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[MrBud360]

95$ all the way!!!!

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Torment did $1.48M the first day with 27,939 backers. I can't find an hourly breakdown for it, but BT4 is doing about $100K per hour right now. I doubt it can keep this up, but I'm really interested to see how the 1st 24 hours goes.

I wouldn't be surprised if it did less than WL2, but I figure it will be somewhere between that and TToN. Too much time has passed between mainline installments, so there's much less of the '90s CRPG nostalgia for many current potential backers to feel the pull of and it doesn't slot in with an audience starved for more high-quality post-apocalyptia, like WL2 did when there was no FO4 in sight and after that series became a different thing to past FO installments, shedding many fans. The first person dungeon crawl type has, to me, always felt like it was less popular than the third person-view RPG variety when it became the more common representation of traversal and combat. I think more people prefer to see not only their party members, but also the animated interaction between characters, and the greater sense of world scale with the higher and wider views on the locations. Also, the FPRPG doesn't jive with everyone wanting a less intense, less challenging experience. Dungeon crawls are relatively complicated worlds to navigate with their intentionally puzzling mazes and limited field of view. And that's all while you're always worried about surprise encounters constantly putting the player on the defensive when you cannot see your assailants ahead of time, robbing you of any specific situation-based planning and tactics. It's probably the least widely-appealing of basic CRPG types.

 

[autoduelist]

I really, really, really want this to work out. All the pre-late 90's cRPG homages have bombed almost uniformly on Kickstarter. Seven Dragon Saga not working out hurt. Dragon Wars 2 looks to be something of a mess (I don't think it's even called that anymore).

Edit: Wow, this is getting a lot of money very quickly. How does InExile do it? M&MX apparently didn't do all that well, neither did Grimrock 2, so the demand for this type of game is low. Bard's Tale is barely mentioned outside of cRPG nerd circles. Yet this is outpacing the latest Shadowrun, getting more attention than an Underworld reboot (which is also a de facto Looking Glass Studios reboot)...

I'm extremely happy about this, first person blobbers are some of my favorite games. But seriously... how the fuck are they doing this?

I'm a huge fan of SSI Games from back in the day, and even thought I knew that TSI was 'a thing' and that they planned a kickstarter... I never knew about the actual kickstarter until far too late. In fact, only recently I asked about it to find it had come, gone, and failed.

So to answer your question, I think a lot of it has to do with marketing and such. I saw Bard's Tale was up and I funded immediately. I would have done so with TSI's Seven Dragon Saga instantly... but I can't fund what I don't know about.

As for Dragon Wars 2... what? I didn't even know that was a thing at all. More info?

---

Also where did you hear M&M LX didn't do well? I was under the impression it did well? I'd really like to see the genre resurrected.

 

[Eusis]

I'm extremely happy about this, first person blobbers are some of my favorite games. But seriously... how the fuck are they doing this?

Reputation and free games probably. Personally it took turning off the grid to sell me; I appreciate throwbacks to old gameplay, but there are overlooked middle ground a between being Wizardry or Skyrim, and that applies to a lot of other subgenres and styles of gameplay. And we've had more than enough grid based dungeon crawlers for that to NEED more.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I can't believe how fast this is getting funded. I liked the pitch video. Will buy at release.

 

[Arulan]

I've been waiting for this one. Backed!

 

[rickyson1]

backed this

 

[Sportbilly]

nXile Entertainment is proud to announce an unprecedented crowdfunding offer: anyone who backs The Bard’s Tale IV on Kickstarter in the first 24 hours of the campaign will receive a FREE copy of inXile’s Wasteland 2, or CD Projekt Red's The Witcher, or The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. (until 6/3 at 6am, PST)

Backed for a free copy of Wasteland 2- seems a very good deal.

Hmm- $20 for this + Wasteland 2 or $55 for this, Wasteland 2 and Torment. Tricky one.

 

[Amir0x]

Damn Kickstarter is so rad.

 

[Dark_castle]

First person dungeon crawler, yes?

I'm in then. Grimrock was so good.

 

[BrokenFiction]

For people considering getting this plus Wasteland 2, keep in mind the Game of the Year edition of WL2 is coming out this summer with tons of upgrades for free.

 

[Elaugaufein]

I'm a huge fan of SSI Games from back in the day, and even thought I knew that TSI was 'a thing' and that they planned a kickstarter... I never knew about the actual kickstarter until far too late. In fact, only recently I asked about it to find it had come, gone, and failed.

So to answer your question, I think a lot of it has to do with marketing and such. I saw Bard's Tale was up and I funded immediately. I would have done so with TSI's Seven Dragon Saga instantly... but I can't fund what I don't know about.

As for Dragon Wars 2... what? I didn't even know that was a thing at all. More info?

---

Also where did you hear M&M LX didn't do well? I was under the impression it did well? I'd really like to see the genre resurrected.

This. I would have backed Seven Dragon Saga in a microsecond but didn't find out about it until it was pulled.

I probably wouldn't have backed Dragon War 2 as fast since I'd never heard of Dragon War until it came to GOG and I looked into its history.

Getting coverage to the right audience seems to be really hard for some of these projects.

ETA - It'd be nice if Kickstarter had tags or something and that you could subscribe and get notifications for any projects of a certain tag.

 

[Mengy]

And backed. Bard's Tale 1 - 3 were some of my favorite games.

Yeah, I own all three for my C64. I spent an entire summer playing Bard's Tale III, mapping the dungeons on graph paper, taking notes, by the fall I had my own hand written strategy guide!

I can still hear the Duotime Rhyme battle ballad in my head. Man I loved those games.

 

[Sportbilly]

For people considering getting this plus Wasteland 2, keep in mind the Game of the Year edition of WL2 is coming out this summer with tons of upgrades for free.

Double sold- thanks.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Damn Kickstarter is so rad.

Only thing missing for it to be GOAT would be a vampire bloodlines and alpha protocol sequels kickstarters

 

[Elaugaufein]

Only thing missing for it to be GOAT would be a vampire bloodlines and alpha protocol sequels kickstarters

I don't think the former is possible, I doubt White Wolf would be willing to potentially confuse people about nWoD by allowing a major oWoD product. Sadly.

 

[groshkar]

Hmmm. Not a big fan of kickstarter, but I just might have to back this one.

 

[Vlodril]

I don't think the former is possible, I doubt White Wolf would be willing to potentially confuse people about nWoD by allowing a major oWoD product. Sadly.

i thought white wolf died and got taken by ccp.which then fucked up the wod mmo..(thanks ccp.. sure make eve forever god forbid you diversify).

anyway both games would take a ton of money to be made properly so i doubt kickstarter would work (unless roberts decided to do them or something..).

 

[BigWeather]

Yeah, I own all three for my C64. I spent an entire summer playing Bard's Tale III, mapping the dungeons on graph paper, taking notes, by the fall I had my own hand written strategy guide!

I can still hear the Duotime Rhyme battle ballad in my head. Man I loved those games.

Quick question -- I have BT I and III with the slim "album" box for the C=64. I never did get BT II, however, and looking on eBay for it they all have a thicker box (still album sized but it has a height to it that I and III don't have) -- at least for PC, Amiga, etc. Is your box the same size (l,w, and h) as I and III?

 

[BrokenFiction]

Quick question -- I have BT I and III with the slim "album" box for the C=64. I never did get BT II, however, and looking on eBay for it they all have a thicker box (still album sized but it has a height to it that I and III don't have) -- at least for PC, Amiga, etc. Is your box the same size (l,w, and h) as I and III?

BT2 always had a thicker box than 1 or 3. Like twice as thick or something close to that.

 

[MrCunningham]

inXile Entertainment is proud to announce an unprecedented crowdfunding offer: anyone who backs The Bard’s Tale IV on Kickstarter in the first 24 hours of the campaign will receive a FREE copy of inXile’s Wasteland 2, or CD Projekt Red's The Witcher, or The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. (until 6/3 at 6am, PST)

For all backers of The Bard’s Tale IV at the $20 Reward Tier and above. Wasteland 2 will be delivered on Steam or DRM-Free on GOG.com after the Kickstarter campaign. The Witcher and The Witcher 2 will be delivered on GOG.com.

Man, what a hook.... worth it for backing on the first day. Though I am a bit confused if you get Witcher and Witcher 2 together, or if those are separate options.

 

[Bl@de]

Edit: Wow, this is getting a lot of money very quickly. How does InExile do it? M&MX apparently didn't do all that well, neither did Grimrock 2, so the demand for this type of game is low. Bard's Tale is barely mentioned outside of cRPG nerd circles. Yet this is outpacing the latest Shadowrun, getting more attention than an Underworld reboot (which is also a de facto Looking Glass Studios reboot)...

This game is not only for Bard's Tale nerds. Wizardry fans, Might & Magic ... these franchises were the top shot PC Games back before Baldur's Gate etc. - And all the Infinity Engine fans say "what the hell, the more crpgs the better". Fargo knows this and takes the whole market for himself. Also, he knows how to use marketing and get press coverage ;-) And let's not forget that 2,5 million is still a very small budget compared to Assassin's Creed etc.

I'm just happy we get all these games DRM free, DLC bullshit free ... The only thing people had to do, is start financing these games themselves. And now somebody free Wizardry from Japan and get D.W. Bradley on Kickstarter.

 

[KKRT00]

i thought white wolf died and got taken by ccp.which then fucked up the wod mmo..(thanks ccp.. sure make eve forever god forbid you diversify).

anyway both games would take a ton of money to be made properly so i doubt kickstarter would work (unless roberts decided to do them or something..).

They tried to make WoD MMO, it was their initiative, not White Wolf.
They just couldnt get it working in the ambitious way they wanted to.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

After the first two vids, I was rather disappointed to see this one was just a general "Publishers suck" video. Vid #2 had such an escalation. This one wasn't even funny.

I do love how Fargo went all the way to Scotland for the KS video, though.

 

[Dsyndrome]

After the first two vids, I was rather disappointed to see this one was just a general "Publishers suck" video. Vid #2 had such an escalation. This one wasn't even funny.

I do love how Fargo went all the way to Scotland for the KS video, though.

I got cold watching him.

 

[BigWeather]

BT2 always had a thicker box than 1 or 3. Like twice as thick or something close to that.

Crazy, I never realized that (or have long since forgotten). Looks like I'll pick up the cheapest good condition one I can find on eBay then, gotta collect 'em all. Thanks!

 

[fallout]

Damn Kickstarter is so rad.

It feels like the 90s when all I did was play role-playing, strategy and sim games on my PC.

 

[HK-47]

I did not expect this to get funding so fast especially after Ultima Ascendant didnt exactly light things up.

 

[KR_remix]

Might back this, depending on further info.

For The Bard’s Tale IV, we want a more dynamic experience: as soon as you decide what a character will do, they immediately act.

This to me sounds weird though, it sounds like it goes against everything a phase based combat system is about.

edit: I think what I am trying to say is that this sounds more like a bog standard turn based system.

 

[Eusis]

Might back this, depending on further info.



This to me sounds weird though, it sounds like it goes against everything a phase based combat system is about.

edit: I think what I am trying to say is that this sounds more like a bog standard turn based system.

From what I was reading it sounds like switching to FF style ATB with the option of queuing up attacks. Whichever, just as long as I can pause it and take my time to think.

EDIT: Actually, how well do the original games play in their mobile forms? I got it on Android via Humble Bundle and unless there's some advantage to buying it off the PlayStore or the Humble version just doesn't have the original trilogy I'm thinking of using that to play them.

 

[Mengy]

Quick question -- I have BT I and III with the slim "album" box for the C=64. I never did get BT II, however, and looking on eBay for it they all have a thicker box (still album sized but it has a height to it that I and III don't have) -- at least for PC, Amiga, etc. Is your box the same size (l,w, and h) as I and III?

Yep, my BT2 box is thicker than the other ones. I think the manual was thicker or something, if I remember right.

I actually have my Bards Tale III box hanging on the wall of my workout room, along with some other old game boxes. Still in pretty good shape too.

 

[Elaugaufein]

Might back this, depending on further info.



This to me sounds weird though, it sounds like it goes against everything a phase based combat system is about.

edit: I think what I am trying to say is that this sounds more like a bog standard turn based system.

I think the distinction here is that its side based (party and enemy alternate) rather than character based (each thing in the combat acts at some specific time usually derived from a stat) . Though turn based is often used to refer to both.

 

[Alastor3]

Im guessing The Bard Tale will suffer from Wastleland 2 reviews. I heard a lot of bad thing about the combat system in the game.

Yet, people don't even know about the free game of the year update and the revamp of everything.

 

[KR_remix]

I think the distinction here is that its side based (party and enemy alternate) rather than character based (each thing in the combat acts at some specific time usually derived from a stat) . Though turn based is often used to refer to both.

The problem I have with it is that actions aren't delayed to then happen either sequentially like in wizardy/bards tale/etc or simultaneously like in frozen synapse. The two sides going on different rounds thing isn't exaclty new it just doesn't really feel like phase based if you see the results of your individual characters actions right away and don't have to plan ahead as much. I always thought phase based is supposed to be giving orders in the first phase, then execution of the orders(either sequentially, or simultaneously as either sides on different rounds or the same round). But I could be wrong.

 

[Nairume]

i thought white wolf died and got taken by ccp.which then fucked up the wod mmo..(thanks ccp.. sure make eve forever god forbid you diversify).

Former White Wolf guys started a new publishing company (Onyx Path) that is licensing stuff from CCP to republish old stuff and republish new stuff for both Old and New WoD (also other WW games)

 

[decoyplatypus]

The problem I have with it is that actions aren't delayed to then happen either sequentially like in wizardy/bards tale/etc or simultaneously like in frozen synapse. The two sides going on different rounds thing isn't exaclty new it just doesn't really feel like phase based if you see the results of your individual characters actions right away and don't have to plan ahead as much. I always thought phase based is supposed to be giving orders in the first phase, then execution of the orders(either sequentially, or simultaneously as either sides on different rounds or the same round). But I could be wrong.

I had the same reaction. It's a funny way to market what sounds like a pretty common turn-based system.

 

[Elaugaufein]

The problem I have with it is that actions aren't delayed to then happen either sequentially like in wizardy/bards tale/etc or simultaneously like in frozen synapse. The two sides going on different rounds thing isn't exaclty new it just doesn't really feel like phase based if you see the results of your individual characters actions right away and don't have to plan ahead as much. I always thought phase based is supposed to be giving orders in the first phase, then execution of the orders(either sequentially, or simultaneously as either sides on different rounds or the same round). But I could be wrong.

Yeah, it did seem kind of odd to me too (since it seems like a fairly standard turn based more than phase based) but use of the word phase works either way:

You can have a planning phase and an execution phase
Or a party phase and a monster phase in which each entity has a turn.

 

[Bl@de]

Might back this, depending on further info.



This to me sounds weird though, it sounds like it goes against everything a phase based combat system is about.

edit: I think what I am trying to say is that this sounds more like a bog standard turn based system.

I think it's some weird Wizardry 8/Combat Mission hybrid. You could run W8 in real time or phase based. Maybe it's phase based and you choose in which order the party members execute attacks so you can stack effects. So no initiative, but instead you say: 1. Bard (fire bonus buff) , 2. Mage (burn something), 3. Warrior (beat burned shit) ... Giving you endless combonations and a different "dynamic system" but nothing where you have to be quick. And then the enemy acts (planning its actions). Combat mission had something like that. Every side chooses actions and then the game simulates the effects. So it's still phase based. But yeah ... They need to explain it better or show a video.

What I want: Party formations like in Wizardry 8 and no simple first and second row. As a matter of fact: Copy a lot of things from W8 battles. It was the best crawler combat of all time.

 

[Almighty]

Well I was happy with Wasteland 2 so I am in for the early bird special. The only Bard's Tale I have played was the last one Fargo did.

 

[Elaugaufein]

On a related topic (Wizardry mention brought it to my mind):

How are they going to handle the difficulty and convenience feature stuff ?

This style of game is traditionally pretty brutal and the original lacked things like Auto-Maps and Journals.

I didn't see it being addressed much.

 

[Vlodril]

Former White Wolf guys started a new publishing company (Onyx Path) that is licensing stuff from CCP to republish old stuff and republish new stuff for both Old and New WoD (also other WW games)

Good. i was extremely disappointed about the cancelation of the mmo since i loved the style and i like the setting a lot. too bad our dm doesnt want to play some pen and paper on it.

I also btw i am wondering how the ks is doing so well especially in comparison to other stuff like shadowrun (which was better received although i liked both games myself).

 

[Bl@de]

On a related topic (Wizardry mention brought it to my mind):

How are they going to handle the difficulty and convenience feature stuff ?

This style of game is traditionally pretty brutal and the original lacked things like Auto-Maps and Journals.

I didn't see it being addressed much.

It's in there. Modern UI and stuff (probably with hardcore option to draw maps yourself) but it says "expect a challenge" ... The way they write it seems like a warning. I expect nothing less than Level 5 arnika road with mages whopping your ass. On the easiest difficulty of course.

 

[BrokenFiction]

If we don't see something along the lines of 4 rows of 99 Barbarians each I will have a disappoint.

 

[Nairume]

On a related topic (Wizardry mention brought it to my mind):

How are they going to handle the difficulty and convenience feature stuff ?

This style of game is traditionally pretty brutal and the original lacked things like Auto-Maps and Journals.

I didn't see it being addressed much.

I think they should keep some advancements to the genre in mind, since some of them were made for good reason. That said, they shouldn't let the spirit of the series get lost in translation.

Best thing would to be look at modern dungeon crawlers that have managed to add features like that without ruining the spirit of the genre. Etrian Odyssey, as a successful example of a modern successor to those kind of games, includes an automap and manages to maintain the spirit of the older games by making the automap super basic until you put the effort into annotate it and fill in specific details.

 

[Methos#1975]

I would kick a few bucks towards it if I was assured of controller support day one. This CRPG renaissance has been great, great that is until you realize that these devs for reasons unknown seem to be blind to the fact that PC couch gamers exist.

 

[4Tran]

I would kick a few bucks towards it if I was assured of controller support day one. This CRPG renaissance has been great, great that is until you realize that these devs for reasons unknown seem to be blind to the fact that PC couch gamers exist.

These are old school games and the developers know that they're making them for old school gamers. It would be neat to see some of them have greater support for alternate control schemes, but only if it doesn't detract from what they're trying to do. The original Bard's Tale didn't even have mouse control, so the chance of the new one not requiring one is decent. I wouldn't count on it though because the game might have mouse-based puzzles.

 

[Schopenhauer]

I am always down for a dungeon crawl. Backing this was a pretty easy decision.

 

[Cato the Censor]

My 15-year-old self would forever hate me if I didn't support this, and who am I to argue with an Amiga-addicted adolescent?

Backed.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Backed. I dont know the franchise at all honestly, but i love dungeon crawlers.

So far i backed all InXile's projects too.

 

[vocab]

I backed it. I bought WL2 two months ago too. Oh well. I'll gift it to someone.