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[Draco18s]

Actually only got 2 (direct) backers from dumpshock. There's that huge pool of unknown referrals so who knows what's in there.

The referral tracking system isn't the greatest.
Pray tell, do you have a backer who was referred from [projecturl]?ref=instant_messenger ?
When I link people to KSers I stick that on the end to help aid the referral sorting.  In this case, I happen to know my friend backed almost instantly after I linked him, but I have no way to know that it actually worked.

I know we're awesome, but have you had any help from any other big forum?

You might also try Arcen Games forum.  Keith and X4000 are great fellows.

I already knew that Arcen was awesome, its the only other forum I have open in firefox besides here most of the time.

Hehe.  Not to brag, but Keith actually threw free money at Velociraptor! Cannibalism!.  He turned my offer of Stuff down twice when I went to check that he didn't want a reward.  Great dude.  His support on V!C! being completely ignored, he's still a great dude.

[ScriptWolf]

Hmmm according to kicktraq were are on track for nearly $50,000 so who knows how much we will get we might even hit the second goal if we keep it up.

[hemmingjay]

I backed almost instantly at a modest level. I am watching closely and will quadruple my pledge if we are close/in danger of not reaching the next stretch. I believe in this project and the passion the dev has.

[sparkbolt]

Pray tell, do you have a backer who was referred from [projecturl]?ref=instant_messenger ?

I do not! Thank you for the referral all the same, but it seems that didnt work... it should have. Maybe the messenger client screws with the url when handling it. They can only do so much with the referral system given how many different ways people interact with the internet. most of /tg/ isn't referred because of the no-linking thing they do to try and stop spamming/viruses.

I'll try the forums, see if anyone is interested. I'll make sure to say you bay12 fellows sent me!

You can never really rely on the projections, especially as our KS has been wonkier in most with unusual spikes and dips... it was saying $60k for most of the first week, but it's dropped to $50k and it'll keep dropping. Shame, if it actually did go up to something like $60k I could probably find a programmer reliable enough to hire on and make multiplayer!

And thanks for backing hemmingjay! We'll definitely make War Room, next stretch goal I'm not sure...

Actually, I've been thinking of ways to sweeten the pot without leading to way more development time.... people seem to just keep seeing "$32000" and not "+$7000, - heavy fees and taxes". Though I have been talking with an accountant (really cool family friend. Offering free advice on the condition "When I do hire an accountant, I come to him first"!), and with his help I might not lose as much to taxes as I was fearing, which means more development time per buck, which means I *might* even be able to package both 2nd stretch goal options into the SAME $32k goal! It would mean a heavier dev cycle for that bloc of features, but I think it would be worth it because it'd be such a rich package that people would really try to get the word out to hit the goal.

I could always put that $60k: Multiplayer goal up there though I feel like it'd just be a tease And I'm still not sure what goals I'd have on the way, since they couldn't really cost that much (since the money building up to the 60k would be to hire a programmer, not for developing other things).
All of it is probably moot, since 1. that goal is outside of our (falling) trend line, and 2. I'm not even sure who I'd hire or what they would want in compensation...
...and I've had "issues" finding a reliable programmer to work with. While the compensation would certainly help lock someone down, I've tried working with 3 different people on Net Gain before on the promise of a huge share in the profits, but each one flaked on me when it got down to actually *working* on the damn thing, setting me back yet again.

Whew.

[Draco18s]

Pray tell, do you have a backer who was referred from [projecturl]?ref=instant_messenger ?

I do not! Thank you for the referral all the same, but it seems that didnt work... it should have. Maybe the messenger client screws with the url when handling it.

It shouldn't have, I do up the referral thingy in raw text and then paste it.  Bummer. :<

You can never really rely on the projections, especially as our KS has been wonkier in most with unusual spikes and dips... it was saying $60k for most of the first week, but it's dropped to $50k and it'll keep dropping. Shame, if it actually did go up to something like $60k I could probably find a programmer reliable enough to hire on and make multiplayer!

Yeah, it's not entirely reliable in the first few days.  Based on patterns I've seen, you're probably going to come in right around $27,000.

[hemmingjay]

yes, you only pay taxes on what you earn - expenses related to your business. Many kickstarters do not pay taxes due to the fact that their costs can actually exceed what is raised. If your accountant is versed in VC capital he should be able to offset your taxes almost entirely, less anything that you pay yourself directly.

For example, if you raise $20k and you pay your artist for assets that you needed for the Kickstart campaign, as well as people for music, web design, and programming. Then add in costs for new software or hardware that you need for the project, fees for kickstarter and Amazon. Let's say you have $2500 left. That in theory is the taxable amount, usually at 26-35% depending on whether or not you have a company set up or are adding it to your personal income taxes.

What you want to do, once again ideally, is pay as many costs for the entire game production as you can out of the KS funds. That will leave you with a higher ratio of revenue/costs when you actually begin to sell the game. This will put you and your partners in a much better position to profit from this venture and further bankroll your next games.

Source: I work in business development and consult within the industry

[askovdk]

I'm now also backing this project. 
I really like the idea of player gathering information to 'design' their missions. - It is an element that seems absent in the quests of other games.

[BlindKitty]

Well, I have some difficulties trying to put into words what I have to say, to not sound grumbly (although I usually grumble; it's so dwarfish). I'm a little bit concerned about what you say of stretch goals. That is, I would personally prefer giving you more wiggle room within those $32k, even if it means getting only one stretch goal, not two. Mostly because I believe that a healthy fanbase can lead to more (nomen omen) net gain, then upping the ante in Kickstarter. And since you wish to upgrade your game after 1.0 release, you can always put in the second one into the game later. And - last and probably least, too - bigger chance for new pants.
Anyway, as long as we get this game, you have my full cooperation. Come to think of it - do you plan on making Net Gain translatable? EDIT: Just checked the FAQ on Kickstarter (finally...), so: I'm not so bad in translating things from English, so but only to my end-of-the-world language by now. Anyways, I hope I will be of some use translating, when it comes to that.

Also, hemmingjay - you have the job of my dreams. Well, one of my dreams, but big one. Actually, military career was one of the other... You stole my future life and use it yourself! No shame on you, though, you help people so much, and have so cool avatar, you're probably better of with it then me, and I have plenty of dreams to choose from.

[TheMastermind]

I think you can post about the multiplayer at kickstarter. It might get people excited about it and get more backers.
Also i know that its much more effiecent building a game with multiplayer at mind at start than adding it later, plus i would LOVE to see multiplayer and sure others as well.

[nenjin]

Eh. I'd rather have a solid SP game than a compromised MP game.

[Kaje]

Eh. I'd rather have a solid SP game than a compromised MP game.

I could not agree more.

A huge part of the problem with modern games is that developers think that we all want a multiplayer component to games - when the reality is a lot of us don't.

I'd much rather see a quality single-player focused experience.

[nenjin]

I'm surprised that, given the scope of the game, its funding has stayed really consistent since the announcement. Slow and steady wins the race!

[sparkbolt]

I'm surprised that, given the scope of the game, its funding has stayed really consistent since the announcement. Slow and steady wins the race!

How so? If you mean the pledgers/day, it's definitely been dropping significantly since our press dried up... that trendline has fallen from 60k to 47k

And yes, I fully agree on a solid SP. The reason MP would be so expensive is I would bring on another programmer to tackle that while my focus remains on the single player. Either way, yes I am designing with the hopes of one day having the time or funds to offer multiplayer options.

I'll consider it with the stretch goals, I got some time left before we hit 25k... I do need to think of the health of the game in the long term as well, and remembering to add in cushioning for unexpected delays in developments of said new features.

I'm fairly aware of what I can and can't write off, but the majority of the kickstarter is going to (under)paying the programmer to work full time, and that's me, so I have to pay taxes on that. And if I somehow raise enough to hire another programmer or artist, while I don't have to pay taxes on that directly, I do have to compensate for the amount of taxes *they* have to pay (if someone wants at least $1000 in their pocket to do a job, then I have to pay them enough where they will have at least $1000 after taxes, as they might not do it for [$1000-taxes] much money). As much as I'd love to have a tax-write-off-able office, that's still a far more expensive option than working from home. But yeah, I'll be writing off the licensing fees and business fees and such... but taxes on "self-employed income" is pretty awful, especially in illinois.

Yeah, I hated how you always had to play someone *elses* mission! Why not plan your own!? It'll be interesting to see how it evolves with player feedback and design tweaks over the year.

Thanks for backing, everyone!

[nenjin]

How so? If you mean the pledgers/day, it's definitely been dropping significantly since our press dried up... that trendline has fallen from 60k to 47k

I'd say that still really consistent, especially considering you're not getting the "zomg, we made $2million, let's make more" PR bump.

[Mephansteras]

Don't forget to write-off the amount of space you use in your house as an office for tax purposes. My accountant had me figure out what % of my house my office took up while I had my own business out of my house.

It certainly helped, although I feel your pain on the costs of being self-employed.