Mount & Blade II - Dev Blog

[Silver]

Mount & Blade II developer blog has some interesting information on quests and how the relationship system will work.

...
One aspect of Bannerlord that featured in the write-up is quests, which is what we're discussing in this blog entry. As a sandbox game, the essential function of quests in Mount & Blade is different to that of a linear or story-based RPG. Our goal is to use quests as a way to encourage the player to interact with the sandbox, and help form the player's relationships in the world.

As in Warband, completing quests for NPCs will increase your relation with that character. This however, takes on a new dimension in Bannerlord, as that relationship can have a more profound impact on your character, and the decisions you make. As an example, when you go to a town to recruit soldiers, instead of simply receiving a number of local recruits, the town's NPCs act as recruiting agents, or middle men, through whom you receive a supply of troops. The higher your relation with a specific NPC, the greater the number of soldiers they will make available to you.

This places inherent value on your relationship with a specific NPC, giving you a reason to complete quests for them, and enhance your capacity to recruit soldiers quickly, from a single location. Consider, also, the way this invests you in an NPC's safety and well-being; when that NPC is at risk, so too is your supply of soldiers. This link, between quests and the sandbox, is what provides interesting gameplay, as your character's connection to the world grows, making allies and enemies. In this sense, the impact of a quest is often more significant than the reward it offers.

A crucial change, in the nature of the quests themselves, is that the majority of quests, in Bannerlord, have multiple potential outcomes. As an example, when a character in a town tasks you with clearing out some thugs, who are occupying a local alley, upon meeting the gang, you are presented with a counter offer: go back to the quest-giver, extort money out of them for questioning the gang's authority and keep the profits for yourself. You can even clear out the thugs, as requested but instead of handing control back to the townsfolk, install your own men in the alley and begin a new criminal operation.
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More information.

 

[Saxon1974]

Questing changes sound good. I don't want a little ear story but they need to add some interesting NPCs with back stories and quests in the town's. There needs to be a reason to explore the town's outside of just looking at the building or recruiting troops.

Looking forward to this in 2022!

 

[TomRon]

Sounds good, but I also wished for some kind of "main" storyline. Or maybe personal goals to strive for like in Battle brothers or Pirates!.

Is there any kind of ETA on M&B2?

 

[souha13]

Sounds good, but I also wished for some kind of "main" storyline. Or maybe personal goals to strive for like in Battle brothers or Pirates!.

Is there any kind of ETA on M&B2?

There used to be a goal to produce a beta or full game in 2016 but it has been pushed back. Now the official word is that they hope to release something in 2017, which is assumed NOT to be the full game. I'm afraid 2018 looks most likely.

 

[SirJames]

Having to buy all your units at one NPC or waste your money leveling up a new one could be annoying. Is the game balanced for the player who only ever buys from upgraded NPCs or can you do alright with a +0% recruitment bonus?

It kind of reminds me of Heroes Of Might and Magic when it's the start of a new week and you're miles away. So, you buy a new hero to escort the fresh units to your main army. Only, in MnB you can't have multiple heroes

It does sound cool how you can take over an alley with your own thieves.

 

[ChienAboyeur]

Having to buy all your units at one NPC or waste your money leveling up a new one could be annoying. Is the game balanced for the player who only ever buys from upgraded NPCs or can you do alright with a +0% recruitment bonus?

It is answered in the post. They keep the line from M&B:WB.

a way to encourage the player to interact with the sandbox, and help form the player's relationships in the world.

Building up a PC into one role is core to the gameplay. Incidentally, so is raising the profile of the PC. RPing a PC means raising affinities with various NPCs, therefore no player going that way will be in a 0PC recruitment bonus. They will have high relationship with a selection of NPCs.

Of course, players who have no interest in RPing and are obsessed with conquest are going to see the feature as a hurdle in their quest for power.

Devs are trying to get players who do not like the core of their game to play it as devs want it to be.
The feature is already in M&B. Players do not like it.
Devs are trying to diversify the relationship and the number of NPCs to build a relationship with. It is unlikely to work as players do not like the feature at its core, as it delays them in their quest for power.

Especially as devs look as they are putting a role in it. It will be part of the role of the PC to protect the NPC, meaning that for example, if the PC has an enemy, the enemy might look at striking the PC by abducting the NPC etc Meaning another type of hurdle in the path to power.

They cant go deep on this kind of features, players do not like it. Removing the relationship bonuses/penalties is probably going to be one of the first mods in high demand at release.