What HAPPENED to this game?

[Guided]

I've had this game in my wish list for a long time.
but haven't kept up to date with the dev team.

now I'm starting to hear stuff like.
'original devs'
'new team'
'3D direction'
'old devs did this, new devs are trying'

Although I still get some final finatasy, breth of fire three vibes, in the artwork.
the play style however seems to be completely different.

Did the devs who's idea this was give up?
and if so, what was the cause?
scope creep? publisher? did they sell the rights? or simply get bored of the project?

does anyone know anything about what caused the graphical change?
will there still be a story? or is it just another farming sim?
I've also not seen anything about the mini games being shown. which was a big part of the original trailer?
now it just seems like farming, and weather effects are the main focus?

dont get me wrong, I love games that take one aspect and stick with it. Travellers rest is a perfect example of this being done well, and even they have introduced new art, but their art was more updating old sprites rather than changing how the game runs :/

What is the focus of this game now?
I thought I new, but.... It now seems I dont :/

[Scrambles]

This would be good to know because I came back to check the updates and now it looks completely different which is almost enough to just drop it off my wish list, but if it is a new team then that would solidify the drop.

[Shomlakone]

Hello, backer of the game here, I'm basically the only person who has uploaded screenshots of the game onto the store page lol.
let me see if i can answer some of your questions.

Okay, so basically in a way yes. The original heads, the ones who launched the kickstarter handed the reins over to a new team because, to quote the new lead from the AMA they did a while back

"The team signed with Freedom as publisher, the game was gearing up to be a success so more budget was available. With that extra budget, they decided to add more of what they would consider "cool stuff" which meant adding a multiplayer mode, and switching to a brand new 3D art direction. The issue is that they didn't foresee all the implications of such changes and the project started to struggle.
At some point, the team pretty much lost their way and therefore their motivation, and they were burnt out. Without a change of staff the game would not have released most likely."

So basically, The old team got the extra funding and instead of wanting to polish what they had made up to that point, they wanted to add all these bells and whistles to the point where all of their "fun ideas" became too much for them to the point of the game almost being cancelled until the new team picked up the pieces.

This isn't to say that no one from the original team is involved, a good number of the original team are still working on the game.

As for why after the change they couldn't revert to the original art style that they had going before....I dont know. it could very well be because the original devs scrapped the older source code, or that too much money has already put into the change to 3D that they could not justify scraping everything they did again up to that point.

They are still putting in mini games into the new game. With my tier, I have hands on experience with the latest alpha builds that are given to us, which with this build included their fishing minigame. Which, not going to lie, is actually a lot of fun. They also have a machine repairing minigame thats also alright.

And with hands on experience with the game, the art style really doesn't clash all that much for me. But I can completely understand not liking the change, as if a game looks "good" really does depend person to person.

From speaking directly to the new lead, partially from their monthly AMAs and from our personal kickstarter group chat, they said about 90% of what was going to originally be in the game will still be in the game, with mostly a few customization options no longer being able to make the cut because of the drastic change of art style. But things like splicing your crops, will be in the game, just maybe not in early access.

[Guided]

thank you for explaining.

having looked into game design myself, one of the things I'm constantly warned about as a game/motivation killer is scope creep,

I cant even imagine what it would be like to completely change a game from 2D to 3D, did they need to changed the game engine? or did they add some kind of converter on top of the engine?
Just thinking about the pain either of those options would cause is just...
don't have the words lol

Its good to know it wasn't due to the publishers being mean,
maybe they were a bit too nice XD

freedom isn't always a good thing.
some of the best ideas comes from our limitations and ability to adapt to bad situations

I hope the game does well
for the sake of the ppl working on the project and those like you, that believe in it.

might not be what was original intended,
but possible it could become something beautiful and unique

[Shomlakone]

Yeah, sadly you see scope creep happen a lot with indie games.
I had high hopes for the original leads when I saw that they had a trailer for the game at one of the E3 conferences that the game was gearing up to be finished within that year. IT's a shame that they decided to make those changes and basically needed to re-work everything.

It's why you always need at least one guy on the team who is able to say "Maybe we shouldn't do X."

[Guided]

yer, tho, if you have time, X can be very cool... once the game is made XD

[Shomlakone]

I actually ended up asking the new lead dev about why they didn't go back to the sprite based graphics when the change happened.

He told me that by the time they get their hands on the project, the code for the engine itself was about 90% done. They did even ask if it would have been possible to revert back to how it was before, but it would have meant scrapping everything again and starting everything over again so they decided to keep with the 3D and work on refining it. Otherwise there would have been a good chance that their programmers may have bailed on the project because needing to start everything over a 3rd time.

[Guided]

yer, like I said, I really cant imagine the pain any kind of engine change on a project would cause

I'm surprised the project is even still going.
they must have an incredible amount of determination and drive.

not to mention it must get them down, with the amount of ppl unhappy by the sudden change :/

unfortunately the only thing that drew me to the game was the 2d low res aspect XD
I have a VERY old and dieing device. so I actively look for games that wont cause it to crash and burn as quickly, (tho, some 2D games still do cause it to reject being turned on XD)

I'll keep an eye on the game, but I'm not sure I'll be able to play it until I get a new(er) device... :(

[Betrayze/Vhero]

Originally posted by Guided:

yer, like I said, I really cant imagine the pain any kind of engine change on a project would cause

I'm surprised the project is even still going.
they must have an incredible amount of determination and drive.

not to mention it must get them down, with the amount of ppl unhappy by the sudden change :/

unfortunately the only thing that drew me to the game was the 2d low res aspect XD
I have a VERY old and dieing device. so I actively look for games that wont cause it to crash and burn as quickly, (tho, some 2D games still do cause it to reject being turned on XD)

I'll keep an eye on the game, but I'm not sure I'll be able to play it until I get a new(er) device... :(

I am the same with the 2D, not because of power but because these games simply play better in 2D, they look and feel more casual, they are no way near fun in 3D look at any 3d farm sim compared to stardew. They dont even get close for that reason. I have now today removed off my wishlist. It was my longest wishlisted game dating back to october but it simply looks horrible compared to what it used to look like.

[Kevin the Inkling]

Honestly feels like a bait and Switch. That's not to say the 3d is the worst I seen. But it's a huge downgrade from the 2D.

The 3D somehow looks more low effort then most, more pixilated then the 2D. All the charm the original 2D style had is gone.

The 2D was pretty. And even if we assume all the gameplay systems are the same. It's. not pleasant to look at.

3D can add more gameplay possibilities this is true. However.. That said. The choice between 2D and 3D is as much a stylistic choice as it is a limitations choice. There is zero benefit 3D gives this type of game. If anything it detracts heavily from it. Instead of looking like a Cute Scifi it now looks like a Minecraft project.

[Kevin the Inkling]

Originally posted by Shomlakone:

Hello, backer of the game here, I'm basically the only person who has uploaded screenshots of the game onto the store page lol.
let me see if i can answer some of your questions.

"The team signed with Freedom as publisher, the game was gearing up to be a success so more budget was available. With that extra budget, they decided to add more of what they would consider "cool stuff" which meant adding a multiplayer mode, and switching to a brand new 3D art direction.

So let me get this straight. The game was looking to be a success so you got more budget to make the game. And instead of expanding the game world and aiding more content in an unobtrusive manner you decide to completely change from 2D to 3D which anyone with common sense would've told you would've caused burn out and be a gamble.

Totally disregarding the possibility the original 2D style might have been one of the major draws and things that attracted customers in the first place?

Taking a unique and charming 2D style to make the game look generic Voxel style? With zero benefits gameplay or ascetics wise?

With all due respect the new 3D style looks.. BAD. I know I'm repeating myself in calling it a downgrade.

But the 2D looked good. It was smooth, charming. The 3D however looks... Jagged, sloopy... And it has less texture then the 2D somehow.

The 2D style looked original. The 3D style looks like a blatant copycat of Starmancer.
The problem with letting Feature creep dig in. You assume that the new feature will be something the player wants. That's not the case here. I hope the Devs still working on the project can take some creative feedback and throw out the 3D models and just continue on in 3D. Nobody asked for this.

I can't speak for everybody sure. But me personally. If it releases in the 3D iteration you showcased.. I will not buy the game. I was dead set to buy the 2D version that the store page originally shown.

[Guided]

Originally posted by Merku:

Originally posted by Shomlakone:

Hello, backer of the game here, I'm basically the only person who has uploaded screenshots of the game onto the store page lol.
let me see if i can answer some of your questions.

"The team signed with Freedom as publisher, the game was gearing up to be a success so more budget was available. With that extra budget, they decided to add more of what they would consider "cool stuff" which meant adding a multiplayer mode, and switching to a brand new 3D art direction.

So let me get this straight. The game was looking to be a success so you got more budget to make the game. And instead of expanding the game world and aiding more content in an unobtrusive manner you decide to completely change from 2D to 3D which anyone with common sense would've told you would've caused burn out and be a gamble.

??? erm... you realise a 'backer' is NOT a game dev ???

they back the game... as in put money into the project so it can be made.
they DO NOT make the game
it is NOT their project, they don't really get any a say unless the dev gives it to them

its a bit like a donation...
they backed the game

please dont put the blame on ppl that believed in the project early on and backed it so it could get made,
then choose to go out of their way to answer threads letting ppl know what happened.
They are not the ones to blame,
if anything they are likely the most affected having supported the project in the first place.

[Shomlakone]

Yeah, i was a bit confused when i saw that they were, for whatever reason, putting blame on me lol

I also love that they said "Totally disregarding the possibility the original 2D style might have been one of the major draws and things that attracted customers in the first place?" When I basically answered why in the next post i made.

They didn't disregard the possibility. They initially asked if they could go back. But with how far along it was in development, they would have needed to start from scratch a 3rd time.

And just saying, I like the 3D models. I dont think they look too bad. And as someone who has hands on experience with the game, i'm actually enjoying myself when I play it. But if the change in art direction is what will prevent people from playing the game, best I can say is "Kay."

[Kevin the Inkling]

Originally posted by Guided:

Originally posted by Merku:

So let me get this straight. The game was looking to be a success so you got more budget to make the game. And instead of expanding the game world and aiding more content in an unobtrusive manner you decide to completely change from 2D to 3D which anyone with common sense would've told you would've caused burn out and be a gamble.

??? erm... you realise a 'backer' is NOT a game dev ???

they back the game... as in put money into the project so it can be made.
they DO NOT make the game
it is NOT their project, they don't really get any a say unless the dev gives it to them

its a bit like a donation...
they backed the game

please dont put the blame on ppl that believed in the project early on and backed it so it could get made,
then choose to go out of their way to answer threads letting ppl know what happened.
They are not the ones to blame,
if anything they are likely the most affected having supported the project in the first place.

I didn't quote em to insult em or give em blame for the devs. The Backer I quoted was forwarding context. My response was intended for the devs assuming they even read these discussions.

I didn't think my Nuance was that difficult to understand. Didn't think I needed to state my reaction was to the Devs not the person who brought the information to light.

[ChrillBill]

Originally posted by KnightRyder:

hoping it's still on track for Q1 of this year.

Nope, it was recently announced that they are delaying it again.

Now it will launch into Early Access in June this year.

[Quagimus Decimus]

June? LOL
This game has become a parody of things not to do as game developers.