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Saga Of Lucimia Creator No Longer Involved In MMORPG's Development | MMORPG.com

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  • UngoodUngood Member LegendaryPosts: 7,534
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Kickstarter, says several times over that you are not buying a product, that their site is to crowdfund ideas, you are NOT purchasing goods and services, you are backing a potential product, and they do this, just so that people won't get the idea into their heads that this is a purchase, because it is not.

    However, even with Kickstarter saying all over their site that this is not a purchase and that you are backing a venture which may or may not be successful (I believe they boast around an 80% Success), and is not a purchase and should not be treated as such, it seems some people still don't get that.

    It is that kind of being deliberately obtuse about what the situation is, that I have an issue with.

    The real easiest solution is, if someone can't accept the risks of backing a project, which may fail, and realize that money gets spent regardless of success or fails, that they should not get involved with crowdfunding projects, and should instead spend their money on buying things off Amazon or Steam. It's that simple.
    Kyleran[Deleted User]
    Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.

  • BrainyBrainy Member EpicPosts: 2,164
    Sovrath said:
    Brainy said:


    Let me understand the equivalency because I am not familiar with the Art projects you are talking about.

    So you give money to an Artist projects, that says they will send you a piece of art at its completion.  The artist decides its not worth their time anymore to complete the art, so artist just keeps the money and goes on their merry way? No harm no foul.

    Seems scammy to me.

    Not exactly.

    If I give money to an arts "organization" and they fold then I don't get that money back. Not if I give money in the hopes of getting a painting or sculpture or some such thing then that's something completely different.


    So I donate so they can continue and have another season, give another performance, "stay open" if it's some sort of small gallery but their costs are prohibitive and they can't continue, then I don't get that money back.

    If I give to a listed non-profit, let's say to the now defunct Hartford Ballet then I can't get my money back. That money has to go to another non-profit. Not sure how that's decided.

    This is of course if their debts are cleared.


    Well I don't see this as similar then.  Maybe similar would be for them to say they need to sell at least 300 tickets for a show, get payment for 300+ tickets.  Then decide to stop working on the show and keep the money.

    I am also not making a legal case, I agree its legal, but why should it continue to be legal is my argument.  How does this possibly help the industry as a whole, letting these scammers or very least incompetent people take this money are run.
  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    KyleranYashaX

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • lahnmirlahnmir Member LegendaryPosts: 5,050
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Definitely, but even then people would find ways to interpret the word Donate in such a way that they feel entitled to something.

    As for the rest, I used the word ‘enticed’ very deliberately  ;)

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'

    Kyleran on yours sincerely 


    'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'

    Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...



    'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless. 

    It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.

    It is just huge resource waste....'

    Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer

  • BrainyBrainy Member EpicPosts: 2,164
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Yes I agree with you, they are misleading people on purpose no doubt.
    Kyleran
  • WellspringWellspring Member EpicPosts: 1,464
    edited March 2021
    It's been 6 months since Tim and his brother left the project, yet Stormhaven Studios is still refusing to talk about the elephant in the room. The company has yet to even announced his the departure. We only learned out about it now from a post made by Tim, 3 months after leaving.

    Six months. SIX months of the company's new leadership pretending like things were normal and collecting payments from new pledges. That's messed up.

    I still can't wrap my head around it. What could've caused @Renfail 1) to leave the project he founded, and 2) agree to be bound to complete silence??


    Not sure if this comment sparked action, but as of this morning, links to the following pages have now been removed from the SoL website:
    The pre-order page has the following message:

    "Pre-Orders have been Suspended at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience. Feel Free to visit us on our Discord or on the Forums for updates."

    I briefly checked the forums and discord, but don't see any announcement about it.
    RenfailSlapshot1188Ungood
    --------------------------------------------
  • BrainyBrainy Member EpicPosts: 2,164
    lahnmir said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Definitely, but even then people would find ways to interpret the word Donate in such a way that they feel entitled to something.

    As for the rest, I used the word ‘enticed’ very deliberately  ;)

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    Look there are donations on patreon or twitch or any other service, people understand its a donation.  I know of mods or even in the old days shareware had donation.  People understood this was just a gift to the author.

    No what is happening here on Crowdfunding, is deliberately misleading by offering a product in return for money.  Then not delivering on the product and walking away with the money.
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Definitely, but even then people would find ways to interpret the word Donate in such a way that they feel entitled to something.

    As for the rest, I used the word ‘enticed’ very deliberately  ;)

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    Look there are donations on patreon or twitch or any other service, people understand its a donation.  I know of mods or even in the old days shareware had donation.  People understood this was just a gift to the author.

    No what is happening here on Crowdfunding, is deliberately misleading by offering a product in return for money.  Then not delivering on the product and walking away with the money.
    But that's not what's going on.

    They are saying "we believe we can make this product, there are risks, the project might not be completed or it might change from the initial scope. Knowing this will you still like to give money to the project."

    And then at that point, it's let the buyer beware.
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,483
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Definitely, but even then people would find ways to interpret the word Donate in such a way that they feel entitled to something.

    As for the rest, I used the word ‘enticed’ very deliberately  ;)

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    Look there are donations on patreon or twitch or any other service, people understand its a donation.  I know of mods or even in the old days shareware had donation.  People understood this was just a gift to the author.

    No what is happening here on Crowdfunding, is deliberately misleading by offering a product in return for money.  Then not delivering on the product and walking away with the money.
    People offer something in return for your donation on Patreon, too.  They're generally structured as, I'm working on such and such, and if you donate money now, you'll be able to see the posts I've made so far, as well as future ones.
  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    It's been 6 months since Tim and his brother left the project, yet Stormhaven Studios is still refusing to talk about the elephant in the room. The company has yet to even announced his the departure. We only learned out about it now from a post made by Tim, 3 months after leaving.

    Six months. SIX months of the company's new leadership pretending like things were normal and collecting payments from new pledges. That's messed up.

    I still can't wrap my head around it. What could've caused @Renfail 1) to leave the project he founded, and 2) agree to be bound to complete silence??


    Not sure if this comment sparked action, but as of this morning, links to the following pages have now been removed from the SoL website:
    The pre-order page has the following message:

    "Pre-Orders have been Suspended at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience. Feel Free to visit us on our Discord or on the Forums for updates."

    I briefly checked the forums and discord, but don't see any announcement about it.
    Interesting!   Also, they changed the art of the Avatar/Icon for the SoL Discord...

    My guess (no inside knowledge) is that they realize those sites referred to Beta in July of this year and launch in Dec and that there is no way they will hit those targets.  

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    UPDATE-  Apparently there has been an update post in the Alpha forums.  That is under NDA so no description for external folks.
    Brainy

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • lahnmirlahnmir Member LegendaryPosts: 5,050
    UPDATE-  Apparently there has been an update post in the Alpha forums.  That is under NDA so no description for external folks.
    I can confirm this and will not comment on the issue any further because I would A. be breaking NDA or B. making up stuff while I know better. Do continue though, its entertaining.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    Slapshot1188
    'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'

    Kyleran on yours sincerely 


    'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'

    Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...



    'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless. 

    It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.

    It is just huge resource waste....'

    Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Brainy said:



    Well I don't see this as similar then.  Maybe similar would be for them to say they need to sell at least 300 tickets for a show, get payment for 300+ tickets.  Then decide to stop working on the show and keep the money.

    I am also not making a legal case, I agree its legal, but why should it continue to be legal is my argument.  How does this possibly help the industry as a whole, letting these scammers or very least incompetent people take this money are run.
    My only thought is to go back to what has already been suggested and have people/groups who receive money give a list of expenditures.

    But then my worry is that every armchair developer/person who gave money will start questioning why they bought x when y is better, why are they buying the group lunch, etc.

    I did find this on a site which very well could have been mentioned above (I seem to remember seeing something about an escrow account.)

    • Platform Escrow with Post-campaign Mandatory Verification (PE-V). Any funds that exceed the campaign’s original goal will be put in escrow until the product is developed successfully. If the product fails to deliver, the money in escrow will be used to refund backers. The platform also must take steps to verify that the product works as promised. To minimize the cost of verification, survey the backers to see what they think of the product. Commission traditional testing, which is costlier, only if backers complain the product didn’t deliver.

    On some level, I like this because it forces the organization to ask a realistic amount for their project instead of lowballing knowing that a realistic number will deter donations. 

    And then anything extra could be used to partly reimburse if things don't work out.
    Brainy
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    lahnmir

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    It's been 6 months since Tim and his brother left the project, yet Stormhaven Studios is still refusing to talk about the elephant in the room. The company has yet to even announced his the departure. We only learned out about it now from a post made by Tim, 3 months after leaving.

    Six months. SIX months of the company's new leadership pretending like things were normal and collecting payments from new pledges. That's messed up.

    I still can't wrap my head around it. What could've caused @Renfail 1) to leave the project he founded, and 2) agree to be bound to complete silence??


    Not sure if this comment sparked action, but as of this morning, links to the following pages have now been removed from the SoL website:
    The pre-order page has the following message:

    "Pre-Orders have been Suspended at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience. Feel Free to visit us on our Discord or on the Forums for updates."

    I briefly checked the forums and discord, but don't see any announcement about it.
    Interesting!   Also, they changed the art of the Avatar/Icon for the SoL Discord...

    My guess (no inside knowledge) is that they realize those sites referred to Beta in July of this year and launch in Dec and that there is no way they will hit those targets.  
    Nope... that wasn't it:
    (Public Discord Channel) Undone — Today at 1:32 PM
    we're working within our current timelines.  doing our best to get something going by the end of the year


    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • BrainyBrainy Member EpicPosts: 2,164
    Sovrath said:
    Brainy said:



    Well I don't see this as similar then.  Maybe similar would be for them to say they need to sell at least 300 tickets for a show, get payment for 300+ tickets.  Then decide to stop working on the show and keep the money.

    I am also not making a legal case, I agree its legal, but why should it continue to be legal is my argument.  How does this possibly help the industry as a whole, letting these scammers or very least incompetent people take this money are run.
    My only thought is to go back to what has already been suggested and have people/groups who receive money give a list of expenditures.

    But then my worry is that every armchair developer/person who gave money will start questioning why they bought x when y is better, why are they buying the group lunch, etc.

    I did find this on a site which very well could have been mentioned above (I seem to remember seeing something about an escrow account.)

    • Platform Escrow with Post-campaign Mandatory Verification (PE-V). Any funds that exceed the campaign’s original goal will be put in escrow until the product is developed successfully. If the product fails to deliver, the money in escrow will be used to refund backers. The platform also must take steps to verify that the product works as promised. To minimize the cost of verification, survey the backers to see what they think of the product. Commission traditional testing, which is costlier, only if backers complain the product didn’t deliver.

    On some level, I like this because it forces the organization to ask a realistic amount for their project instead of lowballing knowing that a realistic number will deter donations. 

    And then anything extra could be used to partly reimburse if things don't work out.
    This is not a bad plan, give the game some money, but then make them earn the rest.  Really wish this was implemented for Crowdfunding.
  • MendelMendel Member LegendaryPosts: 5,609
    Sovrath said:
    Brainy said:



    Well I don't see this as similar then.  Maybe similar would be for them to say they need to sell at least 300 tickets for a show, get payment for 300+ tickets.  Then decide to stop working on the show and keep the money.

    I am also not making a legal case, I agree its legal, but why should it continue to be legal is my argument.  How does this possibly help the industry as a whole, letting these scammers or very least incompetent people take this money are run.
    My only thought is to go back to what has already been suggested and have people/groups who receive money give a list of expenditures.

    But then my worry is that every armchair developer/person who gave money will start questioning why they bought x when y is better, why are they buying the group lunch, etc.

    I did find this on a site which very well could have been mentioned above (I seem to remember seeing something about an escrow account.)

    • Platform Escrow with Post-campaign Mandatory Verification (PE-V). Any funds that exceed the campaign’s original goal will be put in escrow until the product is developed successfully. If the product fails to deliver, the money in escrow will be used to refund backers. The platform also must take steps to verify that the product works as promised. To minimize the cost of verification, survey the backers to see what they think of the product. Commission traditional testing, which is costlier, only if backers complain the product didn’t deliver.

    On some level, I like this because it forces the organization to ask a realistic amount for their project instead of lowballing knowing that a realistic number will deter donations. 

    And then anything extra could be used to partly reimburse if things don't work out.

    The problem of lowballing seems to come directly from Kickstarter.  I think it pays when the desired amount is reached (minus the 5%).  This definition considers any campaign that reaches the minimum amount to be 'successful'.  I think this contributes to the high success rate of MMORPG KS success rates as was recently listed on MOP's article.  Companies lowball a project cost in the hopes of getting something, even if that is only some seed money for other financial endeavors.  (The distinction is that KS is a specific site/program to raise money, whereas Crowdfunding could be any public fund raising effort).

    I could be drastically wrong here.



    Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    edited March 2021
    Mendel said:
    Sovrath said:
    Brainy said:



    Well I don't see this as similar then.  Maybe similar would be for them to say they need to sell at least 300 tickets for a show, get payment for 300+ tickets.  Then decide to stop working on the show and keep the money.

    I am also not making a legal case, I agree its legal, but why should it continue to be legal is my argument.  How does this possibly help the industry as a whole, letting these scammers or very least incompetent people take this money are run.
    My only thought is to go back to what has already been suggested and have people/groups who receive money give a list of expenditures.

    But then my worry is that every armchair developer/person who gave money will start questioning why they bought x when y is better, why are they buying the group lunch, etc.

    I did find this on a site which very well could have been mentioned above (I seem to remember seeing something about an escrow account.)

    • Platform Escrow with Post-campaign Mandatory Verification (PE-V). Any funds that exceed the campaign’s original goal will be put in escrow until the product is developed successfully. If the product fails to deliver, the money in escrow will be used to refund backers. The platform also must take steps to verify that the product works as promised. To minimize the cost of verification, survey the backers to see what they think of the product. Commission traditional testing, which is costlier, only if backers complain the product didn’t deliver.

    On some level, I like this because it forces the organization to ask a realistic amount for their project instead of lowballing knowing that a realistic number will deter donations. 

    And then anything extra could be used to partly reimburse if things don't work out.

    The problem of lowballing seems to come directly from Kickstarter.  I think it pays when the desired amount is reached (minus the 5%).  This definition considers any campaign that reaches the minimum amount to be 'successful'.  I think this contributes to the high success rate of MMORPG KS success rates as was recently listed on MOP's article.  Companies lowball a project cost in the hopes of getting something, even if that is only some seed money for other financial endeavors.  (The distinction is that KS is a specific site/program to raise money, whereas Crowdfunding could be any public fund raising effort).

    I could be drastically wrong here.



    KS does state that the amount requested has to equal the amount expected to fully fund the project I believe.

    But I think everyone focusing on KS is focusing on the wrong thing.   The overwhelming amount of funding to most of these Crowdfunded Projects comes in through direct sales on their own websites.

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  • WellspringWellspring Member EpicPosts: 1,464
    edited March 2021

    Six months late, but they've finally acknowledged that Tim & his brother are no longer w/ Stormhaven studios.

    The statement reads like a PR announcement carefully crafted by an attorney to cover their butts. It doesn't tell us anything about why he is no longer involved, just that Tim and his brother have "withdrawn". Involuntarily, voluntarily... "Withdrawn" could literally mean anything!

    Without telling us a good reason for their departure, I don't understand how the new leadership at Stromhaven studios expects anyone to trust them. It just makes it look like they're hiding something shady they did and they're hoping with enough time we all forget about it and stop asking questions.


    At least, that's how this situation looks to me.
    BrainyRenfail[Deleted User]Sovrath
    --------------------------------------------
  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 17,593
    edited March 2021

    Six months late, but they've finally acknowledged that Tim & his brother are no longer w/ Stormhaven studios.

    The statement reads like a PR announcement carefully crafted by an attorney to cover their butts. It doesn't tell us anything about why he is no longer involved, just that Tim and his brother have "withdrawn". Involuntarily, voluntarily... "Withdrawn" could literally mean anything!

    Without telling us a good reason for their departure, I don't understand how the new leadership at Stromhaven studios expects anyone to trust them. It just makes it look like they're hiding something shady they did and they're hoping with enough time we all forget about it and stop asking questions.


    At least, that's how this situation looks to me.
    Their Alpha (aka paid customer) update and Discord channel contains more details and I guess that's who they need to update.  Especially now that the Store is down and they aren't selling anything to new people for the time being...
    [Deleted User]Sovrath

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  • UngoodUngood Member LegendaryPosts: 7,534
    edited March 2021
    remsleep said:
    Sovrath said:
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Definitely, but even then people would find ways to interpret the word Donate in such a way that they feel entitled to something.

    As for the rest, I used the word ‘enticed’ very deliberately  ;)

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    Look there are donations on patreon or twitch or any other service, people understand its a donation.  I know of mods or even in the old days shareware had donation.  People understood this was just a gift to the author.

    No what is happening here on Crowdfunding, is deliberately misleading by offering a product in return for money.  Then not delivering on the product and walking away with the money.
    But that's not what's going on.

    They are saying "we believe we can make this product, there are risks, the project might not be completed or it might change from the initial scope. Knowing this will you still like to give money to the project."

    And then at that point, it's let the buyer beware.

    More like - 

    "after we get your money, you will never get it back and we can do fuck all with it never put an hour of work into the project. We can litteraly buy coke and do lines off hookers bare asses and you will never know any different.  After we blow all the cash we will post a heartfelt "we tried really hard but the project could not be completed" message- but don't worry our next Kickstarter is here where we will apply all the lessons learned and be successful.  Trust us!"

    That should be the real warning.

    At this point however, since SOL was not done through crowd fund but direct sales, this would be good time to lawyer up, or if you used a credit card, contact your credit card company and request a chargback, as the only way for a retailer to challenge a chargeback is to prove that they provided the product or service.

    Just saying the rules change a lot when it was a sale, as opposed to a crowd funded project.

    With the biggest divider being that you can fail a crowdfund, you are not allowed to fail when selling a product
    Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,975
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Yes I agree with you, they are misleading people on purpose no doubt.
    There we agree, many MMO crowd funded projects do mislead people, but not this particular one IMO.

    They clearly said they had no prior experience, gave 5 solid reasons not to donate (updated regularly btw), didn't run a continuous store front of pre order goods, actually stopped taking donations for a period, going dark to work on the game, and...had a bit of an arse as spokesperson who never went out of his way to win donations with his charm.

    Clearly we aren't being told the whole story, but I just can't classify this one as a blantent scam.

    No one can say they had no idea what they were getting into here or that the chances of a fun, playable game being delivered were even lower than most.




    Slapshot1188UngoodSovrathYashaX

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  • UngoodUngood Member LegendaryPosts: 7,534
    remsleep said:
    Ungood said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Kickstarter, says several times over that you are not buying a product, that their site is to crowdfund ideas, you are NOT purchasing goods and services, you are backing a potential product, and they do this, just so that people won't get the idea into their heads that this is a purchase, because it is not.

    However, even with Kickstarter saying all over their site that this is not a purchase and that you are backing a venture which may or may not be successful (I believe they boast around an 80% Success), and is not a purchase and should not be treated as such, it seems some people still don't get that.

    It is that kind of being deliberately obtuse about what the situation is, that I have an issue with.

    The real easiest solution is, if someone can't accept the risks of backing a project, which may fail, and realize that money gets spent regardless of success or fails, that they should not get involved with crowdfunding projects, and should instead spend their money on buying things off Amazon or Steam. It's that simple.

    The problem is that Kickstarter as a platform gets 5% of any successfully funded project.

    Kickstarter doesn't care at all what happens after that - if the project is successful or if it fails- they already gor their 5%

    This is why there are no regulations on how the money is spent or if the project was a total scam - kickstarter platform doesn't give a shit, they got their money.

    Kickstarter should be shut down- as well as any other platform like it - as all they do is encourage people good will to be taken advantage of by so many scammers

    When you setup a platform that is basically a scammers wet dream - where you can get money that you can keep regardless if you ever even intend to finish a project as long as you make a sales pitch good enough to get donations- yeah that shit should be shut down.

    And Kickstarter doesn't care that they are enabling scammers because hey 5% of successfully funded amount for hosting a simple donation site- its such easy money.

    Kickstarter platform has had 5.4 billion successfully funded projects - at 5% - they made $270 million for just hosting a donation website. 

    Think about that for a minute 

    Which makes it even more ostentatious that someone would feel entitled to a 100% refund, as Kickstarter takes a nonrefundable 5% cut, don't you think?

    I personally think it's great that they have funded 5.4 billion for projects, with a very positive success rate at that, which means, the vast majority of the people starting projects and people backing them, know what they want and what they are doing
    Sovrath
    Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.

  • UngoodUngood Member LegendaryPosts: 7,534
    Kyleran said:
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Yes I agree with you, they are misleading people on purpose no doubt.
    There we agree, many MMO crowd funded projects do mislead people, but not this particular one IMO.

    They clearly said they had no prior experience, gave 5 solid reasons not to donate (updated regularly btw), didn't run a continuous store front of pre order goods, actually stopped taking donations for a period, going dark to work on the game, and...had a bit of an arse as spokesperson who never went out of his way to win donations with his charm.

    Clearly we aren't being told the whole story, but I just can't classify this one as a blantent scam.

    No one can say they had no idea what they were getting into here or that the chances of a fun, playable game being delivered were even lower than most.




    WWhil this is all well and good, it's still illegal to sell a product you cannot provide
    Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Ungood said:
    Kyleran said:
    Brainy said:
    lahnmir said:
    Brainy said:
    Ungood said:

    To be honest, I like this idea better, as it would remove the sense of entitlement that some people have thinking that if the project fails, they should get 100% of their money back.
    What is your problem with backers?  Why do you feel they deserve to be punished?

    Backers are asked to give xxx money, they met their obligation, you don't think its now the devs responsibility to deliver the product they said they could make with that money?

    Do you also feel this way, when you buy something online and they send you a defective product or worse no product at all?

    I guess this is why I use Amazon Prime because I know I will get 100% money back if the item is not exactly as described.  Precisely why I wont be using Crowdfunding or giving money to these shady games until there is 100% certainty in the future.
    Why do you feel like backers are being punished? They donate to a project to increase its chances of succes/launch. That is all it really is at the end of the day, they even do it out of free will. No one is really being punished here. Enticed? Yes.

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    If companies just put a big red button on their store page that said PRESS TO DONATE and it had no product listing we would all be better off.

    That's not what they do though.  They literally have Stores, that have monthly Sales, that list Products that you can Purchase.  If you look at the TOS, many of them even describe "Sale of Goods".


    Yes I agree with you, they are misleading people on purpose no doubt.
    There we agree, many MMO crowd funded projects do mislead people, but not this particular one IMO.

    They clearly said they had no prior experience, gave 5 solid reasons not to donate (updated regularly btw), didn't run a continuous store front of pre order goods, actually stopped taking donations for a period, going dark to work on the game, and...had a bit of an arse as spokesperson who never went out of his way to win donations with his charm.

    Clearly we aren't being told the whole story, but I just can't classify this one as a blantent scam.

    No one can say they had no idea what they were getting into here or that the chances of a fun, playable game being delivered were even lower than most.




    WWhil this is all well and good, it's still illegal to sell a product you cannot provide
    Did they sell a product or take donations. 
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