I haven't been following it super closely (RTS isn't my main thing), but it seems pretty promising, from what I have seen.
I'm also a bit warry, though. These things usually go one of a few ways, with the whole 'totally legit ex-[blank] devs,' and 'spiritual successors,' and the like.
They either deliver, and break everything wide open (super rare, but does happen), or they deliver a competent but not groundbreaking game and, with all the hype they built up, people kind of go 'that's it?' This seems by far the most common.
Then there are even a few negative outcomes, where these totally competent and hyped up devs aren't capable of working in their new environment, and turn out slop after hyping it up so much. They were just missing a few pieces to actually churn out a good game.
Lastly, sometimes they're just straight up scams, or otherwise destroy the faith of most of the playerbase. I'll never forgive Phoenix Point for that bullshit they pulled.
I think Stormgate will at the very least fall into the 'competent' category though. Possibly actually break some ground, but we'll just have to wait and see.
If you don't mind, what actually did happen with Phoenix Point? Is it that they were an Epic exclusive for a while? I know it was generally considered a mediocre game, and disappointing considering that the original XCOM guy was involved, but I never paid enough attention to it—because it was on Epic—to be aware of any controversies beyond the exclusive status.
Which, if they did a Kickstarter or something and then took Epic money, is pretty bullshit.
If you don't mind, what actually did happen with Phoenix Point?
Oh, man, where to begin. You're right that it involves the Epic exclusivity, but that is honestly the least of their slights. It's an instance of the coverup being worse than the crime. The Epic thing rightfully rankled people (including me, who backed it), but their attitude and lies were what really ruined it all for me. They absolutely nuked their reputation.
if they did a Kickstarter or something and then took Epic money, is pretty bullshit.
Which is exactly what they did. Then lied about Steam keys being promised to backers on release. And they said they'd be fine if every single backer requested a refund, because they'd be fine with Epic money. Yeah, bitch, would you have been fine for the years you were supported by us, you smarmy pricks?! So, yeah, they sold out, lied, took shots at the community that had supported them, made lame excuses, banned people, and more. They also went about it really incompetently, where they still promised Steam keys at around the time they took the Epic money.
Check out the subreddit's best of; it's all from years ago, and all bashing the game. My post is even there, bringing the receipts.
Incidentally, there's like five people on the sub at the moment; it's totally dead. They killed it.
PP devs looked at what Metro had done at the time (who at least delivered existing preorders on Steam), and said "hold my beer," told founding backers to get fucked, and basically laughed their way to the bank as they broke their promises, which they claimed to have never made, while saying they'd be fine if the people who'd provided the money to produce the game all demanded refunds.
I've been very sick of the state of muh 'modern' gaming seen these days
Yeah, same. And it seems to be getting worse. I like your (and other's) theory that modern AAA devs are so compromised at this point they would be downright incapable of designing a game that isn't just copy/paste. The industry is running on fumes, as all the competent people have long since been replaced. Sadly the average consumer doesn't care so, for now, it's still trucking along mostly fine. But you can only keep this going so long, when the devs aren't capable of, well, developing.
I haven't been following it super closely (RTS isn't my main thing), but it seems pretty promising, from what I have seen.
I'm also a bit warry, though. These things usually go one of a few ways, with the whole 'totally legit ex-[blank] devs,' and 'spiritual successors,' and the like.
They either deliver, and break everything wide open (super rare, but does happen), or they deliver a competent but not groundbreaking game and, with all the hype they built up, people kind of go 'that's it?' This seems by far the most common.
Then there are even a few negative outcomes, where these totally competent and hyped up devs aren't capable of working in their new environment, and turn out slop after hyping it up so much. They were just missing a few pieces to actually churn out a good game.
Lastly, sometimes they're just straight up scams, or otherwise destroy the faith of most of the playerbase. I'll never forgive Phoenix Point for that bullshit they pulled.
I think Stormgate will at the very least fall into the 'competent' category though. Possibly actually break some ground, but we'll just have to wait and see.
If you don't mind, what actually did happen with Phoenix Point? Is it that they were an Epic exclusive for a while? I know it was generally considered a mediocre game, and disappointing considering that the original XCOM guy was involved, but I never paid enough attention to it—because it was on Epic—to be aware of any controversies beyond the exclusive status.
Which, if they did a Kickstarter or something and then took Epic money, is pretty bullshit.
Oh, man, where to begin. You're right that it involves the Epic exclusivity, but that is honestly the least of their slights. It's an instance of the coverup being worse than the crime. The Epic thing rightfully rankled people (including me, who backed it), but their attitude and lies were what really ruined it all for me. They absolutely nuked their reputation.
Which is exactly what they did. Then lied about Steam keys being promised to backers on release. And they said they'd be fine if every single backer requested a refund, because they'd be fine with Epic money. Yeah, bitch, would you have been fine for the years you were supported by us, you smarmy pricks?! So, yeah, they sold out, lied, took shots at the community that had supported them, made lame excuses, banned people, and more. They also went about it really incompetently, where they still promised Steam keys at around the time they took the Epic money.
Check out the subreddit's best of; it's all from years ago, and all bashing the game. My post is even there, bringing the receipts.
Incidentally, there's like five people on the sub at the moment; it's totally dead. They killed it.
PP devs looked at what Metro had done at the time (who at least delivered existing preorders on Steam), and said "hold my beer," told founding backers to get fucked, and basically laughed their way to the bank as they broke their promises, which they claimed to have never made, while saying they'd be fine if the people who'd provided the money to produce the game all demanded refunds.
Yeah. Yeah...
Damn. Fuck those guys.
Yeah, same. And it seems to be getting worse. I like your (and other's) theory that modern AAA devs are so compromised at this point they would be downright incapable of designing a game that isn't just copy/paste. The industry is running on fumes, as all the competent people have long since been replaced. Sadly the average consumer doesn't care so, for now, it's still trucking along mostly fine. But you can only keep this going so long, when the devs aren't capable of, well, developing.