Fable II patch "coming along nicely"

By Robert Purchese Published 4 December, 2008

Children taken off assassination hit list.

Lionhead has a title update for Fable II in testing and waiting for finalisation, and has said everything is "coming along nicely".

That's according to the community website, which has also supplied a list of bugs being addressed in the patch.

The Ritual/Monk's quest no longer presents an unresponsive Abbot if you run out of the region before he finishes talking, which is quite a rude thing to do. Still, part of the main quest and that, so even those with no manners ought to be able to continue.

Rescuing Charlie shouldn't prevent interactivity with objects any more, and the Guild Cave Chest should properly reward Limited Collector's Edition, website or Chicken Kickin' items.

The second part of the Spire quest should present a talkative ship's captain, and there will be less getting stuck during Bloodstone quests The Hero of Skill (Pirate King) and T.O.B.Y./Trouble in Bloodstone.

Brilliantly, your children are no longer chosen as assassination targets, and the Furniture Shop in Bowerstone now always has something for sale. In addition, there are a number of unspecified nips and tucks.

Lionhead recently unveiled a whole new island of content for Fable II, which will be here in just over a week, on 12th December.

Knothole Island will add lots more things to do and cost 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60).

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (59) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • patchbox360 #1 3 years ago

    and it got a 10 haha

  • DUFFMAN5 #2 3 years ago

    Guild Cave Chest should properly reward Limited Collector's Edition...err what i have the ltd edition and think I got everything.
    Will defo buy the dlc,gives me a week to complete Deadspace.

  • Vanmunt #3 3 years ago

    I would only play the dlc on this pile of shit if they put in an ending (which would be hard as I traded it straight after pressing the green button)... shame on all who rated this above Dead Space, shame on you all.

  • Physically_Insane #4 3 years ago

    My copy keeps on freezing at random points throught the game. It has actually stopped me from playing it all together. Are Lionhead going to fix this, no. Cunts!

  • kangarootoo #5 3 years ago

    @Physically_Insane

    Have you checked your disc for scratches? Tried clearning the 360 cache? If it was a common issue we would have expected to have heard more about it by now. If it happens a lot for you, it might be something local to your copy.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:22

  • DoctorZoidberg #6 3 years ago

    Vanmunt -

    Dead Space? You think that Dead Space was better than fable? What are you, some sort of idiot? Dead Space was pretty much shit. I mean what sort of a "horror" game does not even make you feel slightly on edge etc? I mean Silent Hill 2, THAT was a horror game!

  • Physically_Insane #7 3 years ago

    My console is brand new. Given to me by MS when I got the RROD. Borrowed the disk from my brother who's completed it with no problems what so ever. Gah!

    edit: and yeah, no scratches and cleared the cache. tried it with and without the update
    Edited by 2 at 04/12/08 @ 11:26

  • MasterNameless #8 3 years ago

    @Physically_Insane

    I concur with farticus, my old 360 kept freezing, on occassion, with all games when it was on it's way out. Fable 2 caused it to freeze LOADS more, then finally killed it. In the end, I couldn't even load the dashboard with out it freezing, then it RROD'd. Bought a new 60gb Falcon, as it was a launch model, and haven't had the slightest trouble since.

    edit: Spotted the last post, ouch. It shouldn't if it is brand new. I guess it could be refurbished and faulty when they sent it to you. The freezing fault is such an intermittent thing, freezing was very rare on all games but Fable 2, I can see how it would be missed by MS's QC testing, not that I'm excusing them. I'd get angry and shout at them if I were you.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:28

  • escapedape #9 3 years ago

    aaargh! No mention of disappearing spouse?! Still can't complete Retribution because of that stupid bug.

  • mcbi4kh2 #10 3 years ago

    @DrZoidberg
    I don't think you can mock games that aren't made for you and your tastes.
    This sounds perfect to keep mum / nan busy for a weekend. Why shouldn't they be allowed to play the odd game that suits them?

    Changed your tune since yesterday? Dead Space my GOTY so far.

  • Physically_Insane #11 3 years ago

    @MasterNameless

    The thing is, it doesn't freeze with any other games. Just Fable. Been playing Gears and L4D constantly with no problems. :/

  • MasterNameless #12 3 years ago

    That is odd. As kanga suggested then, it could be a fault, or imperfection on the disc from when it was printed, can you install it to the hard drive okay?

    Edit: Just read your other post again, if your brother played it without a problem, then the only thing I can imagine is that it is the 360 beginning to die, at the very early stages. Would explain only doing it on Fable, as Fable was particularly bad at making my console freeze, it may well begin to happen with other games too... Let's hope not though, although piece of mind would be nice I suppose.
    Edited by 2 at 04/12/08 @ 11:37

  • DrDamn #13 3 years ago

    @Physically_Insane
    Got a friend who had similar problems - an install to HD seem to clear it up so was possibly a DVD fault which maybe Fable 2 is more susceptible to than other titles. Heavy uses a particular area of the DVD for example?

    Oh and if it was a replacement from MS after a RRoD it is likely your old one with the motherboard replaced or at best someone elses reconditioned. So a drive fault is still a possibility.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:38

  • Vanmunt #14 3 years ago

    DrShitinhiseyes

    Dead Space? You think that Dead Space was better than fable? What are you, some sort of idiot? Dead Space was pretty much shit. I mean what sort of a "horror" game does not even make you feel slightly on edge etc? I mean Silent Hill 2, THAT was a horror game!

    yep, twice the game fable was... overhyped, dance in front of people completely shit ending waste of time game I played this year. where Dead Space was an origional IP with clever puzzles amazing looking and some very inovative ideas. Did you actually play the game sir or are you just spouting some shit you might have read somewhere?

    Up there for GOTY in my book.

  • Rowlsten #15 3 years ago

    The freezing games aren't uncommon. The Fable 2 forums are littered with the same posts.

    I can't load my game without it leading to a black screen and the xbox crashing. Lost a 'mega-load' of game time with that.

  • kangarootoo #16 3 years ago

    @Physically_Insane and MasterNameless

    Sounds like a combination of issues. Maybe a prob with certain 360s that only shows up under certain types of stress loading. And Fable 2 might be doing "things" (cacheing to disc?) that cause that type of stress to occur?

    I suppose one extra test might be to install the game to the HDD and see if that makes any difference?

    Edit: Just read DrDamn's post. So an install to hdd sounds like a promising avenue...
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:50

  • kangarootoo #17 3 years ago

    On that same subject, if it does turn out to be a DVD drive stress issue, I'm not sure Lionhead can really be blamed for that.

    It is not unreasonable for any developer to assume that the platform hardware will work properly. You should not be able to cause problems like that, simply because your code causes one bit of hardware or another to be used "quite a lot".

  • Sniper_007 #18 3 years ago

    It's always possible that you could be suffering from a problem with the hard drive rather than the game? I'm assuming it caches a lot to the HDD!!

    Have you tried playing it without the HDD connected?
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:55

  • Rowlsten #19 3 years ago

    Mine's installed to the hard drive and it made no difference.

    Unfortunately the one save per hero thing means its probably a corrupted file.

  • DoctorZoidberg #20 3 years ago

    @DrZoidberg
    I don't think you can mock games that aren't made for you and your tastes.
    This sounds perfect to keep mum / nan busy for a weekend. Why shouldn't they be allowed to play the odd game that suits them?

    Changed your tune since yesterday? Dead Space my GOTY so far.


    Not really, Horror games are very much in my tastes, and Dead Space was shit. It turned more into a chore than enjoyment. Not once did I ever feel scared or even uncomfortable. It had potential, don't get me wrong, but the execution was just terrible.

    Edit : I applaud your research though.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 11:57

  • Widge #21 3 years ago

    If I had the cash to only get one game, I'd probably want Fable II over Dead Space.

  • DoctorZoidberg #22 3 years ago

    DrShitinhiseyes

    Dead Space? You think that Dead Space was better than fable? What are you, some sort of idiot? Dead Space was pretty much shit. I mean what sort of a "horror" game does not even make you feel slightly on edge etc? I mean Silent Hill 2, THAT was a horror game!

    yep, twice the game fable was... overhyped, dance in front of people completely shit ending waste of time game I played this year. where Dead Space was an origional IP with clever puzzles amazing looking and some very inovative ideas. Did you actually play the game sir or are you just spouting some shit you might have read somewhere?

    Up there for GOTY in my book.

    1) Nice try on the name change, but I don't know about you, but thats not funny these days.

    2) Yes I did play it thank you, and it was pretty poor.

    3) Fable 2 had a good ending in my eyes. A really tough choice to make, with genuine consequences.

    4) Then please unsubscribe me from your book.

  • BobsUncle #23 3 years ago

    Fable 2 had a good ending in my eyes

    You do have eyes, right?

  • Vanmunt #24 3 years ago

    3) Fable 2 had a good ending in my eyes. A really tough choice to make, with genuine consequences.

    hahahahahha please stop it... I nearly wet myself.

  • BobsUncle #25 3 years ago

    You do have a soul, right?

    No. I saved my dog.

    [edit]
    You deleted your post! now mine makes no sense. :-(
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 12:25

  • mikew1985 #26 3 years ago

    "sucking Eurogamers cock"

    What an eloquent and well made point.

  • MasterNameless #27 3 years ago

    @BobsUncle
    Shit, I didn't mean to delete the post. I do claim it as mine though!

    As much as it pained me, I didn't! I was a goody-two-shoes and saved everyone else, then changed sex for a fresh start to get me a new wife and crack on with the rest of the quests!

    edits: to get spoiler tag working!
    Edited by 3 at 04/12/08 @ 12:37

  • kangarootoo #28 3 years ago

    Can (edit: some of, not everyone is being a child) you kids shut your holes.

    Waaaahhh, Fable 2 was better than Deadspace.
    Booohoooo, Deadspace was better than Fable 2.
    Meeeehhhh, something about a cock.

    If any of you are older than 11, you need your heads looking at.
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 12:36

  • Vanmunt #29 3 years ago

    @Farty

    OK point taken... however

    Not every game has to end with a boss battle you know

    Can you please give me one game you consider to be good that does not have a boss battle at the end... not baiting you or anything, genuine question. And you cannot use Feable2..

  • BastoJ #30 3 years ago

    Fable 2 was brilliant for its genre, I'm sure Deadspace was brilliant in its genre. Everyone happy?

  • RedSparrows #31 3 years ago

    Any RTS ever?

    Vanmunt, that's flawed logic at it's worst. A 'good' game's quality does not rest innately on having a boss battle at the end.

  • BastoJ #32 3 years ago

    @ Vanmunt

    Can you please give me one game you consider to be good that does not have a boss battle at the end... not baiting you or anything, genuine question. And you cannot use Feable2..

    Boss battles are very N64, in MY OPINION (which may differ from yours, making neither of us wrong or right) the boss battle at the end of the original Fable ruined it. The style of ending Fable 2 had was far more meaningful, at least in respect to the story, if it was a book it would have been several pages of MORAL battle, which in itself would be a 'boss battle'. Just because it didn't involve shooting the shit out of something doesn't mean it wasn't a battle. Arguably it's a lot more challengng to build a moral battle into a game than some random shooting thing style battle.
    Edited by 2 at 04/12/08 @ 12:46

  • BobsUncle #33 3 years ago

    "one game you consider to be good that does not have a boss battle at the end"

    I don't remember any boss battles in Splinter Cell. Or GRAW.

  • mezzomorto #34 3 years ago

    I was a bit apprehensive when I picked up this game after reading about all the issues players were encountering.

    However, I just finished it last night (after playing through 90% of the side quests) and only encountered one bug, where my wife wouldn't stop following me (but not sure if that was a feature meant to mirror real life that little bit more - boom boom *sigh*)

  • BobsUncle #35 3 years ago

    I have to say, I never expected to see any comparisons between Fable 2 and Dead Space, both are about as different from eachother as you can possibly get.

    Now, if you'd said Mass Effect was better than Fable 2....

  • Vanmunt #36 3 years ago

    ok. lets clarify... grid doesn't have a boss battle.. but then that is not an RPG, where as a rule the whole point is to build a charactor through leveling up, upgrading weapons to eventually fight your nemisis.. so on above posters logic, FF7 would still be a great game if you pressed the x button to beat ole Seph'..

    I thought Feable2 was a shadow of Fable, where it had a good boss fight..

    going to get slated, because I thought Feable2 was shit and never a 10... you have you own opinions, i have mine.. unfortunately mine is right..

  • BastoJ #37 3 years ago

    ok. lets clarify... grid doesn't have a boss battle.. but then that is not an RPG, where as a rule the whole point is to build a charactor through leveling up, upgrading weapons to eventually fight your nemisis.. so on above posters logic, FF7 would still be a great game if you pressed the x button to beat ole Seph'..

    Maybe it is for you, but I prefer RPGs driven by story and character development. Battles are not nearly as effective at character development as moral decisions, story etc. I see battles as a way to relieve time when you're getting bored rather than the central focus of a good RPG.

    I liked FFX but I thought the endless battles and emo-OTT style enemies somewhat spoiled it. It only developed story and character development in FMVs rather than in the actual gameplay. Different tastes of course.

    You - Fights, power battles etc.
    Me - Story, character development, fights


    (I'm guessing you're a WUM?)
    Edited by 1 at 04/12/08 @ 13:06

  • Widge #38 3 years ago

    FFX was emo free... the only emo-esque FF I've ever come across would probably be FF8.

  • BigJonno #39 3 years ago

    Personally, I think the point of role playing games is, y'know, playing a role. Fable 2 is much better at allowing you to do this than any game with the words "Final" and/or "Fantasy" in their name.

    Still looking forward to playing Dead Space at some point, though the demo was utter shite. It's supposed to be a survival horror thing, right? Sticking you in a room with a few monsters to kill isn't exactly representative of the whole game. At least I hope it isn't.

  • Petulant_Radish #40 3 years ago

    @ Vanmunt

    If you’re going to insist on disparaging a game by changing its name in that oh-so schoolyard fashion, at least learn to spell properly, as otherwise you make yourself look even more ridiculous. To pre-empt you, claiming that it’s spelt that way because it’s only the first two letters of feeble does not cut the mustard!

  • Vanmunt #41 3 years ago

    radish

    I think it is time you gave your keyboard back to your mummy.

  • Petulant_Radish #42 3 years ago

    By mummy do you mean IT department? I’m not sure my mother gave me this standard office Dell keyboard, as, well, I’m in an office that isn’t run by her. I would also be rather disappointed should I ever receive a typing apparatus from her, though I wouldn’t show that disappointment as that would be rude.

    What an interesting retort to attempt to hide your inner shame at not being able to spell, you can get lessons you know, the council will even help you out, give you some funding, you’d feel better about yourself!

  • AllenSpawn #43 3 years ago

    @ farticus
    NEVER NEVER trust demo..... Dead Space is one of the best games i've played,not just this year, but ever( a point that is concurred by 8 of my friends who have played it)
    a demo will always make the game seem disappointing( except Crackdown )

    @ vanmunt
    you sir, are right.................even if you are a cock

  • zippie151 #44 3 years ago

    fable 2 was a good game but certainly not worthy of a ten! As for the DLC think i'll probs save my 7 quid and get sommin else. And NickyBoy video games can be scary just like films can if done in the correct way, take a look at Silent Hill (most of em) or Doom 3 to a lesser extent, to be honest i cant see why you would buy a horror game if you didnt expect to or want to be scared (put on edge whilst playing), I thought that was the point of them no?

    Anyways Lionhead need to pull their finger out for fable 3 and not bullshit us like the last two, and live up to at least some of there ambitious promises instead of giving up.
    Edited by 2 at 04/12/08 @ 14:18

  • wayn3h #45 3 years ago

    Had Fable for a few weeks now and have today decided to go and part exchange it for a game that doesn't crash my brand new 360 every 1-20 minutes.

  • BTBAM #46 3 years ago

    You do not need a 'boss' battle to cap off a great game, what a load of shit. What is this, 1990? It, if at all, needs a fight, conflict or resolution, of ANY proportions, that means something to the story. Fable 2 had that in bundles.

  • AllenSpawn #47 3 years ago

    @farticus
    i have no point of reference for the demo as i have not downloaded it( where it starts or what weapons you have).....
    but as far as the game goes,its as you said- pacing is excellent, and that is what you CANNOT get from a demo....pacing.
    With a demo you are always thrown in at the deep end, with lots of power eg..ninja gaiden2 , crackdown.....or you start a game from the beginning and dont power up enough to enjoy it to its fullest.
    As far as the combat goes,its alot more varied than resi. I was chatting to 2 mates who had played the game about how good the weapons were, 1 said that he loved throwing explosives at the creatures with kinesis( me and the other had not even tried it) one said he loved the line gun and powered it to the max( i ditched it early).... i said i loved holding creatures in stasis and watch them blow apart in slo mo as i blasted with a shotgun. the others had not bothered with that.....
    My point is, no 2 experiences were the same, from a linear game......and that is truley exceptional, and something you cant get from a demo, and something that is way more deserving than a 7/10.

    lego batman 8
    dead space 7
    / scratches head in disbelief

  • Vanmunt #48 3 years ago

    @allenspawn

    well put argument... completely wasted on a majority of these morons.

  • RedSparrows #49 3 years ago

    Vanmunt, that was quite funny, considering your 'argument' is weak and deterministic.

  • Vanmunt #50 3 years ago

    deterministic - the doctrine or belief that everything, including every human act, is caused by something and that there is no real free will..

  • AllenSpawn #51 3 years ago

    @farticus
    once,it happens...and that is a game mechanic to introduce an un-killable monster... and is no different to a cod 4/5 hold the fort till the cavalry arrive.
    Its definately not as "crowd management" as resi 4.
    buy it / dont buy it /dont care.....great game
    the sum of all its parts add up to something special.....just glad i experianced it!
    In fact i'm hoping for an amnesiac episode, so i can play it again with no knowledge.

  • AllenSpawn #52 3 years ago

    @ farticus
    You do care about scores... If a game is 3/10 your not gonna buy it whatever anyone says

  • captainrentboy #53 3 years ago

    Fable 2 is probably my game of the year, silly bugs or not.
    I judge how good a title is by how stupidly compelled I am to get on with it and finish it, and Fable 2 won that hands down this year.I think I put around 30 hours+ into it in just over a week, which probably isn't a lot to a few of the uber geeks on here, but I personally haven't done that for bloody yonks.
    The only big downside was how stupidly powerful I was for the last few hours, it was like a walk in the park towards the end, the flame attack on Level 5 pretty much instantly fucked up anyone in your way :/

    Ohh, and just to reiterate how little time I have for gaming nowadays, I STILL haven't finished Gears Of War 2 yet!!

  • Khanivor #54 3 years ago

    Someone's home sick from school.

  • RedSparrows #55 3 years ago

    vanmunt: 'deterministic' as in 'All games that don't have boss battles must be poor, because all previous games that have been good have had boss battles'

    i.e. broken AND deterministic. Nothing to do with the doctrine of determinism. It's an adjective, not just an abstract noun.

  • smelly #56 3 years ago

    Been playign dead space for a bit.. on mission 4.

    it's okay.. the acting is dire, the story passe.. gameplay nothing really new (although the grav boot sections are ace).

    left me feeling of "meh".

    .. Can comment on fable 2 as im waiting on the patch before i play it

  • Daikon #57 3 years ago

    the Furniture Shop in Bowerstone now always has something for sale.

    I was wondering about that. I own tens of houses and haven't been able to buy a single piece of furniture...

  • kinky_mong #58 3 years ago

    DrShitinhiseyes

    Dead Space? You think that Dead Space was better than fable? What are you, some sort of idiot? Dead Space was pretty much shit. I mean what sort of a "horror" game does not even make you feel slightly on edge etc? I mean Silent Hill 2, THAT was a horror game!

    yep, twice the game fable was... overhyped, dance in front of people completely shit ending waste of time game I played this year. where Dead Space was an origional IP with clever puzzles amazing looking and some very inovative ideas. Did you actually play the game sir or are you just spouting some shit you might have read somewhere?

    Up there for GOTY in my book.

    Ladies, ladies! Lets stop this bickering. Both Fable 2 and Dead Space are as bad as each other.

    Fable 2 is a ridiculously overhyped and buggy game with a far too short main quest and pointless "real-life" simulation involving grinding away at reaction tests until you've earnt enough to marry an ungrateful bitch. At least it made sacrificing her all the more sweeter.

    Dead Space on the other hand is a repetitive "startle game" (you can't really call it a horror game because its only two tricks are making enemies burst out of vents once you go past an invisible trigger point and making enemies that look dead come to life). It's only innovative in the sense that I'm not aware of any games doing the Zero-G areas before. Everything else in the game is a copy of Resi 4, Half-Life, Bioshock or the film Event Horizon.

    IMO both games are only worth 7 out of 10 because although enjoyable in parts there both let down by their many respective flaws.

  • TheBard #59 3 years ago

    I loved Fable II. But you really have to be in the mood for it. It's a very different game. Less fantasy but more like a fairy-tale. It is simple, abstract, but unbelievably lovable. But, and this is a big "but", if you don't want to be part of the world, if you don't get any emotional response from the world changing through your deeds, you will only find shallow gameplay.

    But if you let this fairy tale affect you, you will find the best game you'll play this year.