Q2 2015 Schedule Update

My point was that it wasn't new enough to write it off as something people aren't used to participating in. Consider many people here played UO freeshards longer than actual UO, to mention nothing of the myriad of MUDs out there, and you have a very similar experience as we do with crowdsourced games stretching back long before Kickstarter. And graphics, for some, is a deal breaker, especially if the gameplay isn't unique. Outside of a controversial card system, SotA doesn't do anything new or outlandish that would make it successful as an 8-bit game.

First off, we are in alpha. Arguably have been for awhile, but definitely now with the release of the first POT. "Pre-alpha" chants are a crowdfunding marketing term and a fallback to excuse elements as "not done, don't worry" when they get backlash. Pre-alpha is basic demos, proofs of concept and post-it notes on a dry erase board. Alpha is a working game, although one that is not feature complete (ie, we have combat and leveling up, but not all skills are in game). We can craft, kill mobs, loot, buy/sell/trade, own houses, decorate, we've created a player owned town, we can PvP, develop characters and train skills.

That's alpha.

When it becomes feature complete and we start polishing, bug fixing and the like, that's beta. But this notion we're still in pre-alpha is a farce and a fallback. So no, I don't agree that we "have a lot of time." This game was supposed to release in '14. It was then pushed back to what, September '15? Then November and now no one thinks (and rightfully so) that we'll see launch until 2016. But come 2016, we'll have bigger and better games to play, by far. You can't fund Episodes 2 and 3 if no one buys the finished product. The longer it's in development, the more it will have to do at launch, and it isn't making strides in the gaming industry as anything innovative. Longer it's out also means more reviews - both good and bad - to help or hurt launch. Yes, there are a lot of people interested in backing, but the reason they haven't is because they have their doubts. Otherwise, why not back now? If they have doubts, say about combat or PvP/looting, and see those things aren't what they're looking for come 2016 when other games come out, they don't buy it at launch. Limited funds at launch means they don't have the team to maintain the game as well as work on art assets when those funds need to be put towards Episode 2. People already don't want a 2016 game that looks like a 2010 game. Imagine wanting a 2018 game that looks like a 2016 game. Developing behind the curve isn't going to keep this game afloat, and for those of us who want to play Episodes 1-3, these concerns are not just about the game now, but the game in two or three years.

That's why voicing these concerns now to spend what little time and money we effectively have left on making something worthwhile is so important. Three months before launch with nickels and pennies in the coffers isn't the time to say, "Okay, crafting and gathering is so boring and repetitive our playerbase is playing another game just to have something to pass the time." That requires a massive revamp of the mechanics, plus artwork, animations and coding, not just polish and tweaking imbalanced numbers. Consider it's been pushed back already for the recent graphics upgrade, it's a concern that what we see is what we get, at least in the artwork department. Graphics don't affect me, personally, but I know it matters to many.

So as far as "needs to be addressed earlier," yes, it does, but the things that have been brought up since 2013 (ie, combat) still haven't gotten the focus it deserves. "Wait," we're told, and yet the next two releases have "cover system" and "guild wars" as their respective focuses, neither of which have anything to do with the problems brought up since Chris's initial reveal about card combat. So after waiting and after being told "it'll come" or "we'll change it if people don't like it" we still get silence. When else should we speak out against these things if not now?

 

Looking forward to Q3!

 

We're all going to be testing the Beta when the game gets released. Which is fine. I think one of the things hurting this game atm is that it's not released, that it's not playable. Get all the stuff in, get a core group of die hards playing the game and making it live, and then immediately do a new crowd fund to improve and extend the game for ep 2. That's what I think.

 

That was pretty much the Steam release...a second grab for cash.