In a huge backers' update Warballoon said that the game is gonna be submitted in the next 48 hours. So it should be available, baring any difficulties, next wednesday or the one after that. Interesting read, including this excerpt: "This has produced a few things. First, and foremost, we are VERY proud of Star Command. Is it everything we had hoped it would be? Of course not. Probably 30% of the original vision. Originally we wanted different eras of ships starting with mankind first heading into space, to a lumbering Ridley Scottesque commercial fleet to a more peaceful and exploratory Star Trek like experience. Those were the thoughts of drunk men. We wanted research, a robust diplomatic engine on par with civilization, the ability to capture and torture enemies, and eventually the ability to invade other ships and beam down to planets. So understand that the final product is not near our final vision - and that is ok." And my favorite part: "But again, we are sorry for any threats of physical violence. Personally speaking, I have seen Justin punch. It's nothing anyone should be afraid of."
So basically they've raised a ton of money (twice) on the premise of releasing something specific in return only to waste a lot of it and create something that only 30% resembles the vision!? Disgusting. Everyone should ask for a refund. If they'd managed 70% or above then fine, but only delivering 30% of what was advertised is fraud.
Well I think that's part of the "gamble" of giving money on kickstarter. You can never tell what the final product will be like or if you'll even see it at all. I think that Farmer Harv's new approach (eplained in the previous page) is the best one regarding kickstarter.
Because they totally did it on purpose. They money was still invested into the game, it's not like they're riding around in speedboats made of diamonds. It's easy to get excited by promises, but if Peter Molyneux has taught us anything, it's to take everything a developer says with a pinch of salt. I saw the Kickstarter stuff back when it was new, but intentionally kept my distance from it and avoided reading too much information (as I do with most games) until it was close to release. Hype can be a harsh mistress.
Oh stop it. Don't behave like that. No one has said you can't talk about how you feel about the game. In fact it's been stated by two separate individuals that discussing the cons/disappointments is fine. They have only asked that people do it in a respectful, no name calling manner. What exactly are you upset about? Not being able to insult other posters to this thread, because that is all that is being asked.
My point was basically that game threads are hard enough to navigate already. If you're a potential customer looking for information, the first ten pages are nothing but "Not available in the US yet" and "Downloading now!" posts, the next 20-30 are "D-pad sux" and "Is this worth my buck?" and the last 50 pages are all "How do you collect the hidden item on 4-1?". The small amount of useful game impressions are buried somewhere in the middle and if the Star Command thread explodes with conversation about Kickstarter and how violent the devs are, they'll be impossible to find. We've had this thread for that kind of talk, I think it's best if the game thread actually focuses on the end product.
Maybe a Google Custom Search Engine would be a useful addition to the forums? The negative to that is the loss of potential advertising revenues from the top bar of the search results. Guess that's a non-starter.
TA actually started addressing it by allowing users to tag posts with "Game Impressions" but I don't think it ever got fully implemented. As far as I know, there's no easy way to get to them. Plus, lots of people just don't click the tag, including me, 'cause I forget
So true. Hype+Gamers Investment+Poor Dev PR=Disaster There are a few positives to come out of this though. It has received a heap of coverage regarding the fallout. This will make the lessons learned reach a broad base of potential future investors. It will also teach a bunch of devs what not to do regarding over hyping and overselling your product. Additionally the naive tools who haven't been burned by the devs (like me) get to experience a fun looking game funded by keen ios backers. So thanks for supporting it and putting up with a painful couple years of false promises
Having followed all the debacle with some interest, I find myself a little ill-at-ease with how many of the 'spotfires' around Starcommand have unfurled. The Reddit posts are particularly vicious and I feel as though the whole Kickstarter scene needs a serious dosage of reality. Hence: http://toucharcade.com/2013/04/09/finished-star-command-probably-30-percent-of-the-original-vision-measures-dev/#comment-858038480 It's my 2c only, but it's a pretty blunt statement that I think people need to sit up and take note of before blindly Kickstarting things in the future.
That was bang on the money. A lot of people don't seem to understand exactly what an investment is, and that losing one doesn't automatically entitle you to your money back. Also, if a member of staff could grant me permission to torture and kill some of those unbelievable idiots, that'd be great.
Someone said this thread might be interesting to read, maybe I will just wait until the game comes out. Good luck all.
I'm not sure what's more annoying, those whinging about the game or those whinging about the whinging. In any case it's all very meta. I do however think it's entirely acceptable to offer an opinion (good or ill) based on the recent video and previews out there. Otherwise what exactly is the point in sites like TA? half of the articles on it are previews. And investors should complain if they are not happy, they do in any other kind of business so the games industry should be no different. But maybe take the complaints directly to Warballoon, they may have answers for you. Asking for your money back is a little silly too.
I have a question that I haven't seen answered yet. I think this is going to be a universal game (iPhone and iPad app), so if it is not, someone correct me right there. But if it is, is it going to use iCloud saves to go between devices? Or some other method so you can play some on your iPhone and some on your iPad?
I remember reading pages and pages and pages ago that it was the idea to do cross platform saves (not just iCloud saves), but.. considering it's "30% completed"... I wouldn't hold my breath (consider it a pleasant surprise if it does come out with iCloud support though).
It's not 30% completed. This hideous inability to understand the English language is causing far more trouble than it should do in a properly educated world.
Not.. literally 30% completed. "30% completed" - as in, they only managed to do approximately 30% of what they would have liked to do, so back to the original point. Is icloud save included in that "30%"? I doubt it. I try not to get involved in these things cause it'll inevitably end up sounding condescending in one way or another, but.. when people start criticizing my English..
I reacted because the article containing that quote turned into a total crapfest when people misunderstood exactly what "30% of the original vision" meant. When you start brainstorming ideas for ANY game, you tend to throw as much stuff up on the board as you can, and 99% of the time there's no way you're ever going to get it all in. You could probably take a game like GTA III, look at the notes from early meetings and find hundreds of ideas that never made it into the final product. In fact, you can even see evidence of one in the game itself, air vehicles were abandoned. In part, this is why sequels exist, to expand on some of the ideas envisioned for the first game that had to be left out. In no way does it translate to "you're only getting 30% of a game".
