Final Equinox Kickstarter

[Lacuna Caster]

This is probably an entirely futile gesture by now, but I caught sight of this pretty fleshed-out looking "Turn-Based Ship Combat RPG" on kickstarter- Final Equinox (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/922963009/final-equinox-the-arrival).

https://s8.postimg.cc/5uivu7vwl/fe_screen1.png
https://s8.postimg.cc/iyog6wvo5/fe_screen2.png


The production values seem to be very respectable, and there's a playable demo available, so they're not just blowing smoke. I've no idea why it's done so poorly on the funding side of things. Any interest?
.

[Kaptin Keen]

This should have gone in the General Crowdfunding thread.

That said, it looks remarkably polished. Which is weird for the pittance they're asking. As to why it's done poorly? I'd say they should have stuck to gameplay and concept art - the guy isn't the most charismatic. Propably he's just not camera trained, but ... well, the end result is the same, right? =)

[Lacuna Caster]

That said, it looks remarkably polished. Which is weird for the pittance they're asking. As to why it's done poorly? I'd say they should have stuck to gameplay and concept art - the guy isn't the most charismatic. Propably he's just not camera trained, but ... well, the end result is the same, right? =)
It would be a pity if that were the reason why the project were ignored. I played through the demo and ran into a pathing-related hang-condition during the second combat mission, but the mechanics and dialog looked promising, in a bargain-basement mass-effect sort of way. Shame.

[Kaptin Keen]

It would be a pity if that were the reason why the project were ignored.

It would. I read a research paper on the distribution of promotions in the american army based on A) actual skills, and B) purely physical things such as hight, width of jaw, and so on.

Bottom line, it barely matters how skilled you are - if you're not tall and good looking, you'll be a grunt forever.

[Brother Oni]

Unless it's from a reputable studio with a history of delivering their product, I've sworn off crowdfunding. That Which Sleeps was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.


It would. I read a research paper on the distribution of promotions in the american army based on A) actual skills, and B) purely physical things such as hight, width of jaw, and so on.

Bottom line, it barely matters how skilled you are - if you're not tall and good looking, you'll be a grunt forever.

The military isn't the best example as promotion there means that you're going into a leadership role. Leadership requires (among many things) charisma, strength of personality and communication skills, which skews the sample pool.

It also depends on which level your looks limit you to; hitting E5/OR5 should be possible for anybody with their head screwed on straight and a modicum of leadership, regardless of looks; anything at officer level is far more stringent.

[Rynjin]

You ever think it didn't get funded because...it doesn't look very good?

I mean it doesn't look terrible, but it's really nothing special in terms of what was shown.

[Lacuna Caster]

You ever think it didn't get funded because...it doesn't look very good?

I mean it doesn't look terrible, but it's really nothing special in terms of what was shown.
It has similar production values to Xenonauts, which raised in excess of 150K in funding. It's a greenhorn studio, sure, but less than 4 grand raised in 30 days is fairly pitiful given the level of effort demonstrated.

[Rynjin]

Xenonauts came out at the perfect time to take advantage of the resurging boom of isometric turn based games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Shadowrun Returns, Divinity: Original Sin and Wasteland 2. People were hungry for games that filled a niche that had largely died out, and those companies provided them.

Final Equinox missed the boat on riding the wave, and now has to wow on its own merits, needing to compete with the much higher production value of the SEQUELS of those games and more polished, recently updated games like Stellaris.

Basically the studio may have talent, and could go far with the right funding, but whoever the owner is doesn't have much business sense.

[warty goblin]

Is there really that much money left in videogame kickstarters? I know companies with proven track records do ok, but there's been so many disappointments, failures to deliver and utter flameouts that throwing money at an unproven studio at this point seems like a more time consuming way of setting fire to the contents of your wallet. I mean the last big name space ship kickstarter game was the Mandate, which seems to have slipped quietly and expensively into that good night, and that's literally the first game that crossed my mind.

[Eurus]

Yeah, the kickstarter bubble has at least deflated if not burst entirely. People are a lot more hesitant to throw money at a decent looking trailer these days.

Personally... it's rare that I fund kickstarters these days just because there are so many games out there that are finished that I could buy now. This game looks decent, but is it so unique or appealing that I'm desperate to see it come to fruition? If not... I'd rather wait to see if it actually comes out, and if it's any good, before I pay for it. I know that's rough on indie devs trying to put something together, but the rate of successful return is just too low.