There's no trusted third party here, so they could be (and most likely are) simply pulling those numbers out of their asses.
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Ex-STALKER devs want to kickstart its "definitive spiritual successor", named Areal
- Thread starter angular graphics
- Start date
There's no trusted third party here, so they could be (and most likely are) simply pulling those numbers out of their asses.
VibratingDonkey
Member
There's really no need to worry about it any longer. It's just impossible to feel any sympathy for those who would willingly give money to these people at this point. If they exist, all hope is lost with them.
Terrible_Majesty
Member
hmmm...right about that counter. but whats to stop the same two ppl who donated over 10k in a couple days from sabotaging this again? that blue scaly wolf thing is growing on me lol. if they lose their money, then they should sue. if they make areal areal game then it will be a revelation.
VibratingDonkey
Member
There wouldn't be much point in pledging a large amount with the intent to pull out last minute, because there is no last minute, no deadline. There's no nothing really. You'd just hassle yourself having to get Paypal to refund the transaction. Oh yeah and you'd also need to actually have the money and actually send it, since this is a direct transaction. Hm, wonder who the recipient is...
If the kickstarter was suspended because it was found West Games were responsible for the large donations, then the answer would be; Nothing. There's nothing stopping them from sabotaging this again. Although you could argue how much is left to be done in that area.
You could argue that someone set up a fake account during the campaign as a joke, but you would have to ignore the bit where it says "Joined Sep 2013"
So yeah, this appears to prove Eugene Kim pledged to his own project. How much is unknown, but one could wager a guess.
I say "appears to" because there's no identity verification, but really, what are the odds that this is not actually his account?
skullmuffins
Banned
1. You're assuming the 10k donors were some sort of troll sabotage effort instead of the devs donating to themselves to get their flailing project over the funding goal so they'd get the money.
2. I don't see anything about getting a refund if their self-run funding campaign doesn't hit the goal. They're going to keep the money regardless. How would you "sabotage" their own campaign? Try to donate fishy amounts to get their paypal locked down?
Terrible_Majesty
Member
hmm. yeah well this situation reeks of incompetence and unprofessionalism. its one thing to accuse others of misiformation yet it becomes something else altogether when said party is caught with their paws in the cookie jar that is kickstarter.
If people are still interested in the gift that keeps on giving, it appears that WG is giving the East and West two very different accounts of what happened...
Here's what they're telling English-speakers:
And here's what they're telling Russian-speakers:
which roughly translates to:
Here's what they're telling English-speakers:
And here's what they're telling Russian-speakers:
which roughly translates to:
TheBaronOfNA
Banned
They truly sound like scammers.
I had completely missed out on this piece of news and I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Eurogamer just posted an article called "Dodgy crowdfunding project Areal returns as Stalker Apocalypse".
Can't wait to hear if Putin will get involved with this new game.
Can't wait to hear if Putin will get involved with this new game.
TheVoidDragon
Member
It makes it all seem even worse. In a few months they've supposedly completely abandoned the previous game they worked on for quite a while and have now changed it to a different game, despite taking money for Areal. Either that or they've simply renamed Areal. Once again they are trying to use the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series to get them funding instead of showing they actually know what they are doing or are even capable of making a game.
DouglasteR
Member
This must be a zone anomaly.
It seems that Areal hired Cleverbot for PR.
RenegadeXV8
Banned
I wouldn't be surprised if they created the World Wide Funder site to try to make it seem more legitimate, but if you spend a couple minutes looking around the site, it looks even more like a scam. Not only is the layout straight up lifted from Kickstarter, but most of the projects are based in the Ukraine, none of them are anywhere close to reaching a goal, and they're all ridiculous propositions.
And, well, there's this from the FAQ:
At this point it's just kinda sad.
And, well, there's this from the FAQ:
At this point it's just kinda sad.
Yes, at this point (and not before), it's "kinda" sad.
Veritigo_X
Member
I had forgotten about this whole situation. Funny that the game is called Stalker instead of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. like the real games. Here's what they had to say about that:
SadamBober
Neo Member
I googled a bit and yes, it looks like they did.
Here's the first mention of the site, check the guy's name
http://pikabu.ru/story/vzaimovyiruchka_2689710
http://west-games.com/author/fekkolper/
https://vk.com/wall132936850_1861
Ingueferroque
Banned
Damn...
Veritigo_X
Member
Each time this thread pups up I get even sadder that this is a scam and we are likely to never get a sequel to Stalker
Not really a single player experience like Stalker, but Survarium looks promising and has some favorable hands-on reviews. Unlike Areal and this new "Stalker" game, it seems like it might actually come out.
Looks like even the funding site is fake - lot of suspicious things:
http://www.reddit.com/r/ArealRumors/comments/2n8brq/well_build_our_own_kickstarter_with_areal_and/
http://www.reddit.com/r/ArealRumors/comments/2n8brq/well_build_our_own_kickstarter_with_areal_and/
Stratosphere
Member
Oh man. The gift that keeps on giving. Thanks West Games!
SolidSnakeUS
Member
It's like watching a train wreck. You can't look away.
Jay Shadow
Member
Yes, Stalker is a common word. Screws are common objects. So sure, putting a screw between each letter in the word Stalker for your logo is totally acceptable...
Gamesadict
Member
This is exactly what I expected when I went to the main page of that site. It was suspicious how this game was the only thing being featured in the big slideshow, while the other 2 are stock pictures with no description.
Sentenza
Member
I'm with you. The most infuriating part of this travesty is that I would actually be all over a genuine attempt to recreate a STALKER-like from competent developers.
Hell, that's almost an understatement. It could easily be one of my most anticipated projects in years.
We could buy the rights.
I'm not joking.
They're owned by that one bloke, whatshisname. Everyone on Gaf pitches in ten dollars. We buy the IP and create a remaster of the original three games to cover our costs. We then take weekly democratic votes on what to do with the franchise.
'Gaf owns an IP'.
Think about it.
This morning they had a few questions on the "Ask ME Anything" Page. Now those (embarrassing) questions are cloaked.
It is obvious that they went back to the drawing board and decided the problem was they did not control the reactions of Kickstarter and Reddit, ....So they changed those conditions and now control the crowdfunding vehicle and messaging forum.
It is obvious that they went back to the drawing board and decided the problem was they did not control the reactions of Kickstarter and Reddit, ....So they changed those conditions and now control the crowdfunding vehicle and messaging forum.
They edited their faq and deleted the second paragraph. Also (exactly) this page can't be crawled:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://wfunder.com/faq
Living Proof
Member
*shivers*
Denton
Member
Grigorovich would never sell. The Vostok guys tried to get IP to continue STALKER 2 development, no success.
As much as I despise him for cancelling the game and disbanding the studio, I do wish he would sue these clowns into oblivion. Pissing all over STALKER's legacy.
west-games.com, eugene-kim.com and wfunder.com share the same Google Analytics Account:
http://w3bin.com/domain/wfunder.com
http://w3bin.com/domain/wfunder.com
Brerlappin
Member
Pathetic.
WFunder "not associated" with West Games.
http://www.bluesnews.com/s/157588/world-wide-funder-refutes-stalker-apocalypse-collusion
....even though "Leonid Kovtun is a member of our company."
If we say it aint so, then it aint so, even if it is so.
http://www.bluesnews.com/s/157588/world-wide-funder-refutes-stalker-apocalypse-collusion
....even though "Leonid Kovtun is a member of our company."
If we say it aint so, then it aint so, even if it is so.
VibratingDonkey
Member
Oh man.
These guys!
"We're not affiliated with those guys, but they sure are spectacularly handsome and cool and not fat at all and you should stop saying bad things about u..them and we hope they'll make $600k."
These guys!
It seems that World Wide Funder is gone:
http://wfunder.com
According to whois.net the domain registration would also expire on 02.09.2015.
http://wfunder.com
According to whois.net the domain registration would also expire on 02.09.2015.
Anton Sugar
Member
Shocking.
Veritigo_X
Member
Anyone know how much money they managed to make?
Omega Kirby
Member
Just give me S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 already.
As of Feb. 1, 2015: $16,026 pledged of $600,000
https://web.archive.org/web/20150201085016/https://wfunder.com/project/185
TheVoidDragon
Member
That's not really a surprise at all. Doesn't that support that it was just a site made specifically for that project?