KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Prototype Thread

[Jaesun]

Yeah, at this point I'm just backing it and hoping for the best.

IF some more solid and definite INCLINE information comes out, then I'll up my pledge.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I am in the same boat, however, these guys really did create some magical shit through several titles so it was no fluke. I believe.

 

[CyberP]

I am in the same boat, however, these guys really did create some magical shit through several titles so it was no fluke. I believe.

Yeah. I would be ranting and raving at this point if it wasn't for shit like this:

STRETCH TRADITIONAL RPG BOUNDARIES

Stretch Goals will allow us innovate even further, adding companion creatures, co-op, user-crafted content, and more…

• Crave fellowship and a companion creature? Vote for the addition of a vorpal bunny or mini-brain.
• Need a fighter's prowess in combat, a mage’s spell craft, or a thief's lock pick skills? Invite a friend to join you online for a cut of the loot. All your buddies’ offline? Use a Doppelganger Gem to borrow a friend's character as an invulnerable ethereal companion AI. Afterward, your friend will receive a message, with video highlights and rewards.
  

And certain other nagging issues.

 

[LESS T_T]

Theme music is uploaded to Youtube:



Art gallery (including three sceeenshots from the prototype): https://www.flickr.com/photos/130354179@N07/

 

[Abelian]

The RPG Masterpiece lost for a generation returns

For a moment there, I thought I was watching another Grimoire pitch. Backed.

 

[Infinitron]

UPDATE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant/posts/1126518

Halfway through our first day and already over $165,000 pledged towards Underworld Ascendant! Crazy cool. The team and I feel humbled, and hugely thankful for your support.

Wonderful to see how many of you are reaching out with your comments, suggestions, and thoughts on where we should go with the game. When we were developing the original Underworlds we did it largely in isolation from our fans. Much better this way! We encourage you to keep the dialog coming.

Most of all, we are thrilled to have you along with us on the creative journey to shake up the fantasy RPG genre once again.

Finally, I wanted to acknowledge that some of the descriptions we have of rewards and the like on the Kickstarter page could be written more clearly. For instance, a number of people asked if they get the full digital copy of the game at the $20 and $25 dollar pledge tiers? Absolutely yes! The use of “discounted” on these tiers was just to try to say that the full retail price of the game will be higher than these pledge tiers, since we want to offer our Kickstarter backers the game at discount.

We are revising the text to improve clarity (except the pledge tier descriptions themselves, where changes are not allowed once you go live.) We have also added some additional Q&A to the FAQ. I ask your forbearance while we work through these kinks. While we are veteran game developers, we are comparatively new to running a Kickstarter, especially one of this scale and complexity. But we’re learning.

Updated FAQ:

• Where can I go to discuss the game with other fans?
  Our community forums are up and running at http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/
  
  
• Is this a “spiritual successor” to Ultima Underworld? Is it Ultima Underworld 3? Or what?
  Underworld Ascendant is a genuine part of the Underworld series. We have the rights to use all of the elements of the original Underworld games, except for the Ultima brand itself. The characters, monsters, settings, and stories from the original Underworld games are all available for us.
  
  
• What’s the story with some people getting these backer exclusive items?
  The backer-exclusive items found in stretch goals and pledge tiers will be fun and distinctive awards, but we’ll work make sure that these provide no competitive edge over players who might not have them, so as to keep the game balanced for all.
  
  
• How will I get my poster/boxed set/physical item?
  We’ve partnered with manufacturing and shipping professionals to make sure physical goods delivery goes smoothly, leaving us to focus on what we do best. Shipping to the United States is free. International shipping will require $15 above your selected pledge level. So, for example, if you select the $100 pledge level, your total pledge should be $115 with international shipping.
  
  
• I have a favorite feature from the original games. Will it be in Underworld Ascendant?
  Our team is committed to staying true to what made Underworld great. But we will also keep making it better! Letting us know what’s important to you is a great reason to join our forums athttp://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/

• The Pioneer and Pioneer's Progeny pledge levels mention getting the game at a discount. What does this mean?
  If you pledge at the Pioneer or Pioneer's Progeny level (and all levels above, of course) you will get a full digital copy of the game. The discount reference refers to the fact that at the $20 and $25 dollar levels the price is less than what the full retail price will be upon the game’s release.
  
  
• Will the game be DRM-free?
  We plan to have a DRM-free PC release, as well as a Steam version.

 

[Ulminati]

I'm in for the 20 kwabux cheapskate tier, if only for Looking Glass nostalgia. Like the people above me wrote, I've some serious doubts about the viability of those stretch goals. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Infinitron]

My advice to OtherSide Entertainment: http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=114.0

1) It's evident now that the audience of interested backers just isn't that huge. With that in mind, it may have been wise to set a slightly higher minimum tier for getting the game. Like, a $25 or $30 Early Bird tier. Shroud of the Avatar had relatively pricey minimum tiers and that worked for them. More money from less people.

2) Putting an exclusive in-game item in every single tier was a mistake. In other successful Kickstarter campaigns that I've participated in, the minimum tier for getting the game typically has no exclusives. Instead, an exclusive in-game item is placed at the tier one or two places above it (which is typically around $50 or $60). This entices people to upgrade from the minimum tier to that one. By placing exclusives at every tier, you've cheapened them to the degree that people will just ignore them. Copper Ring, Silver Ring, Gold Ring, who cares?

It would have been wise to show the fans a preview of these tiers before launching the Kickstarter. inXile did that with the Torment Kickstarter back in 2013 and they received a lot of valuable feedback.

 

[Apexeon]

Yeah, at this point I'm just backing it and hoping for the best.

IF some more solid and definite INCLINE information comes out, then I'll up my pledge.

Yeap may as well. I chipped in and sent them a few casks of wine.
If I spot incline I will send them wine not made in china.

 

[Jaedar]

My biggest concern is those stretch goals. I'm almost hoping they don't reach any of them because they mostly sound unnecessary and expensive. Coop is especially iffy in any sort of cost/benefit analysis.

 

[Zed]

My biggest concern is those stretch goals. I'm almost hoping they don't reach any of them because they mostly sound unnecessary and expensive. Coop is especially iffy in any sort of cost/benefit analysis.

You know a KS is shit when backers don't want it to reach a certain goal.

 

[Infinitron]

Why haven't their SOTA buddies made a Kickstarter update pointing their backers at the new KS? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portalarium/shroud-of-the-avatar-forsaken-virtues-0/posts

That's the surest way to succeed on Kickstarter. At least they posted about it on their site: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=47929

 

[Durante]

What they need to do is get Chris Roberts to link them in a Star Citizen update. There should be at least some overlap.

 

[Darkzone]

Why haven't their SOTA buddies made a Kickstarter update pointing their backers at the new KS? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portalarium/shroud-of-the-avatar-forsaken-virtues-0/posts

That's the surest way to succeed on Kickstarter. At least they posted about it on their site: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=47929

If that was so easy. Shroud of the Avatar had Richard Garriott, they don't. Shroud of the Avatar had 22k backers. They have after one day 3400 backers, so i would guess that they will reach 12k backers in 29 days. The difference will be also in the amount of pledged money for a backer. SotA had $86 in the end and UA has currently $58. So yes there will be around a million in difference, between them both.

 

[Infinitron]

Hey Zombra, Tim Stellmach answered your question about stealth: http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=115.0

 

[Infinitron]

$200k of funding reached in 25 hours.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

If Otherside blow their wad prematurely and callin favours on day1 they lose the ability to momentum surf and manipulate over the 30 days.

Also, I think they need to leverage the "Looking Glass Rebirth" good will in their press. There are plenty of people who would jump on board if they heard of a LGS rebirth that wouldn't make the connection through an underworld campaign only.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Unless the engine has made huge advancements I can't possibly see Unity running well in a game like this. I will back it in spirit.

I'd hope they switch to Unity 5 once it's available, and in the meantime keep prototyping with Unity 4.

Might & Magic X has shown that this engine can reach it's limits fast.

Speaking of Unity, Warhammer End Times will be the first game using Unity 5 commercially. Look at the screenshots:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_warhammer_end_times_vermintide_announced-16248_en.html

Looks very good.

 

[Zombra]

Also, I think they need to leverage the "Looking Glass Rebirth" good will in their press. There are plenty of people who would jump on board if they heard of a LGS rebirth that wouldn't make the connection through an underworld campaign only.

Yeah. I didn't even know that Thief and SS2 were made by the same people who did Underworld until yesterday, and it took a lot of reading to put it together. Having missed the Underworld boat back in the day, I wouldn't have looked twice at this KS without Codex encouragement; but if it said "From former Looking Glass" across the top, I would have immediately been more like, holy shit, take my $.

 

[Rostere]

Ugh, the way they mention Skyrim in their pitch...

 

[Alchemist]

Ultima Underworld was the true roots of "popamole" RPGs amirite?

Spoiler

Just kidding - I'm excited about this KS and I'm in for $20 at least (might raise it later). Their pitch is very strong - the kind of interactivity they are promising will be amazing if they can pull it off.

 

[Jack Dandy]

Man, 200K already. They're actually doing pretty fucking good!

 

[Darkzone]

My guess is that they land around 750k. Naturally i would wish them a 1.1mio, but also below the 1.2mio, because the Co-Op mode is not necessary.

 

[Infinitron]

Also, I think they need to leverage the "Looking Glass Rebirth" good will in their press. There are plenty of people who would jump on board if they heard of a LGS rebirth that wouldn't make the connection through an underworld campaign only.

Yeah. I didn't even know that Thief and SS2 were made by the same people who did Underworld until yesterday, and it took a lot of reading to put it together. Having missed the Underworld boat back in the day, I wouldn't have looked twice at this KS without Codex encouragement; but if it said "From former Looking Glass" across the top, I would have immediately been more like, holy shit, take my $.

Paul Neurath seems like he might be a bit too humble and mild-mannered for his own good. Perhaps with Doug Church working at Valve he doesn't feel comfortable going full LOOKING GLASS REBORN.

 

[Keldryn]

I keep telling myself I'm not going to back any more of these.

My daily commute is 1 to 1.5 hours each direction, and I have a two young children at home (ages 5 and 2.5), so I have very little time to actually play any of these games right now. I've installed Wasteland 2 and started a game, but it runs way too slow on my notebook -- which was actually pretty decent when I bought it in 2009.

But I keep going in at the $20 minimum pledge anyway. At this point, I'm mostly doing it because I want more of these types of games to be made, and I want to support the developers who are making them.

I'll get around to playing them someday.