Melan on 17/2/2018 at 21:00
They cheated their backers by turning a faithful remake into a reboot, then they cheated their backers again by failing to deliver even that reboot. They deserve no sympathy.
I am happy I cancelled my pledge when I saw the signs.
Renault on 17/2/2018 at 21:53
Between this situation and the "tech ninjas" bit from a few years back, I'd say this guy's credibility is close to shot.
Vae on 18/2/2018 at 01:07
He'd have to make a drastic atonement in order to escape his otherwise obvious fate.
Quote Posted by Melan
They cheated their backers by turning a faithful remake into a reboot, then they cheated their backers again by failing to deliver even that reboot. They deserve no sympathy.
Agreed...That's exactly how it went. It was a betrayal of community trust and resource to handle the 1.3 million in such an incompetent and/or devious manner...There simply isn't any good excuse for such behavior.
Quote:
I am happy I cancelled my pledge when I saw the signs.
You and me, both.
D'Arcy on 18/2/2018 at 02:00
Quote Posted by Melan
They cheated their backers by turning a faithful remake into a reboot, then they cheated their backers again by failing to deliver even that reboot.
Exactly my thoughts. I wasn't pleased at all with the way this was going. When I backed the project I was expecting a faithful remake. I was even hoping that they would use the original audio logs in the game. Instead I just watched them getting more and more 'creative', much to my dismay.
Starker on 18/2/2018 at 04:04
Quote Posted by Pyrian
Yeah. They'd need a fresh infusion of capital to even start, and with the Kickstarter money already gone but the debt to backers still there, they'd need to convince someone to pony up enough money to do the project with a large chunk of its returns already realized and spent.
Not necessarily. If Night Dive is making enough money as a publisher, they can afford to keep a small team working on this, especially if it's not a 15 contractors kind of team any more.
Pyrian on 18/2/2018 at 07:02
Well, yeah, I suppose if they have enough money they could convince themselves to pony it up. Strictly speaking they've basically agreed to, one way or the other - if they admit the project is dead and they have the money, they're obligated to refund the kickstarter. Not sure how strong that obligation is.
On the other hand, if they put this project on "indefinite hiatus" and then fund something else to which they're not obligated to deliver ~20,000 copies that are already paid for... That's got to be financially very tempting.
icemann on 18/2/2018 at 07:27
The other problem is that Night Dive could never go to Kickstarter or similar service again as their credibility is gone. This was their first big games project and they failed to listen to the fans, instead going with what they wanted the game to be more like.
Reputations are everything with Kickstarter. Have a goid amount and people will feel more encouraged to back every project you put forward. Have bad rep and you aint got a chance in hell of getting backing.
Starker on 18/2/2018 at 08:13
Wonder what would happen if Night Dive were to go belly up. Which one of the big companies scoops up the rights to the games?
EvaUnit02 on 18/2/2018 at 11:27
Sounds like they had drifted into George Broussard-Duke Nukem Forever development hell territory but thankfully they've woken up from their fever dream and reigned the project in.
Quote:
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https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/16/17016744/system-shock-reboot-hiatus-nightdive-interview)
A source familiar with the project, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Polygon that “mission creep” and unrealistic ambitions had eaten up the Kickstarter funds, something that Nightdive largely confirmed. In an interview with Polygon, director of business development Larry Kuperman said that a strategy to pitch the game to publishers, in order to secure more funding, had not been successful. He added that around 15 contract workers will no longer be working on the game, but that Nightdive is not laying off any full-time staff.
Kuperman said that he had been speaking with various publishers about funding development, but that Nightdive's vision and ambition did not match with market expectations. “A shiny new thing comes along and gets added to the project,” he said. “And our developers wanted to add their own ideas. The vision expanded.”
After the hiatus, said Kuperman, development will begin again, with some creators of the original demo — which attracted so much interest on Kickstarter — likely returning to work on the project. When pressed for a timeline, he estimated the game's release at “18 to 24 months” from now.
EvaUnit02 on 18/2/2018 at 11:37
Quote Posted by Starker
Wonder what would happen if Night Dive were to go belly up. Which one of the big companies scoops up the rights to the games?
Otherside or SS3's publisher Starbreeze would probably grab the IP in the fire sale auction since they're already in early production for SS3. Otherside literally staffed a new team in Austin, TX to specifically to work on SS3 after all. I think Starbreeze has already floated a good million $ for development at this stage too.