Camelot Unchained (Mark Jacobs new daoc) - Kickstarter soon

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Camelot Unchained (Mark Jacobs new daoc) - Kickstarter soon

Post by Raf »

Hey Guys,

Beside my own game (see other topic) I am also really excited about the new DAOC style game Mark Jacobs is launching on Kickstarter. For those who don't know he was the co-founder/CEO of Mythic Entertainment that made Dark Age of Camelot.

He is proposing an RvR centric daoc style game with housing, crafting etc but no plans for pure PvE. He has posted a lot of blogs on his design ideas if you want to read it further on their website here.

The kickstarter launch hasn't begun yet but will probably next week or two. It will likely be for several million as that's what it would take to make a game like this. So if you are interested let me know and pass it on to others..

This is a partial list of their kickstarter tiers. I have also heard there will be tiers (for clans/groups)

Kickstarter Tiers

Note: If you can also sign up to their newsletter for an extra founder bonus here
Last edited by Raf on Mon Apr 15, 2013 10:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Bloodletter »

This looks great.

Can't wait for Beta Access to open.

Would be nice to play a new game for a while.

-Jaylum (aka Bloodletter)
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Post by Raf »

Hey man, I tried to email you last week but it looked like no host. Can you private msg me your new email?

re: Camelot , are you thinking of pledging? I was holding off hoping to see if any others want to and we can go on the same tier.

Cheers!
Raf/Luyce/Vasagh
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Post by troggs »

I look at it this way:
- Wasteland 2, which is a single person 2.5D isometric rpg, collected 3m - 3x the original goal. While it is too early to say, it seems kickstarted funded games that are likely to succeed tend to beat the goal handily. CU, on the other hand, goes up slow, and would barely reach the goal, if at all.
- Producing MMO is more expensive probably than classic RPG . Even if it reaches 2m and devs pitch in another 2m, the budget seems rather small, in comparison - and devs would likely have to cut some corners to release it.
- PvP crowd, which is traditionally very vocal on gaming forums, did not seem to put money where their mouth is...

So, my personal verdict is - no pledging to CU - I'd rather not have a game, than get some half-done garbage based on a VERY good idea.
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Post by Raf »

It's true it went up very fast in the first few days but since reaching 850K-1M it slowed down. I think there are a lot of people on the fence or who haven't yet pledged (like me).

This is from Mark Jacobs latest newsletter:

"Are you on the fence?

We knew that our Kickstarter campaign wasn’t going to be an easy sell. We are asking for $2M which isn’t the largest Kickstarter ask but it is still very significant. Even though I am putting up $2M of my own money (and an additional $1M from investors) to fund completion, we know that many of you are still nervous about committing. If you are among those who are waiting to see if we get closer to funding before committing to our Kickstarter, I have to ask you why? Kickstarter, unlike PayPal, doesn’t charge your credit card until the project funds. Thus, you can back us without worrying about being charged for a project that doesn’t fund. This is why we can’t use PayPal until after Camelot Unchained funds. Also, by pledging now you help us as we pass through the Kickstarter doldrums that very often happen in the middle of a project. I’m hesitant to use any gimmicks (“Pledge now and receive a pony!”) but I will simply say this, if you believe in what you’ve seen so far from Camelot Unchained and have not currently pledged, it’s time to show your support. Doing so costs you nothing and in the meantime, it may help encourage other people to pledge as well. If everyone who signed up for our newsletter pledged now we would be a lot closer to making our goal. So please, if you like what you’ve seen and heard from myself and CSE, now’s the time for getting off that fence before it leaves a permanent mark! :)"
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Post by Raf »

troggs:

I think part of the reason people pledged so high with some games like Wasteland 2, Project Eternity is there are so few of those and it's been like 20+ years since they played these games.

Another thing is for MMO a lot of people want PvE and haven't experienced DAoC style RvR which is also different than full-loot pvp like darkfall online. I also think there is a decline in MMO's people are pretty bored with the same'ol (look at star wars online) and more people are playing ipad/mobile games.

On the positive side, I feel if anyone can make a good RvR MMO it has to be Mark Jacobs, he knows well what worked (daoc) and what didn't (warhammer/Star wars) and what it takes.

If he gets his 2 million + 3 million from the investor/his money I think 5 million is a good amount to work with for 2-3 years. He is not doing PvE and at launch there won't be as many classes as DAoC so I think he has planned reasonably. There is also a chance he can get more funding at the end from other investors if really needed (he probably doesn't want to give up equity though).

I think the worst case scenario is if he doesn't reach the 2 million. Even if he can put in his own money he probably won't if it's not very close.
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Post by troggs »

Hi Raf!
Don't get me wrong - I do like the game idea, but...
The argument of additional investors is actually another turnoff, for a simple reason.
If kickstarter is your only primary source of funds, kickstarter community mostly dictates what gets built (ok, developer may not listen, but, let's assume good will for a moment). When significant portion of money comes from external investors, this is no different from a case when game gets a classic publisher - they invest money, devs get the game built - but, it also means they get influence on the project. And unlike faceless kickstarter community, they have means to voice their preferences much more effectively (as well as demand return on their investment - and thus press to release game asap half done and whatnot - all the familiar stuff).
Raf wrote:
If he gets his 2 million + 3 million from the investor/his money I think 5 million is a good amount to work with for 2-3 years. He is not doing PvE and at launch there won't be as many classes as DAoC so I think he has planned reasonably. There is also a chance he can get more funding at the end from other investors if really needed (he probably doesn't want to give up equity though).

I think the worst case scenario is if he doesn't reach the 2 million. Even if he can put in his own money he probably won't if it's not very close.
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Post by Raf »

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16-K ... qsx8ohfrge

Google docs compilation of Camelot Unchained systems from various interviews/blogs/Q&A
including the 5 classes (Crafter as a class)
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Post by Bloodletter »

I already did the Kickstarter. Did the $50 unit - since it offered 2 months + Alpha - figure the 2 months is worth about half the $50 bucks anyways.
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Post by Raf »

I'm also backing at the $50 tier, that one gives access to Beta I - Feb 2015. I think it's a good entry point and the game should be closer to it's final form and playable.

The next step up would have been the $110 tier which gives 3 months and Alpha access - July 2014.

The question remains whether they are gonna hit the goal with 3 days remaining. They still need about 400K. I wonder if Mark Jacobs will make up the difference if it's short 100K or so, he has also said I think he will redo it if they don't meet the goal but there is definite interest. So I don't think he is going to abandon it at this point.
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Post by Raf »

> 23 hours to go and the kickstarter is at $1,857,564

At the rate it's going it has a very good chance of making from the looks of things. Crossing fingers! Troggs come on board at the $50 tier to join us :)

> UPDATE! 20 hours to go and it is now at $1,968,183
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Post by Bloodletter »

Welp, they made their goal.

Guess I am on the hook for $50.

:)
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Post by troggs »

Nice last day surge - almost +300K from more than 2000 new backers!
Glad to see they succeeded, as the outlook was looking rather bleak until the last day...
Bloodletter wrote:Welp, they made their goal.

Guess I am on the hook for $50.

:)
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Post by Raf »

Made the 1st stretch goal and a good chance to make the 2nd goal. Still 13 hours to go!

So are you joining us Troggs? :)
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Post by Bloodletter »

Something neat about Kickstarter.

It does change the dynamic of how games can be financed.

Would have been nice to have it 5 years ago for Raf's project.
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