KickStarter Underworld Ascendant is a disaster

[MasterLobar]

No way. They're hanging on.

They can't hang on.

They have zero revenues. They have no other games in the pipeline. They have no publisher. They have no investors. They have no financial reserves. They have to pay for two teams in Austin and Boston. They have to repay Starbreeze $200,000 a month.

They can't complete SS3 and they can't release even a massively downscaled version any time soon. "More than halfway completed" was a lie. The only thing they have is a 30-second trailer. They don't have an alpha. They don't even have a playable prototype or anything close to that.

They are finished.

It's not because I'm a disappointed backer. It's the hard, cold truth.

 

[Mustawd]

They have zero revenues. They have no other games in the pipeline. They have no publisher. They have no investors. They have no financial reserves. They have to pay for two teams in Austin and Boston. They have to repay Starbreeze $200,000 a month.

They do actually have financial reserves that will keep them afloat for another year or so.

 

[unfairlight]

Could be that the studios run independently from each other, so that the other studio has their own set of cash or something. It's been radio silence for a while so who knows.

Pretty embarrassing that Codex staff genuinely believed this game will be good.

When I said the game was going to be garbage, I was rated negatively. Who's laughing now! :todd:

 

[MasterLobar]

They do actually have financial reserves that will keep them afloat for another year or so.

No, they don't. I refer you to my recent posts in this thread and the SS3 thread in which I collected evidence that demonstrates they are running out of cash in the coming weeks and months.

 

[Nyast]

No way. They're hanging on.

They can't hang on.

They have zero revenues. They have no other games in the pipeline. They have no publisher. They have no investors. They have no financial reserves. They have to pay for two teams in Austin and Boston. They have to repay Starbreeze $200,000 a month.

They can't complete SS3 and they can't release even a massively downscaled version any time soon. "More than halfway completed" was a lie. The only thing they have is a 30-second trailer. They don't have an alpha. They don't even have a playable prototype or anything close to that.

They are finished.

It's not because I'm a disappointed backer. It's the hard, cold truth.

We don't know what they have or don't have. They could've negociated a bank loan or invested more personal savings for all I know.

 

[MasterLobar]

No bank would agree to lend them money in the current situation. They have no collateral they could provide and no revenues they could use to make the interest payments.

And personal savings? I mean, even if they downscale SS3 massively, we are talking $10-12 million over the next 12-18 months (remember: Starbreeze). That's not something these guys can cough up, even if they wanted to.

Plus, they already chipped in $3.5 million last August (together with two investors). The community manager confirmed the company is using these funds - and after Starbreeze opted out only these funds - since October 2018.

The numbers just don't add up. This company is done.

 

[Mustawd]

They received large loans from a bank recently. Company is fine financially.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://forums.otherside-e.com/t/june-11-2019-weekly-update/10085

June 11 2019 Weekly Update

Morning everyone! I took an unexpected work break from Wednesday to yesterday, but I’m back in the office catching up on posts. So here’s what’s up:

What are you up to?
I was making a new UA trailer for the console release for the last two weeks, which I shared a rough cut of with our KS Backers on Discord. Super secret. This week, I’m taking a crack at updating the official KS Game Manual this week with our Update 4 Lore, as well as the Art Book.

How’s Update 4 and Console work?
Still working on Update 4 for PC, which should match or release a few days earlier than the console release. Both of those are slated for before the end of this month. Console has been blocked the last couple of days on certification issues which is a little frustrating, since the entire process stops if a single flag is raised, but that’s apparently pretty normal for console development. As I’ve talked about before, OSE Boston’s internal team is mainly handling the console port with some assistance from another external contractor, which has slowed progress on Update 4. 505’s main priority after Update 3 was console release, which is why the bulk of Update 4 work was already started during Update 3’s development.

Mac and Linux?
Following up from my post in April, our external Mac and Linux porters have been taking a swing at UA for the last month or so once the work for Update 4 has slowed down. Mac/Linux release should still hopefully align with our Update 4, which should release before the end of this month. If not, we expect it should release a few weeks after Update 4.

Checking in on the external developer’s progress logs, it looks like they recently resolved some shader and visual glitch issues, some of which were unique to launching the game from Steam.

How’s E3?
Rich, Walter and Paul are at E3 this week pitching System Shock 3 and our unannounced project. We won’t be able to share news on either until a publisher is finalized.

In the office, we’re still trucking away on Update 4 / Console / Kickstarter work.

Speaking of which, I’ve gotten an influx of emails and DM’s from backers who need their address updated on BackerKit. The easiest way to reach me is to email us at support@otherside-e.com with your registered BackerKit email and with your new address.

I have to manually update your addresses so that I can make sure Fangamer’s copy of addresses is also updated. Physical copies should start going out this summer / relatively soon, so if you are moving and want to make sure your physical copy is in safe hands, I might suggest putting down a relative’s or close friend’s address if you’re concerned.

 

[BEvers]

Console has been blocked the last couple of days on certification issues which is a little frustrating

 

[MasterLobar]

They received large loans from a bank recently. Company is fine financially.

 

[Mustawd]

They received large loans from a bank recently. Company is fine financially.

Oh, I thought we were both playing the “pull shit out of our ass” game.

 

[MasterLobar]

Mustawd: You're making stuff up, and you know it. That's all.

Edit: This is nothing personal. I did not intend to offend you and I'm not seeking a fight, so I won't comment any further. The last post was satire - which seemed obvious to me - but if it did in fact offend you, I'm happy to delete it.

 

[luj1]

I'm siding with MasterLobar, his extravagant attire and well-groomed hair clearly suggest a fine nobleman. The peasant is not to be trusted in matters of coin.

 

[Katana1000S]

They received large loans from a bank recently. Company is fine financially.

Pure lies.

 

[Mustawd]

This whole thread is fake news.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This whole thread is fake news.

Underworld Ascendant is a disaster

The thread title is true enough.

 

[taxalot]

By that point, salvaging UA to try to save their reputation feels like wasted money. Not only this game is unsalvageable, but this clearly will not make people forget.

I believe that the ONLY thing they could do to both get them more money in the pipeline and good feedback is to release something System Shock 3 related. Something playable. At least make a good vertical slice and let journalists play them, or better yet, a short demo. Make people understand that "UA was a disaster but look, we have a much better grasp on this game". This might not be enough, but STILL, it's something. If people are enthusiastic enough, try making a kickstarter which in turn might convince some publishers or banks.

Right now, everyone is watching them die instead.

 

[Efe]

how could they come up with anything satisfactory for you?
if they released ss3 right now you would be screaming about how they wasted ua funds on ss3 or some such

 

[Silentstorm]

The only good thing about UA is that it gave us new entries for Kickstarter disasters lists.

 

[luj1]

Sometimes it's best a company should die and its rotten remains used as a substrate for something new and better (hopefully).

 

[JarlFrank]

By that point, salvaging UA to try to save their reputation feels like wasted money. Not only this game is unsalvageable, but this clearly will not make people forget.

I believe that the ONLY thing they could do to both get them more money in the pipeline and good feedback is to release something System Shock 3 related. Something playable. At least make a good vertical slice and let journalists play them, or better yet, a short demo. Make people understand that "UA was a disaster but look, we have a much better grasp on this game". This might not be enough, but STILL, it's something. If people are enthusiastic enough, try making a kickstarter which in turn might convince some publishers or banks.

Right now, everyone is watching them die instead.

I doubt the team that made the desaster that is UA would be able to provide a decent SS3 demo.

 

[Katana1000S]

how could they come up with anything satisfactory for you?
if they released ss3 right now you would be screaming about how they wasted ua funds on ss3 or some such

You sir are a SHILL, a White Night moron too perhaps, come back when there is something to praise about this big pile of donkey shit.

Seriously, anyone who defends this indefensible steaming pile of bovine and feline lumps of stodgy cow excretion feces deserves to be defecated upon by all and sundry.

 

[Efe]

i'm not defending them at any point. Saying lobar is too angry to be satisfied with anything is shilling now?
Why don't you try tumbler as your echo chamber?
I'm not even sure what the fuck is white night, drop the millennial terminology if you want to get your message across.

 

[Cael]

i'm not defending them at any point. Saying lobar is too angry to be satisfied with anything is shilling now?
Why don't you try tumbler as your echo chamber?
I'm not even sure what the fuck is white night, drop the millennial terminology if you want to get your message across.

I think he meant "white knight" but with typical millennial "care" towards spelling and proper grammar in general.

 

[Katana1000S]

i'm not defending them at any point. Saying lobar is too angry to be satisfied with anything is shilling now?
Why don't you try tumbler as your echo chamber?
I'm not even sure what the fuck is white night, drop the millennial terminology if you want to get your message across.

Says you with the moron avatar that looks like a shill moron who supports company's no matter the goofes they made, you complete and utter groveling shill, why don't you join them on their official forums, sniffing each others farts and patting each other on the back at regulars intervals ?

FFS: if you even come on here with your defensive White Knight good guy attitude, at least try play this absolute shambles mess of a game for more than 5 minutes ... don't just parachute yourself into a conversation with your moronic lilly livered pathetic ... Oh, think of the Devs whine ... grow up and come back when you've played this sham of a game for more than 5 seconds.

We are condemning these has been producers for lazy haphazard could not care less anymore has been ... once were good but now stale muppets telling multiple lies and even telling pure lies months ago about how SS3 is more than half finished but have nothing more to show than some really awful bad screenshots ... do you really think, these cretins who wont get a publisher anyway (so moot point) do you really in your wildest dreams think they are going to pull off SS3 Do You?

if this game has any value at all ... and i sincerely mean this, its only value is for future developers to look at and see first hand how wrong it can go when talent has evaporated and you tell pure lies to your customers and backers, day in and day out.

Stop your Shilling, stop your White Knighting, please.