Well-Actually War Trall Spidweb Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 We've started a Kickstarter for our next all-new series/game, Queen's Wish: The Conqueror. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/619141553/queens-wish-the-conqueror I plan to write a lot more about it for our fans, but it's late and I'm very tired. On Thursday we will put up a blog post with a lot of detailed info, and I will be answering questions on our Kickstarter page. Triumph, Vinlie, Nirwanda and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Thank you for news about the next game. When are you planning to release it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora amurath Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 According to the Kickstarter page, the game is expected to be released in May 2019, which would be consistent with Jeff's typical 12-18 month development time. Also, don't take this the wrong way, Jeff, but your Kickstarter pitch definitely needs some work - both in terms of content and presentation. I've played almost all your games and have backed the Kickstarter, but someone unfamiliar with your work is not very likely to back this project. Have you thought about getting some help from a social media person to get the word out? I suggest doing (more) interviews, use Twitter/Facebook/etc to get the word out and describe the pitch in more detail. I see this Kickstarter as a chance to really step up the graphical quality of the next game series and expand the systems/content available therein, although this would likely entail hiring additional developers, which Jeff may not be comfortable with. Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the visual perspective in the alpha build - I prefer the one in the recent Avernum remakes. I also hope we can zoom out our field of view. River Linden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora Vardegras Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Hahaha this is exciting. Whole new thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chittering Clawbug fractalnavel Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Quote Scroll of Absolution! Supporter Reward Tier + We give you a singed, personalized document absolving you for any of our games you pirated. We get apology emails about this all the time. Now you can make our forgiveness official! Please keep the typo and actually do that. And keep a fire extinguisher handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenderfoot Thahd theDav Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Done, and Done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Articulate Vlish Losrandir Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Great! No telling how this will turn out and what all will come out of this. I'm not sure how that sounded, but it's a good thing! Way to go! Interesting context... I wonder what Freud & C:o would say about mother complexes and such... what happened to the king etc? Look forward to finding out! Recommended a scroll of absolution to a friend... and made a post on my blog. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora Vardegras Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Wonder if that fourth faction (the one in the stretch-goals) will be avernum-like. Mushroom eaters maybe ? Eager to bring mushroom beer to the ignorant surfacers ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Losrandir said: what happened to the king etc? Actually, if the queen is the prime monarch, her husband would be her consort (frequently known as a prince-consort) and not her co-ruler. A famous example of this would be Queen Victoria. Or she might just have a harem stuffed away somewhere in a wing of her palace. PS: As a word of warning, long-lasting and highly lethal contact poisons do exist, so I recommend handling any scrolls of absolution with care. Edited May 31, 2018 by Minion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Triumph Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Vardegras said: Wonder if that fourth faction (the one in the stretch-goals) will be avernum-like. Mushroom eaters maybe ? Eager to bring mushroom beer to the ignorant surfacers ??? Vahnatai! More evidence for the old Vahnatai creation theory! 😱 21 hours ago, amurath said: Also, don't take this the wrong way, Jeff, but your Kickstarter pitch definitely needs some work - both in terms of content and presentation...Have you thought about getting some help from a social media person to get the word out? I suggest doing (more) interviews, use Twitter/Facebook/etc to get the word out and describe the pitch in more detail. That feeling when Jeff has been in business for decades and someone tells him to use social media and do interviews. 😂😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 21 hours ago, amurath said: Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the visual perspective in the alpha build - I prefer the one in the recent Avernum remakes. I also hope we can zoom out our field of view. I was excited when I heard about the perspective change, and still am. But I too was surprised by the art here. Maybe it's not final? Something about it just sorts of brings me to "RPG Maker built-in artwork". I have a reaction to the premise too but I will hold off on that till I read the upcoming blog post All of that said, it is LOVELY to see that the funding goal has been reached already. Also, don't take this the wrong way, Jeff, but your Kickstarter pitch definitely needs some work The goal was met literally within a day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I like the return of the old Exile view perspective which will eliminate Jeff's habit of hiding loot behind walls and other obstacles. Much easier to target foes when the recent Avernum games didn't always work right. It'll be interesting to see how different fort builds affect the game. What happens if all you add are distilleries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Since the Kickstarter is, in part, supposed to pay for art and assets, I suspect that there are a lot of placeholders here. It does look like an interesting view: it's not isometric, but it's not top-down either. The perspective is something like head-on but slightly above. It's hard to get a real sense with preliminary graphics. —Alorael, who agrees this is not the most prepossessing Kickstarter. But he's fine with that. Rather than promising the stars, Jeff Vogel promises a game in broad outlines (and fort customization). That's achievable! He's been achieving that for years! Rather than lock in details, this works. It probably loses some backers, but that's also probably okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora amurath Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Assault on Giant Fountain said: I was excited when I heard about the perspective change, and still am. But I too was surprised by the art here. Maybe it's not final? Something about it just sorts of brings me to "RPG Maker built-in artwork". I have a reaction to the premise too but I will hold off on that till I read the upcoming blog post All of that said, it is LOVELY to see that the funding goal has been reached already. The goal was met literally within a day... I didn't mean to suggest that Jeff wouldn't meet his goal. It's just that I feel that his games, while pretty good and filling an underserved niche, are still rather limited by budget. Imagine what Jeff could do if he had a dedicated writer, a couple of artists, etc. For example, I really wish he'd add more reactivity to his games (choices and consequences), or mutiple ways to solve problems rather than just fighting monsters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora Khaelenmore Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Hello. I am a big fan of Spiderweb(though I bought games only after their release on GOG) and I would really like to support Queen's Wish on Kickstarter but one thing bothers me - no Linux support is offered. Why is it so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Jeff has trouble rewriting his games for Linux and the time he did it didn't do well enough to justify doing it again. It's like making versions for tablets other than iPad. he would have to hire someone to do it and making it work with most Linux distributions would be lots of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Aran Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I like this perspective more than I expected. It feels nicely retro. Afaik, only two SW games have ever had native Linux ports - Exile 3 and Avadon, both by other developers. They all work quite well in Wine, though (at least the ones made this century*); personally I'm using PlayOnLinux and Steam. I'm fairly confident this one will work as well. (*That feels weird to say.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenderfoot Thahd FacesOfMu Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 So great to see the Spiderweb Software engines running so strong! :) For this latest creation, my hope is that you re-introduce a lot of the great ground-based spells and effects from the Exile series. Things like the barrier spells and dispells, Quickfire and such. Things that can give you more control over the shape and tactics of the battlefield. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Aran Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Much as I like a big spell catalog, to be honest, I never got enough of a handle on all the debuffs and area denial spells for them to be useful, only using casters as direct damage dealers. Also, I've never ever had an occasion where casting quickfire was a good idea. (Though fun, briefly.) 😛 However, I do hope we get a flexible skill tree (more like the Avernum remakes than Avadon) instead of rigid character archetypes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Vinlie Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Hype! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora River Linden Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 In a comment on his Kickstarter, Jeff mentions that part of the funding will be put towards "a sound designer." As a point of personal opinion, I have always loved the short, grainy ambience loops that are present in Spiderweb wildernesses. If I could magically alter them, the only thing I would do would be to make them longer and have more variation. (I certainly wouldn't increase their audio fidelity, but maybe that is just me.) I look forward to hearing more unique birdcalls and wind noises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 On 5/31/2018 at 1:30 PM, Skilled Meme Facility said: Since the Kickstarter is, in part, supposed to pay for art and assets, I suspect that there are a lot of placeholders here. I hope so. The Kickstarter says almost nothing about art except that it's expensive, and that stretch goals will pay for iPhone art and an extra realm's art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma Rhinestone Jedi Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I like the perspective. I'm sure there are placeholders considering the character portraits straight out of Avernum. I'll be backing the kickstarter once I get my monthly bonus - even if it winds up not feeling too fresh, I'm excited for the game anyway, because somehow Jeff makes exactly the kinds of games that I like to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma jetcitywoman Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 I don't post here often, but have been a fan for more than a decade now. I play lots of games on my ipad but Spiderweb is the only developer who is an insta-buy for me. When Jeff announced this Kickestarter, it was also an insta-donation. There are some things I'd like to suggest changes for also, but the bottom line for me is that he delivers really engaging, immersive, quality games - at super affordable prices - and compared to all the competition out there, well.... Jeff is a rock star in my book. I hope he sees the fact that he got fully funded in one day as the show of appreciation that it is from fans like me. I can't wait to name a character as part of my pledge! VERY exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 On June 1, 2018 at 8:18 PM, Assault on Giant Fountain said: I hope so. The Kickstarter says almost nothing about art except that it's expensive, and that stretch goals will pay for iPhone art and an extra realm's art. Since Jeff's changing perspective, it means almost all the old graphics for monsters and player characters won't work in this game. After Avernum 4's original chitrach graphics we know how much Jeff loves doing graphics. *extreme sarcasm* I'd rather Jeff spends his time on the game engine and content than making it look nice when he can hire artists. Consider this Avadon Lite in that there are less factions and more choices in whether to fight or negotiate with each country. There's still going to be now 5 countries with the stretch goal. Ircher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 After writing shareware games for 25 years, it must be pretty awesome to find that you have at least five fans so dedicated to your work that they will each pay enough to feed your family for several months just to be able to design a quest for one of your games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I think there are far more than five fans who are that dedicated. Rather, there are at least five fans so overflowing with money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 5 hours ago, Assault on Giant Fountain said: Rather, there are at least five fans so overflowing with money... I take it that you hesitated, and before you knew it all five slots were gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 This is a better illustration of the idea of one thousand true fans. It's about 1500, actually, but it still holds. A thousand fans, or so, can make you a living. —Alorael, who supposes it varies with depth of pocket. Get enough who can and will splurge on those quests and your numbers go down. But it's the long tail who just want the game that are keeping this Kickstarter afloat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 6 hours ago, Minion said: I take it that you hesitated, and before you knew it all five slots were gone. Not at all. My point was that being able to afford such a purchase is probably a lot rarer than wanting to support Jeff's games is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 12 hours ago, Assault on Giant Fountain said: Not at all. My point was that being able to afford such a purchase is probably a lot rarer than wanting to support Jeff's games is. The question would be, how many of them could actually afford it and how many are even now trying to come up with a way to fill the $1000 dollar hole in their finances? That would also be a form of dedication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Most of Jeff's supporters are probably teens and college students without lots of extra cash, there are enough older players that can pay $1000 without it being a hardship. Or they just want to be able to boast that they got to make a quest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Now I find myself curious over what the demographic split in the Spiderweb fanbase might be. My impression from Jeff's GDC speech was that his sales have been remarkably stable over time with approximately the same number of people buying each game, with the exception of the iPad-fuelled runaway hit Avadon and the odd underperformer like G3 and BoA. I would assume that this indicates an even inflow of new players and dropout of old players (or passing of fickle casual players and return of old players, as in the case of myself), making the age spread similarily evenly distributed. Personally, I suppose I could have gone for one of the creative input rewards, but I don't like the thought of being personally involved in something I'm going to consume. However, I am grateful for those who do not share my qualms and have helped the project coming close to breaking the second reward tier as I write (just a little further). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I would guess that Spiderweb has a solid core of fans that keep buying the games and getting older year by year. Yes, some stop playing, and some new players pick up the games, but I think there's a huge overlap and the average player age accordingly increases by perhaps half a year per calendar year. —Alorael, who made up that number. It'll work as a Fermi estimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Now I'm curious how many piano tuners play SW games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Time for Slarty to conduct another membership census. Extra questions on backing the Kickstarter this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 54 minutes ago, Dintiradan said: Now I'm curious how many piano tuners play SW games. That sounds interesting. May I ask why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The number of piano tuners in Chicago is a classic Fermi estimation problem. —Alorael, who just may create a new demographic poll. He has some burning questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Kelandon Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 44 minutes ago, Formification said: —Alorael, who just may create a new demographic poll. He has some burning questions. Such as, "Has the number of septuagenarian Eskimos increased since 2004?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Triumph Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I, for one, am neither a piano tuner, an Eskimo, or a septuagenarian. Just to be clear. Hmm...I wonder if there any interesting demographic categories of which I am a member? LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Kennedy Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Will you be able to enter the various buildings in each town similar to Avadon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Kelandon Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 We've hit the second stretch goal! Onto the third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Minion Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I dunno, I kind of like the way Spiderweb games sound already. It goes perfectly with the graphics. What if it sounds too slick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma Rhinestone Jedi Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Yes, imagine the kickstarter raised so much money that Jeff was forced to hire voice actors. I can hear Hugo Weaving (or Mandy Patinkin) saying "Aba Boot Bucker" already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma GiantFriendlyTalkingSpiderman Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Jeeze, I need to pay more attention to the forums outside of the games I'm currently playing. But hey, at least I got the honor of pushing the funding over $100,000... Image here Wait that's in my currency! I didn't know Kick Starter was converting the current funding into CAD! >_< As for my thoughts on the game, I'll have to catch up on Vogel's vlog for more details, but I've always preferred the top down perspective since I hate misclicking 😛 Although I had troubles getting into Avadon since I like to make more than one character; and as far as I got in, (not very), the black fortress wasn't as interactive as I'd hoped. However I REALLY enjoyed the interactivity in Kyass from A:EftP. I really enjoyed getting dropping my quest items there and seeing the stores upgrade as a result. By the end I wished I could join Kyass's deluded little empire. I was really bummed out to see his fate in A2:CS Lately some friends of mine have been talking about an RPG Atelier: Sophie where you also play as a princess candidate forced into managing a failing colony. Maybe I'll give that a shot in anticipation for this game, (though that's not quite fair for comparison since that game likely had a lot more budget, staff and dev time than this game will). Maybe I'll Give Avadon another shot before I move onto A:RW... well not likely but I'll keep it in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk wackypanda Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I don't think I've ever had the thought "Hm, the sound effects are too good" while playing a game. 😛 That said, I like the sound design we've had so far. I'm not sure why spell sound effects keep getting shuffled with every game though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Kelandon Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I just threw in $200. I feel like it's the least I could do after so many years, and it'd be nice to get better sounds. Triumph and Rhinestone Jedi 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma Rhinestone Jedi Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Friday I got paid, settled my bills and my monthly budget, and I went ahead and tossed in $200. If it turns out likely that Jeff will be using kickstarter again, then I'll budget a bit beforehand. Spiderweb Games have been my favorite games since the 90s and I'm looking forward to whatever Queen's Wish can become. I also went on GoG and picked up Escape from the Pit and The Black Fortress before their summer sale ended - I already have all the games on Steam, but I thought of it as a mini extra show of support. I had a funny thought. If he hits his 100k goal, and the audio producers do a fantastic job... will top notch audio seem a bit disjointed in a game with Spiderweb visuals? Anyway, now I've got to start thinking about the naming thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk wackypanda Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Sound design met. Next stretch goal is up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Kelandon Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 3 hours ago, wackypanda said: Sound design met. Next stretch goal is up. Are you maybe looking in the wrong currency? I think we're still a fair bit away from the sound design goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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