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[Draco18s]

I really should have started this thread, oh a week or two back, but wasn't thinking about it.

Anyway, Cliffhanger Productions is trying to put together an online Shadowrun MMO, using the Unity3D engine.  This project isn't related to Shadowrun Returns, but the two companies are working fairly closely.  SRR is set in 2050 and will be a single-player story driven game.  SRO is a MMO game, set in 2070, with more emphasis on tactical co-op and optional PvP.

You'll be able to play as an orc, troll, human, elf, or dwarf and pick from a small, but well defined list of classes: street samurai, mage, shamen, or hacker.  Shadowrun has been a typically "classless" system, where even a mage can wear heavy armor and pick up a slug-thrower, or get cybernetic augmentations, the MMO treats the various archetypes as classes that will get different "HUD Overlays" that give the player access to extra information about the world and the enemies they face.

For example a street samurai, specializing in guns, blades, and street fighting, can size up opponents, terrain, and so on, calculating the cover or armor value, and getting an edge on how to approach an enemy such that the most bullets hit the target (or how to keep them from hitting you).

Spoiler: large image (click to show/hide)

Magic users will see into the Astral Plane, able to spot unmaterialized spirits, determine the type of magical entity (including if a person is a mage or not), general health, and potentially, how much cyberware has been implanted.  As well as spot things like magical wards and traps.

Spoiler: large image (click to show/hide)

Meanwhile the hacker will see into the Matrix: the technological plane, of sorts.  He'll be able to hack doors, control robots, and even spot hidden security nodes (like that cybernetically enhanced rat in the sewers, there).

Spoiler: large image (click to show/hide)

It's not clear at this time the exact difference between the mage and shamen, other than mages will excel at spell casting whereas shamens will excel at summoning allied spirits.  Presumably both will share the same HUD overlay, and will dabble slightly in the other's specialization (mages getting some summoning and shamens some spellcasting).  The difference between them in the original source is more defined by their tradition (mages being the book-wizard and shamens being the nature-druid) rather than abilities,

Different races are better at different things (orcs and trolls being the beefy combat types, elves and dwarves making good magic users, dwarves and orcs making good hackers, and humans filling the jack-of-all-trades role), although any race can be any class and excel.  Afterall, in a world where "geek the mage first" is a well known rule to live by, the extra toughness of a troll might come in handy for a spell-slinger.

The game will have a stand-alone client, but due to the flexible nature of the Unity3D engine, it will also be available in the browser and on the iPad.  You can also get the game as Free-2-Play (i.e. Freemium) or the Campaign Server (i.e. the Guild Wars model: pay once, free subscription).

Go here, back the project today!  Because tomorrow, it won't be there.

Time's almost up, so if the phrase "cybernetically enhanced troll firing an anti-vehicular weapon at a dragon" sounds cool to you, then you'll want to pony up a few bucks and get in on the action.

[ScriptWolf]

Sad to say but this project won't get funded with only 25 hours left and a massive $150,000 to go they won't make it

[nenjin]

Unfortunately, while I love the IP, a MMO wasn't something I wanted to throw my fandom behind. Probably because my attachment to the series was based on SP experiences, I wasn't thrilled about enjoying the IP in an online space.

Sucks for them though, hopefully they can resubmit and not suffer too much negative PR due to a failed KS.

[hemmingjay]

They are roughly 23% away from their goal, and it's not definite that it won't make it. I have doubled my own investment and I think the elements they have planned are a nice complement to the PC game world. I wish I could justify giving more, but I have hit my limit. The game will still be finished and released but we just won't get the good deal or the cool swag.

[Draco18s]

Sad to say but this project won't get funded with only 25 hours left and a massive $150,000 to go they won't make it

Not with that attitude.
They've already raised 40-50k in the last day or so (and it looks like over a thousand in the last hour).  Not enough to make it, but if all of those people who go "eh, it's not going to make it" would just pitch in anyway then it will.  Afterall, you're not on the hook if it fails: win-win.

Unfortunately, while I love the IP, a MMO wasn't something I wanted to throw my fandom behind. Probably because my attachment to the series was based on SP experiences, I wasn't thrilled about enjoying the IP in an online space.

Personally, my SR experience has always been about the "playing with friends" aspect.  I think it's why I've got such a huge (and admittedly unplayed) collection of coop/multiplayer games.  Few MMOs really offer the ability to play solo, which is something SRO is trying to make sure happens (that is, playing solo isn't really a detriment, unlike a game like WoW where a tank has 0 damage output and a bruiser has no ability to stay upright in a stiff breeze, so the smallest possible group ends up being three: healer + tank + dps).

And by gosh, I'd love for this to succeed so I can go "Hey Nate, remember that SRO thing you didn't want to back?  Guess what, have a friend-pass into the beta.  Now play with me damnit"

[Paul]

What's with all the kickstarters adding in-game items to the kickstart rewards, anyway? A special talisman, starter gear, augmentation, access to extra areas. Stuff like a badge or costume or whatever that just makes you look different is great, but I for one find Kickstarter rewards (or preorder rewards, for that matter) that actually affect game play to be a major irritation. This kickstarter isn't the only one doing it, and some are going even further than this one seems to be.

Not that I don't wish these guys the best, I just find it to be an alarming trend (and one that keeps me from pledging them any $ myself).

[nenjin]

What's with all the kickstarters adding in-game items to the kickstart rewards, anyway? A special talisman, starter gear, augmentation, access to extra areas. Stuff like a badge or costume or whatever that just makes you look different is great, but I for one find Kickstarter rewards (or preorder rewards, for that matter) that actually affect game play to be a major irritation. This kickstarter isn't the only one doing it, and some are going even further than this one seems to be.

Not that I don't wish these guys the best, I just find it to be an alarming trend (and one that keeps me from pledging them any $ myself).

You can only offer so many forum titles, posters, mousepads and general swag before you hit the threshold of people that care about things like that. I've seen some KS I liked but honestly found zero rewards I wanted.

So, a subset of potential backers will be more motivated by in-game rewards than they will swag or the feeling of having helped. I don't mind a few in-game benefits; SRR hit the limit what I think you should offer people in game.

Personally, my SR experience has always been about the "playing with friends" aspect.

SR was just one of a number of TT roleplaying games I've done with friends, and I think I only ever really got connected with the game when I had time to get to know it from the comfort of my couch. Different strokes for different folks, ect...but I dunno, a MP space for Shadowrun was just never high on my list of priorities.

[TempAcc]

Its because offering extra in game content is cheaper, easier and appeals to gamers more then things like mousepads, posters, dogtags and etc. You can basicaly build the game then just add the content you promissed as an unlockable without having to worry about shipping things to thousands of people. I generaly accept it as a legit idea as long it doesn't make the backer's gameplay too different from the gameplay non backers will experience when they buy the game.

[Draco18s]

Its because offering extra in game content is cheaper, easier and appeals to gamers more then things like mousepads, posters, dogtags and etc. You can basicaly build the game then just add the content you promissed as an unlockable without having to worry about shipping things to thousands of people. I generaly accept it as a legit idea as long it doesn't make the backer's gameplay too different from the gameplay non backers will experience when they buy the game.

This.
You have no idea how time consuming it is to ship things like "a poster" to a thousand people.  That kind of time commitment (not to mention material costs) is one of the reasons Velociraptor! Cannibalism! didn't offer those kinds of rewards.  We kept talking about it and it kept coming down to "price, price, price" (shipping costs were less of a concern if we were shipping something already, which we would be, but it wasn't advantageous to have a shirt at $15 and pay $12 to have it made).

[Paul]

That's where cosmetic in-game items are golden, though. Offer a special hat, or cool sunglasses, or a unique hairdo, or whatever. People will still eat it up without you needing to provide game-altering benefits that give an advantage to people who pay more. Cosmetic items vs Utility items is what makes the difference between a pay to win game and a free game with a cosmetic cash shop, and that's a big difference in my book.

[Draco18s]

That's where cosmetic in-game items are golden, though. Offer a special hat, or cool sunglasses, or a unique hairdo, or whatever. People will still eat it up without you needing to provide game-altering benefits that give an advantage to people who pay more. Cosmetic items vs Utility items is what makes the difference between a pay to win game and a free game with a cosmetic cash shop, and that's a big difference in my book.

The starter items do boost a new player's game, getting them to the later content sooner, but it's relatively small in the grade scheme of things (it's kind of like minecraft's starter chest).  It's not going to be the best stuff ever.

The talisman also has some mechanical benefit, though I suspect it's small, and likely a low-level item.

Augmentations also offer mechanical advantages, but those too come in varying degrees of awesomeness and are likely not the best stuff ever.

I don't see any purely cosmetic items, but I'll admit that there's like 40 reward levels and I didn't read them all that closely.

But yes.  Cosmetic items are where the bucks are, even if I abhor them.  I dislike "pay to win" items as well, but SRO is likely going the "quickstart" route for those items, rather than a "you paid us money, now win forever!" route.  Which is the middle ground I tend to prefer.  Items that have a mechanical benefit, but which aren't overly powerful; eg. the best stuff can only be gotten in-game.

[Levi]

This:

Unfortunately, while I love the IP, a MMO wasn't something I wanted to throw my fandom behind. Probably because my attachment to the series was based on SP experiences, I wasn't thrilled about enjoying the IP in an online space.

And this:

What's with all the kickstarters adding in-game items to the kickstart rewards, anyway?

Not that I don't wish these guys the best, I just find it to be an alarming trend (and one that keeps me from pledging them any $ myself).

Plus the initial Free to Play stuff kind of left a bad impression.  I know they changed it to work under both models, but I can't help but think it'll probably taint both experiences.

[Viken]

Shadowrun Returns made a really big impression, and alot of people wanted to help it because of the story-driven content and expression that the system will closely match the older Shadowrun console games, which still hold a cult following even today.  But Shadowrun Online runs almost counter to that, and I for one don't want to see one of my favorite roleplaying systems get dumbed down into a 'Hail the Masses' MMO experience like WoW or StarWars. I still remember playing the WarCraft RPG based on Dungeons and Dragons 3.5e before WoW ever hit the shelves. 

So Shadowrun Online probably won't make it this time, but they'll turn it around and in a few months hit up Kickstarter for another go. I don't think this is the last we'll see of it.

[Levi]

You know, I sometimes wonder if failing to get funded in a kickstarter might make it a lot harder to get investor funding later.  It sort of says to the investor "Hey, people aren't very interested in this, maybe we should think twice about investing in this".

[Viken]

I think you got it wrong, Levi. The whole reason for doing a kickstarter is to bypass investor funding all together, atleast for that specific stage of developement.  Everyone who puts in for a Kickstarter becomes an investor, as well as being a customer, in most cases.