stretch-goals
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Star Citizen passes $60M in fundraising, becoming 'single, coherent vision'
Star Citizen appears to be unstoppable, with the in-development space sim passing the $60,000,000 crowdfunding mark this past weekend. The $60M barrier unlocked the Aegis Bulldog fighter stretch goal. Moving forward, Chris Roberts revealed the next few milestone goals: the Espera Prowler boarding ship ($61M) and the Genesis-class Starliner ($62M). "I think I speak for everyone on the team when we say it really feels like Star Citizen is starting to go from a series of modules to a single, coherent vision," Roberts said before teasing "a few more surprises" before the year is out.
Mighty No. 9 seeking $100K more to add Japanese voice acting
Comcept revealed additional stretch goals for Mighty No. 9 a few short days ago, giving fans the opportunity to bolster the game's development with funding via PayPal on its official site. The $100,000 stretch goal was introduced to fund English voice acting for the game, which the original game's funding support won't cover. Mighty No. 9's funding page has since changed, however, upping the developer's goal to $200,000 and adding Japanese voice acting to its list of ambitions. Additionally, a Japan-only Makuake crowdfunding project from Comcept popped up with a 10 million yen (roughly $98,296) goal, specifically geared toward providing Japanese voices for Mighty No. 9. We've reached out to Comcept to clarify the two funding avenues and whether the two goals for Japanese voice acting overlap. The game, a project by Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, earned over $4 million combined from Kickstarter and PayPal in October 2013. It was by far the biggest earner in the crowdfunding space in the past year, which saw a total of $35 million spread across 341 gaming projects. Mighty No. 9 is expected to launch in spring 2015 for many platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac, Linux, 3DS, Wii U and Vita. [Image: Comcept]
Mighty No. 9 gets additional stretch goals, animated series, pre-orders open
Mighty No. 9 developer Comcept USA gathered more than $4 million in its initial fundraising campaign for the Mega Man-esque sidescroller, but that pile of money could grow a little mightier. Comcept has announced a second, PayPal-powered funding campaign to cover additional stretch goals for Mighty No. 9, starting with a $100,000 target for English voice acting. The update explains that anything collected in this new effort will only be used to address new features – the original donation total is still dedicated to the base game and the first round of stretch goals. According to the update, this second fundraiser is meant to allow anyone that missed the initial Kickstarter a chance to chip in to the project. Newcomers will also be able to contribute by pre-ordering Mighty No. 9, with tokens being offered for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, PS4 and Vita versions. While a standard $23 pre-order tier only serves as a digital pre-order, two pricier options will contribute to the new round of stretch goals: a $50 tier that bundles a pre-order with a retro-themed manual, digital art book/strategy guide and soundtrack, and an $80 tier that offers the same content along with Early Access for Mighty No. 9 on Steam. If you can't even fathom giving Comcept more money, there's still Digital Frontier's incoming animated series, which was revealed with the above video. A separate FAQ explains that Digital Frontier is "seeking investment" for this series, so no, your pledges shouldn't be siphoned off into a cartoon fund. The series is described as an "action-packed comedy aimed at kids 6-11," but the involved voice actors, directors, editors and a targeted release date are all to-be-announced. [Image: Digital Frontier]
Star Citizen tops $47 million, will continue to offer stretch goals
Star Citizen has topped $47 million in funding on the wings of its recent Xi'An scout ship promotion. Cloud Imperium boss Chris Roberts talks about the ship and its unique thruster setup (and its corresponding unique flight characteristics inside the space sim's physics engine) in his latest letter from the chairman. Roberts also reveals that 54 percent of Star Citizen backers voted for CIG to continue offering stretch goals. He says that the company will "honor that choice," but that there will be some changes. "I'm not comfortable promising additional features with each million unless they're truly additive," he explains. "When we have a new idea that really impacts the final game and needs the funding then we'll offer it here... but you can expect a number of player rewards and new ways of highlighting Arena Commander as immediate goals!"
Star Citizen begins AC multiplayer invites
It's been a busy week for Star Citizen. The crowdsourced space sim sandbox topped $46 million in funding, and Cloud Imperium Games began rolling out invites to the multiplayer portion of the recently released Arena Commander dogfighting module. The module also continues to be patched in order to address bugs and control issues. CIG also kicked off a new video show called Around the Verse. The first episode features a 40-minute running time and a sit-down with AC producer Travis Day. Finally, CIG chairman Chris Roberts penned his customary thank you letter after the $46 million milestone, in which he offered a sneak peek at the game's next in-universe spaceship commercial and made available a community poll relating to the continued use of project stretch goals. "When we started the Star Citizen campaign, the purpose of the stretch goals was to make things we had imagined but didn't think we could afford possible: adding capital ship systems, studying procedural generation, hiring additional artists to build more ships at once and the like," Roberts explained. "The additional funding continues to expand the scope of the game and make what we're doing possible... but it's becoming more and more difficult to quantify that with more stretch goals (and to explain that to the rest of the world, which likes to focus only on how much money we've made.)"
Mark Jacobs promises stretch goals won't delay Camelot Unchained
Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs penned an insightful piece today about how the possible dangers of stretch goals in crowdfunding. "Stretch goals are, in theory, generally a good thing for both players and developers," he wrote. "Unfortunately, while on the surface it looks all nice and serene, underneath the calm waters there is danger and that is the ever-looming problem of <insert theme from Jaws here> DELAYS." To avoid any future conflict with funders, Jacobs went on to list several principles that his studio will adhere to for stretch goals. He said that future stretch goals must add something very useful to the game, not be thrown in just to raise funding, not require adding too many new people to the team, and be added only if they don't conflict with other goals. Jacobs also indicated that he's perfectly fine with halting further stretch goals or waiting to put them in until the time is right and the team has already finished what it needs to do. Finally, Mark Jacobs made a sacred vow to fans: "I PROMISE, ON BEHALF OF CSE, NEVER TO ADD, OR ALLOW TO BE ADDED, STRETCH GOALS THAT ENDANGER THE ESTIMATED LAUNCH OF CAMELOT UNCHAINED IN DECEMBER 2015. Okay, now it's official."
The Repopulation closes its second Kickstarter with triple funding
The development team at Above and Beyond Technologies went back to Kickstarter to ask for a little extra funding to develop The Repopulation. The project's goal was set at a very reasonable $50,000. Now the campaign is over, and it turns out that the company's philosophy of starting low and using stretch goals worked out quite well. Funding for this campaign closed out at around $176,000, more than triple what was initially requested. Despite that high number, not every stretch goal was hit, but that's what happens when the developers build a high ceiling. Still, it means that the game squeaked past the mark needed to unlock gladiatorial arenas in player-run cities. It's good news for the game's developers, backers, and even fans who elected not to back the second campaign.
The Repopulation delivers third alpha trailer, conquers another stretch goal
One great thing about The Repopulation's latest Kickstarter campaign (besides the chance to support an upcoming sandbox) is that it delivering regular doses of data to the public. And the latest tidbit to come through the pipeline is a third alpha trailer showing off a bit of the game. Experience a minute and a half of the in-game environments, mounts, and various battles with wildlife and other players in the clip below. Then, if you want to get in on supporting the game and helping it reach another stretch goal (it just secured the unique naming of items), you've got until Monday to do so. [Source: Above & Beyond Technologies press release]
Matsuno's Unsung Story shuffles handheld stretch goals, adds PS4 port
Unsung Story publisher Playdek has reorganized its Kickstarter stretch goals in response to backer feedback, giving the game's PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS ports higher priority over other previously-announced funding milestones. If funding reaches $1 million, Playdek will begin production on a PlayStation Vita port, and will hire on Final Fantasy 12 composer Hitoshi Sakimoto to score the project. Playdek additionally announced that a PlayStation 4 version of Unsung Story will be developed if funding reaches $1.25 million. A total of $1.5 million will ensure development of a Nintendo 3DS port. Helmed by Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story director Yasumi Matsuno, Unsung Story will bring its unit-focused tactical strategy gameplay to Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android platforms in 2015. Playdek is currently exploring the possibility of cross-platform play. Unsung Story's Kickstarter currently sits at just under $400,000 earned toward its initial funding goal of $600,000, with 23 days left in the campaign.
The Repopulation discusses design goals after its second Kickstarter
Six days remain until the second Kickstarter for The Repopulation closes out, and it's already doubled its funding goal. That prompted an interview with Kickstarter Conversations regarding the game's design principles and its second successful funding run. The development team attributed the success to reasonable financial goals and to setting the bar low and expecting to exceed it rather than setting the bar high and struggling. The interview also goes into more detail regarding the game's design goals and how progression will work. As stated before, the game is entirely skill-based, with older characters having a wider variety of skills rather than being inherently better. Grouping is meant to be painless and advantageous rather than mandatory so that there's no disincentive to grouping up with other people while taking on content. Take a look at the full interview for more details, and if it sounds like the sort of development you'd like to support, you still have six days to jump in and help fund the game.
Another stretch goal hit for The Repopulation, another short story chapter posted
The second Kickstarter for The Repopulation is humming along at a decent clip at this point. It's already met its target goal, and now it's just a matter of smashing down stretch goals. The latest mark has funded the addition of calprate mounts to the game; they're the vaguely deer-goat-thing displayed in the header image, for the record. Except that one doesn't have a player-shaped bit of cargo on its back. Baby steps. In addition to looking forward future stretch goals, the team is also posting chapters of a short story to the official website. Chapter 4 of "Evening Star" is available to read now, detailing more of the world and feel of The Repopulation for existing backers and potential future backers. Or just people in need of a science fiction story to read on a Friday afternoon -- they're welcome as well.
The Repopulation surpasses 2nd KickStarter goal, moves on to stretch
While some were skeptical about a second Kickstarter campaign for The Repopulation, fans showed their support by helping the upcoming sandbox reach its goal over the weekend. Now, with 20 days still to go the focus shifts to the stretch goals, which include various mounts (the Rocharus at $60K is seen above), PvP arenas, a moddable UI, traveling shops, and more. On top of the successful campaign, The Repopulation is also receiving overwhelmingly positive support on its Steam Greenlight campagn; it's currently in fifth place. Want to learn even more about the game? If the recent three-hour Q&A livestream wasn't enough to satisfy you, Above & Beyond Technologies' creator J.C. Smith chatted with The Noobist about ongoing world story, the horticulture system, animal breeding, trade, and much more.
Star Citizen crowdfunding campaign reaches $30 million
Cloud Imperium Games's crowdfunding campaign for Star Citizen continues to barrel along and doesn't seem intent on stopping yet, as creator Chris Roberts has announced that the campaign has officially reached the milestone of 30 million US dollars. A new milestone means new rewards. Along with the announcement, Roberts included a gallery of concept art for the Gladiator ship "created to show how the rear-facing turret can be changed with different upgrades." In addition, Roberts revealed that players voted for a salvage ship in the $32 million "ship role" poll. As a result, the post unveils the first details of the Aegis Surveyor ship. Described as "an industrial-quality salvage ship," the Aegis Surveyor is perfect for retrieving the remains of some poor chump's wrecked ride. Lastly, Roberts reminds players that they can vote for the role $33 million stretch goal ship (right below the post, to boot), so to have your say, head over to the game's official site.
Star Citizen passes $28 million, 300K backers
It wasn't very long ago that Star Citizen eclipsed the unheard of (at the time) $10 million crowdfunding mark. Less than six months later, Cloud Imperium's sci-fi space sim sandbox has nearly tripled that figure with a whopping $28 million-plus in funding and over 300,000 individual backers. CIG chairman Chris Roberts marked the latest milestone with a new installment of his traditional producer's letter. In it, he announced a new starter ship (the Mustang) and a bit of a change in the way further stretch goals will be handled. We are constantly asked where the additional money goes. Surely new mocap hardware or a new starship design doesn't cost a million dollars. The answer is that the stretch goals are an example: One big thing we will be doing with some of the money. Every additional million means that we're hiring additional artists and programmers, equipping the team with better development tools and increasing the size of the talented outsource groups being trusted with aspects of Star Citizen's development. It means more actors and time for mocap studios, more reference for designers, greater variety in game characters, more options in clothing and armor and a large array of ship items and weapons. Every dollar improves the project. That isn't as sexy as spending large amounts of money on impressive, headline-grabbing stretch goals... but it means a significantly better game in the end. So, for the next several stretch goals, we're going to leave you with the knowledge that the money goes to improving all aspects of Star Citizen's development. Instead of specifying some new development goal, we're going to add a new ship to the game as a reward.
City of Titans wraps up Kickstarter project with over $675,000
When a company shuts down your favorite game, what do you do? Raise more than half a million dollars in funding to build a spiritual successor, apparently. City of Titans, the fan-conceived inheritor of City of Heroes' legacy, has finished its Kickstarter campaign with a grand total of $678,189 raised. That means several stretch goals unlocked, a huge pile of additional content for the game at launch, and a lot of fan expectations about what the game will contain. As a quick recap for those who have not followed the game's stretch goals, the net result is that the game will launch on both PC and Mac, with iOS and Android versions of the character creator available as standalone apps. The game will also contain wings, extra costumes, and more powers beyond the base version that was budgeted for $320,000. It's quite an accomplishment for the team at Missing Worlds Media and a testament to how deep the passion for a City of Heroes revival remains.
Latest stretch goal speaks to Star Citizen's 'immersive, world-building experience'
Earlier this week Cloud Imperium released both a brochure and an in-engine video devoted to Star Citizen's Anvil Aerospace Hornet. Apparently the info dump was well-received, as the crowdfunded space sim passed the $24 million mark shortly thereafter. As per usual with each $1 million milestone, CIG head honcho Chris Roberts responded with a Letter from the Chairman and a sneak peek at upcoming stretch goals. This latest milestone unlocked public transportation, and while that may sound somewhat -- ahem -- pedestrian at first, consider Roberts' description. "A public transportation system may not seem as sexy as a new bomber or a cruiser, but it speaks directly to the goal of making Star Citizen an immersive, world-building experience," he says. "Instead of having a simple fast travel option like an MMORPG, Star Citizen will feature a living, breathing system to support that gameplay requirement... a system that will be impacted by the economy and player actions in all sorts of exciting ways!" Roberts also unveiled the game's $26 million stretch goal, which takes the form of expanded capital ship systems like damage control teams, bulkheads to slow boarders, and various navigation and engineering console management options.
Mighty No. 9 adds PS4, Xbox One ports to stretch goals
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 will come to Xbox One and PS4 if the ongoing Kickstarter campaign earns $3.3 million in funding. Presumably this figure would help developer Inti Creates overcome its unfamiliarity with next-gen systems. If the $3.3 million figure is reached, all backers eligible for a download of the game may choose from Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac, Linux or PC. Handheld ports are also on the table, though the Kickstarter post mentions that Comcept, Keiji Inafune's company overseeing production of Mighty No. 9, still has to work out some of the logistics. Comcept hopes to have an update regarding this possibility sometime next week. Mighty No. 9 was announced during PAX Prime and quickly reached its funding goal of $900,000. During our interview at PAX Prime, Inafune said Mighty No. 9 would feature some of the old-school challenge, but would still be a fair game.
Kickstarter project Ambrov X includes BioWare writer stretch goal
Ambrov X, an episodic RPG set in Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah's Sime-Gen universe, is seeking $500,000 on Kickstarter by October 5. The project includes a $750,000 stretch goal that, if met, will result in former BioWare Senior Writer Jennifer Hepler joining developer Loreful in creating the game. Hepler worked for BioWare for eight years, contributing to all three Dragon Age games as well as Star Wars: The Old Republic. Ambrov X is a single-player adventure in which players create a character in either the Sime or Gen human sub-species and one of four additional combat classes. The game starts with players investigating the fate of Jumper 10, a starship that returns to Earth with only one crew member remaining. The game's five episodes will last between three and five hours each, and will launch DRM-free on PC, Mac and Linux, with "alternate releases" for iOS, Android, PS4 and "Xbox" planned. The developer doesn't specify between Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Mighty No. 9 console stretch goals lowered by $300K
Among the stretch goals announced for Mighty No. 9, Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune's Kickstarter project, was a $2.5 million goal originally set in order to bring the game to PS3, 360 and Wii U. A recent update on the project's page notes that stretch goal has now been lowered to $2.2 million. Inafune said at PAX Prime that Mighty No. 9's developer is "not familiar with next-gen," explaining the stretch goal's lack of PS4 and Xbox One options. He also added that the game will be challenging like older games were while also being "fair." The Kickstarter project is currently just above $1.5 million, over $600,000 above its funding goal, and will end on October 1.
Lioness gets funded on Kickstarter with over 3 weeks to go, refuses stretch goals
Zak Ayles and Phillip Lanzbom's PC adventure game Lioness recently received funding on Kickstarter, reaching its $7,000 goal with over three weeks to go in its campaign. Typically, this is the part where creators add stretch goals to the project, pushing the funding, and the game itself, far beyond its initial scope. In a July 11 update, the developers described why that will not be the case for Lioness. "We disagree with the idea that there's any direct correlation between quality and scope in a project like this," the duo wrote. "When you force a game or film past its own scope and design it just begins to cannibalize its own narrative and vision by stretching it until it breaks." Also known as Lionheart Drive, the game is an "experimental adventure game about human connection" where players control freelance journalist Eggert Kirby, seeking information on seven missing people. Along the way, Kirby "befriends a nicotine addicted cat and unravels a plot involving time-travel, yakuza, and interdimensional coffee." The first reward tier for $7 pledges promises access to the game's seven "sessions," as well as seven new games from the Braingale collective, a ragtag group of indie developers and artists. Those seven games are Francis by Andrew Brophy, Killing Man by Jerry Mickle, Gabbage Day by Todd Luke, Namragog's Shadow Creatures are in the Sky, Star Bizarre by Lulu Blue, an untitled game by Alec Stamos and The Devil's Throne by Manuel Magalhaes. "The more money we have, the better we can invest ourselves into pursuing our vision unencumbered," the update concludes. The project has raised $9,400 to date, with 23 days left in its funding period. Ayles and Lanzbom are hoping to have the first episode of Lioness out by the end of 2014.
