Goblin Squad Member
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I'm an alpha, or will be.
It is a hefty chunk of change, yes.
But consider: I've been gaming since the days when pen-and-paper D&D was the closest we could get to what we know now as an 'MMORPG', and that kind of experience has been what all these themepark MMOs were aiming for, yet never achieved.
Now we have some of the very people who started it all proposing to finally try and do it right, and their effort is backed by the conceptual corporate heir of the original RPG systems.
I am looking at retirement in the next few years, when all I will have for my entertainment, after a full day of writing fiction, is my computer games.
For me this Kickstarter is a gamble, sure. But not an unreasonable one. After a lifetime of faithful service I am financially comfortable enough to risk that kind of stake. My kids are all out on their own and doing okay, so my responsibilities are reduced.
I want this to happen, to be done right at last. Think of it as my committment to finally see what was originally intended by the first people who made computer games (and I consider myself one of them, having tried, back in the day) to finally achieve our original objective. It approaches the status of duty.
Why did you fund your pledge?
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Goblin Squad Member
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I mostly pledge to get Emerald Spire. I'm not a fan of MMORG's, but would wish the project well so those who do enjoy them can with PFO. Paizo offered me what I needed to pledge (like with Thornkeep for the Demo). So I'm in for the $105 hardback book+PDF deal, am am considering changing the pledge to get the raft of PDF's. We'll see.....
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Goblin Squad Member
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Well, with no guarantee of a Linux client, I settled on the $15 pledge for the Emerald Towers PDF.
Then came the bonus PDFs that came with the $100 and higher pledge. Getting more than $250 PDFs for $100 is a real bargain, and a few miniatures (though I probably never ever seen them in my hands). At this stage all the PFO stuff is actually completely useless to me if there is no Linux client.
Why go any higher if there is no additional value to the Linux community.
I love to get the printed versions too, but after the hell I went trough just to get 1 book from Paizo due to Paizo not using courier services for postage, why would I want to go through that hell again of getting physical stuff.
I must say I love what Paizo and Goblin Works are trying to achieve.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Because, for the first time, I can engage in really, truly meaningful MMO roleplaying - because I get to finally put myself in the boots of one of my favorite tabletop pen and paper character concepts and play out his story in ways not conducive to the tabletop - now I can get shoulder to shoulder in a shield wall and shatter my enemies shields, burn their halls, and drink their ale. I can build a reputation by my actions and "life" in a way not possible IRL (not many shield walls to break or arm rings to give your followers).
Also, this virtual economy is about the greatest thing I have heard of in an online game ever, and I am beyond excited to run an alt who focuses on that instead of on being Big Bad Muscles Skullbasher. Or, even better, transitioning BBMS into an old angry farmer with his beloved swords up on the mantel, dispensing wisdom and living a simple life now that he's too old to charge headlong into enemy spears.
The politics are intriguing, the possibilities nearly limitless. I'm excited to explore this world - and a couple hundred bucks doesn't seem like too much investment for months and months of game time. =]
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm also an Alpha backer. I've been playing TTRPGs since I was 11, and MMOs for sixteen years. The folks here at Goblinworks really seem to be trying to find the right intersection between these two areas, and if they accomplish even 2/3 of what they're shooting for, this has the potential to be a fantastic game.
...Plus all the alpha perks. Moster Casting Pool. *evilgrin*
My pledge was at the 175 buddy lvl plus the extra 100 for the print pack.
i have hopes and dreams for this mmo, it is the closest i will get to what i loved about star wars galaxies in a pathfinder setting. I have lots of faith in paizo and goblin works, in particular Ryan Dancey and Lisa Stevens. I believe if anyone can make a great mmorpg based on this source material it is them. They have had a hand in some of my favorite game companies and games.
Unfortunately i may be having to pull my pledge due to unforeseen events.
hopefully i wont have to.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Well paizo is a great company that makes great products. GW is the company paizo made to make this game. GW is made of people from paizo (so lore, cooperation between the companies, experience with the IP) and mmo vets. The head of the game is an industry vet with time spent at CCP, currently the most successful sandbox game, with a long history of profitability.
So GW has a solid team with the skills to create this game. Its pathfinder in a sandbox, whats not to like? They have already secured funds to create the game. The kickstarter just allows them to hire additional people to compress the development time and get the product out faster.
Besides that there is the deal with emerald spire and the PDF superpack. As not only someone who enjoys video games but has been playing pen and paper games for a long while, the value of that is huge and without question. Even if i cared nothing for the MMO and was just a PnP guy i would have supported it just for that.
The last point and probably the most important is that i can afford to support the kickstarter at the level i have, and honestly i could support more if they added more tiers between 100 and 500.
One thing I do like is Ryan's candidness about the game's goal. yes they want to make a great game, yes they want us to love it, but the game is being created to make money. I think too many MMOs forget that and get excited and lose site of the goal, they end up failing because of that. For example id love a lifetime sub, but i know that its not a good deal for the company. Ryan flat out said that a lifetime sub at any price remotely like what people expect wouldnt happen as it is not profitable. To me thats admirable, now you do have to balance that with giving customers a good solid product that is fun to play.
Also its clear that GW isnt doing something stupid and trying to aim for WoW killer. They are looking for a long term sustainable playerbase. They have a set growth plan and a REALISTIC view of how many players they need to be profitable.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Like Being, I've been at this a long while. I recall the first D&D box set with the blue printed game booklet and the really silly looking dragon on the cover. I got into MMOs with the first year of Ultima Online and stayed there for 7+ years, creating events, plot-lines, and the like. The reason I left was not because of the game, as old and outdated as it was, but because the people I loved playing with had moved on. Then I began the long slog through theme park MMOs by alpha and beta testing WoW, but after a year of it going public, I was already burnt out on the game, not from having reached end-game level, but because it held no spark for me. The limitations of it's design did nothing to promote player creativity and except for either trading on faceless auction houses or PvP, the thing I loved most about UO - rich player interaction - was minimal. I caught a taste of what UO had once provided in the original version of Star Wars Galaxies, but that was short lived.
So why back the kickstarter? Because this quest for a game as sandboxy as UO has led me here. Because I'm willing to put my time and a little money where my years of complaints about theme park games has been. I don't even have a use, really, for the tangible perks for the $100 level I have pledged...the money, in my case, is simply a show of support and faith for a group of people who seem to have the same dream I have had for over a decade - that what makes table top gaming uniquely creative and entertaining can exist in an MMO.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The only time I can remember playing an MMO was at last 25 years ago and even then only for a few days. Can't even remember the name of that game, but I do remember being Harad Navar.
I started playing RPG after 12 years as a actor (not my day job) because I needed to find an outlet for my creative side. I've played table top RPG (mostly as GM) for over 30 years and it is still for me all about the story. I am a story-geek. I pledged at the $100 level to get into the first month of early release because the idea of forging a story in cooperation with others who may (or may not) feel as I do about story touches me where I live.
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Goblin Squad Member
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sounds like fun. I'm getting a feeling like it will be similar to Mabinogi, but even more sandboxy (mabinogi had a no class system. It was like a sandbox in that regard. Also the whole "Fantasy Life" aspect. I wish it had more sandbox elements, it's pretty Theme-park based, and the reason I'm seeing why a lot of people come back is the rebirth system that lets you reset your level back to 1.)
Don't have the expectations it will be exactly like it, but close and most likely better. I've played Mabinogi since near when it came out (4 years is around how long I've been there.)
The other MMOs I've played didn't really hold my interest long enough:
Including, but not limited to:
*Runescape (finished all the free quests, and the new system I can't get into now)
*FlyFF (Macro button away. It was boring, and PvP was unbalanced.)
*Maplestory (Interesting concept. It was kind of dumb being locked out of areas and the quests took too long. One required you to go through about "100 floors" with some areas encompassing multiple areas. And the monsters were impossible to kill at the quest level.")
*Vindictus (A prequel to Mabinogi, I don't think they got the spirit of Mabinogi in it at all.)
*Dragon Nest (Felt like Vindictus. PvP was pretty unbalanced, where only select builds dominated.)
I kind of want to get into Eve Online, but it looks hard to get into. Plus, I think I'd rather get into PFO when it comes out (I'm a sucker for the Fantasy genre moreso than science fiction.)
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm skeptical that MMOs will be enjoyable for me (and wonder if playing PFO is going to be possible, given the patchy nature of my free time). Nonetheless, I want to give myself every chance of enjoying it, so I'm pledging as high as I can justify. I suspect I'll be pretty bad at it so getting in early is one way I could imagine boosting my chances of success.
Another big incentive for me is being part of the process - the level of engagement is one of the things I value most about being a customer of paizo and it seems to be carrying over to goblinworks as well. Even if I don't end up liking the game, I'll be interested by its development and seeing the decisions being made. Watching good, talented people do something well is one of the most satisfying things.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'd love to be an alpha backer.. but I can only afford going in at the crowdforger level on Kickstarter. I have no objections to doing my duty and putting forth bug reports and suggestions to help improve the game for everyone.
Sometimes when you really care about something, you want everyone else to enjoy it just as much. You are okay with putting in the time and effort to ensure that everyone will have a good experience.
I pledged $100 (Hopefully increasing to $500 if I can find the right group of RL friends to convince).
Well I pledged at the $100 level. A year ago I would have pledged into the Alpha testing range, but cancer and the economy have decimated my finances horribly.
Even if I end up selling something to ensure I will have the funds there, I feel it's worth it.
Pathfinder promises what no other MMO has ever attempted. Never have players been able to work with the devs step by step to make the best game possible. Never have I sen the chance for players to effect the world in the way PFO will. To build and defend a settlement, to conquer territory that won't just repop the next day. A classless game where PvP can happen pretty much anywhere.
It's all just too much to pass up. If I could afford to pledge at a higher level you can bet I would.
Valandur,
Sorry to hear about your financial and health issues. I wish you a better 2013.
No worries, I'm still here, able to take part in this great opportunity! I've beta tested so many games since the early 1990's when I first started playing online games. But this game will be a first! :)
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Goblin Squad Member
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I pledged at the $100 level. First time pledging in a Kickstarter.
Like Valandur I really do hope the kingdom building elements are as fun as they seem they will be. Plus, I actually was a fan of the open methodology of EVE Online. My characters felt very open-ended in that RPG and if they ever made it free to play, I would probably go back in a heartbeat. I have tried a few Sandbox fantasy mmo games, but I think I really need a hybrid first. Sometimes having too many options open is baffling.
All in all. It seems like a great game, and I'm looking forward to every aspect of it.
What exactly is the Alliance Pack... I couldn't find a description for it.
It's usually within the description of the rewards you get for each level of pledging. Here's what it says within the $100 level..
and a Pathfinder Alliance Pack. Patrons at this level will be invited to join Early Enrollment
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Goblin Squad Member
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Because I want to show the big investors they were fools to waste all their money on WoW clones. That they were so focused chasing the majority of the market they ignored the niche markets willing to pay a lot of money for an MMO catered to them. If Pathfinder succeeds it will show them all the error of their ways... and be a really fun game.
Maybe, just maybe. MMO's will start targeting themselves at specific audiences now, rather than all gunning for the #1 seat by trying to appease the majority of the market who already has the game they want to play.
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Goblin Squad Member
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It's exciting to think that mmorpgs or a form of this developing genre will be the next big story-telling medium after the advent of the film medium; via new technology combined with design vision. :)
It is also exciting to witness the birth of an international culture via the medium of virtual reality storytelling. Social interaction between the peoples of so many nations may crowdforge the future.
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Goblin Squad Member
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What exactly is the Alliance Pack... I couldn't find a description for it.
From Update #21:
New Player Pack (included at $35 Adventurer or higher)
This pack contains a selection of low-level consumable items, such as healing potions, scrolls, weapon enchants, and maps. In addition, the character gains a bag of holding to allow them to carry more equipment, a ring of protection to boost their defenses, and a small amount of coinage to get the character started.
Alliance Package (included at $100 Crowdforger Pioneer or higher)
This pack gives the character an increase in Alliance ranking with one of Pathfinder Online's Alliances (Hellknights, Pathfinder Society, Knights of Iomedae, Denizens of the Echo Wood, and others yet to be announced) of compatible alignment with the character. The character automatically becomes a member of that Alliance, though opposing Alliances will now be hostile to him. The player also receives a small selection of consumable items unique to the Alliance, and a piece of armor, wondrous item, or weapon associated with the Alliance, such as a Pathfinder Society wayfinder.
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Goblin Squad Member
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What exactly is the Alliance Pack... I couldn't find a description for it.From Update #21:
Alliance Package (included at $100 Crowdforger Pioneer or higher)
This pack gives the character an increase in Alliance ranking with one of Pathfinder Online's Alliances (Hellknights, Pathfinder Society, Knights of Iomedae, Denizens of the Echo Wood, and others yet to be announced) of compatible alignment with the character. The character automatically becomes a member of that Alliance, though opposing Alliances will now be hostile to him. The player also receives a small selection of consumable items unique to the Alliance, and a piece of armor, wondrous item, or weapon associated with the Alliance, such as a Pathfinder Society wayfinder.
Thanks!
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Goblin Squad Member
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Because if this game fails the chances of ever seeing a real pathfinder computer game go from nonexistant to somewhat less then nonexistant.
If it suceeds on the other hand and brings in sufficient revenue they might someday be able to financially justify more pathfinder computer games.
Besides, the minis, maps & megadungion are worthwhile and the pdf's I don't already have will be useful and hopefully the doubles can be given as gifts.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I've been playing MMO's for many years.. I'm some what an MMO Junkie.. before MMO's there was P&P... I'd love to see the freedom and creativity of a P&P game on the virtual scale an MMO can offer.. I'm cautiously optimistic because every developer has a grand vision at these early stages.. often reality gets in the way of fulfilling those visions.. but I applaud every effort and enjoy supporting best I can..
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Being -- I'm at the opposite end of my life from you, but our purposes mirror one another.
I'm 26 years old, in my second year as an elementary school teacher. Young whippersnapper, starting a career.
I'm backing because since Paizo came out with Pathfinder it has brought so much joy into my life, and I want to both pay them back for it and pay it forward by helping them make this game as good as it can be for the gaming community.
Also, *because* their effort is backed by the conceptual corporate heir of the original RPG systems.
I really feel like the team at Paizo are taking their responsibility as that heir very seriously and respectfully. And Goblinworks was born from them to do this thing.
So, I've got $225 in on it, which is probably more than I responsibly should on a schoolteacher's salary with a mountain of debt, but I'll cut corners because Pathfinder has brought me far more hours of entertainment and fulfillment than a person could possibly expect from the cost of a Core Rulebook.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I am an old school eve player (played it for close to 9 years). Recently got into Pathfinder as a TT game (I was never a fan of the D&D system till PF). Learned about PFO and I have now pledged for $600, $500 for the guild pledge and $100 for the Emerald Spire.
I do need my MMO fix and with how they are describing this, I cannot wait to sink my hands into it together with my guild.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I pledged $100 to be a part, even a small one, of making a sandbox MMO a possibility. I have always been a huge fan of sandbox MMOs (Earth&Beyond, Star Wars Galaxies, EvE Online, Fallen Earth.
I've quite honestly grown bored with all of the Theme Park MMOs that fall into the same doldrums of level caps, xp grinding, raid dungeon grinding, loot monkey gear grinds.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I've been playing D&D since the early 80's and have always wanted a MMORPG that would come close to the feeling of PnP game.
I have little experience with MMOs, in fact the only one I have truly taken part of is DDO. I preordered that game and took part in their version of Early Enrollment. I stuck with it for a year, but the game started to feel like 'work' with all the grinding, loot runs, and constant raids. I ultimately was very disappointed in DDO.
With PFO, I see a second chance for a game that will come closer to the game that I love.
