Maybe if enough People start seeing the truth and demand a refund! Then maybe High Horse Garriott might come to his senses and backs off on this idiocy!
This feels more like Second Life and Entropia Universe kind of practices! But at least in those games People who investested Money could earn it back.
The crap High Horse Garriott is pulling right now begins to cast a shadow over the Whole crowd surfing and pushes it into the direction of outright Money grabs.
Maybe High Horse garriott is planning another Space trip or something? And just neglects to mention it to his backers?
Because if you look at the demos and videos and the quality (or better lack of it), then you gotta Wonder where all that Money is going.
I am glad you mentioned Entropia. We all know that Entropia is a Casino disguised as a game. I do gamble there sometimes.
This is the same vibes I get from this game.
I have no issues with gambling online.
Hopefully the players will know that they are playing in a Casino and not a game.
The difference is that Entropia is advertised as such and so People treat and play the game as such. Completely different audience.
Unless players think they can start selling their account aka housing plot after launch for profit on eBay or something?
The matter of fact is, that High Horse Garriott is up to his old tricks again and is trying to see how far he can go With grabbing Money from the fanbase.
And knowing what he pulled off during the time of Tabula Rasa.... I seriously question where all this Money is going to! As so far he has shown nothing of substance!
That´s why I mentioned Chris Roberts Star Citizen. As the difference is appaling really!
Kick ass website, tons of info! Continious News updates, art, videos! Even launched the Hangar Module where People can already log in and check their ship(s) ingame!
You can just directly see Your Money being spend in actual Development!
And what does High Horse Garriott do? What he does best.... put up more cash grabs without anything to show for it.
I just cannot believe People are falling for this! This Whole thing just "screams" cash grab!
I do agree with you that Entropia is known as a Casino. I gamble there also. We know what it is.
I cannot support you on the Star Citizen comments.
I did sign up for their emails, but I don't participate in any type of crowed funding. I just can't see giving/investing in a company without any returns.
I am certainly am not trying to steer gamers to Star Citizens as you are trying to do.
I was commenting on the business model of Shroud of the Avatar which I think is atrocious
I am not steering anyone anywhere. I just gave it as an example to show the sheer difference between the two. As both are kick starter campains.
Maybe if enough People start seeing the truth and demand a refund! Then maybe High Horse Garriott might come to his senses and backs off on this idiocy!
This feels more like Second Life and Entropia Universe kind of practices! But at least in those games People who investested Money could earn it back.
The crap High Horse Garriott is pulling right now begins to cast a shadow over the Whole crowd surfing and pushes it into the direction of outright Money grabs.
Maybe High Horse garriott is planning another Space trip or something? And just neglects to mention it to his backers?
Because if you look at the demos and videos and the quality (or better lack of it), then you gotta Wonder where all that Money is going.
I am glad you mentioned Entropia. We all know that Entropia is a Casino disguised as a game. I do gamble there sometimes.
This is the same vibes I get from this game.
I have no issues with gambling online.
Hopefully the players will know that they are playing in a Casino and not a game.
The difference is that Entropia is advertised as such and so People treat and play the game as such. Completely different audience.
Unless players think they can start selling their account aka housing plot after launch for profit on eBay or something?
The matter of fact is, that High Horse Garriott is up to his old tricks again and is trying to see how far he can go With grabbing Money from the fanbase.
And knowing what he pulled off during the time of Tabula Rasa.... I seriously question where all this Money is going to! As so far he has shown nothing of substance!
That´s why I mentioned Chris Roberts Star Citizen. As the difference is appaling really!
Kick ass website, tons of info! Continious News updates, art, videos! Even launched the Hangar Module where People can already log in and check their ship(s) ingame!
You can just directly see Your Money being spend in actual Development!
And what does High Horse Garriott do? What he does best.... put up more cash grabs without anything to show for it.
I just cannot believe People are falling for this! This Whole thing just "screams" cash grab!
I do agree with you that Entropia is known as a Casino. I gamble there also. We know what it is.
I cannot support you on the Star Citizen comments.
I did sign up for their emails, but I don't participate in any type of crowed funding. I just can't see giving/investing in a company without any returns.
I am certainly am not trying to steer gamers to Star Citizens as you are trying to do.
I was commenting on the business model of Shroud of the Avatar which I think is atrocious
I am not steering anyone anywhere. I just gave it as an example to show the sheer difference between the two. As both are kick starter campains.
People can make up their own minds.
Agreed. Thank you for your participation in the discussion.
From the way it reads, this pre-purchase is the only way to get it, just a head start for the best spots. You'll still be able to buy a deed and place a house, most likely not in the idea spot for the similar UO merchant locations.
Houses in Ultima Online were important for decorators, merchants and pack rats. Really sure they are not going limit it just to this, but to those who want a head-start in this area, which is fine since head-starts are in the majority of MMO's now.
And who knows maybe Richard is just funding another trip to the moon and will give up on the game soon after release. - Aww someone else mentioned this too in their post hehe.
I thankfully learned about the housing thing before the end of the kickstarter campain back then and was able to cancel my funding and get my money back. Not sure you'll be able to do the same now though...
From the way it reads, this pre-purchase is the only way to get it, just a head start for the best spots. You'll still be able to buy a deed and place a house, most likely not in the idea spot for the similar UO merchant locations.
Houses in Ultima Online were important for decorators, merchants and pack rats. Really sure they are not going limit it just to this, but to those who want a head-start in this area, which is fine since head-starts are in the majority of MMO's now.
And who knows maybe Richard is just funding another trip to the moon and will give up on the game soon after release. - Aww someone else mentioned this too in their post hehe.
That´s why I have ZERO faith in this guy! After the stunt he pulled With Tabula Rasa.... leaving a horde of disgruntled fans With a broken unfinished game, while he went off to Space!
Nahh.... that´s why I am just baffled how so many People are still throwing these amounts of cash at him, like nothing happened.
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
this is the link the the article most recently from the creators of Shroud of the Avatar.
It is one thing to try and sway the avid fanbase of the various avatar games over the years into purchasing virtual (see pixy dust) space to place a house in a semi-protected area of an online community that has not happened yet. It's another to try and now tell new people that are interested that "hey....better pay now or you will not have a home since they are limited" which only adds to this pixy dust house of cards.
I am not saying that the game itself will be good or bad. Just that there are alot of people in real life spending LITERALLY THOUSANDS of DOLLARS to have a house (pixy dust) in a virtual world.
Where has common sense gone? Seriously......ugh. I am a fan of UO and played it for several years, but I will be the last to throw my hard earned money into developing any game unless they will be splitting the profit with me.
Oh they are not splitting the profit with people that have invested 3K into the game? hmm well at least you get a pixy dust house :P
I was a fan in the old days but have realised he is just trying to achieve what Chris Roberts has done with the SC game and for me he's not even close to the mark and I have not and will not support this game as I feel he's way off the mark with this game and it looks horrid and IMO it will fail because he's not got the talent to pull this off.
Chris Roberts has set a president by what he has done and everyone else feels they can do the same, but you need the ability and talent to do this and again IMO he cannot compete and this is just to fill his pockets to allow us to subsidise his dreams as he's unable to finance it through other means as others have seen what he has to offer is pants...
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
Hmmm so UO released in 97, so that is 16 years or 192 months.. according to its financials it has maintained between 100-250k subscribers over those 192 months. It started at $15.99 a month but is down to $12.99 a month now.
So being generous lets say 75k subs @ $11 a month for 192 months which equates to $158,400,000.
Honestly I would say the cheap bastard could self finance if he really cared about making the game he claims.
this is the link the the article most recently from the creators of Shroud of the Avatar.
It is one thing to try and sway the avid fanbase of the various avatar games over the years into purchasing virtual (see pixy dust) space to place a house in a semi-protected area of an online community that has not happened yet. It's another to try and now tell new people that are interested that "hey....better pay now or you will not have a home since they are limited" which only adds to this pixy dust house of cards.
I am not saying that the game itself will be good or bad. Just that there are alot of people in real life spending LITERALLY THOUSANDS of DOLLARS to have a house (pixy dust) in a virtual world.
Where has common sense gone? Seriously......ugh. I am a fan of UO and played it for several years, but I will be the last to throw my hard earned money into developing any game unless they will be splitting the profit with me.
Oh they are not splitting the profit with people that have invested 3K into the game? hmm well at least you get a pixy dust house :P
I was a fan in the old days but have realised he is just trying to achieve what Chris Roberts has done with the SC game and for me he's not even close to the mark and I have not and will not support this game as I feel he's way off the mark with this game and it looks horrid and IMO it will fail because he's not got the talent to pull this off.
Chris Roberts has set a president by what he has done and everyone else feels they can do the same, but you need the ability and talent to do this and again IMO he cannot compete and this is just to fill his pockets to allow us to subsidise his dreams as he's unable to finance it through other means as others have seen what he has to offer is pants...
SC has the advantage of being part of a less used Genre. Not many space MMO's / worlds. Swords, shields and orc have been used to death. Even I wasn't sure about backing another D&D based game again. It was much easier for me to back SC just because it involved something different (space ships lol).
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
Adding a server (or "shard") to a successful game doesn't cost that much. Once the first server is full (aka no more housing available), they can just open a second one, and even make money by offering paid transfers for those who want, but not $500 per transfer of course.
Everyone paying to play a game should have a chance at ALL the content (if they put the time and effort into it of course), and that includes housing. Some people may be happy playing a game they know they will never be able to use a part of the content, but that's not going to happen for me.
Imagine that... a new player logs in, runs around a bit, sees another player house and asks "Nice house, how can I get one?". And the other player answers "You can't, there's no more plots available". What will 90% of the players do? Simple. Quit. Stop playing.
I am a member of the Shroud of the Avatar Community and a member of the developer+ community within. I believe you all have the right to know and understand where this information comes from. I was recently banned from the SotA community for my opinions on this(amongst other things), so I hope that it reaches you here.
This information has not come directly to Colin by any official Shroud of the Avatar/Portalarium capacity. The persons Colin has spoken with were an off the cusp, rushed selection of two women whom are friends with the Shroud of the Avatar Community Manager, Gina.
The rest of the Dev+ community wasn’t given an opportunity or heads up on this, the two users who spoke here to Colin said it was “very rushed” due to a “deadline” and that they themselves were not ready for it even.
“…I’m no more ‘privy’ to facts than anyone else.” – Fireangel(Tina)
“Starr did not screen anything and didn’t even have any idea what my opinion on housing is…” – Lori
I do know plenty of people on the forum(both dev and non-dev) who have better ideas, opinions, and experience with housing than the two people selected. Those points could have been presented to the interviewer to enrich that article in any number of ways.
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
Hmmm so UO released in 97, so that is 16 years or 192 months.. according to its financials it has maintained between 100-250k subscribers over those 192 months. It started at $15.99 a month but is down to $12.99 a month now.
So being generous lets say 75k subs @ $11 a month for 192 months which equates to $158,400,000.
Honestly I would say the cheap bastard could self finance if he really cared about making the game he claims.
While he doesn't get all that Money himself. You are partly right that he has a very fat bank account nonetheless.
And here is also where the difference comes regarding him and Chris Roberts.
Before Chris Roberts fired up the Kickstarter campain, he himself already put a lot of his own Money in Development that lead to the most impressive demo so far presented on Kickstarter, With already ingame footage.
It just shows that he himself actually has total faith in his Product (Star Citizen) that he is willing to invest own Money directly into the Development of the game.
This in sheer contrast to High Horse Garriott that wouldn't even put a single penny of his own into this game. Especially not if he can help it.
He has always been a master of spending other people's Money.
I am a member of the Shroud of the Avatar Community and a member of the developer+ community within. I believe you all have the right to know and understand where this information comes from. I was recently banned from the SotA community for my opinions on this(amongst other things), so I hope that it reaches you here.
This information has not come directly to Colin by any official Shroud of the Avatar/Portalarium capacity. The persons Colin has spoken with were an off the cusp, rushed selection of two women whom are friends with the Shroud of the Avatar Community Manager, Gina.
The rest of the Dev+ community wasn’t given an opportunity or heads up on this, the two users who spoke here to Colin said it was “very rushed” due to a “deadline” and that they themselves were not ready for it even.
“…I’m no more ‘privy’ to facts than anyone else.” – Fireangel(Tina)
“Starr did not screen anything and didn’t even have any idea what my opinion on housing is…” – Lori
I do know plenty of people on the forum(both dev and non-dev) who have better ideas, opinions, and experience with housing than the two people selected. Those points could have been presented to the interviewer to enrich that article in any number of ways.
From the way it reads, this pre-purchase is the only way to get it, just a head start for the best spots. You'll still be able to buy a deed and place a house, most likely not in the idea spot for the similar UO merchant locations.
Houses in Ultima Online were important for decorators, merchants and pack rats. Really sure they are not going limit it just to this, but to those who want a head-start in this area, which is fine since head-starts are in the majority of MMO's now.
And who knows maybe Richard is just funding another trip to the moon and will give up on the game soon after release. - Aww someone else mentioned this too in their post hehe.
What would the backers that invested loads of money into the game think of others getting a house for free?
From the way it reads, this pre-purchase is the only way to get it, just a head start for the best spots. You'll still be able to buy a deed and place a house, most likely not in the idea spot for the similar UO merchant locations.
Houses in Ultima Online were important for decorators, merchants and pack rats. Really sure they are not going limit it just to this, but to those who want a head-start in this area, which is fine since head-starts are in the majority of MMO's now.
And who knows maybe Richard is just funding another trip to the moon and will give up on the game soon after release. - Aww someone else mentioned this too in their post hehe.
What would the backers that invested loads of money into the game think of others getting a house almost for free? It would devalue their investment. Then they wont be able to rent out the closet for real life money.
That's why selling a limited in game resource for real money is a design mistake.
And why do you say housing would be "for free"? It would still require in game gold.
Having to invest $500 or more to get a house in a video game is just plain retarded. I guess Richard left his brain in space, floating among the stars.
This game is a cash shop before there is even a game. I expected more from Garrott. Selling items before launch with no comparable alternative when they go live is sleazy.
Chris Roberts is selling things before the game launches but they are just custom ships and items that you will undoubtedly get in some form when the game launches. He's not saying "Buy your ship now before the game launches or you'll just be floating in space when you log in!!!
What Garrott is doing is wrong, saying you will never have a home in this game unless you buy one with cash before the game even launches.
This game is a cash shop before there is even a game. I expected more from Garrott. Selling items before launch with no comparable alternative when they go live is sleazy.
I too was pretty surprised on the route Portalarium have taken from the get go on this. It is 2013, let us be honest, every game created now and in the future will be microtransaction based after they go live. What I didn't expect is for some of the bigger things to slide in like these houses.
Then again, it is their game and if we want to play it we'll have to pay it. What I would watch closely though is the fact that they have not closed their direct backing tiers/rewards on the main site, and at the same time they are sliding these new houses in for 100 smacks each...
I am not following this title much, never was a fan and I think RG is old news however I do share the OP's concern about exclusive kickstarter rewards such as housing.
I tossed in some cash for CU, however it did sort of "grind my gears" over their sales to the whales of entire islands for huge sums of cash.
If there was some way for me to get my own island in game, (even if it cost a gagillion in game gold) I'd probably be more accepting, but these rewards were also "one time one, exclusive" etc for cash donators only and truth is, annoying to me.
I guess without the whales these games might never be created, (well truthfully, we still haven't seen many games created out of crowd funding yet) but I would prefer it to not be necessary.
But then again, I'd like to buy a new BMW for like 10K, and that's not happening either.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
So my question is: If you come AFTER the housing bubble, then how do "you" make your mark in the game, seemingly at a disadvantage? Obviously the housing is not "pixie dust" if demand fuels the housing bubble/land deeds. But then is it not a form of early pay-to-win -- even if you are a generous soul backing ahead of time?
I just want to see how the disadvantages are countered?
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
No, it wasn't. That is an outright lie. Housing was always presented as a part of the core features of the game, not a 'rare thing' only people with disposable income could afford. I find it amusing that your argument is so weak that you have to fabricate garbage like this to support it.
As for not pledging, well it's a little late for that now (for me anyway). I've got an email in to Portalarium, we'll see what they say about it. Hopefully they'll do the right thing & grant me the refund I've (politely) requested. If not, I'm prepared to take things as far as they need to go to get my money back.
A refund isn't going to fix the sense of betrayal I feel though. I really wanted a spiritual successor to Ultima, but now I realize that the man who made the original series so great really doesn't exist anymore.
So my question is: If you come AFTER the housing bubble, then how do "you" make your mark in the game, seemingly at a disadvantage? Obviously the housing is not "pixie dust" if demand fuels the housing bubble/land deeds. But then is it not a form of early pay-to-win -- even if you are a generous soul backing ahead of time?
I just want to see how the disadvantages are countered?
The Shroud of the Avatar world will have four additional expansions to it after the initial game has been released, so a total of five "games" if you will.
I suspect that in each of the games, new content and new land plots will be introduced giving those who didn't have a chance to kickstart/back the game to get their hands on some housing. However, I wouldn't expect it to be any different than it is now, before the new "games" or "patches" come out, expect to see the housing/plots up on the web store.
Better than nothing? Mabye.
The role of housing is not clear. It has been stated that getting a house will not exactly be a win button either, it will simply make things easier and quicker for the player. You will still be able to store stuff, sell stuff, and play the entire game without a house of course.
If your goal is to get your hands on housing with only in-game money and then turn a profit IRL, then yes you are at a disadvantage. But other than that, housing really could be pixie dust, it seems totally irrelevant at this point.
What would the backers that invested loads of money into the game think of others getting a house for free?
What is the purpose of "Backing" a game if not to support the creation of a excellent game? This is my beef with crowdfunding. It's more like crowdscamming. Think in terms of investing in stock or being a initial investor in a company. If the game does OK you get your initial investment back plus some profit. WIth crowdfunding, people have told me you don't get your initial investment back, just some in game stuff. Is the value of the in game stuff worth their initial investment? Questionable, how much is that house worth in 4 years compared to the $200 bucks? Also in the US, to be an "Accredited investor" you must make 200k a year or have 1 mil in assets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_investor) that pretty much is the check to make sure you can undertake such a risk in the first place. Crowdfunding kind of circumvents this sort of safety net and it seems like in the end, most people end up fleeced.
Crowdfunding this game is pretty unethical. Richard Garriott is a multi-milionare and paid $30 mil supposedly to go into space. He should have funded this game himself. On the opposite side, crowdfunding is a good way to make a nice profit. You never have to pay back the funders, except with virtual goods.
Giving in game housing to the highest bidder is not only distasteful, but pulls away from the immersion the game is supposed to be about. Same thing with cash shop carp. I loath the free to play revolution.
Comments
I am not steering anyone anywhere. I just gave it as an example to show the sheer difference between the two. As both are kick starter campains.
People can make up their own minds.
Agreed. Thank you for your participation in the discussion.
http://www.entropiapartners.com/?r=22415
From the way it reads, this pre-purchase is the only way to get it, just a head start for the best spots. You'll still be able to buy a deed and place a house, most likely not in the idea spot for the similar UO merchant locations.
Houses in Ultima Online were important for decorators, merchants and pack rats. Really sure they are not going limit it just to this, but to those who want a head-start in this area, which is fine since head-starts are in the majority of MMO's now.
And who knows maybe Richard is just funding another trip to the moon and will give up on the game soon after release. - Aww someone else mentioned this too in their post hehe.
My computer is better than yours.
That´s why I have ZERO faith in this guy! After the stunt he pulled With Tabula Rasa.... leaving a horde of disgruntled fans With a broken unfinished game, while he went off to Space!
Nahh.... that´s why I am just baffled how so many People are still throwing these amounts of cash at him, like nothing happened.
Really don't know what else to say.
There isn't 50-75 mil in funding to make UO2 and provide housing to everyone.
It was known from the beginning of kickstarter that housing would be rare and at a premium.
Housing was used as a source of fundraising. Good or bad idea? That is what they went with. No way to change that or go back on that choice.
If housing is your main concern (and your not willing to wait for more housing options), then don't pledge. If you are more interested in the story, lore, crafting, PvE, PvP, old school conversation system or some other aspect of gameplay (and like what you see), then pledge based on that.
24,000 houses on multiple servers is not gonna happen with 2.5 mil in funding. Do any of you know how much an MMO costs to produce these days? Have to be realistic here.
I was a fan in the old days but have realised he is just trying to achieve what Chris Roberts has done with the SC game and for me he's not even close to the mark and I have not and will not support this game as I feel he's way off the mark with this game and it looks horrid and IMO it will fail because he's not got the talent to pull this off.
Chris Roberts has set a president by what he has done and everyone else feels they can do the same, but you need the ability and talent to do this and again IMO he cannot compete and this is just to fill his pockets to allow us to subsidise his dreams as he's unable to finance it through other means as others have seen what he has to offer is pants...
Asbo
Hmmm so UO released in 97, so that is 16 years or 192 months.. according to its financials it has maintained between 100-250k subscribers over those 192 months. It started at $15.99 a month but is down to $12.99 a month now.
So being generous lets say 75k subs @ $11 a month for 192 months which equates to $158,400,000.
Honestly I would say the cheap bastard could self finance if he really cared about making the game he claims.
SC has the advantage of being part of a less used Genre. Not many space MMO's / worlds. Swords, shields and orc have been used to death. Even I wasn't sure about backing another D&D based game again. It was much easier for me to back SC just because it involved something different (space ships lol).Adding a server (or "shard") to a successful game doesn't cost that much. Once the first server is full (aka no more housing available), they can just open a second one, and even make money by offering paid transfers for those who want, but not $500 per transfer of course.
Everyone paying to play a game should have a chance at ALL the content (if they put the time and effort into it of course), and that includes housing. Some people may be happy playing a game they know they will never be able to use a part of the content, but that's not going to happen for me.
Imagine that... a new player logs in, runs around a bit, sees another player house and asks "Nice house, how can I get one?". And the other player answers "You can't, there's no more plots available". What will 90% of the players do? Simple. Quit. Stop playing.
My computer is better than yours.
Hello Everyone,
I am a member of the Shroud of the Avatar Community and a member of the developer+ community within. I believe you all have the right to know and understand where this information comes from. I was recently banned from the SotA community for my opinions on this(amongst other things), so I hope that it reaches you here.
This information has not come directly to Colin by any official Shroud of the Avatar/Portalarium capacity. The persons Colin has spoken with were an off the cusp, rushed selection of two women whom are friends with the Shroud of the Avatar Community Manager, Gina.
The rest of the Dev+ community wasn’t given an opportunity or heads up on this, the two users who spoke here to Colin said it was “very rushed” due to a “deadline” and that they themselves were not ready for it even.
“…I’m no more ‘privy’ to facts than anyone else.” – Fireangel(Tina)
“Starr did not screen anything and didn’t even have any idea what my opinion on housing is…” – Lori
I do know plenty of people on the forum(both dev and non-dev) who have better ideas, opinions, and experience with housing than the two people selected. Those points could have been presented to the interviewer to enrich that article in any number of ways.
There is more on my blog. Peace.
http://insanemembrain.wordpress.com/
While he doesn't get all that Money himself. You are partly right that he has a very fat bank account nonetheless.
And here is also where the difference comes regarding him and Chris Roberts.
Before Chris Roberts fired up the Kickstarter campain, he himself already put a lot of his own Money in Development that lead to the most impressive demo so far presented on Kickstarter, With already ingame footage.
It just shows that he himself actually has total faith in his Product (Star Citizen) that he is willing to invest own Money directly into the Development of the game.
This in sheer contrast to High Horse Garriott that wouldn't even put a single penny of his own into this game. Especially not if he can help it.
He has always been a master of spending other people's Money.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
LOL..
I give up trying to explain housing. The DEVs can handle this. Adios....
What would the backers that invested loads of money into the game think of others getting a house for free?
That's why selling a limited in game resource for real money is a design mistake.
And why do you say housing would be "for free"? It would still require in game gold.
Having to invest $500 or more to get a house in a video game is just plain retarded. I guess Richard left his brain in space, floating among the stars.
My computer is better than yours.
This game is a cash shop before there is even a game. I expected more from Garrott. Selling items before launch with no comparable alternative when they go live is sleazy.
Chris Roberts is selling things before the game launches but they are just custom ships and items that you will undoubtedly get in some form when the game launches. He's not saying "Buy your ship now before the game launches or you'll just be floating in space when you log in!!!
What Garrott is doing is wrong, saying you will never have a home in this game unless you buy one with cash before the game even launches.
I will no longer support his efforts.
I too was pretty surprised on the route Portalarium have taken from the get go on this. It is 2013, let us be honest, every game created now and in the future will be microtransaction based after they go live. What I didn't expect is for some of the bigger things to slide in like these houses.
Then again, it is their game and if we want to play it we'll have to pay it. What I would watch closely though is the fact that they have not closed their direct backing tiers/rewards on the main site, and at the same time they are sliding these new houses in for 100 smacks each...
http://insanemembrain.wordpress.com/
I am not following this title much, never was a fan and I think RG is old news however I do share the OP's concern about exclusive kickstarter rewards such as housing.
I tossed in some cash for CU, however it did sort of "grind my gears" over their sales to the whales of entire islands for huge sums of cash.
If there was some way for me to get my own island in game, (even if it cost a gagillion in game gold) I'd probably be more accepting, but these rewards were also "one time one, exclusive" etc for cash donators only and truth is, annoying to me.
I guess without the whales these games might never be created, (well truthfully, we still haven't seen many games created out of crowd funding yet) but I would prefer it to not be necessary.
But then again, I'd like to buy a new BMW for like 10K, and that's not happening either.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
So my question is: If you come AFTER the housing bubble, then how do "you" make your mark in the game, seemingly at a disadvantage? Obviously the housing is not "pixie dust" if demand fuels the housing bubble/land deeds. But then is it not a form of early pay-to-win -- even if you are a generous soul backing ahead of time?
I just want to see how the disadvantages are countered?
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
No, it wasn't. That is an outright lie. Housing was always presented as a part of the core features of the game, not a 'rare thing' only people with disposable income could afford. I find it amusing that your argument is so weak that you have to fabricate garbage like this to support it.
As for not pledging, well it's a little late for that now (for me anyway). I've got an email in to Portalarium, we'll see what they say about it. Hopefully they'll do the right thing & grant me the refund I've (politely) requested. If not, I'm prepared to take things as far as they need to go to get my money back.
A refund isn't going to fix the sense of betrayal I feel though. I really wanted a spiritual successor to Ultima, but now I realize that the man who made the original series so great really doesn't exist anymore.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
The Shroud of the Avatar world will have four additional expansions to it after the initial game has been released, so a total of five "games" if you will.
I suspect that in each of the games, new content and new land plots will be introduced giving those who didn't have a chance to kickstart/back the game to get their hands on some housing. However, I wouldn't expect it to be any different than it is now, before the new "games" or "patches" come out, expect to see the housing/plots up on the web store.
Better than nothing? Mabye.
The role of housing is not clear. It has been stated that getting a house will not exactly be a win button either, it will simply make things easier and quicker for the player. You will still be able to store stuff, sell stuff, and play the entire game without a house of course.
If your goal is to get your hands on housing with only in-game money and then turn a profit IRL, then yes you are at a disadvantage. But other than that, housing really could be pixie dust, it seems totally irrelevant at this point.
http://insanemembrain.wordpress.com/
What is the purpose of "Backing" a game if not to support the creation of a excellent game? This is my beef with crowdfunding. It's more like crowdscamming. Think in terms of investing in stock or being a initial investor in a company. If the game does OK you get your initial investment back plus some profit. WIth crowdfunding, people have told me you don't get your initial investment back, just some in game stuff. Is the value of the in game stuff worth their initial investment? Questionable, how much is that house worth in 4 years compared to the $200 bucks? Also in the US, to be an "Accredited investor" you must make 200k a year or have 1 mil in assets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_investor) that pretty much is the check to make sure you can undertake such a risk in the first place. Crowdfunding kind of circumvents this sort of safety net and it seems like in the end, most people end up fleeced.
Crowdfunding this game is pretty unethical. Richard Garriott is a multi-milionare and paid $30 mil supposedly to go into space. He should have funded this game himself. On the opposite side, crowdfunding is a good way to make a nice profit. You never have to pay back the funders, except with virtual goods.
Giving in game housing to the highest bidder is not only distasteful, but pulls away from the immersion the game is supposed to be about. Same thing with cash shop carp. I loath the free to play revolution.