The game starts 2 days after the last game ends (1403). If there is some kind of time lapse, and we progress to a later date, I’d expect it to be 1415 or earlier.
Jan Hus is burnt at the stake in 1415… it would be a missed opportunity not to include Henry meeting him in some fashion at some point in the KCD series.
Yeah. I Highly doubt such a long timeskip also based on the narration of the reveal. They deliberately said that Henry is still a young man, not set in his ways and character yet. This indicates that we play as him in his late teens, early 20's. According to google, in KCDI, he is 15 or 16. A 12 year time jump would put him at 27 or 28. While not old, this is generally past the time where you would consider someone not set in his ways.
There are a lot of discussions about it. His model is clearly older. There seems to be an interview that sets it at around 27. The issue however is that at that point, he would already be a blacksmith and fully independent, probably has already a wife and kids.
The stage of life he is in at the start of the game resembles more a teen, because of that, there are many that position him (despite his character model) more at around 16.
Edit: Also looked it up, in general, a black smith apprentice starts at something around 10 to 12 years old (some websites go down to even 7 years). A Blacksmith apprenticeship took around 7 years. Considering that he is the son of a blacksmith, it is most likely that he started earlier rather than later, and the way he acted and talked later talked to the blacksmith in Rattay, it seemed that he was still quite a while away from becoming a journeyman. So, if he started at 10, 15 to 16 fits. Even when he started at 12 and was at the edge of becoming a journeyman (again, he didn't act like that), he was at most 19.
If we look historically though and if he is stated to be around Han’s age, he’d be roughly around 15-18, more likely underage due to the fact he is still working for his father before Skalice is razed.
>!Jan Ptáček died in 1419 - I'm not sure what you mean? How would skipping to 1415 or 1416 mean skipping Hans' death? Possibly he only died in 1420 as will given that's the year his son suceeded to his title.!<
You’re right! >!For some reason I was thinking 1409. It’s 1419 for Hans.!<
Still… I think we definitely meet Jan Hus before he dies. Hopefully that’s this game, if not, then the next one.
Too bad he's in Prague, not Kuttenberg. Though it wouldn't be impossible for him to travel a bit for the sake of the game, like Konrad Kyeser did in the first game.
Yeah, that whole part revolves around Jan Hus' style of preaching and how well you can mimic it. It's just that Jan Hus kinda takes second place among all the fornicating that goes on in that quest.
I think it'll be a 10 year jump, nice even number and it let's us experience the Era between 1413-1416 where uhm, certain events will cap off the finale of this addition. They'll probably do a bigger jump in the third game and go straight into the deep parts of the Hussite Wars.
Multiple time jumps in order to cover important events? I don't want a post--time jump recap where the narrator tells me "And then xyz died, very sad, anyway..."
I think a German gaming magazine (Gamestar) did spoil that there will be a time lapse, because in their preview video, they mention that the sequel will be set some years after part one. They visited Warhorse studios, so I have no reason to think their intel is wrong.
Henry wakes up in a hospital he was actually just a student who fell into coma while studying for a history exam and the game events are just his hallucinations
KCD is alternate history. A "What if" Markvart survived the siege of Suchdol. Without him we wouldn't have the games. It's good to explain some historical inaccuracies like Pribyslavitz being rebuilt. Markvart is the kicker behind Henry's rise to power.
Eeeeeeeeeh no. Alternate history is usually reserved for much bigger changes. Not to mention, Silver Skalitz was destroyed by Sigismund in the same way historically, just Markvart wasn't there. Markvart being there added nothing really.
Like, take something like "Zulu" or "Braveheart". They aren't fully 100% historically accurate, but no one in their right mind or who isn't being a bit pedantic calls them "alt history"(yes, I know Braveheart is pretty egregious, but still it's not "alt history")
Probably the best term for KCD would be historical fiction.
Braveheart is so tough to watch as a history buff. Watching the very Christian Scots dressed as Pagans with face paint was torture for my eyes. The Outlaw King was way better even though it did get most battles wrong.
I studied Medieval History and my fellow history nerds and I used to play a drinking game where we'd watch a historical movie and drink every time there was an inaccuracy.
We'd always black out about an hour into Braveheart. Almost everything in it is painfully wrong. Still awesome though.
Hell, if the games accurate then >!Radzig, or Racek as he's actually known!< has been murdered by people he's trying to get taxes off, so i hope it's an alternate version, btw how cool is it that everyone here likely didn't have a preexisting interest in medieval Czechia but now does?
Or maybe they just aged him up a but fir dramatic effect or idk the graphics just changed. Also markvart died in 1402 so him being at skalitz was the year after he died he certainly won't be alive in 1416
Since they've already basically told us the timeline, isn't it more likely that the graphics are just better and it made sense to have the characters match how they should have looked realistically?
God, this sub has become like reading a flat Earth website.
Right. I want to see all these people’s reactions to Chandler Bing gaining 50 lbs within an hour between the season 6 finale and season 7 premiere. Sometimes shit happens and you gotta roll with it. Graphics have gotten better. Apparently they should have kept Henry lower resolution.
I also think this obsession over the character models is so stupid. Yeah, they look different, the graphics and the face scanning technology have advanced in all those years and the studio has much more budget. They do still look like their actors. Yeah we are accustomed to the old models, but we will also get accustomed to the new ones. Can we please stop discussing this every day?
Slight changes in of character design isn't uncommon either. When there's a several year timespan between games, I feel like some small changes are almost inevitable. Joel from TLOU to TLOU2 looked a bit different, facially, and I don't just mean that he looked older. Lara Croft, obviously, went though various iterations over the years, and we all know about the Aloys changes between HZD and HZD2!
IMO, it isn't an issue unless it genuinely alters their look/feel in a way that's integral to the character. I think KCD2's Henry looks more like Tom McKay than OG Henry, who I always felt was a bit sort of 'waxy' or 'plasticy' looking.
We didn’t see him grow up at all during the first game because it couldn’t be done with the budget of the studio. I like that he looks more rugged, dude has been through some heavy shit after all
I am surprised how many people ignore all the evidence we have for no time skip.
- the game starts right after KCD1. We can see scenes that are most likely from early in the game. Henry already looks different there. And doesn't change during the trailer.
- it has better graphics and motion capture and an aged actor
- they totally set up the story surrounding Wenceslaus' return from Vienna to Kuttenberg. So much in part 1 has pointed towards that storyline
- people think they will shoehorn in all major events in the region until the big battle at Kuttenberg... Which really isn't their way of storytelling so far. The historical events are the background of Henry's story. But Henry's story is the center. They have highlighted this again now.
- Toby said the game is set in 1403 and that it is centered around retrieving the sword, bromance with Hans and the wrap up of Henry's story.
- Since we can travel freely between maps they would basically have to age and develop them as well in the case of time jumps.
Apparantly the characters looking older was a technical limitation
they were supposed to age during the story but they couldn’t implement it properly so the faces all stayed the same throughout
now with 2 they change to how they should‘ve looked by the end of 1
An average playthrough takes 2 to 3 months. You can count weeks with Rattay Tourneys. I think my current playthrough has been going for 7 or 8 tourneys and the trebuchet was just fired for the first time. There's a bit less than a week to go. And at the start of the game, there were a bit over 2 weeks before the tourney counting starts.
"A few" is a vague term, could mean for example 6 weeks, which is a month and a half. Add to that a bit more than two weeks from the start of the game before Hans could claim to know Henry, and we already have 2 months.
Dude's point was that there is no visible aging in such a short period of time. 2 weeks or 6 don't change that. Don't be an ass.
Playthrough time is barely an indicator, since one might consider side quests as a must, but realistically Henry had no time for that.
But a dev said the game starts 2 days after the first game so that means the WHOLE game takes place then. There's no way Henry has aged! But what about a scene we have no context for!? /s
Yeah, 1416 or 1419 is absolutely when the bulk of the game happens.
It could start two days after, but maybe an event happens where the story doesn’t pick up again until 1416. It does show Henry getting tortured by Ishtvan so maybe he gets tortured really badly and becomes a hermit or something for 10 years but then something brings him back.
I figured he serves with Radzig until 1416, then gets imprisoned after they are attacked outside Kuttenberg for about 3 years. But you could also be right, either way.
Have you seen pictures of him? When they did the modeling for kcd was probably like 12 years ago. So like barely in his 30s. So late 30s for the second one people change a lot in those years. He looks closer to 2 now and he looked like 1 back then
Yeah I agree with you. I guarantee they just re scanned them again. Tom looks great man. I looked fresh faced still when I was 30 too but let me tell you I'm 35 now and boy oh boy. You can do a whole lot of ageing in a short amount of time bud. Both Tom and Luke look great and are doing an absolutely awesome job! Congratulations Warhorse on an amazing reveal you absolute legends. It's a very exciting time.
That doesn't make much sense. They totally set up the story to follow the mission they set out to do in part 1 and I doubt they will just skip over the escape of Siegesmund and his return to Kuttenberg and meeting with loyalists there. All of which happens in 1403/04.
No, we can't.
Henry looks *different*, but not necessarily much older, and definitely not 12+ years older.
And how lighting and textures are being modeled in the two games (or at least the shots shown here) is also completely different.
And while both models are based on Tom McKay, neither one really looks completely like Tom. The KCD model looks goofier/slightly plainer than the real guy (and never looked quite right for someone who's supposed to be in their late teens, anyway), and the KCD 2 model more heroic. (Especially the shot shown here, it looks like they harvested Henry Cavill's stem cells and injected them into Tom McKay.)
I think it's just a consequence of having a better budget this time around, so they said F-it and went all out on character models because why not.
That and Tom McKay can glow up rather well when he wants to, he's had similar looks before, like in The White Queen (2013), whom is Henry's voice and likeness.
I doubt it will be 1416, as there's still a lot to resolve before advancing so much, not to mention Markvart is technically already a dead man walking, they can bend the rules, but I doubt they'll warp history quite that much, otherwise we risk the butterfly effect.
If there is a time skip, I fully expect it to be after a hefty chunk of the game, and Markvart killed by then.
Furthermore, keep in mind KCD is intended to be a trilogy, so if there is room for a time skip, it makes more sense for it to come in the future third installment, depending on how the story pans out in II. Toth or Markvart may yet still be around in the third game ,or maybe Sigismund himself.
Which is why I'm not confident there will be a significant time jump, there's just way too much going on currently that has to be resolved.
It also doesn't make sense in regards to Henry's character development to leap ahead just yet.
For example, a possible avenue I would've included, is to really use this sequel to forge a strong connection with Henry and Radzig, only to then go forwards in KCD 3 and then have Radzig die, that would really make the impact hit so much harder.
there is no time skip, the game takes place right after the ending of the first game, if you notice 8n the trailer the gang he was traveling with is identical. they just updated the character models alot it seems
I know some people have mentioned the time skip, but as to why, I think they'll use it as an excuse to get Henry back to lvl 1.
Henry gets captured, spends 3 years in prison and when he comes out he's back to being shit at everything AKA lvl 1 and ofc he looks older because of the hardship of medieval prison life.
Tobi confirmed that the second game will start right where the first one ended.
So, *if* we get a time skip, then at least not right at the start of the game.
Wouldn't make sense anyway to just skip the story that has been set up at the end of the first, would it?
The game starts 2 days after the first. This has been confirmed by the devs.
Source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKGHbzge2A&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKGHbzge2A&t=0s)
the graphical leap is so fucking cool, i hope this is all in game stuff, the contact shadows look awesome and their clothing has ambient occlussion too, awesome stuff
No, Henry just looks better. If Markfart was aged 15 years from the first game, he would look much different. I just think with the improved textures you can see his wrinkles and shit. If Godwin was 15 years older he would be a geezer. Hans looks exactly the same.
Henry doesn’t really look aged up, he looks more like he actually has been spending a lot of time outside and therefore got a lot of skin damage from the sun etc. The other one (forgot his name) looks more as age up as he was supposed but finally got the details his face needed. And in that era people aged more looks wise then we due today, due to the time spend outside and the illnesses you could get without any cure. But we will have to wait and see for the final release of all these changes makes sense.
No, they don't look hella aged up. At least Henry doesn't. The character model is just updated and has more detail. We know for a fact that the game will continue 2 days after the end of KCD, and Henry has that same character model in parts of the trailer that seem to be from the very start of the game.
And there's a good reason to believe Markvart doesn't get to age much. Apparently the Kuttenberg map will also include a town called Suchdol. That is the place where Markvart von Aulitz died in real life, in late 1402. My guess is that in the game, something happens in Suchdol and Henry gets his revenge on Markvart, and so his in game death just happens one year late, in 1403. With no significant time jump.
I think what they've done with Henry, is assumed KCD 1 henrys face was prepubescent, so they ran him through puberty in terms of looks (not age). So more rugged look, broader face! I think he looks shit.
I think there is no time skip.
And the reason the look different is simply the budget warhorse had for development.
The faces in KCD1 looked a bit bland and now they simply have more money, experience and manpower to polish the characters more.
Yeah It's so strange because to me he looks clearly in his 30s
Their character tech is so amazing I can't think this is a limitation, they wanted him to look like a man
No, we cant. They look just.more detailed to me and everytime any game modeled same character from sketch it looked like a different person sometimes, just look at assasins creed. I think you are over thinking this and looking for something that is not there. Besides we know the story continues the second first games story ends. And the distance 100km from Rataj le to Trosky would not take 16 years.
Which is weird because KCD2 Henry looks almost nothing like him.
https://preview.redd.it/2srt1ktisyvc1.jpeg?width=2731&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eabcbcad209fbd31a14a9a836c2704ae3c4d90d8
I’m personally just looking at it like technology/hardware have improved since the first game and they’re finally able to make these characters look the way they’ve always envisioned with a higher budget and more people working on the game.
You also gotta also consider how quickly people aged in the past, especially with death always around the corner. I'm sure most of us will have an old photo of a grand parent or such, and at the same age we are, they look considerably older.
Nah I doubt there will be a time skip and if there is it certainly won't be that far. The events of KCD are over like a month, I doubt KCD2 will be much different
Am i the only one who hopes we get the '0 to hero gameplay' from the last game? I really loved the feeling from going from a fool with a dull blade to a bad ass knight who could take on basically anyone.
That image everyone uses is at such an angle that Henry’s cheekbones are more pronounced, thus making him appear older. Two things to explain his ‘older’ appearance:
1) Graphical improvements. More polygons in his face model; improved lighting.
2) He aged naturally. He was 16 in KCD1, and, assuming the events of the game took place in 6 months, he could’ve just aged like a 16 year old boy does. Half a year can make a big difference in appearance around puberty.
I don't think they'll prolong Markvarts death that far into the future.
As for Henry, there may be a timeskip at some point, perhaps at the Kuttenberg point, but I think it's more that they wanted the hero to look more like a hero this time around, and less like a peasant.
Sorry, arent there irl actors for this game? I swear i've seen the irl actor for Henry on yt. Maybe it's just the actor who changed features between KCD1 and KCD2.
Honestly I don’t believe any of the theories of a time skip. We know the sequel takes place two days after the first.
The most logical explanation in my eyes for the glow up is literally Warhorse pushing the engine further and having more experienced staff now. That’s it, it’s just a stylistic choice.
People are putting too much stock in this unconfirmed time jump based on nothing but looks.
The graphics are now far better than they were previously.
Also, it's 1403, people probably would've aged on their faces about 10 years in the space of a week.
If there is a timeskip I can’t imagine the studio not wanting to include Henry in the largest medieval battle of Grunwald in 1410. Czechs took part in it, Jan Žizka fought on the polish side, also around 1406 Zizka was an outlaw according to the Rosenbergs- it would fit the story to have Henry help the man out
The Character got an age-up because Tom McKay, the actor and model for Henry is turning 45 this year. No need to speculate further than that. It is a Character Model.
To be fair there has been a crazy graphics upgrade, grit detail and generally just being MORE graphically detailed will make them look older. The game officially starts very soon after the end of the first game.
Markvart died (irl) at the end of the year 1402 if he would be in 1416 it wouldn't historically make any sense (just like in kcd). We dont know if Radzig, Hanush and Divish will be in KCD2 but they will be dead.
In real life, Markvart died in 1402, and this game starts right where KCD1 left off in 1403. They are probably only extending his life by one more year for whatever reason. So I’m betting that Markvart dies in this game.
The game starts 2 days after the last game ends (1403). If there is some kind of time lapse, and we progress to a later date, I’d expect it to be 1415 or earlier. Jan Hus is burnt at the stake in 1415… it would be a missed opportunity not to include Henry meeting him in some fashion at some point in the KCD series.
Yeah. I Highly doubt such a long timeskip also based on the narration of the reveal. They deliberately said that Henry is still a young man, not set in his ways and character yet. This indicates that we play as him in his late teens, early 20's. According to google, in KCDI, he is 15 or 16. A 12 year time jump would put him at 27 or 28. While not old, this is generally past the time where you would consider someone not set in his ways.
Yeah, I’m leaning that way as well. We will see though.
There's no way henry is 15 in KCD 1. I'd say at least 21.
There are a lot of discussions about it. His model is clearly older. There seems to be an interview that sets it at around 27. The issue however is that at that point, he would already be a blacksmith and fully independent, probably has already a wife and kids. The stage of life he is in at the start of the game resembles more a teen, because of that, there are many that position him (despite his character model) more at around 16. Edit: Also looked it up, in general, a black smith apprentice starts at something around 10 to 12 years old (some websites go down to even 7 years). A Blacksmith apprenticeship took around 7 years. Considering that he is the son of a blacksmith, it is most likely that he started earlier rather than later, and the way he acted and talked later talked to the blacksmith in Rattay, it seemed that he was still quite a while away from becoming a journeyman. So, if he started at 10, 15 to 16 fits. Even when he started at 12 and was at the edge of becoming a journeyman (again, he didn't act like that), he was at most 19.
If we look historically though and if he is stated to be around Han’s age, he’d be roughly around 15-18, more likely underage due to the fact he is still working for his father before Skalice is razed.
I can't see them skipping as far as 1415 but skipping over >!Hans' death.!<
Even more of a reason for an earlier date. Good point!
>!Jan Ptáček died in 1419 - I'm not sure what you mean? How would skipping to 1415 or 1416 mean skipping Hans' death? Possibly he only died in 1420 as will given that's the year his son suceeded to his title.!<
You’re right! >!For some reason I was thinking 1409. It’s 1419 for Hans.!< Still… I think we definitely meet Jan Hus before he dies. Hopefully that’s this game, if not, then the next one.
>!I'm thinking of Racek Kobyla, I just got them mixed up!<
Ah true! I hope they bend history a bit for that one.
They already bent history for Markvart Von Aulitz who in reality was killed in a siege in 1402, so they might as well bend it some more for this
I don’t think that’s much of a spoiler.i believe as of today most of them are dead.
Nah I saw Henry yesterday
burnt at the stake? they can’t do that he’s a priest
A Jan Hus interaction would be so awesome. Dude was stud in his day, theologically speaking
Too bad he's in Prague, not Kuttenberg. Though it wouldn't be impossible for him to travel a bit for the sake of the game, like Konrad Kyeser did in the first game.
\*heresy intensifies\*
This comment right here, your eminence.
Them theological studs are the studliest.
Jan Hus knew the truth!
1410 can also be viable for trilogy you know, Henry can follow Zizka's mercenary into Grunwald or something
Holy shit i didn't even thought about that but it would be goddamn glorious, especially since we got to taste the mercenary life with the DLC.
this
Jan Hus was even discussed by Godwin in KCD
Yeah, that whole part revolves around Jan Hus' style of preaching and how well you can mimic it. It's just that Jan Hus kinda takes second place among all the fornicating that goes on in that quest.
I think it'll be a 10 year jump, nice even number and it let's us experience the Era between 1413-1416 where uhm, certain events will cap off the finale of this addition. They'll probably do a bigger jump in the third game and go straight into the deep parts of the Hussite Wars.
I love this, just barely got confirmation that the idea of a sequel wasn't just copium and this guy already wants #3
They said saga, so it would be stupid to stop at 2
Multiple time jumps in order to cover important events? I don't want a post--time jump recap where the narrator tells me "And then xyz died, very sad, anyway..."
There could be a scene with Henry and Hans (>!where he probably gets wounded!<), they manage to reach the city, then there could be a timeskip
Kinda what I was thinking.
I think a German gaming magazine (Gamestar) did spoil that there will be a time lapse, because in their preview video, they mention that the sequel will be set some years after part one. They visited Warhorse studios, so I have no reason to think their intel is wrong.
They're already bending history a bit by having Markvart live as long as he has, imo there's no way they make him live more than a decade later.
In fairness, von Aulitz does look like he's in the grips of death.
Maybe it's a Sixth Sense type of deal where it turns out >!he was dead the whole time!!<
Henry wakes up in a hospital he was actually just a student who fell into coma while studying for a history exam and the game events are just his hallucinations
KCD is alternate history. A "What if" Markvart survived the siege of Suchdol. Without him we wouldn't have the games. It's good to explain some historical inaccuracies like Pribyslavitz being rebuilt. Markvart is the kicker behind Henry's rise to power.
Eeeeeeeeeh no. Alternate history is usually reserved for much bigger changes. Not to mention, Silver Skalitz was destroyed by Sigismund in the same way historically, just Markvart wasn't there. Markvart being there added nothing really. Like, take something like "Zulu" or "Braveheart". They aren't fully 100% historically accurate, but no one in their right mind or who isn't being a bit pedantic calls them "alt history"(yes, I know Braveheart is pretty egregious, but still it's not "alt history") Probably the best term for KCD would be historical fiction.
Braveheart is so tough to watch as a history buff. Watching the very Christian Scots dressed as Pagans with face paint was torture for my eyes. The Outlaw King was way better even though it did get most battles wrong.
ITS THE MACDOUGALSSSS
I studied Medieval History and my fellow history nerds and I used to play a drinking game where we'd watch a historical movie and drink every time there was an inaccuracy. We'd always black out about an hour into Braveheart. Almost everything in it is painfully wrong. Still awesome though.
It's applicable to any Mel Gibson historical epic to be honest. Though he does have passion for history, unlike Ridley Scott.
Fair, but Markvart killed Henry’s parents. Pretty big addition.
...for Henry’s story. Definitely not for the bigger history.
Hell, if the games accurate then >!Radzig, or Racek as he's actually known!< has been murdered by people he's trying to get taxes off, so i hope it's an alternate version, btw how cool is it that everyone here likely didn't have a preexisting interest in medieval Czechia but now does?
Almost everyone* some of us autistic castle nerds have been here long before the game was ever launched thank you very much
Hehe, fair enough, it's a bit like that "boys will base their entire personality off these things at 10" chart that did the rounds a bit ago lol
Well, I'd say some of us did, since we're from there
Henry's jaw just got yoked because he was eating so much in the first game since he was quite hungry
I bet He is still hungry
Yeah, he was just hungrymaxxing
Henry also got a chin implant
Henry is mewing cause he watched too much tiktok
ipad baby skill tree
It's actually a big callous. After _taverning_ all over and beating the sakra out of every drunkard from Rattay to Kutt', it's bound to get beefier.
He has been looksmaxxing
Nah man has started wearing an old great helm and has taken enough hits his head just filled it like a watermelon
He just got some more muscles. Thats all he is same age
It literally doesn't look like Tom McKay anymore lol
https://preview.redd.it/6ee3xa1yvyvc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=e558f8a00e499e0d53fc6bc58df8e61eb6fcb7fa He literally does
Lower jaw can grow and alter to around the age of 21.
Or maybe they just aged him up a but fir dramatic effect or idk the graphics just changed. Also markvart died in 1402 so him being at skalitz was the year after he died he certainly won't be alive in 1416
Well, he wasn't supposed to be alive in 1403 either, so he seems to have transcended the timeline either way.
Markvart died in area of second game so I guess we as Henry will kill him just in 1403.
Since they've already basically told us the timeline, isn't it more likely that the graphics are just better and it made sense to have the characters match how they should have looked realistically? God, this sub has become like reading a flat Earth website.
Right. I want to see all these people’s reactions to Chandler Bing gaining 50 lbs within an hour between the season 6 finale and season 7 premiere. Sometimes shit happens and you gotta roll with it. Graphics have gotten better. Apparently they should have kept Henry lower resolution.
I also think this obsession over the character models is so stupid. Yeah, they look different, the graphics and the face scanning technology have advanced in all those years and the studio has much more budget. They do still look like their actors. Yeah we are accustomed to the old models, but we will also get accustomed to the new ones. Can we please stop discussing this every day?
Slight changes in of character design isn't uncommon either. When there's a several year timespan between games, I feel like some small changes are almost inevitable. Joel from TLOU to TLOU2 looked a bit different, facially, and I don't just mean that he looked older. Lara Croft, obviously, went though various iterations over the years, and we all know about the Aloys changes between HZD and HZD2! IMO, it isn't an issue unless it genuinely alters their look/feel in a way that's integral to the character. I think KCD2's Henry looks more like Tom McKay than OG Henry, who I always felt was a bit sort of 'waxy' or 'plasticy' looking.
I mean bro is supposed to be in his late teens. Henry on the right lot ls like he has two kids, a wife, and his own carpentry business.
We didn’t see him grow up at all during the first game because it couldn’t be done with the budget of the studio. I like that he looks more rugged, dude has been through some heavy shit after all
I am surprised how many people ignore all the evidence we have for no time skip. - the game starts right after KCD1. We can see scenes that are most likely from early in the game. Henry already looks different there. And doesn't change during the trailer. - it has better graphics and motion capture and an aged actor - they totally set up the story surrounding Wenceslaus' return from Vienna to Kuttenberg. So much in part 1 has pointed towards that storyline - people think they will shoehorn in all major events in the region until the big battle at Kuttenberg... Which really isn't their way of storytelling so far. The historical events are the background of Henry's story. But Henry's story is the center. They have highlighted this again now. - Toby said the game is set in 1403 and that it is centered around retrieving the sword, bromance with Hans and the wrap up of Henry's story. - Since we can travel freely between maps they would basically have to age and develop them as well in the case of time jumps.
But there's evidence towards time skip as well. Let me list all of it: - I think Henry old. /s
Henry has just gone through Connor McGregor like bulking phase
HGH Henry
"Roight den Radzig, who de Fook I gotta kill"
nah, it's just better and more detailed graphics
Apparantly the characters looking older was a technical limitation they were supposed to age during the story but they couldn’t implement it properly so the faces all stayed the same throughout now with 2 they change to how they should‘ve looked by the end of 1
The story in the first game spans over like 3 weeks. You don't age much during 3 weeks.
More like 3 months, but I see your point.
At the end of the first game Hans mentions to Henry about how they've only known each other for a few weeks.
An average playthrough takes 2 to 3 months. You can count weeks with Rattay Tourneys. I think my current playthrough has been going for 7 or 8 tourneys and the trebuchet was just fired for the first time. There's a bit less than a week to go. And at the start of the game, there were a bit over 2 weeks before the tourney counting starts. "A few" is a vague term, could mean for example 6 weeks, which is a month and a half. Add to that a bit more than two weeks from the start of the game before Hans could claim to know Henry, and we already have 2 months.
Dude's point was that there is no visible aging in such a short period of time. 2 weeks or 6 don't change that. Don't be an ass. Playthrough time is barely an indicator, since one might consider side quests as a must, but realistically Henry had no time for that.
But a dev said the game starts 2 days after the first game so that means the WHOLE game takes place then. There's no way Henry has aged! But what about a scene we have no context for!? /s Yeah, 1416 or 1419 is absolutely when the bulk of the game happens.
It could start two days after, but maybe an event happens where the story doesn’t pick up again until 1416. It does show Henry getting tortured by Ishtvan so maybe he gets tortured really badly and becomes a hermit or something for 10 years but then something brings him back.
I figured he serves with Radzig until 1416, then gets imprisoned after they are attacked outside Kuttenberg for about 3 years. But you could also be right, either way.
Isn't the scene where Erik and Istvan torture henry a flashback to KCD1 at Vranik?
Oh true. Didn’t notice. I haven’t played it in a while.
Could be an opportunity to nerf him
Parts of the trailer where Henry looks like this is literally during their journey to Trosky, so in 1403
Yeah they're like "let's completely redesign a beloved character and make a 17 year old look 35 for absolutely no reason."
Well he is based off an actual actor that has aged the better part of a decade
But Tom McKay was pushing forty when the first game came out, so that doesn't make sense as to why the character changed so much.
Have you seen pictures of him? When they did the modeling for kcd was probably like 12 years ago. So like barely in his 30s. So late 30s for the second one people change a lot in those years. He looks closer to 2 now and he looked like 1 back then
Yeah I agree with you. I guarantee they just re scanned them again. Tom looks great man. I looked fresh faced still when I was 30 too but let me tell you I'm 35 now and boy oh boy. You can do a whole lot of ageing in a short amount of time bud. Both Tom and Luke look great and are doing an absolutely awesome job! Congratulations Warhorse on an amazing reveal you absolute legends. It's a very exciting time.
classic warhorse
Tipic Warhorse shenanigans
No it's not. It's gonna be in 1403 or 1404, I'm willing to bet on that.
That doesn't make much sense. They totally set up the story to follow the mission they set out to do in part 1 and I doubt they will just skip over the escape of Siegesmund and his return to Kuttenberg and meeting with loyalists there. All of which happens in 1403/04.
No, we can't. Henry looks *different*, but not necessarily much older, and definitely not 12+ years older. And how lighting and textures are being modeled in the two games (or at least the shots shown here) is also completely different. And while both models are based on Tom McKay, neither one really looks completely like Tom. The KCD model looks goofier/slightly plainer than the real guy (and never looked quite right for someone who's supposed to be in their late teens, anyway), and the KCD 2 model more heroic. (Especially the shot shown here, it looks like they harvested Henry Cavill's stem cells and injected them into Tom McKay.)
Markvart looks kind of sick
1416? Radzig died that year according to the wiki
The game is an adaptation not a history playable documentary!
Although the way he died in real life seems perfect to adapt for the game
I think it's just a consequence of having a better budget this time around, so they said F-it and went all out on character models because why not. That and Tom McKay can glow up rather well when he wants to, he's had similar looks before, like in The White Queen (2013), whom is Henry's voice and likeness. I doubt it will be 1416, as there's still a lot to resolve before advancing so much, not to mention Markvart is technically already a dead man walking, they can bend the rules, but I doubt they'll warp history quite that much, otherwise we risk the butterfly effect. If there is a time skip, I fully expect it to be after a hefty chunk of the game, and Markvart killed by then. Furthermore, keep in mind KCD is intended to be a trilogy, so if there is room for a time skip, it makes more sense for it to come in the future third installment, depending on how the story pans out in II. Toth or Markvart may yet still be around in the third game ,or maybe Sigismund himself. Which is why I'm not confident there will be a significant time jump, there's just way too much going on currently that has to be resolved. It also doesn't make sense in regards to Henry's character development to leap ahead just yet. For example, a possible avenue I would've included, is to really use this sequel to forge a strong connection with Henry and Radzig, only to then go forwards in KCD 3 and then have Radzig die, that would really make the impact hit so much harder.
On the reveal video, a developer says, "Henry is a young guy" so he'll probably be less than 30 years old during the story of the second game
there is no time skip, the game takes place right after the ending of the first game, if you notice 8n the trailer the gang he was traveling with is identical. they just updated the character models alot it seems
its called lighting and graphics update
That’s jaw line tho
I know some people have mentioned the time skip, but as to why, I think they'll use it as an excuse to get Henry back to lvl 1. Henry gets captured, spends 3 years in prison and when he comes out he's back to being shit at everything AKA lvl 1 and ofc he looks older because of the hardship of medieval prison life.
1444
Tobi confirmed that the second game will start right where the first one ended. So, *if* we get a time skip, then at least not right at the start of the game. Wouldn't make sense anyway to just skip the story that has been set up at the end of the first, would it?
The game starts 2 days after the first. This has been confirmed by the devs. Source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKGHbzge2A&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKGHbzge2A&t=0s)
The graphics just aren’t shit anymore relax lil bro
Think about it man a lot can happen in 13 years. Fuck, a lot happened in the timeframe of KCD alone. Stress is quite the ager
I hope in-game Henry doesn't look so much like someone's dad
the graphical leap is so fucking cool, i hope this is all in game stuff, the contact shadows look awesome and their clothing has ambient occlussion too, awesome stuff
There are two maps, we start in the smaller one, and then with the timeskip to the other one, while we can still return to the other map.
I see a time skip. Henry gets hurt at the start and like bad bad, so we have to grind all his skills up again.
Probably like a 5 to 10 year ish feeling. They really nail the feeling of aging.
Aging a decade in the 1400s would absolutely make a huge difference on the average person
War ages you.
13 years of war and stress
According to the GameStar preview the game takes place a few years after the first one
No, Henry just looks better. If Markfart was aged 15 years from the first game, he would look much different. I just think with the improved textures you can see his wrinkles and shit. If Godwin was 15 years older he would be a geezer. Hans looks exactly the same.
It's just that the graphics are better They had smaller budget in kcd1.
You guys are arguing like you get paid for it 🤣😵💫🤦🏽♂️🍿
Henry doesn’t really look aged up, he looks more like he actually has been spending a lot of time outside and therefore got a lot of skin damage from the sun etc. The other one (forgot his name) looks more as age up as he was supposed but finally got the details his face needed. And in that era people aged more looks wise then we due today, due to the time spend outside and the illnesses you could get without any cure. But we will have to wait and see for the final release of all these changes makes sense.
That’s what happens in 7 years of dev time and you get better tech
i think that in 6 years the quality of game engines, graphics, and hardware have improved. simple as
All the negativity in the comments is wild
The face scans for KCD1 were probably done way back in 2014 or 2015, so the actors themselves have aged nearly a decade.
I think it’s just more details the last game was 2018 and if rumours are true new engine and more new things… it might just be 1403 again
Guys the graphics have changed..they updated the models.They WANT Henry to look better.There is no big time skip.
No, they don't look hella aged up. At least Henry doesn't. The character model is just updated and has more detail. We know for a fact that the game will continue 2 days after the end of KCD, and Henry has that same character model in parts of the trailer that seem to be from the very start of the game. And there's a good reason to believe Markvart doesn't get to age much. Apparently the Kuttenberg map will also include a town called Suchdol. That is the place where Markvart von Aulitz died in real life, in late 1402. My guess is that in the game, something happens in Suchdol and Henry gets his revenge on Markvart, and so his in game death just happens one year late, in 1403. With no significant time jump.
Why you care that much for Henry’s appearance? Stop crying! 4 of 5 posts here are mentioning this
I'm not crying. If anything, the idea of a time skip to the lead up to the Hussite Wars sounds awesome and makes me very excited.
There is no time skip
Yeah, I'm over it too. He's a young adult. Fine with me.
One of the clips of Markvart looks to me like it's outside of Talmberk. I think he might just look different.
In those days, of course, life was tough for a knight.
Might just be a shift in art direction
Don’t just stand there, uh middle age Henry… POUR US A FOOKIN DRINK!!!!
I think what they've done with Henry, is assumed KCD 1 henrys face was prepubescent, so they ran him through puberty in terms of looks (not age). So more rugged look, broader face! I think he looks shit.
I think there is no time skip. And the reason the look different is simply the budget warhorse had for development. The faces in KCD1 looked a bit bland and now they simply have more money, experience and manpower to polish the characters more.
Yeah It's so strange because to me he looks clearly in his 30s Their character tech is so amazing I can't think this is a limitation, they wanted him to look like a man
I guess he does, but it's more like the models are more detailed this time. There's far more facial detail in Henry and Markvart this time.
Time for Markvart to eat dirt
Henry just straight aged up into Pedro Pascal.
No we can't. Looks about right. People aged a lot quicker back then.
I hope the game doesn't have a faded color filter. It would be a shame after the vibrancy of the first game.
No, we cant. They look just.more detailed to me and everytime any game modeled same character from sketch it looked like a different person sometimes, just look at assasins creed. I think you are over thinking this and looking for something that is not there. Besides we know the story continues the second first games story ends. And the distance 100km from Rataj le to Trosky would not take 16 years.
I might be wrong but it seems the aim is to make them closer to life
Which is weird because KCD2 Henry looks almost nothing like him. https://preview.redd.it/2srt1ktisyvc1.jpeg?width=2731&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eabcbcad209fbd31a14a9a836c2704ae3c4d90d8
Sir radzig died in 1416, the real one, soo.......
And here I am just wanting mutt to come round again
I’m personally just looking at it like technology/hardware have improved since the first game and they’re finally able to make these characters look the way they’ve always envisioned with a higher budget and more people working on the game.
If the game really going to be set in 1416 it will put the hussite rebellion really close to it.
1424? Jan Žižka dies, Trosky castle is besieged, Kuttenberg is besieged, and it would mean a 20 year time jump
You also gotta also consider how quickly people aged in the past, especially with death always around the corner. I'm sure most of us will have an old photo of a grand parent or such, and at the same age we are, they look considerably older.
The actors aged. That's it.
No time skip at all
Nah I doubt there will be a time skip and if there is it certainly won't be that far. The events of KCD are over like a month, I doubt KCD2 will be much different
Is it because >!Sir Radzig!< dies in 1416
Mark fart
Am i the only one who hopes we get the '0 to hero gameplay' from the last game? I really loved the feeling from going from a fool with a dull blade to a bad ass knight who could take on basically anyone.
Then why do we still have Mutt? 🐕 Doggos don’t get that old
Bald fella looks like John Cleese.
Why does he look like Tom Cruise though?
They just all secretly started mewing
That image everyone uses is at such an angle that Henry’s cheekbones are more pronounced, thus making him appear older. Two things to explain his ‘older’ appearance: 1) Graphical improvements. More polygons in his face model; improved lighting. 2) He aged naturally. He was 16 in KCD1, and, assuming the events of the game took place in 6 months, he could’ve just aged like a 16 year old boy does. Half a year can make a big difference in appearance around puberty.
I think it's more the fact that graphics are better and more detailed
I don't think they'll prolong Markvarts death that far into the future. As for Henry, there may be a timeskip at some point, perhaps at the Kuttenberg point, but I think it's more that they wanted the hero to look more like a hero this time around, and less like a peasant.
the story truly starts 2 days later, Vavra himself told it in one of the interviews - [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKGHbzge2A)
Sorry, arent there irl actors for this game? I swear i've seen the irl actor for Henry on yt. Maybe it's just the actor who changed features between KCD1 and KCD2.
Historically, Radzig Kobyla dies 1416 and Hans Capon dies 1419.
Honestly I don’t believe any of the theories of a time skip. We know the sequel takes place two days after the first. The most logical explanation in my eyes for the glow up is literally Warhorse pushing the engine further and having more experienced staff now. That’s it, it’s just a stylistic choice.
People are putting too much stock in this unconfirmed time jump based on nothing but looks. The graphics are now far better than they were previously. Also, it's 1403, people probably would've aged on their faces about 10 years in the space of a week.
If there is a timeskip I can’t imagine the studio not wanting to include Henry in the largest medieval battle of Grunwald in 1410. Czechs took part in it, Jan Žizka fought on the polish side, also around 1406 Zizka was an outlaw according to the Rosenbergs- it would fit the story to have Henry help the man out
Gonna be honest I thought the next game should have been in Prague.
The Character got an age-up because Tom McKay, the actor and model for Henry is turning 45 this year. No need to speculate further than that. It is a Character Model.
To be fair there has been a crazy graphics upgrade, grit detail and generally just being MORE graphically detailed will make them look older. The game officially starts very soon after the end of the first game.
We are getting two maps (Bohemian Paradise and Guttenberg), I presume we will be getting at the very least some time skipping.
Idk war makes a young man look old as shit too.
Markvart died (irl) at the end of the year 1402 if he would be in 1416 it wouldn't historically make any sense (just like in kcd). We dont know if Radzig, Hanush and Divish will be in KCD2 but they will be dead.
Are they aged or do they just not have the definition in the first game due to graphics / resources
I'm still thinking that they haven't really aged that much and it's just a case of RTX on
So his dad must've legimized him. So hes now inherited the title and wat monies there is?
In real life, Markvart died in 1402, and this game starts right where KCD1 left off in 1403. They are probably only extending his life by one more year for whatever reason. So I’m betting that Markvart dies in this game.
Eating out of random pots of forever stews with your fingers ages a fella.
a little bit of hairloss
https://youtu.be/WxfqjQhKrlw?si=e-pTY6Td9Wy_oXBg skip to 3:40 it has english subtitles .... Developer was asked why Henry looks older