Crowfall aka Play2Crush aka Shadowbane II aka Nostalgia Online

[Teleku]

Hrm, I have more interest in this than any mmo in a long time as well.  Happy to see Raph on board.  Unless they announce some kind of funding other than just crowd funding, however, I won't have much faith.  I don't think its possible to crowd fund the budget you need to make a full mmo of this type. 

Unless you have a cult like following of old space-sim obsessed neck beards with too much money, of course.

[Velorath]

You're still not supposed to be interested.

You thought 2014 was a bad year for games. This year is starting off with people interested in a "game" that's the spiritual successor to every MMO ever, and then you've got a bunch of other people off playing some hentai dating simulator (which I'm sure they're just enjoying ironically). Have you ever thought that maybe the plane you took back from Italy didn't actually make it back safely?

[Paelos]

I want the term spiritual successor to be taken out back and shot.

Small sidebar.

[Rendakor]

Vel, I assure you I'm not playing HuniePop ironically.

[Falconeer]

a "game" that's the spiritual successor to every MMO ever

No, it's the successor to every MMO up to 2003. Don't line up random words.

Actually, it's the successor of every MMO up to 2003 outside of the EQ family (which includes Daoc and Anarchy Online).

[Tmon]

So I might end up being a little bit in the target audience, but I'm afraid that this game is at least 10 years and probably more like 15 years to late for me.  The time I'm willing to commit to games these days is somewhere in the mid single digits per week.  Hell I have trouble finding 2 hours to devote to a hex draft every week.  It's starting to look interesting and I'm interested in seeing if it actually gets made, but the likelihood of me doing more than spectating via F13 threads is pretty much nil.

[tazelbain]

What are they going to do to prevent the wolves from driving away the sheep away? If the answer is nothing, then I know exactly where this game is heading, a big smoking crater.

[sam, an eggplant]

Add a mobile game type time-gated advancement mechanism for free players.

Call it Energy. It takes X hours to generate enough Energy to Crowform, which gives you wings allowing limited flight/gliding Tribes-style and increases your PvP damage by Y%. Energy Crystals can also be purchased in the cash shop and are freely tradeable. Crowform lasts until you die.

Each time you get a meaningful/competitive PvP kill, you generate Z% of the Energy to Crowform upon death.

Each time you are killed in PvP by a meaningful/competitive foe (ie, not the same guy 3x in a row, or a much lower powered opponent), you generate some fraction of that same Z% Energy. Losers are rewarded also.

Subscribers are always in Crowform and get a bunch of cosmetic benefits and a monthly allotment of Energy Crystals to trade for crafted components in the player-run economy.

[Triforcer]

I have a hard time linking from my phone, but a Dec. 23 venturebeat.com article say they have 17 employees and 2.35 mil in seed funding.

Assuming they raise another 2 or 3 in crowdfunding ala Camelot Unchained, that still does not sound like enough to do what they want to do.

[Hutch]

What are they going to do to prevent the wolves from driving away the sheep away? If the answer is nothing, then I know exactly where this game is heading, a big smoking crater.

http://www.play2crush.com/

There are going to be no wolves, and no sheep. This game is for players who relish Taking Risks, who want their Skill to Matter, and who Want Open PvP Everywhere. Play 2 Crush.

/end green text

[Paelos]

Even if I lose, the experience won’t feel hollow. I don’t want another worthless trophy.

The answer is they want more realistic sheep.

[tazelbain]

So Craterbane it is.

[Paelos]

If a game like this set their sights at 100k subs to make their money? They'll be just fine. If they set the mark at a million (which seems to be the goal of all stupid companies who don't realize they are niche and not WoW) they will burn.

[schild]

Given how many top-heavy yet still underexperience and overpaid people are already involved with the project, I expect nothing more than a hilarious trainwreck. I hope Raph isn't working on equity.

[Falconeer]

If a game like this set their sights at 100k subs to make their money? They'll be just fine. If they set the mark at a million (which seems to be the goal of all stupid companies who don't realize they are niche and not WoW) they will burn.

See, my estimation of the niche at the present time is much lower. I think they should aim for 40k.

[Threash]

I think if they are thinking subs they already failed.

[Nija]

HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM HAM

[Lucas]

I think if they are thinking subs they already failed.

Agreed; although you could argue that the aforementioned 40k-100k is so niche, dedicated and starving for a game like this  that they will gladly support the game with a sub ($7 - $9 per month would be reasonable, not $15 :P).

[Falconeer]

Agreed. Make it box price and maybe a premium account of some sort for those willing to pay it.

[Malakili]

I think if they are thinking subs they already failed.

Agreed; although you could argue that the aforementioned 40k-100k is so niche, dedicated and starving for a game like this  that they will gladly support the game with a sub ($7 - $9 per month would be reasonable, not $15 :P).

I'd much prefer this kind of model.  I've yet to play a F2P MMO that kept my attention and didn't annoy me with the pricing model.  Hell, if 10 bucks a month is what you need from me to run the game, then just charge me 10 bucks a month and let me play.

[Flood]

I'd much prefer this kind of model.  I've yet to play a F2P MMO that kept my attention and didn't annoy me with the pricing model.  Hell, if 10 bucks a month is what you need from me to run the game, then just charge me 10 bucks a month and let me play.

Could not agree more.  I'll gladly pay the box fee and a reasonable monthly to enable me to just play.  Free games spend so much time finding ways to cleverly downplay the pay gates; that's resources / energy that could be spent actually making the game better.

[Flood]

D'oh double post.

[UnSub]

This is pretty much the last gasp of "we can make a meaningful MMO" crowd.

As such, I will appreciate watching the dating, honeymoon, marriage and divorce with f13 play out, drink in hand.

[Hutch]

This is pretty much the last gasp of "we can make a meaningful MMO" crowd.

Let's hope so.

[tazelbain]

This is pretty much the last gasp of "we can make a meaningful MMO" crowd.

I would like to point out that EvE has pvp with serve consequences and still give sheep cover to minimize their exposure.

[Merusk]

Nothing here hasn't made me laugh. Nothing.

[schild]

As such, I will appreciate watching the dating, honeymoon, marriage and divorce with f13 play out, drink in hand.

I want to see as many threads for this as we have for Garriott's latest stillborn child.

[sam, an eggplant]

SotA is a single-player game masquerading as a dynamically instanced B2P MMO. No reason to think it will fail to launch or find an audience. It probably won't set the world on fire, but it should do OK. And who knows, maybe it will be the next true Ultima. I'm not in the early access or beta or whatever they're calling it, but Ultima 7 is my personal Best Game of All Time.

Crowfall, on the other hand, may never launch at all. We haven't even seen the kickstarter yet.

[Triforcer]

Interesting article on crafting- http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1214/feature/9325/Improving-Upon-Star-Wars-Galaxies-Crafting.html/page/1

I wonder if the formula here is full loot PvP+easily craftable armor (that eventually completely deteriorates) to continually supply replacements.  Sort of like how everyone in UO had 20 replacement sets of armor in the bank. 

[Rendakor]

I want to play a game like this just as a crafter, for a front row seat of schadenfreude.

[Shatter]

Interesting article on crafting- http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1214/feature/9325/Improving-Upon-Star-Wars-Galaxies-Crafting.html/page/1

I wonder if the formula here is full loot PvP+easily craftable armor (that eventually completely deteriorates) to continually supply replacements.  Sort of like how everyone in UO had 20 replacement sets of armor in the bank. 

Wasn't that how SWG was?  If I recall your gear degraded from usage and I think you could repair it but it would lose stats and max durability or something each time you repaired.  Point is you would have to replace it eventually which kept the crafters in business. Always liked that concept since the best gear was crafted anyhow.  I always thought SWG crafting system was the best I've seen for an MMO, you could play that whole game just as a crafter if you wanted and a lot of people did. 

[Falconeer]

I want to play a game like this just as a crafter, for a front row seat of schadenfreude.

See? They specifically say that is going to be possible, and worth it. Like in SWG and UO, and EVE. What's not to like IF they can make it? It worked for those games. Two of which are still active and with a paid subscritpion by the way, and the other was murdered prematurely after having the crafting system in question had been reoved.

[Signe]

Hey!  Crafting by Raph!  I'll play.

[Lantyssa]

Interesting article on crafting- http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1214/feature/9325/Improving-Upon-Star-Wars-Galaxies-Crafting.html/page/1

Dammit.  Why does the most interesting craft system in the pipelines have to be in some SB rip-off?

Curse both Raph and Triforcer for giving me an inkly of interest.  At least enough to watch how this develops.  (I've died and gone to Hell.  Triforcer is the only name I know pre-f13 because of SWG.  Now I'm re-living the nightmare of excitement and disappointment that it was.)

[Triforcer]

Those were the days...as a geeky college freshman I had unlimited amounts of time to devote to the pre-release SWG forums.  I wish I could deny that I was feeling a teensy bit of that old time religion, but even bitter experience and the influence of f13 haven't entirely burned it away.  I'd love to hear Caella and LazyAmy's opinion on this!

On another note, the Crowfall forums are already absolutely delightful.  When someone says "Um, guys, how will FFA full loot possibly work in sieges when you die 10 times a siege?" it is met with 10 posts telling them to go back to WoW.  And even those in favor of FFA full loot are sniping at each other for insufficient purity