarios. My main task is to perform them and to improve them when necessary. Apart from this, I follow the other tasks by attending the daily/weekly meetings of other teams, emphasize the priorities, and share my team’s feedbacks with them. In the evaluation meetings we have held daily in the past few months, I share my comments about the current state of the game and share my design ideas. Our job is not just about finding bugs and reporting them, but also to make sure that the game is of high quality and fun. So in summary, I normally test the game, follow the tasks, attend meetings, and share feedback during my day. ”


“What I like about Bannerlord is to have the title of the person who plays Bannerlord the most and the incredibly funny bugs we came across :)

What I like the most is the richness of the game in terms of features. I have played lots of games across a number of different genres for over 20 years, but only some of them have such richness. If you take the list of Bannerlord’s features, it would take a day or more to shallowly test just one of them.”


“Something I try to keep on top of and is probably my most challenging task, is to encourage a healthy level of communication between the teams. I came to the following conclusion as a result of my experiences, thanks to my current position in the company: working in a QA team requires you to recognise other teams, individuals and their working methods, to build good relationships and to ensure that different teams work in collaboration with each other. Our responsibility is to act as a filter in terms of accuracy and quality of the work. Therefore, we need to keep a good channel of communication open with everyone.

In order to help you visualise this, I can give an example: Before implementing a quest to the game, I check the algorithms and dialogues of the quest. If I find a problem, I talk to the designer of the quest to get it fixed. Following this, the design of the quest is approved and sent to the programmers, which means that I need to communicate with the programmers at this stage and test it after the implementation. The drafts may not be suitable to implement, may not be fun, or may cause some unexpected problems. We need to collaborate with the designers, programmers, and even graphic designers or game engine team to solve these problems. In such instances, positive and healthy communication is essential to solving the problems within the shortest amount of time.

Improper work can be done due to a lack of communication and it can hamper the speed of development. To avoid this, I am trying to do my best to provide a continuous flow of information. ”


“Multiplayer tests are taking most of my time recently. As we have already announced, we are preparing to enter a beta process soon and so we are working hard on this to present the game in the best way possible.”


“Empire. We were testing the multiplayer Captain mode that we introduced in the summer of 2017. Late at night, I won a very exciting game with 20 heroic Empire legionnaires. That epic victory is the reason why Empire is enshrined in my memory. And another motivation is the fact that no one else in the company likes Empire except for me!”




“I have some favourite bugs which I find to be interesting and funny.

• The creepy winks of the dead warriors lying in the battlefields.
  
• The transformation of swords into lightsabers as a result of an excessive flare bug, turning the game into Star Wars mode.
  
• Naked people walking around as a result of another bug.
  
• The reduction of the height of the siege tower model into half the size of a human and the transportation of it into the castle by the soldiers.
  
• Everyone turning into a child as a result of a bug we had after implementing the child model for the first time. It was really funny to see tiny people swinging huge swords in battles, but it was very disturbing to actual kill child enemies... We are working under really harsh conditions! :)"

“It is a nice question but difficult to answer. Many problems about various issues are fixed and improved thanks to our feedback and comments, but I can give army AI as a specific example. Previously, armies scattered quickly and misused their time and supplies as a result of ineffective decisions. But now, thanks to the improved AI, they are more effective at making sensible and consistent decisions.”

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Greetings warriors of Calradia!

In the words of Omar Bradley, “Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics”. So buckle up for some serious professional talk, because in this week’s blog we'll be covering supply in Bannerlord -- both how to get the food and other materials that you need, and how to deny them to your enemy!

The party inventory in Mount & Blade games serves as your logistics stock, and Bannerlord makes quite a few improvements on this front. Not only is your food consumption more detailed and realistic, but you need to carry and make use of other types of resources too.

As in real life, you’ll be more likely to have logistics problems as the size of your forces grows. Extremely small parties with a few people may not even require food, as you can live off the land with the right skills. Mid-size parties will definitely require food, however, they can purchase (or loot) their needs relatively easily from villagers or nearby farms. Larger armies going on protracted campaigns need to prepare and plan much more thoroughly. They’ll need large quantities of food, mules, livestock, extra horses, and various other items (for example, tools, which are used for crafting siege weapons).

Even with all the preparation though, you may find yourself out of food after a daring campaign in enemy territory or during a long siege. This can be disastrous for a campaigning army. Your men will start to die or get too weak to fight (being marked as wounded in the game’s system), and even those that are in fighting condition will spawn in battle with reduced morale and hit points.

Luckily, army commanders have options to avoid such a situation. Firstly, different parties in the same army pool their food together, with those that run out of food spending influence in exchange for supplies. This avoids cases where some parties in the army are starving while others are lugging sacks brimming over with grain.

While sharing may mitigate the problem for a while, you may need a better method to replenish your food reserves. Commanders can send out forager parties which will scour the countryside for food, confiscating any resources they come across. They can also send out raiders to attack villages directly, which will not only loot resources but also wreak havoc on the region and damage its economy. Once the enterprising parties re-join the main army, their spoils will be shared among parties in the army, and they will earn extra influence for a task well done.

On the other hand, if you find yourself defending against a superior force who is happily sustaining itself from your fields, you have the option to implement scorched earth tactics, destroying your own fields and denying the enemy the chance to help himself to your grain at the cost of losing the income and food for yourself. Don’t expect any gratitude from villagers, however, who expect their taxes to pay for the defence of their fields rather than their destruction!



In next week’s blog, we will be talking with QA Tester, Onurcan Dönmez. If you have any questions you would like to ask him, please leave a reply in the comments and we will pick one out for him to answer!

Discuss this blog post HERE


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