Geneforge - Kickstarter Campaign in February

Kordanor spotted that Spiderweb is planning a Kickstarter campaign for Geneforge in February:

Spiderweb Software

We are scrambling to get everything together for our new Kickstarter. Coding furiously to get enough game together for a video. Writing. Screenshots. Lots of worrying.

Look for it in February!

More information.

Geneforge is a far more interesting setting to me than Spiderwebs other games, nice to see them getting a newer iteration.

Originally Posted by TomRon
Geneforge is a far more interesting setting to me than Spiderwebs other games, nice to see them getting a newer iteration.

I feel the same way, geneforge is the most interesting.

After contributing to the last kick starter pitch from Spiderweb, I will admit that I'll be reading this upcoming production notes a bit more carefully. Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Geneforge saga, but I'm really hoping for either substantial upgrades or significant content increases with this new iteration. I'd even recommend delaying the pitch start until you really have enough video put together to make a coherent, clear path from conception to finish, so the clarity is fully obvious.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
After contributing to the last kick starter pitch from Spiderweb, I will admit that I'll be reading this upcoming production notes a bit more carefully. Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Geneforge saga, but I'm really hoping for either substantial upgrades or significant content increases with this new iteration. I'd even recommend delaying the pitch start until you really have enough video put together to make a coherent, clear path from conception to finish, so the clarity is fully obvious.

What was wrong with the last one? I didn't pledge so never followed the production.

Originally Posted by TomRon
What was wrong with the last one? I didn't pledge so never followed the production.

I don't think there was anything really wrong about it.

It just gave a bit of false hope regarding engine and asset improvements.
The graphics were mentioned as early alpha or something and are basically the same in game now and the better sounds for the game didn't happen (though that stretch goal was also missed so that was to be expected).

I get this guy is trying to stay in business without taking any risks….but come on, he is going to recycle the story(again) and go to kickstarter to ensure his costs are covered for anything he does before, without any risk to him at all if he fails. This is taking advantage of fans and people in general…not a fan of this mode of business….this is shareware all over again.

Originally Posted by TomRon
What was wrong with the last one?

He created a new engine, but a lot of players don't like the new perspective.
For me the new engine is actually a step back, not forward, it does not improve the experience. E.g. with the new engine he added "something" to "remove" the sprite of a dying enemy from view, and that are the best words to describe this…

I don't know Generforge yet, because I think I started Spiderweb games with an Avernum remake, so using his previous engine and existing content would be totally finde for me. Don't know if I will back this if he uses this weird new egine.

Originally Posted by rune_74
This is taking advantage of fans and people in general…

Are you serious?

Originally Posted by rune_74
I get this guy is trying to stay in business without taking any risks….but come on, he is going to recycle the story(again) and go to kickstarter to ensure his costs are covered for anything he does before, without any risk to him at all if he fails.

Crowdfunding exists for people to minize or eliminate their personal risk when doing business projects. There is absolutly nothing wrong here, it is the intention of this concept.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
After contributing to the last kick starter pitch from Spiderweb, I will admit that I'll be reading this upcoming production notes a bit more carefully. Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Geneforge saga, but I'm really hoping for either substantial upgrades or significant content increases with this new iteration. I'd even recommend delaying the pitch start until you really have enough video put together to make a coherent, clear path from conception to finish, so the clarity is fully obvious.

Upgrades have already been made. Judging from the screenshot, Jeff will use the Avernum/Avadon engine and assets. Good decision, since the Queens Wardroberarse engine looks so ugly, it sucks donkey's ass.

I got intrigued with Geneforge, since I remember recently re-playing the most advanced one in the series and I tweaked my character so it could pursue all paths, breaking into previously inaccessible places and killing the dragon merchant, etc.. it was fun!

Originally Posted by Kylex
He created a new engine, but a lot of players don't like the new perspective.
For me the new engine is actually a step back, not forward, it does not improve the experience. E.g. with the new engine he added "something" to "remove" the sprite of a dying enemy from view, and that are the best words to describe this…

I don't know Generforge yet, because I think I started Spiderweb games with an Avernum remake, so using his previous engine and existing content would be totally finde for me. Don't know if I will back this if he uses this weird new egine.


Are you serious?

Crowdfunding exists for people to minize or eliminate their personal risk when doing business projects. There is absolutly nothing wrong here, it is the intention of this concept.

Hey if you want to reward near to zero effort, that's fine. The guy has been recycling the same few stories for years. I like his games good enough, just not enough to play the same story with an upgraded engine.

Sure crowdfunding is there to take away the risks, but he could something more here, instead decides to do the same thing that he has done for years and profit off it ahead of time.

Many had issues with this model before he decided to kickstart his games…I can't think of one company that recycled the same game with three different versions and called them new games.

Both the Avernum and Avadon engines work well for me, so that's a huge plus and either should be great for Geneforge.

Yeah one bad thing about his last game Queen's Wish - The Conqueror was the new engine. So I'm glad he is going back to the Avadon/Avernum version. He has money.

Honestly, I didn't exactly dislike the newer engine that was used for Queen's Wish, but I'd say both the ones used for Avernum and Avadon are superior. Queen's Wish is a great game and well worth playing, I guess I just had higher expectations for the project overall.

Well for me it was more of the changed perspective and combat. The Avadon games were my first Spiderweb games to play. Then I moved on to play the Avernum remakes.

Queen's Wish wasn't bad it just felt different.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
After contributing to the last kick starter pitch from Spiderweb, I will admit that I'll be reading this upcoming production notes a bit more carefully. Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Geneforge saga, but I'm really hoping for either substantial upgrades or significant content increases with this new iteration. I'd even recommend delaying the pitch start until you really have enough video put together to make a coherent, clear path from conception to finish, so the clarity is fully obvious.

Don't count on it, pretty sure his Kickstarters are going to essentially be pre-order campaigns.

Geneforge was easily the most interesting of his series, imo. But it'll be the same game again. I see no reason to buy it, much less help fund it.

I never played the old series, well at least not the first games of it. I'll definitely pledge if there aren't any bad surprises in the campaign.

As expected. The KS trough tastes good,quite good indeed.

Originally Posted by Kylex
Crowdfunding exists for people to minize or eliminate their personal risk when doing business projects. There is absolutly nothing wrong here, it is the intention of this concept.

Nice to know. Because when KS and the crowdfunding movement were launched, it was insisted that it was meant first to allow devs creative licence far from the shackles imposed by the big, bad corp publishers. It was about providing devs with a platform to innovate, to add.

It grows to an epic dimension when remembering that entire societies were wiped out because they did not add, they were stuck in doing the same old thing over and over again (which was an incorrect observation by the way)

Years later, it appears that the heavy crowdfunding structure like KS is in fact made to provide security to devs so they can repeat the same old, all over again.

So far, so good.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
Geneforge was easily the most interesting of his series, imo. But it'll be the same game again. I see no reason to buy it, much less help fund it.

Jeff said, he does have new ideas for the game, as he wanna do never before seen features & new game mechaniKs for Geneforge, so I'm thrilled and being worked up to the nowadays popular Hysterio-illogical ÜberPsyched HypeState of:
- SHUT UP AND JUST TAKE MY MONEYZ! :-OOOO

I'd say, a graphical DEmake of the original Geneforge would be a winner -- all you need is to DOWNgrade the graphics to tasty pixel art.
This way the presentation would be "tasteful retro" instead of butt-ugly, and hey, it might win a few more new fans for this great game.