StarDrive -- 4x "action strategy"

[Longdan]

Most have turned out very well for me.  If you do not wish to participate that is your decision.
I generally do not like to assume everyone is a dirtbag and I do not wish to have all my decisions
made by EA and their ilk.  But that is just me.  You surely do not have to participate.

[son_of_montfort]

Hurmph....

Cast this one into the ever growing list of developers who enjoy support from early backers only to screw them later on for the the sake of milking a new crowd.
Turns out that the dev has decided for now that's it will be too much hassle to give all previous backers Steam keys for the newer versions, and instead we're going to have to suffer
waiting forever to see if he uploads the game to Desura.

It's quite annoying how this is quickly becoming a major trend in the gaming industry.

Odd. I got my Steam key from him yesterday. Are you a KS backer or Desura backer?

This is why kickstarter and early backing schemes are something I will never be party too.

I've made some mistakes but also had some successes with KS. I think you really have to be discriminating as to the cost and the trustworthiness of the developer. For boardgames, backing a "sure thing" is likely to get you extras at a decent price (although I have found you almost never get the game for less than you would if you wait and do online retail, you just get MORE stuff like expansions or add-ons - or you get the game early). For PC games, I am starting to back away from supporting alphas. I rarely have time to play them, they rarely have enough content to be worth it, and they tend to be in development for YEARS (and blow by development goals).

If the cost if <$10, I'm more willing to gamble.

That all being said, I still use KS from time to time.

[panzerde]

While I'll continue to back KS and Desura games I find interesting, I am pretty disappointed that Zero has more or less blown off those of us who were early supporters of this games and chose to fund its development.  I can't find anything, anywhere about those of us on Desura getting Steam keys anytime soon.

So as it stands, I don't have anything good to say about this game, because I can't play the beta, and I assume I'll never get to play the released version.  Certainly I thought it looked promising or I wouldn't have backed it, but I think we have yet another Indie developer who may or may not be good at game development, but is most definitely not a good business person.  This kind of stuff is a rookie mistake.   

[Tpek]

I've had good (more or less) experience with Kickstarter.
Problem is that most people don't have the International shipping properly.
So it comes out that the items get shipped long after the stores already got them.

Ohh well, at least those that bought via Steam will have to pay more  than we did back when backing it up. (If only I had real access to the game that is :P)

[panzerde]

Zero has now made it clear that Desura backers won't be getting Steam keys, because he didn't bother to keep records of who purchased the game there and now can't get those records from Desura.  >:(

http://stardrivegame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1064&start=20

[Tpek]

Zero has now made it clear that Desura backers won't be getting Steam keys, because he didn't bother to keep records of who purchased the game there and now can't get those records from Desura.  >:(

http://stardrivegame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1064&start=20

I remember him saying before that, that if anyone who had it on Desura messaged him he would grant them a  Steam key.
Turns out he changed his mind :(

[Martok]

That's...disheartening you Desura guys appear to be getting screwed.  (Like Monty, I was an original KS backer, and have received my beta key.)  I'm baffled by this sudden turnaround on Dan's part. 

[Huw the Poo]

I fail to see the problem here.  He said he'd upload the latest build to Desura, so those of you who bought it on Desura will be able to play the latest version, right?  Am I missing something?

[Nefaro]

I fail to see the problem here.  He said he'd upload the latest build to Desura, so those of you who bought it on Desura will be able to play the latest version, right?  Am I missing something?

If it's published and updated on Desura - I would think not.

Or is he one of the numerous devs who only tend to want to d*ck with uploading new batches to one place, and not the others.  Cutting corners like that infuriates me too.  Hell.. I kept tossing a fit on the Pdox boards when I found out that the King Arthur:RPWG set wasn't being given updates on Gamersgate, but were getting new ones on the Steam version.  It took a long time, but they eventually just gave us Steam keys so that we could play a fully-updated version.  The devs & publisher were pointing fingers at each other, nobody admitting fault.  That was seriously dropping the ball and shouldn't have happened in the first place, and I'm starting to see a trend in that direction with others, too.  >:(

[panzerde]

He's also indicated that the release version will not be Desura.  He's promised twice now to upload to Desura, and it hasn't happened.  It seems very likely at this point that if you bought the game on Desura you won't be getting the release version - and despite promises, we've yet to see the beta version.

It seems like Desura lacks a lot of the tools to make it easy for devs to support their games.  Having said that, he's made it clear in other posts that his publishing agreement with Iceberg means he can't distribute the game through other channels.  Fair enough, give us Steam keys and we'll all go get it through Steam.  Unfortunately, he didn't keep track of who bought it via Desura, so he'd have to go manually validate that you bought the game.  The time crunch of game launch on Steam means he feels he doesn't have time to do that, so he's stopped giving out Steam keys.

So, it isn't access to the beta version that's the real sticking point, though the fact that it still isn't available on Desura is irritating.  The larger issue is that it seems that we won't get access to the finished game.

In the end I think he just made a mistake with some of the business arrangements, and he doesn't know how to get himself out of it.  Now he has a bunch of Desura buyers pounding on him for a solution at a time he's busy with a bunch of other stuff, and instead of being communicative about the situation he's only grudgingly giving out information.  As a business owner I feel for him, but the solution is to communicate more and look for a way to make your customers happy, not to bunker up and hope they'll mostly just go away.

[Jarhead0331]

^more annoying, is the prevailing opinion in the official forums that desura supporters should just take it on the chin and buy the game again on steam, to "support an indie developer.". No thanks. That's what I was doing by buying on desura, now I'm just being taken advantage of.

[tgb]

I hope the guy does right by those who went for the Desura version.  It sounds like he just got in over his head, which is not his fault, but another reason to not give money to an unknown entity in advance, whether it's Desura or Kickstarter.

[Longdan]

Well I will tell you this much FWIW.  I  was looking seriously at his other game and now
not so much and I am an addicted impulse buyer.  I mean I would buy a game called Space Mall Security Guard (Night Shift)
or Space Tax Accountant.

[Nefaro]

He's also indicated that the release version will not be Desura.  He's promised twice now to upload to Desura, and it hasn't happened.  It seems very likely at this point that if you bought the game on Desura you won't be getting the release version - and despite promises, we've yet to see the beta version.

It seems like Desura lacks a lot of the tools to make it easy for devs to support their games.  Having said that, he's made it clear in other posts that his publishing agreement with Iceberg means he can't distribute the game through other channels.  Fair enough, give us Steam keys and we'll all go get it through Steam.  Unfortunately, he didn't keep track of who bought it via Desura, so he'd have to go manually validate that you bought the game.  The time crunch of game launch on Steam means he feels he doesn't have time to do that, so he's stopped giving out Steam keys.

So, it isn't access to the beta version that's the real sticking point, though the fact that it still isn't available on Desura is irritating.  The larger issue is that it seems that we won't get access to the finished game.

In the end I think he just made a mistake with some of the business arrangements, and he doesn't know how to get himself out of it.  Now he has a bunch of Desura buyers pounding on him for a solution at a time he's busy with a bunch of other stuff, and instead of being communicative about the situation he's only grudgingly giving out information.  As a business owner I feel for him, but the solution is to communicate more and look for a way to make your customers happy, not to bunker up and hope they'll mostly just go away.

Man.. that's pretty shitty.  I'd be f'ing pissed if you guys get hosed out of your buy-in.

[Martok]

In the end I think he just made a mistake with some of the business arrangements, and he doesn't know how to get himself out of it.  Now he has a bunch of Desura buyers pounding on him for a solution at a time he's busy with a bunch of other stuff, and instead of being communicative about the situation he's only grudgingly giving out information.  As a business owner I feel for him, but the solution is to communicate more and look for a way to make your customers happy, not to bunker up and hope they'll mostly just go away.

I hope the guy does right by those who went for the Desura version.  It sounds like he just got in over his head, which is not his fault, but another reason to not give money to an unknown entity in advance, whether it's Desura or Kickstarter.

This is my impression as well.  I've been following the StarDrive forums for quite some time now, and it sounds like Desura has done the game -- and by extension, both DiCocco and the alpha-buyers -- wrong. 

First off, Desura wasn't supposed to have allowed folks to pre-purchase the game for alpha/beta access in the first place.  Secondly, Desura (as has been previously noted) has taken a lot longer to upload patches/updates to the beta than to Steam, even though Dan has long since sent them the most recent version.  (Dan has expressed his annoyance with this several times, and he made a particularly direct statement about it yesterday.) 


Of course, none of this excuses Dan from his obligations to the Desura purchasers -- he owes you guys keys for the Steam version, if nothing else -- and he probably should've done more research and/or found out more info about Desura before putting his game there.  But Desura definitely made things more difficult -- for everyone.  Lesson learned, I guess (I hope!). 

In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he does right by you folks in the end.  I'll also see about putting a word in for you guys as well.  (It can't hurt, and KS backers/early testers seem to have a small amount of pull with him.) 

^more annoying, is the prevailing opinion in the official forums that desura supporters should just take it on the chin and buy the game again on steam, to "support an indie developer.". No thanks. That's what I was doing by buying on desura, now I'm just being taken advantage of.

Exactly.  For as much as I support the game, I don't really understand why my fellow fanboys/girls are saying that.  It smacks too much of an "entitlement" attitude, which I find disturbing.