Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen Kickstarter

Thought I'd create a thread for this project…

New update released about the Enchanter class that has me foaming at the mouth, hoping this project gets funded against all odds:

“Everything you know about them, everything you ever hated about them, it is all wiped away as you are dazzled by their uncanny charm. Their will becomes your own and you will gladly die for them. When you see one, if you still control your own mind, then heed my advice…..run. Run as far away as you can and don’t look back!”

Role: Utility

Style: Master of crowd control. Proficient at buffing, stunning, mesmerizing and charming the enemy to do their bidding.

Specializations:

• Beguiler: Assists the group through stuns and mesmerizing multiple enemies. Maintain and use mesmerized enemies to power your magical strengths.
• Phantasmist: Control groups of charmed enemies. Manipulate their behavior and force them to adhere your commands like a general commanding his army.
  Enchanters are controllers; manipulators of the mind and soul. Through use of illusions they are capable of infiltrating enemy strongholds, bypassing city security and even hide in plain sight. On the battlefield, they focus on dominating their enemy and changing the course of battle to flow by their will. Enchanters are eager to find victory but are not proficient at direct combat. They buff and strengthen their allies with planar magic while stripping the enemy of their powers. The Enchanter can attack the willpower of an enemy, thus giving them control of their minds or mesmerizing them.
  
  As a Beguiler, they will stun the enemy's attack to give their allies additional time to defend and react. When times are tough and the group is engaged by multiple enemies, the Enchanter can mesmerize them and hold them in place, making them unable to act in any way. In this state, the Enchanter may tap into their planar connections and use their magic source to power themselves or their allies. Though the enemy magic source is limited and cannot fuel the Enchanter forever, there have been cases where Enchanters were able to tap deeper into the source for additional power, thus causing an overload which would lead the enemy to explode, damaging all around them. If the enemy is still mesmerized, then the Enchanter can redirect the blast to other enemies and avoid damaging allies. If it is not mesmerized then there will be dire consequences.
  
  As a Phantasmist, the Enchanter is capable of charming multiple enemies at once, thus creating a small group to follow them. With this small army under their control, they may command them to do as they please. Whether it is to defend a rally point or attack the enemy, the charmed ones will do so without hesitation. The Enchanter may choose what to do with each charmed pet. They can split them apart to perform multiple acts or focus them on a single one. The power of the charmed pets is derived from the first one that is charmed. Thus, the more charmed, the less powerful each one is.

I was mildly interested: at least till I read MMO.

Well, you can't please everyone And this game sets out to specifically not do that. Grouping encouraged and pretty much required; no hand-holding in quest/world design; slower-paced, tactical combat.

It is, however, looking grim for this Kickstarter; perhaps there's sadly not enough people that want this niche product that would strive to "un-streamline" the generic, forgettable soup of the current MMO market.

I think a lot of people are holding back till the last week. Then you will see some big time gaming people throw some cash at it.

There's also the problem of Vanguard. Microsoft gave the guy $20-$30 million to make it, then they transferred it to Sony who put some more money into it, and yet, Vanguard was released in really bad shape. So if more than 30 million dollars didn't work for Vanguard, how can $800k work for Pantheon?

I pledged and all but if it makes me dubious and I totally want this to happen, I can see how many other people could be hesitant about pledging.

Originally Posted by wolfing
There's also the problem of Vanguard. Microsoft gave the guy $20-$30 million to make it, then they transferred it to Sony who put some more money into it, and yet, Vanguard was released in really bad shape. So if more than 30 million dollars didn't work for Vanguard, how can $800k work for Pantheon?

Brad McQuaid mentioned he has a few interested investors. It depends on how much the kickstarter earns. Here this was taken from a recent interview I posted.

Link-http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/01…sing-and-more/

You mentioned that the purpose of Kickstarter was just "to get the ball rolling on development" and that other funding opportunities will be visited if the basic goal is all that is reached. What other avenues will you be looking to for additional funds?

It all depends on how much we receive from Kickstarter. The usual avenues would be investors and game publishers.

Along those lines, if additional funding is not acquired, then what are the long-term plans for the features whose funding goals are not met? Will crafting and housing (slated as $3.5M and $4M stretch goals, respectively) be off the table completely? What will happen to the game if the Kickstarter goal is not met?

If the stretch goals are not met sooner as opposed to later, then we'll do our best to implement them after the game has launched, as expansions, digital downloads, and the like.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Brad McQuaid mentioned he has a few interested investors. It depends on how much the kickstarter earns. Here this was taken from a recent interview I posted.

Link-http://massively.joystiq.com/2014/01…sing-and-more/

Right, but the problem then remains, let's say the kickstarter is successful, your money is transferred, and then the investors don't give enough for the game to actually happen. My point is, in normal kickstarters, when the goal is reached, the game is made (sooner or later, in the majority of cases), but in this case, when the goal is reached, the money is just used as some sort of bullet point to present to investors, so I believe that may be a reason why not so many, or as many as you would expect, have pledged so far.

Aye, that's been my major worry as well, despite pledging.

Originally Posted by wolfing
There's also the problem of Vanguard. Microsoft gave the guy $20-$30 million to make it, then they transferred it to Sony who put some more money into it, and yet, Vanguard was released in really bad shape. So if more than 30 million dollars didn't work for Vanguard, how can $800k work for Pantheon?

I pledged and all but if it makes me dubious and I totally want this to happen, I can see how many other people could be hesitant about pledging.

This is my major worry as well. I know few old timer who are worried about the same issue and not funding due that. I wish Brad got the investors first and made part of the game and then came to KS for the final push. Also I am sure he made lot of money from EQ and even Vanguard so why isn't he not putting any of his money in? I know Mark Jacobs who is making Camelot Unchained is putting 1 or 2 million of his own money and he said that up front and I like to see something like that from Brad as well. A token 1 million of Brad's own will go a long way in convincing people…

I am in right now for about $100 but if KS doesn't reach 1 million on it own couple of days before the deadline then I am pulling my pledge…

I can't wait to play a game like this but the financing of this MMO doesn't feel right…

He doesn't have a million of his own cash. You do know he had a major drug problem. Addicts aren't usually the best at saving their money.

Originally Posted by wolfing
Right, but the problem then remains, let's say the kickstarter is successful, your money is transferred, and then the investors don't give enough for the game to actually happen. My point is, in normal kickstarters, when the goal is reached, the game is made (sooner or later, in the majority of cases), but in this case, when the goal is reached, the money is just used as some sort of bullet point to present to investors, so I believe that may be a reason why not so many, or as many as you would expect, have pledged so far.

Good point but it wouldn't be the first game to use kickstarter to attract investors.

Originally Posted by Hastar
He doesn't have a million of his own cash. You do know he had a major drug problem. Addicts aren't usually the best at saving their money.

I believe you need a link otherwise I won't believe you. We usually just call this slander.

Believe me or not Brad even talks about it. I thought this was common knowledge. Couch you must not be a big MMO player Google it if you want.

Don't get me wrong I love Brad and I think EQ was a masterpiece. I also enjoyed Vanguard. He is a much better game designer then a people manager. He needs to stick to his strengths. I still donated in hopes that he learned from his past mistakes.

McQuaid will not have total authority in this game. The overall concepts of EQ1 and Vanguard are what caused me to pledge to this project, between me and a few friends we've kicked in 10k so far. For those that played mmo's in the 90's, they simply don't exist like they did back then, now. They aren't a dying breed….they perished in or around 2002.

I still play EQ2, but the future of EQ looks….like some sick child's nightmare to me. Even attaching the EQ name to the future products offends me, and I won't be playing them. You'll find me on Pantheon, with a few pals. If I encounter McQuaid, I'll ask him to forgive me for booting his enchanter out of a guild years ago!

Originally Posted by Hastar
Believe me or not Brad even talks about it. I thought this was common knowledge. Couch you must not be a big MMO player Google it if you want.

No I'm not a huge MMO player. I play a few when I have time but I have never invested to much time on them. The latest MMO's I've tried are Lord of the Rings and SWTOR.

I'll look it up as you got me curious.