Bard's Tale trilogy signature elements

[Gizmo]

Note that it sucks if "rumors" are reliably legit. Would be great for a few to lead to secret quests etc. ... but most of the time they should be bogus. I'd even like to see quest log entries that go nowhere, would be a nice change from the "checklist" mentality so many RPGs have nowadays.

Agreed. (And a shame that we cannot tag posts as 'liked'; as on NMA/Obsid)

[Crosmando]

Note that it sucks if "rumors" are reliably legit. Would be great for a few to lead to secret quests etc. ... but most of the time they should be bogus. I'd even like to see quest log entries that go nowhere, would be a nice change from the "checklist" mentality so many RPGs have nowadays.

Agreed. (And a shame that we cannot tag posts as 'liked'; as on NMA/Obsid)

Please no, reddit-style up/down votes are cancer wherever they appear.

[Gizmo]

Agreed. (And a shame that we cannot tag posts as 'liked'; as on NMA/Obsid)

Please no, reddit-style up/down votes are cancer wherever they appear.

That's not the same thing; I didn't mention Reddit.

[phimseto]

Here's a question: in both BT1 and BT3, what are some of the more notable places/points of interest in Skara Brae? I'm wondering in particular about smaller, often forgotten ones.

[ZZGO]

It's worth remembering that Skara Brae was described as a "small harmonious country town", nothing more.
Interesting points that aren't too obvious:
- Sinister Street - what a creepy thing to have in your town. Who built that teleporter, and why?
- the plaza in the south and especially the empty area behind the Temple of Kiosk. What were those two statues guarding?
- the statue in the middle of Gran Plaza
- the stables

[Gizmo]

- Sinister Street - what a creepy thing to have in your town.

Doesn't that just mean on the left?

(Technically it's on the left too.)

**But it probably means 'devious', since it's a repeater trap that continues on to infinity, so long as you travel South.

[ZZGO]

I wasn't going for the name, rather for the eerie "endless byway" thing. Even the official walkthrough story described it as unnerving.

[Drool]

Here's a question: in both BT1 and BT3, what are some of the more notable places/points of interest in Skara Brae? I'm wondering in particular about smaller, often forgotten ones.

ZZGO pretty much nailed it. There's not a whole lot in Skara Brae, frankly. Especially not in 3, where most everything's been destroyed. That said, 3 did keep Sinister Street (yes, that was its name), and the Tarjan statue in Gran Plaz was "well maintained"; of course, with Brilhasti's death (and Tarjan's death), I doubt the statue would still be there.

On other thing that might be a neat throwback: in BT1, the building directly across the street from the Adventurer's Guild held the credits screen. In BT3, the credits were in the building directly across the street from the Old Review Board. Beyond that? Skara Brae buildings were mostly just monster-spawners.

[Zombra]

Having the game credits be available at a records building in town would certainly be an interesting alternative to the traditional "end credits scroll after killing the final boss" with 20 minutes of kickstarter backer names

[Drool]

with 20 minutes of kickstarter backer names

Yeah, for the love of God, be creative. Don't do what Mighty Number Nine did...

[Gizmo]

I want the Dark Domain.

**Years ago there was a commercial—DLC, probably before the term was coined. I think it was for one of the Giger Alien games, and the map had no lights; it was showing off a 3D-audio technology, and the user had to play it by ear.

[ZZGO]

Having the game credits be available at a records building in town would certainly be an interesting alternative to the traditional "end credits scroll after killing the final boss" with 20 minutes of kickstarter backer names

Totally +1 from me!

I want the Dark Domain.

The Dark Domain was in Tangramayne, not in Skara Brae.
But it would be interesting to see if the six cities return in BT4, and if they're even in the same country as our beloved small harmonious country town. Or if Hamelon is mentioned.
In the same vein, I wonder if the special wilderness locations from BT3 (crystal spring, old dwarf mine, shadow rock, tar pit, vale of lost warriors, ice peak) will still be special locations in BT4, and if so, what their role could be...

[Gizmo]

I want the Dark Domain.

The Dark Domain was in Tangramayne, not in Skara Brae.

This is true. But what I'm really asking... what I liked about it, was the joke. In Destiny Knight, in what is most probably the first dungeon the player finds... when they enter it they see a label that says, "Dark Domain", and black screen.



It stays black—until they go back and get a torch; unless they've brought one, or know the spell, or tune to light their way.

(I liked that the rooms were pitch black when there was no light source.)

[Zombra]

You know, I guess this hasn't been mentioned out loud yet, but I really think of when I think of these games is the visuals and game world architecture, specifically in the towns. A maze of streets with a ton of "generic medieval" buildings all right next to each other with every building being exactly the same width as every other building, and every street exactly the same width as a building, and every corner exactly 90°. Seeing Gizmo's latest gif reminded me how important that visual idiom is to the feel. I'm sure as far as the level designs go that ship might have kinda sailed by now, but it's still worth mentioning I think.


Honestly a game world that looks similar to what's in that little upper left window will hit my nostalgia button harder than anything else.

[Gizmo]

One of the signature elements—to me at least was that for its time, it had some relatively impressive animated portraits, images that poked at the imagination; giving life & personality to the otherwise sparsely text-based NPCs. I've mentioned it before, that i'd like to see any future Bard's Tale do a bit of the same by having some relatively impressive animated portraits once again. But what I haven't mentioned before, is that I think it could be nice to have a few visual references from the earlier series in the new ones. Not copies, but new interpretations that could plausibly have been of the same creature... Like two different portraits by different artist, of the same person... With enough familiarity to again poke at the imagination.

**As a (rough) example, a BT2 Sorceror; for instance...Why not have one that looks a bit like that? (Not necessarily a cartoony version, but could be a version that that image looks like a cartoon of):

[ZiN]

Ah, yes, the portraits...

BT2 Conjurers are a fine example of a memorable portrait and character from BT2.

Please add Malefic Knights, Slayers and Nefasts to the list of classic BT monsters as well:



Wiz8 had the secret retro-dungeons, with old-school graphics. It's not impossible to create such levels, do you think they would do that, Zombra?

In the same vein, I wonder if the special wilderness locations from BT3 (crystal spring, old dwarf mine, shadow rock, tar pit, vale of lost warriors, ice peak) will still be special locations in BT4, and if so, what their role could be...

They should definitely be there, these would make fine locations (and dungeons), with the BT4/UE4 engine. They could contain random loot unique to each. For example when i grind for mithril/adamantite (for the advanced crafting system), the old dwarf mines would probably be the best choice. Some of them could also contain stuff from BT1-3. Also, looking down from the cold peak at the crystal spring, would be breathtaking with the UE4 engine.

Not sure about totally Dark Domain, but there should be definitely sudden darkness and very dark areas. That's why they bring torches, lamps, and better yet, magical spells and songs. With the modern engine we can play with different lighting conditions, which makes the game very immersive, and also very scary when you run out of light.

[Gizmo]

Wiz8 had the secret retro-dungeons, with old-school graphics. It's not impossible to create such levels, do you think they would do that, Zombra?

The recent Shadow Warrior reboot from 2013, did this; but the rooms were usually very small; as the intent seemed to just be the simple presences of a secret.

[Zombra]

Wiz8 had the secret retro-dungeons, with old-school graphics. It's not impossible to create such levels, do you think they would do that, Zombra?

Huh? Who, me? I don't know anything. I hope not, though; I don't get the feeling that BT4 is going to be a big enough game to throw away a lot of dev time on secret dungeons I will never find. It worked in Wiz 8 because the base game was already so huge. Honestly even there I would have been happier to just have three more normal dungeons.

[Gizmo]

In reference to my earlier post about familiar re-interpretations of past characters. I remembered the WL3 raider art style, from the released screenshots...


...and then tried to match it somewhat, in a 3D render of the Bard's Tale 2 sorcerer.


**Of the three, though... I actually like the BT2 art the best. I should think that if done professionally, (with more time spent on it), we could have a few 3D re-imaginings of some iconic BT monsters in BT4. (Like the one in Drool's Avatar for instance.)
*** Meant (of course)... done it an art style closer to the rest of BT4. Where it's familiar, but in a style that suits the BT4 art.

[ZiN]

**Of the three, though... I actually like the BT2 art the best. I should think that if done professionally, (with more time spent on it), we could have a few 3D re-imaginings of some iconic BT monsters in BT4. (Like the one in Drool's Avatar for instance.)
*** Meant (of course)... done it an art style closer to the rest of BT4. Where it's familiar, but in a style that suits the BT4 art.

Drool's avatar is from Wasteland though. Nevertheless i wouldn't mind if it somehow showed up in BT4. So what others form BT2 would you like to see? I'd say the Giants / Titans, with laser eyes: