Support us on Patreon
PayPal
I assume I am not alone in seeing the hate that Early Access has been getting from some sources recently.
Well, the latest game to stoke the fire has been set off by CodeAvarice, developers of Paranautical Activity, a game that we have featured previously that combines both FPS and Rougelike gameplay features.
The game has already had something of a checkered past, having started out as a Desura Alphafunding title which then ran into trouble when trying to get onto Steam over a snafu with their initial Greenlight campaign. They later were successfully able to get onto Steam through a separate Greenlight initiative and also raised some additional funds through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The last thing we reported on was that they were hoping to get cooperative multiplayer added to the game.
It was recently announced by CodeAvarice that cooperative multiplayer is not going to happen, triggering a considerable amount of outrage and claims that the game was being abandoned, that certain promises were not being met, and that some of the game's sound files might in fact be breaking copyright. To make matters worse the developers themselves shot back against these complaints with their own inflammatory comments, destroying even more goodwill in the process.
This all culminated in this long response from the game's developers:
Some have been pointing to this and other incidents, such as the recent failure of Towns, as proof that both Early Access and even Crowdfunded games in general are not truly accountable and are in fact scamming gamers.
Linux users have undoubtedly benefited from both of these developments, as the greater potential for community involvement has helped Linux gamers argue their case far more effectively than has been the case with more traditional publisher funding, meaning that such problems are indeed worrisome to those that have previously benefited from them.
I myself bought Paranautical Activity on Desura last fall and was looking forward to the addition of cooperative play; that being said my purchase was not based on the illusion that I would receive said functionality, as I had actually forgotten that it was even going to be added when I had first purchased the title. I have since been waiting for the game to be considered complete before giving it a go, something which is now looking likely despite the disappointment over the lack of certain advertised features and updates.
Do you feel that the responses from either of the parties involved have been justified? Is this the indictment of Early Access games that some feel it to be, or is it merely one unfortunate incident that does not necessarily reflect on the whole? Feel free to share your responses in the comments. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Well, the latest game to stoke the fire has been set off by CodeAvarice, developers of Paranautical Activity, a game that we have featured previously that combines both FPS and Rougelike gameplay features.
The game has already had something of a checkered past, having started out as a Desura Alphafunding title which then ran into trouble when trying to get onto Steam over a snafu with their initial Greenlight campaign. They later were successfully able to get onto Steam through a separate Greenlight initiative and also raised some additional funds through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The last thing we reported on was that they were hoping to get cooperative multiplayer added to the game.
It was recently announced by CodeAvarice that cooperative multiplayer is not going to happen, triggering a considerable amount of outrage and claims that the game was being abandoned, that certain promises were not being met, and that some of the game's sound files might in fact be breaking copyright. To make matters worse the developers themselves shot back against these complaints with their own inflammatory comments, destroying even more goodwill in the process.
This all culminated in this long response from the game's developers:
QuoteThe flaming of the community has forced me to rectify this situation on as many levels as I can see fit for the time spent on damage control. This is not a dinner bell for trolls, but seems they will come running as soon as they see it. Regardless, I'll go against my better judgement and try and get this straight for people who care, for legitimate reasons. All unwanted posts will be removed and banned. This is not a discussion, it is information.
1. PARANAUTICAL ACTIVITY IS NOT BEING ABANDONED!
2. We have fullfilled all KS goals, and will fullfill the ones that were content related in the last couple patches. The "stretch goals" people are upset about were never reached, nor promised.
3. We apologize for our failure to make CO OP a reality. Sorry to those who purchased this game under the guise of the fact it will be multiplayer. We just couldn't rebuild the entire game to make this happen, there is only two of us.
4. There are no copyright infringements in Paranautical Activity. Sounds are placeholders from a free to use site.. Bottom line, no legality there. Sounds are being replaced before the game drops. As was always the intention.
5. "Alpha Release" is a Steam term. Paranautical Activity was "alpha released" in FULL BETA FORM!
6. Paranautical Activity is reaching the end of its development. If this is upsetting, we apologize. Regardless, it is getting a couple more patches and it is FINISHED! DONE! COMPLETE! Lets hope no one out there has a problem with any of these words to describe the FINALITY of this game. Notice the word "abandoned" wasn't used.
7. Personal attacks on us and our character will be returned with the same action. Give what you get. We dont have PR people.. so we say what want despite the politically correct direction we probably should go in. This is not us, this is not something we do. Be respectful, and we will return this to you.
8. Those of you who support us, and those of you who might have a slight clue what it takes to make a game. We appreciate your support even though we are being attacked everytime we make a decision that some troll doesn't like. We are doing our best to make this game as good as two people can make a game. Once again, if you supported us and can feel our plight.. Thank you again for being real. Seems that is not a guarantee for humans now a days.
9. Some bug fixes and things of an irregular sort, will be rectified in the next (last) two patches. All game breakers should be gone with 1.8.
Some have been pointing to this and other incidents, such as the recent failure of Towns, as proof that both Early Access and even Crowdfunded games in general are not truly accountable and are in fact scamming gamers.
Linux users have undoubtedly benefited from both of these developments, as the greater potential for community involvement has helped Linux gamers argue their case far more effectively than has been the case with more traditional publisher funding, meaning that such problems are indeed worrisome to those that have previously benefited from them.
I myself bought Paranautical Activity on Desura last fall and was looking forward to the addition of cooperative play; that being said my purchase was not based on the illusion that I would receive said functionality, as I had actually forgotten that it was even going to be added when I had first purchased the title. I have since been waiting for the game to be considered complete before giving it a go, something which is now looking likely despite the disappointment over the lack of certain advertised features and updates.
Do you feel that the responses from either of the parties involved have been justified? Is this the indictment of Early Access games that some feel it to be, or is it merely one unfortunate incident that does not necessarily reflect on the whole? Feel free to share your responses in the comments. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
abelthorne May 10, 2014
Quoting: AnonymousHas the Linux port been published on Steam yet or not?No. The game appears in the library but the executable is missing. They keep telling that the Linux build will be available with the next big update but this update has been delayed over and over.
There's been a new thread opened yesterday. Looks like people are getting a bit ***ed of.
0 Likes
There is no reason to get rid of Early Access that's going overboard, there's a lot to like about it.
Like with everything, you have good apples and bad apples. In this case it's somewhere in-between.
No matter what you do, there will always be bad points.
Like with everything, you have good apples and bad apples. In this case it's somewhere in-between.
No matter what you do, there will always be bad points.
0 Likes
Quoting: liamdaweThere is no reason to get rid of Early Access that's going overboard, there's a lot to like about it.
Like with everything, you have good apples and bad apples. In this case it's somewhere in-between.
No matter what you do, there will always be bad points.
True, but it appears to be generating quite a bit of hate. I don't think it should be done away with, just moved more to the side. It should be targeted more at people who really want to help devs shape their game. I understand that many use it as a means to fund their game, but it just reminds me of pre-order culture, but instead of buying a game before you even know it's good, you buy it before it's finished.
0 Likes
They claim the Steam Linux uploader is borked. I mean, do they seriously expect us to believe that? Blaming others for your incompetence is something little kids do to try to get out of trouble.
0 Likes
There is also a problem with the Desura release apparently. It is not marked properly as an executable by default and you have to rename the paranautical activity_data folder to just Data in order to make it so it does not just simply freeze and crash upon launching.
0 Likes
See more from me