Game News Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter Update #20: Final Day, RPG Superteam Stretch Goal Unlocked

[Infinitron]

Tags: Bard's Tale IV; Brother None; InXile Entertainment

The Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter campaign is approaching its final 24 hours, and the money is flowing in a bit faster now. Or at least fast enough that the $1.5M RPG Superteam stretch goal has been unlocked, when factoring in PayPal. The Kickstarter update announcing that doesn't have much else of interest, but here's the quote:

Just a quick update to let you all know that now we’re in our final 48 hours, Kickstarter has sent out its reminders, our final Big Push video is out and we’re in our final big upswing!

As always, you guys have been amazing in spreading the word and making this Kickstarter another success story. Factoring in PayPal funding, we have unlocked the 1.5 million stretch goal, the RPG Super Team of Bruce Cordell, Wolfgang Baur and Sean K Reynolds now joining our efforts! These RPG veteran designers will each design a unique dungeon, making The Bard’s Tale IV all the richer and more varied. If you want to know more about them, we provided more details in Update 10.​

The additional pair of social media achievements announced in yesterday's update have also been unlocked, adding the "Lute of Compulsory Cavorting" to the game. It'll take one more regular achievement to unlock the Brian Fargo Bard Skin, but judging by the numbers in the update, that won't take very long.

 

[Irenaeus II]

Hurrah!

 

[Forest Dweller]

Is this the "we fucked up with Avellone, here's a stretch goal we can achieve without looking bad" update?

 

[Tzaero]

I imagine it'll be a bit awkward in the office.

 

[Dehumanizer]

I'm reasonably sure they'll end up getting MCA, whether by getting to $1.9M using PayPal (even if it takes many more months), or using some other excuse (inXile hiring him? ).

 

[Darkzone]

I imagine it'll be a bit awkward in the office.

Yes that could be, but on the other hand Fargo is long enough in the Business to live through disappointments and failed goals.

Again he is a difficult position and that is good, because that is what makes a true rpg savior. And if we look at Divinity Original Sin then we se that Swen took the risk, has sacrificed Dragon Commander and made the Call. This time it is up to Fargo, because he had an to "easy living" with Torment, and as it goes "one easy, one hard". It is now Fargo's choice and i think he should do the following:
Hire McComb and Avellone and let them do their work for BTIV. And tell the RPG community that they are so special and their commitment was so immense that he could not disappoint them, and he has hired McComb and Avellone for BTIV from his own money, because he loves them and believes in BTIV.
And any failure and the not so good KS will be more than forgiven and again he will be carried by the masses as a saviour.

 

[Tzaero]

I imagine it'll be a bit awkward in the office.

Yes that could be, but on the other hand Fargo is long enough in the Business to live through disappointments and failed goals..

I was picturing in my head Chris and Colin walking past the Bards Tale IV team in the office and reminding themselves that they're not really helping them cos they didn't raise 400K for the stretch goal.

 

[Infinitron]

Colin doesn't work at inXile's offices.

There's a chance they might join BT4, but without securing the stretch goal, they're not committed to it. So it also depends on whether they find something else to do when the time comes, because BT4 is probably going to be in limited preproduction mode for some time after the campaign ends.

 

[Darkzone]

I imagine it'll be a bit awkward in the office.

Yes that could be, but on the other hand Fargo is long enough in the Business to live through disappointments and failed goals..

I was picturing in my head Chris and Colin walking past the Bards Tale IV team in the office and reminding themselves that they're not really helping them cos they didn't raise 400K for the stretch goal.

Yes i know. And in no form how ever would i criticise the statement, because it is most probably true. I used your statement just as an starting point or as a jumping board for my longer statement. So while i agree 100% with you, i had to point out what a true leader and rpg fan would do, and your statement was perfect for a starting point, and i had no intention to relativate or criticise it.

 

[Kz3r0]

I'm reasonably sure they'll end up getting MCA, whether by getting to $1.9M using PayPal (even if it takes many more months), or using some other excuse (inXile hiring him? ).

They will await for PayPal pledges I guess, but from now on would be smarter to have him onboard from the get go in the next Kickstarter projects, let's not forget tho that Avellone was still at Obsidian when this started, having him as anything else than a stretchgoal was not possible.

 

[Kz3r0]

I was picturing in my head Chris and Colin walking past the Bards Tale IV team in the office and reminding themselves that they're not really helping them cos they didn't raise 400K for the stretch goal.

Writers as Strech Goal for a blobber is quite strange, the real hilarious moment would be if they both go working somewhere else and all the peole who thought that they would be hired regardless go all WFT?

 

[Darkzone]

Colin doesn't work at inXile's offices.
There's a chance they might join BT4, but without securing the stretch goal, they're not committed to it. So it also depends on whether they find something else to do when the time comes, because BT4 is probably going to be in limited preproduction mode for some time after the campaign ends.

No one has implied that McComb works there, just that he for the duration of the KS is in Newport Beach, like in the video: We love RPGs. BTIV could be a side project, but for such a thing inXile has too few ressources, and the team has to be used while it is there. So the only option is to give BTIV more spotlight, because cuting out the lights and let it fade away will damage inXile extreme. BTIV will sell with my current estimations around 250k - 300k of digital units and if Fargo can pull out of this amount 4 - 5 million, then the investment is more than justified.

 

[Kz3r0]

BTIV will sell with my current estimations around 250k - 300k

LOL WUT?
The only blobber that sold a lot was Legend of Grimrock, the sequel sold above one hundred thousand copies, Darkest dungeon sold on Early Access around the amount you estimated and is a one time wonder, the safest assumption is that BTIV will sell one hundred thousand copies, counting on more would be wishful thinking.

 

[Infinitron]

A lot depends on marketing, if they can put in the money to add third person combat and/or emphasize the story/town/companion bits and pretty graphics, maybe they can escape the dungeon crawler ghetto

But it's a risk of course.

 

[Kz3r0]

A lot depends on marketing, if they can put in the money to add third person combat and/or emphasize the story/town/companion bits and pretty graphics, maybe they can escape the dungeon crawler ghetto

But it's a risk of course.

I see BT as inXile fantasy RPG not a proper dungeon crawler, trouble is that the transition now will be even more costly.
Ideally if this Kickstarter would have be more successful they could have morphed it from BT to their own BG stretch goal after stretch goal, as is they are stuck with a dungeon crawler of uncertain nature and future.

 

[Infinitron]

Well, they've already confirmed several outdoor areas in the game, so we already know it's not strictly a Grimrock 1 type of thing.

 

[Darkzone]

BTIV will sell with my current estimations around 250k - 300k

LOL WUT?
The only blobber that sold a lot was Legend of Grimrock, the sequel sold above one hundred thousand copies, Darkest dungeon sold on Early Access around the amount you estimated and is a one time wonder, the safest assumption is that BTIV will sell one hundred thousand copies, counting on more would be wishful thinking.

We cannot use Legend of Grimrock 1 as a point of reference, but Legend of Grimrock 2 has sold around 200k units on steam and Gog together. And this despite an grid repetitive design, uninteresting combat, no story, no npcs, no quests, not good graphic and few different monster and etc.. etc....
So yes BTIV will be miles ahead of Legend of Grimrock, even without the better inventory view and better combat.
But we should compare WL2 and PoE sales on steam to the amount of backers. Wasteland has currently around 460k users on steam and PoE has somewhere around 400k. WL2 had 62k backers PoE had 74k.
Because we are in the room for higher numbers we can state that the amount of backers may be multiplied by 5-8 times to have a good estimation of the digital sales on steam. Current amount of BTIV backers is 34k multiply it with 5 -8 and you have 170k - 270k sales on steam alone.
And if we add up the GoG sales then we are around 200k - 340k sales with an avg. of 270k so 270k +-10% is 250k - 300k. While this are back of the envelope calculations their predictions is not as bad as it seems, because of the room where they are made.
So based on the higher game quality and backer numbers i have two supporting legs for my statement.

 

[Darkzone]

A lot depends on marketing, if they can put in the money to add third person combat and/or emphasize the story/town/companion bits and pretty graphics, maybe they can escape the dungeon crawler ghetto
But it's a risk of course.

There are only two possible solutions to such a risk situation: Either back down with the tail between the legs or full steam ahead. Fargo has once committed a risk with WL2 and has won and i think he can do it again. Also to add it that BTIV is not a simple blobber dungeon crawler, it will be far more, and it already does not belong to the dungeon crawler ghetto, because they have already to many intersting things in BTIV. They need only put more emphasis on the make up of the combat grid for a larger combat then 8 vs 16 and it will be ok.

 

[theSavant]

Kz3r0 Will you stop doubting BT4 ? It's Noah's Ark in the flood of popamole blobbers.

 

[Kz3r0]

So based on the higher game quality and backer numbers i have two supporting legs for my statement.

Two hundred thousand copies sold is not too far fetched but too optimistic, and above that figure is just pure HOPE!!!
Consider that BTIV got a third of the backers that WL2 and Torment got combined, and half of WL2, if Fargo can't fully mobilize his own audience is hard to imagine that BTIV will sell a lot on its own.

 

[Kz3r0]

Kz3r0 Will you stop doubting BT4 ? It's Noah's Ark in the flood of popamole blobbers.

Just learn Japanese Bro.

 

[mindx2]

Well, I downgraded my pledge from the SUPREME BOX COLLECTOR to the SIGNED PREMIER COLLECTOR'S EDITION. Just can't justify the extra $250 for the Reliquary Box and now the Signed Collector's tier also comes with the LP style box. Also, the Reliquary Box just isn't that enticing. If the other boxes could have fit inside or there was some "special".... something inside, maybe but as it stands now I'm a PC box collector, not a nick-nack collector. I didn't (wasn't able to afford!) the Cast-off statuette from Torment so it's not like I'm missing out on "gotta collect them all" InXile toys... unless DarkUnderlord was going to send me the one he was sent....

 

[t]

Well, I downgraded my pledge from the SUPREME BOX COLLECTOR to the SIGNED PREMIER COLLECTOR'S EDITION. Just can't justify the extra $250 for the Reliquary Box and now the Signed Collector's tier also comes with the LP style box. Also, the Reliquary Box just isn't that enticing. If the other boxes could have fit inside or there was some "special".... something inside, maybe but as it stands now I'm a PC box collector, not a nick-nack collector. I didn't (wasn't able to afford!) the Cast-off statuette from Torment so it's not like I'm missing out on "gotta collect them all" InXile toys... unless DarkUnderlord was going to send me the one he was sent....

If even whales like mindx2 downgrade pledges, you know something's wrong...

Spoiler

Sorry bro, but you are a bit of a whale

 

[mindx2]

Spoiler

Sorry bro, but you are a bit of a whale

Penguin maybe, but whale... am I that fat? Well at least I don't have blue hair...