So, what happened?

[KVLT]

Did the devs leave the game? Did they run out of money? Is there legal problems? This game was-and still is, to a point- amazing, and I'm waiting for the day the devs release an update.

[FateWeaver]

Originally posted by Jae The Grape:

Originally posted by Klegran:

Yeah there unfortunately was a falling out, but the simple answer is the game didn't make enough money to continue production. It had to be postponed as many games are. However, the version that was completed is 99% complete, so really it's not missing much in the way of features.

so does this mean your calling it quits?

Seeing as he nuked the forum, shut down the store page, and is working on Subnautica, I would say so...

(Now to wait for Klegran to shut down this thread for me daring to mention any of that...
You completely silencing your backers isn't exactly making you less suspicious Klegran, but I am sure you know that by now...
Hope you get to read my reply so you get to know what is going on, Jae.)

[Klegran]

I'll most likely revisit it at some point. I've moved on to other projects but will come back eventually. I shut down the store page because I didn't want anyone else spending money on something I was stopping work on. I nuked the forum because it was becoming a cesspool with no positive discussion of any sort.

I'm not silencing anyone, you're free to discuss what you want; I just don't want a bunch of ♥♥♥♥ talking, wild accusations, or outright negativity on my own forums. That includes people from the team.

Furthermore, I'm not "suspicious" of anything because I'm not on trial. My actions are not under scrutiny from any high power. I put 5 years into a project that ultimately wasn't solvent so I moved on. It's pretty simple. This happens hundreds of times per year in this industry, this is no exception. My new ventures are making me far more money than Nekro ever did so that is where I'm focusing my efforts. The game is basically complete and I feel was well worth the $20 (or less because is was always on sale) that anyone paid for it.

[FateWeaver]

Originally posted by Klegran:

I'll most likely revisit it at some point. I've moved on to other projects but will come back eventually. I shut down the store page because I didn't want anyone else spending money on something I was stopping work on. I nuked the forum because it was becoming a cesspool with no positive discussion of any sort.

I'm not silencing anyone, you're free to discuss what you want; I just don't want a bunch of ♥♥♥♥ talking, wild accusations, or outright negativity on my own forums. That includes people from the team.

Furthermore, I'm not "suspicious" of anything because I'm not on trial. My actions are not under scrutiny from any high power. I put 5 years into a project that ultimately wasn't solvent so I moved on. It's pretty simple. This happens hundreds of times per year in this industry, this is no exception. My new ventures are making me far more money than Nekro ever did so that is where I'm focusing my efforts. The game is basically complete and I feel was well worth the $20 (or less because is was always on sale) that anyone paid for it.

Well, maybe you should clear that up with your Kickstarter backers, because you left them pretty much out in the cold. Which is irresponsible of you, no matter how you twist and turn it in your head. They even lost the backer rewards, so they don't even have that anymore.

You may not be in a "trial", but your actions are not ones that build trust or understanding.
Nuking forums, deleting threads, and not communicating with your Kickstarter backers, are usually the actions of people cutting and running, which frankly we didn't expect from you.

And the thing about Kickstarter and Early Access is that we are your backers, we helped fund you, because we believed in you and the project, and wanted to see it get made.
Which runs a bit deeper than merely being a customer... Which makes your actions feel a lot closer to betrayal, than merely ending a business relationship.

And I am not threatening you here, I am merely informing you, running away from all of this isn't helping you.
So far big talking heads like Total Biscuit and such who backed your game in Kickstarter have not noticed Nekro going belly up, and you scuttling the forum, and leaving Kickstarter backers out of the loop.
So what do you think will happen then when they do? Seeing as your game was considered one of the good examples of crowdfunding going right, before you cut your losses that is...
Videos are starting to pop up on Youtube now, it is only a matter of time.
And that is the kind of dirt people will hold against you for the rest of your career if it goes more public than it already has.

It would be better if you took steps to resolve the conflict between you and drkseed, before this grows out of control on you.
Your backers are an understanding and patient bunch, even willing to pitch in and help you guys even more than they already have. They were patiently waiting for you guys to resolve your issues. But now they are feeling betrayed, they are getting angry, and you don't want angry backers, because they invested a lot more money into this project than I did...

Please do your best to fix your mess, before it is too late. I am sure you are doing a fine job on Subnautica, but your responsibility on this crowdfunding project does not end just because you decide to go silent and cut your losses. And you actually did have a community willing to help you out, whether you realised it or not... Myself included...

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do.

[Bloxed]

"99% complete" > coop is nowhere in sight
no. this game is NOWHERE NEAR completion.

[Klegran]

I agree with everything you said, Fate. And if I ever give up on trying to save this game and I'm free to discuss what happened I'll be happy to do so. But as long as I'm trying to keep the game, I simply can't talk about it. My hands were tied via blackmail and threats. Which, in addition to the aformentioned reasons in my prior post, is why I've been more or less silent about it. Let people chalk it up to another bad kickstarter, that's fine. That's what it turned into.

I wish TB, Jim Serling and other YouTubers cared. Maybe then I can tell my story and get support. Maybe then I can get this game out (because I would still love to do that). But they don't care. Kickstarters going down the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is so common place it's not even news worthy anymore. I respect the passion you clearly have for this subject, Fate, but unfortunately, many other people simply don't share that passion.

But please don't think I'm not trying to get this game back, even if it's just so I can say I finished it. I never stopped trying. Legal stuff is slow, takes years, and often doesn't have the results you want. So I'm doing the best I can with what I have. For now, that's the best I can do. And in the mean time I'm bringing my skills to other projects and avoiding these same mistakes to make sure the next generation of games I make will be of excellent quality.

[Klegran]

Originally posted by Bloxed:

"99% complete" > coop is nowhere in sight
no. this game is NOWHERE NEAR completion.

It's my game, it's done when I say it is. It was content complete, playable, polished, functional and supprisingly lacking in bugs for a game made by one coder. So, yeah, it was 99% done. Just maybe not the 99% you were hoping for.

[catnip]

Shame it didn't work out, I enjoyed the game. I got it originally for co-op, but it was obvious it wasn't the main focus and I expected it to disappear eventually. Comparing the first and the very last build shows a big progress, but at this point I don't really expect Nekro to ever come back, especially since as the dev said, it turned out it wasn't really profitable all that much.

Unfortunately Nekro is another example of why you should never pay for unfinished games. Luckily I got my copy from a bundle and got my money's worth.

Originally posted by Klegran:

(snip)

Since you're active in this thread, I'd like to ask you a question. What was the reason for using Windows registry to store saved games? Was is just a quick, temporary solution or perhaps because it was much easier? I've never seen any other game doing this and was really surprised when I discovered this method in Nekro.

[Bloxed]

Originally posted by Klegran:

Originally posted by Bloxed:

"99% complete" > coop is nowhere in sight
no. this game is NOWHERE NEAR completion.

It's my game, it's done when I say it is. It was content complete, playable, polished, functional and supprisingly lacking in bugs for a game made by one coder. So, yeah, it was 99% done. Just maybe not the 99% you were hoping for.

I paid for a product that was advertised with coop functionality, where has that feature gone? And if this game is so complete then why has it been pulled from the store?

[Nielk1]

If you come back to this will I be able to get a replacement for my dead key?

[Klegran]

@Catnip - It's a native Unity method called PlayerPrefs, it uses registry keys to hold data. This was used well before they had any integrated JSON or XML support, so at the time it was the easiest way to store very basic data points. If I were to do it again I would use more serlaized data.

About your point that you should never buy unfinished games I agree to an extent. But many games, including Nekro, needed that Early Access money to continue development. We never hit the finish line, despite coming close. However, amazing games like Darkest Dungeon did get complete, and I think is one of the best games of this decade. It would not have been possible without people buying an 'unfinished game.' So, as with most things, take it on a case by case basis. It's an investment, not an exchange of goods. If you view it like that, you realize that like any gamble, you win some and you lose some.

@Bloxed - It was advartised right there on the page as being Early Access. In the Q&A for Early Access it explained very specifically that features, both large and small, are subject to change, ovehaul, or complete removal. Nothing was ever final, as we made changes to the game based on what we thought was best for it, instead of trying to shoehorn features simply because they were mentioned in a tag. For $19.99 you got hours of hand-crafted content, and I stand the quality of that content. I pulled it from the store when I saw I would, for the time being, be stopping work on it. I didn't feel it right to continue to sell something I had no immediate plan to finish.

@Nielk1 - Sure. At this point I'd be happy to just give it to you for free. But it might be a bit before I can return to work on this (even if it's just to say it's done).

[emotionengine]

Originally posted by Nielk1:

If you come back to this will I be able to get a replacement for my dead key?

I'm in the same boat. I had been saving the key and only recently decided to activate it, but then found it no longer worked. I googled around and found out the keys had been revoked, so I wrote to the darkforgegames email for a replacement. Would very much appreciate if you could get around to sending one out.

[catnip]

Originally posted by Klegran:

It's an investment, not an exchange of goods. If you view it like that, you realize that like any gamble, you win some and you lose some.

Actually I see it differently, I'd say it's a donation and one should consider the money gone and never expect anything in return. It helps to avoid disappointment later. I don't know the exact statistics, but I bet that the number of finished crowfunded games is rather low.

Anyway, thanks for the reply and I hope you'll go back to Nekro in the future. While this game is dead, there's always chance for a sequel. It's an interesting franchise and I think it's worth exploring. I'm sure you've learned a lot since the original Kickstarter campaign.

Originally posted by Bloxed:

I paid for a product that was advertised with coop functionality, where has that feature gone? And if this game is so complete then why has it been pulled from the store?

Actually you paid for a bunch of promises and you received exactly that: promises.

Co-op was bad anyway.

[Klegran]

Yeah man, co-op was not very fun. There's a reason we removed it.

[Bloxed]

Yeah man, instead of fixing co-op to be enjoyable why not just remove it! You truly are an outstanding developer.

[Lop]

Originally posted by catnip:

Actually you paid for a bunch of promises and you received exactly that: promises.

Co-op was bad anyway.

Definition of promise


a : a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified
b : a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.

You don't go to a store to buy a chocolate cake only to end up getting a fruit cake. You were promised a feature, not just a small feature either. And people bought the game just for that, the sheer fact that the game has been pulled from steam only shows how pathetic this is. I'm still waiting for my refund.