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KickStarter Underworld Ascendant is a disaster

Nyast

Cipher
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
609
LOL. Yeah, still waiting for my physical goods. Thankfully I only ordered the boxed copy I think. I guess I'll put it on my shelf as a sort of talisman to ward me off from purchasing any more Kickstarter video games.

You never bought a bad video game before ( non-Kickstarter ) ? If so, did you decide to boycott video games in general ?

There are many good games that were Kickstarted, punishing other devs / projects for the mistakes of a few isn't doing any good.
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,294
LOL. Yeah, still waiting for my physical goods. Thankfully I only ordered the boxed copy I think. I guess I'll put it on my shelf as a sort of talisman to ward me off from purchasing any more Kickstarter video games.

You never bought a bad video game before ( non-Kickstarter ) ? If so, did you decide to boycott video games in general ?

There are many good games that were Kickstarted, punishing other devs / projects for the mistakes of a few isn't doing any good.
Stop shilling for Kickstarter, boy. A completed and shipped product is far different to one promised in Neverneverland.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
https://forums.otherside-e.com/t/august-12-2019-weekly-update-rough-hotfix-timeline/10142

August 12 2019 Weekly Update - Rough Hotfix Timeline

Morning everyone!

Back in the office and I finally have some rough estimates for all our platform hotfixes and releases.

PC/Mac/Linux:
Still aiming to release these all at once either later this week OR early next week. We addressed as many Mac and Linux bugs as we could as a result of our playtest sessions; thank you to those of you who volunteered your time to help us with this. The only blocker now is that the PC build still needs to have some fixes verified by QA, such as the thrown item bug which previously disabled items such as the Jewel of Befuddlement from being activated when thrown.

PS4:
The main blocker here is being addressed by our Lead Engineer, and tackles an autosave issue that was not working on console. This is the last bug being addressed before we ship, so we expect the PS4 hotfix to be rolled out later this week or mid-next week, depending on our engineer’s assessment.

Xbox:
We were lined up to submit the hotfix last week but need to send over some additional materials to our publisher before we continue. Working on those this week as well. We expect the Xbox build to launch around the same time as the PS4 build, if not sooner.

For those curious about what’s been fixed between all platforms, here’s a sneak peek at the hotfix notes:

Hotfix Notes
PC/Mac/Linux:
  • Underworld Ascendant is finally available on Mac and Linux!
  • Fixed rare braindead AI issue and improved enemy awareness.
  • The map can be freely accessed using the assigned hotkey.
    • Includes if the player changed the Map hotkey to a non-default setting.
  • Fixed a hitch when selecting water arrows for the first time in a session.
  • VSync is now default to ON for new installs.
  • Various LOD popping issues fixed.
  • The sound effect associated with targeting the Dash skill now ends properly.
  • Joystick combo moves should be easier to perform.
  • Better-looking spider webs
Feat Fixes:
  • You now get credit for “Combo Attack” feat when you land any attacks where you set up with movement and you have the associated skill.
  • Fix for axes and maces counting as swords in stat tracking for feats.
  • Fix for the Master Archer and Walking Arsenal (advanced version of Weapons Master) feats not being awarded properly.
  • Bark & Bite: Better assignment of credit for fire damage
PS4/Xbox:
Major Fixes & Improvements:
  • Arrows now impact and cause damage as expected.
  • Using a mana core in a Modus will lower water levels and reveal secret rooms.
  • Fixed rare braindead AI issue and made improvements to enemy awareness.
  • The floor has been smoothed out in several sections for better player movement.
  • Hunger state now persists across level and game loads. Bring a sandwich!
  • When an enemy gets up from a knockdown, it no longer dips below the ground.
  • Fixed an issue where players could fall through Resherak’s roof in Marcaul while trying to collect the Memora nearby.
Performance:
  • Various performance fixes to improve frame rate.
  • Improved performance of end cinematics
  • Fixed a hitch when selecting water arrows for the first time in a session
Feats
  • A picture of Resherak now appears whenever a player achieves a feat.
  • You now get credit for “Combo Attack” feat when you land any attacks where you set up with movement and you have the associated skill.
  • Fix for axes and maces counting as swords in stat tracking for feats.
  • Fix for the Master Archer and Walking Arsenal (advanced version of Weapons Master) feats not being awarded properly.
  • Bark & Bite: Better assignment of credit for fire damage
Audio
  • Players no longer hear a spinning trap sound during level loads.
  • Combat music now trails off when the player gets away from an angry enemy.
  • Breaking vases now makes appropriate smashy sounds.
  • The sound effect associated with targeting the Dash skill now ends properly
Misc Fixes:
  • Better-looking spider webs
  • Armor pieces can be unequipped by selecting them and pressing (Square)
  • Enemy corpses are now easier to pick up and move.
  • Subtitles are now properly spaced across the ending cinematic.
  • Wooden objects catch on fire and burn faster.
  • Joystick combo moves should be easier to perform.
  • Various bug fixes related to physics.
  • Various minor graphics bug fixes.

We expect these hotfixes to be the last improvements we make to Underworld Ascendant unless we receive reports of game-breaking bugs on any platforms. As many of you know, it’s been a personal company commitment to the game to work on it past launch to get it to its current state, and we are now reaching the end of the budget and timeline set aside for UA updates. After our hotfix releases, the [Boston] team will pivot its focus to SS3 and the unannounced IP that is still in pre-production.

On an unrelated note, still plugging along on the Kickstarter rewards. Will be sending out emails this week or the next most likely confirming addresses for physical delivery, as well as coordinating with backers on the delivery of some of their digital goods. If you have any questions about your Kickstarter pledge, need to change your shipping address on BackerKit, or want to check in on the status of a good, please email us at support@otherside-e.com . I check it every morning and roll through all the Kickstarter issues when I can.

Happy Monday!
 

Nyast

Cipher
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
609
LOL. Yeah, still waiting for my physical goods. Thankfully I only ordered the boxed copy I think. I guess I'll put it on my shelf as a sort of talisman to ward me off from purchasing any more Kickstarter video games.

You never bought a bad video game before ( non-Kickstarter ) ? If so, did you decide to boycott video games in general ?

There are many good games that were Kickstarted, punishing other devs / projects for the mistakes of a few isn't doing any good.
Stop shilling for Kickstarter, boy. A completed and shipped product is far different to one promised in Neverneverland.

Yes and so what ? I'm not trying to excuse the mess that Ascendant is. But putting erverybody in the same bag isn't doing anyone's favor. Or are you claiming that ALL kickstarters have been fraudulant and none of them were worth being supported ?
 

Glic2000

Educated
Joined
Nov 16, 2018
Messages
80
I definitely support Kickstarter in general. I've spent thousands on Kickstarter board games. Some of those have been really excellent games, and they never would have existed within normal retail channels. A couple of them were bad games, but even in those cases I was able to sell them or enjoy them in a B-movie sort of way.

I just don't think Kickstarter works as well for video games. It's too easy for a game to change dramatically in development. It's too easy for a studio to just toss up a bunch of 3D renderings, a fake video and a bunch of crazy ideas and then never make that into a proper game. And if the game does turn out to be good, just buy it later. No point wasting money on something that's still in development if it's already met its funding goal.
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,294
LOL. Yeah, still waiting for my physical goods. Thankfully I only ordered the boxed copy I think. I guess I'll put it on my shelf as a sort of talisman to ward me off from purchasing any more Kickstarter video games.

You never bought a bad video game before ( non-Kickstarter ) ? If so, did you decide to boycott video games in general ?

There are many good games that were Kickstarted, punishing other devs / projects for the mistakes of a few isn't doing any good.
Stop shilling for Kickstarter, boy. A completed and shipped product is far different to one promised in Neverneverland.

Yes and so what ? I'm not trying to excuse the mess that Ascendant is. But putting erverybody in the same bag isn't doing anyone's favor. Or are you claiming that ALL kickstarters have been fraudulant and none of them were worth being supported ?
None of them are. If you are so confident of your product, produce it, THEN sell it.

Just because one game turned out perfectly as the developer described after a 2 year gestation period on Kickstarter doesn't mean ALL Kickstarters are above board and worthy of support.
 

Nyast

Cipher
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
609
Allright, we'll agree to disagree then. Just because a few rotten projects you're ready to disregard all the work done by honest developers that put in genuine effort. I do not share that sentiment.
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
556
Quality Kickstarter games are definitely the exception, not the rule. Still, I'll only consider giving the publisher money if they have a finished product to sell me.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
Here's the big issue with kickstarter: Games with any real team size that had successful kickstarters barely had a tiny portion of the game's budget funded that way.
KCD had one of the most successful kickstarters for a video game at the time… and it was solely to prove to a publisher people were interested so they could get real funding. Kickstarter provided about 3.5%~ of the total funding for KCD if this article is accurate on development costs.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
Carl Ahlund, apparently lead designer of the unannounced project: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-ahlund-0816612/

Lead Designer
Company Name
OtherSide Entertainment
Dates Employed Aug 2016 – Present
Employment Duration 3 yrs 1 mo
Location Greater Boston Area


Lead Designer of mobile VR title Underworld Overlord.

Lead Designer of Unannounced Title.

He also worked on UA as a designer and was author of the last insider blog.

Makes me wonder if Tim Stellmach, lead designer of UA, is still working at Otherside. Was the layoffs also of LGS alumni, not only of the young QAs? More ironic if they really work on a Thief-like.
 

thesheeep

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2007
Messages
9,939
Location
Tampere, Finland
Codex 2012 Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Stop shilling for Kickstarter, boy. A completed and shipped product is far different to one promised in Neverneverland.

Exactly. I'm neither a charity nor a venture capital firm.
But you are certainly a fool if you ever supported a Kickstarter expecting anything out of it.
It was always known that supporting a KS (or similar) is buying a faint hope of something good coming from it, with the chances of that being about 50/50.
As long as you are aware of that and you don't spend your last money on it, I don't see any reason not to do it. The projects most likely to fail can be filtered out just looking at the campaign and maybe doing some digging.

I actually find that surprisingly many decent games came from KS that I supported, with the number of failures like UA being rather low, only exaggerated by negativity/confirmation bias.
Well, I didn't support UA (I just don't have that much nostalgia for Ultima games in general)...
 

MasterLobar

Angry OtherSide Refugee
Joined
Feb 17, 2019
Messages
358
Location
Killorn Keep
Is the community manager still with Otherside?

I think she'll do all the physical KS stuff, because that would be something they could in fact be sued for if they don't deliver it, and then she's out, too.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Sam should demand her title be upgraded to Producer before they lay her off. It's what she actually is and it's probably better for your CV than "Community Manager".
 

Butter

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
7,523
I managed to get a refund on this game pretty quick when I realized it was a total clusterfuck. That was 9 months ago. What are people still doing with this game installed on their PCs?
 

Nyast

Cipher
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
609
Official stance of Otherside about modding. Masterlobar could've written that in irony, but no, that's the real statement:

Unfortunately we're not able to officially incorporate mod tools into UA, but in general we are supportive of the game being modded.

Get that guys, they are SUPPORTIVE of the game being modded, too bad there are no modding tools.
 

Gord

Arcane
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
7,049
They are an easy target to make fun of and might even deserve most of it, but come on, limited modding can be done without official tools and the fraction of studios that actually offer them their games is pretty small...
 

MasterLobar

Angry OtherSide Refugee
Joined
Feb 17, 2019
Messages
358
Location
Killorn Keep
This Dewie Morgan guy is a strange fellow. I mean he is in his 50s or 60s. He doesn't really want to mod this game 10-20 are playing on the whole planet (and he is never going to do it).

https://forums.otherside-e.com/t/what-fan-mods-would-you-like-to-see/10014

I suspect he is a friend of a high person at Otherside or something like that. I think that's why he keeps posting in the totally dead OS forum from time to time.
 

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