Mount & Blade (The Free Oblivion?)

[corruptrelic]

Mount & Blade is a free game, with the option of registering to go past a level 6 character. If you've got the system to run it, it can be really addictive! You control just one character in the game, all in real-time, and can switch between 3rd or 1st person views, bow and arrow or melee weapons. From defending and attacking castles, to conquest and quests, dare I say this is the *free* Oblivion? Only thing is, you've always got NPC buddies backing you up, unlike Oblivion.

Been playing this game for the past two weeks and am really enjoying it. Even has a "Quick Battle" option where you can defend or attack a preset Castle (think Mini Rome Total War, but you control just ONE guy, and can order your NCP guards and archers around) or just skirmish against the AI. Originally was going to post this as a response to the sites for free pc games thread, but this game really deserves it's own thread. For something that's free and has this much depth, what have you got to lose by giving it a try?

http://www.taleworlds.com/







Did I mention you should have a really, really good PC to run this thing proplerly? 

[CeeKay]

you know, I've downloaded this several times and never get around to trying it.  time to remedy that.

[Kyosho]

I haven't played this since some of the very early versions. One thing I will say about this game is that they totally nailed the combat. It is excellent. As I said, it was very early versions I played. The latest version I played had the arena where you could fight. And you could go to different towns and stuff, but had to watch out for bands of pirates, etc. IIRC other towns were not implemented yet. You just entered a generic room with an NPC or something. But you could go trade between towns, etc. I realize the game has come a long way since then. I'm not sure I want to play it, or just wait until it's actually finished.

[Eduardo X]

I paid $11 for this game about 2 years ago, perhaps further back, and it's been amazing watching it grow. The first thing that was spot on, as others have said, was the combat,specifically the mounted combat. No game that I know of has ever had realistic horse-mounted combat like this, and it's absolutely stellar. It makes me miss it in games like Oblivion, saying things like "if only this were Mount and Blade." Even the archery feels great in this, especially when you're being chased by other riders.

I actually have never gotten a party large enough to take on castles, so I better try this quick battle thing.

[Huw the Poo]

The mounted combat in this game is spectacular.  I've never seen a game even come close to it.  Ordering my allies into battle and then circling the enemies on my horse, picking them off with a bow, is some of the best fun I've ever had in a game.  Not to mention charging in with the lance.

I really should play the latest version.

[Daehawk]

Wait its free but its $11 too? Is the registering free?

NM...after looking at their site its $25 for this beta or $39 when finished. So this is basically a demo. Pass.

[Dan_Theman]

Wait its free but its $11 too? Is the registering free?

NM...after looking at their site its $25 for this beta or $39 when finished. So this is basically a demo. Pass.

Close - it's just a preorder with an extended open beta invite.  If you buy it now, you get a code for the FULL game at a reduced price and you can play the beta and any updates all you want until release (when I'm guessing you'll opt for 1.0+).  If you -don't- buy it now, you can still playthe beta version but you're level-limited.

[Arkon]

I tried it a while ago but found the mounted parts to be severely lacking.  The horses accelerated way too slowly and took forever to turn.  Seeing as I have ridden horses for oh, 25 years now, the horseback riding felt just plain awkward to me, but keep in mind this was probably about 2 years ago now that I tried it.

[Austin]

Wait its free but its $11 too? Is the registering free?

NM...after looking at their site its $25 for this beta or $39 when finished. So this is basically a demo. Pass.

Close - it's just a preorder with an extended open beta invite.  If you buy it now, you get a code for the FULL game at a reduced price and you can play the beta and any updates all you want until release (when I'm guessing you'll opt for 1.0+).  If you -don't- buy it now, you can still playthe beta version but you're level-limited.

Yeah and this is an Indie game at its purest form.  Just a couple people if I'm not mistaken.  I actually haven't tried it yet but keep meaning to.  I figure it's worth 11 bones to  support 'em though.

[JohnathanStrange]

I tried it a while ago but found the mounted parts to be severely lacking.  The horses accelerated way too slowly and took forever to turn.  Seeing as I have ridden horses for oh, 25 years now, the horseback riding felt just plain awkward to me, but keep in mind this was probably about 2 years ago now that I tried it.

Horseback riding in the game isn't that different from 2 years ago: a new character with limited skills and probably with a poor horse, will have trouble turning and getting any speed. Increased skills and better horses feel really realy good. I, too, come from a ranching background and we owned horses when I was younger - my father still has three - and I see nothing "unrealistic" about a novice rider unable to control his horse or unable to inspire a plowhorse to do break into anything but a slow canter.

Frankly, Mount and Blade has been one of the BEST games I've ever played. Both in value (I bought in at like $8) and in sheer fun: I've fought thousands of warriors. For a game that is limited (to put it politely) in terms of story, graphics, variety, well...you name it... the vitality and amusement from the combat is amazing. Games like Oblivion, Gothic, NWN: they all have much more variety/detail in just about every category yet the mounted horseback combat in M&B carries the game to its own first place.

That's M&B's competitive edge: the combat from horseback. Truly enjoyable. But if someone's not impressed with that, they should pass on M&B.

I freakin' love it! And normally I'm just the sort of gamer who if he enjoys a game, merely mentions that it gets the job done.

[corruptrelic]

NM...after looking at their site its $25 for this beta or $39 when finished. So this is basically a demo. Pass.

On the contrary, from their download page:

We are offering Mount&Blade through a try before you buy model. You can download the game and start playing right away. What you download is not a demo, it is the full game. There is, however, a level limit at 6.

That's the ONLY thing I've noticed from making it anything other than the full game, it caps your level at 6. Everything else is just the same.
There's no "expiration" either. You can play as long as you want, and if you decide you like it enough to support it, go ahead and register it.
It's only a 123mb file to download.

Even playing just the Quick Battle option is a lot of fun.. defending your own castle in third/first person with your troops at your side is great practice and an idea to see how combat works and what you might expect when you start the main part of the game.

[Big Jake]

daehawk, I just wanted to let you know even as a 'demo' of what the game is about, it really is worth it to try out.  Riding down peasants/river pirates on your heavy charger doesn't get old. 

I bought in at $14 and have come back to to it time and again.  And the thrill of having your horse cut out from under you in battle, killing the nearest mounted combatant (or a horse running wild after it's rider was killed), and commandering said new horse was one of the best combat thrills I've ever had in an rpg.

[Freezer-TPF-]

Wow, it looks like this game has come a long, long way in a couple of years.  It's definitely time to give it another look.

[Jarrodhk]

I wonder if I still have the code for this.  Haven't played it for quite a while.

[Huw the Poo]

NM...after looking at their site its $25 for this beta or $39 when finished. So this is basically a demo. Pass.

So...you don't play demos?

[JohnathanStrange]

Weird, I thought it was Daehawk who started the M&B thread at the old OO forum all those years ago. Or was it Grifman?

[Daehawk]

daehawk, I just wanted to let you know even as a 'demo' of what the game is about, it really is worth it to try out.  Riding down peasants/river pirates on your heavy charger doesn't get old. 

I bought in at $14 and have come back to to it time and again.  And the thrill of having your horse cut out from under you in battle, killing the nearest mounted combatant (or a horse running wild after it's rider was killed), and commandering said new horse was one of the best combat thrills I've ever had in an rpg.

Well it does sound interesting. Lvl 6 sounds like so little to play to. Is the lvl'n real slow or something?

So...you don't play demos?

I play demos but usually not indie demos. Im playing Beyond the Red Line now but I didn't know it was just a demo when I downloaded it. thought it was a full mod.

And Im not sure..I dont recall ever starting a M&B thread but I have a TERRIBLE memory thnx to pain and meds. I seem to start a lot of threads

[Kyosho]

I don't think it was mentioned here in the thread, but the developer is slow at updating the info on the main site. The latest version can be found on their forums here.

[morlac]

I paid $11 for this game about 2 years ago, perhaps further back, and it's been amazing watching it grow. The first thing that was spot on, as others have said, was the combat,specifically the mounted combat. No game that I know of has ever had realistic horse-mounted combat like this, and it's absolutely stellar. It makes me miss it in games like Oblivion, saying things like "if only this were Mount and Blade." Even the archery feels great in this, especially when you're being chased by other riders.

I actually have never gotten a party large enough to take on castles, so I better try this quick battle thing.

+1

It really has come a long way.  The improvements outclassed my old rig, but I got new once recently and this thread just reminded me to install it.

[morlac]

I wonder if I still have the code for this.  Haven't played it for quite a while.

Q: What if I lose my serial key?
A: As long as the email address you used while purchasing Mount&Blade is still valid, you can recover your lost serial key from this page.

I just had mine sent to me, who can bother to look for it 

[Jarrodhk]

Well the looking was basically just me poking around on my old hard drive until I found the file with the code.  I would have gone to the website next.

 

[Eduardo X]

I didn't realize it, but they released version 9.5 yesterday, which will apparently be the last beta before publishing. It even has the paradox splash at the beginning
Check it out here.!

[Kyosho]

I've played a bit of this newest version. It's definitely had a lot of changes since I played last. For those of you not sure if you want to try this beta demo or not, do it. The skirmish battles alone are worth it. I've barely touched the main game this time around. I just go in and fight and have a blast.

[Eduardo X]

This game is keeping me away from GTA!
I can't believe the amount of time I put into this game. It's like I'm constantly addicted, and with the frequent releases, I find myself going back for more.

[Daehawk]

Only played about 10 minutes and one battle so far. Not impressed. Going to have to make myself go back and try it some more. Im in a rut right now and pretty bored with everything anyways. I did like the horse combat but I died. I think my 4 recruits lasted 2 seconds.

[Kyosho]

Hah, this thing has become my new thing to do while listening to podcasts. I load up Skirmish 2 or 3, pull out my lance, and go bandit bowling with the sound off. It can be a very zen-like experience.

[MythicalMino]

I wonder if I still have the code for this.  Haven't played it for quite a while.

Q: What if I lose my serial key?
A: As long as the email address you used while purchasing Mount&Blade is still valid, you can recover your lost serial key from this page.

I just had mine sent to me, who can bother to look for it 

Where is that page at? I sent them an email several days ago, and haven't recieved anything. I bought the game awhile back, but my pc crashed and died, and I simply cannot find the key (thought i had it written down with some other serial keys). I am at their site, but I cannot find a faq or anything....maybe on their forums.....will check that.

Chris


EDIT: got it....never occured to me to check their forums for info.

[morlac]

Where is that page at? I sent them an email several days ago, and haven't recieved anything. I bought the game awhile back, but my pc crashed and died, and I simply cannot find the key (thought i had it written down with some other serial keys). I am at their site, but I cannot find a faq or anything....maybe on their forums.....will check that.

Chris

http://store3.esellerate.net/store/support/Default.aspx

There you go. 
I noticed when I got mine sent to me that I purchased this back in '04 for $11 

That's a bargain!

New version is ummm umm good.  It looks sooo much better since launch.

[wonderpug]

Just stick your email address in at this site and they'll email you your serial key automatically.

I just popped into the game for a half hour or so on Monday and wow, they've really added a lot.  I was a bit lost without the starter river town they used to have.

[Kyosho]

I just popped into the game for a half hour or so on Monday and wow, they've really added a lot.  I was a bit lost without the starter river town they used to have.

Yeah, me too. That's actually why I haven't played the main game mode much. It just kind of throws you in with no sense of purpose. I miss having a starting town.

[morlac]

I did at first too, until I realized I didn't need to kill 100 river pirates to finish the first quest 

Just hit up the little villages for some cheap recruits and see the lords of castles and towns for some easy fedexish quest.  You'll be on your way in no time.

[Skylark]

[...] dare I say this is the *free* Oblivion? [...]

Err... Not quite.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice, and fun. I just downloaded it and played about half an hour. I could see people who like both RPGs and strategy games really digging this. But I'm the kind of person who likes to watch people play strategy games, but can't play myself if my life depended on it. I don't really like the genre either.

Personally, I like Oblivion for the immersion factor mostly. Mount & Blade has nothing on Oblivion in that respect. You always know you're in a game. The "Overworld map" really kills immersion for me - what is this, Final Fantasy 2? The graphics are nice, but nothing special, especially when compared to Oblivion, which is what, 2 years old now? Reminds me of Quake 2 / Unreal Engine style (FAKK2 or Gothic 2 for example). And combat could be cool, but riding around a group of baddies hitting them one at a time gets monotonous (I was bored after my first battle alone against a group of 12 baddies).

So I'll surely recommend this to some friends of mine who like strategy games, but I'll go back to Oblivion now. Thanks for the suggestion, but that statement in the title is a bit overboard IMHO.

[corruptrelic]

Damn I can't believe the game's been around for that many years already.. never even heard of it until I stumbled upon a thread for Roma Victor (MMORPG) where someoen said he wished the horse combat was more like Mount&Blade.. did a search, found the site, tried it, and love it!

In it's current state the game is techncially, "free". As the FAQ says the game is the full version you are just limited to level 6. Due to how much fun I'm having with it I know I'll be registering soon especially now that I'm hearing the game has been around this long and the developers still support and add so much to it.

The full game download is less than 150mb and it's free. Oblivion is what, at least 2gb? (And is/was $50 to boot?) For a game of such a small size and a world so big with so many possibilities, it comes pretty close. Even has a skirmish mode unlike Oblivion.. where you can fight it out with NPC allies and opponents on preset maps and castles.
I spent a lot of time with Oblivion but was turned off by never having anyone to back you up. A way to hire NPCs to quest with you is something I've always wanted to see. Then trying Horse&Mount, where you can visit towns and hire mercenaries and build up your party, while still only controlling ONE character, almost makes the perfect game to me.

Still struggling a little with horse combat, most of the time I have to dismount and fight by foot for the simple fact that my computer sucks. Too many characters on screen at once and it's hard to use the precision you need while attacking on horse. 

The AI is another winner.. if you set the AI to "Good" and don't use any handicaps in your favor (just keeping them on normal) they put up a pretty decent fight, especially when the odds are overwhelming. I've thrown spears at an NPC warrior only to have him use his shield to block them, which you see the spears or arrows get stuck in the shield as he keeps coming at you.

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but me personally I'd rather play Mount&Blade over Oblivion any day!  

[Tals]

From my memory of mount and blade it doesn't have a story to speak of and the quests were very weak so I think the comparisons are quite a way off unless things have changed dramatically in the last year. Still an interesting game and a worthy download but if you're choosing one to play Oblivion would win (excluding price)

Tals

[wonderpug]

Still an interesting game and a worthy download but if you're choosing one to play Oblivion would win (excluding price)

Now if we could mod in this combat model into Oblivion, I think I'd be glued to that glorious bastard creation for an entire year.

[QP]

Still an interesting game and a worthy download but if you're choosing one to play Oblivion would win (excluding price)

Now if we could mod in this combat model into Oblivion, I think I'd be glued to that glorious bastard creation for an entire year.

I think that would destroy the PC Gaming industry as few people would bother playing anything else

[Skylark]

The full game download is less than 150mb and it's free. Oblivion is what, at least 2gb? (And is/was $50 to boot?) For a game of such a small size and a world so big with so many possibilities, it comes pretty close. Even has a skirmish mode unlike Oblivion.. where you can fight it out with NPC allies and opponents on preset maps and castles.
I spent a lot of time with Oblivion but was turned off by never having anyone to back you up. A way to hire NPCs to quest with you is something I've always wanted to see. Then trying Horse&Mount, where you can visit towns and hire mercenaries and build up your party, while still only controlling ONE character, almost makes the perfect game to me.

Size doesn't make a difference to me, sure it's technically interesting that they fit a cool game in a small size, but is the game better because it's 150mb rather than 300mb or 2gb?

Skirmish mode? Is that immersive? I want to be part of a living, breathing world. Not a world where I can jump into a battle that has no consequences with NPCs I don't know and who have no backstory.

As for having people to back you up, you never tried the thousands of companions that are on TESNexus did you? Some are shallow, and some have complete quest lines and a huge backstory. Sure it's user-created content, but I include mods in the Oblivion experience.

Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad game, just that for my tastes, I prefer Oblivion. Fully modded, it's a sight to behold and you can play for months without being bored. You can totally lose yourself in the world and setting (it's not perfect by any means, but I still like it a lot).

Now if we could mod in this combat model into Oblivion, I think I'd be glued to that glorious bastard creation for an entire year.

I totally agree!

[morlac]

corruptrelic,

Did you just call it Horse & Mount???

 

[MythicalMino]

how in the world do you leave a castle? I went into a castle to get a quest....and I could not figure out how to leave again....

[morlac]

how in the world do you leave a castle? I went into a castle to get a quest....and I could not figure out how to leave again....

Tab is your friend.