Kickstarter campaign launches on 4th Feb

[Goldmoon Dawn]

We haven't been terribly specific about the connection with Shroud of the Avatar, except to say that they will share some elements of lore, and interdimensional travel is involved (no surprise to anyone familiar with the original games).

Someone pinch me, for I have drooled upon this thread one final time, and shall now take my leave.

See you in the Underworld...

[Tomi]

Listen crabby pants, did you see Renz answer to his question?! And he is a mod! So, yeah... if he is serious about backing this game, lets get him to the right place. This aint it, no biggy...

Just because Renz is a mod doesn't mean that he should have expert knowledge on all LGS games and all the post-LGS projects. And what's wrong with EvilSpirit's detailed and excellent answer, anyway?

Heh, all I'm saying that this is a perfectly good place to discuss Underworld and ask questions about it. Hell, why wouldn't this be? This a dedicated Underworld forum after all, and the two old classics hold a special place in the history of LGS. The OtherSide forum is naturally more active, but this forum is what we make it. Besides, talking about the game and spreading the word can only be a good thing.

[Goldmoon Dawn]

Huh?

Oh sorry, I fell asleep.

Um.... oh yeah!

The urgency was due to the fact that the kickstart is in place, and time is now precious. I swore to hunt down any potential backers and get them onboard. Now, in this thread, we had a case where someone was clearly on the fence about backing the game and had solid questions. Since time is extremely limited, and the answers provided were substandard at best, I took action.

Again, we don't have endless time to get results. Once the kickstart succeeds, then by all means! Chat away. For now though, the game must reach its first goal to even get the core game. The kickstart has essentially stalled at 360k, but still 23 days to go. You need to spend those 23 days getting people to back it, otherwise there wont be a.... oh nevermind.

Questions?

[Tomi]

Once the kickstart succeeds, then by all means! Chat away. For now though, the game must reach its first goal to even get the core game.

Hmm. Not "chatting" for the next 23 days doesn't sound like the greatest strategy to me, or how else are you going to "get results" if not by chatting with people? The good old "pledge or I'll pull the trigger" method might get you some results, but it won't get the masses on your side. There are plenty of fellow TTLGers (that's quite a lot of potential pledgers) that you can try to convert, and what's a better way to do that than posting here and spreading the word? Just don't try too hard, okay?

There's still plenty of time left, and I'm confident that we'll get to the base goal at least, but I guess that it's not looking so good for some of the stretch goals at the moment. Let's hope for the best.

[Melan]

Must say, there is something supremely ironic about the most legendary "starving artist" studio in the history of the industry being relaunched... and continuing on as a starving artist, better respected dead than alive.

[Renzatic]

Just because Renz is a mod doesn't mean that he should have expert knowledge on all LGS games and all the post-LGS projects. And what's wrong with EvilSpirit's detailed and excellent answer, anyway?

Before I was made a mod, the admins handed me, like, all this literature I was supposed to check out detailing the history of LGS, Origin, and the like. There were flowcharts in it and everything. It was kinda cool looking.

...didn't read it.

[Mr. Tibbs]

64% funded! RPS posted an interview with Paul Neurath.

“This isn’t Looking Glass 2.0,” he says, even though Looking Glass 2.0 seems like a hell of a good thing to be. “We’re not just looking back and trying to recreate something from the past. We’re hoping to be part of the future."

"RPGs can be demanding on the player. In Underworld, you’re not playing a single character, not even a character like Garrett the thief, we give you freedom to approach scenarios however you choose to. We’re not going to tell you how to play this game.”

[Shadowcat]

...didn't read it. :mad:

I'm afraid you're not going to like where the flow-chart leads to from that decision ;)

[Shadowcat]

Update 7: Explore the Stygian Abyss, at your peril

Some nice descriptions of the environment, factions, and creatures; and a new video, with Tim pointing out that unscripted experiences are cool; Chris using some convenient props to talk about being a good (or bad) neighbour (or maybe he just couldn't make it to the office); and a bit of additional gameplay footage as well.

[Renzatic]

I'm afraid you're not going to like where the flow-chart leads to from that decision

I thought it ended up with you all giving me a lot of money or something.

[Mr. Tibbs]

66% funded! Underworld is the "project of the day" on the front page of Kickstarter. It's on track to beat yesterday's pledges.

[Twist]

Underworld's on Steam Greenlight:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=391292833

[Renzatic]

Blah. Looks like the heady rush days are now over. It looks like its now averaging about $15k a day, give or take. This is far from being bad, because it's just about guaranteed to hit its goal even at this slower rate, but it doesn't look like we'll be getting an editor.

Man. I really wanted an editor.

[Starker]

but it doesn't look like we'll be getting an editor.

Currently it looks like it'll end up in the 900k range, but with some serious effort, people spreading awareness, raising pledges, etc, it's still possible. A select number of KS projects have managed to reach higher goals even if it didn't look that way in the beginning.

[Melan]

There is usually a final rally, where people who had not committed yet throw in their pledges, and that can cause a quick jump in funding. But it looks very risky. I really hope they will release an editor, even if it isn't 100% clean and functional.

[Brethren]

They've also said that fan/crowd funding will be available through their website even after the KS campaign, and using some additional methods like Paypal, so hopefully that will all count towards the stretch goals even if they come up a bit short.

[GodzillaX8]

Funding hit a brick wall today, it seems. Only around $5K today.

[Mr. Tibbs]

Underworld just crossed the 70% mark. Only 210 pledges away from unlocking a unique backer only weapon.

Update 10:

As folks who have followed a lot of Kickstarters know, most every game project goes through a slowdown of funding during the middle weeks of its campaign. Underworld Ascendant is not immune. We do have an array of big announcements, more details on the game, and events coming up over the next 2 weeks that should help keep the momentum going regardless. Some of these incorporate the feedback you’ve provided, others we’ve been keeping in our back pocket for when we entered the slower period.

[Renzatic]

Funding hit a brick wall today, it seems. Only around $5K today.

It's still growing by about $20,000 a day. I checked it last night, and it was $420,000. Just now, $443,000. It grew by roughly the same amount the night before.

The fact it's still pulling in those numbers even during the slow middle days of a Kickstarter campaign is pretty promising.

[Twist]

And keep in mind that scarcity just plain works.

I'm sure people here are too cynical and savvy to succumb to it (or at least like to think they are), but in marketing, the "Today Only!" or "Sale Ends at Midnight!" nonsense really works. I'm sure OtherSide realizes this, and when they reach the final days when they can more fully leverage scarcity as a factor, they'll bring out some big announcements and more aggressive pitches.

They'll also get a lot more press right as it ends.

So at that point, lots of folks on the fence will finally pledge and lots of other people who have pledged low will raise their pledge.

The editor stretch goal still feels, well, like a stretch, but I think they'll hit it.

[Renzatic]

I just came across this Kicktraq thing. Dunno how they predict the trending towards their final estimate, probably voodoo magic or something, but if their predictions are true, we'll have the editor.

[Twist]

There's also Kickspy, which I've been told is more accurate than Kicktraq, something I'm too clueless to confirm or deny. But they both indicate Underworld should surpass the editor level.

[Mr. Tibbs]

Stephen Russell voice acting confirmed!

It’s our pleasure to announce that Stephen L. Russell will be doing voice acting for Underworld Ascendant. Among gamers, Stephen is perhaps best known as the voice of Garrett in the original Thief games. At LookingGlass we worked closely with Stephen, where he voiced some of the more memorable characters from Thief, Thief II and System Shock 2. Stephen also did voice acting for Fallout 3 and Skyrim. We’re looking forward to working with him once again.

Update 11.

[Vae]

That will bring a welcome boost!...

[Brethren]

Holy fucking shit, that is awesome! I must be dreaming...

(Take that, EM...)