Wait. No VR ever?


dandt777

Recommended Posts

25 minutes ago, EricTheGreat12 said:

A lot of features promised on Kickstarter were either given in years later, or simply just forgotten. Hinterland has never given their Kickstarter backers a reason as to why multiple items were never delivered, basically throwing those backers into the dirt 

All applicable Kickstarter rewards have either been honored, or will be honored once Wintermute is finished. Some physical rewards can only be delivered once we're finished with the entire game, for example. It's a process, and we're in contact with backers regularly about these questions. At the same time we understand some might feel progress is too slow for them. No one is "thrown in the dirt." There's really no need to be so hostile. 

In terms of VR support, as we have said many times here and elsewhere, we're interested in VR support, but down the road and most likely as a standalone experience, not just a replication of the current game. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Patrick Carlson said:

All applicable Kickstarter rewards have either been honored, or will be honored once Wintermute is finished. Some physical rewards can only be delivered once we're finished with the entire game, for example. It's a process, and we're in contact with backers regularly about these questions. At the same time we understand some might feel progress is too slow for them. 

The in-game locket is an item that Raph has stated is no longer being considered for the Long Dark due to the complexity of the "well-being" mechanic, yet you have people asking for it on Kickstarter because you haven't given an update as to what has changed since the project's inception, in particular you have not said what is and what is no longer in development. There are people still waiting for a DVD hardcase of the game, and 4 years later you finally announced that you were doing a deal with Skybound games; but once again, the problem is that these are only discs for consoles, and you haven't given an update on it on the Kickstarter page. 

 

I understand that you are out of Alpha, but you still owe your backers what they paid for. The only update you've given on the page is for Story Mode over the years, and you don't help clarify to the backers that certain items will not be in production. It could help a lot if you didn't ignore them, and instead gave them an update so that they understand what is happening in the project. You have many complaints in Kickstarter updates and comments because you refuse to give them updates on progress.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No one is ignoring anyone. As we have detailed in previous updates, backers are welcome to contact us at backers@hinterlandgames.com so we can speak to them directly about their specific backer tier. This is what we have been doing for the last year. Just because there is a comment on the KS page, doesn't mean we haven't spoken to them directly after they left it there. But as I said, we totally understand eagerness to fulfill those rewards, and we will be fulfilling them, as we progress with the game. :coffee:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Patrick Carlson said:

No one is ignoring anyone. As we have detailed in previous updates, backers are welcome to contact us at backers@hinterlandgames.com so we can speak to them directly about their specific backer tier. This is what we have been doing for the last year. Just because there is a comment on the KS page, doesn't mean we haven't spoken to them directly after they left it there. But as I said, we totally understand eagerness to fulfill those rewards, and we will be fulfilling them, as we progress with the game. :coffee:

I'll leave it at that then...

 

You don't have an update, visible to everyone on Kickstarter, that states what is going on and what has changed since the game's beggining; backers care for more than just Story Mode, and having a 1on1 conversation via email doesn't solve the problem that there are a lot of people who do not understand what is going on. You can expect to have many complaints when you do not tell people what is going on, and this is exactly what is happening.

 

And we have 0 clue as to when the Long Dark will finish development. It's taken a year to re-do 2 episodes, and for all we know, with 3 episodes remaining, we could be waiting 3-4 years before it's finished. This means that it would take possibly 6-7 years between the time that the backers backed the project and they finally receive what they paid for- this is inexcusable, and is a disaster.

 

Listen Patrick, I cannot force you to do more, and if you believe that the status quo is fine as it is then so be it. However, it would help a lot of people out if, for example, you showed them the Milton Mailbag as a Kickstarter update so that if they do not use the forums, they can get some insight into what is going on.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's clear one misconception first. Kickstarter is not a webshop. No-one owes anyone to full fill promises. This is not how investments work (although Kickstarter isn't a investment platform either).

I do however agree to some extend that the communication could be better. But I've seen that the communication is getting better over time the past half year.
I have a feeling we're getting there, just give it some more time. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Blinkin said:

Let's clear one misconception first. Kickstarter is not a webshop. No-one owes anyone to full fill promises. This is not how investments work (although Kickstarter isn't a investment platform either).

I do however agree to some extend that the communication could be better. But I've seen that the communication is getting better over time the past half year.
I have a feeling we're getting there, just give it some more time. :)

I see that you’re a Kickstarter backer

 

Do you think it’s normal for a backed project to get delivery finished 6 years after you paid? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All the projects I backed have one thing in common: the original planned project duration at least took twice as long.
Projects always tend to have some unforeseen problems along the way. Crowd-funding certainly isn't an exception on this.

The Long Dark is among on of the projects which is taking years, although I agree it's quite long it's certainly not an exception. And like @Patrick Carlson said, some items need to have the game itself to be finished before the rewards can be finished. For example the Making of Video can only be finished after everything is done, which if you think about it makes a lot of sense.
I do find it disappointing to see willpower not making it into the game, but at the same time I see how hard it would be to implement it in the current state of the game. The game has become much more complex than originally planned, which is a good thing I guess. I would however still love to see it being implemented in a (subtle) way.

Like I said, it's normal for projects to take longer than planned, especially with crowdfunding. At least that's my experience with crowdfunding. :)
For example Trolls Bridge, a fan-made movie about a Discworld book written by Terry Pratchett. Snowgum Films has been filming for years now and they still are doing a lot in post production. The crowdfunding for this project started all the way back in 2011 and the main goal (reward) of the project still isn't finished.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/28/2018 at 4:35 AM, Blinkin said:

Like I said, it's normal for projects to take longer than planned, especially with crowdfunding. At least that's my experience with crowdfunding. :)
For example Trolls Bridge, a fan-made movie about a Discworld book written by Terry Pratchett. Snowgum Films has been filming for years now and they still are doing a lot in post production. The crowdfunding for this project started all the way back in 2011 and the main goal (reward) of the project still isn't finished.

Movies of course take a lot longer than video games ;) And let's be honest, has there been any successful Kickstarter movie that made it to the box office?

 

I do understand that there are a few items that have to wait, but there are many items that don't need to wait another 3-4 years before they are given out to Kickstarter backers. Backers shouldn't have to wait 8 years before they receive basic items from when they first gave money to the project.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dunno about making it to the box office but I'd say Kung Fury was a very successful kickstarted movie.

It's also bloody awesome. The guy's making a sequel that apparently will be a feature film that will go to theatres, so there's that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.