Kicking Off Pathfinder Online

Bluenose wrote:

No, it hasn't. Shadowrun Returns was faster. Although that was for an actual game.

True, if this were for the actual game the number would be a lot better

That seems a likely assumption, yes. Although please note, I think a serious MMO is going to need to raise rather more than the Shadowrun KS before it can be made. $50,000 dollars is less than the median annual salary for one person in the VG industry, and there's a lot more to be spent.

Dunno if this has been asked, but will the tech demo Kickstarter backers receive preferential treatment in regards to the subscriber caps when the MMO launches?

This is the best answer you'll probably get, from the Kickstarter project page:

PLEDGE $30 OR MORE

You’ll become a member of the Goblin Squad, with a special icon on the Goblinworks messageboards. The Goblin Squad will receive special alerts letting them know about new information first, and we’ll give special priority to Goblin Squad members throughout the development process. This is your chance to identify yourself to us and to the community as a key supporter of Pathfinder Online. In addition, you’ll get the $15 reward level.

Has their been any word as to what money in addition to their goal will be used for?

Backed last night for 250 wish I coulda done more.

Sad to see this starting to slow down, you guys need to post something soon about stretch goals so not to loss momentum.

Kickstarters usually have a lot of activity at the beginning and end. And they tend to slow down as the US sleeps. It'll take a few days to really see the pledge patterns. Updated and stretch goals do help. I was sueprised not to see much at first.

Actually, the guys at SJ Games said they wished they'd run a smaller Kickstarter before tackling Ogre as practice. So a Tech Demo is a good first run. Paizo/Goblinworks will have experience running one when they go to fund the full game.

Has their been any word as to what money in addition to their goal will be used for?

Any additional money over the goal will allow us to hire more people and build more of the game during this tech demo phase. This in turn will allow us to get a bigger jump on the final game, since the stuff we are doing in the tech demo phase will be used in the regular production phase.

Also, additional funding above the goal helps us sell the game to investors. Hitting the $50k goal in less than 24 hours was amazing and impressive, but imagine if we end up with $350k at the end of the 30 days! A 700% success rate would look very good in presentations to investors. Since the main goal of the tech demo is to prove to investors that Pathfinder Online has a great customer base already, the higher we get that end number, the more this Kickstarter will help us sell the idea of Pathfinder Online.

-Lisa

Kickstarters usually have a lot of activity at the beginning and end. And they tend to slow down as the US sleeps.

I also expect you'll see flurries of activity around common paydays: Fridays, the 15th, the 31st/1st, etc.

deinol wrote:

Kickstarters usually have a lot of activity at the beginning and end. And they tend to slow down as the US sleeps.

I also expect you'll see flurries of activity around common paydays: Fridays, the 15th, the 31st/1st, etc.

Which is funny, because the money isn't credited from your account until after the Kickstarter ends. A lot of people do star a project to get the last 48 hour warning email and decide how much they can afford then.

1,000 backers and counting!
$67,076 total.

I would consider paying four figures for a character artwork by Wayne Reynolds more than I would want to fly to Washington and see Goblins HQ. What are the odds of something like that happening later on? As long as it's limited I wouldn't think the time of his it takes would be too bad.

Cele wrote:

Has their been any word as to what money in addition to their goal will be used for?

Any additional money over the goal will allow us to hire more people and build more of the game during this tech demo phase. This in turn will allow us to get a bigger jump on the final game, since the stuff we are doing in the tech demo phase will be used in the regular production phase.

-Lisa

I think Cele was more asking about stretch goals. Most of the kickstarters are offering backers "extras" if it hits certain milestones beyond the initial project goal, but the PFO kickstarter doesn't seem to be doing that.

A few Very Important Questions for people that will have to pay customs:

1) what will be the value of the merchandise for the invoice with the book/manifest/T-shirt?
If it is the full value of the kickstarter pledge VAT and custom tax increase the cost for the guy supporting PFO by a good margin.

2) what kind of merchandise will appear in the invoice if we get the book, book+manifest, book+manifest+T-shirt?

1: I can't answer precisely in terms of values as the rewards haven't yet been codified to our system to that degree, but speaking generally, we'll make sure the declared value is a fair market value for the contents of the package, not the value of the pledge.

2: As far as customs declarations go, books will be declared as "Books"; posters as "Posters"; T-shirts as "Clothing"; certificates as "Documents"; and challenge coins, plaques, and messenger bags will (I think) all be "Accessories." (I don't know what item you're referring to as a "manifest.")

Lisa Stevens wrote:

Cele wrote:

Has their been any word as to what money in addition to their goal will be used for?

Any additional money over the goal will allow us to hire more people and build more of the game during this tech demo phase. This in turn will allow us to get a bigger jump on the final game, since the stuff we are doing in the tech demo phase will be used in the regular production phase.

-Lisa

I think Cele was more asking about stretch goals. Most of the kickstarters are offering backers "extras" if it hits certain milestones beyond the initial project goal, but the PFO kickstarter doesn't seem to be doing that.

They just added one:Kickstarter Project Page

Diego Rossi wrote:

A few Very Important Questions for people that will have to pay customs:

1) what will be the value of the merchandise for the invoice with the book/manifest/T-shirt?
If it is the full value of the kickstarter pledge VAT and custom tax increase the cost for the guy supporting PFO by a good margin.

2) what kind of merchandise will appear in the invoice if we get the book, book+manifest, book+manifest+T-shirt?

1: I can't answer precisely in terms of values as the rewards haven't yet been codified to our system to that degree, but speaking generally, we'll make sure the declared value is a fair market value for the contents of the package, not the value of the pledge.

2: As far as customs declarations go, books will be declared as "Books"; posters as "Posters"; T-shirts as "Clothing"; certificates as "Documents"; and challenge coins, plaques, and messenger bags will (I think) all be "Accessories." (I don't know what item you're referring to as a "manifest.")

Sorry, "manifesto" is a poster in Italian. Instead of translating the term I erred and Anglicized the Italian word.

Now the next question as the reply reassure me that I will not pay 30 $ in customs for a 75 $ pledge: there is a way to increase my pledge?
I would like to go from the 50 $ to the 75 $ one, but I don't see a way to do it in the Amazon site.

Edit: found it, I need to go through the Goblinworks site.

Yay for a Pathfinder game.

Boo to a MMORGG (whatever they are called)

I never liked those money-magnet games...
I rather see an offline RPG game made for Pathfinder. And WOW isn't a game its a horrid addiction that needs to become illigal.

Maybe gamerize the adventure paths into computer games instead? (and not have monthly fay)

Harrison wrote:

Please make the Half-Orcs sexy.

What do you think of Imrijka, our iconic half-orc inquisitor?

She's a hot chick and iconic, though. She's supposed to be sexy.

We need more sexy guy half-orcs. I'd use the assassin half-orc guy as an example, but we can't see his face. =C

Yay for a Pathfinder game.

Boo to a MMORGG (whatever they are called)

I never liked those money-magnet games...
I rather see an offline RPG game made for Pathfinder. And WOW isn't a game its a horrid addiction that needs to become illigal.

Maybe gamerize the adventure paths into computer games instead? (and not have monthly fay)

A company needs to make money in order to continue to support a game, otherwise the cost of upkeep outweighs the profit that the game is bringing in (and once that happens, the game basically dies, which is never fun).

An offline Pathfinder RPG would be kinda cool if it was like TESV:Skyrim or something, but Pathfinder is a game that really shines when you have fun with your friends, and it'd be kinda lame if you couldn't play with your friends in a Pathfinder video game.

Also, you shouldn't judge every MMORPG based on the worst World of Warcraft players. Only a very small number of players actually play to the unhealthy severity that the media likes to harp on about all the time.

An offline Pathfinder RPG would be kinda cool if it was like TESV:Skyrim or something, but Pathfinder is a game that really shines when you have fun with your friends, and it'd be kinda lame if you couldn't play with your friends in a Pathfinder video game.

Devil's advocate, but the best D&D games weren't the MMO.

Sorry, you completely lost me with Rich Baker in the mix.

Really? I've never heard a negative thing about him. He did great work on the Alternity game and even wrote a fun novel. Zero Point i think it was called.

Steve Geddes wrote:

Is it hardcover? I'd presumed it was a "standard" paizo 64 page book.

Yeah, I have no idea where that's coming from, because it's not mentioned at all in the Kickstarter or the blog post.

He probably meant hard copy..as in not a pdf

Will it reach 90k?
I hope it goes passed it.

Man, I better not forget to donate...I want that book!

Man, I better not forget to donate...I want that book!

You can pledge to back at any time, and won't be charged until the end of the kickstarter campaign, so you can remind yourself by backing now!

It looks like about 150 people have reversed their pledges since the video was shot (video shows 1,426 current is 1,282).

[edit] - it looks like it's just an unfortunate screen grab from the animation and the total has not reached 1,426 yet.

They've included the goal of $100K in addition to the 2,000 backers.

A good move, considering how easy it would be to create additional accounts with different emails, and contribute $1 from each of them. Lots of backers is important to show enthusiasm, but the cash is where the rubber meets the road!

It looks like about 150 people have reversed their pledges since the video was shot (video shows 1,426 current is 1,282).

[edit] - it looks like it's just an unfortunate screen grab from the animation and the total has not reached 1,426 yet.

There was another pledge at the $5K level that was reversed- I only noticed when I refreshed and the number went down.

They've included the goal of $100K in addition to the 2,000 backers.

A good move, considering how easy it would be to create additional accounts with different emails, and contribute $1 from each of them. Lots of backers is important to show enthusiasm, but the cash is where the rubber meets the road!

Stretch goal #1 is still tied to 2000 backers, not to any dollar figure. Ryan just put that $100K figure in there because he likes things that begin with dollar signs and end with lots of zeros.

There was another pledge at the $5K level that was reversed- I only noticed when I refreshed and the number went down.

We get emails every time somebody adjusts their pledge; it happens at the rate of about one every couple hours. Some go up, some go down.

Kevin Cannell wrote:

They've included the goal of $100K in addition to the 2,000 backers.

A good move, considering how easy it would be to create additional accounts with different emails, and contribute $1 from each of them. Lots of backers is important to show enthusiasm, but the cash is where the rubber meets the road!

Stretch goal #1 is still tied to 2000 backers, not to any dollar figure. Ryan just put that $100K figure in there because he likes things that begin with dollar signs and end with lots of zeros.

LOL...nice!

Stretch goal #1 is still tied to 2000 backers, not to any dollar figure. Ryan just put that $100K figure in there because he likes things that begin with dollar signs and end with lots of zeros.

Less than 600 backers to go! Looking good

Will the online Pathfinder MMORPG work natively in Linux? I'd love to get in on this kickstarter project but if it doesn't work in Linux then I'll never be able to play the game. Yes there is Wine/Cedega/Crossover but that emulates Windows and games don't always run correctly in it.

Will the online Pathfinder MMORPG work natively in Linux? I'd love to get in on this kickstarter project but if it doesn't work in Linux then I'll never be able to play the game. Yes there is Wine/Cedega/Crossover but that emulates Windows and games don't always run correctly in it.

If I recall they mentioned the engine they intend to use is not currently supporting mac but will in the future. The non-mention of linux leads me to think linux native is very highly unlikely. Once they announce the engine we can go to winehq look up other games and find out how many of them wine works for to know what our odds of playing it succesfully will be

Nappa: "Hey Vegeta, What's the funding at?"

Vegeta: "IT'S OVER $90,000."

What!?! Ninety thousand?!?

New update on the Kickstarter! #6

Considering the stretch goal is to get 2,000 backers as opposed to any dollar amount; I think the reward isn't designed to achieve that effect. I think the best way to increase the number of unique backers would be to include a minor yet tangible reward at the lower donation levels.

Considering the stretch goal is to get 2,000 backers as opposed to any dollar amount; I think the reward isn't designed to achieve that effect. I think the best way to increase the number of unique backers would be to include a minor yet tangible reward at the lower donation levels.

This is true for adding more backers, I agree.

But for increasing at the 2k level, maybe add some more value, eg demo + something a bit more lasting to take away as well as the experience itself ; such as some virtual features such as "help design something" for the demo?

1500!

We need a big push for the next 500!! Tell your friends, wife, husband, kids, uncles, aunts, enemies!!!!

That $175,000 reward is very enticing, but so far away! :(

Fingers crossed we finish with a sprint.

c'mon everybody - lets do this!

I just broke into a new group with my Aikido instructor, who has a group of Pathfinder buddies and another group of MMO buddies he's making sure are aware of this.

Will the online Pathfinder MMORPG work natively in Linux? I'd love to get in on this kickstarter project but if it doesn't work in Linux then I'll never be able to play the game. Yes there is Wine/Cedega/Crossover but that emulates Windows and games don't always run correctly in it.

They've said they are custom integrating their software from multiple middleware solutions.

Honestly, I'm curious to hear DETAILS on this custom middle-ware mashup. !?!?!?!?

I would much rather see printed dungeons in the Thornkeep book than a "behind the scenes" look at Goblinworks. However that stretch goal may be unattainable in only 8 short days.

I would much rather see printed dungeons in the Thornkeep book than a "behind the scenes" look at Goblinworks. However that stretch goal may be unattainable in only 8 short days.

Me too. It's hard to predict the final tally - I believe kickstarter projects often finish in a rush, but that $175k does look a long way off. :(

I'm hopeful we'll be able to entice Erik Mona to dust off his adventure writing pen though. Maybe get him back into the habit. :)

Next stop, $150k and 2500 backers. That thing has been flying up tonight.

Hell yeah thornkeep is going to be some good epic dungeon fun ^_^

I haven't stopped advertising to people to support the project for the last few days but most don't like the incentives unfortunately as tabletop holds no interest to them.

On top of that they see all the dev videos getting leaked anyway so that base induction incentive holds no sway either :(

But power to the goblins, we few, we proud, we green lil beauties! (I would have used something else but I can't remember the rules on it).

Hey guys I upped my donation to $50 if we can get some more people to upgrade we will get new levels and the book will be printed. This could be like the Keep on the Borderlands and we could get a new video game out of it. The book would feature levels from four great writers with their own style on each level they create. If you haven't told your gamer friends about this please let em know. I perfectly understand not everyone can afford $50, but for those of you on the sidelines $15 for a PDF with this much promise should defiantly be an affordable bargain! Please jump on board.

I started at $50.00. Having my book defaced by the Goblinworks staff is not worth the extra $25.00 for me to kick it to the next level. I wish there was another level in between $100 & $250 but I must admit I can't think of a suitable award that comes between a shirt and a certificate.

I just thought of it an exclusive set of goblin works dice!