[Heavy Gear PC Game] Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter - Gear Customization Update

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**HudsonD**

So, countdown's over, anybody seeing anything ?

**warboss**

No, not yet. The mektek site now redirects to a heavy gear labeled one but nothing actually shows up.

**GBL**

And theres a hilarious taste of Mektek's usual reliability for all to see.

I have never seen a more spectacular countdown to... Nothing.

**warboss**

The site is working and now shows a homemade crowdfunding effort with only part of the details you need to make an informed consumer choice (and initially almost none till hours later). It sounds vaguely like a freemium type game of unknown perspective (first, third, isometric, who knows) with an unknown release date on unknown formats (pc? ps3? ps4? xbox 360? nextbox?) from a relatively unknown company that wants more money than industry giant Valve to make a AAA game when the only previous company experience is with some mods and they couldn't get the site working properly for an hour or two after the countdown ended.

The initial version of the site mentioned a blurb about publishers believing the mech genre is dead as why they're going for crowdfunding instead but frankly somehow Mechwarrior and Hawken (a 4-man outfit initially when they posted their first gameplay video) got funded through traditional methods. I wish them well but I've seen too many video games get cancelled even with backing to throw money at a nebulous product like this that is likely in the pre-production phase at best. I hope they do get put out a finished product that I can later buy and use (my current PC crop can't support much gaming). I guess my original hope of a simple xbox arcade/PS store/steam indie game wasn't ambitious enough...

**kenshin620**

warboss wrote:

The initial version of the site mentioned a blurb about publishers believing the mech genre is dead

They have never heard of Japan before have they

I wonder when the next dynasty warriors gundam is coming out.....

**warboss**

kenshin620 wrote:
warboss wrote:

The initial version of the site mentioned a blurb about publishers believing the mech genre is dead

They have never heard of Japan before have they

I wonder when the next dynasty warriors gundam is coming out.....

In their defense, it's a Western company catering to Western style mech games. I agree that their (now gone) statement was incorrect but for different reasons than gundam.

**kenshin620**

warboss wrote:
kenshin620 wrote:
warboss wrote:

The initial version of the site mentioned a blurb about publishers believing the mech genre is dead

They have never heard of Japan before have they

I wonder when the next dynasty warriors gundam is coming out.....

In their defense, it's a Western company catering to Western style mech games. I agree that their (now gone) statement was incorrect but for different reasons than gundam.

I suppose

True though about Hawken

And not to mention so many games these days love jamming in Mechs like Mass Effect and Halo (both lacked mechs originally)

**GBL**

Oooh I can actually see the website now. Observations

•Heavy Gear brought to life with next generation cutting edge technology.
•Mass Destruction. Gears and environments will be modeled with a dynamic destruction engine.
•Fast-paced mecha action.
•Nearly Unlimited Upgrade options for your Gears.
•World-Class Sporting Event excitement meets Giant Robots: Tournaments means high stakes, but high rewards.
•Spectate and sponsor other player's matches.
•Fame and Fortune up for grabs: Record and share your exploits with your friends.

Wont launch with half of that. Guaranteed.

Stompy Bot Productions

Stompy Bot Productions, a cute business name, for a serious company. We are New Brunswick�s newest digital publishing company based in Saint John. Our goal is to produce triple AAA video games and media with supporting mobile and social networking applications. Stompy Bot Productions is committed to publishing high-fidelity, high-quality, innovative, successful, electronic video games, for all ages.

MekTek Studios

MekTek Studios is a Saint John-based Canadian video game developer, best known for its work on the MechWarrior4 series with Microsoft Game Studios. Since then, the team has seen the addition of game design veterans such as Jack Mamais, most noted for Heavy Gear 2, FarCry and Crysis, as well as Matthew Steinke, who worked on Mortal Kombat and Splinter Cell. Dedicated to the Giant Robot genre and composed of passionate and creative individuals, the MekTek team will be developing Heavy Gear Assault.

So they spun the RED line as if they personally developed Mech 4. When they couldn't even code a working download client for the game. Makes me think that ORANGE might also refer to modders. Blue just makes me laugh. AAA titles from crowdsourcing. Piranha has a serious amount of dosh invested in Mech online, before the founder sourcing.

Free-to-Choose: New Revolutionary Model

Heavy Gear Assault can be fully enjoyed without ever needing to purchase anything. What we are offering is a new way of doing business. The best part is that our players are in the driver seat and can freely choose to pay or not with no consequences to their enjoyment of Heavy Gear Assault. Of course, there will be upgrades and items that can be purchased, but nothing will be available that will break the balance of the game.

Further more, we will also include a Premium Subscription component, whereby for a nominal fee, a player can join a club of premium members. Being a premium member will allow the player to enjoy a large number of advantages that would not normally be the case. We want to empower our players and give them the flexibility to choose the level of their commitment all the while offering the best gaming experience we can.

Here are some examples of the advantages to being a premium member:
1.Discounts on premium items and regular items purchasable through real or in-game currency.
2.Exclusive game content.
3.Special promotions.
4.Invitations to certain prestigious tournaments and game events.
5.Earn Experience and in-game currency at a faster rate.
6.Occasional Free rewards.

Wow I am glad that a mech game finally got around to using this model.

Be part of an exclusive club of Founders.

As a crowdfunding contributor, you will be among a small group of people that will be instrumental in the foundation of something potentially huge. You've seen what we have in mind and the vision of where this could go. You share our vision and want to see this project happen. You want to be right there from the very beginning.

Going with founders also then. Couldn't come up with something like Generals or Gladiators? Was there zero thought put in to this blatant money grab?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Feast your eyes on the stretch goals.

Stretch Goals

Game on: $900 000

Organized Tournaments bringing new meaning to your games. High Stakes, means High rewards.
Spectating mode. Allows Duelists to spectate other players games and sponsor the results. Community updates.
Mass Dueling mayhem for all Duelists.

Gearing Up: $1 500 000

New Arenas. Complete with Dangerous features.
Terra Nova Corporate Sponsorship programs. Get your team sponsored by one of the many Terra Novan Companies.
Bonus in-game currency for all pledge levels. 5% more.
Unlocks $1.5 Million Commemorative Milestone Vibroblade for all Contributors.

Switching Gears: $2 000 000

In-Game Social media network. Allows you to record and share your experiences in-game with your friends and follow the exploits of other players. This can link to external social media like Facebook.
Unlocks Peace River Gears.
In-Game Dynamic Economy.
Unlocks special $2 Million Commemorative Milestone Autocannon for every contributor.

Upstart New Comer: $2 500 000

Sports Desk: Continuous eSports Video Coverage. News, Interviews, live feeds of Heavy Gear Arena. Will your matches make the weekly highlight reel?
Form Dueling Teams, and compete together for top spots.
Unlocks New Coalition Gears.
Bonus in-game currency for all pledge levels. 10% more. None cumulative with previous bonus currencies.

Locked and Loaded: $3 000 000

Organized League play based on skills with Ranking consequences. Accurate stats tracking and career leaderboards. Compete for a spot in the league playoff tournament and feeder tournaments.
Unlocks a Hardback "Makings of Heavy Gear Assault" Full-Color book, including developer stories, concept art and behind the scene images, for GREL contributors and above.
Unlocks $3 Million Commemorative Milestone Frag Cannon for all Contributors.

Putting the Heavy in Heavy Gear: $3 500 000

Vintage Gear designs available.
Gear-Striders.
Take it to new heights. Zero-G orbital arenas.
Bonus in-game currency for all pledge levels. 15% more. None cumulative with previous bonus currencies.

Stomping onto the Scene: $4 000 000

Official Periodical eMagazine featuring highlight reels, interview and strategies.
Unlocks Heavy Gear Assault; Graphic Novel for all pledge level veteran duelist and above.
Unlocks $4 Million Commemorative Milestone Sword for all Contributors.

Armed and Dangerous: $4 500 000

Faction specific Arsenals. Factions will have different looking and performing weapons.
Bonus in-game currency for all pledge levels. 20% more. None cumulative with previous bonus currencies.

Lock, Stock and Barrel: $5 000 000

Additional musical tracks. These will be added to the musical tracks available to certain pledge levels.
Duelist can tailor their intro music.
Unlocks $5 Million Commemorative Milestone Rifle for all Contributors.

Geared for success: $5 500 000

In-Game voice announcers and dynamic in-game commentaries.
Android and IOS mobile app, allowing Duelist to interact with their inventory, in-game social media, spectate and sponsor matches from the comforts of their mobile devices.
Official Live Tournament Scene, travel to major conferences to strut your stuff on the world stage and become the Real World Champion Duelist you know you are.
Bonus in-game currency for all pledge levels. 25% more. None cumulative with previous bonus currencies.

All in: $6 000 000

Three words: Gear Death Races.
See the World: Visit Arenas in the other Leagues of Terra Nova.
Tactical Companion Game on Android and IOS mobile platforms.

Over the Top: $8 000 000

Players can explore the thrills and excitement of Terra Nova from the view point of their Character. Leave Khayr ad-Din and explore how things are done elsewhere on Terra Nova.
A more human way of exploring the universe of Heavy Gear. You will be able to move freely as a character in the world of Heavy Gear.

No limits: $10 000 000

Single Player and Co-op military campaigns expansions outside of the Arenas.
Single Player and Co-op PvE.

So no game until 900,000 (and no refund system like kickstarter to fall back on) Ridiculous uncosted stretch goals like "More levels" More than what? How many on launch? "5% more in game currency?" What does that get you?

Stretch goals going up by millions. As if people are going to poor money in to this so fast that the hundred thousands are going to fly by too fast for them to notice.

Don't mind me if I pull up a chair and watch this end hilariously. Although it will likely just end with a missing downloads page, and a counter hinting at the new thing that's totally gonna revolutionize everything.

**BrandonKF**

There is a lot that I could say to all of that, GBL, but I'll refrain. Suffice to say, you sound bitter. That is all. Whatever you're bitter over, I pray it's taken care of at some point for you. Peace.

It is true that what they're talking about is, as one gentleman over on the DP9 forums referred, ballsy.

You're talking about throwing together a game that is very much like Star Wars: The Old Republic. That's not a horrible thing. It's just going to take effort. However, the fact that they have Jack Mamais in on this is a positive thing for me, since if he went from Heavy Gear 2 to the likes of Crysis and Far Cry, he's got the talent.

Edit: Thanks for pointing out that there's mechs in ME, kenshin... I saw some clips for ME2, but never played beyond the first. After hearing about the end, I was, like others, I suppose, disappointed. But then that's what you get when you get a game that provides you with so many options and storytelling abilities.

-Brandon F.

**GBL**

BrandonKF wrote:

It is true that what they're talking about is, as one gentleman over on the DP9 forums referred, ballsy.

"Ballsy" is one way to put it.

My way of putting it would be Pants on head "ballsy"

I wouldn't be so hard on them, had they ever finished a project. It isn't a crime to be ambitious, and its not a crime to ask for fan funding. However they could prove themselves before doing so.

Something more than a 40 second trailer with 30 seconds of titles and a cheap render.

They leave behind a trail of half finished products, and one could easily believe that they nuked their own forums to try and erase that history. AT1's Moddb page still links to mektek.net asking me to download the MTX Software.

MechWarrior Online (The obvious comparison, as the funding model seems to have been lifted wholesale from them) had a great deal more to show off at this stage. So even assuming they didn't have a sordid history, they have already taken miss steps. Our first look at the game is accompanied by an outstretched hand asking for cash.

And you cant seriously pretend that the line stating that they were MechWarrior 4 developers wasn't misleading? Did they ever release a patch for any bugs they didn't cause?

And where is the plan? How long is development? How many maps? How many mechs? Which features will be in when they launch early to raise more cash?

They have set the bar REALLY high for themselves, but without any of the information any of the successfully crowd sourced games had at this stage.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

I assume you intended to compare it favorably to TOR. I agree, but only because we know it will be launched half finished.

Now I have been very negative, so here is how I believe it should have been run.

Developed until they can release early in game footage.

Kickstarter with a goal of 100,000 and if you play the stretch goals correctly, it could exceed 1mil

Remove the MekTek moniker completely. The name is dirt. But Stompy Bot is an awesome name without any attachments.

Scope Down. Under Promise Over Deliver. Coming in talking about how you are going to redefine gaming, is a lofty goal.

Some games have successfully kickstarted just their betas. How about we get 2 Gears fighting in an arena with a handful of mod parts. Sell just that, and when it works, add features and ask for more support.

**IceRaptor**

I'm rather disappointed with the offering. They avoided kickstarter specifically so they wouldn't be on the hook legally if they fail to deliver - which I understand but makes me much more suspicious. And there are no core details about what gameplay will be like, or discussions of how the F2P model (which is what they have, no matter how they cloak it) will influence the game.

Overall it feels like a very amateur offering, sadly.

**warboss**

GBL wrote:

Now I have been very negative, so here is how I believe it should have been run.

Developed until they can release early in game footage.

Kickstarter with a goal of 100,000 and if you play the stretch goals correctly, it could exceed 1mil

Remove the MekTek moniker completely. The name is dirt. But Stompy Bot is an awesome name without any attachments.

Scope Down. Under Promise Over Deliver. Coming in talking about how you are going to redefine gaming, is a lofty goal.

Some games have successfully kickstarted just their betas. How about we get 2 Gears fighting in an arena with a handful of mod parts. Sell just that, and when it works, add features and ask for more support.

While I completely agree with the above, I suspect that they decided it wasn't financially possible since the first version of their page said they have no publisher that would normally fund that (they have since removed that statement). I wish them luck and will likely buy/try any HG product that they eventually come out with as long as they support a format that I own (no gaming-worthy PC so console for me)... but this homemade high apple pie in the sky crowdfunding venture is just way too risky for me to throw money at years in advance.

**mrondeau**

Let's see...
No indication of the base goal, trying to pass free-to-play as revolutionary, hype levels close to critical, no indication of the amount already pledged, no indication of when the money is charged, limited chance of reimbursement if the project fails, no real information on the type of game, platform or anything, failed launch event, history of failed projects... and based on Arena, the single worst unplayable mess I have ever seen.

I stand corrected. There are companies more incompetent than DP9.

**Dullspork**

I hope this goes better for them than the Warmachine video game.

**warboss**

Dullspork wrote:
I hope this goes better for them than the Warmachine video game.

I hope so too but the warmachine game (despite my love for heavy gear and dislike for steampunk personally) is based on a more popular IP and had major publisher funding... and is still apparently in limbo despite those advantages compared to HG. I posted earlier in this thread that I was expecting an arcade type game but that was also with the expectation that they had a publisher backing them up. If they're truely doing this with no backing other than crowdfunding, they should have started with a freemium HG iOS/android/flash game instead and then moved onto a paid xbox arcade/steam title with paid DLC and THEN to a AAA release for the final step. They're a company who has basically made a few appetizers for someone else's dinner party and now thinks that they're ready to open up a chain of restaurants.

**IceRaptor**

warboss wrote:
If they're truely doing this with no backing other than crowdfunding, they should have started with a freemium HG iOS/android/flash game instead and then moved onto a paid xbox arcade/steam title with paid DLC and THEN to a AAA release for the final step.

My issue with the offering is pretty much the above; I don't know *anything* about this studio, and they want me to give them non-refundable money with little more than a render that grad students can come up with? Eh... that sounds a bit silly to me. Simply not using kickstarter makes me think they aren't even sure of their own success - 5% of the total isn't that much, and the protections that kickstarter provides everybody are missing. That makes me extremely nervous about funding them.

With the information that is available right now, it feels an awful lot like I'd be lighting money on fire. That bothers me quite a bit because I was hoping to get behind this 100%. C'est la vie.

**warboss**

IceRaptor wrote:
Simply not using kickstarter makes me think they aren't even sure of their own success - 5% of the total isn't that much, and the protections that kickstarter provides everybody are missing. That makes me extremely nervous about funding them.

Ironically, Kickstarter doesn't actually give you any real protection despite the public viewpoint that it does. What it does give you is some transperancy to the whole offer with current funding totals and information about the number of backers in a public venue that is not able to be manipulated easily after the fact by the kickstarting company. You're also not signing away your right to a refund as well as legal recourse like you do with their TOS. The way they have it set up is that you basically just hand your money behind the curtain ("Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!") and hope something comes of it in the end with no real recourse due to the terms of service you agree to with the pledge. They couldn't get the website working for the end of the countdown and forgot to include paypal as a payment but they certainly managed to cover their own butts right off the bat.

I would have loved (as I said earlier) an arcade/steam arena fighting title in 3rd person perspective with relatively modern graphics; that's not possible without significant funding that is substantially less than what they're asking for. What is possible with crowdfunding and limited time is maybe coming up with a Civ Revolutions style orthographic 2.5d downloadable game that largely automates the tabletop one. That doesn't require top notch graphics or animation but I'd have thrown $10-15 at them for something like that with the polar factions and $5 DLCs for other factions.

I believe Edison once said that invention is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Unfortunately, it seems Stompy Bot believes in the inverse with the combination of lofty goals and lack of preparation shown so far.

**kenshin620**

I'd be amazed if they could even get 1/3 of what they are asking for

But come on, some of those goals are utterly ridiculous. The highest funded game on KS got a wee less than $4 Mil, and that is Obsidian who has a lot of credentials.

How long will this crowdfund thing go on for anyways?

**BrandonKF**

Well, from what I'm hearing Star Citizen made upwards of 8 million dollars, but that was with Chris Robert (thank you, HudsonD). Mind you, never heard of the man, nor of Star Citizen, but the fact that that wasn't on KickStarter should say that independently-sourced games aren't impossible.

One of the DP9 forumites pointed out that 10 million 'is about right'... development costs, as he put it, are between 10 million and 20 million, hence why big publishers like EA and Activision don't like to start new IPs.

As far as the type of game that it is, they're basically starting off with an arena-style combat. They want location-based armor and equipment damage on the Gears, as well as interactivity with the terrain. Including that with skill sets for pilots and the possibility of upgrading your Gear with new equipment would make for an interesting proposal.

And Mrondeau, for what it is worth, now that I have some understanding of where you're coming from I am sorry that you feel so slighted. I guess I've always been one to be optimistic, and while this might have been underwhelming, I'm still going to keep my optimism up. As for a target date, I would guess on the outside of 2 years, if fans new and old show an interest in the game.

-Brandon F.

**HudsonD**

BrandonKF wrote:
Well, from what I'm hearing Star Citizen made upwards of 8 million dollars, but that was with Robert Jordan. Mind you, never heard of the man, nor of Star Citizen, but the fact that that wasn't on KickStarter should say that independently-sourced games aren't impossible.

It's actually Chris Robert, the guy behind "Wing Commander" and a few others.

One of the DP9 forumites pointed out that 10 million 'is about right'... development costs, as he put it, are between 10 million and 20 million, hence why big publishers like EA and Activision don't like to start new IPs.

If memory serves me well, that forumite is also a DP9 employee.
On the other hand, if the team is really serious about the kind of game they want to build, 10 millions isn't that far off. I have to express my doubts, however, that they're going to get that much through crowdfunding.

And Mrondeau, for what it is worth, now that I have some understanding of where you're coming from I am sorry that you feel so slighted.

Would you expand on that, please ? I am very curious about how you reached such conclusions.

**BrandonKF**

Goes to show how much I paid attention to the credits from Wing Commander, eh?

And Saleem being an employee is news to me... we counting Pod Squad folks as employees?

As for my comment towards Mrondeau, I understand that he has a lot to say about the tabletop game, and the company as a whole (which isn't exactly large). I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I'm being dead serious. You put a lot into something, and when nothing comes of it, it can be a downer. You two, I recall, happen to be two of the guys I had a lot of conversations with in the Grognard forum. You both had some very passionate ideas on how to improve the game from your perspectives. I'll respect that.

**warboss**

He's an assistant line developer according to the FIF credits and the 1st person mentioned after the "big three" of Robert, autel, and mason (assuming you put any importance on that order).

**Squigsquasher**

Heavy Gear Blitz is one of the few non-GW games I'm interested in playing.

Colour me interested.

**BrandonKF**

There's a 'big three'? : )

In either case, if he's correct, then the 10 million mark isn't unreasonable.

From what I've heard from the admins over on MekTek forums, the license was agreed upon six months ago. This soft launch will include a lot of marketing as things progress.

As for those who are interested in the tabletop game, squigsquasher, feel free to check it out on Dream Pod 9 and its forums.

-Brandon F.

**warboss**

BrandonKF wrote:
There's a 'big three'? : )

It seemed appropriate. I don't think the term needs to be restricted to automakers or allied war leaders, do you?

**BrandonKF**

Well, I'd say that they've done a great deal of the work, but I'd also give the nod to everyone else, including the playtesters and Pod Squad. They all work hard for the game. : )

-Brandon F.

**HudsonD**

BKF : Ah, so you haven't read the credit sections for any L&L-era DP9 book either, eh ?
That's a pity, there's a lot to be learnt from the credit sections. How many different people actually worked there ? How many tasks did the average contributor perform ? How big was the playtest pool ? Many interesting things really...

All in all, you do seem to be making many assumptions, without necessarily knowing the whole picture, or what happens behind the scenes, as shown by your surprise that a "DP9 forumite" was actually one of the main writers.

**BrandonKF**

I'm generally better at absorbing the stuff that I read, rather than what I don't read, Hudson.

As for 'knowing the whole picture'... haven't we already been over this?

-Brandon F.

**NGTM-1R**

That is not a reveal trailer. It's something all right, but it's not a reveal trailer.

MWO's 2012 Debut trailer should be an appropriate comparison. It is, after all, their most likely competitor with Heavy Gear Assault. So, let's break it down comparatively.

MWO presented to us a design that has been one of the two iconic faces of the franchise for over a decade. Even people who don't play MechWarrior or BattleTech might recognize an Atlas. Anyone who has played either game and doesn't at least get a flicker of recognition from the Atlas wasn't paying very much attention.

I don't recognize this Gear. It's not, for example, one of the Scopedog derivatives that the franchise started with. It's not (that I can tell) my good buddy the Ferret. Now, granted, most Gear models aren't that visually distinctive but if you want people's attention, you're going to need that recognition.

The MWO trailer tells a story. It is a brief story, but its subject matter is thematically appropriate. The presentation of a 'Mech powering up, being moved to drop position, and dropping is not only enough to give us a good look at that 'Mech (and others) but also fits with a reveal trailer: this is a beginning. It also depicts something that's actually pretty interesting and something most of us would probably find memorable, i.e. turning on a giant robot and jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft with it.

The trailer for Heavy Gear Assault turned on a light. It didn't tell a story, thematically appropriate or otherwise. It did not give us a good look at the subject matter (we never even saw a full-body shot of the Gear). It turned on a light and did a little bit of pulling back the camera. There's no activity or action.

By time, the MWO trailer was 93 seconds. Breaking down by content the trailer was (from the start to Atlas drop cradle firing jets) 73 seconds of actual content and 18 seconds of production logos and the like. All of the stuff gamers don't care about was concentrated at the end.

The Heavy Gear Assault trailer is 45 seconds long. It opens with 18 seconds of pleading for money and logos, gives us 8 seconds of a Gear's head and chest with no background, switches back towards pleas for money/logos at 26 seconds in, and spends a full 12 seconds on the Stompy Bot Productions logo animation to round it off. Eight seconds of content, count 'em. The company logo at the end took up more space in the video than the product they're trying to sell!

If you've got a product you're trying to sell then the product should always be the most important thing in any presentation of it. I probably shouldn't have to tell anyone that, it's pretty common sense, but this trailer breathtakingly violates that in multiple ways. (The Stompy Bot Productions logo animation is actually the most memorable part, which is kind of scary.) It's a bad trailer, for not having a hook; it's a bad commercial, for not concentrating on the product; it's a bad movie, for being mostly filler and lacking any narrative or thematic elements.

If DP9 wants to raise funds for a new Heavy Gear game, I've got a rather pertinent suggestion: release Heavy Gear 1 and Heavy Gear 2 via Good Old Games. Drop an ad or two into the internets. Watch hordes of people like me who remember the old days fondly buy them for five bucks. Fund new game with profits.

**GBL**

BrandonKF wrote:
Well, from what I'm hearing Star Citizen made upwards of 8 million dollars, but that was with Chris Robert (thank you, HudsonD). Mind you, never heard of the man, nor of Star Citizen, but the fact that that wasn't on KickStarter should say that independently-sourced games aren't impossible.

Star Citizen had a Kickstarter and their Website. Kickstarter did what it usually does and built an amazing amount of hype for their game. People continued to flock to their website well after the kickstarter had raised enough money for them to succeed.

Star Citizen had loads of concepts, a real video, actual game information.

Star Citizen did not throw up an empty website, with a non trailer and put its hand out asking for cash.