KickStarter Mechajammer (formerly Copper Dreams) - cyberpunk RPG from Whalenought Studios

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Maybe the new art was the experimentations we made along the way.

 

[ArchAngel]

Nice to know they spent years on new art only to regress back to a much shittier version of the initial style

Maybe the whole game is just a social experiment for the Codex where they change the art style every 3 months and then read 'Dex reactions.

 

[Terenty]

Is this...mgs 1?

 

[Lacrymas]

I don't understand what is going on in these screenshots. I like that they are going back to the original idea, but why the weird pixelated sprites as models? And is the art style the only thing they've been working on? Is there content, lol? The art style kinda reminds me of Soulbringer, just the models are worse.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm convinced this is an elaborate joke

 

[conan_edw]

I don't even know how I finished it. I really can't understand how did the UI become this bad after it was functional before. I couldn't really tell how was the combat progressing but I was told the beta was finished after killing the second guy not knowing how. It really looks less developed than the previous iterations and their switch to sprites is really disappointing.
I really have no idea how are they planning to implement all the previous elements. This should be marked as a vaporware now.

 

[The Wall]

The moment Joe stopped dropping by here, I knew things will probably end up as shit. After 4 years (FOUR YEARS), hundreds of system's reworks, and 28 different instagram filters artstyles changed, I expected more, tbh. More than this low poly fart

 

[PEACH]

Is there content, lol?

Take a wild guess

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say no.

 

[Black Angel]

N-nani? ONE DAY CLOSER??!!

Why are the characters looks like some midget

 

[ColCol]

Damn. This one is genuinely upsetting. BAsed on Serpent and their vision I thought they would at least deliver something worth a try. But this just seems like something on par with a proof of concept.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

I think it looks pretty good. Need to see it in motion obviously, but the screenshots look all right.

Agreed. And despite all the art style change fuckery, what it looks like is actually a little besides the point anyway. Because the real issue is this:

And is the art style the only thing they've been working on? Is there content, lol?

I think it pretty save to say that this game by now has a bit of a troubled development history. After making the KS money they went silent for long stretches of time, moved/sold the house, went sick (not their fault obviously but it doesn't help) and the little time they had they spent on a billion art style changes which, no matter what they say, must have cost time and resources. I'd imagine that if you are a tiny developer you better be laser focused on what you want to achieve. That allows you to properly allocate resources which is absolutely necessary. I am sorry to say it but even Serpent in the Staglands was pretty lacklustre in some aspects and buggy in the beginning. So I think one takeaway from that is that you should spend your time on honing systems and content, not art styles. (Also, I think that game was supposed to get one more expansion it never got.) And from what I have seen of CD, not just the art style but also the combat went through significant changes. Both of this is a sure sign that they didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted to do or at least that they ran into deep problems and it didn't really pan out that way.

On an aside, I also noice that also Sensuki, who was supposed to playtest this extensively, apparently stopped working with them months ago? At least that was the impression I had, I don't wanna lie on the internet.

Well, if the final product rocks all of this would be water under the bridge. But now that we get a beta the impressions so far are "lol what the hell is this", with it being apparently tiny, not working properly in parts and with confusing combat and an uniformative and unintuitive UI.

Either way, all this doesn't exactly inspire confidence in how the final product will turn out.

So yeah, I am sorry to reiterate: This won't end well.

 

[Sensuki]

I haven't done any testing for Whalenought for a few years actually. They asked me to have a look at the Alpha when it launched, but I didn't have time.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

I haven't done any testing for Whalenought for a few years actually. They asked me to have a look at the Alpha when it launched, but I didn't have time.

And look where they are now.

Your help is needed Sensuki. The Codex, CRPGs, and the world needs you.

 

[Ninjerk]

 

[Ninjerk]

Much more successful run than last time. The beta ended much earlier (like after 5 minutes and my 3rd thug killed) when I played last night.

 

[Terenty]

Why is there a giant hand sticking out of the MC's ass?

 

[Ninjerk]

Why is there a giant hand sticking out of the MC's ass?

I think it's the augmentation that shoots lasers automatically at enemies.

 

[Ninjerk]

There's an update queued right now. Luckily I only have two lessons today. One that starts in about an hour and another one an hour or so after that so if it's a big update I might be able to get a decent amount on camera.

EDIT: Nevermind, only about 5MB.

 

[Ninjerk]

Tried to record the game sound to stream, but I don't hear it watching this clip. Anyways, now you can see the non-laser laser hand-ass prosthesis.

 

[Fenix]

Damn. This one is genuinely upsetting. BAsed on Serpent and their vision I thought they would at least deliver something worth a try. But this just seems like something on par with a proof of concept.

Don't bury them yet.

 

[Zombra]

I don't care what y'all say, that environmental art is fucking gorgeous.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

I haven't done any testing for Whalenought for a few years actually. They asked me to have a look at the Alpha when it launched, but I didn't have time.

And look where they are now.

It's all Sensuki's fault. Obviously.

 

[Ninjerk]

I like the new screenshot but it doesn't exactly make me want to jump up and dance. It's weird to see a dismal boiler room praised as "stunning". I hope this represents some diversity of palettes and not a reversion to "Dark brown on dark grey. That's the game!"

I was going through old tweets and screencaps of the art styles and just had to quote this

 

[Sykar]

I haven't done any testing for Whalenought for a few years actually. They asked me to have a look at the Alpha when it launched, but I didn't have time.

And look where they are now.

Your help is needed Sensuki. The Codex, CRPGs, and the world needs you.

Help us Obi Wan Sensuki, you are our only hope!

Spoiler