How would you feel about a second PA kickstarter?

Discussion in 'Planetary Annihilation General Discussion' started by tatsujb, October 21, 2014.

?

whould you back and extension PA, addon Pack, or prolongation?

  1. Hell yeah!

    63.0%
  2. **** no!

    37.0%
  1. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

    Messages:
    12,902
    Likes Received:
    5,385
    I know, pandora's box, but that's why it's so interestiiiiing!!! let's do this! let's debate it!

    I personally would back the living **** out of it, and deafen all my friends about it. But that's just me I'm crazy.

    I know that some people would be incredibly cynical about Uber trying to "money grub" but we've basically shown that the people who care about PA are all basically here and also are the most dedicated fanbase there is.

    Contrary to HR, which was trying to address another audience (for god only knows what reason), this would be targeted at where Uber's potential money actually is: it's fanbase, plain and simple.


    This could be presented in a number of ways.
    • standalone extension (biggest chance of getting backers since new promises and exclusivity but less interesting for the community as it will introduce a divide (whatever the sort or size, no matter how you flip the problem))
    • addon extension (promises but no community divide)
    • just "here's some money, don't give up on PA and guide it to it's E-sports, huge-hit success pedestal that it deserves" (my personal favourite though I realize this one is the biggest gamble)
    Last edited: October 22, 2014
    Auraenn, ArchieBuld and cdrkf like this.
  2. mered4

    mered4 Post Master General

    Messages:
    4,083
    Likes Received:
    3,149
    heh. I think with the failure of HR, Uber is starting to realize that they need to listen to our well-thought out suggestions. Another KS is definitely not needed, imho. They're getting it - slowly.

    I'm still urging caution though. We need to keep beating the over the head about how terrible things are. Like Balance. :D
  3. cola_colin

    cola_colin Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    12,074
    Likes Received:
    16,221
    Hell yeah ;)
    I'd throw a 3 digit sum of $ on it, especially onto any sort of addon.
    If they are modest and honest about it I think it would even be fine to simply go "okay we realize PA has not yet reached the super sized goals we had. To make 40 players games at nice sim speeds, a unit cannon, a rescale of the size of units, some extra units and a balance rework, better galactic war and xyz whatever else a reality we want to make an addon to PA"
    No need to promise super crazy new features. Just be modest about not having reached all those awesome goals and wanting a little extra money to complete them. Yes Uber seems to be working on many cool things already, but imho they can never have enough money to do more PA-related stuff.
    A perfect timing probably would be in maybe 6 month or so, after having shown that Uber still works on PA by doing content-patches multiple times, so people know based on evidence that Uber cares and the PR catastrophy that hurt HR won't happen again.
    Also admitting that some things are not as awesome as they were imagined a few years ago should calm down a lot of constant critics, as those really like it when the devs say "Yeah you are right, we need to fix this".... at least I hope most of them are like that. Obviously showing off all the cool stuff that actually has been delivered would be part of such a KS-pitch as well.
    An addon also would result in the press judging the addon as a "new game", yielding higher scores in those so damn important metacritic scores. (.... sigh)
  4. davostheblack

    davostheblack Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    313
    No

    I paid £40 for beta access when it came out on steam. That's £10 more than something like Shadows of Mordor, Roome 2: Total War, Skyrim etc

    Lets have Uber deliver fully FIRST, then consider paying them for optional extras later

    Also, why a kickstarter?
    Bouncer2000 and elkanfirst like this.
  5. tatsujb

    tatsujb Post Master General

    Messages:
    12,902
    Likes Received:
    5,385
    @davostheblack because they have no publisher. it's the only way they can exist.... :(
  6. davostheblack

    davostheblack Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    313
    It's the age of internetz; publisher's are middle men that happen to have big wallets.

    I'll part with my hard earned cash for something I deem worth while, like a fully fledged Expansion (and seriously, I'll put another £20 for a good expansion, no qualms), or price appropriate DLC maybe, but I think asking me to back a second kick-starter for a game that has already been 'released' would put me off buying any more of the products
    elkanfirst and Jaedrik like this.
  7. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

    Messages:
    5,721
    Likes Received:
    4,793
    I think any kickstarter in relation to PA would have to be looking at adding something that was / is 'out of scope' for the original game....

    Good examples would be:
    1: Additional factions
    2: A fully leaded, blizzard style scripted single player campaign mode.

    These things could be added to the game without excluding players who don't have them (e.g. vanilla PA owners could play *against* a second race in multi-player just fine, they simply wouldn't have it themselves without buying it, and with a campaign, well I'm sure that could be added as an extra option on installation)...

    I agree that it wouldn't be right to simply ask for more money for what has already been promised- it needs to add something new to the current game. If done well it could be a good plan- and potentially add in things many of the reviewers criticize like a full single player and more diversity through different factions. It would also give uber a second chance at 'release', a bit like SupCom Forged Alliance was to SupCom 1. I like the idea in principal :)
  8. doud

    doud Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    922
    Likes Received:
    568
    Hell Yeah.
    I consider Uber has really over promised what could be delivered.
    But from a technical perspective, it's obvious they have delivered a lot. But the team was too much small.
    A good starting point would be to recognize this as part of this new potential kickstarter.
    I would be ok to pay to help for polishing and completing the stuff.

    Just consider this : Yes, we did not get all the things that were promised. But considering the technical challenges, it would not be fair to say Uber has failed. Just keep in mind that if Uber had not made this kickstarter, you would not be playing PA at all.
  9. wilhelmvx

    wilhelmvx Member

    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    84
    It would HEAVILY depend on the size or the Idea behind the Kickstarter.
    Are we talking about new content =? T3, experimentals,factions, space ships.
    I could see it suceed if it is huge enough.

    I won´t back a Kickstarter that "just" polishes the game for 500k.
  10. rabbit9000

    rabbit9000 Member

    Messages:
    174
    Likes Received:
    15
    **** no.

    I'm still waiting for:

    Unit Cannons

    Interplanetary Transports

    Krogoth Uber Bot

    Different Commander Loadouts

    Unit Loadouts

    More units

    More units

    More units

    Galactic war to be finished

    More units

    For the biomes to be finished


    Meanwhile uber are making ipad shite and wasting money & time on kickstarters when they can't see how much of the community goodwill their pissing away.
    Antiglow, cinesra and elkanfirst like this.
  11. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

    Messages:
    5,721
    Likes Received:
    4,793
    Unit Cannons: Probably not going to happen now

    Interplanetary Transports: In the game (I think you actually mean 'multi unit transports'? in which case *never part of the scope, pitch or otherwise promised*).

    Krogoth Uber Bot: Never promised, would be nice to have, might happen later.

    Different Commander Loadouts: You mean 'different weapons'? That was added recently to *primary fire* (I think we assumed for secondary) so the Progenitor for example fires a laser instead of energy blasts. Some other coms have missiles as their main gun.

    Unit Loadouts: What?

    More units

    More units

    More units: Agreed, I'd recommend trying out Statera balance mod.

    Galactic war to be finished:By this I'm assuming you mean the multi-player GW mode?

    More units

    For the biomes to be finished: Try the 'cliffs mod' in PAMM :)
  12. davostheblack

    davostheblack Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    313
    I'm not against the idea entirely, but I expect somewhat more from PA as it is before I'd pour more money into what might be labelled as "stretch goals".

    I want to see:
    Late game balancing
    Naval balancing
    Larger unit pool
    Easier inter-planetary landings/combat
    Improved in-game chat interface
    Improved biomes/custom planet creation

    I'm not looking for anything beyond the scope of the currently possible: Uber can do A LOT with what they have already, and ARE STILL doing a lot. I'd rather wait to see what they make of what they have first
    elkanfirst, wilhelmvx and cdrkf like this.
  13. judicatorofgenocide

    judicatorofgenocide Active Member

    Messages:
    421
    Likes Received:
    176
    I think this is a fantastic idea.

    I'd ask for interplanetary dropships that could hold a hundred units each but fragile to orbital defense platforms that would rain cool looking wreckage from the atmosphere when shot down.
    nlaush and shotforce13 like this.
  14. rabbit9000

    rabbit9000 Member

    Messages:
    174
    Likes Received:
    15
    Uber said we'd never get factions but we would get to take different units to play. So you could have a laser tank over the normal tank. The in game factions would have had unit loadouts attached to them too
  15. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

    Messages:
    5,721
    Likes Received:
    4,793
    Ah I follow you now... I think this is something quite a few modders are looking into.
  16. nawrot

    nawrot Active Member

    Messages:
    268
    Likes Received:
    101
    Kickstarter is to help starting company with their first product. Repeating kickstarter for same company means that they either did crappy job with first kickstarter that did not sell well (bad game or bad marketing) or that company is just greedy.

    There are two excuses for funding next kickstarter for same company is if that company tries something much bigger and more demanding. Like going from flappy birds to some platformer to big aa game to mmo. I would consider backing each step for such company.

    Second is that company is making totally niche games and they know those will not sell well.
    elkanfirst likes this.
  17. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

    Messages:
    5,721
    Likes Received:
    4,793
    @nawrot

    Well RTS is a fairly 'niche' genre in gaming, and Uber is still a small company in the scheme of things.

    Kickstarter is open to anyone so I don't think it is unreasonable for Uber to try it again. The problem is, without the Kickstarter funds, uber haven't got the money to make the game. Banks don't like leading to small companies (and in the business world, any company with less than 500 staff and a few million turnover is 'small').
    lokiCML likes this.
  18. atmorell

    atmorell New Member

    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    2
    Uber should stop acting like a greedy corp that just exploits kickstarter with broken promises and an unfinished product. Unless Uber really shows that they care about their fan base and gives something back to the gamers I won't ever consider backing/buying anything from Uber again. Make the Engine Open Source or make it free to play with your friends. Give something back to the community and people might stop being so angry at Uberent. Payed 90$ for alpha access to PA and I am not happy.
    Last edited: October 21, 2014
    elkanfirst and rabbit9000 like this.
  19. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

    Messages:
    5,721
    Likes Received:
    4,793
    You know that you can already:
    1: Play fully offline with no drm or login (brows directly to the PA directory and run 'PA.EXE')
    2: Give an offline copy to a friend (just copy the PA directly) and they can play offline, though they will need to buy a login for on-line multi-player (fair enough imo).
    3: Play LAN games with all your friends using 1 copy (again just copy the folder to other machines in LAN- to set different names, simply type in a username in the login box in game but no pass or anything, it will use that name for LAN).

    Heck you can even play with *any* commander in the fully off-line mode as there is no DRM.

    They're also busy working on things like improved system designer, multi player ranking and performance enhancements. I'm not really seeing this whole 'greedy corporation' thing?!
  20. swizzlewizzle

    swizzlewizzle Active Member

    Messages:
    216
    Likes Received:
    56
    This. Doing something for the (modding) community like that would be a significant move that says "we care about you guys".
    tatsujb likes this.

Share This Page