A request that might seem strange to many of you: Don't be shy to be negative here. I am grateful to anyone who voted for one of the positive options and says so in here (I, being a volunteer and no member of UWE, did the same), but this is part of a feasability test. If you have to tell us that you would not pre-order for reason X, <i>please say so</i>, and don't be scared to voice that opinion in a frank manner. It's better to get a cold shower now than three months down the road, so be honest, and respect other people's honesty.
I ticked the "yes, but need more info about the game" box.
Main reason is because I like to know what stage the games at in it's development (having just signed up for constellation).
I'd be more then happy to front some money on a pre-purchase toward a group of people who've proven sound (read: NS) in the past, but would need to know a little about the game plans, engine plans, similiarities and major developments planned from NS before I'd go that far.
I clicked YES without any doubt actually... I stilll think (although I donated) this game gave me much more entertainment and fun than any other retail game I bought... I will blindly pre-order just to thank again for the recent version... So for possibilty of a greater game...
<!--QuoteBegin-Isamil+Jan 16 2005, 11:26 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Isamil @ Jan 16 2005, 11:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> - Assume that pre-purchasing the game now would cost you $25, and that the game would cost around $55 or $60 when it was released. Do you meen that it would be $55 without the prepurchase and the prepurchase just takes $25 off the normal price? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> This is the same thing I was wondering.
BTW, I have gotten more enjoyment out of NS than pretty much all other games out today. Truely an original game released in an age where the competition has no originality, and I am quite surprised that NS isn't more well known than it currently is. I hope this company does well. I don't have a lot of money to spend on games these days (college full time, no job, nuff said) -but- if the answer to the above question is no, then yes, I will gladly pre-order.
i wouldnt only because i only have hl2 and it sounds like it would only be compatible with the old hl <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
ShockehIf a packet drops on the web and nobody's near to see it...Join Date: 2002-11-19Member: 9336NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
I'd like to supplement & reply B & C Charlie.
I'd probably suggest there be some form of incentive besides simple cash reduction to encourage pre-buy, especially from (let's be fair) a brand new unknown games company, with one hit (NS) although it does have a decent pedigree.
If it were any other community than NS, I'd laugh at the concept, frankly.
So I feel there needs to be more thought into the why/wherefore/how stage before I'd be prepared to hand over cash. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
1) Lately updates have been sparing and the time between updates is vast and often WAY past original release date. This makes me wonder if the project would ever actually finish or be released in a time frame in which I'd even care about the project anymore. I don't have much faith in release dates or timely updates anymore so that makes me think the project could fail and waste my investement.
2) Updates from the Devs, excepting Zunni (still think you're doing a wonderful job man), have been historically sparing at best. If I'm going to invest in something, I'd like to have some idea what the company I invested in is doing. Realistically, I don't see that happening if I donate to this company. Again, previous experience makes me think I'll hear vague words about "work still proceeding" and "we're working to make this the best version yet" instead of any quantities of real news or media.
3) I honestly don't believe this drive will work or generate nearly enough money for you to have a better negotiating position with a publisher. I will admit I do like the idea and I hope it works for you guys, but from game development cost estimates I've seen in magazines before, this project will likely cost WAY more than you could ever raise from this. As such, I fear an investement I'd make would probably not help you that much and might not really be worth it.
Now, all that being said, I would like to justify something real quick so I don't sound like a complete jerk. I still love NS and everything. I like the community. I just don't think that at this moment in time that this is a good investment.
<!--QuoteBegin-WhiteZero+Jan 17 2005, 06:14 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (WhiteZero @ Jan 17 2005, 06:14 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> They've already said numerous times that NS2 wont be 100% like NS, so why would you even take into account that they are? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> i would also like to add that:
if they were 100% the same why would you bother to make a sequel?
Flayra, while I have nothing but respect for you and your company, there are some issues here.
1. He have had no tactile proof of your project other then you telling us you are working on it. There are no screenshots, no concepts, not even a little information about what the game may be about or when we might expect any information of this sort. Simply put, we have a black hole.
2. You have shown a reduction in dedication to this community as of late. We would assume this is because you are working on your game. However, number one states otherwise. However, you are clearly doing SOMTHING and you aren't telling us anything. Why? What is so incredibly important that you would expect us to pay 25 dollars without recieving anything whatsoever in return?
I have shown nothing but dedication for the last two years to this community. However, for the sake of this community's well-being and the well-being of your next project, I think we at the very least deserve a little insight as to the workings of your great machine.
<!--QuoteBegin-Arcadius+Jan 17 2005, 07:59 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Arcadius @ Jan 17 2005, 07:59 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I voted "no" for several reasons.
1) Lately updates have been sparing and the time between updates is vast and often WAY past original release date. This makes me wonder if the project would ever actually finish or be released in a time frame in which I'd even care about the project anymore. I don't have much faith in release dates or timely updates anymore so that makes me think the project could fail and waste my investement.
2) Updates from the Devs, excepting Zunni (still think you're doing a wonderful job man), have been historically sparing at best. If I'm going to invest in something, I'd like to have some idea what the company I invested in is doing. Realistically, I don't see that happening if I donate to this company. Again, previous experience makes me think I'll hear vague words about "work still proceeding" and "we're working to make this the best version yet" instead of any quantities of real news or media.
3) I honestly don't believe this drive will work or generate nearly enough money for you to have a better negotiating position with a publisher. I will admit I do like the idea and I hope it works for you guys, but from game development cost estimates I've seen in magazines before, this project will likely cost WAY more than you could ever raise from this. As such, I fear an investement I'd make would probably not help you that much and might not really be worth it.
Now, all that being said, I would like to justify something real quick so I don't sound like a complete jerk. I still love NS and everything. I like the community. I just don't think that at this moment in time that this is a good investment. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> 1) Keep in mind that the NS team works for free, in their spare time...they have other full time jobs so they can make a living...not the case with NS2. I see your point, and I've seen this sort of thing happen with other game companies (Valve & HL2, Crytek & Farcry 1.3, etc.), but I dont think that the current state of NS updates is a good indicator of the point made in your post...it's not even the same team, for the most part.
2) I'd be in favor of a special forum with frequent updates/weekly changelogs (as suggested earlier) for prepurchasers. Or as an alternative, a "Weekly What's Update" like the one Bungie posts (www.bungie.net), with censoring wherever applicable, for anyone to read. Either one of these would be a great way to keep in touch with people interested in the game's direction.
3) I tend to agree with this point; earlier someone suggested that based on the votes so far, a little over $10, 000 could be raised quickly. And since the game will cost somewhere in the millions to make, it's really just a drop in the bucket. I don't know, maybe all Flayra needs is that little boost of quick cash, to get the game design figured out for the publishers. The other thing is the elevated expectations of all the people who would prebuy, but it's not like there wouldn't be expectations even if the prebuy wasn't offered.
I don't use paypal, but with more information I might be convinced to prebuy the game.
I'm pretty confident it would be a good game and I'd like to play it, but I'm unemployed right now so $25 is one tank of gas in my car <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ... so the more info on it, the more likely I'd pre-purchase.
<!--QuoteBegin-Redford+Jan 17 2005, 06:26 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Redford @ Jan 17 2005, 06:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Flayra, while I have nothing but respect for you and your company, there are some issues here.
1. He have had no tactile proof of your project other then you telling us you are working on it. There are no screenshots, no concepts, not even a little information about what the game may be about or when we might expect any information of this sort. Simply put, we have a black hole.
2. You have shown a reduction in dedication to this community as of late. We would assume this is because you are working on your game. However, number one states otherwise. However, you are clearly doing SOMTHING and you aren't telling us anything. Why? What is so incredibly important that you would expect us to pay 25 dollars without recieving anything whatsoever in return?
I have shown nothing but dedication for the last two years to this community. However, for the sake of this community's well-being and the well-being of your next project, I think we at the very least deserve a little insight as to the workings of your great machine. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> #1. Good point. I'm not sure what I could to prove we're working on something, but this is quite a valid criticism and I will try to figure out how I can address it (though I can't think of much except publish tax records, federal employment forms and other boring stuff).
#2. It's hard for me to respond to this. I guess I can see how it sometimes it appears the team is doing nothing from the outside, but it's infinitely frustrating to put in 60+ hours a week and tens of thousands of your own dollars into a game and repeatedly have people tell you you're abandoning the community, working too slowly or doing a bad job.
The more we end up revealing and justifying, the less we work on the project, and the more we are at risk of others taking our ideas and running with them. While I don't normally subscribe to a paranoid attitude about competitors stealing ideas, when we announce the specifics of something that won't be seen until two years later, we really do run that risk.
Additionally, releasing non-sexy programmer-updates like 'continued building XXYY infrastructure' probably doesn't help anyone. The fact of the matter is, there's a whole lot of non-flashy gruntwork associated with the project in it's early stages, and I'm not sure it makes sense to spend time publishing this.
I think the trick would be to find a middle ground, a point at which you're releasing enough info to whet people's appetites and engage their enthusiasm, but not so much as to delay actual development or give away too much (For reasons given above).
Maybe a small except of a design doc? A concept sketch or two? Maybe an interview? Nothing that would take too much time to do, but still enough to reinforce the belief that you and your team are capable of producing solid work, a belief that was founded two and a half years ago.
ThansalThe New ScumJoin Date: 2002-08-22Member: 1215Members, Constellation
There are alot of reasons NOT to want to 'pre order' and they are all compleatly valid.
I still ticked yes for the simple reason that I can stand paying a grand sum of $45 for NS (cm+this), primarily b/c I actualy have a job atm and I am starting to realy play NS again.
And I admit, I have alot of confidence in Flayra from personal experiance of him helping me out with problems with CM, and with questions about NS before the original release.
So yah, I guess it comes down to being a UWE FanBoy <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Yeah I would put my 25$ in the NS2 pot. I see it like this,. I have spent 55$ on games that have completly sucked/ were bugged and played them a total of 6 hours. I spent 0$ on NS and have played it more then any game since civ2. 25$ isent much loot to place on a bet with decent odds of a pay off..
I'm a constellation member, and as such am happy to put my money down. However I feel that if I'm pre-ordering a game, I deserve a bit more information about what I'm purchasing.
Minimum additional information would be engine/capabilities, and design details (Though highlevel stuff is fine, a description of what the game is/would be, that'd be great).
Of course the more information the better! Hype is good, if you can live up to it. And since I know that you can live up to it, I want to get me some hype <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
aonomusDedicated NS Mastermind (no need for school)Join Date: 2003-11-26Member: 23605Members, Constellation
I think that when the time comes, proof of content and progress would catch peoples attention, creating alot of support for it, but it seems that until the game is actually started and is made to a point where it seems like a reality, people won't risk their money.
Perhaps as time progresses and content is created, more updates could be posted, rather than just the occasional 'Hi, we're still alive, give us money and support' news post.
Game development is indeed quite nitty gritty at first. If you have never written any serious software before, believe me, hearing the details about the development at the stage it sounds like they are at wont satisfy you even if they could reveal it, and IMO no sane developer would.
I would not pay the $25 upfront. I would rather pay the $55 afterwards.
I have alot of respect for the NS team and what they have achieved. They've released a great mod that's ended up on my top 3 list for most memorable game of all times. That said, the fact that they released one good product does not necessarily give them more leeway in my view of things.
$25 is $25. As much as it is a reasonable fee (heck I payed $20 to be a Constellation member), its still relies on a rather large risky premise: its worth it IF the game comes out. IF the game DOES NOT come out, then its potentially lost money (depending on how the NS team decides to deal with the situation). However, providing more information on the current status of development would help ease this. Furthermore, I like to pay for good products. Though the NS team released a fabulous mod, that by no means guarantee that the game itself of NS2 would be good in itself.
Ultimately, I see too much potential for [my] dissapointment to be able to invest in the project [that and I'm a cheap student <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->] at this stage with this little info. I don't mind paying $40 when in later stages the game is sure to at least come out at some point in the future. But not right now.
I voted YES. I think the people that support NS2 should get a special icon like the contellation but different. Like a "we had faith in ns" icon, something to smere in the face of the people who said no.
At this moment I think Flayra is a bad risk. I love the concept behind NS and had some fun with a few BETA versions but having been here since 6 months before the release of NS and having followed the development up until this point I think history prompted me to hit <b>NO</b> instead of maybe.
Look at it this way... I have purchased games developed and distributed by <i>major</i> companies that was soon abandoned without any follow up on bug fixes or game balance adjustments. I realize NS is in BETA, I realize nobody gets paid to do what they do here, I realize NS is not any easy concept to turn into a game.
But from what I have seen of how Flayra runs things around here for the past couple of years I can't help but think NS2 has the potential to be one of those games where the company releases what seems like a great game with a concept, but is buggy as hell, unbalanced, and soon abandoned so the company can take the profits and work on another game.
One example is the Constellation Program. I thought the donation program was suppose to give Flayra a little bit of income so he can take the time to continue to develope NS. Everybody else in here might have a short memory but didn't Flayra announce he is leaving NS to a group of volunteer devs so he can work on a new game? So did the money go toward developing NS or did it go to seed the startup of Unknown Worlds Entertainment?
Another example is the new website. Sure there are improvements but when you can't even develope a website on schedule how can I expect the execution of something as huge as a retail game to be properly organized?
So here are my reasons Flayra, I don't mean to be harsh but I have to be honest.
I love the concept, but you haven't shown me anything that indicates you can truly pull it off because NS is no proof of concept to me.
No. I don't buy games on opening day, much less before they come out. I buy games after they've been out at least a couple months, have garnered positive reviews on the forums I frequent, etc. More often, I buy games a year or more after they've come out.
<!--QuoteBegin-Firewater+Jan 17 2005, 11:55 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Firewater @ Jan 17 2005, 11:55 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Twelve+Jan 17 2005, 04:37 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Twelve @ Jan 17 2005, 04:37 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I agree with a few other posters in that this game has provided me with at least $1000 worth of free gaming so far, I'd pay no questions asked. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> How did you figure out at that number?
This game costs me money to play <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Pretty much a guesstimate, but I've been playing this game for just over 2 years which equates to around 1260 hours worth of gaming ( 12 hours a week ).
SewlekThe programmer previously known as SchimmelJoin Date: 2003-05-13Member: 16247Members, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, Subnautica Developer
hmm, when you can say for sure, in which direction the game would go like (small preview) and guarantee that it won´t cost more than there 50 or 60 $, I would pre-order.
Otherwise i would have 2 problems: I dont know which game im pre-ordering. I dont know how much it will cost. 2 reasons for not buying a game <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Comments
I am grateful to anyone who voted for one of the positive options and says so in here (I, being a volunteer and no member of UWE, did the same), but this is part of a feasability test. If you have to tell us that you would not pre-order for reason X, <i>please say so</i>, and don't be scared to voice that opinion in a frank manner. It's better to get a cold shower now than three months down the road, so be honest, and respect other people's honesty.
Main reason is because I like to know what stage the games at in it's development (having just signed up for constellation).
I'd be more then happy to front some money on a pre-purchase toward a group of people who've proven sound (read: NS) in the past, but would need to know a little about the game plans, engine plans, similiarities and major developments planned from NS before I'd go that far.
Hope that helps.
Do you meen that it would be $55 without the prepurchase and the prepurchase just takes $25 off the normal price? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is the same thing I was wondering.
BTW, I have gotten more enjoyment out of NS than pretty much all other games out today. Truely an original game released in an age where the competition has no originality, and I am quite surprised that NS isn't more well known than it currently is. I hope this company does well. I don't have a lot of money to spend on games these days (college full time, no job, nuff said) -but- if the answer to the above question is no, then yes, I will gladly pre-order.
I'd probably suggest there be some form of incentive besides simple cash reduction to encourage pre-buy, especially from (let's be fair) a brand new unknown games company, with one hit (NS) although it does have a decent pedigree.
If it were any other community than NS, I'd laugh at the concept, frankly.
So I feel there needs to be more thought into the why/wherefore/how stage before I'd be prepared to hand over cash. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
- Shockwave
1) Lately updates have been sparing and the time between updates is vast and often WAY past original release date. This makes me wonder if the project would ever actually finish or be released in a time frame in which I'd even care about the project anymore. I don't have much faith in release dates or timely updates anymore so that makes me think the project could fail and waste my investement.
2) Updates from the Devs, excepting Zunni (still think you're doing a wonderful job man), have been historically sparing at best. If I'm going to invest in something, I'd like to have some idea what the company I invested in is doing. Realistically, I don't see that happening if I donate to this company. Again, previous experience makes me think I'll hear vague words about "work still proceeding" and "we're working to make this the best version yet" instead of any quantities of real news or media.
3) I honestly don't believe this drive will work or generate nearly enough money for you to have a better negotiating position with a publisher. I will admit I do like the idea and I hope it works for you guys, but from game development cost estimates I've seen in magazines before, this project will likely cost WAY more than you could ever raise from this. As such, I fear an investement I'd make would probably not help you that much and might not really be worth it.
Now, all that being said, I would like to justify something real quick so I don't sound like a complete jerk. I still love NS and everything. I like the community. I just don't think that at this moment in time that this is a good investment.
And it is hard enough to convince them of paying for something when it is a 100% certainty.
So it's a No (But I wish I could)
i would also like to add that:
if they were 100% the same why would you bother to make a sequel?
1. He have had no tactile proof of your project other then you telling us you are working on it. There are no screenshots, no concepts, not even a little information about what the game may be about or when we might expect any information of this sort. Simply put, we have a black hole.
2. You have shown a reduction in dedication to this community as of late. We would assume this is because you are working on your game. However, number one states otherwise. However, you are clearly doing SOMTHING and you aren't telling us anything. Why? What is so incredibly important that you would expect us to pay 25 dollars without recieving anything whatsoever in return?
I have shown nothing but dedication for the last two years to this community. However, for the sake of this community's well-being and the well-being of your next project, I think we at the very least deserve a little insight as to the workings of your great machine.
1) Lately updates have been sparing and the time between updates is vast and often WAY past original release date. This makes me wonder if the project would ever actually finish or be released in a time frame in which I'd even care about the project anymore. I don't have much faith in release dates or timely updates anymore so that makes me think the project could fail and waste my investement.
2) Updates from the Devs, excepting Zunni (still think you're doing a wonderful job man), have been historically sparing at best. If I'm going to invest in something, I'd like to have some idea what the company I invested in is doing. Realistically, I don't see that happening if I donate to this company. Again, previous experience makes me think I'll hear vague words about "work still proceeding" and "we're working to make this the best version yet" instead of any quantities of real news or media.
3) I honestly don't believe this drive will work or generate nearly enough money for you to have a better negotiating position with a publisher. I will admit I do like the idea and I hope it works for you guys, but from game development cost estimates I've seen in magazines before, this project will likely cost WAY more than you could ever raise from this. As such, I fear an investement I'd make would probably not help you that much and might not really be worth it.
Now, all that being said, I would like to justify something real quick so I don't sound like a complete jerk. I still love NS and everything. I like the community. I just don't think that at this moment in time that this is a good investment. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
1) Keep in mind that the NS team works for free, in their spare time...they have other full time jobs so they can make a living...not the case with NS2. I see your point, and I've seen this sort of thing happen with other game companies (Valve & HL2, Crytek & Farcry 1.3, etc.), but I dont think that the current state of NS updates is a good indicator of the point made in your post...it's not even the same team, for the most part.
2) I'd be in favor of a special forum with frequent updates/weekly changelogs (as suggested earlier) for prepurchasers. Or as an alternative, a "Weekly What's Update" like the one Bungie posts (www.bungie.net), with censoring wherever applicable, for anyone to read. Either one of these would be a great way to keep in touch with people interested in the game's direction.
3) I tend to agree with this point; earlier someone suggested that based on the votes so far, a little over $10, 000 could be raised quickly. And since the game will cost somewhere in the millions to make, it's really just a drop in the bucket. I don't know, maybe all Flayra needs is that little boost of quick cash, to get the game design figured out for the publishers. The other thing is the elevated expectations of all the people who would prebuy, but it's not like there wouldn't be expectations even if the prebuy wasn't offered.
I don't use paypal, but with more information I might be convinced to prebuy the game.
I'm pretty confident it would be a good game and I'd like to play it, but I'm unemployed right now so $25 is one tank of gas in my car <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ... so the more info on it, the more likely I'd pre-purchase.
peace.
1. He have had no tactile proof of your project other then you telling us you are working on it. There are no screenshots, no concepts, not even a little information about what the game may be about or when we might expect any information of this sort. Simply put, we have a black hole.
2. You have shown a reduction in dedication to this community as of late. We would assume this is because you are working on your game. However, number one states otherwise. However, you are clearly doing SOMTHING and you aren't telling us anything. Why? What is so incredibly important that you would expect us to pay 25 dollars without recieving anything whatsoever in return?
I have shown nothing but dedication for the last two years to this community. However, for the sake of this community's well-being and the well-being of your next project, I think we at the very least deserve a little insight as to the workings of your great machine. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
#1. Good point. I'm not sure what I could to prove we're working on something, but this is quite a valid criticism and I will try to figure out how I can address it (though I can't think of much except publish tax records, federal employment forms and other boring stuff).
#2. It's hard for me to respond to this. I guess I can see how it sometimes it appears the team is doing nothing from the outside, but it's infinitely frustrating to put in 60+ hours a week and tens of thousands of your own dollars into a game and repeatedly have people tell you you're abandoning the community, working too slowly or doing a bad job.
The more we end up revealing and justifying, the less we work on the project, and the more we are at risk of others taking our ideas and running with them. While I don't normally subscribe to a paranoid attitude about competitors stealing ideas, when we announce the specifics of something that won't be seen until two years later, we really do run that risk.
Additionally, releasing non-sexy programmer-updates like 'continued building XXYY infrastructure' probably doesn't help anyone. The fact of the matter is, there's a whole lot of non-flashy gruntwork associated with the project in it's early stages, and I'm not sure it makes sense to spend time publishing this.
Maybe a small except of a design doc? A concept sketch or two? Maybe an interview? Nothing that would take too much time to do, but still enough to reinforce the belief that you and your team are capable of producing solid work, a belief that was founded two and a half years ago.
--Scythe--
I still ticked yes for the simple reason that I can stand paying a grand sum of $45 for NS (cm+this), primarily b/c I actualy have a job atm and I am starting to realy play NS again.
And I admit, I have alot of confidence in Flayra from personal experiance of him helping me out with problems with CM, and with questions about NS before the original release.
So yah, I guess it comes down to being a UWE FanBoy <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I have spent 55$ on games that have completly sucked/ were bugged and played them a total of 6 hours. I spent 0$ on NS and have played it more then any game since civ2.
25$ isent much loot to place on a bet with decent odds of a pay off..
I'm a constellation member, and as such am happy to put my money down. However I feel that if I'm pre-ordering a game, I deserve a bit more information about what I'm purchasing.
Minimum additional information would be engine/capabilities, and design details (Though highlevel stuff is fine, a description of what the game is/would be, that'd be great).
Of course the more information the better! Hype is good, if you can live up to it. And since I know that you can live up to it, I want to get me some hype <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Perhaps as time progresses and content is created, more updates could be posted, rather than just the occasional 'Hi, we're still alive, give us money and support' news post.
I would rather pay the $55 afterwards.
I have alot of respect for the NS team and what they have achieved. They've released a great mod that's ended up on my top 3 list for most memorable game of all times. That said, the fact that they released one good product does not necessarily give them more leeway in my view of things.
$25 is $25. As much as it is a reasonable fee (heck I payed $20 to be a Constellation member), its still relies on a rather large risky premise: its worth it IF the game comes out. IF the game DOES NOT come out, then its potentially lost money (depending on how the NS team decides to deal with the situation). However, providing more information on the current status of development would help ease this. Furthermore, I like to pay for good products. Though the NS team released a fabulous mod, that by no means guarantee that the game itself of NS2 would be good in itself.
Ultimately, I see too much potential for [my] dissapointment to be able to invest in the project [that and I'm a cheap student <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->] at this stage with this little info. I don't mind paying $40 when in later stages the game is sure to at least come out at some point in the future. But not right now.
At this moment I think Flayra is a bad risk. I love the concept behind NS and had some fun with a few BETA versions but having been here since 6 months before the release of NS and having followed the development up until this point I think history prompted me to hit <b>NO</b> instead of maybe.
Look at it this way... I have purchased games developed and distributed by <i>major</i> companies that was soon abandoned without any follow up on bug fixes or game balance adjustments. I realize NS is in BETA, I realize nobody gets paid to do what they do here, I realize NS is not any easy concept to turn into a game.
But from what I have seen of how Flayra runs things around here for the past couple of years I can't help but think NS2 has the potential to be one of those games where the company releases what seems like a great game with a concept, but is buggy as hell, unbalanced, and soon abandoned so the company can take the profits and work on another game.
One example is the Constellation Program. I thought the donation program was suppose to give Flayra a little bit of income so he can take the time to continue to develope NS. Everybody else in here might have a short memory but didn't Flayra announce he is leaving NS to a group of volunteer devs so he can work on a new game? So did the money go toward developing NS or did it go to seed the startup of Unknown Worlds Entertainment?
Another example is the new website. Sure there are improvements but when you can't even develope a website on schedule how can I expect the execution of something as huge as a retail game to be properly organized?
So here are my reasons Flayra, I don't mean to be harsh but I have to be honest.
I love the concept, but you haven't shown me anything that indicates you can truly pull it off because NS is no proof of concept to me.
How did you figure out at that number?
This game costs me money to play <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pretty much a guesstimate, but I've been playing this game for just over 2 years which equates to around 1260 hours worth of gaming ( 12 hours a week ).
Otherwise i would have 2 problems: I dont know which game im pre-ordering. I dont know how much it will cost. 2 reasons for not buying a game <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->