Game News Jagged Alliance: Flashback Kickstarter confirmed

This is doomed to fail. To bad as someone said, people will think nobody wants a PROPER JA2 sequel...

 

Soccer dads, is this a joke ?

 

A proper Jagged Alliance sequel is simply not doable within those budgets. The original JA2 development took at least $4 mio (in 1998!) and nowadays the costs of creating graphics are definitely more expensive (doesn't matter if 3D or high-res 2D).

Take the new X-Com and you know how much a proper sequel would cost.

 

I backed it earlier.
Thanks for killing my hope people.
You could have at least waited for the updates and let me dream a little more

 

You sound like a BRO but you work for the devil, so hope you have a thick skin, daring to venture in here. So far, FC's pitch isn't very convincing at all. What will your bosses do if they fail? Write off the licence and dump it in storage?

 

So, if 4 mil would be barely enough, what do we get for 350,000$?
No, really, I am really curious as to what's the reasoning behind this kickstarter, throw something at the wall and see if it sticks?
People should be grateful for getting any JA sequel rather than getting none at all? If so, I'm getting a strong feeling of deja vu, similar to Back in Action. I'm sure it'll end well.

 

Yes, that's basically what they said in the interview on RPS.

Problem?

 

I'd back it if it was being made by ex Sir-Tech canada folks, but who the fuck is Full Control?

Edit:

Multiplatform? Fuck off.

 

I'd back if they make a Calvin 'Barking Mad' Barkmore a hirable merc.


Ok that was a joke but the more I think about it, the more I think that would be the best thing ever.

 

And we all know that for a game to be a proper Jagged Alliance 2 sequel graphics is paramount. Tactical turn based combat system and weapon choices should maybe get a second or two of programming time, and they can hire a 1st year women's studies student to work on AI.

How about this (an out-of-this-world, ground breaking, Earth-shattering idea, I know, I might get committed for just writing it):

1. Copy the combat system and weapons from JA 2 v1.13. Pure Ctrl+C / Ctrl + V. Do not add nor subtract anything.
2. Improve the AI. In order to do that, hire competent AI programmers. This should take a large chunk of the budget. People competent in AI do not work for scraps. If unable to do that: Ctrl+C / Ctrl + V JA2 AI.
3. Improve the user interface, which was probably the worst part of JA 2. Tooltips are your friend.
4. After devoting the necessary funds for the implementation of the first three points, determine the scope of the game world and the quality of the graphics and audio according to what remains in the budget. Fans of JA 2 are the fans of its turn based combat, and would be able to live even with X-Com (the original one, not the new necrophiliac edition) graphics.
5. Now you have at least a JA 2 spiritual successor, and at a higher budget (say, 3 millions like Wasteland 2), the game would have proper graphics.

.

 

Agreed. This is front page Codex news. It's fucking Jagged Alliance - even if this completely bombs (and it likely will), the game is one of Codex all-time favourites and has a lot of rpg elements.

As for the kickstarter ... I'm going to have to see a lot more details on how the game would look like before I make up my mind about it. Sure, it's nice that the game would be available DRM free and that there will be a linux version. But what about the actual gameplay - they say that "Flashback is a new game, built around the core gameplay mechanics from the original games, various elements from the 1.13 patch and some new ideas." Disappointment that they are not just taking the gameplay from the 1.13 as a base and then building on it aside, what specifically is from original, what from 1.13 and what is new? Action points, they are in, right? I know the question sounds silly, but after the new XCOM it apparently needs to be asked. They say they have fog of war, but do they have an actual field of view like in the original? How is cover handled? Can I go prone to make myself harder to hit and gain benefits from bipods? What about stealth? Camo? Suppression? Sniper spotting? Scopes and tunnel vision? Damage and health recovery? Equipment condition and repair? How exactly is the strategic layer of the game handled?

I backed Inxile and Obsidian based on the initial pitch - I didn't need many details because I know they have the right people on their teams. I may bitch on the forums about the particular choice of gameplay mechanic, but in the end I know what to expect from them. The people behind this kickstarter don't have that - they need to show exactly what they are aiming for. Preferably with something stronger then just words. I need to know if I'm pledging for a new Jagged Aliance or a new XCOM disappointment.

TL;DR: until further notice.

 

In their new update ( http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079547763/jagged-alliance-flashback/posts/462594 ) they explain some things. Apparently there will be an overland map that you can travel on and take towns, fortify them with militia, and there are retaking attempts by enemies. It is amazing how these people can be so utterly inept at saying WHAT exactly they mean, using words like missions and levels.

Looks pretty good on that end. Shows there are controlled enemy sectors, your team traveling on the map, and that home base, which seems like Omerta with a purpose.

And here's another would-be disaster on their communication side of things, had they not explicitly listed examples:

But then they specify:

Blow tunnels into the ground? Splitting water? What the fuck? It looks like full destruction to me (besides maybe collapsing buildings, but I don't care about that).

 

They seem bad at communicating things.

 

Goddamn Danes.

 

Quite.

The JA series also had great humour and fleshed out characters with personality, though. Without that it's "just" X-Com or Silent Storm but ya it would still be something

 

You cannot just copy paste features. The source code must be quite a jumble, otherwise modding would have gotten anywhere. (I know they did quite a lot with it, but failed in the areas that count, a real data driven architecture or externalization)
The competent AI programmer would probably refuse to work on this mess or suggest the whole thing better be coded from scratch.

It will never happen.

 

so that's what will come out of this, a "cool" game