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[Kickstarter] Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness - Austrian isometric RTwP CRPG [Funded]

KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
edited May 2018 in Off-Topic
Lookie what I just found on kickstarter: Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness by GrapeOcean Technologies

https://youtu.be/J2nlTJXtDms

Looks pretty sweet for a game from Austria, huh? I also dig their portrait styles! ;)




Black Geyser's funding goal is €50.000 and has already reached over €2.600 within its first few hours. Given that the campaign will be on for 35 days, things seem more than likely that we'll see the game released in August 2019 on Windows, Mac and Linux. Both for Steam and GoG at that!



According to their official website, players will be able to choose from 5 playable races (humans, dwarves, elves, ice elves and something called 'Rillow' when the first stretch goal is reached). As well as 4 base classes (Warriors, Outlaws, Priests and Wizards), plus each of them will get 2 to 4 kits/archetypes.



The main game mechanic called 'Greed' makes this game especially interesting, given that it can affect simply everyone in the game world: be it your companions, righteous paladin-like Templars, to merchants, to even common farmers.




They also currently offer an Early Bird tier where backers can get a digital copy plus bonus items for €16 instead of the standard pledge of €19. True, not that much of a price difference. But nevertheless kind of nice to have.
Post edited by Kamigoroshi on
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Comments

  • ArdanisArdanis Member Posts: 1,736
    Seems like they improved graphics a bit.
  • kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
    I was just going to post this but you beat me, @Kamigoroshi :) I am happy to back this game and have good feelings about it. Certainly preferable to anything similar to the NwN style of game.

    Also @Ardanis, somewhere I read that they were a bit unhappy that KS was displaying their graphics at a reduced quality than what it actually is.
  • kotekokoteko Member Posts: 179
    edited April 2018
    I like this a lot (and backed it). The world needs more IE-inspired games. For an indie game, this looks great.
  • moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
    Backed as well. I found it yesterday, posted it in a couple of FB groups then remembered to come here.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Lo and behold, for I bring you tasty bits from the kickstarter campaign comments:
    @Riotinghamster: Yes, Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness will offer moddability by default (i.e. included in the base Kickstarter goal). Depending on how much we raise, additional options are possible as well. In details:
    1) Basic moddability is guaranteed: the game aims to be as user-friendly as possible (you don't need to be a programmer to understand it), but at the same, there will be no powerful toolkits provided by default.
    2) Advanced moddability: a new, easily reachable stretch goal that does not change on existing stretch goals, and will provide you a small useful toolkit. We will add this stretch goal soon, and mention it in the upcoming Update as well.
    3) High-level moddability: this is a lot of work to implement, so it is planned to be a higher-level stretch goal that will be revealed after the existing goals are reached. It would too early to talk about it.

    Modding, folks! Native support of Black Geyser modding is guaranteed! And there will also come a stretch goal for introducing a toolkit as well! Things just got seriously awesome! xD
  • kotekokoteko Member Posts: 179
    Natively supported modding is great. I can see a BG-inspired mod for example :D

    In a way, Sword Coast Legends was supposed to be that - a framework to make D&D-inspired isometric adventures for people to enjoy. But the company is dead. If this game comes to life, I can see a new flow of user-created cRPG isometric adventures coming our ways :)
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    GrapeOcean has added the new stretch goal for advanced toolkit moddability. Furthermore, the very same stretch goal boasts of languages supports for French, Italian, (Austrian) German, Polish, Russian and Spanish. :)



    But even more interesting is the fact that they've updated their €100.000 stretch goal once again: when unlocked Black Geyser will boasts of a brand new (and currently top secret) playable spellcaster class!
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Some more interesting insights about the game:

    You can certainly important custom portraits and voicesets. There is no XP cap planned, thanks to the clear system of the game (e.g. no senseless respawns). Yes, dialog checks will be made, and there is an advanced way to developers (content creators) to define intelligent dialogs. The reply options you receive and the text & decisions of the NPC speaker can depend on a number of things, these are basically scriptable by the developer.

    It also has been confirmed that the length of the base game can be around the 80 hours mark with an throughout playthrough. As well as future plans of creating at least two major DLC's. Looks like there's more where that came from!
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    There's currently a real steal going on over at the kickstarter campaign: backers who raise their pledge by €15 will be able to receive all upcoming expansion packs and DLCs for Black Geyser.

    We have received several requests for an add-on that includes all future DLCs and expansions (one digital download from each). A great idea! We have just added it:

    €15: All Future Expansions/DLCs as Digital Downloads (included in tiers €100 and above)

    If you want this add-on, just add €15 ($18) to your existing pledge. For example, if you have chosen tier €16 (early bird download), set your pledge to €31.

    At least two major DLCs are planned. We call them expansion packs, because they will offer brand-new content (areas, NPCs, quests, stories, items etc.) with up to 15-20 hours of playtime.
    To elaborate: pledge level €100 and above already get all expansion packs and DLCs for free. But only for one of their three digital copies. So if, for example, I had choosen the €100 tier and wanted all the digital goodies for all of my three game copies, I would need to pay €100+€15+€15=€130.

    To put this into perspective, these here are likely going to be the shop prices for when Black Geyser shows up on GOG/Steam:
    • €40 Standard Edition
    • €60 Premium Edition
    • €20 per Expansion Pack
    • €30 for Seasonal Pass
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    https://youtu.be/-pSJz12US9g

    The devs just released a new video, featuring Black Geyser's take on combat~!

    In other news, Black Geyser has surpassed its initial funding goal of €50.000 today thanks to 1.622 backers. There are still 18 days to go. And according to kicktraq, Black Geyser will finish somewhere around the €100.000 mark.

    Gotta love that extra race and spellcaster class once the stretch goals are smashed. :)
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    Found this as well. Didn't actually back it until the funding goal was reached though, as I hate being plagued with updates about projects that just don't happen in the end. I'm not convinced they'll reach many, if any, stretch goals. That's a shame as I'd love more classes and races. But the initial game looks promising as it is, so I'm happy.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    First stretch goal has just now been reached! There are still 12 days to go, but the most important one (toolset) is now save and sound in our grasp. :smiley:
    We have reached our base goal quicker than anyone expected, and the first stretch goal is now completed as well! Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is going to be a reality because of you! Thank you so much!! Our next goal is now active—a brand-new playable race with a focus to Illusion Magic, Herbalism and Alchemy
    Apropos new playable race: the devs have finally shared further info about their appearance and origin.
    ...physically, they are around 7 feet tall, heavily built, with skin tones ranging from obsidian black to rust-red. Eye colors similarly from black to gold. Their herbalists came as spice traders to Isilmerlad, and as the routes were established their most adventurous hedonists came to Isilmerald seeking new pleasures and new experiences. They originate in East--their homeland is a magocracy, ruled over by powerful Spellweavers. The patron of their society is a Djinni demigod (guess who?).
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    Modding potentially adds longevity and community to the game, so it was a wise initial goal I think. Will be interesting to see whether they hit the additional race too.
  • kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
    Sad, though, that the 100,000 goal is highly unlikely to be reached. The rillow race is nice and all, but I always prefer additional areas to explore over additional races or classes to play, and that singing trees area just seems so awesome.
  • modestvoltamodestvolta Member Posts: 108
    As someone who followed this game for a looooooooooong time (I found it looking for a BG mod on ... Black Wyrm's Lair [maybe?] and the site redirected me to the Black Geyser site), it was great to finally see it reach the Kickstarter phase.

    But if not for my initial interest, this would have alerted every red flag I have for Kickstarter projects. For one, the budget is incredibly low for game development (I know they have outside investors, but still ... $60,000/€50,000 is a low budget). Another is planning on having the game out by 2019. I hope it happens, but based on almost every other game-development project, I have my doubts.

    In regards to stretch goals, I'm half bummed and half glad that the Kickstarter won't reach too many of them. Yes, they would be cool, but I've seen too many projects get bogged down with too many extras. In a perfect world, the stretch goals wouldn't add to the development time, but they do, so I'd rather see a finished game sooner, with the proposed stretch goal content as possible expansions.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    @modestvolta I'd agree with you that an initial goal of €50.000 is far too low to create such a big project.
    But fear not: the kickstarter funds do not reflect their overall budget for creating Black Geyser. As you know, GrapeOcean Technologies has worked on the game since around April 2015 now with the help of private investors. Which by 2019 adds up to 4 years of video game development. The current crowdfunding campaign is simple to ensure their sponsors that people are interested in their work and thus worthy of further investments.

    They also mentioned it on their kickstarter page:
    "Years of hard work and a lot of money have been invested into Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness. As a new studio specializing in role-playing games, we are grateful to our investors who have funded development so far.

    A successful Kickstarter campaign is now required, a proof of interest to our investors that will secure their final round of funds. These funds, combined with the money raised on Kickstarter, will ensure the completion of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness."

    But I also agree with you that having too many stretch goals almost always ends in scope creep. Which is never looked nicely upon by backers. The devs of Black Geyser have recently mentioned that unattained stretch goals may become part of the two planned Expansion Packs (especially concerning the Rillow race, it seems).
  • modestvoltamodestvolta Member Posts: 108
    I should probably add that I backed the project almost as soon as it went live, and I'm glad they added the "future expansions" funding level, so I got my early bird special and the future expansions for €31 (whatever dollar amount that ends up equaling).

    Anyways, here's to a successful Kickstarter campaign and a (relatively close to) end of 2019 release!
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    The shoutout in the Pathfinder: Kingmaker update has done wonders!
    Black Geyser is curently at €78.253, or 156%. Meaning that we have smashed another stretch goal: the Rillow race will become a reality. :)

    The devs further revealed that the rillows are inspired by indian elephants with a small pair of tusks, thick limbs and leathery skin. Making them quite possible a humanoid elephant beastfolk race. Depending how much influence the elephants had on the developers.
    (again tagging @Vallmyr along for this exotic race)

    In other news, backers also smashed three social media stretch goals. This has entitled us to the following features:
    • Companion Romances
    • Pets/Familiars (confirmed were a dog, cat, guinea pig, a lizard and some unknown, exotic pet from the lands of rillows)
    • Kendall the Blacksmith NPC who can reforge/upgrade arms and armors in exchange for coin.
    Next facebook goal will be at 750 shares and involve a female NPC under the name of Ay'eda the Mystic.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited May 2018
    The kickstarter of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness has ended. The results? 3.467 backers have spend €108.837 to make this game a reality! Meaning that we also will see the Valley of Singing Trees and the Convoker spellcaster class. The latter being a true summoner with lots of meatshields.

    But that will not be the end: GrapeOcean Technologies has enabled Slacker Backer pledges via paypal for the sake of meeting further stretch goals. The next being at €125K under the name of Gardens of Delight. A pleasure palace of the rillows where greed and corruption are rampand.

    All in all I can say that this kickstarter campaing has been VERY successful. Given that this is a new indie game studio and all. :)
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    I'm pleasantly surprised they reached the 100000 goal, twice what they needed to finish the game. Was unsure whether or not to add to my pledge for the expansions. I ended up not doing so, because while I'm looking forward to the game I don't have any experience with this developer and the game can potentially disappoint. And if it does turn out as good as I'm hoping, I have no issue paying them full price for the expansions when the time comes.
  • CvijetaCvijeta Member Posts: 417
    You can still get some rewards at their web paige. I will do so soon enough.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    New update just went online.

    The gist of it: backer beta has been pushed back. But we at least now get to see how the Rillow actually look like.
    c7f359c33301a509ddab711a84c1ca3d_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&w=639&fit=max&v=1556651455&auto=format&gif-q=50&q=92&s=351f1703db1111620c93c10a1ce0eb1c
    760072c0d5c92d8e7ed78b46c7226146_original.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&w=639&fit=max&v=1556652686&auto=format&gif-q=50&lossless=true&s=3de1301c8d97f58be93d5b8e89c07d73
    Not a beast race as I initially hoped for. But they are sufficiently different enough from the all too common Tolkien fantasy race rabble.

    Also: The Rillow companion got a lovely portrait as well.

    11b4825e849d2794dc290cb2955d5e3b_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&w=639&fit=max&v=1556652882&auto=format&gif-q=50&q=92&s=31b7f970268bf2d7e7a470d13f698364
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Another update. And this time it even comes with a Backer Beta Preview Part 1!! :D

    https://youtu.be/AZPeiO7s5Zo

    In other news: We finally have dates! The Backer Beta will be ready around November 2019.
    The release date of the full game is expected to be ready by April 2020.
  • kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
    As a backer myself, I am now re-hyped about this game. They are giving me what Beamdog has not been able to/willing to give me.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Backer Beta Preview Part 2 is here!

    https://youtu.be/Vw3GvPLHkeQ

    Oh, and have a foretaste of Black Geyser's OST:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YJDpduP_w
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited November 2019
    Gosh, it's entirely been too long since we had any worthwhile news on this one.

    Two things first:
    • Interested people can still become slacker backers until the 26th of December 2019. After that the latecomer campaign will be closing down: http://www.blackgeyser.com/backerportal#title
    • The early access Beta for backers will hit steam on the 24th of March 2020. That's about a 4 month delay from its initial release, but it also allows for more content to be included as well. So not all that bad, I suppose.

    On a more entertaining note, GrapeOcean shed some light into their Stronghold system: specificly the Wizard Stronghold known as Locus and its plant-like structure.

    d12721aea3b5e7ba0abe0ad45eb75690_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&w=700&fit=max&v=1574870630&auto=format&gif-q=50&q=92&s=3cdd2982e0b1bbbe3b5df103d3a82325
    b99a04ecea6840d19c2265bb373227ca_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&w=700&fit=max&v=1574870801&auto=format&gif-q=50&q=92&s=d5eac5727b26617b2bb70e4b71a08d6e

    Am I the only one who gets a flashback of the Planar Sphere but with an exotic fairy-ish flair to it? Me gusta! :D
  • CvijetaCvijeta Member Posts: 417
    They started sending hardware surveys.
  • CvijetaCvijeta Member Posts: 417
    so far, only one user reported receiving hardware survey, besides me. Anybody else is a backer of beta?
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