Imagine for a second Battlefield, but strip away the guns and modern day machines and replace it all with swords, crossbows and horses. That's what Paradox is creating with War of the Roses, set to be the biggest game ever made by the company. It's Paradox's dream game, and developer Fat Shark looks to be making something really special here. Plus it helps that Gordan Van Dyke, a former DICE man who has over five years of experience with the Battlefield series, is part of the team.
We were only able to see an early pre-alpha look at the project, but I feel it has some real promise. Players will be able to create their own knights, customize armor, choose from over 60 medieval weapons and 60 different perks for each of their characters/loadouts. You equip three weapons at a time and it's important to play smart as your weapons and shields will degrade/break over time. All players will have a dagger as their third weapon that can't be destroyed so you won't be at a total lose.
Our video preview above has a ton of more details and an early glimpse at how the game is looking. Fat Shark will be at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this March and they're hoping to have some massive multiplayer matches going for us to get hands-on with. We'll have more soon, but in the mean time what do you all think of what War of the Roses is trying to achieve?
[Special credit to Angry Joe Show and Steve Butts of The Escapist whom you can hear asking questions throughout the video.]
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Is it just me or does that combat system look exactly like Mount & Blade? The camera looks like the same too. Not really surprising since Paradox was involved in that game series
I really really REALLY hope that the combat system won't look as ridiculous and quake-like as in M&B, really turned me off from the game
this sounds pretty cool. hope it has catapults and trebuchet to take out buildings etc with. also it better have a LOT of players. and being a pc game i assume it will. cause nothing like a huge map where all you can do is fight close up , dying and having to run around the whole map looking to fight someone hand to hand.
Looks kinda like Mount and Blade stripped of its strategy elements and with a bigger emphasis on combat. The animations are certainly more fluid looking. I just hope all these visual improvements don't cause any significant issues when it comes to large scale combat.
One of the main reasons I liked M&B was because of the huge-ass battles that you could get yourself into. Getting a 1000-strong warband to clash with a similarly large enemy force was a really satisfying experience, even if the battle would take a few dozen segmented "rounds" to finish.
The animations were stilted, and the graphics were dated, but it was a nice trade off for the ability to ride through a really large battleground filled with hundreds of soldiers without having your PC puke blood and explode.
Interesting! It's funny because just the other day I was saying that I wish would use the tech they used in MAG to create something other than a shooter game... that if we had swords and bows and arrows, it would be an awesome amount of fun with that many people! 256 people on a battlefield with swords and stuff would be such fun!
... while this may not have 256 people in the same game, it might still be fun.
"what do you all think of what War of the Roses is trying to achieve?"
I watched all 22 minutes of that video because it was interesting-as-fuck in particular to *me* because that is almost concept-for-concept along the lines of my own game's design. I'm just one person though and these guys seem to be a small team. Also Former DICE developer has my full interest!
Though they have more of a large-scale melee combat experience in mind and I fashioned my idea more as a smaller-scale melee-combat game (think: Medieval Team Fortress 2). Right down to the weapons, armor-types and even perks. I am not jelly but rather curious to see how close to my final vision they get. ;D
It's published by the same company, and the main guy from M&B is involved in this. However, while M&B was mostly about the single-player and the ability to mix strategy and RPG, this is almost exclusively about multiplayer medieval combat.. no strategy elements and only progress elements implemented in the same way as they're implemented in BF3.
In reality, it's -very- different from M&B, but it definitely takes inspiration from it and its developers.
Say no to weapons breaking. And the "Power attacks" Don't look like they have any power behind them. It sounds interesting but I don't know how I feel about the company behind them making the game.
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Contest:
1:00 PM on 01.27.2012 | 
sold.
(plus one: Warband)
Aren't they published by the same company, tho? What's so different here?
I really really REALLY hope that the combat system won't look as ridiculous and quake-like as in M&B, really turned me off from the game
One of the main reasons I liked M&B was because of the huge-ass battles that you could get yourself into. Getting a 1000-strong warband to clash with a similarly large enemy force was a really satisfying experience, even if the battle would take a few dozen segmented "rounds" to finish.
The animations were stilted, and the graphics were dated, but it was a nice trade off for the ability to ride through a really large battleground filled with hundreds of soldiers without having your PC puke blood and explode.
... while this may not have 256 people in the same game, it might still be fun.
I watched all 22 minutes of that video because it was interesting-as-fuck in particular to *me* because that is almost concept-for-concept along the lines of my own game's design. I'm just one person though and these guys seem to be a small team. Also Former DICE developer has my full interest!
Though they have more of a large-scale melee combat experience in mind and I fashioned my idea more as a smaller-scale melee-combat game (think: Medieval Team Fortress 2). Right down to the weapons, armor-types and even perks. I am not jelly but rather curious to see how close to my final vision they get. ;D
This is now on my radar!
In reality, it's -very- different from M&B, but it definitely takes inspiration from it and its developers.
SIGN ME THE FUCK UP SON! :D
The name is Gordon. Gordon Gordon.
If it is coming to the PS3, then I am sold.
Seriousy. I need this game in and around my CNS.
"so you won't be at a total lose."
"lose."
>_>
..."loss."