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Tag: Pledge
[Column] Six Months Later, Mighty No. 9 Is Still An Unmitigated Disaster
Mighty No. 9 has been out since June 21st, long enough for the internet to blow up in anger and then mostly forget about the title at least until the ‘most disappointing games of 2016’ lists start coming out, to the tune of $4 million in wasted crowdfunding cash via Kickstarter, and while the fire has been mostly put out, the embers are still burning somewhere underground. It may seem hard to believe but after $3.9 million in funding, three delays, and six months post launch, Mighty No. 9 still hasn’t fully delivered.
And I am not talking about the game being disappointing. Individuals who pledged at higher levels in the original Kickstarter campaign were promised all sorts of goodies and many of them have still not been delivered. Take this post from Reddit:
Mighty No. 9 was finally released on June 21st, and almost 6 months later Comcept has not sent out any physical rewards other than t-shirts early in the year. Those who backed the game for the handheld versions have just been told by Engine Software (the company porting the game) that it is in development with no scheduled release date. Mighty No 9 twitter and kickstarter page has been silent since September 15th as well.
According to one poster, the list of items includes books, USB keys, sketches, physical copies, instruction books, art books, and possibly PAX rewards and 3D printed figures. At this point, the game still hasn’t come out on handhelds, meaning those who backed the game to get it on their 3DS and Vita have had six months of knowing just how disappointing the game is, coupled with no idea when it will actually be released.
Fans (or backers) have no idea when they are receiving the rewards they pledged for, and Comcept isn’t talking.
(Source: Reddit)
Shroud of the Avatar Community Wants Free Offline Access To Perks
What do you do when your game sells items for real money but also includes a separate offline mode that can’t reasonably be regulated by the developer? For Shroud of the Avatar, the folks at Portalarium figures that no matter what their stance on the issue, there is little doubt that hackers will figure out a way to nab those cash shop items for free. So why not do everyone a favor, since the only impact the player can have is on their own world, and give everyone access to exclusive items in offline mode?
The idea was polled, and so far the response has been in overwhelming agreement. 96.5% of the voting community, approximately 860 votes as of this publishing, agree that it is OK for all add on and pledge rewards to be available in offline mode. This obviously comes with a caveat that items will need to be crafted, with the biggest and best stuff becoming end-game content, and that numerous items will have no real effect in offline mode like Fyndoro’s Tablet, an item that is used to find other players.
Community response to the idea has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from those who had invested serious money into the game:
I have 5k in and my greatest concern is someone will feel I bought a advantage over them. That’s not what I want. I like the nick nacks, their cool, but I don’t want anyone to feel its pay to play outside of the basic costs for the game.
And not all of the ‘no’ votes were against the idea entirely, with many citing the extra development time required to turn the items into craftables and figure out balancing.
I don’t really care either way, but voted NO because I do not want the developers wasting any time on making the items craftable. Just put them all on a special vendor and be done with it please.
If you add up all the hats, cloaks, costumes, weapons, armor, prosperity items etc. you would probably have at least 100 new items, each one requiring a unique recipe. How many unique recipes for hats alone are needed? Can it even be done without adding new ingredients?
How do you feel about pledge items, considering they can run a pretty penny, being available to players for free in offline mode? Let us know in the comments below.
(Source: Shroud of the Avatar)
Derek Smart Enlists Law Firm, Threatens Lawsuit
If you haven’t been keeping up with the kerfuffle between Derek Smart and Chris Roberts, it goes as follows: Derek Smart has been a very vocal critic of Star Citizen and Chris Roberts, over the fact that the game’s funding has grown to a massive level and over Smart’s belief that the growing scope of the game cannot be realized and will not be released. Cloud Imperium Games responded to Smart’s blog posts by unilaterally refunding his Kickstarter pledge and banning his game account, despite Smart not actually posting his criticism on the Star Citizen website. CIG then accused Smart of using Star Citizen to promote his own game, Line of Defense.
Since then, Derek Smart has been amassing what appears to be a small encyclopedia of evidence against Cloud Imperium Gaming, building up to what may become a class action lawsuit on behalf of backers regretting their purchase who are unable to get a refund through the official channels. This, presumably, in addition to a defamation lawsuit hinted at by Smart regarding public statements made by CIG against Smart when refunding his pledge.
Smart is encouraging people to get in contact not just with the Federal Trade Commission over unrefunded pledges, but to contact him as well. You can read the entirety of Derek Smart’s latest blog post here, but be warned: It’s massive and contains a lot of reference links. Clear out some time in your schedule before you sit down for a look.
(Source: Dereksmart.org)
Derek Smart Used Star Citizen “To Promote His Line of Defense Game,” Smart Refunded & Banned
In what might be the first case of public corporate banning, CIG’s Ben Lesnick has posted a message on the official forums announcing that they have refunded Derek Smart’s Kickstarter pledge and disabled his account, effectively telling the veteran developer that he is no longer welcome as part of the community. In a thread discussing the refund on the main forums, a poll has gathered close to 30% support for the option to refund one’s pledge.
Our ToS (or in this case, the Kickstarter ToS) allows us to refund troubled users who we would rather not have interacting with the community. The process lets us entirely disable their accounts, preventing them from playing the finished game. Think of it as the video game equivalent of a ‘we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’ sign in a restaurant. We’ve used this ability a limited number of times in the past, always with the aim of improving the community.
The action was spurred when Smart first posted his belief that Star Citizen will never be released, as it was promised, leading up to his latest blog post asking for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission as well as offering a list of demands. CIG accused Smart of using Star Citizen as a platform to promote his own game, Line of Defense.
(Source: Star Citizen)
Transformers Rolls Out Founders Packs
Transformers Universe has finally unveiled its founders packs for gamers who want to hop on pre-launch, and the prices are rather expensive. All bundles include a title and inclusion in the “founders honor roll,” likely another term for credits on the website. The cheapest bundle starts at $45 and includes $30 worth of cash shop money and 60 days of the season pass which includes a new warrior and consumable each month, 25% increased experience, and 10% discount on the store.
The most expensive package includes 18 launch warriors, $250 in cash shop currency, one year of season pass content, a number of in-game items, and a limited run figurine, and will run you $450.
(Source: Transformers Universe)
MMO Fallout 