If there was the will there would be a way. A good captain can navigate through the most troubling waters.
I don't think there is the will in all honesty. Setting up a business is easy, making it a success is the hard part. What people say especially on the internet and what they do in life can be very different. If there was any motivation left we would have seen it long before now.
Now there's a big bitter pill of truth. A few years ago there was hype with a Neocron 3 poster but Kirk doesn't even post here anymore.
I play for nostalgia like so many here and atmosphere. I go down empty streets and remember moments with friends gone by. Its got a gritty noir feeling to it but not in a cyberpunk way.
I'm just amazed this relic of a game is still alive - albeit on life support and occasionally the catheter gets replaced.
I’m going to become rich and famous after I invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.
They need to sell Neocron's IP and assets to someone for a realistic price.
There already was a working Neocron demo/game using the Unity engine. They had managed to translate assets from Neocron into a format that they could use with modern tools and then into Unity.
If someone was able to buy the rights to the IP, assets and the Unity demo/version files. That would be a massive start on importing the whole game whole into a modern format on a modern engine. From that things like unifying zone's into much larger zones could be done (eventually it could be made seamless). I'm not saying it would be easy but very much doable.
As for sustaining the game (after the initial capital, to pay for the conversion and updating work), the best better would be through cosmetic items/skins. There is always a demand for this kind of thing, and if you price them sensibly people will do it frequently. Charging a small fee to allow people to completely change the appearance of your character is another good way to make money.
Failing acquiring the IP and assets, then as someone has already suggested creating a spiritual successor is the way to go.
As for the costs, what needs to be done is to develop something that has feature parity with Neocron. Nothing more. (maybe even lose some features that don't serve a purpose)
If you have a look at something like Ark, they developed that game in 6 months, when they launched for early access. The game had/has bugs, but none worse than what Neocron suffered for year. (Fatal Exceptions when zoning anyone?)
They have a working, crafting system, stats, experience, mobs with differing stats/armor etc etc. Why do I mention this? Because these are all the features that Neocron uses or has things based on.
Anyway, I think I've made my point. It wouldn't be easy, but it's not outside of the realms of possibility and it could be done for far less than the millions people seem to think. In fact quite often games with a small budget have a higher chance of success, because they have to keep to realistic expectations.
TERRA:
Master Netphreak : Rifle PE 70/65** | Netphreak : Rifle Spy 79/65**
Jedi Master Net : Gimped Blessed Hybird Monk 62/55**
Kid Net : Pistol PE 63/65** | Chuck Rock : 56/58* H-C tank
Dark Eagle : 73/56** CST Pistol Spy
All this talk of NC3 is pointless and will never happen. I've only had NC installed a week and the server has been up and down more times than a fiddlers elbow. I can't figure out what is happening. Is this a serious attempt to keep the game alive or a hobby? According to forums I see 40 plus people reading and yet no more than 15 online. People more interested in reliving nostalgia than playing? I would more rather see a complete ui rework bringing into a playable state than a pipe dream for NC3. Squinting is pissing me off big time
there, I fixed that for you.
On a more serious note and to your question regarding the efforts to keep NC alive - at this point it is very much a hobby of those who host the infrastructure and dabble with the code/game. The guy who supposedly holds the trademark and IP for the game is waiting for a rainbow farting unicorn investor to come buy and drop a million or two, while all realistic suggestions for raising funds and kickstarting sustainable development have been blocked off. It is a lost cause.
PHP Code:
"Computer voice: Fatal system error in unit 13, gamma sector, cryo recreation phase has been interrupted.";
//answers
set 4 "Ok, see you later";
set 5 "You're boring me, piss off";
Im sorry, but have to say.
Maybe... maybe... someone should start from scratch getting in mind what things make Neocron so unique.
I do not mind about calling it Neocron or Furdrum, but I am pretty sure that a cyberpunk game up to date will rock... not sure ?, just see the hype about Cyberpunk 2077.
This.
If they make a really nice kickstarter with videos, images, and a nice overall presentation I think this would do well on Kickstarter. It also depends on how much they need. Even with a kickstarter it probably wouldn't make nearly enough for what they actually need to finish the project.
Achievement Unlocked: Beta 4 Runner
With an distributed indie team and an indie budget you're going to be looking at $500,000 min to get a beta up and running, mainly because of the time/cost savings of not having to concept every character/mob from scratch nor having to design each and every system including balance testing and whatnot from scratch. I'd be more comfortable with $750,000 - $1,000,000 and then whatever else on top of that for post-beta
An NC kickstarter could probably raise a couple hundred grand I'd say but 500k-1000k is out of the question for this game imho
Wir leben in einem System, in dem man entweder Rad sein muß oder unter die Räder gerät.
Kein Sieger glaubt an den Zufall. || Den Stil verbessern, das heißt den Gedanken verbessern.
Das Leben ist wert, gelebt zu werden, sagt die Kunst, die schönste Verführerin;
das Leben ist wert, erkannt zu werden, sagt die Wissenschaft.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), dt. Philosoph
If this dude can start a Kickstarter and get money then Neocron could definitely do it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...pg/description
Achievement Unlocked: Beta 4 Runner
I don't think that's a good example. Basically an "ideas guy" who thinks you can make a massive open wolrd RPG for £200,000ish. He wants it to be like the witcher 3 which had a production budget of £83 million. Also I wonder what Disney's take on this will be?
Kickstarter is not a great platform and is often the last refuge of people bad at business.
I’m going to become rich and famous after I invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.
i have a feeling that is a joke or put together by a kid.
The NC IP is also partially owned by the bank. It is probably entirely owned by the bank tbh and there is a bankruptcy order on the parent company. Any attempt to make a new game would also have to settle that debt to make use of any of the IP.
The current team is too small to do anything and clearly doesnt have the will beyond tweaking the current game and playing about with code under the hood and Kirk is not an entrepreneur. Anyone who blames the "investors" is clearly lacking a clue.
In short the game needs a project lead who has the will, motivation and business acumen to see it through. I havent seen that here at all. I think zoltan seems to be happy to just plod along being a code monkey and going "aw shucks, well i tried" when the server dies.
I had this conversation with him once before on these forums and lo and behold the thread got deleted.
Edit: I looked at the Kickstarter link - Who the fuck is Obi Jim Kenobi. He lost all credibility there.