Author Topic: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed  (Read 24533 times)

Nightwatch

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City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« on: October 07, 2013, 09:25:16 PM »
There's clearly a long road to go before we will be playing any spiritual successor but so pleased to see the City Of Heroes Kickstarterbreak through its target figure ($320,000) today!  Only 5 days into the pledge period!  Congratulations to the Missing Worlds team!  Congratulations to all pledgers (including me)!

Will be committing more funds as well to Heroes & Villains when needed.  Look forward to playing both City of Titans and H&V.

Wonder if NCSoft is watching the actions of the great community they shat on?

JaguarX

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2013, 10:10:09 PM »

Wonder if NCSoft is watching the actions of the great community they shat on?

Probably not.

It's probably business as usual for them.

saipaman

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2013, 11:00:30 PM »
I expect another blizzard of news now that "City of Titans" has reached it's funding goal.

The name 'City of Heroes' will not be erased.

Angel Phoenix77

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2013, 03:17:16 PM »
Probably not.

It's probably business as usual for them.
yep wondering which game no longer fits into their plans for the future
One day the Phoenix will rise again.

dwturducken

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2013, 03:50:10 PM »
I know that I'm still watching all three projects. I'm excited to see what "pre-alpha" means over on Valiance, too. It seems like all the attention is on TPP, ATM, but that's just because it's "fund drive time." Once Kickstarter is over, and they start into the actual work with the new toys it's paying for, I'm sure there will be lulls. (Not to be confused with "Lulz!")

I would have to go back and look, but I thought part of H&V's goals was to use open source software up until they absolutely had to go proprietary. That even played into the choice of game engine, as I recall. Again, I would have to go back and look through the older posts, but that's how my rapidly deteriorating memory has it. :)
I wouldn't use the word "replace," but there's no word for "take over for you and make everything better almost immediately," so we just say "replace."

Illusionss

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2013, 06:40:01 PM »
yep wondering which game no longer fits into their plans for the future

*snerk*

I would not doubt it for a minute.

downix

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2013, 08:21:09 PM »
I know that I'm still watching all three projects. I'm excited to see what "pre-alpha" means over on Valiance, too. It seems like all the attention is on TPP, ATM, but that's just because it's "fund drive time." Once Kickstarter is over, and they start into the actual work with the new toys it's paying for, I'm sure there will be lulls. (Not to be confused with "Lulz!")

I would have to go back and look, but I thought part of H&V's goals was to use open source software up until they absolutely had to go proprietary. That even played into the choice of game engine, as I recall. Again, I would have to go back and look through the older posts, but that's how my rapidly deteriorating memory has it. :)
Nope, their game engine is completely closed-source. (Hero Engine)

dwturducken

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2013, 09:59:20 PM »
See? Next, I'll be calling my kids by the wrong name when they're acting up! :)
I wouldn't use the word "replace," but there's no word for "take over for you and make everything better almost immediately," so we just say "replace."

silvers1

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2013, 10:14:35 PM »

The one thing that worries me ... is that NCSoft may have their army of lawyers ready to go the moment any of these games see the light of day.
If any element of the game mirrors CoH, they could have basis to bring a lawsuit.

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JaguarX

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2013, 10:43:05 PM »
The one thing that worries me ... is that NCSoft may have their army of lawyers ready to go the moment any of these games see the light of day.
If any element of the game mirrors CoH, they could have basis to bring a lawsuit.

Well I'm sure MWM have a volunteer legal team hanging about. :p

Seriously though, I think they did mention contacting legal specialist for an as needed basis and have or rather will have money set aside for that.

Artillerie

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2013, 11:34:46 PM »
The one thing that worries me ... is that NCSoft may have their army of lawyers ready to go the moment any of these games see the light of day.
If any element of the game mirrors CoH, they could have basis to bring a lawsuit.

If this were to ever happen (no offense but i doubt it), i'm sure that the righteous indignation that the CoH community has shown would swiftly turn into righteous fury :) Plus all of the projects are being very careful to give no cause for any kind of legitimate legal action.

Segev

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2013, 11:58:24 PM »
I just wanted to come in here and say to everybody who's contributed, whether money, time, or just well-wishings, thank you. We cannot do this without you, and you're demonstrating exactly why we believe this can - and will - succeed.

We've hit our goal financially. Now, I would love to see us explode in backer count. Not that getting more money isn't nice, but this is an enterprise that needs a large, as well as a dedicated, audience! Please make sure you spread the word to anybody who might even possibly be interested in playing. Ask them to donate even as little as $5, and maybe take 5 min. to let us know how much they would spend if there was an actual game to spend money on. I say "if" because that's what it will be from many people's perspective. I know we all know that's really code for "when."

I would absolutely love to see 10,000+ backers by the end of this. It's no longer about the dollar amounts, but about the dedication just to say, "I'm interested enough to throw a token your way, just to show that I'm here, waiting for this product."

The bigger that number, the more clout we have when we approach potential partners, sponsors, and others who might help us make this game all the more successful while keeping the price-to-play as low as possible. This isn't marketing jargon or "PBS wants you to give money," but rather simple math: the more we can show that we have a large audience, the more we will impress those who care about large audiences and the more control we can exert in any business relationships into which we enter.

So please, spread the word, and keep spreading it! While we love and appreciate large donations, we're looking for the hordes of small ones, just to show people are out there and willing to play when it comes out!

And again: Thank you all so very, very much!

chasearcanum

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2013, 05:22:14 PM »
The one thing that worries me ... is that NCSoft may have their army of lawyers ready to go the moment any of these games see the light of day.
If any element of the game mirrors CoH, they could have basis to bring a lawsuit.
It isn't just NCSoft you have to worry about.  Game patents are all over the place these days.  Not only are there patent trolls  (remember NCSoft (and blizzard) were both sued by Worlds, INC claiming that they held the patent for 3d virtual chat) but other game companies usually hold other game companies at bay by threatening to fire back with their own patent arsenal.  A new upstart with no patents to threaten back with may have very dangerous waters to navigate.

saipaman

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2013, 04:51:45 AM »
All the more reason to license a game engine.  Let the game engine maker fight the patent war.

JaguarX

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2013, 05:41:58 AM »
speaking of license.

When the CoT hits live, is the purchase of the game an actual ownership purchase of the game for the player or is it the usual leasing and temporary license of the game like the rest of the MMOs out there?

Sugoi

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #15 on: October 13, 2013, 09:39:56 AM »
While we love and appreciate large donations, we're looking for the hordes of small ones, just to show people are out there and willing to play when it comes out!

Segev, is there any chance of allowing individuals to have an amount of cash deducted monthly directly to the company funds? ($5, 10, 15 or more, think of it as an advance subscription fee / slush fund) 

Let the individual's slush fund pile up [tied to their Global Account?] and be used directly for development of the game, and credit the advance subscribers with a free month of game play for each $15 - $20 in the slush fund (whatever the monthly fee ends up being) when the game goes live.   It seems to me that this would be a way to provide the company with an accessible fund flow while undergoing development, and give the contributor a way to assist the project, and getting an equal return on VIP status.

Another option tied in with the slush fund could be a Lifetime Subscription to the game when it reaches a certain level or beyond.

Just some ideas to consider, I'd personally like to thank all who are willing to support the rebirth of our home away from home, either thru their direct skills and/or their financial contributions to the project.

Sugoi

Mandrake

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2013, 04:23:39 PM »
speaking of license.

When the CoT hits live, is the purchase of the game an actual ownership purchase of the game for the player or is it the usual leasing and temporary license of the game like the rest of the MMOs out there?

They went over that on the radio show. Nothing in writing yet, but basically you are buying a copy of the game... it is a monthly license until such time as the game shutters and it will be released to you as a 64(ish) person, multiplayer standalone. Something about it will be a hardcoded flag they would be able to patch through and release if such an event were to happen.

So it would be in essence an ownership, but there has to be some sort of legal mumbo jumbo in their so nobody is disillusioned about it being a subscription / cashshop unless it actually closes.

That is *my* understanding (not to be confused with certainty :) ) from the conversation details and interaction with community on the radio show. Probably could ask for absolute confirmation on CoT forums. They are pretty good about answering questions.

JaguarX

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2013, 04:55:02 PM »
They went over that on the radio show. Nothing in writing yet, but basically you are buying a copy of the game... it is a monthly license until such time as the game shutters and it will be released to you as a 64(ish) person, multiplayer standalone. Something about it will be a hardcoded flag they would be able to patch through and release if such an event were to happen.

So it would be in essence an ownership, but there has to be some sort of legal mumbo jumbo in their so nobody is disillusioned about it being a subscription / cashshop unless it actually closes.

That is *my* understanding (not to be confused with certainty :) ) from the conversation details and interaction with community on the radio show. Probably could ask for absolute confirmation on CoT forums. They are pretty good about answering questions.
Ah I see. Didn't see or hear the radio thing.

Sounds good. But I assume that means they are actually, as they build, keeping in mind a stand alone version meaning solo player version, and not trying to tie all the code in for only teaming and then in the end realize they cant make a standalone version because they didn't build it into the game at all with the features.


Either way, hopefully they made the legal mumbo jumbo clear. As prior, most people thought they were purchasing ownership of a game when in actuality they are merely paying "rent" even though it says so in the EULAs. I guess it just needs to be a bit more clearer in bold red letters of the purchase type, a section that cant click accept until it is actually read.

Mandrake

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2013, 08:05:56 PM »
Yeah the sad part is - the way they were talking it is an inherent part of any engine. That is to say you pretty much have to have the ability to kick off a 'server' from anywhere for testing purposes within the development group since you may not always have access to the server (or want to be live). Whether it be maintenance or just not having access to the internet, but you still need to crack away at a project, you have to be able to be in-world to check your work without dealing with constantly logging in, connecting to remote servers, bogging down your system with a complete server instance, etc.

So from what I  understood - this is already built into the Unreal engine right off the bat. It will be kept within the game all throughout the build process and just 'switched off' as it were in the public client. Unless the unthinkable happens, and then it will be 'switched on' and everyone given the 'dev version'.

It also means that from what they discussed, there was no reason for NCSoft not to release a standalone and/or multiplayer version. It is possible that since it was a ground-up engine they did not allow for this, but highly unlikely. No way to know of course, but it does stand to reason. Grf.

JaguarX

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Re: City of Titans Kickstarter oversubscribed
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2013, 08:50:32 PM »
Yeah the sad part is - the way they were talking it is an inherent part of any engine. That is to say you pretty much have to have the ability to kick off a 'server' from anywhere for testing purposes within the development group since you may not always have access to the server (or want to be live). Whether it be maintenance or just not having access to the internet, but you still need to crack away at a project, you have to be able to be in-world to check your work without dealing with constantly logging in, connecting to remote servers, bogging down your system with a complete server instance, etc.

So from what I  understood - this is already built into the Unreal engine right off the bat. It will be kept within the game all throughout the build process and just 'switched off' as it were in the public client. Unless the unthinkable happens, and then it will be 'switched on' and everyone given the 'dev version'.

It also means that from what they discussed, there was no reason for NCSoft not to release a standalone and/or multiplayer version. It is possible that since it was a ground-up engine they did not allow for this, but highly unlikely. No way to know of course, but it does stand to reason. Grf.

yeah. I don't think NCSOFT thought about stand alone version when the game was built especially since it was started in 2011 time period when MMO strictly meant online online online pull the plug it's the end of it. StarCraft was stand alone and online and pre dated COX but many people don't consider that game an MMO.

 And quite frankly without over haul of a lot of the features, especially the ones added later, it wouldn't work too well as a stand alone game unless there was some scaling/drop rate increase to be done, which should have been done while the game was live (i.e TF/SF, the incarnate stuff, the trials), and basically kill the market and up the drop rate to a lot of stuff. Lot of stuff I seen on the market never seen anyone personally get as a drop and some stuff never been on the market that I know of due to high demand use and lack of drop rate. But I guess that wouldn't be an issue if they released it with all the dev options unlocked too. 

But it sounds good they are going that route so it can never die. But they must keep in mind to not make everything team focused or else ya end up with a stand alone game that is unplayable and useless without a bunch of friends and buddies hanging about.