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[CrashWaveGames]

^{DEVLOG - #8 Lookout for our Kickstarter}



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30yp6d-bW_w&feature=youtu.be

Kickstarter Link: kck.st/2drBwQJ
Please consider backing us!
*Press, please contact us at: [email protected] and check us out here: www.irontides.com/press

What is the Iron Tides?

Iron Tides is a rogue-lite genre mash of survival, exploration and tactical combat. You are cast in the role of a viking chieftain, charged with commanding a loot-hungry warband. Engage in a series of raids, venturing ever deeper into treacherous seas as you encounter long-forgotten ruins and mysterious tribes.

Combat in Iron Tides is quick, dynamic and oftentimes unforgiving. The tide of battle ebbs and flows with the fury of your vikings and the rush of enemy reinforcements. Positioning, timing, and a cunning use of limited resources are all key to your survival.

And survive you must. The sea is a ruthless place, full of great rewards but also dire consequences. You must take care to feed and maintain your crew, or else face your foe with a band of half-starved men. To make it out alive you'll often have to make some tough choices. You might have to toss the wounded overboard to save your food, hack apart precious artifacts to make space for necessities, or bribe your way through an encounter you're no longer strong enough to face.





Features

• A World Without End: Explore a procedurally generated ocean full of danger and chance encounters. Discover hidden coves, long lost relics, and ominous temples as you venture ever further into the east. Choose your battles carefully and stay vigilant.
• Viking Colonies: Discover lost viking colonies, and enjoy a brief respite from the turmoil of the sea. Resupply your hold, recruit fresh warriors and sell whatever isn't worth carrying back home.
• Encounters Upon the High Seas: Explore dusty ruins, bribe corrupt enemy garrisons, and haggle with lost merchants. Build your own story through small narrative encounters. Will you rob a king's tomb and risk the wrath of the gods? Will you take the effort to plunder statues when your warriors only want food?
• A Place to Call Home: After a successful voyage return to your stronghold of Norhaven. Sing songs for the fallen, purchase newly available wares, recruit new warriors, and plan the next raiding season.
• No Two Vikings Exactly Alike: Each viking has four abilities. One of these is a fixed default attack, but the other three are drawn from a pool of seven abilities particular to their class. In addition, each warrior has a unique, procedurally generated upgrade path, allowing for a diverse range of possibilities.
• Dead Warriors Live Only In Memory: The halls of Valhalla sing with glory as each Viking meets their end. Unfortunately for you and your crew, your lost warriors will not come back and help on the next raid.

First-Look Features

GameStormers First Look:




Platforms and Demo

We've been Greenlit for Steam, and have released a pre-alpha demo challenge! We plan to release for PC, Mac and Linux by 2017.

Demo: www.irontides.com/demo

• Find and defeat Jahargal.
• Keep all four Vikings alive.

How to Raid Effectively

• Pick the Right Crew: Know what your warriors can do and how their abilities interact. If all else fails, diversity is usually a good bet, and will likely give you the tools to face any threat.
• Maintain Your Food Stores: Sailing takes a toll on your vikings' stamina, and on occasion they'll have to eat to recover. Lack of food, however, will quickly leave their stamina at a level that incurs hefty penalties in combat. With starved warriors, you'll find yourself in a precarious position. You might have to fight regardless in order to obtain any food at all, or else pay an extortionate price to a cutthroat merchant.
• Bigger Isn't Always Better: A large warband isn't always worth the expense. A small experienced crew may complete your objectives just as well, with less risk of running low on supplies.
• Keep your vikings alive. You have one, very important job to do.

Viking Classes and Enemies
Our alpha demo currently has four classes ready for battle, and we plan to release our game into Early Access with six in total. If we meet our stretch goals, we'll have the opportunity to work with you and create additional classes with new unique abilities and skills.




Gifs http://imgur.com/a/K9R58
Take a look at our Imgur album for gifs and more.


Crash Wave Games

Here's a photo of us! We've been featured with Cliqist.com, GameSauce.biz, Video-Game-Break, The Golden Cartridge and more!



Sam Raski: Lead Developer, Artist and Designer. A veritable one-man army of productivity, Sam is the main driving force behind the creation of Iron Tides. He has been making games professionally for seven years, and as a hobby ever since he was twelve. He is inspired by strategy classics like Age of Empires and Civilization, as well as newer titles such as Darkest Dungeon and Hearthstone.

Carina Kom: Designer, Producer and Media Director. Carina has worked in the games industry for six years, mainly as a designer. She has a knack for spotting potential design issues, and is a wizard at finding the right people for any task. She's also our marketing and social media guru, making sure people stay tuned in to what we're working on. Her favorite games include Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Darkest Dungeon.

Thank You.

[Davi Vasc]

I saw you guys on IndieDB before and I was impressed ever since. I am now oficially hyped for this.

[CrashWaveGames]

Wow! Thank you for your patronage. We'll be doing a round of updates for the Iron Tides which includes the IndieDB page.

[Birdorf]

Ooh, following!

[CrashWaveGames]

Thank you! Feel free to AMA, and present your feedback along the way. The Collective (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/237/iron-tides) has been a great start leading towards a future Kickstarter. I hope you will follow us until the very end.

For Glory!

[MegaTiny]

Love the sense of impact on the attack. Nothing worse than when it feels like the two sides are playfighting.

[CrashWaveGames]

I agree - we don't want anyone to feel like the two sides are playfighting! We added a few features to give each death a unique twist:

• Death cries
• Camera shakes
• Particle effects
• Ragdoll effects

It's coming together and seems to be one of the more satisfying experiences with our play testers. IF you have any suggestions, feel free to inspire us!

[Ian_A]

My enemies will pay the iron price.

[CrashWaveGames]

^{DEV LOG #2 - Sailing Away}

Our first week on the Collective is coming to an end, but there are still 24 days left to vote -- please help an indie out. It takes about a minute, and all you need to vote is a Facebook or Steam account: http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/237/iron-tides.

Here are the results from day 2:





We were featured on the Collective's blog post that day, and to our delight, another games site (Gameranx) picked up on the story too! After these posts went out, we witnessed an increase of traffic to our website, which almost tripled our usual amount of visitors. Thank you for checking us out!


Graphs are exciting, you guys.



As a team of two, this is the first time we've received attention for our game. It means a great deal to us seeing this come together. At this moment, there isn't much to update you with - this week we focused all our efforts with the Collective. In the up-and-coming dev post, we're going to discuss exploration and how it works in Iron Tides. This is a topic of interest (according to a recent poll), and I think it's worth diving into.



Thanks for following along!


Shout out to Kingdoms of Loot
For being comrades on Square Enix Collective with us. Thanks for supporting us!

[CrashWaveGames]

Hello again!

As promised, we are writing with TIGS, before we take the update to Square Enix Collective. Please don't forget to help an indie and vote YES! We have 17 days left: https://bit.ly/IronTides

We've also been featured with Cliqist today: http://cliqist.com/2016/05/21/iron-tides-set-raze-kickstarter/

Nothing beats preparing for a full-on Kickstarter assault through meticulous planning. With the recent blessing of the Square Enix Collective and being Greenlit on Steam, Iron Tides is definitely on the right track to take to the high seas and raze some righteous hell in the name of Norhaven..

Today's Epic Topic: Exploration

Hungry Vikings Die at Sea

You can prevent starvation (and death) by stocking up on food before your voyage. As Cheiftain, you take care of your own first -- sometimes this means new stragglers are left to perish, alone and at sea… But oh well. Life’s not very fair.

Pillaging nearby towns is a good way to feed hungry Vikings. Attacking a settlement will recover some loot, and sometimes food. The more settlements you attack, the higher chances you have in finding food. Vikings need to eat.

Players are Rewarded for Exploring the Seas -- but it won't be easy.

Expect to experience the following:

• Escalating Threat: Each new settlement raises an alarm whenever a mighty crew lays siege to their town. Be wary of your actions as they start to add up and a once helpless village will rise to meet the challenge of your warband.
• Resource Management: Do you value gold or the lives of your crew? A ship can only hold so many things, and at times, you will decide the lives and fates of those who serve you.
• Chance Encounters: Treasure, battle, and environmental disasters. The seas are ravenous for blood and will either reward or punish you for embarking on journey.
• Stragglers and Decisions: Often times, you will find a straggler at sea. These stragglers may offer you food and loot, or perhaps even join you in battle.
  

That's it for now folks!
Thanks for checking in!
Don't forget to sign up for spam-free updates: www.irontides.com
And stay tuned for another update!

[CrashWaveGames]

^{Devlog #4 - Rolling Thunder}

We're giving away 25 alpha demos to supporters on our Thunderclap.

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/42659-indiegame-iron-tides?locale=en

This is our last week with Square Enix Collective, so we've decided to start a Thunderclap. The Thunderclap is used to help us find new votes and players from players who are not yet affiliated with Square.

If you want a free demo of our game (FREE), just click SUPPORT with your Twitter account on the link above. We'll DM you if selected - there are ONLY 18 left. Demos will be available for another 1 month for private testing. Spread the word!

Square Enix Collective rates us 85% on the Collective. I've added a couple sneak peak gifs to our update!




Gameplay



Vanguard Abilities

[CrashWaveGames]

^{Devlog # 5 - Casual Connect}
Do you want to connect with Crash Wave Games?
If you were unavailable for our free alpha key give away, we're headed to San Francisco to give you another shot!


Iron Tides will be showcased in an Indie Prize during July 20-22 2016.



This will be our first time in a showcase, and I believe we have an opportunity to win some cool prizes while we're there. We're up for Best Game Audio, Most Promising Game in Development, and Best Game in Show!

[CrashWaveGames]

^{Devlog #6: Getting Noticed}

Streamers begin to take advantage of our limited pre-alpha giveaways. Brian at Underfold Comics plays a build with his little punk. The adorable two hunt for treasure, "dig deep", and let rip with mighty war-cries!





1/2 the two CrashWaveGames devs on stage with the big screen!


We've added a new map to Iron Tides. Now Vikings can jump aboard the ship of a nearby enemy vessel:

[CrashWaveGames]

^{Devlog #7: Preparing for Kickstarter}

Hi all! We've returned from Casual Connect and are thrilled with our experience! There will be a blog update on our official site about our experience, but for now...

New Art, Lighting and Levels!


The Hunter is a ranged character with healing spells and double damage kill shots. Her accuracy is high, but does not wield a shield. She can mark her targets from a far, but is best left for standing behind a Shield comrade.



A new user interface shows the stamina of each Viking on your ship. The ship's hold is also showing off new items which are collectibles you can find sailing about the isles of the Iron Tides.



A new level takes place on an enemy ship found stranded at sea. We've adjusted some of the lighting and textures here, producing a "stormy" feel.


If you like what we do...
Feel free to reach out and join our mailing list www.irontides.com!
At this moment, we have released a pre-alpha demo for you, which can find here: www.irontides.com/tigsforum

For bugs, please send all reports to [email protected]
And please make sure to like or follow us through www.twitter.com/irontides, and www.facebook.com/irontidesgame. We'd love to see your streams or playthroughs if you are an indie streamer. We'll have another demo + chance to win free beta keys in another month, please stay tuned!

[LobsterSundew]

About the scheduling:

Gears of War 4 releases October 11th. Battlefield 1 and Civilization VI release on October 21st. A new Berserk game releases on October 27th. Titanfall 2 releases on October 28th. The only one of those 5 games to be really concerned about is Titanfall 2. The last quarter is when many AAA games are released ahead of the December holiday shopping season, so there isn't too much that can be done besides more effort into coordinating coverage and fans on the launch day.

The end date looks good. It just avoids some big events. Call of Duty Inifinite Warfare releases on November 4th. BlizzCon 2016 is also November 4th. Final Fantasy XV's release has been delayed.

Without hindsight the current planned campaign dates may be as good as they can get for what is left of 2016.

About the reward tiers:

Currently, 100 $8 slots would contribute at minimum of $800 once filled. There are alternatives for the $8 early-bird tier being simply capped by a predetermined number of slots.
- Time-based ends after a specific amount of time has passed.
- Milestone-based ends at a funding milestone like 50% funded.
- The traditional slot-based approach can also be combined with either of the above 2 types.
Each option above has pros and cons. What size the minimum funding goals ends up as is a big factor in deciding which option fits best.

Between the $20 and $55 tiers is where probably at least 2 reward tiers would be inserted to try to smooth out the flow.

Between the $55 and $100 tiers is another pricing gap. It is acceptable, but would be good to have at least another reward tier to help make the campaign a bit more efficient. Unfortunately the $50 to $100 range of reward tiers continues to be the hardest range to populate on digital-only projects. What goes in that range is often digital rewards that are uniquely fit for the subject material of the game (like banners in The Banner Sage). The $50 to $100 range is where some of the first physical rewards like t-shirts start appearing on campaigns not taking the purely digital route, but adding physical rewards would inflate the minimum funding goal being asked for. Improving the $20 to $55 range is still a greater priority since many more backers are expected in that range.

The paper prototype at the $100 tier is something I don't know how to value. I don't have enough personal experience to input what a proper price would be. Most of my tabletop experience is sticking with classics like Catan or Puerto Rico. Due to its digital nature, the PDF game may work better at a low priced tier. Appealing to backers in the tabletop category may help provide some additional coverage for the game. At the extreme end of the pricing spectrum the PDF could be made free as a form of promotional material.

The different strata/prestige of names in the credits is already something the rewards structure does (crew, viking, producer). It may be possible to split the groups further (oarsman, swab, boatswain) to create more reward tier options to fill in pricing gaps.

[CrashWaveGames]

Hey Lobster,

Thanks for your reply, we appreciate your assessment. I haven't posted any goal numbers but our dates are set -- we're running a tight ship.

Iron Tides - A viking themed survival game.
Iron Tides is a rogue-lite tactics game placing you in command of a loot-hungry crew. You are ruthless Viking Cheiftain.



Tier 1: Cheers.
$1.00
Est. $3.00 Value!
Thank you for your support and encouragement, you have made our journey that much merrier. *Clinks Beer Glass*

    + Your name in the Credits as "Patron".
    + Access into private feedback group.


Tier 2: Treasured Resource (Limited Time: 48 hours).
$9.00
Est. $15.00 Value!
Nothing says ready for battle like an early-backer. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your patronage!

    + Your name in the Credits: "Treasured Patron".
    + Access into private feedback group.
    + Early bird digital copy of the game.


Tier 3: Warrior.
$12.00
Est. $ 15.00 Value!
You are a trusted shield in combat. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for joining our team!

    + Your name in the Credits: Your choice of the name Shield Brother, Shield Maiden, or gender neutral Shield Warrior.
    + Access into private feedback group.
    + Digital copy of the game.


Tier 4: Chieftain.
$20.00
Est. $28.00 Value!
Charging into battle, you are a Chieftain of fierce and well known rapport. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your support and encouragement!

    + Your name in the Credits: "Chieftain".
    + Access into private feedback group.
    + One desktop wallpaper (1074x768px high res)
    + Digital copy of the game.
    + One digital copy of the original Iron Tides paper prototype board game (upgrade to "Ancient Map" for an extra set of dice!).


Tier 5: Furious Warband.
$35.00
Est. $43.00 Value!
Enlist your crew and form an unforgettable Warband. Our chances of survival are greatly increased! You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for backing us, now go tell a friend!

    + All previous rewards
    + One extra digital copy of the game.
    + One extra invite into private feedback group for your friend.


Tier 6: Ancient Song.
$55.00
Est. $70.00 Value!
You now have all the songs and secrets from the Iron Tides! You get a copy of the original Iron Tides Sea Shanty Score composed by John Robert Matz (http://johnrobertmatz.com).Help us reach our stretch goals by telling your friends! You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

    + All rewards from the Chieftain tier.
    + Complete digital copy of Iron Tides OST with work from John McKiever (http://johnmckiever.com/), John Robert Matz (http://johnrobertmatz.com) and more!
    + Digital copy of original sheet music for the Iron Tides Sea Shanty.
    + Access into our private developer chat room.
    + 7-piece dice set ready to use in the Iron Tides paper prototype. Shipping and handling across the world.
    + 3 digitally signed Iron Tides desktop wall-papers (1028x768 high res).


Tier 7: Bounty of Rations.
$100.00
Est. $150.00 Value!
With thanks to you, your mighty warband lives to sail another day. For your extra generosity, we are feeding our Viking developers with custom cookies and bringing this game to life! You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux.

    + All rewards from the Ancient Song tier.
    + We bake Viking themed cookies and personally thank everyone from this tier by name through Twitch while eating cookies. Twitch dates announced through weekly updates.
    + Everyone in this tier receives a PDF cookie recipe + HOW TO BAKE COOKIES FOR DUMMIES. Don't starve to death on the Iron Tides!
    + We send 1 specially-packed Viking cookie (1-3 days stay-fresh express mail) to anywhere in Canada and the US!


Tier 8: Tale of Norhaven. (Limited 5)
$250.00
Est. $325.00 Value!
The Tale of Norhaven reveals many lost treasures and secrets of the Iron Tides. You receive a beautifully crafted PDF lore book and have the chance to receive a highly exclusive voice-over track. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your support!

    + All rewards from the Bounty of Rations tier.
    + Your name in the credits as "Legendary Chieftain".
    + A digital 10-page Norhaven lore book including classes and the story of how Norhaven came to be.
    + We'll have the Tale of Norhaven professionally voiced over by the singer from the Iron Tides sea shanty if we reach 5/5 backers. Everyone in this tier will receive an exclusive copy!


Tier 9: A Lofty King.
$500.00
Est $600.00 Value!
A lofty King walks amongst us! Please tell us your story so that we may commemorate your arrival into the Iron Tides. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your encouragement and support!

    + All rewards from the Tale of Norhaven tier.
    + Special Steam avatar/icon for polls.
    + You write a snippet of lore used for a special item as voted by backer polls.
    + A new starters set of clothing exclusive to this tiers. Clothing choices are chosen by a private feedback group.
    + Send us your mightiest war-cry and we'll have it cleaned up and implemented into the game!


Tier 10: Roll of a Viking (Limited 6).
$1,000.00
Est. $1,200.00 Value!
You love the Viking theme as much as we do! We upgrade, write, and print the "History of Norhaven" PDF book for you with 20 additional pages of beautifully written text. We also include snippets of Viking myth for added authenticity! This book is signed and exclusively released to you anywhere in the world. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for your support!

    + All rewards from the Tale of Norhaven tier.
    + A custom and signed "The History of Norhaven" 10x8inch Hardcover book (30 pages including art, facts, strategies, weapons and more) sent anywhere in the world.
    + Custom Iron Tides 7-piece dice set ready to use in the Iron Tides paper prototype.
    + Write a snippet of lore for one of six character classes.


Tier 11: A Heroic Death. (Limited 5)
$2,000.00
Est. $2,200.00 Value!
You are a true adventurer, and find no greater death than one that is wrought with glory and valor. You are a producer of content and work with us to design and create one epic boss scattered about the Iron Tides. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for bringing glory to the Iron Tides!

    + All rewards from the Roll of  Viking tier.
    + Work with us to design a boss of your choosing (name, stats, movement, and abilities, dialogue if any, and lore).
    + Your name in the credits as "Producer".
    + 2 Additional Steam Keys.


Tier 12: Architect of Norhaven.
$5,000.00
Est. $5,500 Value!
You love to build, craft, and gather resources. Work with us to build the base of Norhaven, a place for Warbands to rest and trade. You are a paragon and belong at the center of the Iron Tides. You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you for bringing glory to the Iron Tides!

    + All rewards from a Heroic Death tier.
    + Work with us to implement one new building in Norhaven with features and mechanics (name, abilities, dialogue if any).
    + Send us your picture and we erect a statue into Iron Tides with your likeliness and name. Your name may altered to fit a Viking theme. Example: Ben, son of Olggr. Known for his valor and strength with a spear. Died gloriously in the Snake Temple".
    + We make one "Legendary Item" that belongs to you and throw it out to sea with additional lore.


Tier 13: The Song of Glory. (Limited 1)
$8,000.00
Est. $10,000 Value!!!
You are part of the Iron Tides developers crew! We handwrite a song for you, and have it professionally sung and composed. This song is used at the end of the credits and we put a photograph of you right into the game! You get a copy of the Iron Tides via Steam Key for PC, Mac, or Linux. Thank you so much for supporting the Iron Tides!!!

    + All rewards from the Architect of Norhaven tier.
    + We write a song for you and about what you do and what you love.
    + Your song is used in the Iron Tides credits.
    + A photo, or rendition of your likeliness in the Iron Tides credits.
    + Your name in the credits as "Iron Tides' Most Glorious Hero".
    + If you live in Vancouver, we take you out for lunch. If you live outside of Vancouver, we have a "Skype Lunch" with you!

Thank you for reading through this devlog! It bloody well means a lot to us. If you feel so inclined, please reach out to us through Twitter (www.twitter.com/irontides) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/IronTidesGame) and we can happily talk about Iron Tides.




As always, sign up to our free email listing for updates and more right here: eepurl.com/bv-JAT

[LobsterSundew]

About the rewards:

You must be very careful when talking about estimated value. It can backfire if you rate the estimated value too generously. It is important to provide justification like the $15 value being due to the $15 planned list price when the game is released.

I don't think the $1 tier needs the $3 estimated valued. The $15 estimated value is great for the $9 and $12 tiers. I am less enthusiastic about the $20 tier and onward showing estimated value.

The gender neutral "Shield Warrior" option in addition to "Shield Maiden" and"Shield Brother" is a detail I really like.

"Private feedback group" could have a stronger name.

Beta access is something many backers are interested in. It isn't clear if you will have a beta for backers.

About the description:

The current description is is below.

"Iron Tides is a rogue-lite tactics game placing you in command of a loot-hungry crew. You are ruthless Viking Cheiftain."

"Iron Tides" would already be in the title, so also including the name in the description would be unnecessary duplication. The same space could be used for other information.

"You are a ruthless Viking Chieftain" could work well as the very start of the description. The description could then flow into the commanding of a loot-hungry crew and then into the genre of rogue-lite tactics.

That One Lethal Mistake of Indie Game Marketing is an article I strongly recommend. The experience can be a higher priority than genre. Focussing on genre risks going to vague with the description. A more specific description can be more powerful.

A description of Bioshock is another good read about the same lesson. Being a rogue-lite is important information, but the viking portion could actually be a higher priority when presenting the game.

Then there are also potential efforts to make the description more compact while still retaining most of the information.

Below are a few potential descriptions that also utilize information from the Collective page for the game.

"You're a ruthless chieftain commanding a loot-hungry viking crew on your turn-based rogue-lite voyage through a sea of danger."

"You are a ruthless viking chieftain voyaging upon a sea of procedural rogue-lite danger. Command a loot-hungry crew of warriors in turn-based combat."

"Voyage upon a sea of procedural rogue-lite danger. Dead warriors won't come back from Valhalla, so issue your turn-based commands with care."

"Voyage upon a sea of rogue-lite danger. As their ruthless chieftain you guide your loot-hungry viking crews' fate with turn-based tactics."

[CrashWaveGames]

Hey Tigs,

Getting nervous now that our Kickstarter is just 10 days from now. We've done what we can to promote our game, and have reports for two different viral campaigns we've worked with.

Headtalker: https://headtalker.com/campaigns/iron-tides-on-kickstarter/

Headtalker is a social media tool we're using to boost our social presence on Kickstarter. In the past, we've used a similar tool called Thunderclap. Our social reach in the past started at 348,464.



Headtalker is almost 3x more powerful - we're currently at 986,177.





We're also turning our attention to new ways we can keep our social campaign going. At this moment we have at 4 updates planned that include a launch party, and 1 demo update. The final demo will remain available on our website until November 1.

You can still grab our pre-alpha from our site: www.irontides.com/demo
It is also with Alpha Beta Gamer: www.irontides.com/alphabetagamer

Press Updates
Thank you Video Game Break


And heroic victory from Twitch Streamer Cyanical Fate who says, "This type of game fits with exactly what I like".



And the wonderful Duo from http://the16bitcouple.com/





We're currently finalizing the touches on our Kickstarter video, and touching up our banners and headers for the page. The banner below is still a WIP!


Iron Tides: Iron Tides - a Viking themed survival-strategy game.
You are a ruthless chieftain commanding a loot-hungry crew on a turn-based adventure at sea. Paper turned rogue-lite strategy!

[LobsterSundew]

78 backers are currently pledging $2,748. That is 14.46% of the $19,000 goal.

About campaign performance:

Here is the data for the first day of the campaign:
http://i.imgur.com/xBQwUSS.png

18.20% of the current funding is coming from a $500 tier backer, but overall the campaign isn't heavily relying on large pledges or a large amount of unallocated funds. This is good. Some campaigns are inflated by big pledges at launch. Having funding distance covered by regular backers is important.

Between 50% and 60% of backers are picking the least expensive tier for a copy of the game. This is good. In general I see it as the bad end of the spectrum when 80% of backers or more are doing this. 40% of backers picking the cheapest option for the game is the excellent end of the spectrum (although in some cases it just means lack of backers). It will take time to see how well the rewards upsell backers.

The $12 tier is an early-bird version for the $15 tier, so the low performance of the $15 and $20 tier isn't something to worry about at launch.

The average pledge per backer was around $30 for a big portion of the day before the $500 pledge bumped it a bit higher. It is currently $35.23 per backer.

At an average of $30 per backer it would take 634 backers to reach 100%. It would take 543 backers at $35 per backer to do the same. 600 backers isn't a crazy amount.

An early milestone to aim for is 15% during the first week. 15% of $19,000 is $2,850. Iron Tides is just $102 from that milestone. It should reach it easily.

The next milestone is 30%-funded-before-halfway. This important milestone means the campaign statistically becomes more likely to succeed than to fail. 30% of $19,000 is $5,700. That is $2,952 away. At $30 per backer, that would be 99 backers away. For now focus on getting at least 99 additional backers.

BackerTracker shows a trend to $25,381 (133.6%).

Kicktraq shows a trend to $48,618 (255%), but Kicktraq is often optimistic this early in the campaign. The "+suggest" button for tags can be used to add platform information like "Linux".

About outside Kickstarter:

Iron Tides didn't have any press that I could find at launch, but it did have social media activity.

No Man's Sky continues to stay in the news for being under investigation.

Wasteland 3's crowdfunding campaign was announced. They will apparently be looking for a $2,750,000 goal on FIG's crowdfunding platform.

Battlefield 1 marketing continues to push.

The external environment isn't too crazy right now.

About within Kickstarter:

Iron Tides is currently ranked 9th in the category. Staying within the top 20 is good for getting discovered within Kickstarter.

Many campaigns that launched in September or late August have ended or are within days from ending. Rad Rogers has 7 days to go. Hypnospace Outlaw has 5 days. Chronoclock has 18 hours remaining. There are only 155 live video game projects right now. It can often rise to over 200.

I.C.U. is a project that launched this week. It grabbed the top rank and is driving good traffic to Kickstarter. It ends in 32 days.

A new month means a wave of fresh campaigns. When October arrives the video games category could see some strong projects launching. For now Iron Tides can try to take advantage of less competition.

[LobsterSundew]

132 backers are currently pledging $7,076 (37.24%).

The campaign is enduring its first weekend.

Campaign performance:

Here is data for the first 4 days.
http://i.imgur.com/KaQL1jh.png

The unallocated funding amount suddenly jumped from $141 to $1,141 when the $2,000 tier received a backer. I see project update #3 had an interview with the $3,000 mega backer.

That $3,000 backer is contributing 42.40% of the current total. Pledges can sometimes bounce like a bounced check. It is a possibility. If you barely reach $19,000, then $3,000 bouncing would leave you at $16,000 but with the obligations to still deliver the project (or refund backers). Campaigns in similar situations warn backers that unless a new minimum is reached the campaign could be canceled to avoid risking such a scenario. If the campaign surpasses $22,000 then you wouldn't have to worry about if the $3,000 pledge bounces. For now it isn't something to be too worried about. When the campaign is in its final 48 hours is the time to take a look again.

$53.61 per backer is too high for an average pledge with a $12 tier being the most populated reward. Higher averages can mean momentum problems. An adjusted average pledge (that ignores the $3,000 backer) is a very healthy $31.11 per backer.

Kicktraq shows an overly-optimistic trend to $50,947 (268%) thanks to that $3,000 backer. BackerTracker shows $22,662 (119.3%).

About within Kickstarter:

Iron Tides is currently ranked 17th in the category.

Antraxx needs to aim for 1,110 to 1,300 backers total to reach 100% funded. It is currently at 21 backers pledging €625. It will need to do better over the next few days to avoid being buried out of sight in the project rankings.
http://i.imgur.com/sCbbPGG.png
For comparison Iron Tides had 17 backers in its first half-hour. It'll be interesting how well Kickstarter's frequent video game backers respond to the project on Monday. Code: Hardcore also launched on a Saturday and the campaign suddenly came to life on the Monday.
http://i.imgur.com/zHVDQ52.png

Dungeon of Zaar needs to aim for 758 to 1,250 backers total. It has 159 backers pledging €4,755 of a €25,000 goal. Unallocated funds I can't trace are 18.30% of what has been raised so far.

Cattle and Crops, Beard Blade, Project Automata and Dwarrows also launched as part of the new wave of October projects. Expect more high-quality projects on Monday and Tuesday.

About outside Kickstarter:

Iron Tides was covered by Hardcore Gamer. There was social media activity. I didn't find much else.

Twitch announced features for Amazon Prime members.

Battlefield 1 continues its marketing.

Playstation VR kits are out to review sites. Mafia 3 did not send copies out to reviewers ahead of its launch (usually a bad sign).

It still isn't very busy in video gaming news outside Kickstarter.