I hadn't seen this anywhere and I just thought of it. Not much of a post but I wonder if any of the dev's have ever played Mount & Blade and whether that could have any influence over the combat system. Although not being the greatest game overall, the combat was very well done. It took into account a lot of the physics with the movement of the character and could even show you the calculations in the little stat section on the bottom left of the screen.

ugh, there has been like 30 of these threads and i haven't even been on this site long......

Are you kidding.

Warband is game of the year 2010 regarldess of budget. It beat games with a hundred times its budget. Multiplayer is hella fun, I have 100's of hours put into it

Referencing Mount & Blade? Eh nevermind then

I was actually just talking about the first M&B. Never got around to playing Warband but I wouldn't doubt it was great

OT:

Not quite sure where you're going with this, but the combat is indeed very well done. I can't remember any other game that handle melee and horseback combat any better... ?

Judging by what we know of Skyrim so far though, they look to be improving drastically - and it seems it'll be much more momentum based, just like M&B.

Edit: You should check it out then, the multiplayer is pure awesome and they even improved on its combat

Mount and Blades combat was highly developed for Mounted combat. Since TES has always had focus on non-mounted combat its unlikely they will try to emulate it. If they did they would basically just be bringing back the old Arena/Daggerfall fight system.

All I can say is I spent my first 2 hours playing M&B Warband in the Arena, savoring the combat.

Mount & Blade has the best combat system I played so far, the archery is brilliant (both mounted and unmounted). I think what makes it most for me is the damage model.

It's very good, lacking in some areas, but the combat aspect is very well done and it's the meat of the game. There are some very basic roleplaying aspects, but that's not really what the game is about. Warband is basically the same as M&B, but improved. It's a standalone expansion pack.

I did like the combat a lot in that game yeah, it's not perfect, but it's among the best I've seen in terms of sword fighting.

Yes Beth guys do play mount & play (not the warband [censored]) , it is in the blog .

Taleworlds made a truly free roam , not scaled, sandbox game and their fans love it , Beth's fans would be like "what should i do now? please hold my hand and tell me where to go" .

*grabs the pitchfork*

*Grabs the torches*

I only played that game in like 2 hours (i just couldn't really get into it) but that had certainly nothing to do with the combat. It felt very natural. And i usually prefer a joypad. Ofcause i don't know if it's still fun after 20 hours.

From the description of archery: "the longer you keep the bow drawn the more powerful your shot will be", it seems not. M&B took the more realistic approach of needing to aim and shoot in one quick move. If you keep the bow drawn your arm gets tired and your aim degrades, as it would in RL.

M&B melee combat is very PC specific - relying on mouse gestures and movement for swing direction and strength of hit. I can't see how it would easily translate to PS3/360.

Well, if we assume Skyrim has to have the same controls on all platforms, then yes, it's a shame. *sigh* not trying to start a console bash, but this is a compormise I could live without.

I have to agree with the OP. As much as i love Warband (although not playing so much due to the way mods have fragmented the MP) I can't call it a great game. It's an excellent combat sim but the actual play elements are severely deficient and that combat engine deserves better.

Combat is great in M&B, and you can own castles and towns... but the world is empty, characters are bad done...
Bethesda would make great game of M&B.

The Mount & Blade games are all about combat and leading your troops to battle. And in that aspect it's the best game I ever played. The sheer joy of faking a side hit, have the other dude defend his side and then change to an overhead chop with a two handed axe, rushing forward for momentum (for those that haven't played the game: swing speed and momentum actually influence how much damage you do) and bury it deep in his skull is impossible to describe.

I don't know if they took a few bits from M&B or M&B:WB but from what I read combat seems more dynamic in Skyrim with a heavier emphasis on catching your opponent off balance to deliver a deadly blow rather than a hackfest like OB and MW. Weapons are different now, each type with a unique way of affecting your opponents (swords have a higher crit chance, maces pierce through armor, axes cause bleeding etc.) And I really like that. And it seems they still keep it rooted in the RPG side of things with certain perks improving certain weapon types although I'm still curious how they tie damage to skill.

M&B would have been mindblowing if it had've been an open world. That's probably the one thing I was disappointed with, although I imagine it would be boring travelling for several in-game days just to reach the next town, as well as use a load of memory just storing that worldspace.

As for combat, it feels a whole load more strategic than the swing-until-they-die style of Oblivion. I really hope Skyrim can compare with M&B in this respect.

M&B is no doubt the best game I ever played in terms of combat mechanics. And I mean that no game I ever played comes even close to it.

Too bad the RPG elements are not very well developed; but as a medieval combat simulator it's just incredible. Addictive, I would say: it never gets boring, even if you put a hundred hours in it.

The way it covers every kind of combat (missile weapons, one handed and shield, two handed weapons, lance, throwing weapons, mounted and dismounted...) and the possible combinations (horse archery is simply... wow) gives you a total freedom and a different gameplay based on the style you chose to develop.

While I think it has quite a lot that Bethesda could use as inspiration, M&B is however a very different kind of game. Just think of how steep the learning curve for its combat is; incredibly rewarding once you get the hold of it, but it can also be pretty frustrating for your average casual gamer.

M&B was developed by a couple and their scope was to make a game about swordfight , Taleworlds are not a 100 people studio with gym at the basemant although they took some extra personnel for warband , any comparison to AAA titles Beth is making is apples and oranges .

Great mounted combat.

But there is absolutely no story, all the quests are lame and the game becomes repetitive and immensely boring after a couple of hours.

Try the cRPG mod for Warband multiplayer. It makes the game go from really good to incredible.

Mount and blade had one of the greatest combat system ever, but thinking about this great game has given me a great idea about a fast travel method.

I'll develop it further.