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 Posted: Mon, 9th Jul 2012 23:07 Post subject: Star Command Kickstarter |
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Star Command is an upcoming space ship-simulation-adventure game where you build an interstellar starship of your own unique image. You choose the colors, the hull types, the size and most importantly, who and what goes inside. Engine rooms, medical bays, shield generators - the choice is yours.
After you build your vessel, you will search the galaxy for talented crew to hire and help on your voyage. You will level-up crew members, give them new ranks and powerful abilities like tactical grenades to obliterate invaders, deployable shield walls to defend from incoming laser basts, or even the ability to revive slowly-dying crew members.
Once your awesome ship and elite crew are assembled, you will hyper-speed to new and strange places throughout the galaxy, making contact with exotic alien lifeforms. Some will be friendly, some weird and bizarre, and some will be downright evil.
Inevitably you will be forced to defend your ship from hostile forces. Firing critical plasma torpedoes to drop the enemy shields, repairing hull-breaches sucking crew into the vacuum of space, putting out burning fires, repelling invaders beaming onto your vessel. You will have to make quick and decisive decisions to ultimately decide who lives and who dies.
Along the way you can research strange and exotic technologies, upgrade your rooms to make them even more powerful and even find cute and cuddly animals to bring aboard for space pets! The choice is yours.
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Hoo boy. Some of you might recognize the name "Star Command" as the upcoming Star Trek inspired RPG/sim for iOS devices, it looks and sounds great and had a successful iOS Kickstarter back in October 2011 (which had the hilarious stipulation that no backing level actually got you a copy of the game) and now they just announced a PC kickstarter has begun.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/starcommand/star-command-kickstart-part-2-the-pc-mac-space-adv
iOS version had a requirement of $20k... PC version apparently requires $100k funding and you don't get the game unless you pay at least $25, heh. Either way.. good luck, it will be interesting to see how this turns out, since the last kickstarter for an iOS port (Rimelands  ) failed catastrophically and it looks like this one won't hit either 
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 00:44 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 01:44 Post subject: |
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lmfao those dramatic closeups to the captain !
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OchoBits
Posts: 717
Location: In Unknown Kadath
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 04:12 Post subject: |
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The game and the concept looks awesome. But they will fail, they are asking for way to much cash for such a niche title I think. Also, 25 bucks gives you a copy of the game. So let me guess, the game will retail at 30 bucks?
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vurt
Posts: 13810
Location: Sweden
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OchoBits
Posts: 717
Location: In Unknown Kadath
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 14:36 Post subject: |
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| OchoBits wrote: | | The game and the concept looks awesome. But they will fail, they are asking for way to much cash for such a niche title I think. Also, 25 bucks gives you a copy of the game. So let me guess, the game will retail at 30 bucks? |
Actually, they posted on their FB that the final game will be $10 on the PC.. the reason for the $25 KS charge is that's for the special "Collectors/Backers Edition" - in which you get a bunch of stuff with the game, stuff that won't come with the final retail.
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The final PC version will be $10 not $25. We are asking people to give whatever money they can to support the making of that version.
The simple fact is we're out of money for all but the mobile version - so we need the kickstarter to continue for PC (or for the mobile game to sell very well)
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https://www.facebook.com/StarCommandGame/posts/261921390581217?comment_id=1016954&offset=0&total_comments=64
And yes, I also think that $100k is asking far too much for what essentially boils down to a niche game. It's basically a Kairosoft "builder" game tied with an action adventure story and while this will sell bucket loads on iOS, it's just too niche for the PC and I think they're going to struggle to get $100k... let alone whatever stretch goals they add later, especially when you consider that they claim August 2012 is the release date (something they stress on FB too) so it makes people wary. The iOS version was supposed to be out last year but kept getting delayed.
I *want* them to succeed! I really do. The game looks and sounds fantastic and I'm sure I'll have a better time playing it on desktop than handheld (especially considering they're implementing cross-platform saves) I just think they're pricing themselves too highly for a product people are getting tired of delays over.
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VonMisk
Posts: 9467
Location: Hatredland
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 14:48 Post subject: |
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| VonMisk wrote: | | So basically as I understand reading between the lines... they just run out of money to finish the iOS version so they've started a new kickstarter to get it and maybe do a PC port |
No.
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VonMisk
Posts: 9467
Location: Hatredland
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VonMisk
Posts: 9467
Location: Hatredland
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 15:00 Post subject: |
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I don't want to see a conspiracy or some secret goal here but have you seen a video from guys who make Banner Saga? The pledge gifts took fuck load of money from their kickstarter fund. Guys from SC have less supporters but smaller fund too. I think that after all the pledges and shit they got left with something like 8 - 10k for mobile version.
And I think that these 100k from current kickstarter goes to finish the mobile version and then the rest goes to port.
Just look at the pledges on mobile version and PC version. On mobile you have a lot of physical gifts like t-shirts, posters and stuff while on PC it's mostly in game stuff.
EDIT: And yeah. I know that this kickstarer is for PC version.
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 15:10 Post subject: |
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You might be right, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I strongly doubt they've started up another kickstarter for another platform just to get more funds for the handheld version of the game (which has been in development for over a year and is due to come out end of this month or early next)
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Epsilon
Dr. Strangelove
Posts: 9240
Location: War Room
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 15:25 Post subject: |
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This stinks of a money grab.
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OchoBits
Posts: 717
Location: In Unknown Kadath
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| Posted: Tue, 10th Jul 2012 17:19 Post subject: |
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Fianlllllllllly someone is making that game. The concept is long overdue and sounds frigging fantastic.
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vurt
Posts: 13810
Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Wed, 11th Jul 2012 15:27 Post subject: |
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They are already at 23.000 after 2 days. So seems to be working..
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| Posted: Thu, 12th Jul 2012 12:36 Post subject: |
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Whoa, wait... Combat is in real time  
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| Posted: Thu, 12th Jul 2012 15:24 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Tue, 17th Jul 2012 20:50 Post subject: |
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Sadly they changed it. The original idea was turn/AP-based, like X-Com, but the developers claimed they preferred the ensuing chaos that alien attacks bring when it's real-time. I'm not sure whether I agree or disagree, both modes have their uses so I'd have to play the game to see if they made the right choice on a personal level. However, they did recently tackle the biggest of questions, namely; their experience, management and promises. It's a huge post so.. well.. sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy 
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We recently had a comment on our boards that we felt deserved a long, thought out answer. You can see the questions and concerns below in italics, and our response below it. We have heard all of these separately before, but the author was kind enough to put it all into one big question, which we are more than happy to address. WARNING: LOTS OF READING BUT IT SHOULD EXPLAIN A LOT OF OUR PERSPECTIVE.
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The Comment:
Ok, had to back to make this point as no one else seems willing to. It's going to be long, so....fair warning.
I, like many people was very interested in the initial IOS project. You know....the one that's now missed three or four dates?
So....Imagine my surprise to see "WarBalloon" back asking for money for a PC/Mac version....And mentioning that they're seeking more money partially to help pay for the IOS game.
This is absolutely beyond asinine and the very definition of Kickstarter "double-dipping".
These guys have already shown they don't have decent project management/business skills as not only have they been unable to meet self-imposed deadlines, but they blew through their first round of Kickstarter funding with extremely questionable budgeting and expenditures.
The latest from them has been IOS release "sometime this summer", which....If they're asking for more money to, in part, finish the IOS game there's no way in hell they're going to meet that broad range either.
Then they unilaterally decide to change a core component of the gameplay mechanics after collecting money from the IOS/Android project based on the mechanic?
At this point, I'm shocked anyone would be lining up to give more money to these guys when, to date, they've been unable to deliver on the original project. You know, the one that required all backers to pay for the IOS game on release? The one they were thinking of pricing somewhere in the $7 range?
The one that should have been providing revenue to finance a PC/Mac port?
At this point, I haven't been able to find evidence that either of these guys have ever produced an IOS or PC/MAC title to date.
That being the case, this is really starting to seem more like "let's grab what we can, while we can". But.....hopefully they're not going to blow all this too, because eventually people are going to start demanding either a game or the refund of their money.
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Our Reponse:
Couple thoughts.
First of all, thank you for your dollar.
Second, we know its a double dip. It's in the title. We aren't hiding that, so your observation seems....redundant.
Third, the reason you know that we dont have "decent" project management/business skills is because we openly post those things. We have an open doors policy, and in the spirit of kickstarter we try and keep everyone as connected and in the loop of our decision making process as possible. Clearly we aren't going to look for approval for gameplay changes, like converting from a tactical turn based game into a real time one - cause the bottom line is it's our game and it was more fun to have the chaos. We don't have to defend ourselves cause in the end people can just decide the game sucks, tell their friends it sucks and review it and tell the world that it sucks. We don't think this will be anywhere near the case, but that option is available to anyone that plays the game.
We also did not "blow through" our money. We posted an entire article outlining how careful we tried to be with our money. We put TONS of thought into every dime. If hiring CPA's, getting a business together, making sure we are legal in regards to copyrighted content and getting equipment for playtesting is reckless - then we are guilty as charged. Reading a bit between the lines, I think your real disagreement is that you wouldn't have spent the money the way that we did. You are welcome to your opinion, and we are confident we would probably have some thoughts for your budgets as well. However, as we have said, we spent our money wisely and with lots of forethought. There are things we would do differently, but unfortunately our time machine kickstarter did not get funded. But we digress.
As for release dates - yep, we've missed a bunch. Again, reading between the lines, it feels as if you are implying we have been misleading or irresponsible with our time - again, an assertion we strongly disagree with. Ask Valve, Blizzard, Nintendo or just about any other great developer about missed dates. As the immortal Shigeru Miyamoto said "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever." These are words we live by. Our model for operation is Valve - we love everything they do, the way they treat the community and, to your point, the way they don't really talk about when anything is coming out until its just about ready to go. See: Team Fortress. We, of course, do not have that luxury, as we are a "publicly funded" company and feel that would should share as much of the development process as possible. I can assure you, our next title will be developed in much more secrecy.
That said, we aren't happy about missed dates, but the bottom line is the game will be released when it's awsome, or damn near it. We don't want to develop this game any longer than we have to, and this is far from a Duke Nukem venture - but our game is very large, especially for a three person team (which is why we have another kickstarter, a point you seem to be missing). We would self evaluate and say the game is an 8/10 right now. We want it to be around 9.5 and that last 1.5 is the hardest - that is the polish, balance and bug squashing that too often in this industry is glazed over because of impatience or release schedules.
As to your point regarding our previous title releases: your are 100% correct. We have not made a game before this (our developer has some small releases, but as a team we are collective virgins). And from our perspective that is the EXACT reason kickstarter exists - people who have a vision, drive and passion for a project but don't have those traditional outlets to find funding to make those projects a reality. We do find it a bit frustrating to see arguments like yours - "why are these new people making a game, they should have a release before they get funded!" when companies like Double Fine (and don't misunderstand us - we love Double Fine and think they are a net positive for the kickstarter community) who probably have acces to things like banks and private investors use the kickstarter community, but when a small unproven group comes up the filter becomes much higher. Isn't that the whole point? Help the unproven.
As to the original Kickstarters and the $7 price point etc. There is a lot of nonsense here, but we will address it none the less. If we could give the game away for free on mobile devices we would. Period. But we have been in contact with Apple and we have been in contact with Google representatives and the bottom line is that it's basically impossible. There are literally 50 reasons why we cannot do this, and undoubtably you will say "well there must be a workaround" and we can confidently say there is not. Which is why we were more than happy, in fact ecstatic, to give the PC/Mac version (which we can control) to our original group of kickstarters for free. Also, the game will be under $5. Personally speaking, it is a strange time in gaming when a $7 game is considered outlandishly priced, but those are the trends and that is something we cannot control.
So, is this a "let's get money while we can" type of scheme? I suppose it would be disingenuous to say that it isn't - we have spent over a year getting people interested in our game, generating a community and listening to feedback about Star Command. We received literally five requests a day since we closed our first kickstarter asking for ways to support us. We also have thousands of requests for a PC version, which we clearly listened to. So we did use our momentum and our fan base to start another kickstarter. But this isn't for us buying cars or mac book pros or hookers and blow. The funds are purely for development and making the game great. We plan to hire 1-2 devs and supplemental contract artists to blow out more content. We are going to port the game over to PC/Mac and make it so that the game is cross compatible on all platforms so you can play it on your mobile device, boot the same ship up on your tablet during that meeting you dont care about, and then sit down at your desk and pretend to work while you actually play Star Command. That to us is cool and a fun challenge, and one that the community is going to help become a reality.
We welcome all opinions, and although we disagree with 95% of what you have said, we do defend your right to call us into question and wonder what it is that we are doing. We hope that you can at least understand our perspective.
The bottom line: we value our communities money, time, support and enthusiasm more than you can probably imagine. Understand, through kickstarter and other social media our fans have made our childhood dreams a reality: to make games. We treat that gift with the utmost respect and though we may make some decisions you disagree with, we always have the best of intentions at heart.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
The Warballoon Team
tl;dr - We disagree. Your money, time and faith is in good hands. Rest easy.
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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/starcommand/star-command-kickstart-part-2-the-pc-mac-space-adv/posts/268722
fixfixfixbrokenquotebullshitfixfixfix
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| Posted: Wed, 18th Jul 2012 04:35 Post subject: |
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You get the game at the $10 level. Just none of the extra BS that won't really matter anyway. In case you don't want to spend $25.
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OchoBits
Posts: 717
Location: In Unknown Kadath
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| Posted: Wed, 18th Jul 2012 05:19 Post subject: |
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Didn't SSI make a game called Star Command?
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| Posted: Wed, 18th Jul 2012 05:27 Post subject: |
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| Namarie wrote: | | Didn't SSI make a game called Star Command? |
Yes. I still have the original box... somewhere.
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VonMisk
Posts: 9467
Location: Hatredland
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| Posted: Tue, 31st Jul 2012 20:55 Post subject: |
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Well shit... that was unexpected. I do believe they're going to hit their target on Star Command and, maybe, even surpass it. Right now there's 7 days left and they've managed to raise $96,089 of the $100k they want.
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Wonder how many kickstarter games has a realistic date.. maybe would've worked better for them if the iOS version was released and had good reviews etc.
iOS version was $20,000 with ~1 year development.. PC version development is for some reason $100.000.. and is 1 month of development time (aug 2012).
It took 30 days for Star Command iOS to raise the $36k that it did, and it's took 2 days for the PC version to raise 2/3rds of that. PC gamers are far more willing to fork out some cash than iOS gamers because you only have to look on sites like TouchArcade when a big game comes out in order to see all the insane whining from people screaming about the game being $2.99 rather than $1.99... it's nuts.
