Happy New Year to all!  May it be a great year for you and your families!

~throwi

I like exploding kittens as well as the next person, but can anyone tell me why the kickstarter card game directly asks for credit card info? Seems like every other kickstarter I have backed had the payment funded through my amazon account. Apparently tens of thousands of backers do not share my concern. Anybody ever see a kickstarter campaign that required credit card entry?

Looks like KS is moving away from the AZ marketplace - there was an announcement recently that stated they were going to start taking CC info.  In fact, new KS users will find that they won't need to create an AZ account.

I think we'll start seeing more of this type of thing with projects in KS.

~throwi

Good point kythri, hadn't thought of that.  I was thinking about the angle where people won't back because they don't want an AZ account...

~throwi

kythri wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:

throwi wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Looks like KS is moving away from the AZ marketplace - there was an announcement recently that stated they were going to start taking CC info.  In fact, new KS users will find that they won't need to create an AZ account.

I think we'll start seeing more of this type of thing with projects in KS.

~throwi

In a way, that's good.  That means that, if KS is taking the money directly, then bilked backers can go after KS directly for their failure to handle deadbeat project creators.

Also,

If they can bill directly, they don't need to give Amazon a cut...

... and maybe more goes into the products people are developing.

If that's the case, then I'm even less likely to back another Kickstarter now then I was before (burnt on one too many projects).

I'm content with Amazon, and really don't want to sign up for yet another payment service.

Guess I'll have to see how things play out.

kythri wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:If that's the case, then I'm even less likely to back another Kickstarter now then I was before (burnt on one too many projects).

I'm content with Amazon, and really don't want to sign up for yet another payment service.

Guess I'll have to see how things play out.

As a KS project creator I am quite sorry that anything would make you less likely to back a project. My guess is that you will be able maintain your current level of reticence about backing projects. They have many options for payment gateways that would fulfill their needs. From what I can tell Kickstarter wants a payment gateway that-

1) Asks for less money than Amazon
2) Allows for multiple types of payments
3) Lacks the baggage of being Amazon- by which I mean sheer size alone guarantees a larger pool of potential backers that outright refuse to use a service with any Amazon affiliation (doubled charged them for diapers at Amazon Mom one time too many or something).
4) Keeps payment information as up to date as possible to avoid cards expiring before a project ends (right now about 2-4% of pledges run into this problem).

and (5) will be invisible to backers entirely.

Off the top of my head I can think of three. PayPal, SquarePay and Stripe. Of these I think none of these requires a customer account to make a credit card payment.

Basically the appear to be opting for a shopping cart that leaves the layer of deniability they rely on- in order to keep pretending they have no responsibilities for failed projects.

These are obviously just my thoughts and guesses about it. I know only what I read here and at dragonsfoot.

Zach

PS- I hope your experience with other projects doesn't preclude you from all future projects. I say this as a totally disinterested party

Hello.  Going to post this here since this is the only Acaeum off-topic thread I could find.  I'm sure many of you are avid computer game players in addition to RPGers.  With sites like gog and abandonware, I hope to find an old favorite to play again.  It was a sci-fi explore/trade/fight game.  It was released some time between '91 and '94.  I played it on a PC and don't think there was a Mac version.  The game included a large fold-out poster of the game galaxy in full color.

- There were three parts to the game.  The first was starship construction. The second was finding planets and mining resources.  The third was away teams searching old bases and ships.
- Starship construction.  You used funds earned by exploring and trading mined resources to get better hulls.  You could then upgrade them with basic components like better engines, better shields, and more powerful weapons.
- Exploring the galaxy. You would chart courses from planet to planet and occasionally encounter pirates/alien forces.  Ship to ship combat was pretty basic and was somewhere between real time and turn based.  Once you reached a planet, you could look for resources to mine and bring back to your own base. These could be sold for cash to upgrade your ship.  I think you could also use some as raw materials to build upgrades.
- Finally there were the away teams.  You picked a team of 3-4 members to explore old bases and crashed ships.  The away team graphics were somewhere between isometric and top down views.  You controlled the leader and your away team followed you in line.  You could find pieces of tech, basic weapons and med kits.  There were aliens lurking around to fight.

The game was similar to Wing Commander Privateer, but had the extra element of the away teams.  I think it came out a year or two before WC Privateer.

Thanks.  Any help is appreciated.

Brian2112 wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Hello.  Going to post this here since this is the only Acaeum off-topic thread I could find.  I'm sure many of you are avid computer game players in addition to RPGers.  With sites like gog and abandonware, I hope to find an old favorite to play again.  It was a sci-fi explore/trade/fight game.  It was released some time between '91 and '94.  I played it on a PC and don't think there was a Mac version.  The game included a large fold-out poster of the game galaxy in full color.

- There were three parts to the game.  The first was starship construction. The second was finding planets and mining resources.  The third was away teams searching old bases and ships.
- Starship construction.  You used funds earned by exploring and trading mined resources to get better hulls.  You could then upgrade them with basic components like better engines, better shields, and more powerful weapons.
- Exploring the galaxy. You would chart courses from planet to planet and occasionally encounter pirates/alien forces.  Ship to ship combat was pretty basic and was somewhere between real time and turn based.  Once you reached a planet, you could look for resources to mine and bring back to your own base. These could be sold for cash to upgrade your ship.  I think you could also use some as raw materials to build upgrades.
.

This sounds like Starflight to me though its not in the timeframe you give. Maybe Starflight 2 (1989).

Loved the first one on my old Amiga 2000

Zach