Pier Solar HD

[Keranu]

The best way to play it will always be on the Genesis.

My thoughts exactly!

I'd rather support production for more copies of the original since I didn't get to buy one myself!

[storino03]

They still have the originals, but at $69. I got it when they were $49. Inflation at its best!

[Arkhan]

They still have the originals, but at $69. I got it when they were $49. Inflation at its best!

It's not inflation, its f*cking stupid.   It's clear they're going the route of Super Fighter Team and trying to turn this thing into a cash cow.


and TBH, outside of the nice artwork and cool looking characters, the game is pretty ho-hum.  Nothing to write home about.  I like the art alot.  Though some of it, I'd swear I've seen in other games before.

[futureman2000]

Yeah, game itself was sort of meh. It was awesome that they made it, and I'll buy their next genesis game... But not something that needs a 6 platform release. Also skeptical that this won't interrupt other wm projects.

[Burnt Lasagna]

My favorite part though is the highest donator prize, which gets you an invite to their Paris party, BUT the donator must still pay for himself.  In other words, buy us a party in Paris, and we'll be kind enough to invite you. 

It looks like someone actually donated that much...
They don't even tell you where this party is exactly. They just say "in Paris!". May I ask where in Paris?

[Black Tiger]

Although I'm not interested in HD versions, I think it would be cool for them to do this (especially for Dreamcast) as a legitimate project. But although people in various forums, and the headline in the kickstarter say "it's coming to you in high definition for Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux & Sega Dreamcast!", the money counter section says "This project will only be funded if at least $139,000 is pledged by Wednesday Dec 5, 9:30am EST."

Watermelon has presented itself as a business and not just a group of fans making games for fun, so I think that the more products they make and any kind of reissues and ports are cool. But doing a kickstarter for something like this is not cool, especially for $140,000+. Since they operate like a business and proudly advertise how epic and professional their products are, then why not simply produce them and then let the sales make them rich? If they reach their goal of $140+k, are they just going to make it a digital only free download on all platforms for anyone who wants it?

Pier Solar is the biggest 16-bit RPG ever and it's coming to you in high definition for Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux & Sega Dreamcast!

The Biggest 16-bit RPG Ever! We released Pier Solar on a custom 64MEG cartridge (the average SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game size is 12MEG), making it the biggest 16-bit RPG ever!

Are Watermelon not RPG fans or something? Star Ocean is around 100 megs, Tengai Makyou Zero is supposed to be between 130 - 150 megs and I'm sure that dozens of Sega-CD and PC Engine CD games are over 100 megs without CD audio. Maybe they are repeatedly mistyping "the biggest Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridge RPG ever!"?

[Bonknuts]

Are Watermelon not RPG fans or something? Star Ocean is around 100 megs, Tengai Makyou Zero is supposed to be between 130 - 150 megs and I'm sure that dozens of Sega-CD and PC Engine CD games are over 100 megs without CD audio. Maybe they are repeatedly mistyping "the biggest Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridge RPG ever!"?

 It's just sensationalism. And in that respect, it's not taken too seriously. One of my best friends in real life makes indie movies (quite a few of my friends do). He sold the distribution rights for NA to some company that put "more firepower than any other film in history" in the synopsis (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/36817/gunheavy/). Yeah, there's a lot of blasting, but it was pure bullshit. I see the same claim of PS in the same manner. Not to be taken too seriously.

[Arkhan]

My favorite part though is the highest donator prize, which gets you an invite to their Paris party, BUT the donator must still pay for himself.  In other words, buy us a party in Paris, and we'll be kind enough to invite you. 

It looks like someone actually donated that much...
They don't even tell you where this party is exactly. They just say "in Paris!". May I ask where in Paris?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris,_Kentucky



The whole thing is just dumb.  They're making a mockery out of the whole homebrew thing.  If you are going to kickstart, come up with a NEW idea.  Don't kickstart a f*ckin HD remix of a
mediocre, over hyped RPG that's been out for 2 years and has already caught enough flack for having a stupid launch.

IF they get funded, I bet they screw up the digital distribution process and hose a bunch of their loyalists with some kind of oversight. 




FWIW, That Star Odyssey game was better. 

.. aside from being published by a misinformed idiot.

[Mathius]

Tell us how you really feel, Ark. 

Honestly, their biggest over sight with the original release was with the game itself. I played for what seemed like forever and I only leveled up twice. I remained at level 3 and got my ass handed to me any time I ventured beyond the starting area. I had already cleared that area too, so I was just grinding with no results.

Also, the sound issue pointed out by Joe Redifer is a real annoyance. I really hope they fix, or have fixed, the stereo sound in the game. Having the right side louder than the left side is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

[Arkhan]

I won't get into the SuperFighterTeam annoyance rant.

Pier Solar is a great looking game.  I really like the character art and the overall aesthetic of the game.

The story? *shrug*.  It feels like something thrown together as a Lunar homage by a bunch of 13 year olds.

The gameplay? It's fine.  It's nothing to write home about, but it's nothing to stab someone about either.   It's just RPG gameplay.

I'd give the game a 75-80ish/100. 


The release itself of the game?

10/100. 

30 points for getting it out.


They lose 10 points for the following:

Not having copies available at launch to anyone but the pre-orders
Doing dumbass reprints instead of giving everyone the same product, thus creating more reprints than a 1970s D&D book.  Who cares if you overshot the costs and took a loss. Don't f*ck your fans over.
Dancing around the reasons why the reprints aren't in sweet boxes with color manuals like the original one
LOL ENHANCED CD
Saying the cartridge can't be dumped (It was)
Saying their audio encoding can't be cracked or whatever (*wink wink*)
The audio issue is annoying

The whole thing to me reeked of "We wanna get paid, f*ck you guys"

[jeffhlewis]

Why all the venom over this? The guys clearly worked pretty damn hard to put this game out. It may not be the best RPG on the planet but we're talking about what amounts to a semi-pro homebrew game. And people are willing to pay for it, in droves. Why wouldn't they want to make money off of this?

If you don't like it, don't support it. Simple as that.

[Arkhan]

Why all the venom over this? The guys clearly worked pretty damn hard to put this game out. It may not be the best RPG on the planet but we're talking about what amounts to a semi-pro homebrew game. And people are willing to pay for it, in droves. Why wouldn't they want to make money off of this?

If you don't like it, don't support it. Simple as that.

Hi New Guy,

Were you around when the game was released?  Were you present when team members said non pre-orderers didn't deserve the nice copy of the game?  Were you around for the excuses/lies/dancing around the truth nonsense that followed the games original release?  The idiotic fans that bad mouthed everyone and went unchecked by the team itself?

How about the team telling us to go ahead and use copied CD-Rs since the disc didn't work... followed by being told wait no, don't share the ISO of the Special You Don't Deserve This disc.    Use our ISO we are providing instead.  We took out all of the good stuff.  Or whatever.

This isn't venom.  This is pointing out obvious things.   I didn't drink the Kool Aid.

Also, I bought the game and played through it.

and after seeing where Super Magic Watermelon Factory is heading, I will most likely not be buying anything else.  

I don't support gimmick cash cow bullshit.  It's exploiting the hype behind the game, and it's extremely cheesy from a team who originally was just some dudes on the internet making some RPG called "Tavern".



You know, people ARE allowed to express dissent.   We don't need the boyscout shenanigans.

I'd be much more ecstatic about this kickstarter if it wasn't ANOTHER rehash of a game that isn't even 5 years old yet.  FFS, do something different and get off the Pier Solar bandwagon.  There will be more versions of PS than there will be other original titles from the group.   That's dumb.

[jeffhlewis]

Hi New Guy,

Hi. I'm not really new but thanks for the warm welcome.

Were you around when the game was released?

Yes. I own a day 1 copy of the game and played through it. I didn't start collecting yesterday.

Were you present when team members said non pre-orderers didn't deserve the nice copy of the game?  Were you around for the excuses/lies/dancing around the truth nonsense that followed the games original release?  The idiotic fans that bad mouthed everyone and went unchecked by the team itself?

How about the team telling us to go ahead and use copied CD-Rs since the disc didn't work... followed by being told wait no, don't share the ISO of the Special You Don't Deserve This disc.    Use our ISO we are providing instead.  We took out all of the good stuff.  Or whatever.

This isn't venom.  This is pointing out obvious things.   I didn't drink the Kool Aid.

...

You know, people ARE allowed to express dissent.   We don't need the boyscout shenanigans.

I can't tell if you're trolling or if you're actually serious. You just sound like a chump ranting about everything like this. It's not that big of a deal - it's a free market. People supporting games like this (even if they're remakes) will only lead to more indie development. And hey, it might even net the developers a few bucks along the way.

Our hobby is becoming more mainstream, and there are people willing to pay premiums to get items like this. Deal with it.

[Arkhan]

Free market has zero relevance to what I just "chump ranted" about. 

Despite being around when the game released, you must not have been paying much attention to the comedy that ensued.  Because yes, I am actually serious.  These things happened.  There was a huge thread here, and on other forums about it.  Lots of discussion about the stupidity taking place on IRC in various channels.   There was some direct pimpslapping to the faces of the people that supported or wanted to support the project.  Don't bite the hand that feeds you.


You've clearly missed the point.  Deal with it.

[Mathius]

I hate it when I see two of my friends quibble. Come on. Group hug.

Jeff, the release of Pier Solar really had the height of stupidity labeled all over it. If WM was just straight with everyone, if they just told everyone the truth, there wouldn't be so many accusations pointed at them. I love what they did for the community. The inflated egos and pride really did a lot of damage though.