Areal (aka S.T.A.L.K.E.R. / Metro 3.0)

[singlespace]

Looks like the core team behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro (the leads for design, engine architecture, animation, concept art, etc.) left to form a new studio called West Games. They just launched Kickstarter for Areal, which is their spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro:

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1577656602/areal

 

They also say Areal, Areal being the name of their game Areal, about a thousand times. Areal.

[Thrik]

That budget seems ridiculously low, like one dude's salary? I guess maybe the new thing is to aim low so that even if the Kickstarter isn't that popular they get at least some money — but surely not enough to make the game happen.

[singlespace]

Presumably they have some funding already, but GSC and 4A are kind of ridiculous in terms of what they consider reasonable game development and budgets so who knows?

 

Jason Rubin stated that 4A made Last Light with less than a tenth the budget of their competitors, which he noted was less than some of them spend on their cutscenes. He also had some horror stories about how they would work without power for days on end, have heating cut in the dead of winter, and working under other strange and insane working conditions. Granted 4A is based out of Ukraine, but that's still insane and scary.

 

However, $50K probably isn't enough to even keep them alive for the span of the game's development since they're out of the US now, so I'm erring on the side that they have some other money already.

[Twig]

Their Kickstarter page says they have backing elsewhere. I think they also hope it's a big hit and they hit a lot of stretch goals.

[singlespace]

Hmmm... Looks like there is now some dispute as to whether they're really who they say they are.

[neonrev]

Man, I really really hope this is legit, but I think I'm with the people in the comments there, a lot feels fishy about this, especially the video, which featured nothing but old stalker footage and some (what some people are saying is stock Unity 3D stuff, but I wouldn't know) in-development shots close-up on car models, and in the background when they show the room of people they apparently have working on it. It also claims that its amazing, revolutionary proprietary engine will allow them to release on PC, Xbox one and PS4 simultaneously, which would be quite the feat in a year, especially given the history of the development of the STALKER series and their rampant bugginess at launch. That, combined with the fact that the guy who's name is administering the account has nothing to do with either company, and isn't mentioned anywhere in the pitch, leaves me extremely doubtful. One of the guys from the MISERY mod team is on there blowing his top over this, and I know people from that team have worked fairly closely with 4A and GSC in the past, so I think if its fake it will come out fairly quick. The STALKER series are some of my favorite games, and I would like nothing more than a SP thing from former stalker devs, but I'm really doubtful and sad now.

[Erkki]

Yeah, just from watching the video it seems really dubious.

[DoomMunky]

Well, I'm in. Anything for more STALKER. I don't care if they are who they say they are. Gimme. 

[Erkki]

You don't care that they are lying from the start and you hope they'll still deliver what they described by showing videos of an old game someone else made?

[coaxmetal]

Well, I love the STALKER games, and Metro was well, but, more than anything else that would make me think it is a scam is the fact that they are only asking for $50k (not to say that I do think it is a scam, but that seems like the most dubious part of the whole thing). Even with outside funding, what is a $50k kickstarter going to give them? It isn't really proof of interest on a large scale, and not really much money to contribute to the game's development, if the game is anything like STALKER. I dunno. Hopefully they make a great game.

[Badfinger]

Well, I love the STALKER games, and Metro was well, but, more than anything else that would make me think it is a scam is the fact that they are only asking for $50k (not to say that I do think it is a scam, but that seems like the most dubious part of the whole thing). Even with outside funding, what is a $50k kickstarter going to give them? It isn't really proof of interest on a large scale, and not really much money to contribute to the game's development, if the game is anything like STALKER. I dunno. Hopefully they make a great game.

 

I do think it's a scam.

 

They're using STALKER footage and concept art, which is... not legal at worst and unethical at best. There are literally no names on their website aside from Eugene Kim, and man if you are going to claim to have worked on STALKER games maybe it would be good if more than just one person showed up in the credits for any of them! And one of their employees wasn't a stock photo! Considering that when GSC collapsed a bunch of people created Vostok Games and have been working on a spiritual successor to STALKER for 2 years now, it's weird that "the creators of STALKER" are just now kickstarting a spiritual successor. Plus, and this isn't an indictment so much as just something weird, that website is absolute garbage. It's basically a template site with nothing but a kickstarter announcement and links to STALKER art with no history for a company that says it's existed for a year.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-25-definitive-spiritual-successor-to-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-hits-kickstarter

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/06/26/areal-kickstarter-raises-huge-red-flags-backers-beware/

 

And if I'm wrong and it's totally real, you still shouldn't give them any money because 50k is completely unrealistic and their statements don't match their outputs as far as development goes. Which is to say, even if it's on the up and up it is a bad kickstarter and poorly run which spells trouble.

[neonrev]

Completely agreed. There is very little so far to suggest this is on the up and up, and the 50k goal for hard copies on PS4 and Xbone is literally impossible unless they have outside funding, which if they have they should probably mention, since it would bring at least some legitimacy to the project.  It's tough to tell if they're simply scam artists or just complete idiots with no idea of how games are made at a broader level. I'm a tremendous fan of the stalker series (I even made a special trip while in Germany to hunt down the german special edition of CoP. I wanted that box and lighter damn it.), and seeing that legacy just get dragged through the mud pisses me off, as does this sort of shit only making Ukrainian (or just Slavic generally, not like people care about those distinctions here) businesses and people seem more shady to Westerners, which also pisses me off as a Ukrainian American. They've also been throwing shit at the Misery KS team for calling out the problems with their project without actually responding to their (usually earnest) questions, which is just piddly-ass childish bullshit to me.

When I really think about it there is nothing to defend here yet. Stop backing this shit and giving it legitimacy, it's insulting to the devs, insulting to the fans, and only reduces the possibility of a serious Stalker spiritual successor if this turns into a bigger KS scam thing and tarnishes that name.

[Nachimir]

Their kickstarter total has been falling for the past day, and they seem to have stopped replying to comments.

 

This made me laugh:

 

They obviously lack PR and lawyers but maybe that's why the budget is as low as it is?

[neonrev]

The misery mod team has a compilation of the problems with the areal kickstarter up on their website, if anyone doesn't feel like dredging through comments on KS.

http://www.miserymod.com/?page_id=1911

 

[Architecture]

This just gets stranger and stranger:

 

STALKER: Who's the Rightful Heir?

[Twig]

Well this escalated quickly. I haven't read all the links posted since my last post (oh how innocent I was!), but this kind of shit is both gross and fascinating to me. Man.

[Architecture]

As an aside, Games Industry is quickly becoming my go-to source for games writing.

[Niyeaux]

This is very definitely a scam. Their video contains footage from the original STALKER, as well as footage from an old Unity engine tech demo. Almost all the art assets they've used are stolen from various places. The supposed CEO of the company is a stock photo from shutterstock. And, according to this article, the guy running the show (and who is receiving the Kickstarter pledge money), has already run a shady kickstarter campaign once before.

For the love of god do not back this.

[brkl]

But what if you really like STALKER, though?

[Nachimir]

You'll be all the more disappointed when that dude takes the money and runs. Again.

[singlespace]

Looks like it's infighting from former STALKER folks and people who are working on related properties:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861378/areal-kickstarter-stalker-spiritual-sequel-spawns-debate

 

The Misery / The Seed folks have pretty much backed entire out of criticising West after being threatened by legal action. The currently inactive GSC also came out in support of Areal in a way:

https://www.facebook.com/MiseryMod/posts/480640962069528?comment_id=480914525375505&offset=0&total_comments=21

 

Vostok has also backed away from any accusations presumably for the same reasons:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1577656602/areal/posts/889637

 

So I guess they actually are the people they say they are, but the question remains as to what state Areal is in, whether they actually have much funding outside of Kickstarter like they've claimed, and I guess who's Leonid Kovtun:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-26-that-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-y-areal-kickstarter-whats-going-on

[Gormongous]

So I guess they actually are the people they say they are, but the question remains as to what state Areal is in, whether they actually have much funding outside of Kickstarter like they've claimed, and I guess who's Leonid Kovtun:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-26-that-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-y-areal-kickstarter-whats-going-on

 

I am still weirded out by the fact that multiple members of the dev team shown on the initial Kickstarter page, including lead Eugene Kim, were stock photos. Apparently, the taker of the stock photos lives in the Ukraine, which makes it possible that those members are still somehow who they say they are, but it's still bizarre that they'd do something that is so damn suspicious in an already suspicious Kickstarter...

[singlespace]

I am still weirded out by the fact that multiple members of the dev team shown on the initial Kickstarter page, including lead Eugene Kim, were stock photos. Apparently, the taker of the stock photos lives in the Ukraine, which makes it possible that those members are still somehow who they say they are, but it's still bizarre that they'd do something that is so damn suspicious in an already suspicious Kickstarter...

That was resolved and video proof was provided:

 

They did some stock photos in the past and chose to use those shots -- probably because they were of a pretty good quality and they already had them. I'm not saying the project is legitimate, just that the issues of identity and what not are resolved at this point.

[Gormongous]

They did some stock photos in the past and chose to use those shots -- probably because they were of a pretty good quality and they already had them. I'm not saying the project is legitimate, just that the issues of identity and what not are resolved at this point.

 

Yeah, I didn't mean to say that it was fake, just that using publicly available stock photos, no matter how professional-looking, was a colossally stupid thing to do for a Kickstarter by a hitherto unheard-of team. There are a lot of little mistakes throughout the Kickstarter that have made it pretty easy for them to be attacked and discredited, which is unfortunate regardless.

[brkl]

I guess they didn't expect to be attacked?