I wish GS would do a damn kickstarter to fund an expansion pack.

omfg

Braben AND Roberts with space sims in the works?

My cup runneth over!

Cool, though it sounds like it might be going for a kind of limited form of multiplayer, rather than being a proper MMO. From the kickstarter page:

Multiplayer: you will be able to control who else you might encounter in your game – perhaps limit it to just your friends? Cooperate on adventures or chase your friends down to get that booty. The game will work in a seamless, lobby-less way, with the ability to rendezvous with friends as you choose. This technology is already working, using a combination of peer-to-peer (to reduce lag) and server connections.

So that makes me wonder whether they're actually going to have a main universe where everybody is bumping into eachother, or if it would be more like Animal Crossing where you just link up with some friends.

GS doesn't believe it taking this game to the next level, TRS. It would have happened by now.

As I see it they are doing everything in their power right now to take it to the next level. Vendetta has a number of firsts under its belt, including the first PC MMORPG to be ported to mobile devices, and the first Tegra game available on the Windows Marketplace. All while staying true to their original vision of no-dice-rolling, "twitch" combat in a persistent multiplatform universe.

That hast to be the one of the worst Kickstarters for a game I've ever seen, but they're getting tons of money. It boggles the mind.

To be honest, I didn't think we'd be able to command a lot of attention on Kickstarter, not having the well-known products of some of the more successful people on there. Elite, Wing Commander, the ex-LucasArts people at Double Fine, and so on, these are all names that really resonate with a whole generation of gamers. I wasn't sure that going on there and then failing (as quite a few have) would be net-positive or not, especially if it impacted my talks with other companies and whatnot. But, perhaps I should have tried it.

Ironically, most of the time I spend running around and doing other, not-game-related stuff (like new platforms and corporate-relationship work) is to drum up enough money to get back to working on the game. So the concept of a Kickstarter is really pretty well suited to us: I really just want enough money to not have to worry about everyone for a couple of years, and be able to focus on making the game better. But could having a Kickstarter, and then failing at it, kill our chances for venture capital? That's possible.

Is it worth the risk anyway? Maybe..?

The only way you can fail is if you set the bar WAY too high for your product. If you are seriously worried about failure on kickstarter having a negative impact on your other marketing activities you could always just run a small campaign to raise say $20,000-$50,000 for a few features to be added like capshields or player stations or a series of improvements that is guaranteed to get existing community support. Then add some support levels including subs or custom skins, having weapons named after you or somesuch.

There's also the consideration that it is a marketing activity in itself.

I started a thread about this before, the key question is what can you offer to deliver and how much would be required to do so? Give us a heads up so we can help you design something that we would have no problems getting behind.

There's also the consideration that it is a marketing activity in itself.

That point has definitely been in mind for me all along, and I do agree.

There is also some time investment to make a quality video for the kickstarter, which has been a hallmark of every successful campaign. I can do this, probably in a week or two (I had to personally create the entire trailer in less than 48 hours), but like everything else.. it juggles priorities.

As for the different tiers and what to give away.. I'm honestly not sure right now. Like maybe we could let people name sectors and systems (ice/asteroid fields, planets?) in the future "expanded universe", or something (those would be priced pretty high, and the names would have to pass with us). But for small stuff, I don't really.. know. A few specialized ship textures are not a big deal (like the vulture anniversary edition). Any kind of variant that replicates an existing item/weapon/ship but with a different name, is pretty easy.

Obviously, I don't want to put anyone in a position of paying for something that really gives them a meaningful long-term advantage in the game. But as long as we avoid that, I'm.. open to ideas?

I think there's probably value to starting a new Kickstarter related thread on Suggestions, and posting ideas there, rather than here.

Ta-da! http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/26745

Incidentally, if you need gameplay footage I have oodles of it: youtube.com/redeternaldominion

I'm also happy to help with videoing new footage to go into a kickstarter vid.

If you need gameplay footage I have oodles of it from a Serco propoganda perspective, you mean.

Get Itan to make a few videos too (they have some already I believe) if you'd like to bring the role play to Kickstarter, Inc. ;)

hahahahahaha

just because there's footage of you exploding doesn't mean it's propaganda, after all you DO explode.

If they use any gameplay footage, it should probably be gathered by them, to avoid RP bias from both sides.

Yes, but there is no footage of Serco exploding, even though you do far more than I (personally), and as much as Itan. :P

I don't think showing off a plugin-modded HUD is a good idea for gameplay trailers anyways.

I was more referring to the oddles of unpublished footage I have, lots of it doesn't have HUD like the queening stuff.