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Author Topic: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)  (Read 16073 times)

Mictlantecuhtli

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #90 on: September 26, 2014, 01:26:30 pm »

So, this was a possibility from the start. No one wanted to end up stopping the project until all the features were in though.

Here's the new Development roadmap, remember all the features they used to say they'll be implementing over the course of development? Those future features and promise of future development that led people into buying their 'product' at face value? Or on all the sales they've had recently to get people to buy it before the big announcement that they're abandoning it?
Quote
Future development plans
Spacebase’s 1.0 release will be its final major update.  In addition to lots of bugfixing work, it will add the following features:

Tutorial Mode: Start with a basic pre-built base and learn the ropes via a series of tutorial messages.
Goals: Track and work towards various objectives, such as “Reach a population of 50 citizens” and “Research all technologies.”

My question is, when do the terms of early access get violated by the person taking money? Are you allowed to take people's money with the promise of continuing development, put your product on sale to draw in new blood right before you put out a PR saying the game is now going to be abandoned? Where does this become misleading the buyer into buying a product the developers themselves knew they wouldn't be able to finish or actually make into a real game with content?


I know you don't give a shit, but myself being an early backer, this game is nothing but a money grabbing scam and it pisses me off to see people like you think you have the right to tell a consumer they were wrong for being misled by a seller of a product.

After a year in development there was ZERO development, on anything, at all, while they still continued to take money from people. Once again, where doesn't this violate the contract of trust between the consumer and the producer? You being sold a product under the pretense of it actually maybe having some fucking gameplay features and then getting told that the above feature list is the breakthrough development that will lead it to 1.0 with about 1 hour of gameplay.


Here's the list of gameplay features they 'might one day work on'
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is the list that helped lead many people to buy this game, hoping even a goddamn fraction of it would be implemented. Or, hell, anything besides building rooms and watching the AI not live.


In legal terms it's called making every reasonable effort to achieve the quality of good promised to a person sold to. It's actually highly illegal to violate this contract of trust in certain countries like the UK with extremely good consumer protection laws.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 01:30:53 pm by Mictlantecuhtli »
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Neonivek

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #91 on: September 26, 2014, 01:31:32 pm »

To me they can take their money and run only when a game reaches a satisfactory conclusion.

Unfortunately it seems like it is becoming common practice for these early access games to promise you the moon, then deliver you a bunch of rocks, then you showing them the very list they made and they go "Pshaw, that was clearly just brainstorming".

Thanks... *insert game here*
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 01:35:22 pm by Neonivek »
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Sergius

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #92 on: September 26, 2014, 01:50:09 pm »

I am just lucky this game has always looked so unbelievably ugly as to keep me FAR away from buying it.

I wish they had kept the original 2D "roguelike" look of the game.

As it is now, it just looks like an uglier version of Space Colony
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Mictlantecuhtli

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #93 on: September 26, 2014, 02:13:29 pm »

[And then there's the fact that space colony is an actual video game you can play]
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LASD

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #94 on: September 26, 2014, 05:52:31 pm »

My question is, when do the terms of early access get violated by the person taking money? Are you allowed to take people's money with the promise of continuing development, put your product on sale to draw in new blood right before you put out a PR saying the game is now going to be abandoned? Where does this become misleading the buyer into buying a product the developers themselves knew they wouldn't be able to finish or actually make into a real game with content?

Well, it comes down to what Early Access is. Is it a backing system like Kickstarter, where you fund the development of a product by buying an early version of it, or is it a way to get people involved in the development of the game for a price?

What it isn't is a way to sell complete products years in advance. If the game is definitely going to be completed, why would it be on Early Access? Feedback? Media attention? Are those good enough reasons if you really don't need the money?

There's not many games that are completely funded before they go on Early Access. Some get ridiculous amounts of money when they do, so they can finish the game. Some don't.

If the decision to pull the plug on SpaceBase was done 6 months ago and they kept promoting it and putting it on sales, then I agree that it was a shitty thing for Double Fine to do. But the sales and Humble Bundle deals could also have been last ditch efforts to keep the game alive. Coming out and saying honestly: "Hey, our project is running out of funds, please buy it. But if we don't sell enough, we have to shut it down" would've just sounded desperate.

Quote
I know you don't give a shit, but myself being an early backer, this game is nothing but a money grabbing scam and it pisses me off to see people like you think you have the right to tell a consumer they were wrong for being misled by a seller of a product.

I'm sorry you got burnt. And I understand it doesn't make it any better that Double Fine had good intentions with Spacebase and then it failed miserably. They screwed up by believing that there would be enough interest in their Dwarf-Fortress-like to fund development for 5 years, but they didn't set out to cheat people out of their money. Double Fine made you a bad deal, but they didn't know it when they sold it. That is my point. I'm not sure why I'm arguing it, it just bothers me that everyone is jumping to conclusions that Double Fine is in it just for the money and that no game that they will ever make is worth buying after this. But I know it's everyone's own decision, so I'm just trying to show the other side of this Spacebase controversy.

Also, are Early Access games that turn out to be bad games just money grabbing scams too? The whole point is that your game is in very early stages so no one knows how it will turn out.

To me they can take their money and run only when a game reaches a satisfactory conclusion.
Not relating to Spacebase, just in general:

But if there's no way to reach a satisfactory conclusion? What if it turns out the game is never going to be good? That no matter what changes you do, the game just doesn't work? Or that the features that were promised don't really make sense in the game after all? Do you need to start over and build a different, but similar game that turns out to be good? With what money? If you are making multiple projects, do you have to finish the one Early Access project, when it means risking the whole company shutting down? Do you have to be absolutely certain that your game is going to be a hit before you put it on Early Access?
« Last Edit: September 26, 2014, 07:42:03 pm by LASD »
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nyulzsiraf

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #95 on: October 28, 2014, 03:19:03 am »

http://www.spacebasedf9.com/post/101104810680/spacebase-df-9-1-0-has-been-released-in-addition

As a bonus for the customers who have supported us thus far, anyone who already owns the game gets a free copy of Hack ‘n’ Slash, and anyone who owns Hack ‘n’ Slash gets a free copy of Spacebase.
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Majestic7

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #96 on: October 28, 2014, 03:44:18 am »

Too little, too late. Especially considering they put in a discount campaign to make more sales literally days before announcing "oops guys, you won't get what you paid for, hee hee hee". This comes off as damage control, not genuine gesture. Still assholes in my book.
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jhxmt

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Re: Spacebase DF-9 (by DoubleFine)
« Reply #97 on: October 28, 2014, 02:12:58 pm »

I didn't get the game I wanted, so why would I want a game I never did?
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