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[ThtblovesDF]

A increasing number of refunds (no suprise) has forced a dev to post after a long sleep. Otherwise the forum went from a post every 3 hours to a post every 3 days. At least none is dead.

[nenjin]

That's gotta be rough. You spend most or all of your Kickstarter money on assets and extra help, then the refunds calls start coming in....

[Cruxador]

Link to the post?

[ZeroGravitas]

Link to the post?

i believe it is on a blocked forum, but i found it elsewhere:

Hi. 

I haven't spent a lot of time on these boards lately because - as you know - we have not been giving or doing any updates.  This is completely unacceptable and I'm embarrassed by the way communication has been handled.  I don't feel like coming on every week and saying "Still no update" is helpful so I have shirked that responsibility to a degree.  The last time we spoke was n the 10th and I was assured Josh is still working everyday and fully expects the game to be released and just needs "more time".

I got quite a few refund requests over the past week and I've been trying to figure out how to handle them.  Here is where we are at:

We have a very small amount of funds leftover from the KS - they are currently being used in a very small capacity - an occasional asset purchase and to pay a few recurring costs such as adobe fees, storage, and a few other things.  For all intents and purposes our Kickstarter dollars are accounted for.

So when it comes to refunds we've reached the point where we just can't really afford to do it - especially at the magnitude with which we got them requested.

If you purchased on Paypal:

You can charge back or request cancellation directly through Paypal. 

If you backed us originally on Kickstarter at the Beta tier or above:

We don't have the ability to refund you now.  If we come to the conclusion that the game can't or won't be released we'll start a system where we slooooowly start refunding everyone out of pocket.  I didn't even think of the best way to do this but keep in mind that it would make me personally responsible for $30,000+ - so yes it would take us to a decade to pay everyone back - but we would figure out a way to start a lottery system or something.  I would start with the highest tiers though so when no one gets money for 2 years thanks awesomeguys like Sean.

If you backed us on Kickstarter at the preorder tier:

I'm really sorry I can't envision us ever being able to come up with the remaining 60+ thousand dollars. 


FULL DISCLAIMER - the game will be released, I don't plan on ever having to refund anyone, but I hope by hearing from me and having these terms and explanations laid out for you can put you all at rest.

[gimli]

Uh oh.....

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[ChairmanPoo]

My thoughts exactly

[Zangi]

That which sleeps, the beast's awakening has successfully been further delayed.

(Prediction: Developers needs monies, find normal jobs to pay bills and refunds, that which sleeps regulated to hobby.)
>.>

[Xgamer4]

I get why the knee-jerk reaction to "we don't have much money" is to start worrying, but really, this shouldn't surprise anyone.

Yes, a company with one fixed, one-time cash influx, expenditures, and no income is going to run out of money. That's kinda a given, and it's not terribly surprising they don't have the liquidity to handle unexpected expenses (refunds). Software dev is a bit of a different beast in that work can still proceed without any money. Josh will need to find living funds elsewhere, but it sounds like he's been doing that the entire time, so that's nothing new.

So, yes, KDG doesn't have any money. But that doesn't have any bearing on whether work's happening or not because, like many software kickstarters, work's been happening independent of the company finances.

[Egan_BW]

The kickstarter was mostly to get funds to hire artists afaik, which is something it's already done; the game has pretty pictures now, and just requires programing, which is something that a determined programmer can do without much funding.

[Cruxador]

I get why the knee-jerk reaction to "we don't have much money" is to start worrying, but really, this shouldn't surprise anyone.

Yes, a company with one fixed, one-time cash influx, expenditures, and no income is going to run out of money. That's kinda a given, and it's not terribly surprising they don't have the liquidity to handle unexpected expenses (refunds). Software dev is a bit of a different beast in that work can still proceed without any money. Josh will need to find living funds elsewhere, but it sounds like he's been doing that the entire time, so that's nothing new.

So, yes, KDG doesn't have any money. But that doesn't have any bearing on whether work's happening or not because, like many software kickstarters, work's been happening independent of the company finances.

It's more the fact that the beta backers section, which is the biggest of them, is all "here's what we will do if the game is never completed".

The kickstarter was mostly to get funds to hire artists afaik, which is something it's already done; the game has pretty pictures now, and just requires programing, which is something that a determined programmer can do without much funding.

The determination of the coder is one of those things that's been questioned.

[Egan_BW]

Josh! Stay determined!

[Xantalos]

Josh! Stay determined!

Dammit Egan don't try to distract Josh with Undertale

[TempAcc]

:v
Jokes aside, thats exactly the point. Even if the main dev/coder is having lots of troubles with the game, if he just had kept regular contact with the community, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have nearly as many refund requests to deal with. The community has repeately said they would be ok with waiting more if Josh actualy told them what the hell is happening. Instead he just kind of went poof from the internet for extended periods of time and now pretty much everyone is questioning just how determined he is about the project.

[Majestic7]

This kind of stuff can easily lead into a negative feedback loop. Problems -> delays -> community anger/mistrust -> less incentive to stay in touch -> community anger/mistrust -> less motivation to work -> more delays etc etc.

I think it is the same kind of trouble GRRM might have finishing his next book.

[Egan_BW]

From what I saw pre- and during-kickstarter, he is determined. I hope that the way things have gone since haven't made him otherwise, because he seemed genuinely exited.about the project.