I agree those are some good suggestions!
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Nice idea @Bentware, being a small time indie myself, I have thought of a USB stick as a distribution medium, don’t have a need for distribution yet though.
Just wanted to say that your pledge structure seems perfectly reasonable to me, but “Backer” is a terrible title to slap on someone in-game. I know most people don’t give a damn about the consistency of the roleplay environment (especially in an arena game), but it kind of shatters the world building efforts. Plus, it just doesn’t seem very fun!
If it’s just a forum title, on the other hand, I’m super-plus-plus OK with that (though, it’s still not very fun. But I’m not happy with any of my replacement ideas, either, so meh).
It would be kind of cool if these things transferred over to Infinity as well, especially things like ship decals. Custom avatar backgrounds for kickstarter supporters, if the day ever comes when there’s an in-game avatar system (ala EVE) would be kind of cool, too.
Maybe even add a Custom Title tier at a higher dollar figure. (I’d consider paying for a ‘Reporter’ title, for instance.)
Good point. I completely agree. Perhaps something like ‘Pioneer’ or ‘Scout’ could be the $5 title.
At the $20 tier you could get to choose from a few like ‘Explorer’ and ‘Recon’.
Some other random ideas: Scientist, Miner, Engineer, Cartographer.
I’m trying to avoid military ranks as I don’t like the idea of people buying ranks. A rank should be earned.
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On behalf of engineers and scientists everywhere, I resent that implication.
Did you sign up for federal service before or after the bugs hit BA?
Anyway, I don’t see a problem with an exclusive high level backers ship. I don’t even think it should be purely cosmetic. If they do it, it should actually be a different ship, with slightly different stats, it just shouldn’t offer any real advantage.
Another thought. I don’t know what’s usual with kickstarter, but is there a risk that a significant jump in development time for stretch goals could put people off bidding for more than the base game?
IBS will be a pew pew game. Essentially a military game.
If it were a game based on scientific knowledge/skill then I would be fine with people buying military ranks but I would not be happy with people being able to buy titles indicating a level of scientific skill/achievement.
It’s about context for me.
Having said that, in most games player progression is not usually based on continuous assessment of ability but instead can be boiled down to how long the player has played.
I would like IBS to break this pattern.
@INovaeKeith, if you guys get only the minimum goal, will you keep improving IB with the money you get from it, or will you release it and go straight to the mmo kickstarter?
Im asking because if its the first case, the kickstarter can be handled like Star Citizen, where you pitch the full game with all features while using the goal for the simple game. Then you can say that if you get minimum, the full game would eventually be made with expansions, if the money is enough.
As far as I am concerned I:B crowd funding is separate from the Infinity MMO.
Sorry H, should have made it more obvious I was joking.
Although I wonder if military titles is entirely appropriate anyway? I assume BS is planned to represent Corp battles, so would company positions be an alternative?
I’m thinking of the way people use terms like “security contractors” when they mean “mercs”.
@AngryMarine The current plan is to only use revenue from I:B and possibly another Kickstarter to fund the MMO. If I:B were to raise some crazy amount of millions of dollars then I could see us holding some in reserve and rolling it over into the MMO.
@CaptainRogers The expected change in dev time due to hitting stretch goals isn’t so severe that I think you’ll see a major jump in dev time. Maybe a year max but probably less. If we raise enough money we want to get an actual physical office so that we can all work together in the same place and that would increase our ramp up time slightly while we acquire the office and then relocate everybody. We’d also be able to hire a few more people so there would be the associated cost of finding and then hiring those people.
Im not sure I expressed myself well enough.
I meant that, in case only the minimum for IB gets funded, will the profit from the released game(IB) be used to add the extra features that were missing, or would that money go straight into reducing the goal of the kickstarter for the mmo?
I think in this scenario, only the MOD tools would be added after I:B has shipped if that stretch goal was not reached during the crowd funding (there is a level of I:B support required as well), the rest of the profits towards the MMO, which is the ultimate goal.
Edit: IMO 
They could make up there own titles like War master. Or anything else I can steal from B5. /shrug
True, but I kind of like the idea of using corporate style job descriptions.
You could move up from “junior elimination technician” to “acquisitions project manager” or maybe even “director of system defense”.
But that’s just the way my mind works. Anyway, I’m wandering hugely off topic.
Glad to hear the idea is to release a modable version later, even if it doesn’t make the stretch goal.
Agh!
Seem to be having trouble posting from my phone. Not sure how many posts I’ve accidentally reported, either.
So a modable version should pretty much allow people to make whatever game they like, within reason. But if the devs develope features for infinity after release that can be ported over, it may be am idea to keep updating BS. Could be a good testing ground for things like clouds, trees, even procedural cities. Although, they might want to save some surprises for the MMO.
As far as longevity is concerned we do have some ideas for DLC however the hope is that by releasing mod tools we can unleash the creativity in the community and they can find new, exciting ways to extend the shelf life of the game. We’re very excited by the possibilities of what other people will be able to create with our tech =).
I really cannot wait for the mod tools let alone the game.
@hrobertson Here are a few suggestions for the kick starter pledge amounts.
$80.00 USD - Early Access Modder (Early Bird) - Early access to the mod tools + 3 Copies of the game + Above Rewards (Limited Number)
$100.00 USD - Early Access Modder - Early access to the mod tools + 3 Copies of the game + Above Reward
$250.00 USD - Smuggler - Start the game with a heavily modified Hellion star ship made for convoy raiding + Access to Alpha and Beta + All of the above rewards.
$500 USD - Star fighter Squadron - Start each game with a custom Star fighter or Bomber (Within verse specifications) made just for you and your clan + Access to Alpha and Beta + All of the above rewards. (Limited Number)
$1,000 USD - Admiral of the Fleet - Start each game with a Custom Capital Ship made (Within verse specifications) just for you + 25 copies of the game + Access to Alpha and Beta + All of the above rewards. (Limited Number)
$2,500 USD - Cosmic Entity - Name a planet or another celestial body after yourself, loved one, friend, or arch-nemesis + the define the features of that celestial body (Gas Giant, Moon, Earth-like, Lava, etc.) + An Custom Ship (Within verse specifications) for exploration + Access to Alpha and Beta + 35 copies of the game + Access to all future DLC/expansions for Infinity Battlescape + Bi-Monthly Progress reports from the developers themselves.
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Updated the $2,500 mark.
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Updated the $2,500 Mark
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Removed 2,500 USD Pledge level.
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Re-added the 2,500 mark
Really, I think 2.500 dollars just to name a celestial body is too much. Maybe an option to make an alien race on that planet as well?
I think paying money to name celestial bodies is a repugnant idea… You want to name something? Name a ship, or have yourself in game as an NPC or something, but heavenly bodies? Those are the domain of the writers and world builders.