Bloodstained: RotN Campaign FAQs / Misc Q&A

A:  Platform changes are closed, as is everything else except for (in some cases) address adjustments and T-shirt size. You may check your info and make applicable changes until further notice with your original survey e-mail link, from "Fangamer Mailroom", the first likely being from 09/2015 if you were an original KS backer, and from emails sent since then when anything changed/Curse of the Moon. If you cannot locate that email, please use:

fulfillment.fangamer.com/kindling/bloodstained/survey_support

Fangamer's system here is separate from Kickstarter, and is not part of Fangamer.com's main site either. It has its own data that is accessible only through your survey.

A:  Please see Update #50 regarding the Wii U situation.

Update 72 has information regarding the unfortunate cancellation of the Vita version.

To sum up how changes were defaulted: 

If you elected Wii U and chose nothing else, you order was changed to Switch.
If you chose Vita, you were changed to PlayStation 4.
If you chose nothing from the beginning of surveys, you order has defaulted to Steam copy(ies).

Update 76 explains the situation of the Mac/Linux version cancellation.

A: 

06/2019 update: please see the main www.playbloodstained.com website for a list of the game's feature delivery timing/which items will be staggered release/day one, etc.

Most of the modes and also stretch goals we earned are detailed in the list of "Milestones" on the main campaign page (see link at start of this post), but not everything is mentioned, such as the Retro Level.

There has been some confusion over what each piece of content entails, so to detail the specifics of the Retro Level, Classic Mode and prequel mini-game please see the below excerpts from their respective Kickstarter updates:

Update 2 (Retro Level)
Now that you have the Crystal Lens, you can see that coming up at $2.25 million is… a Retro Level! Here’s an explanation from the developers:

One section of the castle will feature an area that Miriam can traverse in beautiful retro graphics. We've been referring to this section as the “8-bit Level” internally, although it may be closer to 16+ bit depending on how we mix it with the full game. While a full-blown 8-bit game doesn't fit into the game's budget, backer support will allow us to have fun with the development and create a little retro magic in our game.

*The Retro Level was included in the launch game as a secret area*.

Update 3 (Classic Mode)
Visible next in your Crystal Lens is one of our personal favorites: Classic Mode. This is a cool one, especially if you've been playing action platformers since controllers had two buttons: In Classic Mode, existing assets and screens from the game will be rearranged linearly, to reward timing and survival instead of backtracking and exploration.

IGA and company are still too early in the planning process to promise anything, but right now he's envisioning six punishing stages. In grand classic platformer fashion, you'll be weaker and the enemies will be stronger, and forget about saving yourself by grinding—no RPG elements here.

If you've always preferred your castles punishingly difficult, straightforward, and scrolling from left to right, this is the stretch goal for you.

Update 18 (Prequel mini-game)
This became the non-prequel Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.
www.curseofthemoon.com/en

A:  Kickstarter requires a placeholder date for the launch of a project, and after the campaign has begun it cannot be changed (and neither can the text under tier options, note how they do not mention the Vita/Switch options for instance).

Due to the game reaching well over 1000% (one thousand) of its original goal, far surpassing anyone in the team's expectations, "more game" had to be conceptualized and stretch goals imagined during the campaign that added a lot to the project. Chiefly among these that would likely add significant development time are: "IGA's Biggest Castle Ever" at 2.75 m, extra platforms/ports, more and orchestrated music, many extra modes at various stretch goals (roughly around 12 or so), and the prequel game for handhelds at 4.5 m.

So then, even as far back as the end of the campaign, it was assumed that the game would not meet its March 2017 release window. Because of all of this extra content added through funds raised, as well as the addition of new development teams to make such a reality (see the "Who" question below), a revision of the release window was necessary. IGA noted having to make a decision regarding a choice between quality standards and meeting the original project launch, and to the understanding of most fans following development, indeed chose this option.

bloodstained.forums.net/post/46719

Update: The game is now set for 2019. Please see Update 72.

The Ritual of the Night release date is officially 06/18/2019 on PS4, Xbox One, Steam and GOG, with it being 06/25/2019 on Switch. Update 83 announced this with an amazing video that I myself helped with!

A:  The entities behind Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night are as follows:

IGA, who serves as director/producer and management at ArtPlay: ArtPlay also includes members such as Mana Ikeda, Communications Manager and an artist working on the game/promotional materials (our first community before before Angel, and now Question), and developers including Curry the Kid who worked with IGA on some of his previous Igavania games (also a lead programmer for Metal Gear Solid 5). ArtPlay has a small office space in Tokyo with Bloodstained being their current focus.

IntiCreates: Initially a team that shared some of the main development earlier (see DICO and Monobit below). Work by members within Inti include concept art done by Yuji Natsume and Ippo Yamada having partial OST duties. IntiCreates is a larger company than ArtPlay for sure, with several concurrent projects and other teams. Their work now is focused on the mini-game, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

DICO: In latter 2016, IGA decided to bring on two new groups, DICO and Monobit, for development work. IntiCreates was doing a good job (as seen with the E3 2016 demo), but were unaccustomed to the intricacies of using certain Unreal 4 tools proficiently, and specifically harnessing procedural generation. DICO was brought in for this purpose and to handle other tasks in the "mass production" stage.

For a look into the character of the company DICO:

//bloodstained.forums.net/post/38408

The group also includes a "talented programmer" that IGA has worked with in the past. IGA has stated that they know his previous work in and out. I'm thinking this is the same individual talked about in IGA's SXSW panel, the young guy who was very talented with his work on CV: Harmony of Despair. They also worked on FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. It seems we're in good hands.

Monobit: This group will be providing technical expertise in regards to game engines, developing new components for Bloodstained's inner workings and giving support on all technical aspects. In the past, they have been known to write network infrastructure for games, so I personally wouldn't be surprised if they handled much of Bloodstained's online functionality.

505 Games: This company is the game's publisher, which was announced in the October 2016 update (check out the video!) 505 is concurrently publishing Indivisible, another promising indie project, and not long ago the extremely well-received Rocket League. They have a long publishing history in the industry. Angel-Corlux is the Bloodstained global brand manager, who frequently interfaces with us. He joined us as a community member in July 2017. Question is also 505 Games, and our community manager.

NEW for H2 2018!:
WayForward: These guys have been brought on to help with polishing and bug fixing in Ritual of the Night, and as a response to our feedback on the Beta Backer Demo. They are/will be doing other "large", "exciting" things per Angel-Corlux. The idea is mainly they are adding these folks so that the game can be done sooner, rather than later, at a higher level of quality - the level desired and evidenced collectively by our feedback submissions. For examples of their past work, look up the "Shantae" series, Contra 4, The Mummy Demastered and Mighty Switch Force. They are masters of 2D graphics and gameplay, and have strong experience with Unreal Engine 4, Ritual of the Night's engine. IMPORTANT NOTE: WF is not "changing" anything, IGA is still in charge and the design of the game remains the same. This is a screen shot of 505's Question saying this, specifically.

A:  IGA has said on a few occasions that he wants to avoid borrowing staple Castlevania intellectual property so as to have Bloodstained stand on its own as a series with its own distinct mythos. We do not know to what extent callbacks to previous Castlevania games will be made, or if it will all only be similar in spirit and function, which can be seen already from gameplay seen in the demo and otherwise from updates.

However, it is very much assumed that characters such as Dracula and Alucard will not appear. These are technically "public domain" characters, but are strongly tied to the essence of the Castlevania series, so their inclusion (at least as anything meaningful to the story) is unlikely. This is touched on in the Kickstarter FAQ.

A:  (Thanks to Astaroth for these links!):

Demo Feedback (Locked but contains lots of cool info)

Demo Glitch Thread (Locked but useful if you experience an issue with the demo)

Demo Speed Runs

E3 stream with Iga, Ben, Romscout and ManVsGame

Level Grinding in the Demo! (aka LeoLeWolferoux slow climb to lvl 99)

A:  The next/current opportunity to do this is for the Beta Backer Demo feedback threads we will host here, when the beta demo launches 6/21. Please participate if you can.

Update to that: Beta feedback has launched and is currently still ongoing, though most info has already been taken. You are still free to post feedback there.

 Otherwise...

Simply post your thoughts! If you have a new suggestion for the game, try Feature Discussion or Bloodstained Discussion and see if there is a relevant thread. If not, create a new one, and if necessary a mod such as myself will merge it into an existing discussion.

There have been many bulleted point lists made from existing threads, polls, and the official demo feedback threads, so always be on the lookout for new ways to communicate your thoughts and ideas to IGA and the team. Please understand however that not all messages/posts can be communicated to those involved in development, as they are indeed quite busy. It has been asked of us before to try to rally behind other users' opinions that we agree with to increase interest and visibility for what we want.

Occasionally the team will officially ask for feedback on a variety of topics here, or for in-game inclusions, contests and so on. Keep an eye out!

A:  That my friend would most all be XombieMike's work, our chief forum creator. He has put a ridiculous amount of work into making this forum unique and lively. Also if you have not, please listen to some of his recorded Bloodstained Community Broadcasts (I call it the Bloodcast ):

//bloodstained.forums.net/board/20/bloodstained-community-broadcast