The Bard's Tale IV

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

No need to repost the whole thing - you can read it in the original announcement Just post what caught your attention.

 

[volsung]

So what's that "Forgiveness letter" really about? It costs $5 as a separate add-on.

I'm considering one of the lower end tiers, since I'm not really a long time fan but I like where this is going.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

It's a pardon for those who pirated inXile games in the past So far I used $20 Early Bard tier plus the full soundtrack add-on. If they'll give an option of a songbook as an add-on (that includes music scores and lyrics), I'll add that too.

I didn't play any games from the original trilogy, but the game itself looks promising and supporting inXile is good.

 

[volsung]

So... just a silly collectible item. I get the humor behind it, but why does it cost 5 real dollars? I suppose it's like saying: people who pirated from us before, give us a symbolic 5 US dollars and we'll call it even. Heh.

But yeah game looks good. It seems inXile is the actual new Black Isle.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Some add-ons are purely collectible items. Not really my cup of tea, but some people like them so crowdfunding campaign doesn't lose anything from adding them.

inXile is probably one of the biggest and successful studios that turned to crowdfunding. Hopefully this trend will grow. We need more and better competition with legacy publisher funded games.

 

[schinderhannes.999]

inXile Loyalty Rewards

We say it all the time, but we mean it: our games would not happen without your incredible support. And we want to reward your generosity in the past by offering a special promotion for all of our returning backers. This promotion lasts until June 26th, 12:00 AM PST, so act fast! Already a backer? Then this promotion applies to you as well!

Anyone who backed Wasteland 2 or Torment: Tides of Numenera previously, who also backs The Bard’s Tale IV at $20 or above, will get a FREE bonus reward (listed below) containing items from either Torment, Wasteland 2 or The Bard’s Tale IV!

Additionally, any returning Wasteland 2 or Torment backers of The Bard’s Tale IV at $33 or above will also receive FREE copies of Ultima Underworld 1 & 2 from GOG.com, a special offer from our friends at OtherSide Entertainment.

This offer applies to both Kickstarter and PayPal backers, so you can back us using your preferred method.

For the free bonus reward you can choose from the following premium digital rewards from our previous campaigns (up to $15 value!).

• Digital Torment Novella Compilation
• Digital Torment Comic Compilation
• Digital Wasteland 2 Novella Compilation
• Digital Torment Concept Art Book
• Digital Torment Soundtrack
• Digital Wasteland 2 Concept Art Book
• Digital The Bard’s Tale IV Soundtrack
• Digital “History of The Bard’s Tale” Novella Compilation
• Digital The Bard’s Tale IV novellas

* Promotional rewards will be delivered after The Bard’s Tale IV Kickstarter campaign’s conclusion as soon as they’re released. You will be sent an email prompting you to select one of the rewards listed above.

** The Wasteland 2 Novella compilation, Wasteland 2 Concept Art Book and 2 of the Torment novellas have been released so far. Other rewards will be made available via The Bard’s Tale IV backer web site as they are added.

thebardstalerpg.tumblr.com/inxile-loyalty-rewards

 

[volsung]

Gave in and backed this game. We need more cRPG's.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

@volsung: Bard's Tale IV funding goes quite well so far. I guess inXile's reputation plays a big role. Still it's notably slower than their previous campaigns. Some think it's because crowdfunding is harder in general these days. But I was thinking that may be it's genre saturation? Most of the notable crowdfunded projects in the past were RPGs.

Another game that I still want to back is We Happy Few (which is survival style dystopian game), but they are figuring out if Linux release will happen or not. There should be some news next week possibly.

 

[schinderhannes.999]

I think it's more to do with The Bard's Tale not being such an instantly recognizable household name like Baldur's Gate, Torment or Wasteland whose spiritual successors, direct sequels or connections to other popular IPs are obviously able to draw a lot more (and quicker) attention than an even older series of dungeon crawlers from the 'Golden Age' which, back then also happened to be quite packed with other arguably better examples of the genre.

Not to mention that Legend of Grimrock I & II already did an excellent job in revitalizing the genre and scratching that particular itch.

Technically we're already at over $2.580.000 (+ pledges through PayPal) anyway:

Co-funded by fans and inXile: if this game hits its $1.25 million goal, inXile will put in at least $1.25 million of its own money to double the initial budget!

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

A new piece of concept art:

See full update here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1276158

---------- Updated at 06:36 PM ----------

Enhanced alchemy stretch goal achieved! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1276496

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Matt Chat's interview with Brian Fargo:

 

[schinderhannes.999]

New 'Living' Stretch Goals:

Colin McComb at 1.7 million

Along with Chris, we’re also bringing back the second Designer of Planescape: Torment and Creative Lead of Torment: Tides of Numenera, the inestimable Colin McComb! He will join our team at $1.7 million, designing a dungeon set in the Realm of the Elves, because we all know no one has mastered the craft of the Elves as Colin has. We’ll also be expanding the game further by adding another new wilderness area, the Wilds of Lestras.

About the Realm of Elves (Coill)

The elves do not live in the world of men, and generally only come to it for sport, to toy with humans and sometimes to kidnap them. This is youthful shenanigans. Older, wiser elves leave the humans alone, for they remember a time, at the dawn of things, when elves and men lived in harmony until the men fell under the maddening influence of the Famhairaen and tried to slaughter as many elves as they could. The elves don't blame humans for their madness, but they remain wary of them, afraid that they could once again fall prey to insanity. While the elves can pass freely from their realm into the land of men, men can only enter Coill by elven invitation.

About the Wilds of Lestras

Caith's neighbor to the south and often its enemy, the Kingdom of Lestras is the home of the Lestradae, a culturally homogenous people, united under one religion and one king, but strongly divided by class. The border between Caith and Lestras is wild country. It is home to outcasts from both countries as well as those who still worship the memory of the most famous of the Lestradae, the Archmage Lagoth Zanta.

Chris Avellone at 1.9 million

If you’re not familiar with Chris, he and I go back together to the mid-90s when he worked on the legendary cRPGs Planescape: Torment (as Lead Designer) and Fallout 2. Afterwards he co-founded Obsidian Entertainment and was the Creative Director. There he worked on many of their games, including being the Lead Designer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and a senior designer on Fallout: New Vegas. We have very successfully worked with him before on Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera, a co-operation that is still ongoing to the joy of both parties!

Chris’ involvement will be locked in the moment we pass the $1.9 million mark on the Kickstarter, where he’ll be designing the Cairn of Horrors, an all new dungeon built from the worst things that live in the imagination of Chris Avellone. The Cairn has one purpose, and that purpose is to kill you. Here’s what Chris had to say:

"I owe my career to seeing Bard's Tale II on a Commodore 64 at a friend's house. When I saw the streets of Skara Brae up and running (gasp - in simulated 3D! And in color!), I suddenly realized I didn't have to be the game master all the time in order to get my RPG fix, there was finally someone out there who had done the formidable job of creating a digital dungeon master for RPG aficionados with the same amount of lazy players as I had. So I have Brian Fargo to thank three times - first for the game itself (and all the Interplay RPGs I played to follow, including Bard's Tale I, Bard's Tale III, and Wasteland), second, for hiring me at Interplay, and third, for asking me to be a part of Bard's Tale IV - with your support, I hope we can make it happen!"

Additionally, at that funding level we’ll also make representations of your characters in your inventory screen and you’ll be able to see the gear, clothing and equipment they’re wearing, rather than a paper doll.

kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1278468

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Monte Cook joins the Bard's Tale IV team: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1283504

 

[volsung]

Had some inXile questions but nevermind.

Also I had to update my card info and Kickstarter is such a pain in the ass. I had to go back to this game page, click on manage pledge, then change payment info to be able to add a new card. There is no way to do this from account settings...

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Just 3 days to go until the end of the campaign! inXile posted a new behind the scenes video:

[video=youtube;ARQvH-o6O_c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=ARQvH-o6O_c[/video]
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1287370

---------- Updated at 10:27 PM ----------

Ogre Brute concept art:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1286246

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

44 hours to go!

Interview with Brian Fargo during Creator hangouts session run by Kickstarter:

---------- Updated at 12:20 AM ----------

More concept art:

Sulphur Springs

One of the great things about the world of The Bard’s Tale IV is being able to return to locations from the first three games. Sulphur Springs was a map in The Bard’s Tale III and it will play a pivotal role in our story in The Bard's Tale IV as well. This wasteland of toxic Sulphur pools is a breeding ground for some of the nastiest creatures in our world. No human dares to live there and few who venture in ever return. The only question you need to ask yourself is, are you brave enough to enter?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1288136

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

The Bard's Tale 4: Final Hours Party Stream!

http://www.twitch.tv/quill18/v/7297673

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Backer site is up: https://bardstale.inxile-entertainment.com/
You can claim your pledge perks there (such as a copy of TW1 / TW2 / Wasteland 2 and etc.).

 

[schinderhannes.999]

Update #26

Welcome to NOLA

Hello everyone,

inXile president Matt Findley here with an update for you. Much has happened in the last couple of months, and we are here today to share with you how the ball has been rolling on The Bard's Tale IV.

New Location: inXile NOLA!

First off, we are excited to announce that we have opened a new studio in the beautiful city of New Orleans!

There are several reasons why we have done this. First and foremost, we are always looking for ways we can make our game budgets go further. When we cut our costs it allows us to put more people onto the project for a longer period of time. This directly results in an improvement to the games we are making. Our creative process involves iteration. Iteration takes time. Time takes money. The lower our burn rate, the longer we get to work on the game and the more iteration all the features of the game receive. With the support of State of Louisiana and the general lower cost of doing business in New Orleans we are able to stretch our budgets and put an increase of man months into our projects.

The second reason why we are excited about the new NOLA studio is gaining access to a talent pool in the south and on the east coast that we just didn’t have access to in California. We are currently interviewing for positions in NOLA and there are a bunch of new hires that we are going to get that are people we never could have talked into moving to the west coast.

Why should you care about all this? Because the first project that we are going to be making in New Orleans is The Bard’s Tale IV! It might sound like an impossible task to setup this new studio, hire a bunch of people, and make The Bard’s Tale IV awesome. How can we do it? Easy, I am going to cheat. I am not in New Orleans all by myself - we have a core group of people who are making the move from our HQ in Newport to New Orleans with me.

This team and I just spent the last couple of years making Wasteland 2 together and we are continuing our work on The Bard’s Tale IV. The only difference is that now we are going to be doing it in New Orleans. By moving this team here we are going to be able to add to it with new hires and end up with a larger team than we ever could have had in Cali.

While everything I have said above is true, if I had to explain to you in just a few words why we are here in NOLA those words would be "Fried Oyster Po Boy".

So now that you know why we are here, you should really think about joining us. We're now hiring! If you're interested in lending your talents to this new brand of inXile, we have many positions available and we'd love to see a few backers among our applicants. Who else would have greater passion or understand of what we want to accomplish than people who've been with us from the start? You can check out our new Careers page for a full listing of open positions, and we'd love to hear from qualified individuals.

The NOLA studio is currently being set up for the full rigors of game development, and it's been an adventure getting things going. You can see some photos below showing off the new building and things coming together.

Pre-Production Update

The last few months have been very busy and fruitful for us. We're happy to announce that at this time, we're halfway through our pre-production phase on the game. But what does this mean, exactly?

Pre-production is the phase of development where we do our initial design and technology work on the game. This mean, through both prototyping as well as work on paper, defining the game that we intend to make in as full detail as we possibly can, so that we can get a grasp of our final project scope and feature set. All sorts of things are taking shape, from our technology, to our game mechanics, to our story.

Right now, this means that the major foundational components of the game – the story and world-building, our setting and characters, have for the most part had the groundwork laid down. You saw glimpses of these during our previous Kickstarter updates, including snippets of lore and story from Nathan Long, and design ideas from Brian and other team members, and we have continued to build on these to flesh out the world of The Bard's Tale IV.

Going forward, we are getting deeper into the nitty-gritty of the game: the play mechanics and combat system, core character classes, spells and abilities, and other higher-level elements like our quest structuring and ideas for reactivity in our game world and story. It is too soon to talk about this stuff in too much detail but in future weeks we will introduce you to more of the team and let each of them talk in more detail about the things they are working on.

The Bard's Tale Classic Trilogy Emulated & Forum Badge – Now Available!

During the initial Kickstarter campaign we were happy to announce the re-release of our Bard's Tale Classic Trilogy of games to our backers, coming in both emulated and remastered forms. We have now made the emulated version available to all applicable backers – if you're getting The Bard's Tale IV in any form with your pledge, that's you!

This release contains the original DOS versions running in DOSBox, and includes a custom launcher to make playing the games easy. Through the launcher, you can also do things like change graphics filtering to fit your perfect definition of "nostalgia", and transfer characters between the games without the hassle of swapping floppies.

To download it, visit your Rewards page after logging into your backer account, and look for the "Downloads" button on your specific reward that includes the Classic Trilogy. And if you haven't yet, now's a great time to register for your Bard's Tale IV backer account so that you will be able to access more rewards as they become available.

Speaking of rewards, Old Skuul and Rebecca Heineman are still hard at work on getting the remastered version of the classic Bard's Tale games available. We will let you know when we are ready to share them with you, but so far they are going well as we've shown in previous updates, with many new features taking shape, including updated music.

That's not the last of the rewards though. Our backer forum badge, which is available to all backers at the $5 level and above, is now available for use on our discussion forums!

To get your forum badge, log in with your Bard's Tale IV backer account, then visit the Rewards page and click the "Badge" button that appears on the right-hand side of your reward selection. If you need more detailed instructions, you can check here.

News on the New New Orleans Studio

Our new studio has seen some stories pop up in the press if you'd like to read more. The first news was this press release from the Louisiana government web page, which was expanded upon in coverage from NOLA.com and GamesIndustry.biz, among others. Recently, Fortune also published an article which discusses a number of developers who are setting up shop down south. This one has a few comments from Brian and discusses some of our plans for the studio going forward.

That is all for now. We'll be back in the near future with more details on the game as those solidify further. Thanks for checking in!

Matt Findley
inXile President & Studio Lead - inXile New Orleans
@BayouBard

kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/posts/1363572

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Good to see inXile growing. If anyone missed that, they opened a bunch of positions in their new office in New Orleans: https://inxile-entertainment.com/careers