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Post by Aztec on Jul 30, 2019 18:29:16 GMT -6
Hard Mode was how I played the game for the first time. It was never stopped being super punishing until the very end, the game kicked my ass constantly and I wouldn't want it any other way. I lost count how many times both Zangetsu fights mop the floor with me!
So happy there was a cheat code to be able to unlock Hard without having to beat the game first. It was precisely the difficulty I wanted but casual fans need not apply so beware.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 30, 2019 15:05:58 GMT -6
I have no idea but at this point why would they? I’m sure it doesn’t make sense financially at all and if I were them I would certainly skip it.
Having said that I’d expect the campaign to honor the backers who asked for it though. Just wouldn’t expect the game appearing on store shelves in Japan for Xbox though.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 29, 2019 17:13:30 GMT -6
I sunk 4 hours into my Platinum’d PS4 version and after spending a couple of hours with my friend’s Switch versión I can confirm that the complaints about said version have been greatly exaggerated.
Yes, the downgrade is real, yes the loading times are longer, yes it only runs at 30 FPS, and yes there’s input lag but the game is still 100% playable. Every enemy, every weapon, every corner of the map, it’s all there.
People calling this port “trash” never suffered through real trash-tier ports like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mortal Kombat Advance on GBA, or Doom on the fucking 3DO. Now that was some trash!
Did I expect Bloodstained on Switch to run and look better without me being unrealistic? Hell yes. I never dreamed this game would be 1080p but I did want it to be better but this game is perfectly playable and still fun. My one big advice is if you own any of the other platforms you should never choose Switch first over the other ports but if Nintendo’s console is your only choice then by all means.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 28, 2019 23:35:11 GMT -6
cellMassive lols at hoping for a full sequel in a year. It took them 4 years for this one and they will probably keep working on this one for at least the rest of the year on all the DLC (both paid and free) and you think Bloodstained 2 could happen in 2020? Because if you do I have an overpriced mansion in Antarctica to sell you. As for the Bloodstained we did get? Rocky (to say the least) launch but quirks and all it’s still my favorite game of 2019. It’s everything I wanted it to be. And as for this dumb “controversy” about them wanting to release some cosmetic paid dlc for stuff that goes beyond the scope of what was promised? To that I say let them do whatever the fuck they want. As long as it’s no loot boxes or they start selling us premium currency for real money I’m fine if it helps make this game a financial success to turn this into a franchise. And then let us have a Bloodstained sequel by 2021 or so.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 27, 2019 16:33:18 GMT -6
saberwolf94after Kickstarter fees and taxes Iga said it’s a rule of thumb to think that whatever number is in the campaign tally you’ll actually get close to half. It’s not exactly half but it’s a good way to quickly make a mental note of what your actual budget will be at the end. What I can’t remember is if he was taking into consideration the cost of the backer rewards or not in that calculation but still, fact is the actual number they got was significantly less than the $5.5 million that appears in the KS page. So yeah there’s no way this game could’ve been delayed this much, and invested so many man hours into a game this big without the additional funding three got from PayPal, slacker backers, and especially their publisher 505.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 27, 2019 11:58:50 GMT -6
That's very good, but one thing to keep in mind is that the game has probably cost far more than 5.5 million dollars to produce. IIRC, though I'd have to ask around to find it, not long after 505 came on board, Igarashi said the 5.5 million Kickstarter funds had already been "long gone." I believe, though again I'd have to ask to make sure, that 505 added in a decent bit of its own money to the project to do things like get Wayforward on board. If you put a gun to my head and asked me to estimate how much the game cost, especially after the delays relating to Inti, I'd say 15 million dollars as a conservative estimate.
Now, add to that the costs involved in
A: Getting out the free DLC, which was promised on Kickstarter, intended to be part of the base game, and therefore not anything the team can make money off of. They might be able to profit off of costume and story expansion DLC in the future, but the stuff we're looking forward to at the moment is not making us money in return for the continuing development costs.
B: Fixing a lot of bugs, which seem to be much more severe than anyone hoped for, especially at launch (the bad press of which might drag on sales at least slightly). Given the number and severity of those bugs, especially in regards to the Switch, I imagine fixing them is going to take a a considerable amount of cash.
So, with these two factors added in, I think they'd add anywhere from 5 million (at most) to let's say 2 million (if the "free DLC" stretch goals encourages a few more people to buy the game, and if the DLC is relatively easier to make thanks to the basic game systems and assets already completed). So again taking a conservative estimate, we're at a total of 17 million for development costs.
Now, going from the stats you gave, Mourning, if there are 200k sales on Steam, and the game is selling for 36 dollars (not 40, they're taking 10% off at the moment), we get
200,000 x 36 = 7,200,000, or 7 million and two hundred thousand dollars.
At the higher end, 500k copies, we get
500,000 x 36 = 18,000,000 or 18 million.
Now, the higher number alone would seem to net us a profit of 1 million over the initial estimated dev costs of 17 million. But keep in mind there are always Steam fees, taxes, and other things eating away at our profit margin. So I think under the most generous assumptions, we're making in income 60% of what steam reports in sales. So that would be 60% of 7.2 million or 4.32 million for 200k sales, or 10.8 million for 500k sales. So even being as generous as possible for Steam sales, we're still a good deal in the red. If PS4, Xbox, and Switch sales are even comparable to the higher end of the steam sales, that could push us back into the black, but I get the feeling we were relying on a lot of Switch sales and the problems with the Switch port might be severely eating into our sales on that front, which would leave a hefty impact on our end profits.
I don't think all is lost--it's been less than a month since release, and if we've already got a high end of 500k sales on Steam alone, it is conceivable we'll have well over a million (Steam combined with other platforms) before the year is out; even 50% profits of a million sales of 36 to 40 dollars (as the steam sale will end eventually) will allow us to turn a profit on 17-20 million development costs. And this is all napkin math anyways, it may be I've massively overestimated the development costs and/or the cut Steam and taxes take too. Still, even with very strong sales for an indie, I don't think we're entirely out of the woods yet...let's hope the coming DLC encourages a ton of new folks to buy the game!!!
Between the slacker backer campaign (which lasted a very long while) and paypal I heard that the total funds gathered were around 7 million but I can't provide any evidence, I don't remember where I read it though. 15 million seems a bit too crazy for me although I agree that 505 must have provided more financial assistance after they got involved. I would imagine for them to be so eager to get involved after the success of the campaign they must have calculated wide margins for profit and since their asking price for it is so generous I think it should be good. The better question is for enough newbies to get impressed and want more games of the same nature to be produced. You’re forgetting a very very important part. Iga didn’t get the $5.5 million from KS. You have to substract taxes, fees and the cut to KS. Iga has gone on record to say that a little more than half is what you really get at the end of a KS campaign to work with and then there’s the manufacturing and shipping of the tens of thousands of backer rewards. Más far as game crowdfundings go Bloodstained still broke records, they just didn’t have as much money in the end as you thought. As for the additional funding through PayPal, slacker backing, and additional funds by external sources like 505 that’s an entirely different matter.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 27, 2019 1:52:23 GMT -6
Paging Mana I truly feel for our Japanese brethren. That delay truly stings but at least they’ll get a less buggy and all around better game by October. Maybe by then the Switch version will be decent. I hope he gets an answer here. Ganbare, akr !
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Post by Aztec on Jul 26, 2019 2:19:49 GMT -6
The Hall of Termination is easily my favorite. Best looking area by far (those candles throwing Miriam's shadow on the nack wall coupled with the mirrors were *chef kiss* perfect) and with the best music in the game. I'd find any excuse to go back to it and its Save point near Gebel's throne was my go to save point thanks to it being right next to a waypoint.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 25, 2019 21:49:02 GMT -6
What was the familiar that was voted in during the final hours of the campaign? Can’t remember which was that.
Also; Buer sucks and I wished Bloodbringer’s yells weren’t as frequent or loud because it gets annoying. So probably Silver Knight is the best.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 25, 2019 15:14:12 GMT -6
So happy to read it just climbed from the 200k-500k tier to the 500k-1M tier! If Steamspy is to be believed and we go with the lowest number possible (500k) it must man that at least another 500k have been sold combining PS4, XB1 and Switch sales, right? This game must be past 1,000,000 copies sold right about now! But I'd figured we would've heard about it by now if that was the case so who knows? Maybe they're saving that announcement for later? Like I said before: if they're smart, they won't gloat about the numbers until the issues with the Switch version are settled, either because there's a patch that fixes them, or because they announce there are no more patches planned to improve performance. People are up in arms about the mere mention of paid DLC before the Switch version is fixed - trumpeting how well the game is doing sales-wise is not going to win them any sympathizers, much less if the Switch version sold well. You make a ton of sense!
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Post by Aztec on Jul 25, 2019 11:27:37 GMT -6
You doomed your thread the second you decided to post it under “Music”. I don’t get why we need this many sub forums it’s ridiculous. Back in NeoGAF’s prime (perhaps the biggest game forums there has ever been) had only 4 (FOUR) subsections: Games, Off-topic, and two other sections; one for the Official Threads about a game in particular and another for off topic official threads. That’s it. Why does a tiny forum dedicated to ONE game like this needs these many folders? Instead of complaining about the number of subforums, have you considered contributing to the topics you're complaining in? EDIT: 13 people have voted in the poll, and the topic has over 300 views, so it seems like other people aren't having trouble finding it, even if they have nothing to say. I did contribute. And if you think 13 votes is a good number for this place then I have nothing else to say to try to convince you otherwise.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 25, 2019 10:26:23 GMT -6
This board is not nearly big enough to justify so many sub forums and categories. We should have two sections: everything Bloodstained related, and off-topic. That’s it. There’s literally no reason why this thread couldn’t have gone in the General bloodstained discussion forum and because it’s on a folder no one ever thinks about checking out (honestly didn’t know there was a Music folder here until this thread was shouted in the Shoutbox). /rant Maybe I should shout LOUDER You doomed your thread the second you decided to post it under “Music”. I don’t get why we need this many sub forums it’s ridiculous. Back in NeoGAF’s prime (perhaps the biggest game forums there has ever been) had only 4 (FOUR) subsections: Games, Off-topic, and two other sections; one for the Official Threads about a game in particular and another for off topic official threads. That’s it. Why does a tiny forum dedicated to ONE game like this needs these many folders?
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Post by Aztec on Jul 25, 2019 1:18:41 GMT -6
I'm denying it right now. Only 00.001% of games releasing on PS4 have to worry about being denied certification because of inappropriate content. You basically have to have underage girls being half naked and/or being molested for that to happen. A game like Bloodstained was never ever ever going to be denied over something like that. That's not what I said! What I said is that it's a extra process where the DLC will have to pass trough. You said console manufacturers look for something “offensive” to deny certification and, like I’ve said, that’s a complete non issue 99.999% of the time. Yes there IS an additional step that PC doesn’t need but to say that that step implies censorship over content is almost never true. If anything I judge Sony for not denying certification to garbage games like Life of Black Tiger or My Name is Mayo.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 24, 2019 19:15:34 GMT -6
99.999% of times a game doesn't go through a console certification process it has nothing to do with the console people finding something "offensive". It's to check the game has a minimum of requirements checked out (being able to see other user's Profiles in an online game, displaying the correct button prompts, not bricking consoles, etc). For example Stardew Valley's 1.3 update for PS4 and XB1 was just denied certification because of one of these examples precisely. So please let's stop peddling this bullshit that because a handful of super niche games that would be lucky to sell more than 50,000 units were denied due to them including schoolgirls of questionable age being molested it means all games get certifications denied because of this as well. Hell, we sure as fuck know Steam could use a minimum of curation in their store. And if Bloodstained ever gets slowed down by these processes was because of their own incompetence. If anything I judge Sony for not denying the 1.02 PS4 update that made all games started on 1.01 and 1.00 ruined and having to start over. Nothing you said denies the fact that Sony now have 1 extra layer of checking patches and games who delay the process further. I'm denying it right now. Only 00.001% of games releasing on PS4 have to worry about being denied certification because of inappropriate content. You basically have to have underage girls being half naked and/or being molested for that to happen. A game like Bloodstained was never ever ever going to be denied over something like that.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 24, 2019 18:45:17 GMT -6
I loved this game to bits but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Bloodstained had no business launching in June. Clearly it needed at least a couple of months more in the oven. It’s hilarious that a supposed day one dlc was available by week 3 on one console and a month later we still don’t know about when it’s coming to the other two. Not to mention the day 1 patch not being available on time for PS4 users which led to many starting it before said patch and corrupting their save files, and the subpar state of the Switch version.
Still a 2019 GOTY contender for me but even I will admit the launch was botched. Badly.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 23, 2019 16:07:10 GMT -6
Also the PC version gets it's patches and DLCs fast without the meticulous approval process typical of console platforms that are constantly checking if the game is "offensive" or trash like that. 99.999% of times a game doesnt go through a console certification process it has nothing to do with the console people finding something "offensive". It's to check the game has a minimum of requirements checked out (being able to see other user's Profiles in an online game, displaying the correct button prompts, not bricking consoles, etc). For example Stardew Valley's 1.3 update for PS4 and XB1 was just denied certification because of one of these examples precisely. So please let's stop peddling this bullshit that because a handful of super niche games that would be lucky to sell more than 50,000 units were denied due to them including schoolgirls of questionable age being molested it means all games get certifiations denied because of this as well. Hell, we sure as fuck know Steam could use a minimum of curation in their store. And if Bloodstained ever gets slowed down by these processes was because of their own incompetence. If anything I judge Sony for not denying the 1.02 PS4 update that made all games started on 1.01 and 1.00 ruined and having to start over.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 23, 2019 15:51:31 GMT -6
Anyways Bloodstained is at 500k-1M copies sold on steam alone now in case anybody was still somehow worried about this. So happy to read it just climbed from the 200k-500k tier to the 500k-1M tier! If Steamspy is to be believed and we go with the lowest number possible (500k) it must man that at least another 500k have been sold combining PS4, XB1 and Switch sales, right? This game must be past 1,000,000 copies sold right about now! But I'd figured we would've heard about it by now if that was the case so who knows? Maybe they're saving that announcement for later?
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Post by Aztec on Jul 23, 2019 10:40:15 GMT -6
Whatever balances the game better. And to balance a game you have to nerf and boost some things. I did find myself only using a handful of shards and that wa sbecause i quickly found how the Arrows and Welcome Company were very powerful and you get those very early. This game has a hundred+ shards and if I only ever used 10 then something’s wrong.
They clearly didn’t have the time or resources to make extensive play testing with dozens of testers and thousands of hours because they’re not Activision or EA. There was something’s that they’d only find out after the game was out in the wild being played by (hopefully) millions.
Changes are for the good and you people need to grow up. In Iga I trust.
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Post by Aztec on Jul 20, 2019 1:19:35 GMT -6
You all are overreacting over some nerfing. It’s called game balance and yes, shards like Arrows and Welcome Company were incredibly powerful when you get them early in the game. Good for them.
Having said that I’m very sad it’s been a month since release and two weeks since the already delayed confirmed date for Iga’s Backpack for PS4/XB1 and we still have no date for that. It’s out from day one on PC and now on Switch but not ps4/x1. What gives?
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Post by Aztec on Jul 17, 2019 7:34:02 GMT -6
gunlord500 I think everyone here is fine with cosmetic DLC, just not paid cosmetic DLC. I’m very disappointed in you. If there was going to be one user on this forum that was going to have his feet firmly planted on the ground and be realistic it was going to be you, I thought.
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