[Kickstarter] The Banner Saga

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:44 am

I am color blind, so I hate some of the color decisions developers make.. The white on white I can see easily for some reason. But man, you put a purple flag next to a blue flag and want me to know who's who...I can't do it.

Also, I suck at team stuff in FP shooters, if the colors are not easily different. I kill my own guys all the time, some of it is just because I suck at FPS, but sometimes I really do think they are bad guys...

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:15 pm

RMC wrote:I am color blind, so I hate some of the color decisions developers make.. The white on white I can see easily for some reason. But man, you put a purple flag next to a blue flag and want me to know who's who...I can't do it.

Also, I suck at team stuff in FP shooters, if the colors are not easily different. I kill my own guys all the time, some of it is just because I suck at FPS, but sometimes I really do think they are bad guys...

And sometimes I'm just an ass....

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:20 pm

ibdoomed wrote:
RMC wrote:I am color blind, so I hate some of the color decisions developers make.. The white on white I can see easily for some reason. But man, you put a purple flag next to a blue flag and want me to know who's who...I can't do it.

Also, I suck at team stuff in FP shooters, if the colors are not easily different. I kill my own guys all the time, some of it is just because I suck at FPS, but sometimes I really do think they are bad guys...
And sometimes I'm just an ass....

Well yeah, but I am not going to admit that too often.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:47 pm

If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:19 pm

Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.

Ah! Finally a reputable review. I'll watch that as soon as I get home.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:28 pm

ibdoomed wrote:
Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.
Ah! Finally a reputable review. I'll watch that as soon as I get home.

What I don't understand is you own it, so why not just download it and try it out? Some times the reviews like a game and I don't or visa versa. I can get not buying a game because you don't know if you like it, but since you already own it....Just don't have the time?

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:00 pm

IceBear wrote:
ibdoomed wrote:
Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.
Ah! Finally a reputable review. I'll watch that as soon as I get home.
What I don't understand is you own it, so why not just download it and try it out? Some times the reviews like a game and I don't or visa versa. I can get not buying a game because you don't know if you like it, but since you already own it....Just don't have the time?

Just seems like it would take some serious time commitment to get into, instead of being a 5 minute game like the stanley parable.

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:10 pm

Most people tend to check these things before buying a product, you know.

Oh well, a fool and his money, and all that...

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:13 pm

TiLT wrote:Most people tend to check these things before buying a product, you know.

Oh well, a fool and his money, and all that...

Yeah I don't remember kickstarting it and in fact until a couple days ago, I thought the banner saga was the name of double fine's game. I may have KS'd it when I was on ambien.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:17 pm

ibdoomed wrote:I may have KS'd it when I was on ambien.

So take another one and play a few hours. Problem solved.

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:19 pm

Smoove_B wrote:
ibdoomed wrote:I may have KS'd it when I was on ambien.
So take another one and play a few hours. Problem solved.

Lol. (For those who don't know, ambien causes ... something... I forgot what...)

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:21 pm

ibdoomed wrote:
IceBear wrote:
ibdoomed wrote:
Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.
Ah! Finally a reputable review. I'll watch that as soon as I get home.
What I don't understand is you own it, so why not just download it and try it out? Some times the reviews like a game and I don't or visa versa. I can get not buying a game because you don't know if you like it, but since you already own it....Just don't have the time?
Just seems like it would take some serious time commitment to get into, instead of being a 5 minute game like the stanley parable.

Did you think it was going to be a first person, exploration/adventure game like the Stanley Parable? While "just seems like it would take some serious time commitment to get into" is patently false, it's also not a casual, online flash game, a la Plants V. Zombies or Angry Birds.

Gob Bluth
"You've made a huge mistake"
/Gob Bluth

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:49 pm

ibdoomed wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:
ibdoomed wrote:I may have KS'd it when I was on ambien.
So take another one and play a few hours. Problem solved.
Lol. (For those who don't know, ambien causes ... something... I forgot what...)

E.D.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:05 pm

I'm really digging the game but have an off the wall question:

Much has been made of the fact that choices are permanent, and that the save system has been set up to reflect that. Yet from the loading screen I can restore to the beginning of a day long past. So if I do, am I faced with the same choices and can I indeed select something else, or are the choices automagically resolved the way they were the first time through?

Has anyone gone back and tried replaying a day?

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:12 pm

Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.

Well, I watched a few minutes of the review and was flabbergasted to discover that these developers don't care one bit for the hearing impaired gamers and ignored implementing subtitles. I really really wish I had not given them money.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:17 pm

If you're trying to get into my Top 5 list of OOers I must meet before dying, it's working.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:21 pm

ibdoomed wrote:
Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.
Well, I watched a few minutes of the review and was flabbergasted to discover that these developers don't care one bit for the hearing impaired gamers and ignored implementing subtitles. I really really wish I had not given them money.

So far (up to Chapter 4) there have been about 45 seconds of voicework, some of which wasn't even in English, and none of which was plot-critical. You really sound like a moron.

Arkon · Post by **Arkon** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:29 pm

tgb wrote:I'm really digging the game but have an off the wall question:

Much has been made of the fact that choices are permanent, and that the save system has been set up to reflect that. Yet from the loading screen I can restore to the beginning of a day long past. So if I do, am I faced with the same choices and can I indeed select something else, or are the choices automagically resolved the way they were the first time through?

Has anyone gone back and tried replaying a day?

I have tried, and something interesting was that the events that occurred during travel ended up being different.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:31 pm

Some of the travel events are static (the drunkard, for example), and some are random. I don't know the ratio, though. I suspect it's more to the static end than, say, King of Dragon Pass, but I don't know.

Arkon · Post by **Arkon** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:31 pm

Zurai wrote:
ibdoomed wrote:
Lordnine wrote:If you’re on the fence this might push you over. TotalBiscuit just ran his WTF on the game. Pretty positive but he also points out some of the problems he has encountered. Worth a watch.
Well, I watched a few minutes of the review and was flabbergasted to discover that these developers don't care one bit for the hearing impaired gamers and ignored implementing subtitles. I really really wish I had not given them money.

So far (up to Chapter 4) there have been about 45 seconds of voicework, some of which wasn't even in English, and none of which was plot-critical. You really sound like a moron.

Agreed, all actual dialog is subtitled...this is like complaining because the orchestral score isn't subtitled somehow. I think I have only heard maybe two lines of "text" during the background music that were actually in English.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:39 am

Anyone else here who pre-ordered still waiting for Tryggvi (bonus character) to show up? Not a biggie since I pre-ordered for the discount, but it would be nice to have.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:12 am

tgb wrote:Anyone else here who pre-ordered still waiting for Tryggvi (bonus character) to show up? Not a biggie since I pre-ordered for the discount, but it would be nice to have.

He showed up very early in the game for me and I bought the night prior to release.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:37 am

RMC wrote:
tgb wrote:Anyone else here who pre-ordered still waiting for Tryggvi (bonus character) to show up? Not a biggie since I pre-ordered for the discount, but it would be nice to have.
He showed up very early in the game for me and I bought the night prior to release.

I preordered the morning of the release. Maybe that's why (although it hadn't yet unlocked and I got the preorder discount).

Like I said, I only ordered the first day because I had an opportunity to grab it for $15.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:44 pm

RMC wrote:
tgb wrote:Anyone else here who pre-ordered still waiting for Tryggvi (bonus character) to show up? Not a biggie since I pre-ordered for the discount, but it would be nice to have.
He showed up very early in the game for me and I bought the night prior to release.

Gamefly just issued an activation code for the bonus material, but I'm wondering, since he shows up "early" if I have to restart the game. I'm currently just starting Ch. 3.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 3:11 pm

tgb wrote:
RMC wrote:
tgb wrote:Anyone else here who pre-ordered still waiting for Tryggvi (bonus character) to show up? Not a biggie since I pre-ordered for the discount, but it would be nice to have.
He showed up very early in the game for me and I bought the night prior to release.
Gamefly just issued an activation code for the bonus material, but I'm wondering, since he shows up "early" if I have to restart the game. I'm currently just starting Ch. 3.

Oh yeah, he is way before Chapter 3. It is right after you start with the Hunter and the girl, and after you get to the village.

That first fight is where I met him.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 3:29 pm

That's the start of Day 2, iirc. Maybe I can restore from that save point and he'll show up. If not, I'll just reinstall the game and start a new one. Thanks.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:11 am

I’ve just made it through chapter 6 and things are looking pretty bleak for my party. The atmosphere of the late game is really quite impressive in just how oppressive it is. My caravan is starving, I’ve been forced to abandon multiple villagers to their own fate and a recent event upset me more than expected from a game like this.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:45 am

Finished the game tonight. Overall I’m pretty happy with it but the final battle pissed me off. The game is not easy to begin with but the ending goes from a steep hill to a sheer cliff. My party was just not equipped to deal with the “unique” win condition. After 4 failed attempts I had to drop the difficulty, and even then it was pretty hard for my party.

Despite my ending difficulties I would still give the game a solid 8/10. It's just a shame that with a little more polish and ending consideration, it could have gone from "Good" to a classic.

Some general strategy advice to avoid my trouble.

Spoiler:

Very specific spoiler strategy advice.

Spoiler:

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:13 pm

Thanks! I love me some anti-frustration spoilers like that. Will follow that advice.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 6:31 pm

Lordnine wrote: Some general strategy advice to avoid my trouble.
Spoiler:
Get at least two characters to armor break 3, preferably archers.

Makes sense or at least is in line with my feelings so far.

Spoiler:

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:39 pm

I use archers primarily to drop armor and occasionally finish off foes who are down to there last couple of strength points.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:24 pm

Kotaku is reporting that the makers of Candy Crush Sage are going after Stoic for their use of "Saga" in this game title.

On December 27, 2013, King.com filed a "Notice of Opposition" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. It says that because King has 13 trademarks with the word "saga" in them, Stoic's colourful strategy game isn't allowed to use the word.

Seriously? F- those guys and their candy.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:04 pm

In fairness it IS easy to get the two games confused.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:17 pm

From what I've read elsewhere, they may have 13 trademarks with "saga" in the name, but none of them are in the US.

kganey · Post by **kganey** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:11 am

Lordnine wrote:Finished the game tonight.

Hmm... I need to find some info on when the game ends. I've played through a little over 120 game days (11 hours per Steam) and I feel lost as to what I'm doing at this point. The story used to have pretty clear direction and now I feel like I'm just wandering without any hope.

So far, I have loved the art style and I really enjoyed the squad, turn based combat. But now that my party is out of food and I'm not sure where I'm headed and why, it feels depressing.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:55 am

kganey wrote:
Lordnine wrote:Finished the game tonight.
Hmm... I need to find some info on when the game ends. I've played through a little over 120 game days (11 hours per Steam) and I feel lost as to what I'm doing at this point. The story used to have pretty clear direction and now I feel like I'm just wandering without any hope.

So far, I have loved the art style and I really enjoyed the squad, turn based combat. But now that my party is out of food and I'm not sure where I'm headed and why, it feels depressing.

I’m going to guess you are very close to the end. It seems they really wanted to make you feel stretched to the limit near the end of the game. I’m a bit surprised you are up to 11 hours though, Steam says I finished the game in 9.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:15 pm

SEQUEL!

The award winning and BAFTA nominated saga continues in The Banner Saga 2. Continue your journey soon after the climactic events of The Banner Saga. The choices you made in the first game will affect who is alive and who is dead in this exciting sequel. As the world continues to crumble around you, only one bastion of hope remains, but getting there will require strong leadership, hard sacrifices, influencing new heroes, and, as always, sound strategy in combat.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:28 pm

Yeah, and I guess I backed it at high enough level that I got it for free.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:39 pm

It should probably have its own thread but... I've put about an hour into the sequel. It seems like they have addressed many of the complaints from the original and its a much better experience as a result.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:54 pm

Good to know! I never finished the first one, even though I backed it.

Just too much other shiny at the time I think, but it also didn't grab me like I thought it would.