The Sun Sets On Moonrise

[Undead Sanya]

We just patched. Here's why:

Hello Moonrise fans,

As you know, Moonrise has been in beta on Steam in the Early Access channel for the past few months. At the same time, the iOS version of the game has been available in limited release, in countries including Australia and Canada. During this beta period we’ve been gathering data on how people play the game. The free-to-play model, and the mobile market, are new territory for Undead Labs, so we’ve been paying close attention to these numbers to make sure we’re making a game people are excited to play, and also a game that we can operate profitably and sustainably with the level of support you expect.

What we’ve found is that while some people really love Moonrise, there were unfortunately many more people who played the game and then moved on after a few days. For a standalone, offline game that might be fine; but for an online game with significant server hosting costs and an expectation for ongoing development and new content, it can mean a game that not only doesn’t pay for it’s development costs, but might even cost money to operate. As you can imagine, that’s not something that makes sense for an independent studio like Undead Labs, nor for that matter would it be a good business decision even for a large publisher.

In light of this, we won’t be commercially releasing Moonrise. There are some fantastic elements to the game that we’re extremely proud of, and those might find their way into a future game someday, but for now we’re going to make some changes to the game that make it a blast to play for our existing players.

Since we won’t have to worry about whether the game is profitable, we can just have some fun and open the floodgates. We’re updating the game with new Solari, wildlands, dungeons, and clothing shops. We’re also increasing rewards in Arena Mode, making it easier to earn XP and hit upgrade and evolution milestones, increasing drop rates, decreasing leveling time, and generally making the game play faster and easier across the board. We’re also giving every player a free Sunset Pack containing 2,000 gems, 10,000 gold, two Solari Boosters, and a bunch of essences. Detailed patch notes are here: https://forums.undeadlabs.com/threads/moonrise-update-8-august-28th-2015.50462/

This update will be available on Steam today, and for our iOS players as soon as we clear certification with Apple, usually in about 2–3 weeks. We’ll keep the servers running for the rest of the year, ending midnight, December 31.

I want to personally thank every one of you who played Moonrise, and in particular those of you jumped in on our Steam and UL player forums and shared your feedback with us — both the praise, which makes us giddy like little kids, and also the criticism, which makes us learn and get better at our jobs. Our future games will benefit tremendously from your feedback and support.

Jeff

[Undead Nicole]

引用自 Mad Hatter：

@UndeadLabs Please ignore @Blun7y86.

He is frustrated for the same reasons that most of us are, but most of us really do want you to succeed, want to work with you, and to that end we choose to not post the vomit that he is.

Please don't validate his non-constructive posts by replying to them.

I'll be in touch with you via your forums elsewhere, as you solicited, and while I want to see this situation resolved in a more agreeable way, I don't presume that it will be solved this hour, this minute, this second.

Forgive my conceit when I say that most of us here feel more-or-less the same way.

引用自 Hellzcatz：

Thanks, Sanya. I really hope you guys have more luck next time. I still think Moonrise would be sucessful, if you guys have tweaked it a bit. The game IS gorgeous, love the creature design (whoever did it, have done an AMAZING job, don´t let that person go!).

I actually had wrote a bit in a way of suggestions, but never did had a chance to post it and now is just moot. :(

Anyway, hope everything pans out well for everyone, and yes, I´m still crossing my fingers and hoping somehow, Moonrise can still be picked up by a investor and make it work.

Thank you both for the support. It really means the world to us. I hope that we can make this situation a bit better for you. :)

[Blu]

引用自 Mad Hatter：

@UndeadLabs Please ignore @Blun7y86.

He is frustrated for the same reasons that most of us are, but most of us really do want you to succeed, want to work with you, and to that end we choose to not post the vomit that he is.

Please don't validate his non-constructive posts by replying to them.

I'll be in touch with you via your forums elsewhere, as you solicited, and while I want to see this situation resolved in a more agreeable way, I don't presume that it will be solved this hour, this minute, this second.

Forgive my conceit when I say that most of us here feel more-or-less the same way.

Yeah I am riddled with mental illnesses, lack self censorship, and am about as subtle as a bulldozer,

but Not at any point do I want this game to fail, I want the opposite completely.

[Mad Hatter]

引用自 Blun7y86：

引用自 Mad Hatter：

@UndeadLabs Please ignore @Blun7y86.

He is frustrated for the same reasons that most of us are, but most of us really do want you to succeed, want to work with you, and to that end we choose to not post the vomit that he is.

Please don't validate his non-constructive posts by replying to them.

I'll be in touch with you via your forums elsewhere, as you solicited, and while I want to see this situation resolved in a more agreeable way, I don't presume that it will be solved this hour, this minute, this second.

Forgive my conceit when I say that most of us here feel more-or-less the same way.

Yeah I am riddled with mental illnesses, lack self censorship, and am about as subtle as a bulldozer,

but Not at any point do I want this game to fail, I want the opposite completely.

I'll raise a glass to that.

[Undead Sanya]

We're all alone in our basements and prone to forgetting there are people on the other side of the screen. But I try never to forget that the people who are most upset are often the people who gave the most. "Not caring at all" is the worst thing that can happen to a game company, not "people are angry."

[Blu]

Agreed, anger is a bi product of passion.

[Stesha]

I do agree with what I read. You are basing the profit of a game that isn't even full complete or released and only after a few months. That is no way to do it. I really wish I could have played this game and seen it go to full released. Early access people don'y play it all the time because a lot of them wait for updates. I really believe that undead labs can continue this game. Either free to play (like i heard it would have been on full released) or offline single player. Or both. I hope that undead labs will figure out a way to continue this game. Though I also don't expect it to happen.

[Blu]

引用自 Sieva (OTG)：

I do agree with what I read. You are basing the profit of a game that isn't even full complete or released and only after a few months. That is no way to do it. I really wish I could have played this game and seen it go to full released. Early access people don'y play it all the time because a lot of them wait for updates. I really believe that undead labs can continue this game. Either free to play (like i heard it would have been on full released) or offline single player. Or both. I hope that undead labs will figure out a way to continue this game. Though I also don't expect it to happen.

You can still play, go to Undead Labs forums, Find Undead Sanya and ask her for a key she should sort you one out. make sure you leave your email address.

[Kate]

Can I thank Nicole in particular for helping me to fix my bugs I had in game. : )

[Undead Nicole]

引用自 Kate：

Can I thank Nicole in particular for helping me to fix my bugs I had in game. : )

I was so happy to help Kate. :) No thanks are necessary.

[Setari]

引用自 Sieva (OTG)：

I do agree with what I read. You are basing the profit of a game that isn't even full complete or released and only after a few months. That is no way to do it. I really wish I could have played this game and seen it go to full released. Early access people don'y play it all the time because a lot of them wait for updates. I really believe that undead labs can continue this game. Either free to play (like i heard it would have been on full released) or offline single player. Or both. I hope that undead labs will figure out a way to continue this game. Though I also don't expect it to happen.

Yeah, I don't really understand their model here. I think they just took too long to develop, and started going into the red on the game instead of being in the black for the development process. They didn't even release the game to everyone who could have had it available, so I don't really see how their tracking of this game is even 1% accurate, since there's billions of people on the planet, millions who would play this game and spend money like mad...

[Mentally Unstable]

Like what Steam has said before,don't rely on Early Access as your main source of funding.It was never meant to be.

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/steam-updates-early-access-rules-guidelines-for-de/1100-5101/

Don’t launch in Early Access if you can’t afford to develop with very few or no sales.

There is no guarantee that your game will sell as many units as you anticipate. If you are counting on selling a specific number of units to survive and complete your game, then you need to think carefully about what it would mean for you or your team if you don't sell that many units. Are you willing to continue developing the game without any sales? Are you willing to seek other forms of investment?

[Bloodwolff]

Any chance you could speak to Steam on our behalf for thoes that require a refund, as most if not all have passed the 2 hour gameplay refund policy.

Considering this problem was generated by your company and not an End User.

Thanks, if you do this is advance.

[Autositz]

引用自 <- Duk-zilla (Bloodwolff)：

Any chance you could speak to Steam on our behalf for thoes that require a refund, as most if not all have passed the 2 hour gameplay refund policy.

Considering this problem was generated by your company and not an End User.

Thanks, if you do this is advance.

You have played the game for more than 2h -> no refund. Period.

There is many games that are not playable anymore for many different reasons, and non of them game a refund because of shutting down service. Read what you sign by clicking "OK" or "BUY" ....
As many stated above e.g. the Early Access Guidelines by Valve.

[Bloodwolff]

So in other words Early Access is theft if the devs fail to complete the game, who keeps the money, Steam or the devs?

[Autositz]

引用自 <- Duk-zilla (Bloodwolff)：

So in other words Early Access is theft if the devs fail to complete the game, who keeps the money, Steam or the devs?

I guess it depends on circumstances... unconfirmed reports say that valve kept money on games that came out but turned out to be scam, which is not the case with Moonrise.
So i would expect, but i don't know, that Undead Labs receives their share of the Steam sales as planned.