Griftlands Reboot, Alpha and Roadmap

[1v0]

9 hours ago, minespatch said:

"oh well"

When I saw this I got the feel: this is epic holding the game but then steam appears and the game smiles .

 

[Hannie]

I don't often write on forum, but the reaction, which I read on steam and other places, made me do it. At the beginning I want to say I'm not supporting Epic store and I will wait and buy it on Steam. I must admit that I thought this game would be something like Darkest Dungeon like someone mention here. And I'm sorry, my English it's not so good. 

I'm sad because lot of people is just mad on Klei because they put Griftlands on Epic store, they are saying, that they won't buy any game in future.

And I found some positive thing about this game. Look at the price, for me it is very nice. I would be mad only when it would be cheaper on Epic store. I don't mind waiting, but price should be same on both places.

I kinda understand why Klei put it on Epic store. It is only my vision, why Klei did it. Just imagine the game market is same as market with foods etc, Imagine that Coca Cola would be sold only in one kind of shop. What is better for company to have their product in one kind of shops or in many kind of shop? I guess it is for them better have it in more shops. Let's return to Klei on game market. You have main shops as Steam, Epic store, Origin, Battle.net and others. I guess on Steam it's the easiest to get there. If you look on other shops as Origin and Battle.net there are only big companies (EA, Blizzard), I guess you need have some money and some fame get, because the shops want to attract new users to them. How can small company as Klei get on these shops? And we finally get to the Epic store, as we know Epic store is kinda new on this market so he want to attract companies via money and accessibility to their shop. And nothing is free and Epic store want to earn some money so they want have some advantage so they maybe said we want to have it sooner than Steam. The world it's not only black and white and being on Epic store doesn't mean the every company is sellout. If Klei would be sellout why would they do that when you buy on Steam you will get free copy on Epic store and vice versa it's very good feature.

I know it's hard to believe but some people just don't like Steam and don't want to support it. They will be happy because they can "finally" play some Klei game on other client than Steam. And to be honest when people are mad that they will wait for this on Steam and on Epic they will get immediately look on other game from Klei which is on Epic store. Yeah Oxygen not included is on Epic store. Why nobody don't freak out because of it? Maybe it's because on epic store you can't still buy, it says - comming soon.

If you read until now, thank you for reading. I know that here is not so radical like I mention on beginning but I just want to react on this topic, because I'm just big fan of Klei. 

 

[Emwill]

47 minutes ago, 1v0 said:

When I saw this I got the feel: this is epic holding the game but then steam appears and the game smiles .

 

39 minutes ago, Hannie said:

I'm sad because lot of people is just mad on Klei because they put Griftlands on Epic store, they are saying, that they won't buy any game in future.

not any, just those ones that exclusive for epic and later anyways come to steam. guess nobody just need any from epic(not cause hate or smth, its just bad with no features for users). as 4 me until i have "choise" i will wait steam.
 

44 minutes ago, Hannie said:

What is better for company to have their product in one kind of shops or in many kind of shop?

Guess right answer - in many, but epic actually hold it in one like a year =)

[YumoS]

Me realizing Klei turned to the dark side and are no longer my favorite game developers.

[Najaf]

"We have partnered with Epic to bring the Alpha of Griftlands to the Epic Game Store exclusively for one year, and will launch in Early Access on Steam next June."

 

It's okay, I've waited a year, I can wait another one 

[Hannie]

2 hours ago, Emwill said:

not any, just those ones that exclusive for epic and later anyways come to steam. guess nobody just need any from epic(not cause hate or smth, its just bad with no features for users). as 4 me until i have "choise" i will wait steam.

I would recommend to read comments under message about Griftlands on Steam. People are mad there and crying there and I would quote some of them. 
"Epic Game Store 
I no longer plan to support this developer. Only -75% sales"

"RIP Klei 11/6/2019
♥♥♥♥ Klei, I will never buy another Klei game, Klei is dead to me. Enjoy you're dirty money like the ♥♥♥♥♥s you are!"

3 hours ago, Emwill said:

Guess right answer - in many, but epic actually hold it in one like a year =)

And as I mention, EGS need to earn some money, so they wanted this advantage. Who would buy game on EGS, when you can buy it on Steam? When people just want it now and don't care from where is, they will buy it on EGS. 

[Tolham]

19 hours ago, Bigfoot said:

We have partnered with Epic to bring the Alpha of Griftlands to the Epic Game Store exclusively for one year

Klei, you just broke my heart. I will not be paying money for this game, and I am currently suspending any plans to buy any more of your products. This epic exclusivity BS needs to stop.

[AndSkobka]

Epic Game Store? Ok. Why not GOG.COM?

[Lemonsnoot]

It looks really good! Card games are awesome, ill definitely get this once it hits steam

[CarlZalph]

Well I let the news settle with me overnight to give it some thought.

While I wasn't too happy about the Epic exclusivity deal at first, I figure that if Klei really needs that surge of money then go for it; I'd rather they do that then shut down or cancel the project outright.

 

I re-read what the alpha stage entails, and it pushes me more into the camp of being indifferent on their choice.

Quote

In June of next year, we will be releasing Griftlands into Early Access on Steam. Anyone who purchased on Epic will get the game on Steam for free, and vice versa.

...

We have quite a bit of work ahead of us. Our expected timeline is:

• Alpha: The Sal campaign (days 1 through 4) is released
• Fall: Character 2 campaign (days 1 through ?) is released
• Early Access: Character 3 campaign (days 1 through ?) is released
• Launch: Full campaign for all characters released

So the alpha part, wherein it's the year exclusive, will have what looks to be 2/N of the game done.  Where N is the number of characters planned here, I'll just assume it's 4-6 to be realistic.

Worst case scenario N is 4, and thus the alpha stage will have 50% of the game's content there to play.  This percentage decreases as the number of characters increases.

 

While some people like to play games as the content is generated bit by bit, I think having a chunk of the game done before trying it out would fit me better.  Instead of going through the ups and downs of balancing on the first rocky stages, I'd get the ability to start out at something that isn't quite so skeletal.

So for me, from a logical standpoint, this is fine.

 

 

From an emotional aspect, the idea of Epic and how they're handling everything to try and strong arm consumers onto their platform like this..  This doesn't set well with me at all.

Klei's always been pro consumer, so it seems weird to go with this deal that is very anti-consumer on its surface.  Appearances can mean a lot to people, especially when emotions are high.  The feeling of betrayal is a hard one to overcome, especially with a company; brand loyalty and such.

 

But, in the end, Epic only gets to lay claim to <= 50% of the game.  So for this aspect I think it's a win for Klei- Klei gets to get paid for literally half or less of a finished product.  Meanwhile other devs have fully finished games and are taking Epic's deals.

It just makes me wonder if the deal made was worth more than the potential damage to consumer's trust.  I know my knee-jerk reaction was not a good feeling, but after consideration it isn't negative nor good anymore- indifferent.  Ultimately time will tell.

 

So, here's to hopefully experiencing a good game when it's all said and done.  Every Klei title I've played has been enjoyable to me thus far, so I'll sit back and let the captain sail the ship as it were.

 

 

-Edit:

Another interpretation to the pre-release stage is that there are only 3 characters, but on release all 3 will meet up with each other character's progress and be done.

This pushes the percentage to 66% of the game, so not quite so much oomph as if there were 4 or more characters, but still the point holds.  Klei's getting paid for an unfinished product by Epic.

[ailailou]

Epic game store exclusivity? Whelp I guess I'm out again. 

[Maxeek]

Epic Store hate again. Considering Klei pricing you can buy it here and on Steam in the end and still have money in you pocket, unlike other games. I love Klei and I will go with their decision and understand it. Not complain about it. They did enough four us, maybe you should consider doing something for them.

[minespatch]

2 hours ago, CarlZalph said:

Another interpretation to the pre-release stage is that there are only 3 characters, but on release all 3 will meet up with each other character's progress and be done.

SMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITH

[TheYeast]

I'm getting flashbacks to the DST Megapack PS4 physical release - 505 games had a history of screwing up like this (*cough*Payday*cough*), but Klei decided to work with them anyway, and suffered a huge blow because of it (the reviews of the PS4 Megapack, and the game's reputation among console players, will never fully recover).
Who's making these decisions? Did the same person pick 505 games -and- Epic games for these releases?
Klei: you're better than this.

[Wormerine]

Eh, comeon. It's Alpha. If you are willing to stomach the issues an alpha will have, an Epic shouldn't be a big deal. You'll get the key for steam anyway - and for early access nonetheless. Though considering that in previous instances Alpha were released in a sneaky way, does it mean that Klei believes that only the most die hard fans will buy on Epic?

Anyway.

Personally, the "card" thing isn't selling it for me, so I might give it a while and see how it's shaping up first. 

 

 

Also:

I really want Invisible Inc. 2. 

[Daxterr]

6 hours ago, ailailou said:

Epic game store exclusivity? Whelp I guess I'm out again. 

Lmfao!

[TuTaraTuta]

Seeing all of this whining about Epic Store really hurts me inside. I hope you guys don't take it too close to the heart, as nobody seems to mention actually important thing: the game looks rad (like all of your games do), and I (and sure many more) can't wait to play it! Really in love with those designs and the mood of it.
*interested interested* ОзО

I can't upvote this message enough, and can't put it to words better:

5 hours ago, Maxeek said:

Epic Store hate again. Considering Klei pricing you can buy it here and on Steam in the end and still have money in you pocket, unlike other games. I love Klei and I will go with their decision and understand it. Not complain about it. They did enough four us, maybe you should consider doing something for them.

Hope that those unsettling and mean commentaries don't upset you, as I know it can! Keep up all the great, inspiring job you are doing! As a fan, I'm always at your side, so if you feel more comfortable launching Alpha on EGS - I sure am standing by this decision. 
Really love you guys, you are great! <3 

[Maxposting]

5 hours ago, TuTaraTuta said:

Seeing all of this whining about Epic Store really hurts me inside. I hope you guys don't take it too close to the heart, as nobody seems to mention actually important thing: the game looks rad (like all of your games do), and I (and sure many more) can't wait to play it! Really in love with those designs and the mood of it.
*interested interested* ОзО

I can't upvote this message enough, and can't put it to words better:

Hope that those unsettling and mean commentaries don't upset you, as I know it can! Keep up all the great, inspiring job you are doing! As a fan, I'm always at your side, so if you feel more comfortable launching Alpha on EGS - I sure am standing by this decision. 
Really love you guys, you are great! <3 

okay I guess...

^{i still hate EGS and nobody can stop me!!!}

[metallichydra]

*reads that klei have partnered with epic

"oh, they support small/new gaming platforms/whatever stuff like steam is called, sounds nice"

*reads comments

"oh no"

[minespatch]

I'm not really happy with what I'm reading. EGS might be in my state of North Carolina, but they have a connection with Tencent. I'm really concerned.

[Mooagain]

The game looks really cool, definitely buying it next year!

[Wormerine]

On 10.06.2019 at 8:03 PM, WilliamGreywind said:

An Epic store exclusive is antithesis to what makes Klei great: Getting player feedback to make a better game. The fact that an exclusive greatly diminishes how many players can play and give that important feedback just feels wrong. Feels like going back on this way that makes Klei games great.

Why? Alpha have always been not very advertised - with Invisible Inc. having to be bought on Klei website if I remember well, and ONI only accessible via link from official forums. GL will come to steam in early access, which means it will be available on the most popular and widely accepted platform when in development. 

Also nothing stops anyone from buying game on Epic Store - using the software is free and you get steam key eventually anyway. So yeah, it doesn't diminish how many players can play the game. If you prefer not to use Steam.... well, it is just as if someone complained that Klei blocks players from playing ONI because it is not on GOG. You want to play alpha, you buy on Epic and move to steam for EA. You don't want to use Epic? Just wait till EA. Nothing stops anyone from anything.

[Maxposting]

13 hours ago, minespatch said:

(Le reddit snap)

I'm not really happy with what I'm reading. EGS might be in my state of North Carolina, but they have a connection with Tencent. I'm really concerned.

I mean when it breaks both GDPR and COPPA ( children's online privacy protection act or something )

it's even worse.

[camelot]

So as I understand, people really concern about Chinese government kinds of stuff, and not so much about NSA, right?

About Klei, I think they actually acknowledge the problems with Epic, but they pursuit this deal anyway, so they value a huge amount of money over getting feedbacks for this game.

Then I guess I should get this game by other means. And if I really like it, I'll do bugs reporting and suggestion for them and eventually buy this game from Steam. A win for Klei, a win for me and no win for Epic. Not a big deal.

See you guys in July

[Wormerine]

2 hours ago, camelot said:

So as I understand, people really concern about Chinese government kinds of stuff, and not so much about NSA, right?

Then people are silly. Instead of being upset for the reasons that exist, they are upset because of a conspiracy theory propelled by a reddit analysis, which was disproved by people who are not amateurs. 

If someone doesn’t want to buy from Epic, because it is a half baked service with a roadmap, which aggressively buys its relevance and tries to create a fake value for itself, while offering much worse service to consumers then the competition- fair enough.

if someone doesn’t want to buy from Epic because they are spies for Chinese government... Ha!