Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord video shows off global illumination engine improvements
Originally planned for a 2016 launch, Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord still doesn’t have a release date. Fortunately, it looks like it’s gonna be worth the wait.
Developer Taleworlds Entertainment just released a brand new video showing off the engine capabilities of its upcoming medieval war sim.
The video shows some of the improvements the developer has made to its engine with a ‘before and after’ slider zipping across the screen. The changes are stark.
Where textures looked muddy before, they now look much sharper. The introduction of global illumination also shows shadows being cast on cobbled walls, sinking into the cracks in the masonry. Everything just looks much brighter and more crisp.
The first Mount & Blade was a game full of promise. Plenty of people lost dozens of hours of their lives to it, but the presentation left a lot to be desired. This sequel looks to ramp up the visual appeal by a fair margin.
Check out the improvements in the video below:
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord takes players to a fictional land called Calradia, set 200 years before the first game. Its huge landscape will feature forests, deserts, and tundras, even though it is loosely based on medieval Europe. Video games are a fantasy, OK? They can do what they want.
Saying that, don’t expect any wizards here. Mount and Blade 2 is all about traditional combat: swords, shields, polearms, bows, and cavalry charges. If you like games where you get to bash people with big swords, this could be the one for you.
The biggest new addition to this medieval sequel is that you can take part in massive sieges. Lead an army 100-men strong and storm a castle. Bash down the gates. Scale the walls. Kill the men. Now with global illumination.