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A brand new RPG by inXile Entertainment! New Bard's Tale!

JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
edited January 2015 in Off-Topic
According to the Chris Keenan's post on the the Wasteland 2 Kickstarter page from December, 2, inXile Entertainment - the developers behind Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera - have started working on a brand new RPG.

"Many of the talented team members at inXile who worked on Wasteland 2 have moved full time on to Torment: Tides of Numenera, but we still have a dedicated crew giving Wasteland 2 the love and attention it deserves. Amongst other things, we intend to do a serious balance pass in the future that should tighten up some of the loose ends. This process will easily take a month to complete (have I mentioned this game is massive?) so we will need a solid window of time to complete it between updates.

Along with continued tuning of Wasteland 2, myself and a few others at the studio are beginning to work on another RPG that has been passionately demanded of us for a while now! It’s still quite early in the process, but we will have more news on that in the New Year."

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2/posts/1071375

Any additional details haven't been given and different games magazines and sites are already full of ideas of what this new RPG will be.

PCgamer say they have no idea.

"The only other "big" RPG in the inXile lineup, as far as I know, is The Bard's Tale, which I would be absolutely thrilled for as long as it's based on the original and not the 2005 remake. InXile founder Brian Fargo's history as an Interplay co-founder opens up some other intriguing, if almost entirely fantastical, possibilities as well.

Remember, Interplay owned Black Isle, and Black Isle did Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, and Icewind Dale in its short history.

The Planescape base is already covered, at least partially, by Tides of Numenera, but the recent successes of old-school isometric RPGs like Wasteland 2 and Divinity: Original Sin could mean that other, previously unavailable licenses are suddenly more accessible—although that situation could be complicated somewhat by the 2012 resurrection, of sorts, of the Black Isle brand."

http://www.pcgamer.com/inxile-entertainment-teases-yet-another-passionately-demanded-rpg/

According to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, "the smart money is probably on a new The Bard’s Tale game. That series doesn’t tend to attract anything like the adulation that Fallout and Planescape did, but inXile have the rights, bossman Brian Fargo references it an awful lot, and the pastiche-heavy 2004 version has seen a decent second life on mobile.

Its satirical approach to fantasy roleplaying tropes has its fans and has its detractors, but I’d imagine there’s more than enough wind in its sails. Whether it’s enough for a third Kickstarter on the half a million scale, I’m not quite so sure.

Another option is inXile’s other 21st century RPG, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. Given the mediocre reception and a swift parting of ways with publisher Bethesda, this seems highly unlikely."

And this it the most intreresting part:

"Going further back into Interplay and Black Isle stuff, here’s an option: Baldur’s Gate III, either spiritual or actual. It is the other name in the Black Isle-associated holy trinity, after all. While BG1 and 2 were developed by Bioware, both the Wasteland 2 and Tides of Numenera projects have successfully conveyed the sense that they’re being made by an old school cRPG supergroup, and I don’t doubt that they could do that again if they can get a few big-name contributors on board.

In theory, Bioware co-founder Trent Oster’s Beamdog/Overhaul Games are working on an official BG3 (as well as retaining series rights generally), but I wouldn’t offer too many startled blinks if some collaboration came to pass. Beamdog have already suggested there could be a Kickstarter, though that was two years ago. I’d be even less startled if inXile went down the spiritual sequel line. Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity is doing that to some extent, but I reckon there’s still gold in them that hills. It’s a big reach, sure, but it would certainly fit “passionately demanded.”

Similarly, Icewind Dale is an option, but it’s harder to hang “passionately demanded” onto that. See also Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader.

Another out-there option is a new Arcanum: Of Magick and Steamworks Obscura title. That came from the dearly-departed Troika, which span out of original Fallout devs, so a link is there even if the rights situation looks a whole lot muddier (it was published by Sierra, now part of the Activision-Blizzard gestalt). It certainly has its enthusiasts, even though it doesn’t tend to appear in the same breath as Baldur, Fallout and Torment.

I reckon Bard’s Tale, to be honest, but I’m hoping for something more Baldury."

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/12/04/inxile-next-rpg/

What more can I say? I'm intrigued! I doubt BGNext and/or IWD3 will be anyone's else work but Beamdog's but the fact that inXile Entertainment are working on another RPG is great as it is!

UPDATE: The Bard's Tale IV has been announced!
Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
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Comments

  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
    edited December 2014
    The new information is available.

    It can be either a new isometric Fallout or Meantime - an ambitious time travel RPG that was in development at Interplay in the late 80s but never saw release.

    Brian Fargo and inXile have filed a trademark for "Van Buren." This is notable, as the original Fallout 3 produced by Interplay and led by Chris Avellone/Josh Sawyer was known under the code name... Van Buren.

    Mind. Blown.

    http://www.vg247.com/2014/12/08/is-inxile-going-to-make-a-new-isometric-fallout/



    Edit: Several hours later, it became clear Van Buren and Meantime trademarks aren't related to inXile's next game. Brian Fargo has said it himself.

    "I truly feel fortunate that with crowdfunding and the great response to Wasteland 2 I can actually start to plot out a long RPG future for us," Brian Fargo, CEO of inXile Entertainment, told IGN. "I think it's important to remember that some of these ideas are, at best, many years away. While they are not a part of what's up next, I certainly would not have filed for them if I didn't have a deep interest in exploring these concepts."

    http://www.rpgcodex.net/#9702

    So, the question is open again.
    Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    Wow! That would be great!
  • AllbrotherAllbrother Member Posts: 261
    edited December 2014
    To be honest, I'm not sure how excited I'd be for another InXile RPG.

    I'm probably in a minority but Wasteland 2 didn't do anything for me and I dropped it in favor of Shadowrun.

    I also don't see how most of the suggestions fit into the "passionately demanded" category

    That said, I'd be very happy to see a new Arcanum and especially Lionheart

    Speaking of Lionheart, I don't get why it's mentioned at all - is there any link between that game and InXile?
  • NukefaceNukeface Member Posts: 91
    I think Beamdog should do a Wizardry VI: Enhanced Edition in retaliation.

    "Oh, you thought we were doing BG3? WIZARDRY IX IS ON ITS WAY!" <- Minds. Blown.

    Who freaking owns the rights to Wizardry at this point anyways?

    That said, gonna play me some Bard's Tale... Kee hee hee...
  • plesples4cqlplesples4cql Member Posts: 42
    edited January 2015
    I was so excited to read my Steam e-news about "rock, paper, Shotgun". This has made the world harmonious.

    A side note:

    Although inXile has never sold me anything, I will be depressed for weeks if we don't see multi-player as an option. Speaking in metaphor, I hope beamgod gets let of it's leash and goes fox hunting.
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438

    Speaking of Lionheart, I don't get why it's mentioned at all - is there any link between that game and InXile?

    There's a slight connection. Lionheart was published by Black Isle Studios, which was a division of Interplay. Brian Fargo is the founder of both Interplay and InXile (although I think he had left Interplay by the time Lionheart came out). I think there may be a some other former Interplay employees working at InXile as well.
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    edited January 2015
    I believe that there might have been similarities between the Lionheart and F3 VanBuren engines.
    Not the case.
    Post edited by Musigny on
  • onelasttry84onelasttry84 Member Posts: 52
    The kickstarter has been live for a couple of days now... seems like it's going well and I personally think the new gameplay video is mindblowing!
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    I wonder if they'll offer Bard's Tales I-III in the same way they offered the original Wasteland to backers of Wasteland 2.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
    It has to be posted here because it's indeed very solid.

    http://youtu.be/fVB6dSckvJI

    I understand that it's only a trailer, but still it looks very promising. I dare say that this trailer looks better than the Bethesda's one for Fallout 4. And this is with Bethesda being a big-big company, while this is only a beginning of the kickstarter project.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    It looks awesome. I hope that they don't blow the entire wad on the graphics engine though.
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037
    I am still on the list for this Kickstarter from my time leading up to Wasteland 2. I can't do it yet--we just moved into a house and finances are is a state of chaos right now--but at the earliest opportunity I will pledge my monetary support. I may even contribute at the level where I get to write an item description but we'll have to see how that goes.
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  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    I was just looking at that, and was rather impressed with the trailer. Definitely something to keep on my radar.
  • proccoprocco Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 915
    Looks awesome. I'm starting to come to grips with the fact I'm going to need to upgrade to a decent PC at some point :cold_sweat:
  • WilburWilbur Member Posts: 1,173

    It looks awesome. I hope that they don't blow the entire wad on the graphics engine though.

    My thoughts exactly. When the initially wow effect wears out the graphics become almost meaningless to me. Anyway I'm looking forward to this one.
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    It looks more like Myst than Bard's Tale, but there's nothing wrong with a little eye candy.
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    edited June 2015
    Nifty!

    [spoiler=The_Original_Trilogy_Coming_FREE]

    Exciting news today: every backer of The Bard’s Tale IV ($20 or more) will get free digital copies of the original The Bard’s Tale, The Bard’s Tale II: The Destiny Knight and The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate!

    Even before we launched the Kickstarter, we were constantly asked "can you do a re-release of the original The Bard’s Tale trilogy" and we heard you. We have been hard at work behind the scenes looking at ways to make it happen! The first step was getting Electronic Arts to sign on as they own the publishing rights to the old games, having originally brought them to the market in the mid-80s. EA very graciously had no objections at all, a big thanks to them for their help in making this giveaway happen.

    The emulated versions of the classic games will be released for free at the end of the campaign for every backer at $20 or higher, and distributed through our backer web site. This is our way of giving our thanks back to you for all your support and helping us bring back The Bard's Tale.

    Some of you may know that the emulated versions of these games work on most modern machines, but are a little rough around the edges. Thus, we have an agreement with the original The Bard’s Tale III programmer Rebecca "Burger" Heineman and her company Olde Sküül to update the games for modern machines! She will be working to make the games run natively, without needing emulators, on PC or Mac. This re-releases will be primarily based on the Apple IIGS versions of the games, along with updated art.

    We’ll get you the emulated versions of the trilogy as soon as the Kickstarter ends and our backer site is up. Meanwhile, Rebecca will be working on the updated versions of the games and if that goes well we’ll get you those as soon as she delivers them to us, also for free! As we’re not working on these versions ourselves we cannot give an ETA or guarantee on their release, we’ll all be waiting for Rebecca to deliver us an upgraded version worthy of the name!

    Of course, playing the originals will not be necessary to follow the story of The Bard’s Tale IV, but we hope you’ll jump on the opportunity to experience them as thousands of fans did back in the day![/spoiler]
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
  • brusbrus Member Posts: 944
    edited October 2015
    bengoshi said:

    It has to be posted here because it's indeed very solid.



    I understand that it's only a trailer, but still it looks very promising. I dare say that this trailer looks better than the Bethesda's one for Fallout 4. And this is with Bethesda being a big-big company, while this is only a beginning of the kickstarter project.
    Stunning! Yaw droppin!

  • CvijetaCvijeta Member Posts: 417
    There's news about Bard's Tale IV - there might be 3 abilities per character, including weapon attack. Current beta status doesn't really tells us anything about mastery slots per character, but it may or may not have 5 slot in final version of Bard's Tale - currently, devs are trying to justify 3 mastery slots per character, meaning you can't really use more than 3 abilities anytime.
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