For newer people, here is our Kickstarter stretch goals list

Goals - delivered or not, a checklist

Hi guys,

I've been reading this thread, and many like it, and scratching my head about the goals. There are countless people defending the developers but let's put this up in the open. Many time people have asked about this or that or whatever but there's no clarity on what was promised (and I do use the word promised here because it shouldn't IMHO be treated like a flippant statement) vs. delivered. There has been a "checklist" of sorts but nobody has created one. Hopefully this might serve as one, or at least a catalyst for one.

The aim here is not to call anyone out or bash the developers over feature creep or whatever. It's plain and simple. There were a set of features listed and goals promised and it's been a year since the initial release and the Kickstarter surpassed the $500,000 mark (although the original KS page says it didn't meet it in the goal list, the funding amount surpassed it).

So have the goals/features listed been delivered? You be the judge but consider this a checklist to help the team keep on track (yeah, I know, they are big boys and girls and can do fine themselves with that however are they? where are some of these features asked for? is there a timeline for any of them? do we want to keep seeing new ones introduced because of shiny object syndrome or do we want the team to deliver the original goals, the ones you paid money to because you were told they would be coming).

I'll start with the list of Kickstarter "features" (the blurb above the goals). While these can be more vague, there are things mentioned here that have yet to surface. For example I don't see motion detectors, auto-turrets, or potions mentioned in the looting section. No skyscrapers in the city (although you could build one). There's mention of domesticating animals which isn't there. The dynamic story generation using note quests seems to be absent. There's really no sign of the XP or skill trees mentioned (and I haven't noticed if I get faster at crafting things over time).

For the goals themselves I'll put them here in point form (with the ones I think are delivered crossed out)

$200k

  • Part-time artists and programmers join full time (I'm assuming this happened)


$250k

  • Existing worlds expanded, more locations added (I see a new hotel in the 9.2 release)
  • More items and weapons (vague but seems to have delivered on this since the early alphas)
  • More special infected enemies, with more abilities! (delivered but kind of an ongoing goal, again vague and intangible)
  • Skill tree and exp system enhanced further (the original skill tree has yet to be delivered)


$300k

  • Additional player characters (I don't recall if new ones have been added?)
  • Seasonal weather effects implemented (other than snow in the snow biome I don't see this)
  • Temperature based survival effects (not delivered as far as I can tell)
  • Occuls rift support (has this been delivered?)


$350k

  • Enhanced, professional soundtrack (it sounds good, is that met?)
  • More wild animals! Mountain lions, coyotes, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria! (zombie dogs only)
  • Animals can turn into zombies too! (zombie bears!) (but sadly only dogs and they didn't turn)


Post release goals. The goals above were release goals and while it's labelled "alpha" I guess they can claim they're still working on these ones? In any case, the funding amount for all of these was met.

$400k

  • Character customization tools (you can change clothes, is that this goal?)
  • Interchangeable clothing system (delivered I guess, but then is this a duplicate goal of #1?)
  • Expanded story/missing programming (since the original story element isn't delivered yet, nothing to expand on here)
  • NPC characters and merchants (nope)
  • NPC controlled safe houses added (nope)


$450k

  • Professional voice actors hired to record lines (what lines?)
  • Multiplayer mode expanded with new features (pretty vague so can't tell what this is)
  • Random world generated expanded (delivered)
  • World building tools expanded (again vague but they have been getting better)


$500k

  • Major world terrain enhancement (I left this in but it mentioned "world remains fully destructable and buildable, but it already is by design so what's the delivery here?)
  • Drivable and customizable vehicles added (no)
  • New additional NPC characters to discover (I guess once the first ones are delivered)
  • Expanded story missions (once the first one is delivered)


Apologies if this sounds harsh and feel free to reach out and criticize me if you wish, but lets keep our eyes on the prize. A community funded project like this should be first and foremost accountable to the community that funded it.

Hopefully some of you agree with me and even more so, hopefully someone from The Pimps will chime in here specifically. A timeline, an explanation, or are we all comfortable with whatever they deliver and this type of thread just needs to stop?

Thanks for your time.

 
Better water settling system. And to add to the weather system, Natural disasters.
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And add to that. getting cold and going crazy so 2 more stats possible sanity and some cold indicator that could have you lose health over time.

 
I would also love to see more of these goals accomplished. The problem is that if they rush to implement too many new features, it will mean that many more buggy features are added. That may cause the game to become unplayable. This game is already addicting without all those features being implemented. This way they are adding a couple new features at a time and fixing the bugs before adding the next set of features so that the game remains playable.

It's not like they gave up and posted it as a finished game. Play something else if you're bored with this until the next update comes out.

 
There MO seems to work out well... release something with new features, then release hotfixes to fix the problems the new features brought, then once the game is running well repeat the process.

I think it's a testament that they are including /other/ new features, and not just sticking with the original list; I'm sure they discussed the opportunity to finish the list, then cut and run, and I'm glad they decided against it. It think it's going to create a much richer game when it's all finished.

The game is playable now; I'm optimistic it will be worth the wait. <shrug>

 
Hi guys,
I've been reading this thread, and many like it, and scratching my head about the goals. There are countless people defending the developers but let's put this up in the open. Many time people have asked about this or that or whatever but there's no clarity on what was promised (and I do use the word promised here because it shouldn't IMHO be treated like a flippant statement) vs. delivered. There has been a "checklist" of sorts but nobody has created one. Hopefully this might serve as one, or at least a catalyst for one.

The aim here is not to call anyone out or bash the developers over feature creep or whatever. It's plain and simple. There were a set of features listed and goals promised and it's been a year since the initial release and the Kickstarter surpassed the $500,000 mark (although the original KS page says it didn't meet it in the goal list, the funding amount surpassed it).

So have the goals/features listed been delivered? You be the judge but consider this a checklist to help the team keep on track (yeah, I know, they are big boys and girls and can do fine themselves with that however are they? where are some of these features asked for? is there a timeline for any of them? do we want to keep seeing new ones introduced because of shiny object syndrome or do we want the team to deliver the original goals, the ones you paid money to because you were told they would be coming).

I'll start with the list of Kickstarter "features" (the blurb above the goals). While these can be more vague, there are things mentioned here that have yet to surface. For example I don't see motion detectors, auto-turrets, or potions mentioned in the looting section. No skyscrapers in the city (although you could build one). There's mention of domesticating animals which isn't there. The dynamic story generation using note quests seems to be absent. There's really no sign of the XP or skill trees mentioned (and I haven't noticed if I get faster at crafting things over time).

For the goals themselves I'll put them here in point form (with the ones I think are delivered crossed out)

$200k

  • Part-time artists and programmers join full time (I'm assuming this happened)


$250k

  • Existing worlds expanded, more locations added (I see a new hotel in the 9.2 release)
  • More items and weapons (vague but seems to have delivered on this since the early alphas)
  • More special infected enemies, with more abilities! (delivered but kind of an ongoing goal, again vague and intangible)
  • Skill tree and exp system enhanced further (the original skill tree has yet to be delivered)


$300k

  • Additional player characters (I don't recall if new ones have been added?)
  • Seasonal weather effects implemented (other than snow in the snow biome I don't see this)
  • Temperature based survival effects (not delivered as far as I can tell)
  • Occuls rift support (has this been delivered?)


$350k

  • Enhanced, professional soundtrack (it sounds good, is that met?)
  • More wild animals! Mountain lions, coyotes, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria! (zombie dogs only)
  • Animals can turn into zombies too! (zombie bears!) (but sadly only dogs and they didn't turn)


Post release goals. The goals above were release goals and while it's labelled "alpha" I guess they can claim they're still working on these ones? In any case, the funding amount for all of these was met.

$400k

  • Character customization tools (you can change clothes, is that this goal?)
  • Interchangeable clothing system (delivered I guess, but then is this a duplicate goal of #1?)
  • Expanded story/missing programming (since the original story element isn't delivered yet, nothing to expand on here)
  • NPC characters and merchants (nope)
  • NPC controlled safe houses added (nope)


$450k

  • Professional voice actors hired to record lines (what lines?)
  • Multiplayer mode expanded with new features (pretty vague so can't tell what this is)
  • Random world generated expanded (delivered)
  • World building tools expanded (again vague but they have been getting better)


$500k

  • Major world terrain enhancement (I left this in but it mentioned "world remains fully destructable and buildable, but it already is by design so what's the delivery here?)
  • Drivable and customizable vehicles added (no)
  • New additional NPC characters to discover (I guess once the first ones are delivered)
  • Expanded story missions (once the first one is delivered)


Apologies if this sounds harsh and feel free to reach out and criticize me if you wish, but lets keep our eyes on the prize. A community funded project like this should be first and foremost accountable to the community that funded it.

Hopefully some of you agree with me and even more so, hopefully someone from The Pimps will chime in here specifically. A timeline, an explanation, or are we all comfortable with whatever they deliver and this type of thread just needs to stop?

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
I find it worth mentioning myself that they are starting to pave the way for a lot of the stuff on the list within the next several Alphas. They are working on new character models and animations, a new clothing system, and vehicles in the next update. There also has been talk of weather effects and surviving against the environment. It's also a bit distant, but NPCs might be on their way as well.

Personally I think by the time they reach Beta they'll have a lot of the original stretch goals done. The only things on here left for Beta I see is the workshop and map creation tools, the story, professional voice acting, and Oculous Rift support, and maybe a character creation tool if it doesn't make it in Alpha (The current character creation looks like presets and clothing). It actually makes me curious what they plan to do in Beta if Alpha does end up finishing most of the list. In fact, I didn't know there was going to be a Beta, I thought the use of the term "Alpha" was a misconception (still kind of is, and Alpha is technically in house production and testing), but it appears there will be more in due time.

I will however mention that a road map would be nice to see, as I'm not sure what the entire direction of things are, though the Pimps are making good progress and adding in things that weren't planned as well. I kind of feel like I'm going from update to update, which is fine, but knowing where the game is going long term if they have any ideas on that would be nice.

 
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i hope they add tanks
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Honestly this game has no need for such things. Vehicles yes but a tank? It'll just be OP I mean a tank is practically a fortress on tracks. You have to consider it from a PvP perspective as well. What are you gonna do when someone has a tank with 2 other players. One machine gunner, a gunner and a driver. You are buggered.

 
Honestly this game has no need for such things. Vehicles yes but a tank? It'll just be OP I mean a tank is practically a fortress on tracks. You have to consider it from a PvP perspective as well. What are you gonna do when someone has a tank with 2 other players. One machine gunner, a gunner and a driver. You are buggered.
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A tank Guzzles Gas, even an APC does. and from a PvP Perspective? Gives large landmines a use.

What happens when all 3 are on a tank? Well they need lots of ammo for the Machine Gun (The gunner is also EASILY sniped) Ammo for the tank (I doubt the military lost or abandoned it with a full load of ammo) and has a limited view. So excuse me while I snipe your driver, then run out there and slap some mines in your path while you cannot see me right infront of your vehicle.

Tanks are WEAK against infantry, they are only good at being defensive emplacements, or taking down emplacements that cannot risk moving. Tanks FEAR Infantry moving out of their view. Add in Smoke grenades and that tank is helpless.

 
Some of the goals that were stated on kick starter have been forgotten and are not included in your list.

 
NPC's would be my favorite feature. It would make us "single player" players have more in the world. Being able to trade/sell/buy goods instead of walking days upon days to never find it. Being able to hear voices other than the zombie gurgling all day. I think it would be a game changer for sure and can't wait to see what they bring. Also a bike or a vehicle would be nice. Running with coffee works for now.

 
night vision and thermal stuff, like scopes and goggles? would be so epic.. imagine sniping zombies at night with a thermal scope lol
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Arn't they dead? How wil u find them with ur THERMAL wision? LOL

 
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