Two Guys Are Back! SPACEVENTURE!

[Tawmis]

So there was a part in the latest release of the beta where something was happening to Ace that stopped me from going any further.

Others were not experiencing it - so I did a fresh start - got to this specific part. Same thing.

Tried again - same thing.

Tried again - doing a lot of things in different orders - same thing.

Installed it onto my laptop - clean start - no issue last night.

And today, successfully beat the game. There's some stuff they're still cleaning up (they need to fix the save game feature).

But over all, it's a terrific game! I immensely enjoyed it.

And it's visually beautiful.

Good ol' Ace Hardway on Twitter has shared images (though the words he says with the images aren't actually what's happening - to avoid spoilers)

https://twitter.com/AceHardwaySV

I have it on good authority he's a cool cat.

[MusicallyInspired]

[Tawmis]

Since the beta doesn't have end credits (they're adding those now) - I was able to get a clean shot of the galaxy shot - and then copy the "SpaceVenture" text from the splash screen (which also had "Beta x.x.x" and other info over the galaxy image)... so I could finally make a clean wallpaper of the opening splash.

[MusicallyInspired]

Yoink!

[Tawmis]

Better version. Noticed a row of pixels not colored on the right. Also softened up the letters a little.

[Rath Darkblade]

Nice!

[Tawmis]

Nice!

Thanks!

I really am looking forward to play this game as a full release. The beta is amazing; through the bugs and all.

Granted the longest Kickstarter (yet) to deliver - but so far better than the other "Sierra Related" Kickstarters I'd backed and got.

[Rath Darkblade]

Er ... backed and got? I'm confused. Do you mean the Sierra-related Kickstarters that didn't come to anything?

[Tawmis]

Er ... backed and got? I'm confused. Do you mean the Sierra-related Kickstarters that didn't come to anything?

So LSLReloaded game out; Pinkerton Road one (Moebius?) came out; Hero-U came out - the SpaceVenture actually release isn't out. I've been doing the beta. And despite a zillion years since it was funded (and not yet released) - SpaceVenture is by and far the best of the games (in my opinion) that came out from those former Sierra employees.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. *shrug* I played LSLR, and enjoyed it for what it was: an occasionally funny (and sometimes not) salute to LSL1.

I haven't played Moebius, but I played the GK1 remake and enjoyed it too.

I'm pretty sure my views on Hero-U are well-known.

I haven't tried SpaceVenture yet, but I hope it's good ... *crosses fingers*

[MusicallyInspired]

An in-depth update by the Space Quest Historian on the status of SpaceVenture and what happened over the course of the development and why it's been taking so long. Answers to questions abound from the horse's mouth (Chris Pope) and reported on by Mr. Historian:

[Tawmis]

I have to admit - they've done a craptastic job keeping people updated lately...

They literally have a (secret) forum to communicate this stuff with....

So if Chris Pope had the time to talk about this - why didn't he take the time to post on their hidden forum?

I think just communicating (not needing to show where the game was!) would have been beneficial and gone miles.

Because... as mentioned - it's been 10 years. I get that Mark/Scott may not like to show off incomplete stuff - but they should consider that the Kickstater promised a game within a year - it's been 9 years past that point.

There may be people in those 9 years, who passed away at this point - because it's simply been that long.

So forgo the idea of not wanting to share, and after 9 years of waiting - share.

I have the beta - beat it. Loved it. So I feel like I have the game. Yeah the save game is broke and there's still game breaking bugs - but you can work around them (usually by loading a previous game and trying again).

I am just thinking about everyone out there who hasn't gotten the beta and has no idea the game is actually done - they're just doing a few things.

I feel like people feel like it's the same $#!+ being blown up their @$$.

[MusicallyInspired]

As the video said, there's nothing new to report.

[Tawmis]

As the video said, there's nothing new to report.

Right now, correct.

Even before this wait for the save game - I was reaching out to Chris Pope and being the "voice" on the forum to pry news from him about the development.

But over the 9 year wait time.... there was MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS of utter silence. (Could have even been years, in between there).

It's one thing if they'd launched this studio on their own and working on it on their own. But they crowdfunded it - then went dark.

I have seen some overly harsh reactions in the Kickstarter comments (their hidden forum is far more civil, but you can see some frustration there as well). And for the most part, I agree with Troeles (sp).

But at the same time - if I gave someone 50 dollars, 100 dollars, or even more - and don't get anything for 9 years? I'm going to probably be upset. No, I would be upset.

As I said, I myself, am not upset - because I got the beta, was able to play the game, and even eventually beat it. So I feel like I got something out of it.

But those who didn't make the secret cut list - and still waiting - I can definitely understand their frustration.

The constant delays - where I waited 2 or 3 years for things promised within a year's time - are the reason, despite how interested I am in a Crowdfunding, Kickstarter, etc. - I won't do it anymore. (And this isn't SpaceVenture specific - though it's the last one I am waiting to "officially" complete) - the same could be said about every kickstarter I backed.

If there was a Kickstarter I was backing that got delayed now - I'd be understanding because of the pandemic. But otherwise, the folks who do these, need to better understand how the money will be spent and how long the time it would take to complete the task to create realistic expectations.

I would now rather wait - see if it succeeds - and whenever it's released - see if it's released to the public in some form (a video game, for example) - and get it then.

[MusicallyInspired]

Kickstarter is not a preorder. It's a risk. It's not like dropping money for a preorder or early access game on Steam/GOG and not getting information about something that's legally binding from merchant to customer. This is a little different. It's a fine line, but it is different. This was asking for help from a community for pledges to help get them to the end. It's like a friend asking for a loan and promising to pay you back. It's a little more formal than that, sure, but the idea is essentially the same. You're not guaranteed a finished product, as we've seen with so many Kickstarter campaigns over the years. Frustration is understandable, but you're the one that gave the money without a guarantee. It's taken longer than they anticipated and they've even surpassed their first release date of 2017 which didn't help matters. But as far as I'm concerned they've done as right by us as they can possibly do. They're still working on the game. All this time. That's not something I can personally get upset about because I knew what I was getting into with a Kickstarter pledge.

Which reveals the problem with the whole concept of Kickstarter Campaigns. This is the reason why so many people won't back a Kickstarter anymore and that's perfectly reasonable. People being upset and frustrated that something they paid for isn't coming out is an expected and reasonable reaction, but demanding updates that are owed is something else entirely and, honestly, I feel it's a little entitled. For one thing, what more can they possibly say? "Yep, we're still working on it." I personally feel like with each update Chris has given, he's told us as much as he could and as much as he was allowed to about what was happening as possible. And it's not like he's been silent for years. He posted updates about the voice acting sessions in the past year with CLIPS and INTERVIEWs. That should be confirmation enough that the game is still happening. It's certainly enough to allay my fears. But fears or not, Kickstarter was and always will be a risk and people should know what they're getting into before they drop that pledge. It was years before Chris finally abandoned his social media presence because of all the nagging he was getting constantly, which makes me feel bad for the guy because none of this is his fault and he can't even be a part of the community anymore.

So, I understand why people are upset. But the constant demanding is way over the line and it's no wonder Chris disappeared because of it. I'd disappear too. At this point I've consigned to just wait until it's out and focus on other things. When it's finally out I'll enjoy it for what it is and so will everybody else. If others won't that's just childish and petty and they don't deserve to play it anyway. To them I say 'thanks for funding it!' They can fly a kite. Yeah, I'm biased but I'm also outnumbered so I'm going to be a defending voice in this argument.