Shadowrun Shadowrun: Hong Kong Pre-Release Discussion [GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Infinitron]

Hi, Harebrained Schemes beta testers! https://steamdb.info/app/346940/graphs/

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/s...-hong-kong-and-a-sale-on-previous-titles.aspx

When Harebrained Schemes took to Kickstarter a third time earlier this year, it was with a brand-new approach to crowdfunding. The company was up front with backers that the game was going to be made regardless, but additional funding would add content and improve the final product.

Now, three years after finding success on Kickstarter for the first time, Harebrained Schemes is unveiling a bit of what we can expect from the upcoming adventure in Hong Kong. The title is still on track for this summer, and the team says development is coming along well (with a new teaser below).

With three successful Kickstarter campaigns under its belt, we asked the team to share thoughts on best practices. "Each Kickstarter is very different," says studio co-founder Mitch Gitelman. "It's hard to make a blanket statement other than to understand your audience, listen to your audience, and do right by your audience."

Harebrained Schemes says its success comes from engaging directly and transparently with its fanbase. Though, there is no small measure of business savvy that goes along with it.

"You really have to do your homework to sell what you're going to make, understand what it's going to cost to make it, and where you're getting the different parts of that funding," says co-founder Jordan Weisman. "I think our experience with the Kickstarter audience is that they always respond well to being transparent. If you know you're not going to get your entire budget from them, that's fine. I think the days when you had to go to Kickstarter and say, 'This game's not going to be made without you'? It's no longer the case."

Part of the trouble with crowdfunding though is a lack of understanding of development costs. Communicating budgets to potential backers continues to be a challenge. "It's true. Your audience doesn't understand what things cost to make," Weisman says. "Unfortunately, a lot of people in the industry don't understand what it costs to make things. It's illustrated by the number of Kickstarters that run dramatically over-budget or are funded by a publisher or don't ever make it to release when funded by crowdfunding. It's an art more than a science, and you need to really do your homework to reduce the variables as much as possible."

The team recognizes that there are unknowns and things happen, but considers respect for its audience the guiding principle. With nearly sixty people on staff now (compared to eight when the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter launched), Harebrained Schemes is growing, but uses that mantra when bringing on new hires.

That "values-based leadership," as Gitelman says, has led to extremely low turnover. In the time since the studio began its work, three staff members have voluntarily left. Two of those have returned to the fold.

 

[imweasel]

I downloaded the "new and improved" Dragonfall soundtrack from backerkit. To my despair the quality is abysmal, it sounds like somebody dropped their iPod into a toilet bowl or something. The "old" Dragonfall soundtrack on Steam, however, sounds perfectly fine.

BTW, the SRR MP3s from backerkit sound fine, but I am pretty sure that they are just the 128 kbps MP3s up-converted to 320 kbps MP3s. Which is pretty lame because that doesn't improve the quality.

Jut FYI HBS. If you happen to be reading.

 

[empyrean]

Check the spectrals. 128 CBR will cutoff at 16 kHz whereas 320 CBR will cutoff at 20.5 kHz.

 

[imweasel]

A spectral analysis says that the Dragonfall soundtrack from Backerkit cuts off at 8 KHz, which would explain why it sounds like shit. The 320 CBR Dragonfall soundtrack from Steam is perfectly fine, so I dunno what happened there.

And for the Shadowrun Returns soundtrack:

"Broken Cross" VBR from Steam:

Spoiler

"Broken Cross" 320 kbps CBR from Backerkit:

Spoiler

Not only does the spectral look pretty much exactly the same (except for some peaks in the latter), you can still recognize a cutoff at ~16 Khz in the 320 CBR MP3. This leads to believe that the 320 CBR MP3s are simply up-converted from a lower bitrate.

The SRR soundtrack from Backerkit does sounds slightly better, but not by very much.

 

[OSK]

Sounds go into my ears and tickle my brain.

 

[eXalted]

Soo, any improvements on the Editor?

Because seriously, who puts map tiles like this?!

How can you expect strong mod community with such tools...

 

[Major_Blackhart]

So when do we receive our e-mail information and keys for those that donated?

 

[Ovplain]

Lucky

IMO 2!

 

[PeachPlumage]

HBS have been the only studio that have released to date something that I have enjoyed. I am looking forward to this one.

 

[Ondoval]

I enjoy the first game.
Love Dragonfall.
I hope the third will be a great game to.

They should listen to Perturbator and put their Music in the game.

 

[Metro]

HBS have been the only studio that have released to date something that I have enjoyed. I am looking forward to this one.

The only studio to date? Of all time? You need to play more games.

 

[Ismaul]

I enjoy the first game.
Love Dragonfall.
I hope the third will be a great game to.

They should listen to Perturbator and put their Music in the game.

Perturbator

Using it as a soundtrack for my sci-fi pnp campaign right now. Also Bourgeoisie. Check it out.

 

[TedNugent]

I cannot wait to get drunk and play this game.

 

[Ninjerk]

I enjoy the first game.
Love Dragonfall.
I hope the third will be a great game to.

They should listen to Perturbator and put their Music in the game.

Perturbator

Using it as a soundtrack for my sci-fi pnp campaign right now. Also Bourgeoisie. Check it out.

You motherfuckers have me hooked on Pertubator right now

 

[GarfunkeL]

Don't forget Power Glove. Especially Streets of 2043 is a great piece.

 

[hoverdog]

I enjoy the first game.
Love Dragonfall.
I hope the third will be a great game to.

They should listen to PerturbatorBlack Rain and put their Music in the game.

 

[PeachPlumage]

HBS have been the only studio that have released to date something that I have enjoyed. I am looking forward to this one.

The only studio to date? Of all time? You need to play more games.

The only game so far funded via kickstarter and probably SiTS once it has matured a bit.

 

[Desmodus Rotundus]

I bet they still have the same crappy matrix gameplay. Should really learn from Shadowrun Unlimited mod.After playing this one it's hard to go back to vanilla for me.

 

[hemtae]

For whatever it's worth a revamped matrix was one of the stretch goals that was met.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/shadowrun-hong-kong/posts/1117572

 

[Desmodus Rotundus]

Thanx for the info, now I just have to hope that they succeed at making it more fun.

 

[Infinitron]

UPDATE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/shadowrun-hong-kong/posts/1239189

Full Steam Ahead!

Hey Chummers - Producer Chris here! Just taking a second to poke my head up from the depths of development to give you a quick check-in regarding where development ofShadowrun: Hong Kong stands.

Chris with a delicious frozen treat courtesy of the Bagel Fund!

Our pace has been accelerating steadily over the past few months to get us to the current breakneck speed that will carry us to the July 4th weekend. When we get there, we’ll celebrate our Content Complete milestone and the team will take a deep breath for the first time since it started getting "Toasty in Seattle" (we're not used to 80's in May, and the A/C was not up to the task - though recently improved!).

Content Complete doesn't mean we won't still be polishing the game after the 4th - it means we're not adding anything new to the experience after that. This is extremely important to the QA process. If basic functionality and structural pieces are continually shifting, it’s very difficult to get a stable, shippable game quickly. But, if we're just swapping out a placeholder wall tile for a final wall tile or a sketch portrait for a final portrait, it may not be risk-free (from your friendly neighborhood producer's POV), but it’s certainly less prone to create new bugs from a gameplay standpoint.

Speaking of bugs and QA, that process is up to full speed as well. Our bug lists are growing (as expected) while the rest of the new content goes in. And holy shrine spirits, is it ever going in! Missions are moving forward in leaps and bounds every day across the board, from gameplay and story to art and audio.

The new Matrix is finally being distributed in all its glory across every mission after months of hard work from multiple team members thanks to your generous Kickstarter backed funding goal. This is really exciting to see and we can't wait for you to experience it!

Also in the "Completely New to Shadowrun Thanks to Kickstarter Backers" category that’s rocking our cybersocks: animatics. If you got a chance to see the pre-launch trailer, you got a taste of what these are going to be like. As you know, we're big on storytelling, and while you don't have to worry that you'll be sitting through a bunch of movies instead of partaking of our writing team's talents, a little cinematic touch not only adds some great drama, but also some new perspectives on the world of Shadowrun. We hope you'll agree that the storytelling enhancement is powerful. Here are a few storyboard images:


These are just a few of a huge list of new items, both big and small, that will be coming together and wrapping up over the next few months to give you a fun-filled and memorable ride through the shadows of Hong Kong, 2056.

See you there,

Chris

P.S. We'll be heads-down working on the game here for the next month or so, but expect more updates from us in July as we get closer to launch (along with an announcement of our exact launch date!)

P.S.S. In case you haven't heard, Steam's Monster Summer Sale started today! Shadowrun Returns and Dragonfall -DC are available for only $2.99 and $4.49 and the Shadowrun: Hong Kong Deluxe Edition continues to be offered for pre-sale for the price of the base game, only $19.99. (The Deluxe Edition will be $29.99 at launch). Help us spread the word! Thanks!

 

[ArchAngel]

I am so excited for this game

 

[Jimmious]

I dunno, I will really happily play it but I don't see anything really new so far. It seems like a new campaign for the same game. Which is great but no to be excited for (for me)

 

[V_K]

They had better shown a screenshot of the new matrix instead.