Razzoriel
Genos Studios
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2016
- Messages
- 104
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1639197016/rise-of-the-foederati/ (NOT ENOUGH MONEY RAISED; PROJECT CONTINUED ANYWAY)
Steam Greenlight: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=907046271
https://www.riseofthefoederati.com
Steam Greenlight: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=907046271
https://www.riseofthefoederati.com
- Download our official game demoHERE for single player, or HERE for multiplayer (UPDATE 07/10: Links fixed)
- Official website
- Follow us at @genosstudios
- You can talk about Rise of the Foederati on our official forums or our Discord.
We are greenlit since June 10th.
Rise of the Foederati is a MMO turn-based tactics, history-inspired european war game with territorial conquest, where you play as a leader of warriors in western Europe, during the 5th century. Your goal is to conquer territory for your tribe, together with other players. Sieging cities, pillaging villages and battling enemy tribes are some of the activities you'll engage in to reach your goals.
The official map of Rise of the Foederati.
More important than winning battles, however, is to wade through the intricacies of managing your warband, as your soldiers will support your leadership as long as you bring them loot and glory. A weak leader, on the other hand, may face discontent warriors that will desert, abandon formations, disrespect your commands, or even challenge you to take control of your group!
You call two of your warriors to discuss important matters. One of them is not very happy with your leadership, the other is quite content. The outcomes of your meeting will vary drastically, according to how your men view you as their leader.
- Spine-chilling, realistic immersion - What you hear is what it is. A knife stab. A shield blocking an incoming sword. The jingling sound of coins inside a bag. Nearly every sound you hear in Rise was recorded in studios to be as realistic as possible. The eerie feeling before a battle now feels more tense than ever, with dynamic music that shifts with a battle's progress.
The Basque leader gives the command to attack.
- Intricate, tactical gameplay - Weather, terrain and personal rivalries between your own soldiers can play a major part in battles. Your victories' (and defeats') consequences need to be managed (How do you carry a raided village's loot? How will you share the spoils?). Beware, though! Death is permanent. Units which you trained and had successful campaigns may be completely lost through deadly wounds, a fatal disease or even untreated infections.
The Visigoth cavalry is about to engage the Basque archers. If they do not switch to their blades in time, they will be caught off-guard.
- Politics - Each tribe has a king or warlord that leads them. However, dukes and clan chieftains are always on the lookout for an opportunity to seize their place. Would you side with them in case of a rebellion? The Roman Empire on West and East hire tribal mercenaries for their own agenda, that sometimes conflict with your own. Will the gold be worth it? Would you backstab your own tribe and join the Romans for their own sake, as treacherous as they are?
You arrive at the king's hall. Your clan has aligned itself with a rogue claimant to the throne, but your allegiance honorbounds you to the king first. Who will you betray in this elaborate scheme?
- Historical Accuracy - Units speak simple words and battle commands in their own langauge of the past. Proto-Norse, Gothic or Old Irish, to name a few, were some of the dozen-and-a-half extinct languages reconstructed for this game. You'll explore decadent cities, villages and places that the Romans couldn't maintain anymore, reconstructed based on archeological logs and artists fully oriented towards rebuilding the Migration Period's atmosphere; even flora and fauna were focused on the regions they belong.
The historical inspiration behind some of RoTF's tribes
The Pyrenean Oak and the Iberian Lynx are two examples of fauna and flora found in Rise of the Foederati's demo. We are commited into providing a realistic portrayal of places.
The architecture of Roman and tribesmen houses were recreated, as well.
- Multiplayer, one-instanced World - The world is what it is; players all around the world join and interact with each other in a huge sandbox simulation that constantly changes according to your actions. Your friend can play with you on your battles, either as a soldier you appoint him or as his own unit! Or if you want to play the game for sometime without risking your hard-earned spoils, take the role of the AI enemy players are fighting, and give them a challenge which will surprise them. Players can also join forces to form armies, which enables sieges on larger cities, long-term campaigns or even large-scale field battles.
You arrive in Ceasaraugusta. The whole town is neglected; long lines are formed everyday for the dole. Poverty is everywhere. The pockets of development are focused entirely in the more wealthy parts, heavily fortified by the city guard.
The historical inspiration behind two RoTF's units.
It is 454 AD. The greatest empires ever built on Europa are falling. The greatest conqueror to have ever lived, the 'Scourge of God' Attila died one year ago. The tribes are re-organizing again, after years of Hunnic and Roman oppression. Though the land is free and up for the taking, every single tribe is also mobilizing to occupy this huge power vaccum left by them. Not only that, but Valentinian III and Marcian, emperors of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, respectively, cannot even control their own fringe territories. All of the world is suffering the perfect storm of desecrated land through years of battles, abandoned cities with no gold to sustain their operations, huge contingents of people surviving with government handouts in cities, food shortages due to large scale pirate raids in the Mediterranean, and small villages that refuse Roman government being built across the countryside. You play as a warrior leading a small retinue, serving either a noble, a clan or your king/warlord.
Our plan is to develop the game in three modules. The first module involves a limited single-player mode and leaderboard-style multiplayer; players pick a tribe and fight each other. Every win counts points for the tribe of the winner. The tribe with the most points after a major update wins. The second module involves the creation of a limited, but active world map where you pick the place you want to fight in. Tribes fight against each other, and after the season is over, the winning tribe is the one with the most territory. The third and last module puts players into the MMO-Sandbox aspect of the game, called World Campaign. You pick a tribe and fight alongside other players in a persistent world, adding a new layer to the game. It is important to note that development of Rise of the Foederati is entirely focused on the third module. Although we do value single-player mode and the possibility of multiplayer skirmishes outside persistent worlds, it is not a first priority in our development schedule.
As we develop the game, we will launch new tribes, new units for existing tribes and more content such as new equipment, areas and places to battle on.
The Basques' and Visigoths' planned units diagram. Most of the tribes' units are to be done in the future.
We can only go so far in developing this project with our own funds. What we have done so far can guarantee a great multiplayer experience with only a small push. There are many successful indie titles out there who actually managed to provide successful products to their backers through this platform; we watched their development closely, and checked where they got it right, and wrong. Their mistakes won't be ours.
That's why we want to give to the backers the fullest commitment with this project. In our next subsection, "Our Ethics", we detail in full why we think you can be positively surprised. This is not the standard campaign in this medium, and this is a good thing. We don't have cute milestones here, nor stretch goals. If we actually get more than we asked for, obviously, the extra funds will be divided the same way as the original funding goal. More units, game types, scenarios and single player campaigns will be created.
Last, but not least, Kickstarter allows us to build our community, discussing with players how they interact with the game and give us their feedback. We give a huge value to player input.
Our backers' only skins. Those are solely reserved for those who contributed to this campaign. Although visually units' equipment may differ, skins are a cosmetic-only feature.
Our physical rewards for backers. From left to right: 18"x24" poster, Follis coins, Spangenhelm, Lorica Hamata, Spatha, T-Shirt (the symbol is customizable).
If our project was to start a bakery, you guys would be helping us equipping it. Obviously, we get to keep the ovens and all the hardware, but unlike other Kickstarter projects, we want backers to get the best deals. Our $14 pledge is enough for anyone to enjoy fully the game from the get-go; the $9 pledge will get you Beta access, so we can build something up first before advancing from Alpha. Every single pledge reward is designed to be the best deal for players. Multiple copy pledges not only multiply the value of the pledge, but gives backers freedom to do as they like. Obviously, we cannot officially endorse game copy trading; if you purchase a Rise of the Foederati game key to play it, make sure it is from a legitimate source.
It is our duty as a developer team to announce the full pricing-range of our product, to know how much you get back in every pledge. During Alpha, we are planning to set the game at the $18-mark. This means backers can purchase the game cheaper during our campaign, with all the other rewards that come with it. After Alpha, our initial plan is to raise the price to $25, then finally $29 when the game is fully ready. We are not planning on giving discounts for our game during Steam sales.
Our game will use microtransactions to keep servers running. All microtransactions involve cosmetic skins for units you'll recruit. Skins will be purchasable in the $0.9-$2.7 price range, depending on which unit and skin type you're buying; rarer units will cost a little more for every skin. Skin purchases are permanent; once you unlock it, it's with you forever. Outside of real-currency transfers, players will be able to "rent" for a limited time some of those skins. Bundles and discounts will be available for those who want to purchase more skins. Backers' only skins, obviously, are not purchaseable, and are stuck with the backer's Steam account. We may release limited-access skins in the future, which cannot be bought. Any limited skin are sure to be as they are, 'limited', as in, not becoming purchasable in the future. We might release additional Kickstarter backers'-only skins in the future; if that is the case, we reserve the right to choose which pledges will receive which skin.
We promise to not use in-game currencies for skin trading, even though it is statistically proven to incentivize purchasing. It is not in our best interests to deceive our customers into buying "gems, shards or 'Genos Points". You want to make a cosmetic purchase, you get the price tag there of how much it is gonna cost you.
Our plan is to deliver thirty factions for players to pick. Our funding goal covers a bare basic for enough unit diversity and uniqueness. If we manage to go past our goals, more units will become available, and more content will be put into the game.
We are planning to launch future expansions for the game, for tribes not listed in our planned roster. However, this is a very long-term goal which can only be archieved through the commercial success of the game. We will get there, with your help, and release those expansions, once the time is right. Because the current plannings are already huge as they are, do not count on those becoming ready anytime soon.
We might create, in the future, some sort of "Premium account" system where players can pay a monthly fee to receive access to in-game features. Those features will not compromise the balance of the game (as in, premium players will not get in-game advantages over freemium). This fee is to be determined, but will not be priced more than the full game's price per year ($1-$2/month). Benefits for this Premium feature will be minimal. Purchases of skins will be cross-compatible with premium account fees as credit (you will get "free" premium features by purchasing a skin/skins that exceed the price of a month's worth of a premium account. Example: if we decide for a monthly fee of $1 for premium accounts, and you purchase a $3 skin, you get free three months of premium account time. Alternatively, if you purchase three months of premium account, instead, you get $3 as credit for future skin purchases).
Our community will be our greatest value. We promise to upkeep a transparent development process and involve everyone in future plannings, updates and steps taken towards our goals.
Alexander Novarro - Alex gave us in-depth research of the Russian/Lithuanian languages of the period, as well as lending his voice for the military leaders.
Arnaud Spanos - Not unlike a bowl of New England clam chowder; hot, precise, and merciless. He has extensive theater, improv, and film training. Not only that, he lent his voice for both the military leaders and for our promotional trailers.
Brad Ziffer - There's plenty of reasons we brought Ziffer to work with us. With a vast experience in TV/Internet/radio commercials, narrations and, obviously, video game voice acting, he has blessed us with his voice for promotional trailers.
Carlos Peréz - With his powerful voice, portfolio and knowledge in not only locution, but in dubbing and corporate videos/voice-overs, in both Spanish and English, Carlos gave us a booming performance for military units.
Carolina Souza - Souza has not only graced the project with her lovely, stunning beauty, but also with her soothing, captivating voice in a few melodies in Rise of the Foederati's soundtrack.
James Miller - Coming from previous games performing not only action-packed characters, such as Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe's Sub Zero, World of Warcraft or deep voices such as Starcraft 2's Carrier, amongst many others, Jim performed a key function in our game voicing over military units.
Jeff Rechner - From movie trailers, TV promo, and commercial voiceovers, to narration and TV/Radio hosting, Jeff "Voice Boy" Rechner graced the project with the authority of a Roman general. His incredible portfolio and talent, as well as his undeniably powerful voice gave the Romans the greatness needed for the role.
Jim Ripley - With over 30 years in experience, together with his confident, strong and authoritative voiceover works ranging from universities to medical centers, to TV commercials and documentaries, the talent and experience of Ripley's voice was one of the cornerstones for our project's promotional trailers.
Joe Zieja - A consummate nerd. Not only is he an experienced voice actor for games and commercials, he's an author of science fiction and fantasy novels, the first of which is being published this year. With all this experience together, it was no wonder his vocal treatment exceeded all expectations.
John McCalmont - Host of SLICED, Military Makeover and Built in America, co-starring in DALLAS and Prison Break, and believe it or not, survival of a hand-to-hand combat with legend Chuck Norris in "Walker, Texas Ranger", together with plenty other accolades in his career, McCalmont worked with us to deliver the perfect mix between authority, power and ambition required to play the role of a military leader in Rise of the Foederati.
Juan Bianor - Juan is a young, but incredibly talented voice actor that lent his voice for military leaders. His short experience in voice acting did not compromise how he took the mantle of the role, performing all the languages with great talent and pronounciation.
Kurt Kelly - Founder/CEO of Live Video, Inc., hundreds of highlights and working experience in voice-over for any media you'd think of. There's too little space to mention all of Kelly's archievements, but his experience and talent gave life to many of the military units in Rise, thanks to his endless talent
Richard Malmos - With projects ranging from History Channel to Disney Channel, from The Late Late Show on CBS to Star Wars and even Johnny Quest, the experience of a lifetime coming from Malmos is brought to Rise of The Foederati as one of the key protagonists in our game.
Vitor Fraga - Fraga is an actor and voiceover talent who gave the energy and booming power required to voice over the military leaders of the time. His booming, thunderous, rasp voice coupled with his acting in multiple extinct languages proved to be an incredible part of the project.
Floyd Ertvaag - Graduated in Teeside University, artist in both 2D and 3D, as well as animations, Floyd's art in Rise is seen in it's full glory. His crafts give life to the project with well-executed sprites of the warriors, as well as transforming concept art into a fully-fledged asset.
Peter White - A Digital Artist that has been working on books, comics, and video games since 1993. His brilliant work on Rise's houses, buildings and general objects you'll find across the game, such as cooking pots, wagons and urns, are seen all throughout the game, showing how his monumental sprite work flows so well in scenery.
Rachel Marks - A very versatile freelance artist, Rachel has 14 years of work history ranging from character design and 2D animation to comic books and video games. She's the Art Director and co-owner of indie game development house, Bang Bang Attack Studios.
Richard Marks - The man responsible for scenery art, Richard provides a variety of development services to individuals and businesses alike, as well as writing many tutorials, personally teaching hundreds of individuals the art of game programming. He has gave Rise's earth-shattering tiles, managing to split his focus between technical and creative. He is the Senior Technical Director and co-owner of indie game development house, Bang Bang Attack Studios, and co-founder of the New Orleans Game Development United Society (NOGDUS).
Rodolpho Langhi - Providing support for promotional artwork, Rodolpho provides not only highly detailed artworks, but also has brilliant skills in 3d modelling.
Zoran Ibramsmovic - Zoran is a Bosnian artist which provided his talent by doing sprite work and animations. The level of detail and professionalism of Mr. Zoran was invaluable for our project, and we're all thankful for his work.
Erick Pazzim - Erick has helped us with many mechanics we wanted to implement in our game, and helps us with system integrations. Plenty of his works are essential to make everything run smoothly in information exchange between game, website and other networks.
Mohammed Mortada - Mohamed is the magician behind the scenes who made the code of Rise work. The experience he has with the game's engine is invaluable for the entire project.
Alan Beling - The original creator of Rise of the Foederati, Alan is a fan of videogames since childhood, embracing the challenge of researching and developing a game heavily based in historical accounts most-lacking in the time period. Whenever it was required audio engineering, conceptualizing mechanics or art, voice-acting, programming, artwork, research, administration of assets and funds or simply performing as the executive producer, Alan gave it all.
Edimar Junior - The guy behind accounting, administration of investments and general legal advice, Edimar gave the backbone required to the daunting task of running the behind-the-curtain services for such a great project.
Vinicius Lima - Engineering the sound and audio of Rise involved a daunting task. Vinicius Lima took it. Ranging from recording and manipulating the sound of forged swords clashing against wood, flesh and steel, angry men shouting at the top of their lungs words from extinct languages, to the subtle jingling sounds of coins in a bag, or even wolves howling to the moon, Lima's talent with sound gave soul to the project the way no one else could.
Jorge Romano - A professional fencer, having competed and trained rigorously on local and international epée fencing championships. His knowledge as a consultant not only in fencing, but in historical reenactment, weaponry and armory, and military tactics used by Romans in the past, proved to be invaluable to give a very realistic treatment to the game's audio, mechanics, animations and graphics.
Joel Young - The video production/editing skills in our project (as well as some of the high-resolution maps) were all done by the hands of Mr. Young, a great producer which we have the greatest pleasure working with.
Evan Schultheis - If obssession was a talent, Evan would amongst the most talented men in the world regarding the history of the Migration Period. When he is not researching graphene supercapacitors, he is a Roman reenactor under two reenactment groups, moderator of the popular RomanArmyTalk.com forums and author of studies regarding the battles and politics of the 5th century. Evan gave invaluable, precise information on the era, with an uncanny level of detail on the artwork of Rise.
WARNING: Kickstarter does not allow you to edit your project. Everything written in this project will fall out of date eventually. Visit www.riseofthefoederati.com for the latest information.
Risks and challenges
As of every gaming project, deadlines are the toughest challenge of every programmer. We have the transparency to tell everyone that setting deadlines are the biggest factor. The best way to deal with this is letting the community know how we're developing and what, within the required timelines.
Because both of the main project managers have experience in administration, we can safely assure managing the finances, the office daily tasks like taxes and making sure we have an organized, disciplined way of doing things will give a much better payback for the backers, when compared to other projects. All of the dreadful stories about projects being insufficiently funded, not being properly managed and mishandling donations are not going to be a reality with us.
Though it may seem that the amount asked for the project is too low for the size of the game we're planning to offer, our business plan includes the sales from the successful campaign into funding the game. No longer will you wonder how games haven't been finished or where your money went to after successful campaigns then sold thousands of copies. We are fully committed into the success of Rise of the Foederati, and for this reason, we think it is our duty to also put our money where our word is. By estimating the lowest sales possible scenario for the game, we feel very comfortable in telling the backers that if our goal is reached, the sales from the game will complete the project. And if our project reaches a number higher than what we asked for, more will go back to you. Which brings to the next point.
It may seem strange for people to back a project without milestones. The reason why we opted not to use such a system is because the sales numbers of the project are tied in to how much we can develop it, as well as the donations. As such, we cannot assert with precision how much will go for the project based solely on the donations received. What we can say to all backers, however, is that the final quality of the product received will obviously be affected by both sales and backing. This means the more we receive funds for Rise, the better the experience for everyone, ranging from purchase of additional assets, like music, sprite art, promotional art, more well-developed SFX, voice actors, up to more game types, like historical battles recreated in Rise's engine.
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