Yet another Kickstarter scam?

[logrus]

So, any original backers here? It's ridiculus that the game is available in whatever state but the original Kickstarter backers have been scammed out of the keys. We have financed the development of this game but we never got the steam key... Any backer received thge key?

[Niriel]

Original backer here. I did get my key. Although with my pledge level I should have received two (I'll ask for the second key if the game becomes playable again). I had fifty hours of fun during alpha, but as features were added the game broke more and more.

Hanlon's razor: some bad things happen not because of people having bad intentions, but because they did not think it through properly.

It's not a scam. A scam would imply malice, deception, and there was none of this here. In this case, it's a failure. One man stretched too thin. Lars did prototype all the features before advertising them, but having them all work together was beyond his skills.

I do think the "Add to Cart" button should be disabled. It would also be nice to have an official "This game is in limbo" statement in the description.

[Niriel]

I dug up the Kickstarter update about getting keys:

Update #60 For backers only.

Nov 15 2014

The Beta Has Landed
Posted by Lars Simkins (Creator)
32 Comments


Like
20 likes
Hello! First, a bit of news that every backer can appreciate: FRONTIERS is officially listed as 'Coming Soon' on the Steam store! Here's a link to the store.

(If you didn't pledge for beta access you can skip the next bit. See you next time!)

Okay here's how to get your hands on the beta. There are lots of steps so pay close attention or this will be total chaos. (On that note if any savvy backers want to help me field Steam tech support in the comments I'd be eternally grateful.)

Step 1: Install Steam
Love it or hate it, it's the only way to get the beta.

1) If you don't already have a Steam account, you'll need to create one. CLICK HERE TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT.
2) If you don't already have Steam installed on your system, you'll need to do so. Click on the INSTALL STEAM button at the top of the Steam website.
Done? Good. Next step:

Step 2: Retrieve Beta Key via the Humble Store
Stay with me. DON'T PANIC. It's not as complicated as it sounds. Basically you're going to enter an email address into a web form and it'll email your beta key. Boom, simple.

1) Go to the HUMBLE ORDER RESENDER form and enter your Kickstarter email address. I'm going to say that again: Your Kickstarter email address. Not any old email address, your Kickstarter email address. If you're 100% clear on the Kickstarter email address thing, click submit. Humble will send you an email. (To your Kickstarter email address.)
2) Click the link in the email that Humble sends you - that will take you to your steam key.
2b) (Optional) You DO NOT need a Humble account to redeem your beta key, but if you already have an account with them, you can sign in to "claim" the page and add the FRONTIERS beta key to your Humble Bundle Library. Everyone else, ignore this step.
3) Click the Steam button on the Humble page, and then redeem your Steam key by clicking "Connect to Steam". Follow the instructions to link your beta key to your Steam account.
4) When you're finished, the Humble key page should now indicate that your Steam account owns this game, and you should be able to find FRONTIERS in the Games section of your Profile on the Steam website.
Still with me? Okay the hard part's over. Next up:

Step 3: Install FRONTIERS
1) Run Steam on your computer.
2) Log into your Steam account.
3) Find FRONTIERS in the Library section and then click the INSTALL button. The game will now download and install.
Step 4: PLAY!
1) Yay!
2) All bugs will be reported in the DISCUSSIONS section of the community hub.
3) You'll want to check out this BUG REPORTING GUIDE while you're there. Don't skip it, it's important!
*Whew!* That's it! Congrats, we made it! And now for:

Beta FAQ
Q: What if I can't remember the email address that I used to back FRONTIERS on Kickstarter?
A: If you can't figure it out on your own, send an email to [e-mail] with the subject line EMAIL ADDRESS REQUEST. Include your first and last name, and we'll be able to find the right address for you.

Q: What if I backed the game with PayPal? What email address do I enter into the Humble Order Resender?
A: Use the email address that you pledged with, it should work.

Q: What if I tried all the steps but can't retrieve the beta key for some reason?
A: Send an email to [e-mail] with the subject line FAILED BETA KEY RETRIEVAL. Include your first & last name, email address that you think you used to back the game, and whether you backed via Kickstarter or Paypal. We'll get you fixed up.

Q: I hate Steam, can I play the beta a different way?
A: Nope, sorry. This is how it's got to be.

Q: I didn't back at the beta level, can I pay to opt-in now?
A: No, sorry - we've already got our hands full. But everyone who backed at the $15 level or higher can get an Early Access key when it's released on Steam.

Q: I've heard that Steam does a monthly hardware survey via popup. If I were to get get randomly selected via popup to have my hardware info automatically gathered and sent to Steam, would that be helpful?
A: Why yes it would, and thank you for taking the time to format that as a question so it would fit into this FAQ.

That's all for now, I'll see you in the comments...

From https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/railboy/frontiers-explore-discover-survive/posts/1052485 .

[Willy McBride]

The developer was very excited to be making the game, but had a lot of really important things come up in his life, and as I think we all know, we've got to prioritize things.

I believe he had a child, and he prioritized the child, as anybody should!

As far as i know he's still working on it, but it is very much a passion project

[Joshua]

@willy, I used to be like you. I was an admin back when the Frontiers community still used phpBB and wasn't on steam. Supporting Lars till the bitter end.

Sad truth is the only person who seemed excited about making the game was me and a handful of other diehards. Even if Lars releases the game in 2030... I will have trouble looking past the journey to enjoy the destination.

Game may not be a scam but the community & original purpose has been abandoned. He is also misleading people with how the game is advertised and has been doing so for years against customer feedback. A disclaimer would be nice yes. Anything would be nice at this point. Yet here we are. No positive feedback loop... nothing that was promised. Not even Lars manning up to all his ranting about being willing to scrap huge aspects of the project (summer 2016 stream rants).

The current change to pixel or 2d or sprite whatever engine "downgrade" added more work for him. Per his 2016 rants he could of already finished the game if he *stopped* making it a team-sized project and let his individual-self have a manageable workload. He could of released the game in an older version of Unity.

There is no reason to upgrade! Nobody cares but him! The funny part is the upgrade in Unity forced him to downgrade the game's graphics and purpose anyway. WTF! Why didn't he just finish it in the original Unity environment? I've seen all his *reasons* for benefits in upgrading. HAH! More like he shot himself in the foot.

All we want is the damn game to be playable... anyway. I'm falling back into old habits like Lars actually cares and will follow through on his word. Don't endlessly defend a man who neglects a project for 3+ years and still takes purchases on it with false advertising.

I did that for this, Project Phoenix and a few others and it was the biggest waste of time of my life. I regret ever moment of it. Even if the devs are nice people and act like the have nice intentions. Even if the devs have a kid and get married and do good for themselves w/ a super great corporate job. They still deserve to be held accountable and not apologized for. Lars is a slacker. Frontiers is dead, Lars killed it and thats the truth.

[Arnold Rimmers Gazpacho Soup]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Willy McBride:

The developer was very excited to be making the game, but had a lot of really important things come up in his life, and as I think we all know, we've got to prioritize things.

I believe he had a child, and he prioritized the child, as anybody should!

As far as i know he's still working on it, but it is very much a passion project

Imagine building someones house after taking thousands of dollars from them and then not building the house for almost two years because you decided something else was more important to you to do during that time... Yeah, that's not how business works. That's how hobbies and giving away a free game works. He directly profits from this. He has no good reasoning not to finish, update or give information on the clearly ignored status.
I understand why this games backers are very disappointed with such an out of touch developer. If that's the best leg he has to stand on then he had no reason at all to not finish development. He had obligations and chose to ignore them. As many have said, there hasn't even been an official update in so long. Whether he planned malice or not is just irrelevant, he needs to be responsible for his work, his backers and the money he was supposed to use.
It is just ridiculous this has happened time and again with these early access games.

[Jdwarfer]

The main problem I see is the lack of COMMUNICATION.
Correct me if I'm wrong but there's nothing since end of 2017. I checked Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Twitch... He could be dead as far as I know.

If he's still working on the game, he MUST talk about it from time to time.
Otherwise it means he doesn't give a ♥♥♥♥ anymore. About the game, about people who have spent money on it.

Anyway, IMO he should be ashamed; whatever reason he had to stop.
It's just plain disrespect.

He has a child, so what? He could get cancer or whatever tragedy, he could still find a couple of minutes to say something, anything at all.

The worst thing for me is not the fact he stopped, but the fact he disapeared without notice.

The game page should be removed.

[Joshua]

@jdwarfer, what about dwarf fortress devs getting on steam just to pay for healthcare? to me this platform is sacred for indie folks. you can follow your dream and live in a money driven society. indie developing should be inspiring.

Lars leaving the project this way is a slap in the face to everyone who takes independent developing seriously. he should be ashamed and communicate more 1000%.

i really really really really really hope how he treats Frontiers & AAD Productions is the exact opposite of his behavior in a couple of years at Microsoft. the fact he went from the trainwreck that is this project to a MICROSOFT JOB. ughhhh. there is zero accountability in this indie world for people's actions. they can literally be given life on a silver platter after abysmal failure that costs 10's of thousands. i doubt microsoft even knows about Frontiers. who would put this on a resume ... -=\

@loghain, i agree with you about early access and to add onto my point and yours... wtf is going on. why are all these projects lingering to the point of being undead in the sense the only activity is what we are doing?

why can't these developers just be honest and pull the freaking plug? as you say they are still getting trickle sales on here... as well as exposure (for their original idea). it is almost like they can try, make a mistake, make it worse and not be held accountable in anyway.

[Arnold Rimmers Gazpacho Soup]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย RoY:

@jdwarfer, what about dwarf fortress devs getting on steam just to pay for healthcare? to me this platform is sacred for indie folks. you can follow your dream and live in a money driven society. indie developing should be inspiring. life being busy or difficult (as Lars puts it) should never be a reason to just abandon his old job. thats what Frontiers was for years to him. His job & passion project!!!!

Lars leaving the project this way is a slap in the face to everyone who takes independent developing seriously. i really really really really really hope how he treats Frontiers & AAD Productions is the exact opposite of his behavior in a couple of years at Microsoft. the fact he went from the trainwreck that is this project to a MICROSOFT JOB. ughhhh. there is zero accountability in this indie world for people's actions. they can literally be given life on a silver platter after abysmal failure. i doubt microsoft even knows about Frontiers. who would put this on a resume ... -=\

@loghain, i agree with you about early access and to add onto my point and yours... wtf is going on. why are all these projects lingering to the point of being undead in the sense the only activity is what we are doing?

why can't these developers just be honest and pull the freaking plug? as you say they are still getting trickle sales on here... as well as exposure (for their original idea). it is almost like they can try, make a mistake, make it worse and not be held accountable in anyway.

My issue and irritation with these early access games is primarily the lack of responsibility.

If they owned up to it, kept updates, tried and failed but let us know, it would go a lot smoother and trustworthy.

I wish the developer the best in his personal life and as a developer, but hope he can take a little more responsibility, in this case.

[Joshua]

@loghain, thats what i been saying for years and tried to appeal to Lars directly. i have messaged him a number of times over the years. he actually acts as if it is his backers fault that we started a 'social media fire' that he can't put out.

irony is that all we want is our old Lars back.

[Arnold Rimmers Gazpacho Soup]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย RoY:

@loghain, thats what i been saying for years and tried to appeal to Lars directly. i have messaged him a number of times over the years. he actually acts as if it is his backers fault that we started a 'social media fire' that he can't put out.

irony is that all we want is our old Lars back.

I don't know the situation well. I have barely played and never read updates etc from him. When I first got the game years ago my PC was rubbish and I built my first gaming PC in January so of course I tried it out as I remembered it being exciting.
It wasn't a good experience at all and I was genuinely disappointed and then I saw the forums etc and just wondered where the developer vanished to. Its always a shame though how all this works.

If he wants to get on with his life, fine, but there's definitely some ways he should go about it. Information. Declaration of a cease in development. Removing the ability to purchase the game if it isn't in a good form to be sold. You see it time and again with EA games. Developers just need to have responsibility for their game. It is 100% a business scheme with people who have gambled their money on it. If he doesn't want that peer pressure he should update players, finish the game and indefinitely put in in a ceased development mode.

Like I said, I wish him all the best, same with all these other people, but they just need to take some responsibility and stop profiting from dead games because abandoned EA games are always still being sold and they need to just be shut down.

[Dragonhead Gaming]

Steam will keep defunct EA games up for as long as they keep making their 30%.

[Cutterjohn]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย logrus:

So, any original backers here? It's ridiculus that the game is available in whatever state but the original Kickstarter backers have been scammed out of the keys. We have financed the development of this game but we never got the steam key... Any backer received thge key?

yes it's a scam, starforge and crew

[Mawthra]

Just play Outward... will scratch the itch this game promised... it has for me

https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward/

[Arnold Rimmers Gazpacho Soup]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Mawthra:

Just play Outward... will scratch the itch this game promised... it has for me

https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward/

I have heard good things about that game. Especially the ability to split screen co-op.

[Willy McBride]

Can confirm, Outward is really fun to play: especially cooperatively!