KickStarter Phoenix Point - the new game from X-COM creator Julian Gollop

[razvedchiki]

guise this means that gollop will make a tru hardcore experience,since he doesnt have to appease dem casuals in order to ensure his retirement project survival of his game studio?

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

guise this means that gollop will make a tru hardcore experience,since he doesnt have to appease dem casuals in order to ensure his retirement project survival of his game studio?

Yes, this is the most likely scenario, just like unstable (sic) voltage promised. They will take the bribe money and use it to incline this game to truly epic proportions, support forever and years of free dlc to rival paradox, you will believe Bulgarians can fly.

 

[Space Satan]

 

[thesheeep]

When people care more about the launcher than the game. And shitheads are so triggered that they're okay with pirating the game. Get over yourself. Don't want, don't buy, but pirating because you cannot play it on Uncle Gaben's launcher is dumb.

This is more about the betrayal and breaking of promises (which is simply undeniable) by Snapshot than it is about Epic offering exclusives (which I and others agree, is a wise business decision).
Sure it is left to each on their own if they want to reward such developer behavior, or if they even care about it as long as a game in any shape comes out on any store.
But some feel quite strongly about these pesky morals.

 

[PanteraNera]

guise this means that gollop will make a tru hardcore experience,since he doesnt have to appease dem casuals in order to ensure his retirement project survival of his game studio?

Yes, this is the most likely scenario, just like unstable (sic) voltage promised. They will take the bribe money and use it to incline this game to truly epic proportions, support forever and years of free dlc to rival paradox, you will believe Bulgarians can fly.

Didn't ELEX turned out epic (no pun intended ) with a Meme?

 

[Alienman]

look at all the butthurt maggots that now come out like angleworms from earth after a heavy rain.
god forbid they would've asked for a refund because all of the other broken promises Gollop shoved in time.
this shit pales in comparison.

the writing was there on the wall that this kind of bait'n switch would happen.
now get your fuckin money back and get the fuck out and find another "legendary developer" whose cock to suck with your passivity.

nothing breaks a dolt's apathy than his denied GOG fetish.

Problem is, there is no more legendary cocks to suck, if you wanted to... suck some more I think they have all been spent and failed by now. I can't think of anyone right off the bat.

 

[thesheeep]

look at all the butthurt maggots that now come out like angleworms from earth after a heavy rain.
god forbid they would've asked for a refund because all of the other broken promises Gollop shoved in time.
this shit pales in comparison.

the writing was there on the wall that this kind of bait'n switch would happen.
now get your fuckin money back and get the fuck out and find another "legendary developer" whose cock to suck with your passivity.

nothing breaks a dolt's apathy than his denied GOG fetish.

Problem is, there is no more legendary cocks to suck, if you wanted to... suck some more I think they have all been spent and failed by now. I can't think of anyone right off the bat.

DW Bradley could always come around with Dungeon Lords 2!

 

[Themadcow]

Preface - I played the fuck out of Rebelstar Raiders (especially 2), I played the fuck out of Chaos on the Spectrum, I played the fuck out of X-Com and indulged a fair amount of time in various other Gollop games. Obviously I backed this game, but my terrible experience with being a higher tier funder on Bards Tale 4 meant that I didn't spend as much as I might.

I'm nowhere near as butthurt about this announcement as it seems a lot of people are. Yeah, I'm disappointed it isn't being distributed initially on GoG/Steam but if this deal means that Snapshot can make the game without cutting more corners due to overrunning budget (definitely) and time (definitely) then I'm fine with that. The Linux thing sucks hard for the 0.2% of people running Linux, but given that this game is waaay behind schedule it was always likely that something would be dropped... and that thing is usually Linux.

So what does this mean for me? Well, my game is now definitely getting finished. Hopefully to a higher standard than it was before this secured funding. A studio and developer I like is financially secure for a while. I'm going to get whatever shitty DLC they bring out for the first 12 months (I'm not expecting a lot) and for what? The downside of having to run it initially through Epic's crappy platform - which I've installed anyway because they've given away some pretty decent titles in the shape of Subnautica and Slime Rancher.

All those people saying "I backed this because of getting a Steam or GoG key" are clearly confused. I'm sure the reason for backing the game is because it looks like the best game of it's type since... well... Gollop's X-Com. I've played the backer builds and it's coming together really well. Now, they might have been swayed by the fact it's a Steam or GoG install - after all, that's what we expect these days, but it's not "why" they backed it... unless they're idiots.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

I'm sure the reason for backing the game is because it looks like the best game of it's type since... well... Gollop's X-Com.

Not sure if :fabulously optimistic: or :fake news:. And that's besides the "it's" part.

 

[PanteraNera]

I'm going to get whatever shitty DLC they bring out for the first 12 months (I'm not expecting a lot)

The Floating Base
During our Fig funding campaign, we had 3 stretch goals. The Drivable Vehicles goal was reached, but we sadly fell just short of our second goal, the Floating Phoenix Base at $850,000.

Don't fear, there's good news! We have decided to release the Floating Phoenix Base after the launch of the game as a DLC, and better than that, it will be absolutely FREE.

The Floating Phoenix Base.

The Floating Phoenix Base.

I am curious what the other DLC's might be like

 

[PanteraNera]

Some more information from UnstableVoltage at Discord

For the record, when I heard about the possibility of this deal I was the first to voice my concerns, loudly, about the amount of anger and upset it would cause, and how we’d be breaking a lot of trust and good will.

Mine was in response to someone asking how refunds would effect us - if say, 50% of our orders were refunded. I was trying to convey that we had taken into account that we would get refunds. Of course, we'd prefer not to, and we'd prefer everyone to be happy. The decision to take the Epic deal was one that wasn't easy and long thought over. It was taken in the best interests for the future of the studio

I also did not make the decision, just in case that wasn't clear. When I heard the deal was on the table, I was one of the people who voiced my concerns over the fact we would lose a lot of trust and good will, and that people would be disappointed at no longer getting the Steam keys we had initially promised

@Bane The fact the studio will be secure for years to come means we will still have a studio to update and produce content for the game - which ultimate does benefit customers

@realmruler Yes, it was always our intention to release on Steam and GOG. In fact, GOG got quite upset when we told them that we wouldn't be (after the deal with Epic was signed). We even set up Phoenix Point on Steam (even though it never got as far as a store page).

@SpiritOfFIre The backer / pre-order money wasn't going to last forever, and there's no telling how well the game would have sold on Steam. A poor launch could have resulted in lay-offs or even studio closure. The Epic deal removed that risk

Our agreement with Microsoft prevented us from selling early access anywhere other than our own store (which includes Steam). Also, by only selling through our own store we were avoiding given Steam a 30% cut

It should go without saying that none of this was done without our own lawyers also being involved. We weren't going to make any deals that would leave is in a legal hole

 

[Alienman]

I am curious what the other DLC's might be like

Hats. Lots of hats. Or pants.

 

[Mark Richard]

There are some circumstances where an Epic exclusivity deal might be warranted for a crowdfunded project, such as if the game had little chance of making it to release without additional funds. The community manager's words imply this wasn't the case, and the developer chose their own long term security over their fans by forgoing previous agreements for an extension on a job they only have in the first place by monetising the trust of 10,000 backers in a crowdfunding campaign. These backers paid development staff to do a job, not to have a job. What's the difference? The former is an artistic/business venture, the latter is social welfare.

The entertainment sector is not a charity. If Phoenix Point is successful then the studio would get security. If not, too bad. Should've made a game the market actually wanted. That's the way its supposed to work.

 

[Eyestabber]

Fucking lol at this dude UnstableVoltage PR speech. Its translation to human language is basically: "Guise, guise, I KNOW we stabbed you in the back. Trust me, I voiced my concerns about the whole "stabbing you in the back" thing, but in the end we decided stabbing you guys in the back was the way to go. Most importantly, we're confident that the money we got for stabbing you guys in the back will make it all worth it. I know some of you may be a little upset, but you should focus on the positive side of things: we're confident that stabbing you in the back was the right choice AND we're confident that we'll get away with it. Oh, and btw, the money you guys gave us is chump change, so fuck you. You're gonna suck XBOX + chink spyware cock and you're going to like it."

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I'd like to see you in Epic's shoes.

Not even touching the launcher, what makes you think we'll go near them shoes?

 

[Themadcow]

I'm sure the reason for backing the game is because it looks like the best game of it's type since... well... Gollop's X-Com.

Not sure if :fabulously optimistic: or :fake news:. And that's besides the "it's" part.

What can I say? I've enjoyed what I've played. The targeting mechanic and ballistics are vastly superior to anything in Firaxis games and the boss encounters are genuinely epic as you get massive enemies smashing through buildings to get to you. The squad mechanics are excellent and the system forces you into tough decisions regarding ammo and willpower. The scope of the game was obviously bigger than it's budget from the outset so if this deal helps reach those ambitions then I'm happy.

Btw, screw grammar - my school got knocked down to build a McDonalds.

 

[Alienman]

Find it funny that the deal with MS wasn't enough. Didn't he move to Bulgaria or something to get the most bang for his buck for development? What is eating up all that money? I don't believe a word they are saying tbh. They saw money being given out and grabbed it with glee.

 

[Perkel]

Games aren't inherently Steam exclusive though. There is nothing preventing Devs from putting their games on GoG or even Discord's store other than consumer interest. You're trading the accidental monopoly of Steam for an intentional and forced one by Chinese controlled Epic.

Games aren't inherently Epic exclusive though. There is nothing preventing DEvs from putting their games on Steam or even Discord Store other than consumer interest. You're trading the accidental monopoly of Steam for company that tries to make dent into Steam monopoly market.

I mean if you don't like garbage at least be consistent.

GOG has the best service and see where it is. Nowhere near steam so the idea that you can provide best service to people and people will magically come is as naive as being hot blonde in lingerie walking through Tihuana at night thinking everything will be fine.

Fact is that at the end of the day Epic seems to have capability to make a dent in market and soon Steam will not be monopoly anymore and suprise suprise it will have to compete with others for devs asking for better deals.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Games aren't inherently Steam exclusive though. There is nothing preventing Devs from putting their games on GoG or even Discord's store other than consumer interest. You're trading the accidental monopoly of Steam for an intentional and forced one by Chinese controlled Epic.

Games aren't inherently Epic exclusive though. There is nothing preventing DEvs from putting their games on Steam or even Discord Store other than consumer interest. You're trading the accidental monopoly of Steam for company that tries to make dent into Steam monopoly market.

You drunk buddy?

 

[GrainWetski]

Find it funny that the deal with MS wasn't enough. Didn't he move to Bulgaria or something to get the must bang for his buck for development? What is eating up all that money? I don't believe a word they are saying tbh. They saw money being given out and grabbed it with glee.

Obviously you shouldn't believe anything they say. Not directed at you, but developers aren't your friends. I'm not sure who is responsible for making people believe they are, but it's such an incredibly stupid trend. I guess I'll blame gamejournos because they're such fucking idiots even if they don't actually have that much influence.

Soon people will opt to pay extra for their cars because some PR posted a meme on Twitter.

the boss encounters are genuinely epic as you get massive enemies smashing through buildings to get to you.

Sounds epic. Epic for the win.

 

[Alienman]

".... yeah"

 

[Themadcow]

Find it funny that the deal with MS wasn't enough. Didn't he move to Bulgaria or something to get the most bang for his buck for development? What is eating up all that money? I don't believe a word they are saying tbh. They saw money being given out and grabbed it with glee.

Snapshot was mostly based out of Bulgaria before Phoenix Point was announced, with a lot of the Chaos Reborn team hailing from there - so I'd imagine that was factored into the costs. What has hit them in the pocket is almost certainly being about a year late (so far). A year of paying developers is a lot for a small studio...

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Find it funny that the deal with MS wasn't enough. Didn't he move to Bulgaria or something to get the most bang for his buck for development? What is eating up all that money? I don't believe a word they are saying tbh. They saw money being given out and grabbed it with glee.

Snapshot was mostly based out of Bulgaria before Phoenix Point was announced, with a lot of the Chaos Reborn team hailing from there - so I'd imagine that was factored into the costs. What has hit them in the pocket is almost certainly being about a year late (so far). A year of paying developers is a lot for a small studio...

They are offering 1k-2k euro for 3d artist a month.

https://www.jobs.bg/job/4717938

 

[Perkel]

You drunk buddy?

No i just sip tasty beer and try to enrage steam fanboys.
It has been immence fun lately with every other indie and bigger game coming to epic store.
It never gets old when steam fanboys argue that Steam monopoly is actually good.

 

[Grotesque]

Well, my game is now definitely getting finished. Hopefully to a higher standard than it was before this secured funding.

not higher, another standard

@SpiritOfFIre The backer / pre-order money wasn't going to last forever, and there's no telling how well the game would have sold on Steam. A poor launch could have resulted in lay-offs or even studio closure. The Epic deal removed that risk

So after they whored themselves with making it look kid friendly with an artistic direction so bland and generic it's obnoxious and after they made the UI console-centric, they still don't have the confidence that the game will sale well?
I say they change the bases layout to XCOM's ant colony style (like another whores who develop Xenonauts 2 shamelessly did) and make combat real time with pause, to increase their chances of a hit game.

So imagine on the long term, if the game is a flop, all the studio employees will know they're only standing there like some zombies kept upright by crutches made of Epic's money.