I've been playing The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep for a few days now and so far it's been great (our review is coming), but not without some rough edges. Today, inXile explained how it plans to smooth them down, beginning with the first patch that it hopes to have out on Friday.
The first update will mainly be a quick fixer-upper, with initial improvements to loading times (it's fine on SSDs, but standard HDD load times can be brutal), framerate optimizations, initial fixes for wide-screen support, better hardware auto-detection, and a number of smaller bug fixes. An FOV slider is coming, and there will also be an option to delete saved games, which isn't currently available.
The second update, planned for September 28, is said to include more performance improvements, map markers indicating where the save totems are located, weapon and ability rebalancing, grammar and localization fixes, and (surprise) more bug fixes.
Beyond that—with no date set—inXile plans to add a 'Legacy Mode,' which will include grid-based movement and options to disable the mini-map, enable perma-death, turn of auto-resurrections, and other such misery-inducing 'features' from 1986, along with controller support, an option to speed up combat animations, and inventory sorting, which for some inexplicable reason wasn't present at release.
"We are working around the clock to solve these issues as soon as possible," inXile wrote. "Also, we would like to ask you to let us know if there are any other issues that influence your personal gaming experience in a negative way. We have spent a lot of love, time and effort into the development of The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep, and there is no bigger reward for us than if you are enjoying it."
The studio also said that delays in distributing keys to backers should be resolved by today.
