Former Dawn Kickstarter Is A Big Fat Disappointment

[PopGeeks]

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https://popgeeks.com/former-dawn-kickstarter-is-a-big-fat-disappointment/

I’ve been following the development of Former Dawn for months. It promises to be the most advanced NES homebrew ever made, pushing the system to limits no retail game in the console’s lifetime ever achieved. Today was the day the long-awaited Kickstarter campaign launched for the project, and….well, it’s a good thing the EGM Compendium was launched on the same day, to take some of the disappointment away. What am I talking about? Well, I’m gonna have to explain how the NES works first and why this game is so amazing. The machine as-is was built to run an arcade-perfect version of Donkey Kong. Everything else it was able to do is from the achievement of “mappers” — special chips in each cartridge board that manage the memory space in the NES. Since it’s not very large, you can make bigger games by swapping out what’s stored in that memory. Some of the most advanced mapper chips toward the end of the NES life cycle could even add special effects like extra sound channels. As I said two paragraphs ago, Former Dawn was engineered to do things the NES has never done before. It has its own sound chip, it […]

 

[DeBrito24]

I can see why Former Dawn is getting flack for the limited physical release. But game development is hard, especially for retro stuff. These devs probably underestimated the costs and the demand. Hopefully they can learn from this and find a way to get the physical carts out there if the Steam version does well.

 

[KlingonWarrior87]

Hey, have you guys considered trying a Patreon campaign? It's a great way to fund projects without worrying about deadlines. You can set up recurring pledges and keep the funds flowing even after the initial Kickstarter is over. Plus, you can offer exclusive rewards to your patrons, like early access to the game or behind-the-scenes content. Just a thought!

 

[aboleth_lich]

I get the frustration, but making custom NES carts is a crazy expensive undertaking. These guys aren't a huge company, so the margins must be razor thin. Don't blame them for wanting to focus on the Steam version where they can actually make some money. Maybe if the Steam version does well, they can revisit the physical carts later.

 

[Sure Your Ken]

Custom mapper chip, huh? Sounds ambitious! But yeah, that explains the limited carts and the no-go on emulators. It's a shame they couldn't find a way to make the physical version more accessible. Maybe there's a workaround with flash carts that they haven't considered? These devs should hit up some modding forums.

 

[Toto_Tornado]

I can see why Former Dawn is getting flack for the limited physical release. But game development is hard, especially for retro stuff. These devs probably underestimated the costs and the demand. Hopefully they can learn from this and find a way to get the physical carts out there if the Steam version does well.