MMO Conversation with the Ashes of Creation Team - Ashes of Creation Videos - MMORPG.com

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MMOA Conversation with the Ashes of Creation Team - Ashes of Creation Videos - MMORPG.com

Rob Lashley sits down to stream and chat with Intrepid Studios about Ashes of Creation.

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Slapshot1188

OK.. I almost never watch streams... but if @grakulen is talking to these guys I'll load it up!

Slapshot1188

8 minutes in and Grak is asking about the money...

Slapshot1188

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

esc-joconnor

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

Slapshot1188

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

No he said he put in 2m but was "committed" to fund the core product.

pantaro

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

The fact it took this long into the kickstarter for this to become a REAL conversation says plenty to me,also i just cant take this dude serious the way he reacts to questions.

Good on Rob for asking the questions that should have been answered from day 1!

LeFantome

Good job Rob Lashley !!

rensta

Nice stream, appreciate it.

esc-joconnor

Slapshot1188 said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

No he said he put in 2m but was "committed" to fund the core product.

I meant hi comment abotu have 30 mill in funding, it wasn't that he put 30 mill in, so I don't think there is any confirmation how much funding they have in total before Kickstarter.

itsover

Game look bad

Maurgrim

Not much new info about the game in the stream, I would like to hear more how crafting work, how will mobs interact in the world, will they just spawn in, will they roam, will they hunt other mobs ect.

Vrika

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

No he said he put in 2m but was "committed" to fund the core product.

I meant hi comment abotu have 30 mill in funding, it wasn't that he put 30 mill in, so I don't think there is any confirmation how much funding they have in total before Kickstarter.

If they could confirm 30 million funding, then they would confirm it because assurance of financial stability would quickly bring them more backers.

If there's no confirmation about funding, it's because they don't want us to know how little confirmed funding they have.

Gdemami

Vrika said:
If they could confirm 30 million funding, then they would confirm it because assurance of financial stability would quickly bring them more backers.

If there's no confirmation about funding, it's because they don't want us to know how little confirmed funding they have.

...not like it is anything of your business.

SpottyGekko

Vrika said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

No he said he put in 2m but was "committed" to fund the core product.

I meant hi comment abotu have 30 mill in funding, it wasn't that he put 30 mill in, so I don't think there is any confirmation how much funding they have in total before Kickstarter.

If they could confirm 30 million funding, then they would confirm it because assurance of financial stability would quickly bring them more backers.

If there's no confirmation about funding, it's because they don't want us to know how little confirmed funding they have.

Ashes is all about the marketing. People hear what they want to hear, as long as the message gives them enough to convince themselves. Look how many people have already stated that the team has $30M in funding, when in fact what they really said is that $30M is their total planned expenditure.

Galadourn

Nice interview with nice questions. Cleared up a lot imho.

Also, lol, NOBODY puts the entire project budget into the company's account, this is injected in tranches based on development needs and cashflow position.

Slapshot1188

LeFantome said:

Good job Rob Lashley !!

Yeah I think it was awesome. He asked meaningful questions in a respectful way.. and got ANSWERS.

Shadanwolf

Nice to see such success with their funding.

CrazKanuk

SpottyGekko said:

Vrika said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

esc-joconnor said:

Slapshot1188 said:

• Core Viable product includes all mechanics and systems discussed.
• KS is to "expand" those systems and include stretch goals
• Who's in charge of budget "producer role"?  Claim Press Release is coming with an announcement
• Steven has put in $2M so far.  He is "committed" to fund the core viable product (quite different from having put $30M into the company).

So thanks for that Grak.  At least we have cleared up without a doubt the amount of money so far put into the company.  That should put to bed the discussions about them already having $30m in the company bank.


Edit to add: Followed by a good discussion on P2W around 19 minute mark

Did he say they have 30 mill in funding so far? Meanign 28 would have been from other investors, or am I getting that wrong?

No he said he put in 2m but was "committed" to fund the core product.

I meant hi comment abotu have 30 mill in funding, it wasn't that he put 30 mill in, so I don't think there is any confirmation how much funding they have in total before Kickstarter.

If they could confirm 30 million funding, then they would confirm it because assurance of financial stability would quickly bring them more backers.

If there's no confirmation about funding, it's because they don't want us to know how little confirmed funding they have.

Ashes is all about the marketing. People hear what they want to hear, as long as the message gives them enough to convince themselves. Look how many people have already stated that the team has $30M in funding, when in fact what they really said is that $30M is their total planned expenditure.

...... and that he is committed to spending the $30M. 

Don't forget that last bit because it's important. It basically means that the project has a line of credit. Whether that money is in Steven's bank account or the company doesn't really matter......that is until it becomes evident that the project is a lost cause. So it's basically a pledge that they will make the MMORPG they are able to with $30M, and Steven is committed to footing the bill, or the footing difference between what is crowdfunded and $30M. 

Also, I'd be willing to bet the cap is great than $30M depending on the situation. Also, it could be less, depending on the situation. It's like the game has a revolving line of credit up to $30M. That's great! It really is. However, that's not a guarantee of success, either. Go and google 38 Studios for some insight into how $30 million means very little when it comes to success.

Slapshot1188

That's not quite what he said.  He could certainly mean what you said.  He could also mean that he is committed to getting that extra money via loans or other investors.  I'd hazard that any Crowdfunding CEO would say they were "Committed" to funding the game.

So far he has delivered on 2 key promises.  He offered a refund and they are NOT P2W. I'm still somewhat skeptical of the full funding but I really have nothing but gut to go on there.  His track record (at least regarding the game) is good.  We shall see.

Samhael

Thanks, Grak -- you actually asked questions that had been floating around the internet but never actually directly asked to those guys.

Vrika

CrazKanuk said:

SpottyGekko said:

Ashes is all about the marketing. People hear what they want to hear, as long as the message gives them enough to convince themselves. Look how many people have already stated that the team has $30M in funding, when in fact what they really said is that $30M is their total planned expenditure.

...... and that he is committed to spending the $30M. 

Don't forget that last bit because it's important. It basically means that the project has a line of credit. Whether that money is in Steven's bank account or the company doesn't really matter......that is until it becomes evident that the project is a lost cause. So it's basically a pledge that they will make the MMORPG they are able to with $30M, and Steven is committed to footing the bill, or the footing difference between what is crowdfunded and $30M. 

Also, I'd be willing to bet the cap is great than $30M depending on the situation. Also, it could be less, depending on the situation. It's like the game has a revolving line of credit up to $30M. That's great! It really is. However, that's not a guarantee of success, either. Go and google 38 Studios for some insight into how $30 million means very little when it comes to success.

It's not a pledge because it doesn't create legal obligation. You can one day say that you're committed to something, the following day announce that you changed your mind and aren't committed any more, and in most cases there's not a shit anyone can do about it. Saying you're committed doesn't normally create a legal obligation.

Now if he puts a promise on the Kickstarter page that he will fund the company with up to $30 million of his own money if it's necessary to complete the game and/or make the promised refunds, that is a pledge. That can even be enforced in court if necessary.

Look at how Crowfall and Camelot Unchained did it in their Kickstarter info:
 "Mark Jacobs will add $2M dollars to the development budget himself. This is covered in more detail below"
 "ArtCraft took a minority investment round of $2.3 million last year"

Those are pledges that the project has at least that much money besides Kickstarter money to use. Ashes of Creation hasn't made any similar pledge.

CrazKanuk

Torval said:

Maurgrim said:

Not much new info about the game in the stream, I would like to hear more how crafting work, how will mobs interact in the world, will they just spawn in, will they roam, will they hunt other mobs ect.

Yeah, Rob brought up topics that had mostly been covered before. The direct question about the $30M was asked in sort of a new way. It's pretty obvious he was asking questions targeted just for this site's forum readers. What I mean is that it was mostly a recap of existing information distilled for easy mmorpg.com reader consumption.

Last weeks interview with Aggelos was great and he asked a lot of the types of questions you were looking for this round. They talked a little about death penalty, spell casting times and if spells will root, tank mechanics, and more. The tank mechanics I found particularly interesting.

Can you link that interview? When I hear tank, my ears perk up.

Shaigh

If their development progress goes fine and they can make significant progress money its unlikely there will be a problem. However, its rare for mmorpg projects to proceed without issues, particularly when a part of the game requires innovative progress.

Where EQ next went wrong was that they tried to innovate everything at the same time and that's bound to fail. With Ashes of Creation its mostly the node system although they do promise a game where you can do far more than you can do in your typical themepark.

I'm certain that regardless of how well development goes for this title they have to cut some of the features they promised or they run the risk of taking forever to release the game. Honestly, that happens to every game although kickstarters do have a tendency to promise far more.

If this game fails its not going to be because its a scam, its because they did what most developers do which is overestimate what they can deliver and didn't know how rough it is to make an mmorpg.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

CrazKanuk

Torval said:

CrazKanuk said:

Torval said:

Maurgrim said:

Not much new info about the game in the stream, I would like to hear more how crafting work, how will mobs interact in the world, will they just spawn in, will they roam, will they hunt other mobs ect.

Yeah, Rob brought up topics that had mostly been covered before. The direct question about the $30M was asked in sort of a new way. It's pretty obvious he was asking questions targeted just for this site's forum readers. What I mean is that it was mostly a recap of existing information distilled for easy mmorpg.com reader consumption.

Last weeks interview with Aggelos was great and he asked a lot of the types of questions you were looking for this round. They talked a little about death penalty, spell casting times and if spells will root, tank mechanics, and more. The tank mechanics I found particularly interesting.

Can you link that interview? When I hear tank, my ears perk up.

It's earlier in the video so you don't have to listen to the whole thing. It's the stream from 5/19.

You also get to see the RNG fail them as the ice cream truck once again drives past the front door while they're streaming.

Ugh! Skill-based combat? Soooooo, no falling asleep during raid bosses? Count me out!