Game News "What can change the nature of a game?" - Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter is LIVE

[Grotesque]

TRENDING TOWARD

$39,299,382

Yes, inXile, please make a 40-mil Torment game, so my head can explode from all this text-driven awesomeness.

40 million buys you quite a lot of text.

I'd think Torment will curve down a lot more steeply than PE did. I don't expect it to hit similar totals.

P:E got around 1,187 million in 2 days. TToN is already far ahead of it.

Yeah, but I think Kickstarter has become a more settled concept, and word spread faster, especially since we had a very focused, directed press campaign leading up to it (no vague countdowns or anything, just a "this is when it'll happen, get ready"). As such, I think the opening amounts or higher, but the traditional quiet period in between the opening and closing spikes will be lower. You can already see that effect with Dreamfall Chapters.

Maybe if we can mock up a 2D screenshot though, haha.

They better if they want my money. One thing that I learned from Wasteland 2 video is that Unity is very limiting. If you want quality in a "organic" game like Torment 2, 2D hand painted backgrounds is the way.

 

[mindx2]

I'd think Torment will curve down a lot more steeply than PE did. I don't expect it to hit similar totals.

P:E got around 1,187 million in 2 days. TToN is already far ahead of it.

As such, I think the opening amounts or higher, but the traditional quiet period in between the opening and closing spikes will be lower.

Your closing party better be damn good. I was there for both DFA and P:E ending parties and there's something about live chat that just makes people forget any sort of financial sense and just throw money to see a number grow. It's like a mini-game in itself.

This is why I don't understand starting it at 6:00 in the morning, 9:00 a.m. my time? I guess you guys over the pond will be up past, what, midnight when this closes? Having a big video party as the clock clicks down like DFA did probably gave them thousands of dollars extra. Brother None, was the timing of when to start it affecting when it ends ever discussed?

 

[Havoc]

The sad thing? This will be the only KS I want to donate, but don't have any money (even in the next month). Oh well...

You don't even have 20$?

Students life ftw. I barely had money for Wasteland 2, Shadowrun, Project E. and of course our own fundrives. I had money then. Now? Nope.

 

[Tigranes]

By the way, that graph shows you exactly why the 'trending' figure is rubbish. It is interesting that it's such a prominent part of kicktraq and so people quote it a lot.

 

[Brother None]

This is why I don't understand starting it at 6:00 in the morning, 9:00 a.m. my time? I guess you guys over the pond will be up past, what, midnight when this closes? Having a big video party as the clock clicks down like DFA did probably gave them thousands of dollars extra. Brother None, was the timing of when to start it affecting when it ends ever discussed?

Kickstarter rules changed. We could now launch it by pressing a button (instead of waiting for them to launch) and set our closing time itself. It will close 5pm PST, IIRC.

By the way, that graph shows you exactly why the 'trending' figure is rubbish. It is interesting that it's such a prominent part of kicktraq and so people quote it a lot.

It's a work in progress. They went from just looking at a linear line to looking for a "standard" kickstarter curve. It is hardly hard science, tho', especially in the first few days.

 

[FeelTheRads]

This is why I don't understand starting it at 6:00 in the morning, 9:00 a.m. my time? I guess you guys over the pond will be up past, what, midnight when this closes? Having a big video party as the clock clicks down like DFA did probably gave them thousands of dollars extra. Brother None, was the timing of when to start it affecting when it ends ever discussed?

I think Fargo said they got to choose the end and it's somewhere in the evening for kwans.

 

[Infinitron]

They better if they want my money. One thing that I learned from Wasteland 2 video is that Unity is very limiting. If you want quality in a "organic" game like Torment 2, 2D hand painted backgrounds is the way.

1) They're not actually hand-painted. They're touched-up pre-rendered 3D models.

2) Project Eternity is using Unity too.

 

[Jaesun]

In first day it trended towards 23 million.

I have to drink less.


Or more!

Always drink more.

 

[evdk]

Always drink more.

Quoth Jaesun, the date rapist.

 

[mindx2]

$1.3m in what, 10-11 hours?!!! I don't know why this continues to amaze me?

 

[mikaelis]

1.3M$. Dorrahs are still pouring like a tropical rain...

 

[Kosmonaut]

[...] we'll basically be announcing our first stretch and having passed our first stretch goal at the same time. We'll have more of 'em tho!

Any estimate of when the next update with the stretch goals is going to be released upon us mortals?

 

[Kirtai]

Another nice thing about the kickstarter funding model is the individuals responsible for the actual creative content seem to be getting a lot more credit than they ever did under the old publisher model. In fact it seemed like the old system made some effort to actually hide who actually did what so as not to create superstars like MCA with as much clout as the developer/publisher themselves.

It'd be nice if you could choose games by who worked on them. You don't pick a novel or film by who published it after all.

And it wouldn't surprise me if the publishers did try to hide the actual people responsible so they could claim credit as the source. Something that can backfire as EA is currently learning.

 

[mikaelis]

Hmm, I am thinking of securing this $110 now. It is just that my wife will strangle me soon after, so what is the point?...

...on the other hand, What does one life matter?

 

[Aeschylus]

Yeah, but I think Kickstarter has become a more settled concept, and word spread faster, especially since we had a very focused, directed press campaign leading up to it (no vague countdowns or anything, just a "this is when it'll happen, get ready"). As such, I think the opening amounts or higher, but the traditional quiet period in between the opening and closing spikes will be lower. You can already see that effect with Dreamfall Chapters.

Probably true, and your tempered expectations are likely wise, if only for your own sanity. Still, being the fastest starting Kickstarter campaign *ever* certainly says something.

 

[Grotesque]

They better if they want my money. One thing that I learned from Wasteland 2 video is that Unity is very limiting. If you want quality in a "organic" game like Torment 2, 2D hand painted backgrounds is the way.

1) They're not actually hand-painted. They're touched-up pre-rendered 3D models.

2) Project Eternity is using Unity too.

1) "That is, we wanted to build 3D levels, render them out as 2D images, and then have our artists paint in beautiful details, highlights, and color-tweaks before they went into the game. Looking back at the levels some of us worked on for Icewind Dale, we were still thrilled with the quality that we could achieve with this approach"
yeah I knew this too reading the Eternity background update.

2) I thought they're using Unity just to model the ingame characters, not the backgrounds too

 

[mindx2]

Hmm, I am thinking of securing this $110 now. It is just that my wife will strangle me soon after, so what is the point?...

...on the other hand, What does one life matter?

I survived the Wasteland 2 tier of $500 with my wife so you can surely be a bro and go for $110.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

How fantasy-ish is this game, are there steampunk elements in it

 

[Infinitron]

2) I thought they're using Unity just to model the ingame characters, not the backgrounds too

I think you might need to read up on what a "game engine" actually is.

 

[Esquilax]

Hmm, I am thinking of securing this $110 now. It is just that my wife will strangle me soon after, so what is the point?...

...on the other hand, What does one life matter?

In for a penny, in for a pound. Drop your entire life savings into the game - your noble sacrifice will not be forgotten, comrade.

 

[evdk]

How fantasy-ish is this game, are there steampunk elements in it

It's set in a distant future after several civilisations have risen and fallen. The magic runs on Clarke's Third Law. Amount of steampunk unknown, but nanotech is the surer bet here.

 

[jewboy]

USPS no longer offers International Parcel Post unfortunately. So you've gotta pony up for International Express Mail with a 3-5 day shipping time to pretty much anywhere. I went to http://ircalc.usps.com/ and checked some pricing to countries that I am likely to be in when the game ships.

Express Mail International (shipping from USA):

2 lbs:
Malaysia/Phillipines: $50.96
Colombia/Argentina: $49.20

3 lbs:
Malaysia/Phillipines: $54.73
Colombia/Argentina: $52.87

4 lbs:
Malaysia/Phillipines: $58.50
Colombia/Argentina: $56.54

5 lbs:
Malaysia/Phillipines: $62.26
Colombia/Argentina: $60.22

So if I order a physical tier (and I would love to), let's say the cheapest one at $65, and I pay the extra $12 to ship it for a total of $77 and if I assume 5 lbs including the shipping container, and that InXile would be paying in the same ballpark as I would, then for shipping to Colombia $77 - $60 = $17. Anyone have any idea how much the physical stuff is likely to cost InXile? I would have to assume at least $10. That means I will have contributed all of $7 toward getting the game made.

Except that Amazon and Kickstarter get a cut of the full amount, not just the net profit. I forgot what the cut was but I think it's at least 15% or $11.55 from $77. $7 - $11.55 = -$4.55. So by 'backing' the project I am actually costing inXile $4.55. They would basically be paying me $5 for taking a copy of the game off their hands. They would have been better off if I had just pirated the game instead.

So if you care about adding to the project instead of subtracting from it I think it would be nice to add in a realistic estimate of the shipping cost yourself, do the math, and just add in the appropriate amount. In my case I'd have to basically add another $48 to the required $77 for a total of $125, which stings a bit because for that price I could have gotten the $110 tier (or even the $95 tier if I got lucky) and the bargain price they are asking for international shipping.

 

[Jaesun]

Shipping one box to you is not going to bankrupt Torment.

 

[hiver]

yeah i would like take a wild guess and say people that far away, in dollars, are probably buying digital.

 

[winterraptor]

Ah, the delicious new Codex memes this will spawn.

What does one game matter?