Alarcity: Preorder campaign thread

[Tsak]

NEWS, NEWS, NEWS!!

AlarCity demo V1.0 is FINALLY HERE!
Grab it from: http://pixelglass.org/AlarCity

[Tsak]

Time for a new update on the preorders so far:

-Digital/Silver: 9
-Physical/Silver: 14
-Physical/Gold: 36

Total: 59

Generally we're currently at +17 orders since the start of the campaign which is cool but still too far from the 200 goal...

Additional to the above amount are extra 12 orders (some of them pretty old) that are still incomplete (i.e. the payment has not been made).

To all backers who have placed a preorder but never completed the transaction, please do so now. Instructions for the payment methods are enclosed to the "order confirmation" mail you've recieved when you first made your order. If you've lost this mail or never recieved it please contact amiga.net.pl directly so they can send you a new one : https://amiga.net.pl/index.php?kwt=5031&lng=eng

Please keep in mind that we can ONLY secure your preordered Silver or Gold copy if the order is complete. Silver copies (which include a discount) will be available for a limited time and up until the preorder period is officially finished, while Gold copies will be produced in a limited only quantity.

[Predseda]

[Tsak]

[hipoonios]

I'm not much for the pre-order thing, but did an exception and preordered Alarcity and Dream of Rowan.

I see most people want physical versions. I thought it would be the other way around

[Gzegzolka]

I am going to buy digital version.

[MartinW]

A quick question if I may. If we buy the CD version do we get a digital download as well? It was like this with some BBC games I bought a few years ago and it was a neat idea. You got the nice Jewel case version to sit on your shelf (if that was your kind of thing) but you could play it straight away while you waited for your physical stuff to arrive.

I'm on the fence in all respects on this one. The whole A1200 kickstarters have put me right off pre-orders for life. I've forked out over $400 there, it's been over 2 years and none of it is complete yet.

I realise however those were completely different scale projects!

On the other side of things, I have no kids and am beginning to come round more and more to the opinion of what on earth is the point of amassing all this stuff just so someone has the problem of taking it all to a landfill when you're finished on this earth. A lovely thought, but a valid point none the less.

Having said all of that, I'm quite tempted by the €16 digital pre-order. That's definitely under the radar money, even for this time of year

[Tsak]

Originally Posted by MartinW

A quick question if I may. If we buy the CD version do we get a digital download as well? It was like this with some BBC games I bought a few years ago and it was a neat idea. You got the nice Jewel case version to sit on your shelf (if that was your kind of thing) but you could play it straight away while you waited for your physical stuff to arrive.

Great idea basically! No, to be honest we haven't thought about this since the cd will contain the HDD files - should you want to transfer them and play the game from your hard disk (while it will also boot natively on a CD32 at the same time).

So yup, wish GRANTED!
Everybody purchasing the game will also recieve links to the digital version as soon as the order is in place (and after the game is released of course)!

Originally Posted by MartinW

On the other side of things, I have no kids and am beginning to come round more and more to the opinion of what on earth is the point of amassing all this stuff just so someone has the problem of taking it all to a landfill when you're finished on this earth. A lovely thought, but a valid point none the less.

Well, whatever makes us happy or gives us joy while we still sit on this earth is good enough, no?

[MartinW]

Originally Posted by Tsak

Well, whatever makes us happy or gives us joy while we still sit on this earth is good enough, no?

Of course! But I'm just thinking a little differently to how I used to on the subject of digital downloads. I have various hobbies, not just retro computers and more and more I'm surrounded by all this crap. It's not the main items that are the problem, it's all the paraphernalia that goes with them like the leads, cables, adapters, boxes etc., etc. I seem to spend my life tidying up or swearing that I need to tidy up

Digital downloads are a nice answer to this. All you need is a small NAS or something similar and that's it.

Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Thank you very much for considering (and taking up) the idea of the CD + Digital Download. When there is a pre-release involved it is in your hands to do something to ensure that the physical copies arrive before or at the same time as the downloads and therefore it is less relevant, but once it's released it's a great way to satisfy the desire to get playing

[Tsak]

Yes, this is also a good way to ensure that once the game is released everyone will get instant access at the same time. So physical backers don't need to wait for their turn and delivery to arrive, while digital ones also don't need to get their copy delayed due to the physical production run.

[Amiga1992]

I just had a very quick play of the demo with WinUAE. The game looks freaking amazing!

Great polish, sounds, music... really well thought out...

I still don't know what difference the different weapon elements make, but I'd be delighted to figure it out as I play. Also the L/R weapons? Can I have more than one weapon at once?

I know this is far ahead in development, but I couldn't help thinking that it would be great to have a "semi-twin stick" shooting system for the game. If you ever played Gunstar Heroes or Alien Soldier on the Megadrive, you know. It's a way to lock the direction of my firing in a certain direction so I can move without changing where I am firing at.

Anyway, that was my only thought, I really like everything else about the game

[Tsak]

Originally Posted by Akira

I just had a very quick play of the demo with WinUAE. The game looks freaking amazing!

Great polish, sounds, music... really well thought out...

I still don't know what difference the different weapon elements make, but I'd be delighted to figure it out as I play. Also the L/R weapons? Can I have more than one weapon at once?

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding Elements, if equiped they will add specific attributes to your shot. F.e. your default element Fire does the most damage, then Earth (green) pushes enemies back, Ice (blue) will slow down enemies you shoot and Ether (purple) destroys enemy shots. You can freely equip whatever element you like in one of the 2 weapons equipped in your HUD slots.

Note here that each Element upgrade you take can unlock more abilities per Element (as well as enhancing current abilities). F.e. if Earth is upgraded to level 1, next to "pushback" will be added the ability to "smash enemies" (means if you push enemies against obstacles they recieve ++damage). There are a couple of extra abilities hidden inside the upgrade tree of each Element which I'll leave for you guys to discover

Now, regarding the L/R weapon slots, to equip both, open the inventory, go to the empty slot and press fire. Then the game will let you select a Weapon and an Element combo to equip there. Note also that you can use quick keys to change Weapons or Elements on the fly and in-game without opening the inventory. Press 1-7 for Weapons or F1-F7 for Elements to equip them.

Having explained the above I think it's good to give a better description of the L-R HUD weapon slots functionality also. After you equip both slots, you can then rapidly alternate between them and shoot either Weapon/Element combo. So for example you can equip to your left slot SNIPER/FIRE and to the right slot SPREAD/ICE. Note you can shoot one of those at a time, but not both of them at once.
Now if you have a 1 button joystick you can change what slot you're currently using (L or R) by pressing double fire (this will immediately fire the second weapon and the second slot will be selected). If you have a 2 button joystick or CD32 joypad there are control configurations you can select that allow you to shoot each slot from a different button.

This whole system gives room basically for interesting weapon combos and strategies. F.e. going back to the SNIPER/FIRE, SPREAD/ICE combo above you can use as your primary weapon the SNIPER and when things get tough and you are outruned by numerous enemies, shoot a salvo with your SPERAD/ICE to slow them down and then switch to your SNIPER again to finish them off. Cool huh?

Originally Posted by Akira

I know this is far ahead in development, but I couldn't help thinking that it would be great to have a "semi-twin stick" shooting system for the game. If you ever played Gunstar Heroes or Alien Soldier on the Megadrive, you know. It's a way to lock the direction of my firing in a certain direction so I can move without changing where I am firing at.

Anyway, that was my only thought, I really like everything else about the game

This was actually proposed long time ago, in the development thread. While I've tried this system already in the Chaos Guns demos and fits/works perfectly, Alarcity is way more mobile/kinetic in it's concept and I'd like to try something different. What we've come up with is implement a couple more weapons that actually have or serve a similar functionality. Some ideas are a backfire weapon, a loop weapon (swings around you) and a mine weapon (could be also a new Element). These additionally fit well with the existing dual HUD weapon slots system. f.e. you could equip and use as a secondary weapon the backfire that allows you to run away while shooting at your enemies. However nothing from the above is set to stone yet.

[Gzegzolka]

How about making enemy blob that will from time to time toss mines on ground? or when killed create small splat zone with some kind of effect on player like temporary slow down if You step into that spot?

[MartinW]

Well, I pre-ordered in the end yesterday and despite everything I said on the topic of preorders and physical media, I decided I would like physical media and the decision to also send out a download link pushed me also.

Physical CD ordered

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by Tsak

This was actually proposed long time ago, in the development thread. While I've tried this system already in the Chaos Guns demos and fits/works perfectly, Alarcity is way more mobile/kinetic in it's concept and I'd like to try something different. What we've come up with is implement a couple more weapons that actually have or serve a similar functionality. Some ideas are a backfire weapon, a loop weapon (swings around you) and a mine weapon (could be also a new Element). These additionally fit well with the existing dual HUD weapon slots system. f.e. you could equip and use as a secondary weapon the backfire that allows you to run away while shooting at your enemies. However nothing from the above is set to stone yet.

I knew you probably had experimented with this before. I can see from the little taster I had of the game that a lot of thought has been put into this game and I wish every new Amiga game being sold today had as much care put in it as yours, this is truly how things should be done. Congratulations!!

[Shatterhand]

Originally Posted by Tsak

Time for a new update on the preorders so far:

-Digital/Silver: 9
-Physical/Silver: 14
-Physical/Gold: 36

Total: 59

I really expected this was having more orders. I can't run it on my hardware (no AGA system), but the game indeed looks great from videos and screenshots.

I really hope you guys get better numbers than this and the game is a success. Like has been said, it's clear a lot of care has been given to the game and it looks great.

[Tsak]

@MartinW @Akira @Shatterhand :
Thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by Shatterhand

I really expected this was having more orders. I can't run it on my hardware (no AGA system), but the game indeed looks great from videos and screenshots.

I really hope you guys get better numbers than this and the game is a success. Like has been said, it's clear a lot of care has been given to the game and it looks great.

I don't know, I don't want to sound bitter or ungrateful but we also expected the campaign, the trailer and the demo would have generated more interest overall (translated to presales I mean - as the general feedback so far is quite good actually). It kinda makes you wonder if it's worth it to really put this much effort to a project of this caliber. If creating a much smaller, simpler game you can generate the same level of support (or more) then why bother, why take the risk? I think this could also be an answer to "why the amiga homebrew scene is not as impressive" (in a sense).

On the other hand, thankfully and as an answer to the above questions, we're not doing this -just- for the support (and this is also true for all the other Amiga projects out there). There's a real feel of pride and accomplisment involved here and in the end we just LOVE Amiga too much to get disheartened

Other than that and for the sake of the general discussion about Amiga games funding (which interests a lot of new Amiga games in the making and their developers) I wonder if the fact that AlarCity is an AGA game plays that major role on the success or not - indeed.

[Amiga1992]

I also expected you'd get a LOT more digital orders, but nope.
It's really sad. Makes me very angry at the lack of support people have for new Amiga games that are done properly, especially when people then have the cheek to ask "why is the homebrew scene not as good?"

I don't think it has to do with the game being AGA only, I just think the whiny world of Amiga users is very cheap, except maybe those who collect.

There's a shit ton more currently active users of Amiga computers than 59

[terexuk]

Originally Posted by Akira

I also expected you'd get a LOT more digital orders, but nope.
It's really sad. Makes me very angry at the lack of support people have for new Amiga games that are done properly, especially when people then have the cheek to ask "why is the homebrew scene not as good?"

I don't think it has to do with the game being AGA only, I just think the whiny world of Amiga users is very cheap, except maybe those who collect.

There's a shit ton more currently active users of Amiga computers than 59

Most likely waitlng for the cracked version in true amiga fashion

[Shatterhand]

I know it was a joke, but do people use any kind of copy protection on new games for Amiga ? Will Alarcity have one? :P