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Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter canceled, continues crowdfunding on its own
The Kickstarter campaign for mech fighter Heavy Gear Assault was recently canceled. While an update post regarding the project's cancellation is locked to those that backed the project, developer Stompy Bot Productions provided a statement via the Kickstarter comment section. The developer is "currently evaluating other strategies to raise awareness regarding Heavy Gear and looking at multiple means to get the Heavy Gear name out there." Stompy Bot is continuing its crowdfunding aspirations on the game's official site. The Kickstarter campaign began on May 20 and was scheduled to run 40 days, through June 29. Up to the point of its cancellation, the developer raised $44,981 of its $800,000 goal, thanks to 879 total backers. [Thanks, Peter!]
Heavy Gear Assault kicks off its crowdfunding campaign
Stompy Bot Productions and Mektek Studios have launched their Kickstarter project for Heavy Gear Assault, the return of the mech combat game originally introduced by Dream Pod 9, with later games published by Activision. The multiplayer e-sports-focused, Unreal Engine 4-powered game is in development for PC and will be free-to-play with premium subscriptions options available for players. The development team is seeking $800,000 by June 29, with a dozen stretch goals already planned for the funding project.
Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter begins in April, open beta planned Q1 2014
Stompy Bot Productions and Mektek Studios' Heavy Gear Assault, being shown at GDC and revealed yesterday as an Unreal Engine 4 game, will launch its Kickstarter in two weeks. The companies are shooting for $800,000, planning the game for PC, Mac and Linux.The game will be free-to-play, but there will also be a subscription model at a "minimum price point" with dedicated servers and map editor to grow the community.Open beta is planned for the first quarter of 2014, with a closed beta "probably towards the end of the year." The pledge rewards will also grant access into the alpha. The company is still working out its reward tiers, but is talking console versions and some form of mobile integration with the game.
MechWarrior 4 is now free ... if you can get it [update]
Update: It seems the servers are back up to download the game right here. Enjoy! Original post: So here's the thing -- we were all set to tell you about how MechWarrior 4 had been released for free, but apparently some people found out before we could tell you and now, well, the servers are down. Bigtime. As in, it might be a few minutes before they're back up. According to several tipsters, the 1.7GB file became available for download last night, but as of right now, MekTek (the game's host) is still suffering an outage. That said ... hey! MechWarrior 4 has been released to the general public for precisely zero of your hard-earned C-Bills! If you managed to snag the file last night, we're hearing reports that MekTek has recovered the game's multiplayer servers. We'll let you know when the servers are back up.
Mechwarrior 4 free release cleared by Microsoft
After it was first announced in July of 2009, the free release of MechWarrior 4 has finally been cleared by Microsoft. The announcement comes weeks after MekTek, the studio behind the free release, revealed that the project was being held up by Microsoft's legal department. The delay resulted in financial trouble for the studio, which was actually paying out-of-pocket to maintain its servers. MekTek believes that the revelation of the legal hold up -- and the subsequent news coverage and forum traffic -- played a role in expediting the release. The company has also thanked its partners Smith & Tinker, Virtual World Entertainment and Catalyst Game Labs for "pressing Microsoft to allow for the release." MekTek advises fans to "stay tuned" for the impending free launch of MechWarrior 4.
MechWarrior 4 free release 'held up' by Microsoft
Way back in July 2009, Smith & Tinker announced that it was going to authorize MekTek to release MechWarrior 4 and all its expansions for free "soon" -- likely to drum up interest for the upcoming MechWarrior reboot. After nearly a year, the game remains unreleased. The reason for the delay, according to MekTek, lies with Microsoft. The group claims that the project is "held up at Microsoft" and it's currently "unknown" when the release will receive its "final go ahead." The studio adds the unfortunate revelation that it's now in dire financial straights thanks to the delay. "Due to the demands placed upon us by industry lawyers to release the Mechwarrior 4 Free release we were forced to insure our Studio at a premium rate to meet the Microsoft standard," reads the announcement, adding that group's server fund has "run dry" and is currently being paid directly by staff. MekTek is asking for donations from players that download its MekPak 3.1 expansion. According to the announcement, MekTek would be able to keep the servers running for an entire year if all those who downloaded the expansion were to donate $5. [Via Big Download]
Mechwarrior 4 free on BattleTech.com 'soon'
Big robots blowing each other up! The only way to make the prior sentence more masculine would be to repeat the word "bacon" about eight times. With that said, Smith & Tinker has authorized MekTek to distribute bacon MechWarrior 4, along with its expansions, for free. This likely has just a tiny bit to do with the recently announced MechWarrior reboot.There is currently no release date, but Smith & Tinker states "the free download will be available soon!" Yes, YES! Now to stomp to the kitchen while making Mech walking noises and fry up some bacon![Thanks, Old Professor Zertoss; Via MekTek]
