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Death-Cargo - The Possible Scam Fighting Game That May Not Exist - Out Now!

I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
http://kotaku.com/the-curious-game-that-might-not-exist-1574075044

Fighting games don't get a lot of love from the mainstream video game industry these days. So when someone—anyone—comes along promising to bring back the supremely gory glory of nineties-era arcade classics like Mortal Kombat into the modern era, genre-inclined gamers will listen.P

Necrostorm, an obscure Italian studio that mostly trades in a gruesome sub-genre of indie horror movies known as "splatter films," has gotten a lot of people hooked this way with its game Death Cargo since it was first announced in 2011. Judging by footage Necrostorm claimed was from beta gameplay, Death Cargo looked like it was exactly the kind of gorefest fans of the genre have been hungry for. P

The only problem? It's not clear if Death Cargo actually exists. After pushing the game's release back several times, Necrostorm said that it launched in March of this year. Ever since then, however, customers who either pre-ordered the game or tried to purchase it on the company's website haven't received working copies. Many have taken to popular fighting game forums like SRK and Test Your Might (TYM) to air their grievances, saying that when they tried to bring this to Necrostorm's attention of the game's official forums, they were issued bans and threats of legal action.

mulmf5db8mxhrz8sdn3z.gif
Click to expand...

From the original shoryuken thread here (now locked) http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/133655/death-cargo/p10:

Hello to all of you. I am posting here to set down honestly and accurately a very bad experience I had with a game publisher from Europe. I only ask that you draw your own conclusions and urge you to consider your options carefully when (if) you decide to deal with this company.
I wanted to try something different and support a new game developer, so I pre-ordered a fighting game called 'Death Cargo' from a company called 'Necrostorm' who before then, had only made low budget splatter movies.

To cut a very long story short, the timeline goes something like this.
Mid December 2013..preordered the game.
January 2014..awaited the promised game demo so I could sample the game I had bought...it never appeared...technical excuses given.
February/March 2014..awaited arrival of my game by mail. For some reason they did not do digital download at all. Ive since come to realise it was because they didn't yet have the technical know-how or capacity to do that. Game never arrived. Necrostrom began to say "Hey it's not us..it's customs'..it's your country's fault."

Other's began to surface one the website forums with the same issue from many countries. Constantly I would read Necrostorm's replies saying 'Hey it's only 20 people out or 3000 that didn't get it"...but that just didn't seem to ring true for me.
So..next a few weeks later Necrostorm say "we are supporting you....we will download the dvd to our servers and you can download." So the date for that download arrives (I think it was march 14 but im not totally sure on that)...anyway...the download never appears...technical excuses given.
So next they say..."We want to support you...we will give you special exclusive content to download...we will send another copy"....I can tell you right now that the second copy never arrived.

By this time the 'brawl chat' section of their forum is full of angry and upset people. Most of their comments are deleted and edited out. One very unhappy kid was actually threatened with a 'defamation' suit....the poor kid was clearly very shocked and frightened by this....shortly after that the chat was closed to all.

So...next they say.."don't worry..we are stepping up production of the digital download version just for you 20 people..we want to support you...we are spending 4000 euros to make that happen"....as of today the digital download does not exist. Also a company spending 4000 euros on 20 people clearly doesn't make much sense when all youd have to do for those 20 people is Fed-Ex and parcel track the game and they would receive it within 48 hours...nothing about their actions seemed to make any sense.

So I look online for any screenshots or gamplay video from the finished game (not the beta demo)..there's virtually nothing..to answer this Necrostorm say..."sure the game is released and many people have it..but you aren't allowed to post video footage...it's Italian law (yes the company is from Italy).

By this time im thinking...I am the most stupid ass-hole on planet earth for putting up with this.
By this time I have sent many e-mails...Always their reply is...."but look at how we are supporting you...we made extra content...we stepped up production of digital download, we did this, we did that"...and by this time I can't figure out what's real and what's an empty promise.

They didn't seem to understand that all of those things they were saying meant absolutely nothing to someone who never even received the game.
So finally (maybe 2 days ago) I sent an email suggesting that an investigation into their business practices wouldn't be a bad idea.
Well...funnily enough, after saying that...they demonstrated that while they were terrible and game manufacture and distribution...they were apparently very skilful at covering their own ass....To their credit I received a refund within minutes (26 euros)....but....they also informed me that I had been blacklisted for my comment.
So..naturally I was curious to see what they had done.....so...heres what also happened within minutes.......website membership revoked, facebook page blocked, lifetime ban on their products enforced...etc etc....and I'm thinking "jesus...they clearly must have had a lot of practice at this"

I posted all this because I wanted to share my experience without it being blocked or censored by them. I wanted a neutral forum to tell people about this.
There will probably be a lot of people who will say..hey that's not my experience..and that's fine..all I'm saying is that this was mine...and it was fucking horrible.

I honestly still don't know if the game exists...apparently people in Germany got it but I still can't confirm that.

Like I said to them in my final e-mail to them "I wasn't some troll...I was a fan."

I'm not going to make any additional comments or try to get in an insult...that's not my way...and if some day a package from them does arrive I will do the right thing and sent it back unopened..because I have been refunded, Im not a freeloader or an opportunist...I chose to live my life honestly. Also I don't want to play a game made by a company that seems to despise me.

So..there it is...you have the facts...and you can make you're own decision.
Click to expand...

Anybody brave want to try and buy it? OUT NOW!

http://www.necrostorm.com/games/deathcargo/deathcargo.html

Someone post mirrors for the beta footage, all the ones I had have taken copyright strikes.
 
A

antitrop

Member
This whole game has been a fascinating story. I didn't expect it to turn out a scam, though. Those download instructions read like a parody!
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
antitrop said:
This whole game has been a fascinating story. I didn't expect it to turn out a scam, though. Those download instructions read like a parody!
Click to expand...

I would think their breakthrough DRM that allows them to press uniquely coded discs with unique activation codes for each user would be a newsworthy development!
 
M

Mask

Member
Oh, it's THAT game again!

I remember one of the devs making a thread on /v/ a few years ago, and eventually having a meltdown after people kept comparing it to Mortal Kombat. Strange, strange person, that dev was.

Have they increased the brightness of the game? All the pictures I saw were too dark, and nearly impossible to pick out the details clearly.
 
G

GuitarAtomik

Member
It's funny. I haven't payed much attention to this game beyond watching a few youtube videos, but knowing how long ago I saw the first one, and how little media had been released since, I was certain it would never actually release. I didn't think it would turn out like this though. Craziness.
 
L

Lernaean

Banned
I can say that even though it's almost certain to me that this game is either a scam or a very tasteless elaborate prank, this video they have looks absolutely amazing to me and i'd be glad to give money for something like it if it existed, even if it has only 6 characters as it claims (lol here).

Except from the obvious live action fatality in the end, that was sloppy :p
 
C

C-Sword

Member
It's a scam, they never finished the game. They keep bringing up some italian law that forbids gamers from posting screenshots and videos of the game,


From an Italian member on srk

The "famous" law they're using: "Art. 45, Codice 5". It has NOTHING to do with copyright. It is a law about how a person cannot be charged with crimes if the crime was committed under particular circumstances (e.g: self defense). Even if they were to pick the right law about copyright, they would still be in the wrong, because the sharing of screenshots or videos, would still fall under Local AND European Directives about Fair Use.
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
My favorite quote from the shoryuken thread on the game, in response to the suggestion that someone pirate it:

"Unfortunately, this game has the best DRM ever. Hard to pirate a game that doesn't exist."
Click to expand...
 
CamHostage

CamHostage

Member
Oh yeah, this game!

Sad that it's turning out to be a clusterscrew (though it seems like a lot of work done just to bilk people, I feel like it's more likely ineptitude backed by hubris instead of just pure criminal intent that's causing this trouble.) It wasn't going to be a good game, in all likelyhood, but it's great to see the digitization technology in use somewhere in the world.

Whatever the case, I feel like the company's Youtube page is worth giving 26 euros even if it is free...
 
S

Stone Ocean

Member
They had a working demo - albeit terribad - but I never thought this would actually get released.

It definitely sounds like a scam
 
U

UltraGunner

Banned
Hope this dev gets nothing but shit for making a fighting game that has stages with ELEMENTS BLOCKING THE FUCKING FOREGROUNDS... also for it maybe being a scam.
 
D

Dynamite Shikoku

Congratulations, you really deserve it!
Maybe they realised they would never get it finished and thought, 'fuck it let's try to just get some money and be done with it'. Pretty shitty if true.
 
S

Sub Zero

his body's cold as ice, but he's got a heart of gold
Wow, I remember following this game when it was announced, was pretty excited about it since it looked pretty similar to the first MK games. I was expecting it to be cancelled as it was in development hell for more than 3 years but now this explains it all. Shame on them if true

Hmmm, I was pretty sure though that this Necrostorm "company" was brazilian
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Level-headed comment on the article.

This game always looked terrible, but I wanted it just to support the ridiculous Troma-like finishers. That's the kind of dumb I love.

But yeah... in light of all this, even if the game does turn out to exist and they just fucked up the launch, there's no way I'm going to chip in for such sleazy customer support. That's really messed up.
Click to expand...

I don't see a problem with the service...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79eYGjj-eq4
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
The author's going to follow up in five days to see if an functional game from the company is an achievable result.

deathcargokotakutwitter.png


For my part, I think the 6,000 in sales Necrostorm has quoted is a complete made-up bullshit number, and the 20 people who haven't received their game (probably slightly more now) are in fact the "marks," i.e. the only ones who paid money for the game and thus got ripped off because there is no game.

Honestly it must be the relatively small impact and victim pool of this scam that translates to nobody giving a shit (though I did get an amusing screenshot out of the deal):

deathcargokotakureddit.png
Click to expand...
 
L

Lemstar

Member
$h@d0w said:
This could be an elaborate way to garner kickstarter/greenlight interest.
Click to expand...
The first trailers for the game came out more than three years ago. Given that the developers (or whoever represents them on the internet, anyway) have been similarly dumb that entire period, that's a hell of an act. It seems a lot more plausible to believe that they're just incompetent.

Besides, Necrostorm is an actual company. Even if their gaming division has no idea what they're doing, their gore films seem to be pretty well-received in that niche.
 
M

Mupod

Member
Mask said:
Oh, it's THAT game again!

I remember one of the devs making a thread on /v/ a few years ago, and eventually having a meltdown after people kept comparing it to Mortal Kombat. Strange, strange person, that dev was.

Have they increased the brightness of the game? All the pictures I saw were too dark, and nearly impossible to pick out the details clearly.
Click to expand...

That guy was funny as hell, I'm still not sure to this day if he was just a persistent troll or a completely insane dev. I'm pretty sure he was actually just Superior Limb Based Combat Tekken Guy though, they surfaced around the same time and had exactly the same kind of posting habits.

The game must exist in some form because I did play that beta/demo years ago. I mean, it completely sucked ass, but that's no surprise.
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Vlaphor said:
Well, they did release a trailer today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2xdeSgf1SA

Now let's see the videos/screenshots from the thousands of people who have already received the game...
Click to expand...

I can't remember actually being in suspense as to whether or not a game on sale actually exists before.

Surely a Giant Bomb Quick Look is in order on this one.
 
M

Manu

Member
These guys are absolute jokes. I've seen them register in two separate forums (Mortal Kombat Online, and a local fighting game community... yeah, really) to talk shit about anyone who said anything remotely bad about the game. Totally unprofessional.
 
C

CiroContinisio

Neo Member
We have a 9-pages thread on IndieVault with a response from the PR of the company (she didn't get too much love from us). Shame for you it's all in Italian.
http://www.indievault.it/forum/showthread.php?tid=12739

In short: she said people are dumb to criticise, and that they have to wait. After a couple of posts, she was banned for general offences by one of our mods.

Now the trailer is out for everyone to see. The rest, is history.
 
D

danmaku

Member
Sounds like the game was never finished and they're trying to sell it anyway. Or maybe they're just very late with the development, but in this case their behavior is totally fucking crazy. Insulting and menacing legal actions left and right? yeah, that's how you sell a game!

Besides, considering how the game looks, what else did they expect? it's obvious that it would only appeal to a niche of nostalgic 90s gamers. And they make splatter movies, ffs! Aren't they used to people saying their work is garbage?
 
K

Keirnoth

Banned
Vlaphor said:
Well, they did release a trailer today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2xdeSgf1SA

Now let's see the videos/screenshots from the thousands of people who have already received the game...
Click to expand...

Some idiot named "Evil Times" has been responding to every negative comment about this game with a dumb reply of "Lame". Apparently this is the only guy in the entire fucking world who received an advance copy of this game that doesn't exist.

Either that, or he's obviously someone the dev knows and has asked to shill for the game.

He's pretty bad at it. Posts like a fucking robot/PR machine.
 
T

T.O.P

Banned
CiroContinisio said:
We have a 9-pages thread on IndieVault with a response from the PR of the company (she didn't get too much love from us). Shame for you it's all in Italian.
http://www.indievault.it/forum/showthread.php?tid=12739

In short: she said people are dumb to criticise, and that they have to wait. After a couple of posts, she was banned for general offences by one of our mods.

Now the trailer is out for everyone to see. The rest, is history.
Click to expand...

Gentilissima sta Michela, già parte con la diffamazione in circa 4 righe lol

Se la moderazione delle pagine che chiediamo non avviene, ci vediamo costretti a depositare la Querela che è già stata scritta dal nostro legale, presso la Procura della Repubblica.
Ovviamente la polizia farà le indagini e le responsabilità non saranno semplicemente dei singoli utenti ma anche dei forum che contengono questi contenuti diffamatori. Quindi anche i proprietari dei siti web hanno responsabilità legale nella gestione dei contenuti sui loro siti.
Click to expand...

buahahaha
 
M

mclem

Member
ActionRemix said:
Huh?
Click to expand...

One of the premises of Frog Fractions 2 was that it wouldn't be called Frog Fractions 2 but would instead claim to be something else to give a similar 'peeling away the layers of weirdness' aspect completely unexpectedly. So, of course, the take-away from the Kickstarter was a feeling that *anything* with a weird backstory might be Frog Fractions 2
 
C

cacildo

Member
The fact that they are not answering calls gives me hopes of seeing my dream became reality: a game developer of horror games that seems CURSED and EVIL

And one day you will see a game box that is all black only with the system tag on, and when you buy the game out of curiosity... YOU DIE
 
I

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
We need a GAF investigator to try and buy this game but I'm... uh... low on funds right now... yeah...

not it
 
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