Funded.  Final tally including PayPal is $2.3M and change.  All stretch goals funded.

Hoping so...

Metal planets will be achieved tonight.  Bring on galactic warfare!

2nd stretch goal was achieved last night.  The 4th was announced--galactic war.  I am hoping they reach that one (1.8M), as it sounds pretty intriguing to me...

True, you can just buy it when it's out. It's all a matter of whether you care about the stretch goal features or not. If not, buy when out. If so, back and help them get made.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

In the interest of continuing my posts-in-thread-without-a-response streak, here's some more info.  They're closing in on the $1.1M stretch goal and have 13 days to go.  If the current momentum holds, they'll also hit the 1.3M, 1.5M, and 1.7M stretch goals.  Below is the update that just went out tonight.  Back this project!

Hello Kickstarters!

In honor of reaching the $1M milestone we are adding a few things to the $100 tier and revealing our next stretch goal.

NEW ADD-ONS FOR $100 TIER AND ABOVE

Alpha Commander - A unique, in-game commander model designed especially for our Alpha users. See concept art below.

PA Commanders Miniature Set - We’re partnering with a certain miniature company you Kickstarter fans know and love to bring you THREE high quality 3-4 inch miniatures of PA Commanders. These include the Progenitor and Alpha commanders as well as a secret commander that we’ll talk more about later!

If you are pledged at the $100 level you automatically get these additional rewards.

NEW STRETCH GOAL

$1,500,000 - Lava and Metal Planets

We’re excited to introduce two new types of planets- lava and metal. Lava is extremely volatile but provides vast amounts of energy and raw materials. Geothermal plants and liquid metal processing mines provide the next level of resource extraction technology. Build in strategic locations to take advantage of the natural defense provided by rivers of flowing lava.

That’s no moon. It’s a space station! Metal planets are wandering relics of wars long past, giant artificial battle stations that can be recycled or reactivated to bring a new level of destruction. Harness the lost knowledge and brute power of the ancients by repairing their installations. Then take over the control structures and rain destruction on your opponents.

COMMANDER CONCEPT ART

We hit the ground running when we reached our primary goal and started to design and develop some of the Commander concepts further. Here's an early look at the limited edition Progenitor and Alpha Commander:

Nice PA link. 

Update time...

1) They're going to cross ONE MILLION DOLLARS today.  Looks like at the least we're going to get the game plus a stretch goal or two.  Anyone that was on the fence due to uncertainty over whether it'll be made: PLEDGE.   

2) Total Biscuit did a 40-minute interview with two of the lead guys on the project.  After watching, it seems clear to me that they've actually thought the game mechanics through pretty well.  I was afraid initially that the 'gameplay visualization' kickoff video was basically shiny propaganda.  It seems that they do intend the actual game to match up pretty closely to the concepts seen there (including things like zooming out off of a planet and having things fold down into labeled planets/bases and that sort of thing).

3) They've got another video up from when they crossed the initial funding level of $900k.

How about 'Complete pew pew pew boom'?

Up to $514k now--almost 2/3 of the way there with 25 days left.  The donation pace has slowed down significantly, but I'm hoping that had more to do with it being a weekend than folks losing interest.  I'd really love to see what Uber can do with this concept.

This is a cross-post from OO, something I generally try to avoid.  But I think this is a project that a lot of folks here will be interested in, so here it is.

Some guys who worked on the original TA (and SupCom 1, and Monday Night Combat) decided that they could do with some more TA, but with interplanetary combat.  Including the ability to launch entire moons at other planets.  Actual, real Death Stars.  This could go terribly wrong, but the demo video and description got me hooked in for $15.  If they pull off the ideas they're describing, this could turn into a very cool game.

Kickstarter link

The biggest hurdle they may have to deal with is pissing off Chris Taylor and/or whoever owns the TA IP.  The demo video is basically TA on a larger scale.

After less than a day, the project is over $175k and rising very quickly.

6% in and it's awesome so far. Woot!

GRRM's style of writing isn't any different from the first three books.

Slightly OT, but does anyone know how Amazon manages their release dates?  As in what time will the download actually be available if you get the Kindle version?

Midnight Pacific is what I've learned. Sucks!

I liked AFFC. It's not as good as book 3, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. So long you can go into it with an open mind and realize you'll be focusing on a different character set, I would say read it.  No recap will cover everything, anyway.

Sent from my mobile device.

The mayhem mode that opens up after completing Baghdad is quite fun. Loving the game so far. Worth $9 for sure.

Sent from my mobile device.

I have an old Athlon 64 2.0 GHz, 4 GB RAM, and a Radeon X1300 (yeah I know), and it runs pretty well on Low, 1280x1024. 

What is this code number thing?  When I try to add a friend, it looks like you do it by battle.net email address?

Why don't we have a list for that?

You can add by RealID email or by character/code combo.   RealID is for those comfortable sharing real names and emails, while character/code keeps that info private.  You need the code because character names are not unique across Battle.net.

Heyhey, GT peeps.  I recently started a similar thread at OO, and given the large amount of cross-visitors that our sites have, I placed a link to this thread in ours.  Just wanted to make you aware in case any of you are as interested in adding us as we are in adding y'all.

Cheers, and may your Battlecruisers fly true.  Or something.

Does anyone have a spare guest pass?  I bought the digital version which didn't include any, and my brother is itching to try it out.

O
oh sure, we don't hear from you in months and here you are looking for a free ride  (YGPM)

I am, in fact, a horrible person. But thanks for the code!

Does anyone have a spare guest pass?  I bought the digital version which didn't include any, and my brother is itching to try it out.

Impressions so far (after 10 missions): good stuff.   Not very innovative stuff, but good.  I'm enjoying the content surrounding the campaign (ship areas, chatting, research, etc).  

Leo: I'm on an old POS PC too, but my load times are around 30-45 seconds/level.  I do have 4 GB of RAM, though.  My proc is below minimum spec and my video card has 256 MB RAM, and most of my settings are on Low.

We're back.

I can re-invite you, but you've got to leave DUI first.  Once you're out, post your char name here or message Zaxxon Zingledorf in game.

Is there a good guide out there on GW campaigns?  When I logged in, I was so hopelessly lost on what to pursue.  I'm pretty sure I finished all 3 of the main campaigns but there are like 20 open quests in my journal.  I'd like to "complete" something but not sure what.  I think I never finished the last expansion.

One nice feature they patched in awhile back is integration with the official Guild Wars Wiki in-game.  You can hit F10 and it'll have hyperlinks to all your open quests, recently-visited areas, etc.  Sounds like it's taylor-made for your situation.  Join us!

Generally, people hold discussions on Internet forums by posting in said forums.   

Seriously not trying to swoop in from OO and solicit, although since I haven't otherwise posted here in awhile I realize it may appear that way.  OO has recently had a resurgence in GW playage, and as many of us OO-GTers used to play together, I wanted to drop in and see how things are going on the GT side.  Do you have an active guild that would be interested in allying with OO's?  If not, are any of you interested in joining the OO guild?

OO's guild isn't nearly as active as it once was, but we're back to the point where on any given night you're likely to find several folks online.  We'd love to team up with any active GTers in one way or another.  The more, the merrier!

No.  The RB drums and mic are wired (USB to back of Wii), while the guitar is wireless with its own receiver (USB to back of Wii).  The set also comes with a USB hub so you'll still have free ports.  The RB1 instruments are compatible with RB2, so you could pick up this set and then get either the RB1 or RB2 game discs separately.

So a little elf delivered me RB2 Wii for Christmas--the SE bundle with all instruments. I want to keep the RB1 disc so I have the tracks, but all my instruments are now up for grabs--drum set, guitar, and microphone. If any of you out there are looking to get into the RB scene but don't want to pay the full $140, I'm looking for $60 shipped. (The drums alone go for $70 new).  I'm also willing to consider Wii/DS games in trade.

The instruments are of course used, but are still in great condition.

Definitely check out World of Goo on Wiiware.  Defend Your Castle is good for some multiplay madness, as well.

de Blob!

An update...  I'm at 24 hours in so far, which already qualifies this as a huge winner at the $9.99 I paid.  I'm about 75% through the dungeons, and have been more or less having a blast thus far.   It's not the deepest RPG in history, but there's plenty of depth here.  Recommended to anyone that's looking for a rogue-like that's not mind-numbingly difficult.

a big +1 to zaxxon for picking up a copy of chocobo dungeon on clearance.

And the same back at Caine for quick payment!  Also to Dante Rising for the same.

De Blob is a wonderful choice. 

Indeed they do--however they're usually pretty close on trends if not exact numbers (and recall that NPD is guesstimating as well).  It's highly likely that the Wii did stomp the other three combined, which was my point. 

I do think the 360 will tighten it up over the holidays unless last week's mega-drop of Wiis wasn't a fluke.  If Nintendo has actually been stockpiling enough to do this for the rest of the year, the Wii's ceiling is going to be huge.

Last week's data became available at VGChartz today, and Wii is at just under 343k US, just over 600k worldwide.  In the US it's now outselling the 360, PS3, and PSP combined by a wide margin.  Ridiculous. 

The craziest part is that next week's #s will be worse, reflecting the gargantuan drop of Wiis to stores last Sunday.

I'm limiting to 2008 because the whole point of my argument has been that Nintendo is moving away from core gamers towards casual gamers as the years go by and yet still selling Wiis like hotcakes.  If you compare 2007 to 2008 you can see that pretty clearly in my opinion. Unless Wii sales start to decline why would they change that trend?  We'll see what happens in 2009.  But my guess is that we will see Wii Fit 2, Wii Sports 2, and Wii Music 2 before we see the next Zelda or Metroid game.

You're going to see Wii <name> 2 before Zelda/Metroid/Mario--of course.  They take a team 1/10th the size 1/4th the time to develop.  That's not a sign that Ninty is moving away from their prior stuff.  A sign of Ninty moving away from their prior stuff would be news that the SMG team is now working on Wii Plumbing.  We know that the core teams are working on sequels to the core products like Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, and Punch Out. 

Even if I grant you Mario & Sonic, Wario Land, de Blob, Wii Fit, etc, which are barely core gamer focussed titles, that is 11 games over the course of a whole year counting 1st and 3rd party games. Hardly great lineup.  Hell if you count 3rd party games the 360 has had more than 11 releases  on par with de Blob in the last 2 months.

I doubt the 360 has had more than 11 releases as awesome as de Blob in the last two months, but that's neither here nor there. 

How many games have you bought and played this year?  Maybe you run through many more games than I do, but I'm not up to 11 yet.  If I had time to devote full attention to a few games each month, I might lean closer to your side of the fence on this debate. 

In my opinion that list is pathetic for a console in it's second year on the market. If that is your list than I am not convinced that "solid Wii-exclusives abound."

You're also artificially limiting your scope to 2008, where someone in the market for a console has 2007 and launch titles to look at, as well (and more for the 360--granted).  In any event, I don't think we're going to come to an agreement on this one. 

How many times to you want me to do it, denog?  

Super Smash Bros Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
de Blob
FFF:Chocobo's Dungeon
Wii Fit
Mario & Sonic
Mario Strikers Charged
No More Heroes
Boom Blox
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Wario Land

Removing the arbitrary 2008 limit:
Zelda: TP
Metroid Prime 3
SMG
Wii Sports
Super Paper Mario
WarioWare
Zack & Wiki
etc.

Clever Zax ... let me clarify my point: Of the games you listed that are not first party games (IE from Nintendo directly) - they HAVE multi-platform representation, and most of those fare better in reviews on the other consoles. The fact is that a lot of those games are ports though, and that boat is turning around, but there is a ton of shovelware that hits the Wii that simply doesn't make it to market on the other platforms. Like I stated before, it's not that the Wii is exclusive to shovelware, it just seems to let more of it in.

Agreed that there seems to be more shovelware on Wii.  

As to the software sales, the attach rate of games on the Wii compared to it's installed base *is* abysmal. The market footprint is ridiculously big, and the AAA titles aren't garnering the sales they should have.

On the attach rate, it's *not* abysmal.  It's nearing 7, and the 360 is in the 9 range.  The 360's is exceptional--and had a year of millions of installed base to build up a bit of a lead.  The Wii's is good.  An attach rate of 3-4 would be abysmal.  Especially given how many Wiis keep selling, there's constantly a huge # of folks with brand-new consoles dragging the attach rate down more than the 360's lower sales drag its rate down.

I'm not claiming that the attach rate will ever surpass the 360's.  But to call it abysmal is just incorrect.  

I have no interference and occasionally I still get the wavering hand.

Then you're too far away from the console / sensor bar is partially blocked / not angled properly / actually have interference and don't realize it / have alien Microsoft overlords messing with your Wii so you use your 360 more.  

[most]

I'm not going to go through your list there, and 3/4's might have been aggressive. Given that other than first-party games, most of the games you've listed are ports from IP's of other systems. Granted, since the money is in the Wii the developers are turning this around (looking at EA's sports lineup they're not direct ports anymore). If you want to consider the "multiplatform" as including the DS, then the list of games that even considered exclusive to the Wii shrinks even more. I've had to play through games like Spiderman 3 on the Wii and know all about how well the ports fare, so I'm not just talking about a system I don't own and play.

'Other than the games that don't support my argument, most of the games you've listed support my argument.'  I see what you did there.   

Certainly ports abound--that's not really relevant.  My contention is that solid Wii-exclusives also abound, and I've shown that. 

Games like Super Smash Brothers Brawl, which don't even use the Wii's controls show that the motion controls aren't geared for the hardcore. Platform games fall in line with the lower complexity games, too. I'm not saying I don't like those games, but it doesn't really satisfy me the same way something like Max Payne or Bioshock did.

They show that motion controls don't have to be used for a game to be hardcore--that's all.  Kart's wheel is every bit as precise as a Wavebird--and the worldwide leader ghosts easily prove that beyond reproach.   And if your platform comment is meant to imply that completing SMG with 120 stars is low complexity, I'm not sure how to respond to that--it's a motion-controlled game, and it's very precise and complex.

Looking at the impressive hardware sales and abysmal software sales for the Wii, what does that tell you? Games like WiiPlay and WiiFit are there to stay, and if those are the games you're interested in then that's fine. I don't think hardcore gaming is going to go away; but we all thought at one point that PC gaming was never going to decline.

If you think Wii software sales have been abysmal, you've essentially just tossed in the towel.  Wii is selling neck-and-neck software-wise with the 360, and will pass it week in and out before too long.  The attach rate isn't where the 360 is at, but that's more a sign of the 360's software strength than it is a show of weakness from the Wii. 

As for the Zelda / Metroid series, they pale in comparison to their source material. I think TTP is a _good_ game, but by no means is it the mecca that it was. Metroid? That's just plain annoying. The scanning function and the lack of exploration disappointed me. Backtracking can be fun, and there were moments of excitement and I fully admit that this game was good enough for me to finish, but I can honestly say there were other games tugging me away from it.

For me, both games did one thing wrong ... they gave you something neat, but its use felt gimmicky and single-purpose with every other use as tacked on. I suppose I'm a mouse that stands at 5 inches tall, and I'm being put in a maze that only has 3 inch walls.

I disagree, but reasonable minds can see this one differently. 

I truly hope Nintendo is using this to bring the casual gamer up to our level; I would love to have a Wiimote that didn't shake on the screen when I move it (regardless of the 5 calibration settings).

If you have your Wiimotes properly calibrated, it won't shake.  Perhaps you have interfering equipment near your sensor bar or are playing too far from the bar?  Mine is rock-solid.  Setup issues aside, I share your hope.  A beefed-up IR system with WiiMotionPlus built into the next console would be a godsend. 

[before]

What I'm saying is that Nintendo *has* released a lot of good games this year, and the third-party lineup has been strong, as well--see the image someone else posted a page or two ago.  Scheduling is tricky.  Nintendo released a glut of awesome games awhile back, and folks complained that they were stifling third-parties.  Now we actually have a lot of good third-party stuff recently or soon to release (deBlob, RB2, GHWT, CoD, etc).  Nintendo has to spread their stuff out where it makes financial sense to do so.  And they did just release Wii Music and Animal Crossing, though it's certainly looking like those were two of the weaker Ninty offerings this year. 

Please tell me what glut of awesome games is that you are referring to coming out this year..

I have purchased two Wii games this year, Smash Bros and Mario Kart.  I'd love to know what glut of awesomeness you are talking about. 

I mentioned two sets--the 'awhile back' set, consisting of SMG and Metroid in mid/late 2007 as well as the big releases earlier of Zelda, SPM, etc.    The second, consisting of Brawl, Kart, Animal Crossing, GHWT, RB/RB2, Blob, CoD:WoW, etc. 

I agree that Nintendo came out with many of it's heavy hitters very early in the generation.  But my argument is that they did this before they zeroed in on their target market.  Zelda and Metroid were both planned as launch games, and even Mario Galaxy was shown very near to the Wii announcement. Now that they know what the target market is we have Wii Fit, Wii Music, etc.  I guess we'll see how quickly they return to the core franchises. 

We'll have to see--however we know that the next Mario, the next Zelda, Pikmin, Punch Out, etc are all in development.  Those games take years to create.  Are you claiming that Nintendo publically announcing that they're working on follow-up releases in many of their core franchises somehow implies that they've moved on to a new market? 

Your 'evidence' is made up of opinions that I am tired of arguing against.  I say that the holiday release list is garbage this year.  You say it doesn't matter because of all of the games they have released earlier this year including Warioland, de blob, and some 3rd party non-exclusives?  I've stated my views in multiple posts in this thread.  Some people seem to agree with them, some do not.  That's fine.

This would make more sense if you had actually debated more than a small portion of my thoughts here.

I haven't said that the weak holiday release list doesn't matter--in fact i've said the opposite.  Of course I wish we had another SMG coming next month.  What I'm saying is that Nintendo *has* released a lot of good games this year, and the third-party lineup has been strong, as well--see the image someone else posted a page or two ago.  Scheduling is tricky.  Nintendo released a glut of awesome games awhile back, and folks complained that they were stifling third-parties.  Now we actually have a lot of good third-party stuff recently or soon to release (deBlob, RB2, GHWT, CoD, etc).  Nintendo has to spread their stuff out where it makes financial sense to do so.  And they did just release Wii Music and Animal Crossing, though it's certainly looking like those were two of the weaker Ninty offerings this year. 

That's not a 'hellbent defense' of Nintendo--that's business. 

Look at your list, hit up any search engine, and you'll find that 3/4s of those games are found elsewhere with MUCH better scoring.

This is not true.  Some of them yes.  3/4ths no.

Ports, rather than "designed for Wii" games = watered down. Does the Wii platform = bad? Hell no.

Agreed that many of the games ported to Wii are weaker than games developed for Wii from the start. 

The thing is, the hardcore gaming has moved to the other platforms, and while developers are interested in Nintendo's gaming machine, they traditionally aren't putting the games out for it that compare to their contemporaries... and I use that term loosely, comparing a Wii to anything more powerful than an Xbox 1 is just plain silly. The Wii is only viable because of the controls and the nature of their market entry point. They aren't doing anything wrong... the one thing, the ONLY thing that bothers me is the unsettling feeling that they are going to change the face of gaming and in doing so bring it down to the lowest common denominator. While I love the Rock Bands, I also love me some "you must be this tall to ride" games that don't pander to Betty and Fran in the seniors complex. They have every right to enjoy gaming, and power to them... I just would hate to have my favorite pass-time boiled down to base elements.

Agreed that the 360/PS3 get more of the hardcore dev dollars than the Wii. 

I wouldn't get too worried about the lowest common denominator, as I posted about in detail above.  Still waiting for data supporting this if anyone's claiming more than a feeling that this could happen at some future point.

And when I say a Wii is only (approximately) as powerful as an Xbox, I'm not wrong, and I'm not belittling it. They did that on purpose; they weren't trying to attract us. But the fact of the matter is that development doesn't follow the hardcore; it follows the money. Right now we're both, but it's slipping.

Word.  In general.  But it also follows the hardcore.  Do you think CliffyB will move to making Cooking Mama if the money drifts that way?  Jaffe?  Wardell?  Someone pointed out the movie industry earlier as a good example.  Viva Chihuahua may make a bunch of money.  That's not going to stop indie films from being made, or bigger-budget films of different genres and intended audiences.  As long as the market is large enough to support different target demographics, all of those demographics will be served.  And the market's growing, not shifting.   

Lastly, shovelware is not a Wii exclusive. I didn't claim it was. I am not putting down the tastes of others, and while some of this ballooned from jblank's comments on how he disliked the platform and was surprised it is still selling like mad, he didn't just say yuck. He bought and sold it, giving it a fair shake. By his standards it failed.

He's entitled to that opinion.  I haven't jumped on people here for stating that the Wii isn't for them.  I'm jumping on blanket arguments that the Wii isn't for some large group of gamers, or that it's killing hardcore gaming, or that it's a step back, etc.  jblank is welcome to dislike the Wii, just like I'm welcome to dislike Oblivion.  Neither of us is wrong.  If I claim Oblivion is a bad game, however, that's when I'd start to get in trouble.