Notes

Massively Exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home Stretch

Camelot Unchained is close to completing its Kickstarter adventure. As of press time there are only a few days remaining. City State's fantasy RvR sandbox stands at just $1.82 million out of its $2 million goal, so Mark Jacobs has penned a diary of development that aims to push the game's funding to the highest levels.



He outlines the many issues that arise when managing the Kickstarter campaign and an ambitious MMORPG project, and he discusses the highlights of the former which include three factions of RvR, Minecraft-style building options, and a custom engine which has been able to handle hundreds of concurrent players at over 200 frames per second. Jacobs also thanks the current CU supporters, which he says have provided an incredible amount of support and pledged an average of $160.



Jacobs journal is accessible after the cut.



Dev diary



Camelot Unchained Kickstarter is nearing its close. There are only 38 hours left to go. Our total stands at $1.73million. We are confident that we will reach our $2 million goal. Every other comparable game has had a great last day.



No matter what happens I will always be grateful to our supporters. They've been absolutely amazing. Our current average pledge is $160. This is totally unprecedented. I've been to many games with crowd funding, but none of them are in the same league. Some have raised more dollars, but they have all done so by attracting larger numbers of people for a lower cost per head, more like $55 to $60. We knew that Camelot Unchained was more of a niche game, and because of this we anticipated that our average would be higher. However, as they say, "never in our wildest dreams ..."



This is not the only aspect that can be quantifiable. How can you measure sheer enthusiasm? Or the degree of emotional commitment? Or positive attitude? While I am not able to answer that imagine it, I am sure that our fans will be amazing. As a result, they have been a source of inspiration for me and our whole team to a level that is beyond what we could have expected or even imagined. This is the reason I am forever and incredibly grateful.



I'm also extremely happy with the team we have. Each person on this team has given more than I could have asked for. When we started we realized that with just 12 people, it would be a lot of work to plan and implement the Kickstarter campaign. DOWN WITH DESTRUCTION We thought we were ready for it. We weren't prepared for the magnitude of the task. Everyone was up to the challenge and worked all day, on weekends and even on weekends to ensure we were on the right track. We had to contend with the usual flurry of illnesses and injuries and today's fun and frolic Amazon Payments servers being down for four hours certainly was a surprise.



If we keep our feet on the ground and continue to raise funds, we will soon embark on a larger adventure: actually developing the game. Even a smaller MMOG isn't an easy thing to make. It's not going to be easy, but I don't think it will be. It will be rewarding and enjoyable. It's been an extended time since I've had the opportunity to be so involved in the game community. Camelot Unchained could be something exceptional with their support. My responsibility is to make sure it's. I reaffirm my commitment that my team and I will make every effort to honor the faith our backers have shown in us.



I'm happy to report that we've already taken some positive steps in this direction. One of them is the early work that Andrew Meggs has done on our engine. When we considered a variety of commercial solutions it became clear that we would need something specifically tailored to our needs on large-scale battles, not a "jack of all trades" designed to support many types of games with different requirements. As anyone who's participated in or even seen our tech demos can confirm that we've come a long way in a matter of one month or so. We've had hundreds of players running around and fighting in a small space, and particle effects, and consistently been able to run more than 200 (well, not to be boastful but we reached over 1200) frames per second, all the while playing with other players across the globe.



Another thing to note is our building system. The game will feature crafting, but crafters will also be able to create different kinds of equipment, like weapons, armor, and other weapons. They'll also build homes, other buildings as well as defensive structures. A modular building block-like system utilizes a combination of individual "cells" as well as larger "prefabs". They will also be able "blueprint" their creations which means they can be replicated, rebuilt, or repaired faster than having to start from scratch each time. This is unlike anything I've seen in an MMOG. Actually, it's more in the vein of the sandbox-like building games like Minecraft.



Camelot Unchained's core will be RvR between the Arthurians, Tuatha De Danann and Vikings. I invite anyone who enjoys this type of gameplay to take a look at the game we're planning to create. If you like what's being shown and read, you can sign a pledge. :)


Here's my website: https://downwithdestruction.net/