From the Kickstarter -
Quote from: Mike PondsmithPosted by Mike Pondsmith, R.Talsorian Games Inc. (Creator)
Dear Mekton Zero Kickstarter Faithful
If you've been following the video gaming news, you may have heard about the announcement of the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 project involving RTG and the ace WITCHER game studio, CDPR. It's been a project that all of us have been thrilled to finally reveal to the world at this years E3, after a long time in development. And so far, the press and reviews have been stellar to say the least.
But while we're grateful for all the enthusiasm and support Cyberpunk 2077 has received, it's not finished yet and there's a lot more work to be done. Which leads me to one of the more difficult decisions I've had to make in my life.
When I started the Mekton Zero project, I had a pretty clear objective and also had not yet hooked up with the CD Projekt team and committed to working on Cyberpunk 2077. While that's been rewarding over the past five years, it's also had a pretty huge impact on my time, what with traveling to Europe several times a year and everything else involved in that new commitment. When I started Mekton Zero, I did not expect that, and indeed had only thought I would be doing a quick project that didn't involve anything new in terms of technology (boy was I wrong) or that I would be involved in a large complex project on the other side of the world.
Which leads to this decision. While I still intend to finish Mekton Zero, I have come to the conclusion that it is not fair for me to continue to commit the time and money you have invested in this project any longer, or to make you wait until I wrap Mekton Zero up.
Therefore I'm going to REFUND everyone who has committed money to this project (and who hasn't already taken advantage of our previous buy out offer). We are in the process right now of setting this up (via Paypal) and sending out refunds to all of you. If you no longer have a Paypal account or have changed email addresses, please contact us through this site and let us know to make other arrangements.
We WILL finish Mekton Zero, but since how long that will take is indeterminate (due to all these other commitments), I feel this is the best option for now.
However, when Zero finishes, EVERYONE who has still been committed to the project will still receive their copies of the book, their figures, their t-shirts, their bumper stickers and all the other paraphernalia that we planned. This is the only fair thing to do for our fans who have faithfully stuck with us through the long haul.
Thank you again. You guys have really been champs and we really appreciate your patience and understanding. And we will make sure that patience is rewarded.
Mike Pondsmith
R. Talsorian
The only reasonable thing to do. It's a shame it took so long to realize to do it.
Cue announcement of Cyberpunk 2077 RPG...
Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1045235Cue announcement of Cyberpunk 2077 RPG...
That was already announced back in 2012, it was going to be made along side the video game.
Good to see them finally refund but... really how long does it take to write an RPG?
Their risks and challenges is somewhat ironic:
As we see it, risks are fairly low; we've been producing successful tabletop RPGs for over 30 years. So we know how to do it . Key (and reliable) artists have been lined up, primary writing and game design is already done and playtested, and is based on an existing game already sold worldwide for decades. Biggest danger is that an asteroid strikes Mike Pondsmith from orbit and stops him from completing this project. Mike's son Cody has sworn to avenge his father's death in this case and will finish the project even if the asteroid escapes.
5 years, even devoting minimal time, should be more than enough time to finish a game that was claimed to have been already done.
Quote from: Ras Algethi;1045238Good to see them finally refund but... really how long does it take to write an RPG?
QuoteGive a decade any fool could design a real nifty role-playing game. Game design professionals are fools who think they can design one in much less time.
As a rule of thumb, game designers think they can design a game in approximately one-half the time it actually takes them. A really established professional can cut this down to a third the actual time, but I wouldn't recommend this for your first game.
Greg Gorden, Heroic Worlds
Kinda of missing the important claim they made, i.e. primary writing and game design is already done and playtested.
Quote from: Ras Algethi;1045243Kinda of missing the important claim they made, i.e. primary writing and game design is already done and playtested.
I was simply making a joke; also, Kickstarter seems to be the place where good ideas go to die.
Uncle Mike left to get a pack of smokes, and he never came back. :(
I'm glad we got an update, but damn, Mike. Make some goddamn TTRPGs!
QuoteHowever, when Zero finishes, EVERYONE who has still been committed to the project will still receive their copies of the book, their figures, their t-shirts, their bumper stickers and all the other paraphernalia that we planned. This is the only fair thing to do for our fans who have faithfully stuck with us through the long haul.
Is this in addition to the refunds they're currently issuing? If so, does anyone else see the problem here?
Quote from: GeekEclectic;1045301Is this in addition to the refunds they're currently issuing? If so, does anyone else see the problem here?
Where'd he get the money?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1045306Where'd he get the money?
CD Projeckt Red?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1045306Where'd he get the money?
Pretty much.
I mean, if it does happen, they'll still have to put forth the production costs. Which was the primary point of having the kickstarter in the first place. They can't go back there without people calling foul, and rightly so.
On top of that, even if you exclude the people who took advantage of the earlier buyout, and you don't count digital goods, you're looking at . . . I dunno exactly. Somewhere between $20k to $40k worth of books and assorted extras? Tens of thousands of $$$ worth of stuff they'll be shipping out for
no profit whatsoever.As popular as it is, something like Mekton is still a niche within a niche. And at this point, a bunch of the interested people will already have gotten what they want, free of charge. How many
thousands of sales will they need to make on top of that in order to just break even, much less turn any kind of profit? In this hobby, that's hard enough without starting out tens of thousands in the hole.
It's a ridiculous promise, and I'm cynical enough to think it's probably calculated. It's one of those "ignore the man behind the curtain" situations, where something's pretty obviously off about the whole thing if you stop to think about it even a little bit.
UI have to say kind of tired with rpg designers and them not taking the time ti plan out the project better. Yeah shit happens to be true yet between the Far West fiasco and now this. How about a potetial rpg designer actually you know plan things out before taking other peoples money. Rather than a polite "ooopss!".
Quote from: GeekEclectic;1045301Is this in addition to the refunds they're currently issuing? If so, does anyone else see the problem here?
I read it to mean if you don't take the refund option. Could be wrong though. Not sure how they can refund folks and then give them the same stuff they got refunded for.
I doubt the book will ever be published or the miniatures made, so there's not much reason to worry about it. By refunding, the obligation is being cleared and that will be that.
1. I really don't get why game designers (especially ones who already have existing reputations to uphold) mislead their potential backers by claiming that a project is already 'almost done' when they're doing the fundraising. For that matter, I don't get why they would start the kickstarter if the project (The writing part, at least) isn't already done!
2. I absolutely don't get why a game would take so long to be designed, unless you're trying to completely reinvent the wheel.
Quote from: RPGPundit;10465681. I really don't get why game designers (especially ones who already have existing reputations to uphold) mislead their potential backers by claiming that a project is already 'almost done' when they're doing the fundraising. For that matter, I don't get why they would start the kickstarter if the project (The writing part, at least) isn't already done!
I honestly don't know how it's like in your part of the world, but lying to potential customers up here in the Northern American continent, we used to call that Fraud and a Scam. Wonder when people forgot that...
Quote from: RPGPundit;10465682. I absolutely don't get why a game would take so long to be designed, unless you're trying to completely reinvent the wheel.
Most game designers don't manage their time very well?
"Almost done" is a red flag. If it's almost done, finish it, then kickstart.
It's not like you need the funds to actually finish it, if you have already invested free time to do more than 75% of the book.
I love Kickstarter, but in the RPG sphere it sometimes feels like a gofundme for mortgage payments.
I know I keep saying this over and over, but if I ever do a Kickstarter, all the writing-parts will be done before I put up the page.