RPGWatch Feature - Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Interview

A new video that demonstrates practically same thing as the old video (attacking the firefly(?) to pick it up as reagent and a combat) lol. Yeah, I agree with Ripper regarding the new video but as I predicted it's funded - so I am just going to sit back and wait to see how things unfold for this game

Well some of us on both sides of this thread will be doing this eventually.



If it's me I want some red wine with mine.

I’m pretty certain there is zero chance of any recognition for this game when it is released by certain people. Under any conditions

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
I’m pretty certain there is zero chance of any recognition for this game when it is released by certain people. Under any conditions

That holds true for any game either made by a major or mid-sized publisher, or any game which claims inspiration or elements from a CRPG classic. Plus there are those with pet peeves (no grinding, no game that could work on ios, no small font size, no games without awesome combat animations) , and there are even a few curmudgeons who seem to hate everything equally. I feel really sorry for them, as I get a lot of enjoyment out of my rpgs.

More games are great for all of us, I have some peeves of my own but this product isn't one of them. Personally, if I wind up regretting not sponsoring this game it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Finally a new update and it seems it's been delayed due to funding.

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness - Post-Funding Update #31

This update offers an insight into the Isilbright Herbalist Guide and also presents some of the joinable NPCs you will be able to meet in the Backer Beta, as well as some of the concept art that our artist has been working on for the Rillow. The party members shown will be featured in our major gameplay video as well, which will be included in our next Kickstarter update on May 16th, 2019. This video will offer a significant overview of an early section of the main quest of the game, as well as highlighting new features and existing elements that have not been shown before.

The release of the Backer Beta is unfortunately delayed, and we are not able to give you more information at the moment. We will have specific details on the release date of the Beta in our next update.

There are two main reasons behind the delay: an internal and an external one. The internal reason has to do with project management risks: certain types of game engine bugs take more time to fix than what we estimated in our initial plans. For example, we could not publish the gameplay video today because Fog of War started having serious issues two weeks ago as an unexpected side effect of refactoring, and it took us considerable time to fix.

The external reason has to do with the funding schedule of one of our private investors. To be brief, while their investment is guaranteed and ongoing (the condition for the investment was a successful Kickstarter, which you helped us reach!), they proposed an altered schedule of funding milestones in January, and this negotiation is still in progress.

The combination of these internal and external reasons led to the delay of the Backer Beta. We haven’t posted an update recently because we knew there were going to be some issues with delays but we didn’t want to provide incomplete information on what players could expect, and it looked like our negotiations with the investor could have finished at any moment.

Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but we are nearing the end of negotiations and will give you specifics on the delay on the 16th. No worries, however! The delay of the Backer Beta does not endanger the future of the project in any way.

I wonder if the investors were looking for more evidence about the state of the actual gameplay, not just more concept art and lore.

The Devs say they'll release a "major gameplay video" on 16th May, so that should give a good indication of where it's up to.

I hope it ends up being a success, but the communication from these Devs is pretty amateur. They need to get their act together.

Yeah not surprised at Ripper's post.

Originally Posted by Pongo
I wonder if the investors were looking for more evidence about the state of the actual gameplay, not just more concept art and lore.

The Devs say they'll release a "major gameplay video" on 16th May, so that should give a good indication of where it's up to.

I hope it ends up being a success, but the communication from these Devs is pretty amateur. They need to get their act together.

Can't deny it they are terrible with communicating with bakers.

Moving on I'm more curious about these mysterious investors then the beta, and wonder why they pulled rank. Assuming this is not all bullshit like Ripper posted above.

Uhoh…now I'm thinking it may have been a very good thing not to back this game. Hopefully it wasn't (and isn't) a scam, and this is just a slight delay for good reasons, but I'm glad I didn't put any money towards this, just in case the worst scenario happens.

I don't think it's a scam, exactly. I just think the guy's an obvious bullshitter, and has been since the beginning. I think it's pretty clear he totally misrepresented the state of completion during the KS, and now there will be a long period of blagging about the delays while he tries to build it, at least until the money runs out. That doesn't necessarily mean there will never be some sort of game - I mean even Grimoire eventually turned up - but I wouldn't trust them an inch, if I were you.

I’m optimistic the video will sway some critics but I’m also having a few doubts. It’s a reasonable story (investor milestone demands) but with game development comes skepticism. I don’t really care if the game suffers major delays because there is plenty of healthy competition to play. But I do ultimately want a quality product.

That and after extended periods of silence we get minor game subsystem updates instead of overall progress updates

I didn't pitch in for this project, but I'm still keenly watching the progress. I hope there is a game at some point, but their lack of communication to those that provided funds is more than a little alarming.

New update and a new video preview.

For this update, we want to address more specific dates relating to our delays, while at the same time giving our backers a much better idea of what to expect. For this gameplay video, we will be focusing on the dialogue and story aspects of Black Geyser, and the systems throughout the game by which players will be able to influence their surroundings while interacting with NPCs. All of the footage you will see in this video is part of the Black Geyser Backer Beta; backers who have pledged for a tier that includes this reward will be able to play through the same sequence of events that we choose in the video, as well as a lot of content before and after what you will see here. The options that go unselected are things our beta backers can choose in the Beta, as they are possible routes in the conversation and may lead to very different results than those you see in this quest.

Looks like I wont have to eat crow after all.

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Update #39 - New Release Window

Ho there, adventurers,

First and foremost, thank you for your continuous feedback on the Backer Beta. Thanks to your bug reports and suggestions, we have managed to fix many unknown and subtle bugs and improve the overall experience of playing Black Geyser.

Our studio had several talks lately, both as a team and with our partners and investors. We came to realize that Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness has become a bigger project than we ever imagined. Which is a great thing. On the other hand, huge projects require tons of refinements, polishing and Quality Assurance. Black Geyser is no exception. Taking this into account, we have concluded that Black Geyser will be released in early 2021.

Some reward tiers for Kickstarter and Crowdfunding rewards require input from backers. If you have such a reward tier, we will contact you for your input during January. Thank you for your patience!

With launch coming early next year, we are going to start updating you more often. We are getting close and its time to start getting prepared for Black Geyser!

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Update #39 - New Release Window

While I'm still have my doubts, I hope they will prove me wrong and release a decent game - especially given how rare it is to see party based RTwP cRPGs :/

I'm still very much interested.
I just don't want to get excited too soon.

Yup, I'm keen on this one also, but guarded. Very guarded.

Its very likely I will pick this one up when/if it is released - its the only upcoming party based RTwP RPG that I know, along with Wrath of the Righteous.

I really hope it will be decent.