My buddies' doubts.

[Dizzle 45]

So I'm super hyped for this game but my friend says otherwise and he brings up some good points for the devs to answer.

I told him the map size will be 200km sq and 300+ per server.

He said for $180,000 pledged, that's not happening.

He said the devs would have to build their own server infrastructure for that many people. And ALL the in game assets. Will they?


Then I made a rebuttal saying it's the same team that made Altis life. His response?

They had all the assets premade for Altis life. He also says there's no way this product will be finished unless the devs start selling alpha copies. 

Devs, pls. Lay this to rest. How can I convince him your game will be baller? MoTown pls.

[NutterButter 129]

Perhaps ask your friend to quit being so self righteous? Or cool the jets on the facts as they should be delivered as they're his opinion, he doesn't know how long the devs have worked on this game so far, does he? Or the kind of people the devs know- for all we know, he's got plenty of cards waiting for that 200k marker.

[NutterButter 129]

Just saying, sometimes just being friends with the right person drops your fee by 12k while everyone else deals with that fee 

[NutterButter 129]

Or hey, maybe optimism would be a better idea as your buddy is being pessimistic from my perspective, a realist and just tryna bring you down. 

[Dizzle 45]

Yeah man he does that a lot. He has like no faith in this game cause they promise such deep mechanics for such a small amount of money.

[dolore 59]

I believe in a interview I watch that they said they have some companies helping out finical so its not only the backers helping out. Plus the have been working on it for a long time so I assume they have a plan about finance.

[Kickapoo 569]

15 minutes ago, NutterButter said:

Perhaps ask your friend to quit being so self righteous? Or cool the jets on the facts as they should be delivered as they're his opinion, he doesn't know how long the devs have worked on this game so far, does he? Or the kind of people the devs know- for all we know, he's got plenty of cards waiting for that 200k marker.

He's entitled to his own opinion, and going off the number of failed early access crap such as The Stomping Ground we have, it's no surprise devs, especially devs having their project originate from Kickstarter have less trust from the community. Having said that though it hasn't even been a year yet so saying their current total raised in backer funds is not enough is unfair, games of this scale don't just happen overnight. Asylum are creating playable modules which will hopefully increase backer numbers once again, and the new forums and website seem to have sparked new interest, meaning the money raised may go up once again at a steady rate. Your friend has just gotta be patient and in this occasion more patient as Asylum don't want to release a public alpha in their current mindset. Don't take any notice of him, he sounds like his mind is made up and like NutterButter says here hes just being pessimistic about the game when he doesn't really know shit about it or it's development. 

[TheCobra 5]

$180.000 might not be that much for such a game, thinking about Rockstar used $265 million on GTA V, but as mentioned before, donations are still coming in, and the crew probably threw some money into this project aswell.

[Dizzle 45]

Yeah I just found a post of John saying the initial 150k was literally a "kickstart" and it's being used to create a proof of concept to interest investors that they're already in talks with.

[TheCobra 5]

1 minute ago, Dizzle said:

Yeah I just found a post of John saying the initial 150k was literally a "kickstart" and it's being used to create a proof of concept to interest investors that they're already in talks with.

Ohh i see  Thats nice! Hopefully they get some people to invest

[Kickapoo 569]

4 minutes ago, Dizzle said:

Yeah I just found a post of John saying the initial 150k was literally a "kickstart" and it's being used to create a proof of concept to interest investors that they're already in talks with.

Yup, Asylum want to make sure they don't sell their game to a big publisher and fall into their trap of being no longer to able to control its content, so they are trying to create a balance of kickstarted funds, continued backer support funds, obviously funds from Asylum and employees and also support from other investors who now have trust the game has public interest, due to the 150k kickstart fund you mentioned.

[Paratus 2,230]

Your friend isn't wrong, technically. Most his points are correct and quite valid. Our Altis Life game is using pre-made assets but you need to keep in mind that I produced Altis Life at no expense at all, $0. The majority of the Identity fund is spent on art, with a significant chunk to pay full-time programmers in our office as well.

The original plan was to create a proof of concept, which we have most of already, and then proceed with investors and publishers. The problem there is that we lose a large chunk of the Asylum company and publishers will pressure creativity for maximum profits. While we do have multiple publishers wanting on board, we're doing what we can without them. Should crowdfunding go well and word of Identity spreads, they'll simply not become necessary. Financially, right now we're comfortable and money has been budgeted to last. That said, the more exposure Identity gets means that our budget will allow quicker development (more developers on staff) and allow us to work in more polish.

So, we're on track as it is, but there's always room to improve. The server infrastructure you speak if is already complete.

[DrFelixPhD 90]

14 minutes ago, Paratus said:

Your friend isn't wrong, technically. Most his points are correct and quite valid. Our Altis Life game is using pre-made assets but you need to keep in mind that I produced Altis Life at no expense at all, $0. The majority of the Identity fund is spent on art, with a significant chunk to pay full-time programmers in our office as well.

The original plan was to create a proof of concept, which we have most of already, and then proceed with investors and publishers. The problem there is that we lose a large chunk of the Asylum company and publishers will pressure creativity for maximum profits. While we do have multiple publishers wanting on board, we're doing what we can without them. Should crowdfunding go well and word of Identity spreads, they'll simply not become necessary. Financially, right now we're comfortable and money has been budgeted to last. That said, the more exposure Identity gets means that our budget will allow quicker development (more developers on staff) and allow us to work in more polish.

So, we're on track as it is, but there's always room to improve. The server infrastructure you speak if is already complete.

If I can ask, how many artists, programmers and designers do you have working at Asylum right now?

[jabba_the_slut 59]

from whaty i understand, the money made from the kickstarter campaign was manley proof that gamers want this, so that asylum can get investors. the game is not PURLEY crowd funded, though obviousley there doing it aswell. 

 

[B0xer4 4]

Haha don't listen to your buddies' doubts just sit back relax and wait till the game comes.

[NutterButter 129]

4 hours ago, Kickapoo said:

He's entitled to his own opinion, and going off the number of failed early access crap such as The Stomping Ground we have, it's no surprise devs, especially devs having their project originate from Kickstarter have less trust from the community. 

I understand that, but if you go to YouTube and watch the interview and all the updates- you'll see that this has already been established as they're not trying to throw a game out the door- they want to deliver a good working and looking game thats smooth and is a life sim that you can do just about anything in. I trust our developers because I am trusting. I heard them, and I've no reason to say poppycock at all, as they're aiming at delivering a game(that may have delays) and trying hard, your buddy hasn't seen what's happening behind the scenes or how long they've been working.

And when he makes his opinion sound like it's meant to be factual, that's where I get defensive because then he's also a closed mind. Keep it to your oppinion and keep it light hearted. Otherwise there will be a butt hurt atmosphere.

Notice how I never enforce my opinion as fact unless I can control the reaction, like me being butt hurt. 

Just sayin.

There is a difference between stating your opinion and there is a way to say "idc what anyone says because nobody will change my mind."

[DrFelixPhD 90]

18 minutes ago, NutterButter said:

I understand that, but if you go to YouTube and watch the interview and all the updates- you'll see that this has already been established as they're not trying to throw a game out the door- they want to deliver a good working and looking game thats smooth and is a life sim that you can do just about anything in. I trust our developers because I am trusting. I heard them, and I've no reason to say poppycock at all, as they're aiming at delivering a game(that may have delays) and trying hard, your buddy hasn't seen what's happening behind the scenes or how long they've been working.

And when he makes his opinion sound like it's meant to be factual, that's where I get defensive because then he's also a closed mind. Keep it to your oppinion and keep it light hearted. Otherwise there will be a butt hurt atmosphere.

Notice how I never enforce my opinion as fact unless I can control the reaction, like me being butt hurt. 

Just sayin.

There is a difference between stating your opinion and there is a way to say "idc what anyone says because nobody will change my mind."

While I do completely trust the creators, there still always is the possibility of the game just simply being bad. I am convinced that they'll put our money to good use, however it's best not to get the hype train moving too fast.

[Notering 20]

 

2 hours ago, DrFelixPhD said:

While I do completely trust the creators, there still always is the possibility of the game just simply being bad. I am convinced that they'll put our money to good use, however it's best not to get the hype train moving too fast.

Unless the beta is the best thing humanity has ever seen!

[NutterButter 129]

1 hour ago, Notering said:

 

Unless the beta is the best thing humanity has ever seen!

I'm that case...

Oface!

[Atmosphere 66]

There's many failed kickstarter games, or alpha/beta games that don't get any coding done anymore (like DayZ) so I get where he's coming from, however you can't judge new companies based on how OTHER companies have done things. It's easy to develop a lost cause when you focus on the negatives.

Lets take the Witcher series for chance, when everyone heard of the first Witcher game being developed by a new company they lost all hope immediately, even before the game was made/finished. Afterwards the game became one of the best of it's time, and to now still an amazing game including W2 and W3.

 

[Fabulous 44]

The devs have said yes to almost every request a fan has given them regarding the game wich is nice to see but at the same time kind  of unsettleling, there is no way they can please everybody right off the bat so they should not make promises too fast.
But hey maybe they will deliver and everything they have promised is out by 2017

[Motown 774]

1 hour ago, Fabulous said:

The devs have said yes to almost every request a fan has given them regarding the game wich is nice to see but at the same time kind  of unsettleling, there is no way they can please everybody right off the bat so they should not make promises too fast.
But hey maybe they will deliver and everything they have promised is out by 2017

My observation of this is that a lot of people happen to have eerily similar ideas about what Identity is, despite our initially vague explanation of the game. In many of these cases where we appear to agree with people and accept their suggestions, it's because their ideas are things we've already thought of and in many cases, have already implemented or written into Identity's game design document. We want our community to feel that Identity is their game too. We all funded this, together. It's yours as much as it is ours, and if that means eating our own pride to give you credit for an idea that is very similar to our own, it's important to us that you to feel that you've contributed to the project!

There have been several ideas from the community that we have been very open minded towards, and want to make sure we include them as long as they compliment existing features and fit neatly into place. But please don't dismiss us as 'yes-men' trying to appeal to everyone at once! We've rejected more than we've accepted! Some ideas sound awesome in theory, but don't work out in practice.

Probably the best example of this is the idea of working as an employee of a store owned by other players. That really does sound immersive, but the reality is, there isn't enough work we can give a player to do to keep them entertained in that position. You can only stand around waiting for customers for so long before you want to do something else!

Most importantly, knowing that so many people seem to have the same ideas about what they expect to see in Identity, only strengthens our belief that we're on the right track! Now is the right time for a game like Identity!

[Fabulous 44]

That was my other concern in another thread.I am afraid that if you let people make their own servers the game will be filled with servers that only have 10 people in them and it will break immersion.I suggest you make only 3 servers with different rules and settings so people can enjoy a server that is filled up real nice and will really feel like a large community.
But at the same time people might want to have their own servers but that will come with a price of messy server browsing.
I have hope in you to make the best game possible

Edited January 4, 2016 by Fabulous

[Killswitch 23]

1 hour ago, Fabulous said:

That was my other consern in another thread.I am afraid that if you let people make their own servers the game will be filled with servers that only have 10 people in them and it will break immersion.I suggest you make only 3 servers with different rules and settings so people can enjoy a server that is filled up real nice and will really feel like a large community.
But at the same time people might want to have their own servers but that will come with a price of messy server browsing.
I have hope in you to make the best game possible

You can actually see this with many Altis Life Mods in Arma. There are a lot of people that believe they can make something better than whats already out there. A few have succeeded, while many have failed. Fortunately John was one that succeeded because he brought a whole new element to the Life mod in Arma that made the Asylum servers unique. While doing so, it caused the server population to sky-rocket and brought in famous Twitch streamers and Youtubers which also increased population, in such ways that they had to add 3 more servers to keep up with the hype and rapid growth. 

I believe that is why there will be dedicated servers and some other servers where people want to mod them and attempt to run them their own way. Its tough to doubt someones else creativity and drive to make something they can call there own.