Name | Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness | ||
Developer | GrapeOcean Technologies | ||
Publisher | V Publishing | ||
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Release | 2021-08-26 | ||
Steam | 22,49€ 22,49£ 22,49$ / 10 % | ||
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Controls | Keyboard Mouse | ||
Players online |  n/a  | ||
Steam Rating | Mostly Positive | ||
Steam store | |||
Public Linux depots | Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Linux Content [32.74 G] |
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Should you have any questions or comments, you can share them here on Steam, on our forums and social media, or directly on our Discord channels. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
Q: I'm sure you gained much experience, but the above plans are very ambitious. What makes you believe you can make it if I support you now? A: We learnt several lessons from Black Geyser. Including design and management mistakes we won't make again. We just need your help to bootstrap the process by backing the DLC on Kickstarter or PayPal. This brand-new DLC will give a strong push and press coverage to the Black Geyser project again, and its revenue will allow the team to design the sequel (and then prepare another Kickstarter for the sequel). There is a saying that success breeds success. While nobody cares about old or failed projects, a truly successful Black Geyser sequel will enable additional projects (including a unique sci-fi/post-apocalyptic style RPG). On the other hand, without a Kickstarter for a DLC now, bootstrapping and survival are impossible, which means we will be forced to close permanently. It's an all-or-nothing, now-or-never thing. There is no middle ground. Q: You just mentioned that you want to make a Kickstarter for the DLC now, and then another Kickstarter later for the Black Geyser sequel. Why is that? A: The Kickstarter for the DLC enables us to complete the DLC's development and release the DLC. The DLC's Kickstarter establishes a fresh and active backer base, which will be handy for the sequel's Kickstarter as well. Developing the DLC also gives us valuable experience that we can use for the sequel. Q: I'm not satisfied with a number of things in Black Geyser. These include loading times, QoL things, lacking depth of characters, too few romances, empty and boring maps, unsatisfying epilogue, and way too many fetch quests. How come you didn't you get these right? A: The issues you listed were known by us even at the release of the game in 2022. Getting these right would have required a much bigger budget or a longer development time with a bigger team (the two are interchangeable). This was not predictible in 2018 when we planned the original budget. Since Black Geyser is our first videogame, we certainly made mistakes during its development and learnt several lessons, but 80% of Black Geyser's biggest issues are still the result of insufficient budget. RTwP games are very expensive to develop from scratch, and we had to face several unexpected happenings (such as the pandemic). Nothing is more frustating than having the skills to do something but lacking the necessary budget at the end of the day. Q: Will the DLC address 100% of the issues mentioned in the previous question? A: The DLC primarily focuses on new content and on the delivery of long-awaited features (in its free Fixpack). You can read the complete list of planned features. While we do our best to improve as many features as possible in Black Geyser, remastering global stuff like fetch quests or character depth is impossible with a DLC budget. What you are asking is the main objective of the Black Geyser sequel instead. We are convinced that we can address all major issues of Black Geyser 1 in its sequel, and create a much better game, but to do that, we will have to to raise a significant budget for the sequel. This cannot be done in a single step, especially not now. The first step is the DLC. The second step is the sequel. Q: What makes you think that you can raise enough money to fund more memorable characters, engaging side quests, interesting maps and an overall smoother experience for the Black Geyser sequel? A: For Black Geyser 1, we had to build a real-time-with-pause (RTwP) game engine from scratch, based on the Unity core engine. Contrary to the common misbelief, it isn't possible to license an existing RTwP RPG engine from other studios, as their engines are not available for licensing. Creating our own engine used up more than 70% of the total project budget. Since we have now the Black Geyser 1 engine in place and ready to use, we will only have to optimize it and improve it for a sequel. Which is no little work either, but it is much, much, much less expensive than creating an engine from scratch. Therefore, most of the sequel budget can be spent for in-depth system and content design (QoL features, memorable characters, engaging quests and maps etc.). This was not possible for Black Geyser 1. Moreover, since we learnt from our mistakes, we will not only have more money to spend on production quality, but will also be able use this money more efficiently. Q: You mentioned that your revenue is not enough to support your daily operation. So how would these Kickstarters really fund new products when you have issues with your daily operation even? A: They are interrelated. Income means you have work, and vice versa. Imagine a carpenter who makes a living creating wooden staircases. Now, if the carpenter no longer gets any new jobs at all, and is asked to repair their existing works only, their income won't be enough to make a living. The carpenter's tools and workshop have fixed overhead, regardless of the amount of work they get. We have a talented team and a functional game engine, but our costs are no longer sustainable without new projects in the current economic situation. Imagine an architect who designs buildings. They cannot make a living by designing a single building whole their life. Q: What happens if the funds raised on Kickstarter won't be enough to develop the DLC and the team cannot stay afloat after all? I don't want to risk even $15 for an uncertain thing. A: This cannot happen, because we will set a Kickstarter funding goal that fully covers the DLC development costs and release. Any funds raised above this will serve as a safety reserve, and will be used eventually to improve the game. Moreover, as already mentioned before, the local economic situation is predicted to improve by the end of this year. Without your support for the DLC, however, we cannot survive financially till then. Q: My Kickstarter rewards are still not delivered. Why is that? Are you asking support without delivering rewards to your existing backers? A: Digital rewards (soundtrack, lorebook PDF etc.) were already delivered - if you haven't received yours in BackerKit, please contact us and we will look into it. Regarding the physical rewards (boxes, hardcover books, collector editions, mousepads etc.), we are grateful for your patience. All physical rewards will be delivered to everyone before we launch any Kickstarter or crowdfunding. Sadly, the delivery prices we estimated in 2018 skyrocketed since then. Having said that, we do have the budget to get all physical rewards delivered even now, but then we would risk the daily operation of the team by using up our last reserves. Before starting the delivery, we want to see what funds (if any) we can expect in the future for the DLC. Of course, your rewards will be delivered to you no matter what, but we want to see our future first before scheduling delivery costs. Q: I enjoy classic-style RPGs, but some features of Black Geyser were too old-school for me (example: per-character inventory). Are you planning to introduce well-established RPG concepts into the sequel, such as stash i.e. shared inventory? A: Certainly. The sequel will place a big emphasis on QoL, and will no longer insist on very old-school features that restrict User Experience. Q: If the sequel is successful financially, would you consider implementing major improvements retroactively to Black Geyser 1? A: Yes, if the sequel is financially very successful, we will definitely consider improving some major aspects of Black Geyser 1. One example is reworking fetch quests to make them more complex and engaging, with more interesting choices. Another example would be adding engaging content to the locations that are currently quite empty. We would also love to improve character movement and combat animations. Q: I've never participated in a Kickstarter or crowdfunding before. How does it work? Do I get the full DLC later for free if I back the project financially on Kickstarter? A: Yes, if you choose the appropriate reward tier in the Kickstarter campaign, you will get the DLC for free when it's released. You can consider your Kickstarter support as a DLC pre-order at a discounted price. Kickstarter is a platform for reward-based crowdfunding. Each project has a financial goal. 50,000 USD, for example. If the funding goal is not reached for the project, your credit card will not be charged at all. So it's an all-or-nothing platform. If the goal is 50,000 USD, it isn't possible for the project creator to raise 45,000 USD for example. Q: So you are basically asking advance payment for developing a brand-new DLC, aren't you? You did the same in 2018 with your Kickstarter. You had no track record of released products that time, and used crowdfunding to develop and release your first game, Black Geyser. A: Exactly. Using Kickstarter is like a carpenter asking an advance payment for the staircase they are going to create. The Black Geyser DLC would be our second product, so our experience enables us to use the new Kickstarter funds more efficiently than before. Once the DLC is released, we will focus all our efforts and knowledge on the Black Geyser sequel - our third product. Q: Since you already delivered a full project to the market (Black Geyser 1), I trust that you can develop, release and support a videogame from scratch. I believe you learnt from your mistakes, and will do your best in the DLC and then deliver a great sequel to Black Geyser. What is the next step, how can I help? A: Preparing a Kickstarter campaign requires significant costs. We want to start preparations only if we are convinced that the funding goal of the DLC Kickstarter will be reached. Otherwise, we will be set up to fail, and all Kickstarter costs will be wasted money. Therefore, we ask you to fill out this short survey (it takes a minute or two). Q: I don't do Kickstarters. Can I use PayPal to support your campaigns instead? A: Yes. PayPal pledging usually opens on the last day of Kickstarter campaigns. Q: When should the Kickstarter launch for the DLC & Fixpack? A: This depends on several factors, but we would like to launch it in April. Q: What was the survey link again? A: This is the Google Forms survey. Feel free to share it with others. Thank you for your time. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam. We wish you all a happy Boreste! The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
[h2]Create Your Full Party[/h2] When you start a new game, Black Geyser allows you to create your main character as well as up to 4 custom characters for your party. These additional characters won't be present in the prologue and tutorial of the game; you will be able to recruit them a tad bit later. Their location will be displayed in the Summary screen of the Character Creation UI, as well as in the Party Manager UI during the game. We will also list their locations below (SPOILER ALERT): If the game progresses to the main quest "To The Quick" before recruiting the second and third custom companion, they move inside the Crooked Haggler. Creating your custom party no longer requires you to own a copy of Black Geyser, since we also created a completely free, online Character Generator website for you. It allows you to create and download a custom party, which you can import directly into the game if you wish. Since you can use this website from any location, you can have fun with character builds even when you don't have Black Geyser installed on your current device. [h2]Balance and Attributes Update[/h2] In terms of balance, the current update addresses two earlier issues of the game: early-game areas were too easy, and the second half of the game could be unfair due to a harsh spike in difficulty. In terms of attributes, three stats (Charisma, Focus, and Dexterity) were redesigned carefully. For a precise description of balance and attribute changes, please take a look at this detailed documentation. [h2]Spanish Localization[/h2] Both versions of Spanish localization (Spain and Latin America) are now available for the game! We want to express our eternal thanks to Miguel Lara for creating these translations for Black Geyser. Without his selfless and precise work, the game wouldn't be available in Spanish now. We also want to thank Oscar "DonHart" Gmez for his participation in the LATAM version of the Spanish localization. [h2]Our Future[/h2] We are a very small indie team with a particularly meager budget and a single product. If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam to let others know what you think. We would love to create a sequel for Black Geyser, taking into account the lessons we learnt so far as well as your awesome feedback to make the sequel an even better and refined product. [h2]Fixes and improvements[/h2]
Were truly grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and continues to support Black Geyser. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam. Stay tuned! The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
Were incredibly grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and continues to support Black Geyser. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
Were incredibly grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and continues to support Black Geyser, and we look forward to you diving into these latest updates. The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
As always and for all of you who continue to support Black Geyser and who continue to provide feedback here or on Discord, thank you so much! /Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
Ho there, adventurers!
Besides this and before the end of the month well also be adding the following (with more to come):
As far as our mid-term plans are concerned - and some of these may arrive before the end of the month - were wanting to further expand on our quest journal and travel system. These changes will include:
Finally, our long term plans are very much in the works and while we dont yet have a firm date on when they'll arrive, well have them to you as soon as possible.
For everyone who has joined us on this journey and continues to support Black Geyser were incredibly grateful and we look forward to you diving into these latest updates. /Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
Ho there, adventurers!
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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Ho there, adventurers! |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
In the coming days we'll be revealing what's on the horizon for Phase 3, and we look forward to all your feedback surrounding this major update. Be sure to join us on Discord, or across social media, to let us know your thoughts. What are you waiting for? Go download the update! /Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
[h3]Our friends at Lost Pilgrims have just launched Vagrus - The Riven Realms into full release here on Steam.[/h3]
[h3]Centurion Edition[/h3] A special Centurion Edition of Vagrus released alongside the full game. This special edition includes the base game, the original soundtrack, and the Patronage Pack at a special launch price during launch week. Those who already own the base game can also purchase the DLCs individually. Try your hand at Vagrus to see if you can make profit while surviving in the wastelands! https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660/Vagrus__The_Riven_Realms/?snr=1_5_1100__1100 [h3]Vagrus also has a FREE Prologue available here on Steam[/h3] If you are interested in getting a glimpse of Vagrus, check it out here. |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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Expect many more fixes in the coming days as we collate all your feedback, and pursue key target areas of concern based on what youve told us! The Black Geyser Team https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
[h2]Changes[/h2]
Expect many more fixes in the coming days as we collate all your feedback, and pursue key target areas of concern based on what youve told us! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/ |
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