[Poll] Forced Manual Block?

[Helvictus]

Exactly why M&B isn't an extremely popular game, it's the difficulty and the need of skill that players buy this game. If you would think that manual block would deter players from playing this mod, then they certainly do not see eye-to-eye to the concept of a "co-op" game....The main point of this game is to beat the odds even with handicaps such as manual blocking....

cRPG might have such handicaps like repair and manual blocks, but it's own difficulty and balance is the reason why it is still surviving today and so many players are still playing it.

To be honest, i agree in principle with everything you have just said. I personally LOVE the manual block and exactly as you describe it part of the whole attraction to mount and blade was the difficulty/skill needed to play at any decent level.

However...

I am painfully aware that outside of this forum (and possibly the main M&B forums) I am in an overall minority. I believe that most of the people in this thread voting yes for manual block are also in this minority.

Allow me to explain, before this mod came along (and mount and musket and CRPG and others ) the main attraction to the multiplayer on this game to me was 22nd siege server. I love the siege and the whole combat element that goes along with it. fighting your way backwards up a set of stairs whilst holding off 5 people, standing behind a door whilst seeing and hearing it steadily being battered down, not really knowing whats beyond the door apart from its going to be sharp and trying to kill you...

now, fast forward a few months, i'm bored of playing by myself and would like to get some of my IRL friends onto the game with me (clans excluded from my point for the moment) This mod allowed me to get 2 of my friends into this game and the main point i had to use with them was the auto block. one of them is now a commando infantry character and consistently kicks large amounts of nord arse whilst helping to keep my own arse out of the (healing) fire, but if he were forced to use manual block he would not play at all and i would once again be by myself.

I'm fully aware of the elitism within the gaming community and for the most part I would agree myself but the mount and blade community as you have said yourself is quite a small one and by forcing particular methods you are cutting that group even smaller and therefore cutting the size of, if you'll pardon the phrase, your target market.

In an ideal world it would be possible for the player himself to select whether its auto or manual block but i'm aware that its not possible here due to how the bots are coded? not sure about that one so please don't flame if incorrect.

the TL;DR version: Manual block awesome if person blocking is awesome, personally am awesome , majority of friends not and i like to play with my friends who would leave if forced to manual block. 

Thanks.