Overzealous Number of Donation levels and Reward Content Updates?

These kickstarter projects will always have the "pay to win" elements discussed. Star Citizen has had to deal with this as well. People purchasing $1300 cruisers vs a guy with a single seater $25 etc. Their main defense is that you will be able to earn the larger ships as you play.

I don't see how your gonna avoid the topic of "pay to win" within this setup for crowd funding.

These games need funds to be developed. We are all here with the same purpose in mind, to develop a game we will enjoy playing. If someone pledged 10k, heck, power to them. Give them a castle etc , I don't care. They aren't buying shares in a company or getting compensated with real $$$ if the game takes off, but they have helped get this game to development.

Anyone can look at the tier rewards and see some sort of "pay to win" element. I personally can see the advanatages someone might gain by starting with a house or rent free vendor, but its not enough of an advantage ( like an insta kill pvp weapon) to concern me. Honestly, when I first read through all the kickstarter reward tiers, not once did "pay to win" enter my mind. I just saw a bunch of cosmetic perks and the conveience of owning a home. Even a person pledging $30 would still be able to enjoy the game as much as someone pledging 10k.

Again, I've been playing multiplayer games a long time. I understand the kickstarter route to funding well. Someone pledging 10k and starting with an island castle doesn't bother me. However, if someone is new to this model of fund raising, I can totally understand how "pay to win" may enter their mind.

Here is your alternative method. Only one $30 tier. Just for the game. Mutiply that by the number of backers we have. Comes out to about $750k. Guess what, they needed 1 mil to start development. RG has cancelled SotA.

Fansites to disucss SotA never form.
Great Fund raising shows like Hearth of Britannia never happen.
No live developer feeds to ask questions and discuss our favortie hobby (Gaming and Ultima Lore).
I don't get to debate topics with Insanemembrane and win
I never get to meet all the cool people i've debated with on the forums.
I don't get warnings from Firelotus about my tone on the forums lol.

You get the idea?

 

Naw KS and these houses aren't really pay to win, thats what I was getting at.

I am anxious about future microtransactions where the real pay to win part will start comming out. I'll be able to pay for sword damage buffs, armour protection buffs, mount speed buffs, skill and stat enhancement buffs, and I will wipe the floor with everything walking New Britannia. Anyone who doesn't have as much money to put into the game as I do via the microtransaction system which is upcoming, is going to lose to this Winrar.

 

True. The annoying things make life interesting. Your presence always reminds me that God put certian people here to add a touch of diversity. Otherwise it would be boring if everybody were just good guys all the time. lol


before anybody flames me over that comment, just know that Insane and I have history. He started it. LoL

 

You mad bro?

 

Mad as insane? Like going mad? Like being a madman type mad?

Only when I miss my anxiety medicine. Then madness and being mad are basically the same damn thing.

 

Hello everyone.. Thanks for all the intelligent conversation.. I almost expected this thread to go unanswered or to see it get deleted.

I can't talk to every point, but it's nice to see the majority of my concerns validated and addressed.

I took a long time crafting that initial post to make sure I was supporting the ideas of the game as much as I was questioning certain aspects, and I'm glad that "tone" was successfully communicated.

I get the fact that we haven't signed an NDA, and it makes sense that they don't want us talking about stuff outside the areas we "paying" consumers have.. Yet there's definitely something to be said about releasing content that will generate a buzz, making this game a bit more viral in its popularity.

Most pre-order bonuses don't really factor into the "pay-to-win" infrastructure anymore. Most big games that provide "Super Gold Guns" to start, or an "Orange Unique Sword of Truth" end up being discarded by level 2 because they aren't effective anymore. That sort of pre-order bonus has quickly lost me as an incentive to be an early supporter. When I paid in advance, it was because I am happy to continue to support the ideals the Garriott and his team have upheld through the years: a strong story, a high level of difficulty, and the flexibility to walk your "own" path.

Yet I will also admit that the promise of playing an early alpha or beta, and being actively involved in the development of the game was a strong pull for paying in advance.. And I feel that this process is not as "welcoming" or interactive as I assumed this campaign would prove..

I am a mature, seasoned gamer with what I feel are very valid ideas for creating and improving what could already be a really solid game.. Yet not having an environment to voice these other than sending someone a PM leaves me feeling a bit underappreciated. Be cool to see some sort of GitHub/Reddit like interface with the ability to upvote and improve the suggestions of other like-minded early investors, thereby improving and helping to create the final product. Instead there's a forum board that's nary much better than a phBB powered system.

Anyways, all just more ideas..

I'm happy to have even a modicum of appreciation for my views.

 

You had me till upvote bro. Clicking a lick or an upvote is a totally inadequate way to express your opinions and begs me to question your claim of a mature seasoned gamer with very valid ideas.

There is already a community. Here. This Forum, go log into the IRC channel if you wish, make yourself known. Donate to Dev+ level to access their forums where the KickStarters have daily conversations with the Devs(right? they said that would happen right?).

Unless you're just too sexy for this forum, in that case, bai! *glitterbombs*