Hard West - A Tactical Turn-based Western

Couchpotato

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Seems we another tactical turn-based game on kickstarter this week called Hard West. The games developer PlayWay is asking for $70,000 to get funded.

Here is the usual video, and short game description.



Game Overview

Times are hard, people are ruthless and the land is unforgiving in this tactical turn-based western with exploration adventure.

In a nutshell, Hard West is a turn-based squad tactical with adventurous world exploration. Think X-Com combat with Heroes of Might and Magic world map.

Combat Overview

The combat is fast. The whole combat encounter takes no more than 5-10 minutes. It’s short, bloody, and decisive. All it takes is one well laid shot. It’s just not that easy to put yourself in the proper position.

No peeling off HPs. HPs represent the ability to withstand a shot or two, alternatively to sustain a powerful blow.

There’s little randomization: you either make good predictions and good decisions to land a kill, or you die. There’s no victory without risk, but it’s a well calculated risk.

Exploration Overview

The world is packed with adventures, stories, treasures, hideouts, mysteries, secrets and surprises. It’s a box of gruesome chocolates. Events aim to astonish you with how bad or how good they are. There’s no mediocrity.

People are destroyed by each other, by the unforgiving land, and eventually by their own vices.

It’s easy to destroy and kill, and much harder to survive and build something. With long enough timeline, the survival rate of everything drops to zero. There’s a shortage of everything, except weapons. And yet the liquor and drugs are in the highest of demands, and can buy you everything.
More information.
 
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Now, this looks very interesting !!
Finally a new setting (that is not Japanese).
 
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looks interesting indeed. But then they had to show that last shot of ricocheting the shot off something to hit someone around a corner... that was just too "Holliwood" for me
 
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Looks really good. tactical turn-based western with exploration adventure.

People should be flying backward shattering furniture tho!
 
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Looks / sounds pretty awesome and they had me at a Western with turn-based tactical combat. I do wish it was more a full fledged cRPG with a strong narrative focus, C&C, character progression and all that good stuff as this is a setting that could definitely make for some great Role-playing. But hey, this is a big step in that direction and if this is successful, perhaps this will inspire such a game.
 
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Per backers' request, the game will be released in a DRM free version as well available for all backers along with the Steam keys.

While DRMfree is a bonus, notice that no phones, no multiplayer, no social network, no scams and no DLC are mentioned.

Instabacked.
 
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looks interesting indeed. But then they had to show that last shot of ricocheting the shot off something to hit someone around a corner… that was just too "Holliwood" for me
Sounds all the better to me! (But then I like the wire-enhanced martial arts stuff, too. Reality? Pah!)

Overall, though? Nah, don't trust'm enough to back. Heck, I can't even figure out if this is being made by Play Way or by CreativeForge! With all the news we've been hearing, I need a really high degree of confidence to back anything now. If they can get it out the door, though, I'll certainly be interested in buying!
 
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Backed. Looks like fun and tactical games are my favorite. Really hope they make it since they show real promise in those images. They are not really asking for much given the size of the team but seems like an achievable goal.

I'm wondering if they charged too little to get the initial adopters. I would not have objected to $20 or so or more and I didn't see anything above the $15 mark that interested me. Anyway they need like 4800 backers to meet the goal but that would have lowered that mark by nearly 1100 backers.

I may up my pledge just to give them more money if it looks like it would help but there is a limit and they are unknown. Seems like offering physical media at a higher mark would loop in people who like that (not me but I know several here do like that).

Whats up with a Polish company asking for Canadian dollars anyway?
 
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Hello!

I'm the lead designer behind Hard West. Thank you very much for the interest and backing! I've been stalking you for a sec, but only now got the chance to reply to your concerns. So, without further ado:

I do wish it was more a full fledged cRPG with a strong narrative focus, C&C, character progression
Actually, it's pretty much an rpg, but saying it's all at once would be over the top.
I'll be very precise here. What we have is:
  • character stats
  • character progression
  • non-interactive dialogs (in most scenarios)
  • interactive dialogs (in some scenarios)
  • all scenarios have a very strong story to them - they are definitely story driven
  • each scenario is a sequence of story events, but the focus is on lore (like Fallen London)

no multiplayer
Actually we've got HUGE experience working on multiplayer (I have 3 AAA multiplatform multiplayer games behind my belt, the lead programmer/ceo has done a multiplayer in each of his games). So we aim to add multiplayer as a stretch goal. My bet, though, is that we'll add it anyway, cause it just fits too damn well (but that's a secret, shhhh…)

Nah, don't trust'm enough to back. Heck, I can't even figure out if this is being made by Play Way or by CreativeForge!
First, let me clear things out.
PlayWay has some finances invested in CFG, and works as a no-problemo publisher-proxy. They're OK with everyting we give them, literally. That's sheer awesomeness, right there. Of course as long as it's up to par technically. The amount of trust here is enormous. So PlayWay allows us to use their KS account (it's very problematic to start KS campaign if you're outside of US,UK,Canada). Plus, PlayWay has a big brand to protect, and will wrap it up even if we fail - there's a huge workforce and lots of resources/options in there, "The Way" team is just one of the sub-teams. So PlayWay is actually a backup for all of us :) Their history of published games is proof that they're good at wrapping it up.
Second, Let me reassure you a bit and tell you a word about us.
We're a close-knit team, deliver several games inside Techland together, and finished one RTS as CFG. Owing to our dear publisher, it wasn't revealed yet and we have to bootstrap through KS, else we risk going out of the market/miss paying our bills BEFORE you even get to hear the title. Yay :)

I would not have objected to $20 or so or more and I didn't see anything above the $15 mark that interested me.
Roger, expect an update tomorrow.

Seems like offering physical media at a higher mark would loop in people who like that (not me but I know several here do like that).
Roger, expect an update tomorrow.

Whats up with a Polish company asking for Canadian dollars anyway?
Again - it's problematic to start KS campaign from europe. You have to channel the funds and data through some scapegoat located in US/UK/Canada/something else. I'm not really that well informed, but the thing is you have to personally set up a business and have a resident registered somewhere out there (and you better be able to trust that person with your tens of thousands of dollars), or you can use special companies that specialize in being a proxy with KS. They charge mere 20% or so ;)
I can only guess why PlayWay went with Canada. Different law? Easier formalities? Lower taxes? Beats me.
 
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Actually we've got HUGE experience working on multiplayer (I have 3 AAA multiplatform multiplayer games behind my belt, the lead programmer/ceo has done a multiplayer in each of his games). So we aim to add multiplayer as a stretch goal. My bet, though, is that we'll add it anyway, cause it just fits too damn well (but that's a secret, shhhh…)
Please just don't. Make it a separate MMO game. Thank you.
 
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Please just don't. Make it a separate MMO game. Thank you.
Not sure I understand. The only options I'd consider:
  • the same campaign, but in online coop (not much change)
  • the same campaign, but in hotseats coop (not much change either)
  • separate competitive multiplayer mode, reusing the campaign maps, systems, items etc.

There's no real reason why should the Single Player campaign affect the Multiplayer mode. Not really the case, sir :)
 
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Not sure I understand. The only options I'd consider:
  • the same campaign, but in online coop (not much change)
  • the same campaign, but in hotseats coop (not much change either)
  • separate competitive multiplayer mode, reusing the campaign maps, systems, items etc.

There's no real reason why should the Single Player campaign affect the Multiplayer mode. Not really the case, sir :)

Well, I think what joxer meant is that he DOESN'T like MMOs, co-ops, mobile games, DLCs and all that modern crap in games industry. He's old-school/classy, (just like me :) ) - a gamer who wants to play good games the way it was in a previous two decades - you buy a game and you play interesting single player campaign.
 
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I'm not sure classy is the word I would've chosen to describe Joxer, but he's alright in my book. :)

Thanks for stopping by here, Kacper. Your game looks very interesting, and I'll likely back it. One request, though, from one prospective backer: I could live without the silly weapons. I'm all in favor of fanning and dual-weilding pistols (and I could even learn to live with controlled ricochets), but the half-pound bullets and four-barelled shotguns and whatnot cross the line for me. I'm sure they'll be a big hit with all the people who buy Goat Simulator, but perhaps you could consider a toggle in the options to turn off experimental weapons. The armored suits in the great Silent Storm were a real turn off for me, too. Thank God someone modded them the hell out of the game.

Regardless, your game does look interesting. Best of luck.
 
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Actually, it's pretty much an rpg, but saying it's all at once would be over the top.
I'll be very precise here. What we have is:
  • character stats
  • character progression
  • non-interactive dialogs (in most scenarios)
  • interactive dialogs (in some scenarios)
  • all scenarios have a very strong story to them - they are definitely story driven
  • each scenario is a sequence of story events, but the focus is on lore (like Fallen London)

Yee haw! Now it sounds even more awesome than the KS page implies, partner. I've already backed it, but reckon I'm even more excited for it now. I'll spread the word on all the other rpg related forums I belong to.


Not sure I understand. The only options I'd consider:
  • the same campaign, but in online coop (not much change)
  • the same campaign, but in hotseats coop (not much change either)
  • separate competitive multiplayer mode, reusing the campaign maps, systems, items etc.

There's no real reason why should the Single Player campaign affect the Multiplayer mode. Not really the case, sir :)

We just plain don't like none of that multi-player balderdash 'round these parts, pilgrim. :whip:
 
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I love the setting, the idea, the inspiration and the work so far.
Depending on their next few updates I will back it as well.

If they mention the word MMO I'm out. A coop multiplayer on the same campaign with or without hotseat would be great. Anything else I can't imagine at this moment that it would turn out nothing but a drain of resources to what could have been a fantastic single player experience.
 
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my wife and I are always on the lookout for games we can play coop so I for one hope it's in. But joxer has a form of dyslexia that reads multiplayer as mmo and phone/tablet compatible as casual phon/tablet crap :D
 
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