I wanted to do a quick check to see how you’re all feeling about Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. It’s not a super-scientific poll, of course, but I’m really interested in your views. Please take a second to vote below. I’ll keep this open until the end of the month so that we get a nice snapshot in time.
After you vote, please use this thread to highlight any questions you’d like answered. Also, let me know if there is anything you’d like to see to either keep your current excitement going if it’s already high or to build it up if you’re not currently feeling the Pantheon vibes.
5 - The most I’ve been excited about anything ever
I am personally really feeling like they just took my money and the game is never going to see the light of day. I have nearly given up and have written my money I gave to help develepoment and get into alpha as another loss to a game. Would of thought I would have learned by now.
My hope is that once we’ve moved to a testing phase when there are no NDAs in place we’ll be able to share more information and give a better view of the progress they’ve made so far.
I’ve backed a lot of different crowdfunded games, which haven’t turned out very well so far. That said, I do get a better feeling from Pantheon. I’ve looked through rose-colored glasses a few times before, but this one seems different.
It’s still an open question, of course. For my part, I’ll share as much as I can when I can. When that time comes, I hope it helps rekindle some of the excitement you may have had in the beginning.
Have to admit I was very excited when I purchased the Knights Pledge way back in September 2016. I can’t remember what the original projected Alpha date was, but we are long past that point. Now I understand that creating a quality game takes time, but we are not looking at “rookies” developing Pantheon. Sure, I knew there would be delays, but nothing like this. Here we are almost 3 years past the point when I purchased, and we have absolutely no idea when Alpha is going to arrive! So at this point, I have almost lost interest. And yes, I still have Everquest Next in the back of my mind!
I’d completely forgotten about EQ:Next! That one took my money too. It’s been a learning experience over these past few years. Way back when, I became weary of early access games. Games like Tabula Rasa, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online drew me in. For whatever reason, I did not apply the same skepticism when crowdfunding began to take off.
It seems like what will be the most helpful to get folks back on-board with confidence will be an Alpha. Before we get there, I’ll do my best to post summaries and highlights of things that look promising.
I don’t (and didn’t) pay for games that aren’t released. Fledgling studios can be in a difficult position trying to create their first game without little to no seed-funding, but I’m not willing to share the risk with them for only the benefit of maybe getting to play the game at some point. If I’m putting in money, I expect a return, or the thing I’m paying for; not the promise of something I’m paying for. There are so many released games out vying for my money and attention.
Having said all that, I am happily waiting for Pantheon. Personally, I’m not worried at all about the pace of development, and I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far. Creating a game is hard. Creating an MMO is the hardest. It will take experienced, talented, game developers several, several, years to create something playable.
The thing that keeps me excited is that there doesn’t seem to be anything else on the horizon like this: a slow, social, old-school MMO, which acknowledges there are several things about the past it has been resurrected from are no longer teneable.
This is the only game (or thing) have ever contributed to as a kickstarter, but I did so for two reasons.
1 ) I really want them to succeed, it’s been far too long since we have had a new good MMO to play.
2) The amount I donated I felt comfortable writing off if they did fail.
I can attest to how hard it is to make an MMORPG though. Not sure if any of you remember the game Alganon. It failed miserably due to several reasons, but I was the director of development and lead programmer for the game. While there were definitely design issues with it and the timing of when it was released didn’t help, the technology behind it was solid. We released what we did after 4 years of work, and for a fraction of the budget of every other AAA MMO. We probably would have done better with more time, but we were under pressure from investors.
With that in mind, yes it is very hard to make an MMO, especially a good one. But it is also very possible to make one with a limited budget. It all comes down to the age old development axiom: You can have something good, fast, and cheap, but you can only pick two. VR has picked good and cheap, which means it won’t be fast. But based on what they have been communicating and my own experience, I still have confidence that they will succeed.
As a non-dev, it can be a bit tough to sort through updates and keep a realistic perspective. The good/fast/cheap trade-off discussion is something I see in the enterprise software space as well. I really appreciate your development experience and insights. Your confidence gives me confidence.
I too have been burned on pre-funding titles.
Hoping Pantheon is different, and excited by what I have seen so far in developer blogs and test videos.
Only pledged for this one because I had the spare money at the time, otherwise would have waited.
Hi everyone.
I am new to the guild. I found you on the Pantheon forums after pledging. I was really skeptical about the game, but only pledged what I could afford to lose and not feel terrible. I am wanting for a game that is new but encapsulates what I liked about the past. I hope my pledge will help them get over the finish line.
I love the race/class system that is laid out so far. I am also hopeful that there won’t be a min/max element to the game. Some interviews with developers have said as much. It’s about the journey, not the destination.
I’m with you on the race and class design. I like what I’ve heard about the avoidance of a meta-game with one ideal group composition. If they’re able to balance around the ability of multiple classes to be relatively equal in their ability to fulfill certain roles, we should be in a good place.
I think this will be a really great game once it comes out. I hope they take their time and do it right. Now that i have classic wow to play i’m distracted from the delay
I think Classic WoW will be a nice way to spend some time as we wait for Pantheon to move forward through Alpha, Beta, and Release. I’m not sure how many Pantheon folks will be taking part, but it could also be a nice way to play together before we get to do so on Terminus.
I haven’t pledged yet so my interest level is still pretty high. I’m just looking forward to having a new fresh MMO to play with people and one with an older school feel to it.
I can understand starting to feel burned on backing an early access/pre-alpha product that is taking longer to come around than stated. I backed Star Citizen four years ago and it’s still in alpha and has a loooooooong ways to go still it feels like. Pledging to Star Citizen for much more than I am going to spend on pledging to Pantheon has given me the patience to wait it out hehe. I also pledged $100 to an indie MMO called The Repopulation too many years ago or me to remember when I pledged…had to have been 7+ years ago. That game fell through when the devs ran out of money and would have been gone with the wind had it not recently gotten picked up by a publisher and the alpha itself is being redone at this point. I am not not even sure it if The Repopulation will even ever release given it’s already shakey history
I don’t play WoW or WoW classic so I have gone back to LotRO for the time being catching up where I left off, but just soloing right now lvling my toon. I may go back to Elder Scrolls Online for a bit to get in on some group and raid action.
Regarding Everquest Next feelings about Pantheon, remember EQNext had nothing to do with Brad McQuaid or the company doing Pantheon.
I’ve beta pledged… but honestly, I am starting to wonder. Updates have been increasingly slim, and the over all industry buzz is all but gone. I mean, I hope they pull it off, and I know they have the talent and potential… but I am starting to wonder, after all this is not the first ship to sail these treacherous waters.
Hi everyone! I’m just in the application process for the guild right now but had to chime in anyways. Good MMOs as we all know take many years to develop and Pantheon in my mind is on track. Brad McQuaid did an interview on July 24th a few weeks ago and his words give indication that pre-alpha is wrapping up and the next wave should be the last in the pre-alpha stage. So I am hoping Pantheon will go into Alpha by the end of the year. Once we hit alpha some questions will be answered for sure. I took the leap today and pledged at Black Rose level so I’ll be able to see the game in alpha. From all the info that has come out I am so stoked for the game I can’t help but be optimistic. I’m all about the possibilities until it’s proven the game is a dud or won’t ever be complete.
