Since they are using works written by people other than Rod Serling, and also using images of actors (like the Hitchhiker) wouldn't they need to spread some of that around? Maybe even to CBS if they picked up the rights to the words and images, I dunno.
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Twilight Zone - The Pinball Arcade Kickstarter [Ended, $77K funded]
- Thread starter thekonamicode
- Start date
Since they are using works written by people other than Rod Serling, and also using images of actors (like the Hitchhiker) wouldn't they need to spread some of that around? Maybe even to CBS if they picked up the rights to the words and images, I dunno.
Minsc
Gold Member
It's looking like it'll reach the goal in the last few days (maybe even the final hours), things will slow down dramatically after this coming week unless FarSight does some amazing updates which seems unlikely.
Corleth the Fey
Member
They've added a $25 pledge. An exclusive Twilight Zone edition virtual pinball (which can be used on any of the tables in the Pinball Arcade!).
I just upped mine to it. Go Farsight!
I just upped mine to it. Go Farsight!
Done for $30 more than promised. Fucking love me some pinball, and any method that can bring new users in I'm down for.
Except for Twilight Zone, where it actually used "gumballs"... which is what I'm guessing they'll use (or was the inspiration behind it).
Seems like the perfect price/tier/reward point pour moi. About to go in.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
Going to back this, no questions about it. Just need to find my cc 
Sucks I won't get a code for 360 after PC got delayed since it was my platform of choice and 3DS sku seems vapoware at this point. I'll prolly choose PC (although the "it'll be sorted out possibly by the time TTZ table hits" bit sounds worrying) or iOS.
Can I pledge 3 x $10 instead of 1 x $25? I'd like to give a code out to friends/gaffers to hook 'em on the game.
Sucks I won't get a code for 360 after PC got delayed since it was my platform of choice and 3DS sku seems vapoware at this point. I'll prolly choose PC (although the "it'll be sorted out possibly by the time TTZ table hits" bit sounds worrying) or iOS.
Can I pledge 3 x $10 instead of 1 x $25? I'd like to give a code out to friends/gaffers to hook 'em on the game.
I guess you'd need three different accounts.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
3 different credit cards/paypal accounts?
Amazon payments won't let you use Paypal. Some kickstarters open a Paypal option, but they're only permitted to do so after they've hit the target amount (since Paypal takes money immediately, opening earlier would risk taking funds for a kickstarter which ends up failing.)
I still haven't chucked in yet. I'm confident it'll hit $55k. If it easily makes it, I'll probably throw in more if it means a better chance of getting TNG as well.
Hopefully once they hit it maybe they'll update the page with something like "OK, now we're going for the ST:TNG license. 5 days left. Go!" Or maybe we'll get lucky and they'll license that for cheap considering both it and TZ are from the same company.
Hopefully once they hit it maybe they'll update the page with something like "OK, now we're going for the ST:TNG license. 5 days left. Go!" Or maybe we'll get lucky and they'll license that for cheap considering both it and TZ are from the same company.
I really, really hope this makes it. Five years ago, after pumping dozens of hours into The Williams Collection for the Wii, my dad actually wrote Farsight an e-mail asking that they make The Twilight Zone machine, saying he'd pay 50 dollars just for that table alone. So when I told him they were finally doing it, he immediately pledged $50 and had the Kickstarter site open on his iPad all day, constantly refreshing the page. He waffled so much! "Oh man, it's up to 25K...they're probably going to make it!"...and then an hour later..."Oh no, it's only at 25.5...they're never going to make it!"
The thing is, if we can't get this table made now, it will never happen. Part of me wishes they'd just leave the Kickstarter open until it reaches its goal--but if it fails, it's not like they'll try this again in November.
The thing is, if we can't get this table made now, it will never happen. Part of me wishes they'd just leave the Kickstarter open until it reaches its goal--but if it fails, it's not like they'll try this again in November.
Minsc
Gold Member
Makes you wonder how much they actually make on DLC after the platform holder takes their 1/3rd and the license holders take their piece (not to mention afaik they get charged upfront for just submitting it to MS/Sony)... maybe they'd be lucky to walk out with 1/2. So $2 for a $4-5 DLC table, of which, $55K is licensing alone, + say another 20K for modeling/building/testing... looks like they'd need to sell 40,000 copies just to break even, probably 60,000 to make a decent profit. It definitely could be a big risk, compared to a normal table where they'd only have to make back the supposed $20K in building/testing by selling 10,000 or so copies.
Yeah, it'll be close, but I think it will make it. A lot of people get too caught up in the speed of the kickstarter increases, but if it held 20K a day for a month, it'd bring in 600K vs the asking 55K amount. It really only needs to move around 1-1.5K a day from here on in to hit the goal.
Yeah, it'll be close, but I think it will make it. A lot of people get too caught up in the speed of the kickstarter increases, but if it held 20K a day for a month, it'd bring in 600K vs the asking 55K amount. It really only needs to move around 1-1.5K a day from here on in to hit the goal.
Beer Monkey
Member
I'll throw in money at the last minute if it looks like it won't make it.
2048 vertical resolution in portrait mode on the iPad 3 is godly.
2048 vertical resolution in portrait mode on the iPad 3 is godly.
exmachina64
Banned
Very doubtful that CBS would do that. I'd recommend backing it now to make reaching the goal easier.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
No offense but, if everyone thinks like that, it won't make it.
If you were going to put the money in anyway, it might be best to pledge it now to help others see it could make it. And thus encourage them to pledge. Kickstarter doesn't charge until success in any case.
Given the usual curve on kickstarter projects they're doing perfectly fine.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Ugh I need one of the reward tiers to be 'beta access to the PC version once we've sewn up the distributor contract' so I can shove all my money at this.
added_time
Member
You can get it for XBL but you'll have to pay for it separately.
Minsc
Gold Member
I don't remember if the exact specifics were posted already, but after finally checking their FAQ they said The Addams Family is still possible (and would cost even more), and ST:TNG licenses are the same as this:
I'm not sure about this reaching $110K unless there's a big increase at some point with a few updates. Though there's the chance they might fund the remaining portion themselves, I think they mentioned extra money from this could be used to spill-over to more licenses.
I do hope they give The Addams Family a chance once they get their licenses in order, I've seen a few people say they'd pledge significantly more to that table, so it might be enough to make up for the increased amount.
I'm not sure about this reaching $110K unless there's a big increase at some point with a few updates. Though there's the chance they might fund the remaining portion themselves, I think they mentioned extra money from this could be used to spill-over to more licenses.
I do hope they give The Addams Family a chance once they get their licenses in order, I've seen a few people say they'd pledge significantly more to that table, so it might be enough to make up for the increased amount.
I'm kind of scared to see what the licensing costs for TAF would ultimately be. It may be smarter to wait on that one, so that the devs can sock away some rainy day money and maybe pay development + 1/2 the license, Kickstart the other half.
Just crossed my mind: I'm sure if you contacted them they'd be willing to let you donate $30 to get three times the $10 reward. I've seen a few projects that allowed slightly creative funding schemes like that, you just need to clear it with them in advance.
BritBloke916
Member
Very glad to see that they're already doing so well; Williams Hall of Fame was mighty, and I'm enjoying the iOS version of Pinball Arcade (but as a Brit I'm STILL waiting for the PS3 version!). They'll have my $25 in a couple of days when my wages show up
REALLY hoping for some ST:TNG. It's always been "my" table.
REALLY hoping for some ST:TNG. It's always been "my" table.
Yeah, I was REALLY skeptical about them making it initially, but it's looking very, very good. It bodes well for future licenses too, especially ST:TNG. That this has done so well shows there's a market for it and may open their minds to considering (hopefully less-expensive) licenses like Baywatch and Last Action Hero. Maybe even this gem:
(Fun fact: A mate of mine has Empire Strikes Back by the same company, but it's missing a bumper cap so it had to be replaced with a Dennis Lillee one. Looks ridiculawesome to see two Darth Vaders and one cricket cap on the playfield!)
BritBloke: Given the (likely) success of this, coupled with the fact that it was mentioned on the same page, even if they don't make too much over the $55k for this, I'd say it's a given that TNG will be available eventually. If not from this, but from another kickstarter.
(Fun fact: A mate of mine has Empire Strikes Back by the same company, but it's missing a bumper cap so it had to be replaced with a Dennis Lillee one. Looks ridiculawesome to see two Darth Vaders and one cricket cap on the playfield!)
BritBloke: Given the (likely) success of this, coupled with the fact that it was mentioned on the same page, even if they don't make too much over the $55k for this, I'd say it's a given that TNG will be available eventually. If not from this, but from another kickstarter.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Jurassic Park was visually impressive because of the dinosaur but really not that great of a pinball table.
I'd much rather them try to get the license to the Indiana Jones table but I'd imagine that would cost a fortune. It's probably never going to happen.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
They'd probably wind up getting the Stern one
Minsc
Gold Member
This article about MtG DLC turning in to full games highlights some of the trouble TPA might have down the road (on the 360 anyway)....
That sounds a lot like what TPA is.... let's continue:
Well, that explains why the tables are sold in packs on consoles I guess, vs individually on smartphones/tablets. Wonder how large this limit is? 10? 15? TPA will be maxed out in a year and we'll move to TPA2 and have to pay to import our tables? Hope not!
This is probably the most disheartening... it seems hard to believe FarSight could be spending almost as much as they're trying to raise in their Twilight Zone Kickstarstarter campaign in fees for their monthly release or patching a table on XBLA? Even if it's a lot less, that's still crazy.
That sounds a lot like what TPA is.... let's continue:
Well, that explains why the tables are sold in packs on consoles I guess, vs individually on smartphones/tablets. Wonder how large this limit is? 10? 15? TPA will be maxed out in a year and we'll move to TPA2 and have to pay to import our tables? Hope not!
This is probably the most disheartening... it seems hard to believe FarSight could be spending almost as much as they're trying to raise in their Twilight Zone Kickstarstarter campaign in fees for their monthly release or patching a table on XBLA? Even if it's a lot less, that's still crazy.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
$40000 per patch? That is absolutely ludicrous.
Marty Chinn
Member
The first patch is free but it's to encourage developers to minimize patching rather than it being frequent like iOS and android apps.
It amazes me how forward thinking MS can be (XBLIG, Live Game Nights like 1v100, etc.) and how completely batshit stupid they are with what *should* be the simplest thing to mandate.
It also does a great job of eliminating any way a developer can continually update and improve/build onto a game after release, like, oh, iOS and Android apps.
It's like arguing how lack of Wii game patch support helps devs from being "lazy" and finish their game before releasing it. And we all know how that's worked out with even Nintendo's first party games.
It also does a great job of eliminating any way a developer can continually update and improve/build onto a game after release, like, oh, iOS and Android apps.
It's like arguing how lack of Wii game patch support helps devs from being "lazy" and finish their game before releasing it. And we all know how that's worked out with even Nintendo's first party games.
charlequin
Banned
Well, consoles (Sony's numbers are a bit better but the principle is almost identical), but yes. At this point, you can easily target some subset of Steam/Desura/MAS/iOS/Android with a product, sell better than you would on XBLA, pay out less of your topline price than you would on console, do unlimited free updates, have complete fine-grained control over your pricing, and not have to worry about handling distribution or fitting into a pre-defined release schedule. (In fact, that's pretty much what the whole Because We May promo is about, come to think of it...)
Marty Chinn
Member
Most game developers don't want to continually to update and improve/build onto a game after release anyway. If they're going to do it, it's going to be DLC. Even then, there are very strict guidelines of what you can and can't do with patching on the 360 compared to the PS3. Like, there is a size restriction of the patch which means it's generally aimed toward fixes rather than content. There are other things that are off limits too. It's really designed for a purpose of bug fixing and not doing it frequently. You want to do content, you go DLC. Another thing to factor in is there is a lengthy certification process that Microsoft does which is built into the cost of that patch. Things don't just pass through immediately. Submissions for a gold master also cost extensive amount of money to encourage you to not constantly submit. There are a lot of reasons for that high price tag.
Plus, as much as I love getting updates in iOS, I feel they're almost too frequent. Everytime I go to the app store, I have like 30 to 50 updates and it's annoying that I feel like I'm constantly updating apps. So I think a nice middle ground, if not leaning more towards being a bit more limiting to how often you can patch would be more ideal.
I would respectfully disagree.
Well I do realize that both the PS3 and especially 360 are far exceeding anything they were originally built to do to begin with. If Sony and MS haven't solved this patching problem by the next generation of consoles, then man, what in the world are they doing.
Marty Chinn
Member
But it's true. Not one game I've ever worked did the dev team express that they wanted to keep doing it. Sure they wanted to get a patch or two planned out to fix known issues and to add some DLC, but the continued constant patching is something that nobody ever wanted to do. Everyone wants some downtime and to move on to the next project. This is not the scope of some 99 cent app here.
What? Well granted the 360 does not have guaranteed storage which is probably part of the reason for some of the restrictions on their patching policy, but in general there is nothing about what they were originally built to do that limits their patching ability. In fact, definitely on the PS3 that is the case since the sky is the limit on what you do in a patch. I don't think anyone wants constant patching. People like the ability to patch to fix things, but constant patching is not something that anyone wants to do or should want/expect out of their product.
One dev team doesn't speak for the rest, of course, but I do understand the benefits of updating an iOS app vs updating a 360/PS3 game...the benefits on the iOS platform are much more. So you're right in that aspect, but it doesn't mean devs aren't limited with the current rules now.
I didn't phrase that well; what I mean is that MS seems to be holding onto a standard that has long since changed. They made concessions to Notch for Minecraft, and the same with Zen Studios with their pinball game, but why not go there for all devs? Why do they work on a case by case basis like that? I'm hoping a new platform will also refresh their requirements on patching, cert, and so on.