Mount&Blade

[Skanky Burns]

Prisoners are fine, so long as they are also on horseback. Also, if you grab heroes, fill their inventory (apart from weapons/armour they use) with horses. Any party horses reduces the slow-down from heavy loads, and since they are carrying the horses it also frees up your inventory space for sellable items.

[Cyclotron]

Prisoners are the best way to get income in the early game; over time they become less and less good. An excellent starting strategy is to get a good blunt weapon (a winged mace is ideal) and stick around Zendar, capturing and selling those groups of 5-6 river pirates as slaves.

A saddle horse will serve you well for a long time, though when you have the money, upgrade to a hunter. If you're a horse archer who values really high speed in battles, get a courser, but otherwise stick with the hunter until you can upgrade to a decent warhorse or (preferably) charger.

There are a few ways to bypass an enemy with shields:

- Couched lance. The lance will rip right through people, even with shields, when couched. It's almost always a one hit kill if your polearm skill is decent.
- The "double tap." You'll notice that when you hit someone with your horse, they're stunned briefly; their attack fails and they momentarily drop their shield. If you tap a person with your horse to throw them off balance and then swing as you go by, you can reliably bypass shields. Of course, you have to make sure you don't hit them head on, or else your horse will probably stop cold. It's best to have horses with a good charge rating for this tactic.
- Trampling. Once you get a warhorse or charger, you can often deal 10-25 damage with a head on trample, which can take people out quite quickly. Trample damage combined with the double tap will ensure victory over most ground forces.

The real problem is pikemen. Guys with long spears will often be able to hit you before you can use the couched lance, or stop your horse. Either hit them while they're occupied with someone else, or hit them with missile weapons.

[Skanky Burns]

Since shields no-longer protect the entire body, you can also shoot someone even with their shield raised. Just aim for their legs or top of the head. Shoot them in the back. Shoot them when they are attacking someone else (and hence have their shield down). Shoot them when there is a melee fighter between you and them (and hence have their shield down).

Did I mention I liked bows?

[Traianvs]

spoken like a true thief

[Cyclotron]

Well, it's that time again! No, not random thread necromancy time - Mount&Blade update time from your local unofficial M&B spokesman, Cyclotron.



It's been awhile since the last update, but the new .8 series of patches is well worth the wait. A whole new interface, vastly improved AI, and a whole host of graphics changes are all present and accounted for. Tactically, there's some interesting changes - weather now greatly affects movement and the accuracy of bows, and you can now sling shields on your back to protect yourself from those pesky Swadian Crossbowmen.

And yes, they are pesky.



Of course, sometimes it's advisable to stick to melee...



For those of you who enjoy tinkering with characters, the face system is a whole lot better, allowing you to make a caricature of just about anyone and get said caricature riddled with arrows.



Some of the most impressive work done with M&B recently has actually been from the fan base. M&B has proven itself to be quite mod-friendly, allowing you to have as many mods as you like that you can load up whenever you play, in the same vein as Civ4. One of the most impressive ones is "The Last Days," a particularly ambitious Lord of the Rings modification in which you can try your hand at slaying (and playing as) the orcish hordes of the Enemy. Cue the LotR soundtrack (I know you have it, you nerds ) and lead the cavalry of Rohan on a glorious charge to victory.

The price is still quite low at $18 - and we all know you'll have more fun blowing $18 bucks on awesome medieval mayhem than on presents for your bratty cousins this holiday season. If you're not convinced, download it and give it a try - you can play up to level 6 for free, just like always.

[DrSpike]

So is it finished now?

[Cyclotron]

No, it's still in Beta. I'm not sure whether the price is a good measure of "done-ness" or not, but they developers claim the price for the full version will increase as the game nears completion to the final price of $29. The game is currently $18.

[DrSpike]

So it's less than 2/3 done? Bump this thread when it's $27.

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by DrSpike
So it's less than 2/3 done? Bump this thread when it's $27.

Well, as I said, that's if the price is a good measure.

This is the other games forum, and as one of the best games I've played in a long time (and continue to play), I feel like it's worthy to re-mention it every few months. It may be in Beta, but it's ready to play now, is more stable than most finished games I have, and has more user-created content than a lot of games out there already.

Part of the reason I promote it is because it's in development. Because only a handful of people are working on it - people that post regularly at their forums - there's a tremendous opportunity for players to give suggestions and affect the game's development. Furthermore, I'm a supporter of independent producers and of innovation in gaming (something this has in spades). I really suggest trying it out - you can do that for free.

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by Cyclotron
........
I really suggest trying it out - you can do that for free.

You cant get fairer than that imho

I never tried this before as untill i built my Oblivion PC my 3D gaming was pretty low tech(PIII533+32MB Geforce MX). Now i have the hardware i'm rushing over to try the demo/beta thing - It's always sounded like a great game in the making, and i also rely more and more on indie developers as the big guns get worse.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Cyclotron


Well, as I said, that's if the price is a good measure.

This is the other games forum, and as one of the best games I've played in a long time (and continue to play), I feel like it's worthy to re-mention it every few months. It may be in Beta, but it's ready to play now, is more stable than most finished games I have, and has more user-created content than a lot of games out there already.

Part of the reason I promote it is because it's in development. Because only a handful of people are working on it - people that post regularly at their forums - there's a tremendous opportunity for players to give suggestions and affect the game's development. Furthermore, I'm a supporter of independent producers and of innovation in gaming (something this has in spades). I really suggest trying it out - you can do that for free.

Fair enough. I think I am mad because it looks quite cool and every time you bump it I think it must be done.

[Skanky Burns]

Have you actually tried the game (for free) yet? If not, they you are mad.

[DrSpike]

[Tuberski]

I agree with Skanky.

DrSpike is mad.

Looks like I'll have to go update, I bought the game for $12.

ACK!

[Tuberski]

I don't see anything about .8 updates on the website.

Oh, have to go to the forum for updates, nevermind.

ACK!