Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by SuperXero89

And suddenly my expectations for this game sunk like a rock.

At least going in we know its made by an Indie which means more likely to fail but on the other hand you have a AAA title like TESO with all the funding it needs and is also doomed to fail because its a Themepark WoW clone.  So which is worse? 

Honestly, thus far the indie sandbox is much worse.  The developers expect you to pay full price for a nowhere near finished product, hanging only on the promise of future content updates that never come because the developer lacks the financial resources to implement them.  Games like Mortal Online, Earthrise, and Xyson have been utter disasters, releasing in nowhere near a finished state.  Earthrise is dead and the rest hang on for dear life with a minimal number of subscribers.

Goblinworks has set a stretch goal of >2,000 backers (NOT CASH) for including an additional pdf dungeon and placement in the demo:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-technology-demo/posts/225499

For most Kickstarter projects, the primary goal is raising money.  For the Pathfinder Online Technology Demo, though, raising money is only one part of our purpose.  Since we want to show potential investors that there's demand for the game, we also want to see the number of backers climb as high as possible.  We topped 1,000 today, and that's fantastic… but we think the potential is much higher.

 

And that's why we're announcing that our first stretch goal won't be based on dollars, but on the number of backers. 

 

If we reach 2000 backers, we're going to create another dungeon level beneath Thornkeep, which will be presented as an additional PDF download for everyone who has pledged $15 or more.  This new level will be designed by Paizo's own Jason Bulmahn, and backers will be able to participate in a survey to determine the theme of that dungeon:

 

I added an update to the original post, all thanks to MumboJumbo who got to it first.

Creepiest thing in the world, if they don't have the money for it, i wished they'd not waste money on this project.  With dnd 5e around the corner, it's the wrong time for a company to go bankrupt

I alawys though that the Pathfinder Online was being supported by the people who made Pathfinder... shame.

Honestly, i don't think Pathfinder is a good game, mind you I don't think its even remotely a bad game. Anyone that was brave enough to take 3.5 D&D and try and improve it let alone do something that was considered suicide by grognards for their compan'y future gets bonus points by me. But you guys do know the head of this project is the guy responsible for the $70 monocle fiasco for EVE online, right? Ryan Dancey is by a mile the most vitrolic designer in tabletop games, and I haven't seen anything that shows he has even the slighrest capability to make this anymore  than a pipe dream built on the riches of dellusional nerds, especially given $50k for a tech demo is so low-balled its insane.

Originally posted by BlackUhuru
Fantastic concept and amazing setting! If your a fan of Pathfinder RPGS you should back this project, if your a fan of mmo's you should back this.

Back the indie devs not the corporate cash cows!!!!

I dunno, Pathfinder is larger than D&D today and it is one of the few games that actually should have levels (20 though, not 80 or whatever).

I am a Pathfinder fan but I am not really sure if I should back this one up... Goblinworks probably should have made a somewhat smaller game like R.I.F.T.S, Shadowrun (yeah, I know that there is a browsergame in the making) or ARS Magica which would have benefitted more from sandbox thinking.

Then again, if the game will be good I will surely play it and eat my words...

Update #10: The Final Countdown—New Stretch Goals!

The first new stretch goal is $125,000.  WHEN we reach that goal, we've got a special reward lined up.  James Jacobs, Creative Director of Paizo Publishing and author of "Burnt Offerings" (the very first Pathfinder Adventure Path adventure) will create a new dungeon level that will be added to the PDF of Thornkeep.  Everyone who's going to receive the PDF of Thornkeep—that's everybody who has pledged at least $15—will automatically get this upgrade!

 

But wait!  There's more!

 

IF the community overwhelms the project with pledges and we reach $150,000, ERIK MONA will write a new level for the Thornkeep PDF too!  Erik is the Publisher at Paizo, and the author of “The Whispering Cairn,” one of the most beloved Dungeon magazine adventures of all time.  It has been almost impossible to get Erik to design adventures lately because of how busy his job is, so this is a treat worth getting the word out for!

 

And just as with the previously announced Jason Bulmahn stretch goal, you Kickstarters will get to determine the themes for the dungeons they write—polls will open at the end of the Kickstarter campaign!

 

AND ONE MORE THING!

 

If the project reaches $175,000 before the Kickstarter closes, we'll add all the additional dungeon levels—the Bulmahn level from the first stretch goal, plus the Jacobs and Mona levels from today's goals, to the printed edition of Thornkeep, substantially increasing the size of the book!  Anybody who slated to get the printed Thornkeep book—that's pledges of $50 or more—will get the larger book at no additional cost!

Originally posted by BlackUhuru
@Loke

The River Kingdoms is the perfect setting for a next gen sandbox!

We as mmo gamers need a change and even if PFO never pans out at least we are fighting for something!
 

I actually agree with you, and am enjoying your enthusiasm :)

It's all too easy to be cynical, doubt, and throw up barriers to NOT be a part of the change so many say they want.

Good to see they have smashed their goal with 6 days to go. Hopefully this will let GW build a great demo and presentation to take the game to the investors for the real cash.

Originally posted by Loke666

Originally posted by BlackUhuru
Fantastic concept and amazing setting! If your a fan of Pathfinder RPGS you should back this project, if your a fan of mmo's you should back this.

Back the indie devs not the corporate cash cows!!!!

I dunno, Pathfinder is larger than D&D today and it is one of the few games that actually should have levels (20 though, not 80 or whatever).

I am a Pathfinder fan but I am not really sure if I should back this one up... Goblinworks probably should have made a somewhat smaller game like R.I.F.T.S, Shadowrun (yeah, I know that there is a browsergame in the making) or ARS Magica which would have benefitted more from sandbox thinking.

Then again, if the game will be good I will surely play it and eat my words...

If you chip in just at $15 level you get the Thornkeep pdf (+ GW PfO Design notes) (+ x3 extra dungeon designs) eg Stretch goals at >150k. And finally your support for the project (intangible).

Is that a poser? 

Another dungeon by Ed Greenwood in both the pdf / print book if they reach $200k.

Not sure there's enough time to make it though.

A lot of posters are missing the most important part that sets this apart from the other companies, THIS IS PATHFINDER ONLINE.

They have a game system that WORKS! The mechanics of the game itself are working, and their RPG campaigns ARE proof of concept. This is not a group of guys that came together last Friday and said "Hey let's make a game!", this is a company that already has an industry-leading product. So many people overlook one of the most important aspects of the game, the RULESET.

Now the question remains how well will they translate that to our home computers. I would have preferred a triple AAA Virtual Table supporting the already existing Pathfinder Online ruleset and allowing the players to create their own campaigns with their own friends and somehow network it to a persistent world. But they have higher aspirations, only time will tell.

Until then I am an avid D&D fan, but even I must admit Pathfinder Online is a superior ruleset, and playing it online with my friends is a blast.

If you read goblinworks blog, you'll notice that they will change alot of gamemechanics. For example, they will have EVE-like leveling.

And I think it's right change. They would have hard time making 3.5 rules work for sanbox mmo, while on the other hand EVE has really good leveling system. I also hope thay change casting style, since I hate vencian casting.