The Kickstarter Thread

CoM_Solaufein · February 19, 2015

Previous topic: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64647-the-kickstarter-thread/

On 2/16/2015 at 10:32 PM, Elerond said:

On 2/16/2015 at 10:24 PM, Althernai said:

On 12/18/2014 at 10:44 AM, Labadal said:
I'm going to use PayPal. I won't pay directly via Kickstarter.

I can't pay directly via Kickstarter. They switched to some new system which doesn't take Discover (which is what I used to pay via Amazon) at all and my VISA is also declined (it has never failed me anywhere else before). I don't understand why they can't use a normal payment system.

I have same problem and I have my prejudices against their new service provider. But this change in their service means that I will not fund anymore projects via KS at least until their service again accepts my credit cards.

daveyd · February 24, 2015

There's an Indiegogo campaign that just launched for a post-apocalyptic CRPG (tentatively) called Icy. There's lots of emphasis on choice and consequence and focus on the survival aspect of the genre. There's an early bird tier for a digital copy of the game at only $5. Game is apparently almost complete and the funds will just go towards additional polishing and testing.

Endrosz · February 24, 2015

The pitch video is brilliant. "Save an animal, eat a friend!" :D And yes, the game looks quite complete. Plus apparently they're from Italy, Europe. I pledged.

Leferd · February 24, 2015

Looks interesting enough.

Endrosz · February 25, 2015

Icy is about half funded (which isn't saying a lot with a $2500 target, still...), and they put out an update, and in their FAQ there's something that must quoted for hilariousness.

Quote

I don’t want to be racist, but you are an Italian team of developers and I don’t want my money to finance any criminal organization. How can we trust you?

If we had our hands in business like drugs dealing, prostitution or weapons smuggling, we could have asked for money from our godfather. Sadly we have no connections with the local organized crime, so we settled for an Indiegogo campaign.

Crowdfunding: second best choice after organized crime at funding a game. Publishers are much further down the list.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Endrosz

daveyd · February 25, 2015

While the game seems to have a pretty serious tone, it's great to see that the developer's have a sense of humor. Perhaps they'll find ways to incorporate some dark humor into the game.

Looks like their campaign is going pretty well, despite being on Indiegogo. Whether or not you decide to back "Icy", you can also help out the developer's by voting for the game on Steam Greenlight and GOG wishlist.

Edited February 25, 2015 by daveyd

IndiraLightfoot · February 25, 2015

Oddly enough, Kickstarter has been down for like 20 minutes now over here. I can imagine all the crying and moaning for projects on the final stretch. On a Kickstarter every lost minute could spell lost money.

Starwars · February 26, 2015

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1114977637/detective-di-the-silk-rose-murders

New retro-looking adventure game set in in ancient China. This one looks pretty promising, with some cool gameplay elements to it. Hope it makes it! I'm in for the early bird.

Bryy · February 26, 2015

On 2/25/2015 at 2:19 PM, Endrosz said:

Icy is about half funded (which isn't saying a lot with a $2500 target, still...), and they put out an update, and in their FAQ there's something that must quoted for hilariousness.

Quote

I don’t want to be racist, but you are an Italian team of developers and I don’t want my money to finance any criminal organization. How can we trust you?

If we had our hands in business like drugs dealing, prostitution or weapons smuggling, we could have asked for money from our godfather. Sadly we have no connections with the local organized crime, so we settled for an Indiegogo campaign.

Crowdfunding: second best choice after organized crime at funding a game. Publishers are much further down the list.

Damn, son.

Amentep · March 2, 2015

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1578116861/toejam-and-earl-back-in-the-groove

The return of Toe-Jam and Earl!

Happy to see the idea returns to the original games' concepts; I really felt the sequels didn't capture that same magic the first one had.

Endrosz · March 5, 2015

Icy has a new gameplay video out showcasing survival mechanics; they're 200% funded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoIbvP8v8EM

Hurlshort · March 11, 2015

Bit of a sad update from the JA:F team, er, person:

Quote

Dear backers,

First up sorry for the long "no news" situation. There hasn't been anything to report, so that's why.

Mixed bag of news today, so here we go! Not everyone will like this, but so be it.

Physical Goods

Most of you are awaiting this, and there is no big change here. We have some of the things produced as you can see on the attached photo (there is more than this, I just didnt want to move boxes around). Primarily lots of t-shirts, posters, dog tags. There is still lots of stuff being produced and still todo.

So no real news here. We need to have everything ready, produced, shipped to us and then package it all. Doing it in pieces is way too cumbersome and expensive. We might be able to get the DVDs out to DVD only backers (especially in the US), but lets see.

No real ETA here, and I'll let you know about it when we are ready to package the goods and ship out. But its not around the corner. Will still take weeks.

Team Disbanded / Slow Communication

Big part of the slow communication and lack of progress is, that the JAF team is no more. Everyone is gone and there is me left to handle it all. Both taking over tasks from the guys who left as well as running the rest of the company.

And people have not just been moved over to other projects as some people say. They are gone gone, not to return. Very sad, but that's just the financial reality of JAF.

I try to answer all emails sent directly to me, but I simply cannot find time in the day to read+answer posts on the forums. Sorry - but that's just how it is.

Future Development on JAF

Without a team, there is also no further development on the game.

We would have liked nothing more than to continue on for ages, but no salaries lead to no people lead to no development.

We will work on a quick bug fix release in the upcoming weeks in between other work, and then that is the final version from our hands no matter what.

That bugfix will take care of (right now at least) 2 known issues that we want to fix

female mercs in prone after loading

a crash bug in the pathfinder

In my spare time sometime in the future I will send over as much of the requested modding stuff to Shanga. But my priority lies with physical goods first.

From the start of this project we wanted to get the modding part of the community running with as many possibilities as possible. And that is still everyone's goal to see the awesome stuff that can be done in the future by the talent out there.

Best

Thomas Lund

Sole survivor of the JAF team, signing off

Hurlshort · March 11, 2015

In a sudden fit, I pledged Orion Trail in the final hours.

I also jumped on Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander, which looks much better than it sounds.

Serrano · March 11, 2015

Is JA:Flashback pretty playable at the moment or will this leave it a broken mess? I haven't had a chance to try my copy yet.

Hurlshort · March 11, 2015

On 3/11/2015 at 9:26 PM, Serrano said:
Is JA:Flashback pretty playable at the moment or will this leave it a broken mess? I haven't had a chance to try my copy yet.

I played it a bit, and I think Keyrock finished it awhile back. It is stable enough to play through, I believe. It still didn't really hook me, but at least they completed the game before they shuttered the doors.

ShadySands · March 12, 2015

On 3/11/2015 at 8:53 PM, Hurlshot said:

In a sudden fit, I pledged Orion Trail in the final hours.

I also jumped on Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander, which looks much better than it sounds.

Also backed Orion Trail

Keyrock · March 12, 2015

On 3/11/2015 at 9:26 PM, Serrano said:
Is JA:Flashback pretty playable at the moment or will this leave it a broken mess? I haven't had a chance to try my copy yet.

It's perfectly playable. The females starting out prone bug is annoying but can be worked around. Outside of that, I don't recall encountering much in the way of issues. I had quite a bit of fun with the game. It's not up to JA2 quality, but it's a decent tactical game, IMHO.

Mamoulian War · March 12, 2015

Where did Seven Dragon Saga thread disappeared ?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/537511454/seven-dragon-saga-by-tactical-simulations-interact

mute688 · March 12, 2015

On 3/12/2015 at 6:59 PM, Mamoulian War said:

Where did Seven Dragon Saga thread disappeared ?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/537511454/seven-dragon-saga-by-tactical-simulations-interact

Moved to "Way off Topic" for some obscure reason,

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/70910-seven-dragon-saga-by-tactical-simulations-interactive-tsi-ks/

Cantousent · March 14, 2015

Hey, Joshua, I'm approving your thread. Generally, you can't advertise on these forums, but this doesn't look really any different than other kickstarter threads we see. I also looked at sillykidgames, but it appears there's only a placeholder pic. So, let me first off wish you luck in your kickstarter. I'm approving your post and assuming that it's all on the up and up (not a bot, legitimate designer, etc.). However, I'm the low man on the totem pole in these parts, so one of the other mods might overrule me, with my blessings of course.

Meanwhile, I don't want you to feel unwelcome. The more people designing games, the better. Drop back in and show us some artwork and kibitz with folks. Nothing proves you're not a bot better than friendly banter and heated debate!

Fionavar · March 14, 2015

As Cantousent said = welcoming and creativity are grand - in the end we all benefit! For the sake of the double post - then - I thought merging them into the KS thread was a good balance

with thanks,

F

RodWarrior · March 16, 2015

Hello, Guys!

I'm here to show an amazing kickstarter to one of my favorite tools on the internet! Fábrica de Heróis (aka. Hero Factory)

Here is the page:
https://www.catarse.me/pt/fh16

And here is all the text translated to english:
http://fabricadeherois.com.br/fabricadeherois/catarse/texto_ing.html

Maybe you never heard about it, so lets make this simple: It's like "Hero Machine", but with better visual and tools!

Here we have a gallery with a lot of amazing creations: http://fh-oficial.deviantart.com/gallery/

And some images, if you click on the spoilers:

Reveal hidden contents

If you want to see it for yourself, its here: http://fabricadeherois.blogspot.com.br/p/fabrica-de-herois-2014.html

The program has been free for a long time, with an offline version being given to users that donate.

The crowdfunding it's for a new version, with better graphics and more amazing tools!

Without the money, the creator cannot continue working with the program, so I please beg you to take a look for yourselves!

The crowdfunding is in "catarse", a "Brazilian Kickstarter".

With 1 dollar being 3 Reais, you can help so much with little money!

Please, consider donating!!! :D

Edited March 16, 2015 by RodWarrior

ShadySands · May 22, 2015

So much drama in the LBC... err ROAM

Update 52

Reveal hidden contents

Update 53

Reveal hidden contents

I am not asking you to keep this a secret, but I also do not want to bring unnecessary negative attention towards the project more so than already has. If you feel the need to share the following, feel free. I know that Zach Barson has been openly sharing his comments with everyone and you can think of the following as a rebuttal to his claims. If any of you are unaware, yes there is an ongoing lawsuit against us.

As much as I wanted to keep the matter under control and out of the public eye, the legal issues between Zach Barson and I must finally be addressed due to rumors floating about. I am going to be an open book and tell everyone exactly how it went down.
The original plan.

Originally the plan for the project after the funding had finished was, Zach Barson would move to Washington to work on the project. I went as far to rent a large 2 bed 2 bath apartment in a quiet environment. I asked him many times before signing the lease to confirm that he would partake in the move and he confirmed. I moved in, but months had passed without him moving from Florida. I asked him why and it was excuse after excuse on why he couldn't fulfill his end of the agreement. I ended up moving to Chicago to save living costs by splitting with Phil. I even invited Zach Barson there as well. He agreed that the move to Chicago was a good choice as it isnt as far away from Florida as Washington. Again, he backed out. We have been living in Chicago since working on the game.

"Why was a $100,000k+ lawsuit filed?" and Zach Barson's termination
I had mailed Zach Barson a check for $30,000 (a fair amount for moving expenses to Seattle, settling anything he needed before moving, and any other expenses he needed during the duration of the project) along with a promissory note, acting as a loan, until we had formed and signed an operating contract. A contract would nullify the promissory note and make everyone that is part of the project liable for its success or failure. The agreement was, once the promissory note was signed, I would lift the hold on the check. I was skeptical to give out $30,000 without some form of protection since I am 100% liable for all the Kickstarter raised money. I told him to look it over and mailed him the note along with the $30,000 check on hold.

He refused to sign the promissory note for reasons of his own. From my understanding he wanted to work on the project with the benefits of a partner, but without any of the risks. The promissory note was never signed, so the hold on the check was never lifted. This promissory note is the same exact note that my current partner Phil had signed when I first moved to Chicago. Since then we have formed a contract.
Zach Barson was released from the Roam project about 6 months after the Kickstarter was successful. There were many reasons for removing him, but the main reasons were the lack of original content being created and provided by him as well as the lack of trust between the two of us. I had not received anything since the Kickstarter launch and needed to make changes in order to jump start the project. I needed to have content consistently implemented to move things further along. One of the first steps was to terminate my lease in Seattle and move to Chicago.

During his termination, Zach had agreed to either mail the unused check back or destroy it because, in his words, "..what i understand its the normal decorum to return the check to the guy who stroked it if you don't plan on using it"

I had offered to pay Zach Barson roughly $9,000 for his time and in return he would sign the termination letter. He did not. Instead he told me would get back to me and I waited. Weeks went by without a response. Later I found out he attempted to cash the $30,000 check roughly 3 months after I had mailed it to him and it bounced because I never lifted the hold. The reason he attempted to cash it? I am guessing so he could file the lawsuit. I also had later found out that he did not sign the termination letter because of minor errors and miscommunication that could have been easily fixed if he only contacted or communicated with me.

Lawsuit Notification
I had originally received a letter in the mail from Zach Barson's attorney demanding I pay $30,000 or face legal action. Feeling like I did not owe Zach Barson this money I declined. This forced us to find an attorney of our own, following his filing of a lawsuit. At first we were able to afford the legal fees out of our own pocket from personal money we had saved up, but things started getting expensive fast and had to dip into the Kickstarter money. We had no choice.

It has been discussed to find part time jobs, but ultimately we rejected the idea as it would hurt the project even more. Because of this we have had to borrow tens of thousands of dollars to make up for that money spent on the lawsuit. We have borrowed and invested close to $50k - $60k into the Roam project from our own pockets since then. Purchasing freelance work, assets, licenses and living expenses. We are in tens of thousands of dollars in debt, but will still continue working until this project is completed.
The lawsuit and the issues surrounding Zach Barson have set us back an estimated 6-10 months.

"Why is the lawsuit for $100,000 if you only wrote him a $30,000 check?"
By law you are allowed to triple your claim for a "bad check" so this $30,000 check has turned into a $90,000+ lawsuit. Originally in the lawsuit, he demanded was for $90k + half the proceeds from any company managing Roam + legal fees which were estimated to be $10,000. Zach Barson has not a single line of code in the current state of the game. It is entirely our original creation.

Attempts to settle
We had a few talks to settle the lawsuit with Zach Barson. I offered to pay him the original amount offered, roughly $9,000 and forget about my own legal expenses. As we continued down this process, because of the expenses and a tight budget, I would not and could not offer more. His demands during the process went from $30,000, to $20,000, to $15,000 and had even stated he needed more than the original amount offered to cover his legal expenses. I was not willing to pay for his legal expenses to file a lawsuit against me. The final offer at the mediation in Florida was that I pay $8,000 within 30 days and another $7,000 within the following 30 days. I declined.

We continue to fight this
It was and is very discouraging to work with a lawsuit hanging over our heads. It has been a struggle and extremely difficult to devote as much time on the game as we would like. Finding and speaking with attorneys, dealing with the courts, flying to Florida for mediation, and the monetary expenses have taken a toll on our egos as well as physical health.
It still baffles me to think about all the money, time and energy wasted. Even so, we have continued our work and will continue to work towards the goal of completing Roam.

Oerwinde · May 22, 2015

I had actually been wondering what happened to Roam, as they were pretty good for regular updates until the last few months.

There has to be more to that lawsuit though, as the way they tell it it sounds pretty cut and dry

Edited May 22, 2015 by Oerwinde

Chilloutman · May 26, 2015

Hi guys,

following development of this game for some time. Nothing extra special but I kind of like this typ of games. anyone interested please back it, 9 days to go

Dungeon crawler with simple graphics, but I adore it

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/garin/monsters-den-godfall-a-turn-based-dungeon-crawling

The Kickstarter Thread

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