KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Prototype Thread

[CyberP]

Don't know what they are doing?

Design, game development - check. They certainly know what they are doing here, and this is all that matters.
Marketing, selling themselves and their concepts - well, do you honestly give a fuck? As long as the above is good, we're good to go. I'd rather they waste no time or money on marketing at all, but the sheep need to be sold.

As someone that absolutely fails with marketing also, fuck you. It isn't what is important, but a necessary evil.
The only reason I came to this shithole was to promote my Deus Ex mod of great incline. If it weren't for the quality of the mod speaking for itself I'd have been drawn and quartered by you fucktards.

BTW, I'm curious, how many default Unity assets in this video?

We've already had a prototype video. Unity prefabricated shit or not.

They do things differently. It is Looking Glass, after all. They do it best.

 

[Zep Zepo]

BTW, I'm curious, how many default Unity assets in this video?

That's not the question you should be asking in this thread.

You should have asked

"How many default Unity Objects (untextured white cubes and planes and whatnot) are in this video.

Answer: 0

Zep--

 

[Infinitron]

Well, talk to me again if we get videos like those a month from now.

 

[CyberP]

What/who does their marketing team consist of? One person? Three? Who gives a shit. They never had great marketing strategies/invested much money into them, if sales statistics of their legendary classics is any indicator. Are you aware that most games of today invest most of their budget into marketing? Such game design potential is met with that approach.

These devs deserve better.

I'm not here to masturbate over their PR skills, or the PR skills of whomever they hired. I want to experience their great game design talents once again.

 

[CyberP]

Well, talk to me again if we get videos like those a month from now.

I guess that is reasonable. They do have an obligation to keep backers informed. This is what they are/their PR person is currently doing.
Most of the updates seem to come from the devs themselves, and they are adequate. Not the most impressive nor trendy #YOLO swag potato for you sheep, but have some faith.

 

[Darkzone]

The Problem of the Lich is a the problem of the analytic turn.

Spoiler

 

[Kron]

It's not a matter of marketing really. I don't think most of these small kickstarter projects have that much marketing personnel.
The thing that bugs me is, generally when smaller studios are passionate and really invested into what they are doing you can just tell by watching any stuff they put out, marketing or no marketing; be it concept art, writing or short videos. I mean, their vision really oozes through when this happens.
I'm thinking about the devs for Insomnia, Darkest Dungeon and Amnesia/SOMA, out of the top of my mind.

With Underworld Ascendant, well, that just doesn't happen for me, especially given that games from Looking Glass where so heavy and great on the flavor and fluff department.

 

[Immortal]

No. I'll never be like you. I'm jaded as fuck, and usually see the worst in people, but I grant most people the benefit of the doubt until something solid emerges, especially when they have such a fucking solid track record.
This shit is underwhelming, granted, but I have too much respect for their concepts and struggles of the past to start slinging shit so aggressively this early.

When they start showing something that a 14 year old couldn't do in an afternoon I will stop calling this a ponzy scheme.

Plenty of awesome kickstarters out there that have 0 content and don't look whipped together with sticky glue. It's not hard if your a team of talented people to put together a professional KS. Obsidian pulled it off with 3 people in 2 months. These guys are still trying to figure out how Unity works.

 

[Infinitron]

It's not a matter of marketing really. I don't think most of these small kickstarter projects have that much marketing personnel.
The thing that bugs me is, generally when smaller studios are passionate and really invested into what they are doing you can just tell by watching any stuff they put out, marketing or no marketing; be it concept art, writing or short videos. I mean, their vision really oozes through when this happens.
I'm thinking about the devs for Insomnia, Darkest Dungeon and Amnesia/SOMA, out of the top of my mind.

With Underworld Ascendant, well, that just doesn't happen for me, especially given that games from Looking Glass where so heavy and great on the flavor and fluff department.

Do those indie studios put out updates every weekend, though?

When UA has done "flavor and fluff" stuff, it's usually pretty cool and reveals a fair amount of deep thought. I'm thinking of the environment/biome stuff.

 

[CyberP]

With Underworld Ascendant, well, that just doesn't happen for me, especially given that games from Looking Glass where so heavy and great on the flavor and fluff department.

I hear you. their passion doesn't shine through so much in their marketing. There have been plenty passionate personal posts on the forums and the kickstarter comments though, such as that great elitist "We're not building Mr Toad's wild ride, we're building Disneyland. We've done it before and we'll do it again." one.

 

[Branm]

Why is this thread still so active? I pledged the min in order to get the game (and chances are i'll never be able to run it using my POS comp)...Its like $25 so its a drop of water on a hot stone.

I dont quite understand why all the hate towards the devs though? Did I miss something? I dont really check kickstarter updates after I pledge...

 

[tuluse]

These devs deserve better.

Deserves got nothing to do with it

 

[CyberP]

"Why is this thread still so active?"

There's something inherently wrong with the gaming audience when a Looking Glass game is looked down on as some lesser product.
Go back to your Bioware megathreads, codexer.

 

[Gord]

They undoubtedly have great plans. If they realise only half of what they keep talking about, it might be a really great game.
Whether they succeed remains to be seen, this Kickstarter is a rather risky one, imo...

 

[Zep Zepo]

Do those indie studios put out updates every weekend, though?

Grimoire™

*Drops Mic*

Zep--

 

[Gord]

 

[Immortal]

Why is this thread still so active? I pledged the min in order to get the game (and chances are i'll never be able to run it using my POS comp)...Its like $25 so its a drop of water on a hot stone.

I dont quite understand why all the hate towards the devs though? Did I miss something? I dont really check kickstarter updates after I pledge...

> 25 Dollars is nothing to me
> My computer in the year 2015 can't run games

Maybe you should start worrying more about those 25 dollar expenditures instead of funding KS's for games you can't even play.

"Why is this thread still so active?"

There's something inherently wrong with the gaming audience when a Looking Glass game is looked down on as some lesser product.
Go back to your Bioware megathreads, codexer.

CyberP I like respect you.. and I'mma let you finish but..

I don't give a shit if your team is made up of the best developers from Black Isle / Westwood / Sir Tech / Whatever Other Company is Awesome.. If your releasing Babies First unity tech demo's with essay long rants about pie in the sky mechanics no company has ever produced on budgets 10x larger then yours.. I'm not gonna suck it down with a smile. This shit is amateur hour and should be called out as such.

When they -produce- something that took talent, I will be the first to applaud it. I don't want them to fail.. but this shit looks desperate at best and an outright scam at worst.

 

[Zep Zepo]

When UA has done "flavor and fluff" stuff, it's usually pretty cool and reveals a fair amount of deep thought. I'm thinking of the environment/biome stuff.

More seriously...

We can all dream up "cool" stuff and deep think "cool things" all day long.

Achieving it is another thing entirely.

Zep--

 

[Immortal]

When UA has done "flavor and fluff" stuff, it's usually pretty cool and reveals a fair amount of deep thought. I'm thinking of the environment/biome stuff.

More seriously...

We can all dream up "cool" stuff and deep think "cool things" all day long.

Achieving it is another thing entirely.

Zep--

This ^.

I can in a few hours produce what they have in unity meanwhile typing up this big dream about interconnected biomes with different hierarchies of prey and predators and how they will interrelate - but common.. This isn't our first fucking rodeo with Kickstarter codex..

Has anyone actually seen this done well?
Witcher 3 promised this and it kinda worked.. Wolves killed deers.. but it didn't really feel as good as they described it. Really think about how this will translate into the game. Factions of enemies fighting each other over and over until you show up and kill them all with a well placed fireball?

If your imagining something better.. Your in for a real disappointment.

 

[Infinitron]

How did you fare during your time in the gaming industry, Zep?

I mean, all that daydreaming by the creative directors during preproduction (what Chris Avellone called "the blue sky period" in his recent interview) must have driven you nuts. "B..b..but this isn't code yet! IT'S NOT REAL! Why are you wasting your time on this shit!?"

 

[Immortal]

How did you fare during your time in the gaming industry, Zep?

I mean, all that daydreaming by the creative directors during preproduction (what Chris Avellone called "the blue sky period" in his recent interview) must have driven you nuts. "B..b..but this isn't code yet! IT'S NOT REAL! Why are you wasting your time on this shit!?"

Honest Question - Don't you ever get tired of being disappointed?

The Blue Sky Period is never going to be where the game ends up. It's fine to dream.. but kickstarter is way too many dreams and not enough released products lately. (Especially when it comes to old developers who wrote their last game in x86 or BASIC and have been out of the industry for 5 -10 years)

 

[Infinitron]

Hey, I'm not the one who gets disappointed all the time.

I'm sure the final game will be less than what they dream of, but what I'm seeing is here is the idea that they shouldn't even be allowed to talk about said dreams unless they're backed up with HARD CODE and the shiny graphics to match.

It reminds me of that Programmers vs Designers mud fight that Marsal and Vault Dweller had a while back: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...al-designers-vs-programmers-cage-match.85395/ (read it, it's fun stuff)

 

[CyberP]

snip.

Fair enough, although I don't see why they wouldn't be desperate: the games they used to make in the '90s had a budgets of > 1 million, or at least System Shock 2 and Deus Ex did. Making those types of games again with a smaller budget (ignoring they have investors on the side though) will be very problematic with today's engines where you need many artists to create assets (the majority of the game world) with meshes rather than just blocking everything out in a level editor, and leet graphix is a must for the majority of the audience.

Bottom line, they need (and deserve) more money. The private investors likely haven't been very happy with the KS turnout either, for that matter.
The struggle continues...their legacy continues.

 

[Immortal]

Hey, I'm not the one who gets disappointed all the time.

I'm sure the final game will be less than what they dream of, but what I'm seeing is here is the idea that they shouldn't even be allowed to talk about said dreams unless they're backed up with HARD CODE and the shiny graphics to match.

It reminds me of that Programmers vs Designers mud fight that Marsal and Vault Dweller had a while back: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...al-designers-vs-programmers-cage-match.85395/ (read it, it's fun stuff)

Sorry - That wasn't my point. If they want to share idea's fine. I just don't think we should be getting hyped or sucking their dick until Code is produced. They are free to discuss what they want obviously.

My point is - how many failed kickstarters that were all dream and no substance from well known "OLD SKOOL" devs do we need before we start putting our fanboy jars of cum back on the shelf and start judging them with a more critical eye.. Everyone and their mom has a Friend of a friend who copied papers in the backroom at Interplay. I just don't care anymore, getting burned too many times.

snip.

Bottom line, they need (and deserve) more money. The investors likely haven't been very happy with the KS turnout either, for that matter.
The struggle continues...their legacy continues.

I agree with everything you said except that.. They have not produced anything that deserved money IMO. As I said before, Nostaliga is running thin with all these failed kickstarters.

Just because Richard Garriot and Chris Taylor made good games in the past does not mean their kickstarters of fairy dust and dream clouds were any good - in fact they have turned into cringe worthy failures.. and that's just 2 of many.. These Dev's are crawling out of the woodwork and when your last shipped product needs DoS Box to run - it's time to accept the fact that times have changed...

I'm sorry - your passion alone won't make these things happen.

 

[CyberP]

Sorry - That wasn't my point. If they want to share idea's fine. I just don't think we should be getting hyped or sucking their dick until Code is produced. .

Well...

Function PledgePotatoSpam()
{
local int i;

   for(i=0;i<100000;i++)
   {
     Print("PLEDGE ALL YOUR POTATO AND VIAGRA!");
   }
}

Now suck my dick and pledge all your potato.