Kickstarter Update #12 Analysis

Good morning, citizens of Elyria,

Kickstarter Campaign Update #12 has been posted, and this time, it is all about the stretch goals.  As we approach the intended goal of $900,000 (currently less than $60,000 from that goal), Caspian begins the update by explaining how they decided on cutting certain features from the game.  They did this to keep this game's development costs down (and meet the goal of $900k).

Now that victory is all but assured, it's time to start thinking about what features you would like to see added. For brevity's sake, I will only be listing the features that will be on the poll.  He describes a lot of features that were cut and will eventually be put in the game but not as a stretch goal from Kickstarter.

Here are the following features (along with their descriptions from Caspian himself) that will be on the poll for Kickstarter supporters to vote on:

• Wards of The State
  Wards are a feature that allow players to create characters separate from any family, in exchange for additional character customization. We cut this because while it's nice to have, it's always possible to create a character from an NPC family and then go about playing the game as you'd planned.
• Social Activities - Gaming/Gambling
  We'd long wanted players to gather in inns/taverns and play dice and card games. However each game has its own overhead as we have to develop new assets, a few new animations, and the rules for each of the table games. That all said, we still think this is an awesome feature and we hope you guys agree.
• Heirlooms
  Heirlooms are any item of high quality that a player passes from themselves to their heir. Each generation the item becomes more a part of their family, until eventually characters develop a sixth sense for the item, allowing them to easily track its location for recovery. Eventually, heirlooms may even bestow a curse upon any non-family members who happen upon the item through deviant means.
• Digging & Burying (aka. Anything is a Container)
  This system evolved from being about digging holes and hiding things in the ground to eventually being about hiding anything, anywhere. The system would allow you to hide things in tree trunks, in a book-safe, or even inside of a pastry. This ties in heavily with the new Search feature we're working on and could add a ton of new RP and surprise elements to the game.
• Sensory Map
  While we wanted a UI element or visual indicator of sounds and smells, the feature was cut as being non-essential. Without it, and without a mini-map, players will have less information about what's going on in their environment and will have to rely more on what they can actually see and hear as players, rather than what they can see, hear, or smell as characters. That said, there's some cool side-effects that come from being able to sniff out a corpse, or hear a trap re-loading, etc. Feel free to suggest it returns.
• Mounted Combat
  Yep. We had to cut mounted combat. Combat as we've implemented it uses stances and techniques with various weapon sets. The addition of Mounted Combat means we not only must double the number of animations, as we need mounted versions as well as unmounted, but in most cases would need to create whole new stances. Plus, jousting would add additional mechanics around movement speed and targeting. In the end, we thought this would be an amazing feature, but cut it to fit within $900k. Feel free to add it back.
• Integrated VoIP
  There's pros and cons to having integrated VoIP. At the end of the day though, this is a survival game and the time it takes you to alt+tab to activate/configure a chat client could mean your death. We'll let you make a final decision on how important this feature is.
• Vehicle Customization
  Our original plan was for anything above a single-player mount to be configurable to some degree. ie, determining whether a wagon would have shields on the outside, or attach points for other things. This would also mean being able to trade seats for storage boxes, etc. Without it, it would require a different pattern to create a different type of vehicle more like what you're looking for.
• Tunneling
  This is our system for creating underground grottoes, caverns, mining shafts, etc. It's one of our favorite systems and we're looking forward to adding it to the world. However, it was deemed a painful but possible cut as it's non-essential to have underground lairs, etc.
• Natural Disasters
  Earthquakes, avalanches, tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires, and landslides. These all add dramatic story opportunities to the world. Each one requires a good amount of work however, and so was cut in an effort to keep us under $900k.

I have decided on the top three features that I, personally, would like to see and why. If you have a different opinion, please voice it in the comments below:

Firstly, Natural Disasters is a must for me. Mostly, this is because I feel that no other game has ever gotten it right. Typical of MMO's, the landscape is usually static, unless changed specifically by the player themselves (I'm looking at you, Life is Feudal). To be able to have the game alter the landscape in the form of a natural disaster provides not only more dramatic story opportunities, but tactical ones, as well.

Imagine you stronghold is under siege by a large enemy force and just when all hope is lost, an avalanche from the nearby mountainside, engulfs half of the enemy force, raising your odds of success against the siege. There are many more scenarios that could be created with a natural disaster feature.

Secondly, Integrated VoIP is a must for me.  Games like DayZ and Miscreated, both use local VoIP, where you can talk to players in your proximity.  In my opinion, nothing breaks immersion, then having to stop moving and acting so that you can type on your keyboard.  You can't beg for your life and run for your life at the same time with type-chat.  Integrated VoIP will allow us to speak to each other with our real voices in real time and I think that this is a must-have feature for any survival MMO.

Finally, Social Activities - Gaming / Gambling is a completely selfish one that I want with every fiber in my being. It is selfish of me to want this because I will be running this tavern / inn.  I want there to be fun things to do when you stay at my inn.  Who wouldn't want to be able to walk into the Dagger and Crone, and play a hand of cards or Liar's Dice?  Gambling is one of the services I want to offer at the D&C and thus, a gambling feature is necessary for me to do so.

There will still be ways that I plan to allow people to game and gamble at the Dagger and Crone, even if this feature is not included. For example, I am looking to hire an in-game bookie, who's job it is to take bets from other players on the outcome of duels, that will take place in our dueling hall. This is something that will not require any additional features (besides a motivated player who is good with numbers).

Now, even if my top three aren't picked, I'll still be happy.  This is just my opinion and humble attempt to persuade you to vote in my best interests.  :-)  What are your top three features that you would like to see as a stretch goal?  Let me know in the comments below!

If you're interested in talking about this live, join us on the Dagger and Crone Inn & Tavern Discord Server.

~              Paddy Bardic
           Owner / Proprietor
Dagger and Crone Tavern and Inn

*IMPORTANT NOTICE - The Dagger and Crone Tavern & Inn, Paddy Bardic, are not affiliated in any way with Soulbound Studios or Chronicles of Elyria. Nothing that has been written here should be misconstrued or interpreted to the contrary. I am just a huge fan of this game and want to help it succeed as an avid fan.