A Month in a Knight’s Life
about 6 years ago – Fri, Feb 21, 2020 at 02:08:15 AM

Knights and Backers!

We’re shooting out an update tonight just shy of the Animation Expansion stretch goal. By the looks of it, we will cross it overnight. Let’s pet some dogs!  Thanks to everyone supporting the campaign and getting the word out. We’ve crossed the halfway point and are careening toward a big finish ... 

Pre-Mission Advantages

Tonight, we wanted to share with you a stylized story capturing the life of a Cyber Knight over a month. The safehouse strategic layer of Cyber Knights will be another aspect that sets it apart from other games in its genre. From your safehouse, you’ll be managing contacts, cutting deals, finding resources and shilling out bribes. You’re managing a team of mercs who are constantly burning through cash, looking for their next hit and trying to keep each other alive. The prose retelling of the events leading up to Operation Blackpool give both a look into the type of experience you can expect from playing Cyber Knights as well as the types of strategic actions you’ll be weighing with a special focus on pre-mission advantages.

Pre-mission advantages will be available for every big mission. You’ll be able to source them from your network of contacts or even meet new contacts who can help fulfill them. They will all have a price -- which you might not be able to pay in cash. While you gather these in advance of a mission, they will come into play while you are on your mission. Some will allow you to approach a mission differently, skip a specifically dangerous stage of a mission, gain special bonuses against the security system or even delay the ability for the enemy to call in reinforcement squads. While a lot of missions will not require this upfront investment, the big ones will warrant it. Of course, you can try operations without pre-mission advantages to increase your profit margins but you’ll be fighting uphill against tougher challenges.

A Month in the Life

I hope you enjoy the team’s story as they prep to line everything up just right to take on an Operation that is going to test their limits. The timestamps show a realistic timeline of events for your team, and we focused on including events that you will find in the game -- like downtime between missions, bi-directional comms with contacts, purchasing armaments and gear, running side missions, getting laid up by wounds or cyber surgery and stewing in your safehouse.

I really enjoyed writing this one, please let me know what you think in the comments below!

To make the reading of the timestamped story a little easier, we’ve typed up a list of names that are mentioned below here --

Your Team:

• Mirage, Stalker
• Pillz, Warmachine
• Rocket, Gunslinger
• Augma “the Kid”, Sniper
• Classic 20, Hacker
   

Contacts

• Miss Siren, Fixer
• Skeet, Hacker
• Lt. Mark Kesimir, BraveStar
   

Factions

• McKellan Heavy Industries, corp
• Jupiter Group, megacorp
• Arotech Corp, megacorp
• BraveStar, milsec corp
• Los V, gang
• Fennians, gang
   

Operation Blackpool

21:00, 4/15/2231: Our contact, Miss Siren, has turned up a big one. She proved she can deliver the big payouts when we kidnapped that Arotech scientist from the North Eiser Tower about 3 months ago. She’s been quiet for a while, but this is probably why. The cash on the table offer is $215,000 but there is definitely a barb between those bills. We’re going to need a lot money to even make a run at this or it’s a suicide mission. Unfortunately, the tank is pretty low on cash flow. We’re going to have to get creative, there is no way we walk away from this one.

11:00, 4/17/2231: We’ve looked over the specs together. We can make the hit for Miss Siren. We’ve got a lot of work to do to crack the security on the McKellan lab, but Siren is willing to wait to get it done right. She’s given us two months. We’re calling this one Operation Blackpool.

18:00, 4/17/2231: Our warmachine, Pillz, is going under the knife again. We’re going to need him at full speed and strength for the Blackpool. A new layer of subdermal and MuscleHype nanomuscle grafts will make sure he can survive running point on this one. He’s going to be out for almost three weeks.

15:30, 4/19/2231: Finally got that Hacker Skeet pinned down about the security on Blackpool. He says he can get the worm we need for the network for Blackpool. But, the McKellan security system is running Sigma 11. The price for the worm is out of the question, but Skeet offered another option. He wants us to pick up some gear from a crypt-locker below street level, Los V territory. He admitted someone is probably watching it and that we should expect trouble.

23:30, 4/20/2231: We are back, mostly in one piece. We needed Pillz on this one. They waited until after we had unloaded the crate. Their sniper thought he’d take us out one by one, starting with our Stalker, Mirage. He didn’t realize just how fast she is. We were doing well until their big guy came in too fast, cyber claws out. Our Gunslinger, Rocket, had to draw blade and meet him head on. Rocket put him down and Rocket is mostly in one piece. Wish Pillz had been there, he would have can-opened their muscle boy.

02:15, 4/21/2231: Rocket is pretty bad. We’ve bundled him up and shipped him out to Dr. Fixit’s clinic, we need him back faster than we can handle here. The good Dr. says he will make it.

08:00, 4/21/2231: For once, the Hacker Skeet was prompt. He’s picked up the storage brick we nearly died to get last night. He says the Sigma 11 worm will take a week to finish. Blackpool just got a lot more likely.

11:30, 4/24/2231: Talked to our guy on the payroll in BraveStar, Lt. Mark Kesimir. His prices keep going up, probably because he knows we need him. The McKellan lab is in the BraveStar district and they’d be all over us if the on-site security AI raises an alert. Hard to argue with a lawman though. He says it will be $50,000, which we don’t have -- Pillz and Rocket set us back a bit.

20:00, 4/24/2231: It’s been three months since our Sniper, Augma “the Kid”, told me about this side job. I guess when he used to work for Arotech he had some security clearance. He stole a few things as they were kicking him out the door. I wonder if that has anything to do with why he lost his job there? Doesn’t matter -- I haven’t had a reason to follow up before but his offer has just been waiting. I don’t like hitting Arotech before Blackpool, but it’s a quick smash and grab. The fence money off it should easily pay for Lt. Kesimir’s bribe and cover any other gear expenses before we go.

22:00, 4/27/2231: That was too easy -- I don’t like it. Augma’s intel was still good and we slipped past security like the thieves we are. Still wish we had Pillz with us, he’s a big comforting hulk. Our Hacker, Classic 20, cut the security on their data-bank pretty easily. Augma has the tip on that too. It’s some kind of research lab -- even Augma doesn’t know much -- so the data will go to Hacker Skeet for a decent price.

22:00, 4/28/2231: Ratchet gave me a call today. The weapons smuggler is my best friend whenever he has a hot deal. This time it is red hot -- he’s gotten a hold of a few Crane Tech “Vanguard DragonRail” and he’s offered me the right of first refusal. The best I could do is promise to buy one. Put it on ice, Ratchet. If we survive Operation Blackpool, I hope he still has one of those monsters. Punch a hole in the side of a drone the size of your cybercat.

11:00, 4/29/2231: Good on his word, Hacker Skeet  has delivered the Sigma 11 worm. All we have to do is reach an unsecured terminal and our Hacker, Classic 20, can deploy the virus. It’s a hot looking ‘sploit kit. Skeet has never let us down before -- we’re going to have to trust this will work fast.

20:00, 5/1/2231: Miss Siren called to check in -- she wants to know when we will be ready for Blackpool. I lied and said soon.

18:00, 5/8/2231: Pillz is back on his feet. He’s ready to rip. Between the new subdermal and the MuscleHype, he’s massive. He’s heard enough about how we needed him when Rocket got sliced -- he’s looking for something to crush.

13:30, 5/9/2231: Rocket is back from Dr. Fixit. He’s got a bit more chrome in him than the last time I saw him but he also has a lot more blood in him than the last time I saw him. I’ll take it as a win. The team is back to full strength. Blackpool is coming.

18:30, 5/9/2231: The Jupiter Corp security officer Kolstrad called with a new job offer tonight. Once again, he’s gunning to make a name for himself at any cost. This time he wants us to track down some Fennian gangers who attacked a Jupiter transport coming off the 182 lifts. He wants us to take them out, kind of make an example of them. The money is good: $65,000 for one night of bloody work. I told him we’ll get to it and to send over the specs. But nothing can get in the way of Blackpool now.

18:30, 5/11/2231: The bribe is in for Lt. Mark Kesimir. He’ll be managing the district the McKellan site is in on the 15th, so that’s our night. He will flag the first alert warning as a spoof. We’ve bought a few minutes after the first alarms go off before BraveStar boots are hitting the concrete. With the size of this facility, it’s only a matter of time before something goes boom and the security system wakes up angry.

04:30, 5/14/2231: Rocket went missing for the last twenty-four hours. He’s twitchy as hell and not in the mood to talk. Neither am I, so let’s chalk this one up to needing to blow some steam off after a few weeks in the clinic.

14:30, 5/15/2231: Tonight’s the night ... Operation Blackpool.

With that, we’ll leave you to dream of the hard fought battle, friends wounded or lost and the rich reward for taking on Operation Blackpool. Certainly, they worked hard to get to the starting line, but the real test is just ahead!

It was a great deal of fun for me to write this up and I hope you will share your thoughts about the story and how the gameplay is portrayed in a comment!

Twitch Schedule

We stream every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 PM EST on the TreseBrothers Twitch channel. Hop on and follow or watch some previous videos!

As we are on our way to PAX East next week, our last pre-PAX stream will be Tuesday at 4 PM EST. Hope to see you there!

PAX East

As a reminder, we will be at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts from February 27th to March 1st. We will be in the Kickstarter room right above the main convention floor from 10 AM EST to noon EST every day of the con. If you’re there, please take a detour up to the Kickstarter room to say hello!

"Savage 700" Update

The “Savage 700” keeps growing with more backers upgrading and pledging to join the alpha team. Since we rolled it out, we’ve had 70 new joiners to the alpha and we are creeping up on the goal of 700 with 571 alpha players on the team! Let's get to that goal of 700 and the double-sized Omega Style Collection!

Thanks for all of your support

Andrew and Cory Trese

Trese Brothers

Bonuses, Polls, Stretches and Press!
about 6 years ago – Thu, Feb 20, 2020 at 02:41:15 AM

Backers and Knights,

Welcome to all the new backers who joined the campaign in the past week. Together we’re going to have a lot of fun making this amazing new cyberpunk RPG. Be sure to tell a friend and get the word out so we can keep pressing toward a big finish together!

In today’s update we are going to focus on reviewing the on-going elements of the Kickstarter and help ensure that new backers get a look at everything in motion.

Bonus Rewards!

Yesterday we rolled out the “Savage 700” in a drive to double the total number of players we had in the Star Traders: Frontiers alpha (350). Overnight we’ve packed on the alpha pledges and seen a wave of backers upgrading. We’re excited to say that we’ve added 44 new alpha players and are now up to 545 players on the team. We’re still short of the “Savage 700” goal and the double-sized Omega Style Collection, but we’re well on our way and for a first day, we had a very strong showing!

We know that the bigger “Savage 700” alpha team would help us improve Cyber Knights on every level so please consider upgrading your pledge or roping in a friend to help us get here. Plus, everyone at the $60 or higher reward will score extra bonus Omega Style! 

As the Cyber Knights campaign has marched up the stretch goals -- knocking them down one after another -- we’ve unlocked a lot of bonus rewards for every single backer. We’ve finally updated the rewards table in the Kickstarter campaign page to reflect the Wallpaper Pack “Alpha” and “Beta” as well as the “Cyberkeen Trait” Digital Reward. If you’re pledging at the $15 level, these aren’t reflected in the rewards sidebar because they are items added from stretch goals, but you will get them with any pledge.

Polls

We have the following 3 polls that are currently running on which any backer can vote.

•  Survivor Poll Update #3 - who from the classic Cyber Knights game survived the 14 years and should appear in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint’s timeline of 2231? We haven’t exhaustively counted the votes, but it looks like Eliza Krofter is beating out Clive Zep and Side-Arm Gerrin so far! You can vote by posting a comment on the main Kickstarter page on the update.
•  Class Poll Update #6 - we opened a poll to decide which character type should sit at the top of the list of new character templates in Update #6. This one is very close but it looks like it might be Agent EX, the steely eyed ninja, will be the first in the list.
•  Dog Breed Poll Update #7 - we are taking votes to pick between two dog breeds to add to the game for the $110,000 stretch goal “New Dog Breed”. The choices are between Cory’s beagle King Tut as a utility and support dog versus Andrew’s shepherd mutt Rigatoni as a fast attack frisbee hunter. We also made the offer that if we got 100 votes, we’d just add both ... we got landslide of votes and will be adding both, but feel free to take a look and still pick a favorite!
   

Voting on all polls will not end until the Kickstarter closes on March 5th so that every backer has a chance to participate. Jump in and get voting, if you do or don’t like the result there is still time to shift the balance.

Stretch Goals

We have now passed the halfway point in the campaign with 15 days to go! We’re well past our minimum funding level but we know that all eyes are on some of the upcoming stretch goals like the Skyrise or Matrix Mk2. We had a very fast rise up through the $120,000 to $130,000 stretch goals but have slowed down a bit in the mid 130’s due to some large pledge cancels (which is completely normal for any Kickstarter campaign). We’re now steadily marching toward the Animation Expansion which includes all sorts of exciting improvements like dragging dead bodies, improved transitions in and out of cover, more idle animations and the ability to pet the dog!!

We detailed all of the big stretch goals up to $200,000 Hacking Mk2 in Update #5: Skyrise + Hacking Mk2 so check that out for all the details. If you want a teaser, let this whet your appetite.

Press Interviews and Podcasts

During the Kickstarter, we have been lucky to meet with some awesome members of the gaming press and sat down for some fun interviews. They are a great way to learn more about our studio, our experience, track record and what we are planning for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint.

• Rock, Paper Shotgun Interview, “The Trese Brothers dish details on Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, their new cyberpunk RPG” 
• Bago Games Interview “Of Cyber Knights and Star Traders: Frontiers” 
• Game Grin Podcast “You Can Pet the Dog Soon” 
• Reddit AMA in /r/pcgaming 
• Reddit AMA in /r/games 

In final news about press and conferences - we wanted to remind everyone that we will be at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts this year from February 27th to March 1st! We are going with the Kickstarter team and will be in their big room right above the main convention floor. We’re psyched to have the chance to share the game with a big audience and find more people who love turn-based tactics games and the cyberpunk genre. If you are coming to PAX East please take a detour up to the Kickstarter room to say hello!

Both Andrew and I will be in the Kickstarter room from Thursday to Sunday from 10 AM EST to noon EST. For the rest of the day, we’ll be around the show or hanging in the room. Please comment below to let us know if you’re going to be there!

Gameplay Focused Updates

If you’ve just joined the Kickstarter, we’ve put together a quick list of updates that were specifically game play focused that you could review to get extra hyped! We will be rolling out more gameplay focused updates over the weekend and into next week as well, so stay tuned!

• Update #9 Weapon Customization
• Update #6 Character Creation
• Update #5 Hacking Mk1 and Mk2 Details

Once again, we owe a huge thanks to everyone joining the project and helping us expand the funding for Cyber Knights. With your help, this game will be the biggest and best we’ve ever made. We can’t wait to share more, so post a comment asking questions and lets do this!

Thank you for your support,

Cory and Andrew Trese

Trese Brothers Games

“Savage 700” Alpha + Weapon Customization
about 6 years ago – Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 11:46:11 PM

Backers and Knights!

We’re nearing the halfway point now in the campaign and we’ve got another huge update for you. Your support and your help sharing the project keep propelling us forward and we’re gaining steam toward the major Animation Expansion stretch goal now!  Let’s pet those doggos!

“Savage 700” Alpha Drive!

We are extremely excited to say that we already have 502 Knights registered for the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint alpha! We knew the community has wanted us to make this game for a long time and now with your support we’re funded and still hitting stretch goals.

We had just under 350 players in the Star Traders: Frontiers alpha from our last Kickstarter. We never dreamed we’d have an opportunity to double the size and strength of the alpha team, but now we're staring to down -- only 198 Knights to go! We want to make it happen, so let us introduce a new bonus reward challenge: the Savage 700!

The Star Traders: Frontiers alpha was an absolute success and improved the game on every level -- from features, to content, to performance and more. We got to preview and show off the first sets of storylines and get feedback on the feeling of the world, story pacing and writing style. We tried out some ambitious new game mechanics and some fell flat on their faces while others soared. The game changed dramatically throughout the alpha for the better.

If you can upgrade your pledge or are considering joining the campaign, take a look at the Alpha Edition ($60)! It is a unique experience in the game dev world and we hope you’ll join us and make the Savage 700 a reality! If you're upgrading or pledging, post a comment in the main comment stream to encourage others to join you and let's get savage!

Now, on to the other topic of the update! 

Weapon Customization

A mercenary’s best friend might just be their tricked out assault rifle. Or maybe the backup hand-cannon which puts down enemies who get too close. Or the slicing energy blade that sheers through drone armor like nothing else.

A soldier of fortune comes to love his or her weapon after it has saved the day, saved their life or saved a friend. They come to love and cherish a weapon when they’ve rigged up a new scope or replaced the stock so it feels perfect, downright comfy against their shoulder. It might be the chemical burns on the muzzle or the scar where that cyber ninja’s sword glanced off the casing. Either way, if you’re going to survive in this line of work, you’ll come to know, modify and love your weaponry.

Multi-point Modification System

Each weapon type will have a series of modification points where you can change out a part or attach a new customization. Every weapon will feature the ability to attach specialized scopes to the top rail which will increase accuracy, change optimal range mechanics and more. Almost all weapons will allow for a barrel modification that can silence or suppress the noise or recoil of a shot or increase accuracy among other options. Most rifle-based weapons will allow stock replacements that can help soak recoil, increase aiming speed and more. And finally, some weapons can support an under-the-barrel attachment that provides a wide range of utility and targeting options.

These customized attachments and replacements won’t come cheap or easy -- but their powerful bonuses will make them highly coveted. Most attachments are tech-heavy pieces that can only be used once as they integrate into the gun’s onboard electronic systems. You’ll need to know the right weapons smuggler or corporate fixer to buy such kits. And to make the complicated mods you will either need the help of a skilled gunsmith or a safehouse upgrade for your own weapons workbench.

Optimal Firing Range

Even while shooting inside their maximum range, weapons will have different optimal range mechanics that affect accuracy. Some weapons like shotguns will have shorter optimal ranges with a rapid fall off in accuracy outside of their optimal firing zone. Other weapon types like sniper rifles will struggle at shorter ranges but excel when an enemy is within a wide range band at a safe distance.

Optimal ranges will cause a constantly adjusting dynamic on the battlefield as different combatants vie to keep their enemy in their optimal range band. Firing modes -- which adjust the optimal range mechanics of a weapon -- will also come into play as you trade accuracy for recoil, damage and other benefits or disadvantages.

All the more reason to carry a varied set of weaponry onto the field of battle! Your squad will need options when an enemy goon dodges under your sniper’s range. Time to pull out that hand cannon and put the goon on the deck.

Recoil

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint will include a fully featured recoil system. As you move, take hits and shoot your own weapons you generate recoil points. These points burn off quickly but primarily make firing your weapon accurately more challenging. Some weapons will be more touchy about movement recoil than others -- such as a sniper rifle -- while others are strong on the go -- such as tactical shotguns and some pistols.

Inside your character's build, you’ll have tons of options on how to increase your recoil soak -- if it is a priority for you. Characters who want to move fast, take hits, and shoot as many times as possible in a turn will need to consider recoil compensation in their weapon mods and cyberware. In addition, single-use items, Talents and cyberware can provide methods to soak up recoil quickly so you’ll have many options to build characters and weapons that can operate effectively under high recoil situations. 

Sneaky Silence!

During missions, you’ll have the option to operate from stealth -- by sneaking past enemy guards and disabling security or by taking out guards quietly. You’ll need weapons with suppressors attached to achieve this level of stealth but these silencers will be a barrel modifier that is available early. Each weapon will feature a volume level attribute and the tech of your suppressor mod will reduce that volume, which in turn reduces the range at which nearby guards will hear your gunfire. Therefore, with the right suppressor mod or a lighter weapon, you'll be able to achieve stealth kills without worry about other guards unless they are very close. However, with heavier weaponry, you'll still be able to achieve stealth kills, but you will need to be more wary of guards who are too close and may hear your gunfire's boom.

Reloading and Ammo Types

Depending on how often your shooting and the firing mode you are using -- such as full auto -- you may burn through a weapon's ammo faster and thereforel need to spend Action Points to reload your weapon more often. Because we are using an action pool system instead of a strict 2 actions system, this won’t take half your turn, but it will still be an important thing to try to manage and get ahead of as you fight through tense situations.

Every weapon will be able to use a variety of ammo types. While you will have some options, we do not intend to make ammo the star of weapon customization over the multi-point mod system. Ammo types will be viable and useful, but not on the same level as weapon, grip, scope, barrel and cyberware.

Speedy 3D Model

Let's end today's update with a high speed video of one of our artists working in ZBrush to sculpt a new character outfits.

And let’s do this Savage 700!  If you join the alpha team to help us get to the Savage 700 be sure to post a comment on the main Kickstarter page. If you've been through a Trese Brothers Alpha phase for another game, feel free to post about how much fun you had :)

Thank you for your support!

Andrew and Cory Trese

Trese Brothers Games

More Stretch Goals Funded!
about 6 years ago – Sun, Feb 16, 2020 at 02:40:04 AM

Knights and Backers!

What a start to the weekend! Faster than we could put out a daily update, we sprinted across the $120,000 goal for a new battle drone and then vaulted over the $130,000 goal for a new military outfit. A huge thanks to all of our backers who are helping us push the campaign upwards by pledging, upgrading a pledge, telling a friend or sharing the Kickstarter on social media.

Tonight, in addition to expressing our gratitude, we wanted to take a minute to highlight the three stretch goals we’ve already hit over $100,000 and discuss the results of one very important doggie poll.

Both Dog Breeds! ($110K)

When we passed the New Dog Breed stretch goal at $110,000 we opened a poll on update #7 and asked you to vote for either the adorable King Tut support beagle or the beefy Rigatoni fast-attack frisbee dog. In addition, we offered that if we got 100 votes we would unlock both dogs instead of just one for the stretch goal.

We were subsequently buried in an avalanche of votes and comments and a huge outpouring love for our dogs! Crawling out from under the pile of over 200 votestook us a while but we are happy to report you have done it!  Both King Tut (the support beagle) and Rigatoni (the fast-attack shepherd) are on their way to the concept artists for preparation.  For now, we’ll have to wait patiently while they work on them!

Next Stretch Tease ($225K)

Both dog breeds?The cats that run the internet are rolling their collective eyes at this one and plotting just how they will make their appearance in the game. That is all for now from the cat overlords but don’t expect them to sit this one out.

New Battle Drone ($120K)

The next stretch goal to fall was the new battle drone. We already have a fast moving VTOL attack drone so we are looking at a slower drone that can play a dedicated tank role or be equipped with heavier weaponry for sniper duty or other devastating weaponry requiring a bigger chassis to support. We’ll be handing this new drone off for concept development next week and sharing the progress with you as we go.

One other note about drones and stretch goals. The stretch goal graphic previously had incorrectly listed the reward at $170,000 as a "new battle drone". We have corrected this to show a new support drone. The scout, battle, support trio of new drones through the stretch goals was designed to make sure we cover the gamut of drone types if the project keeps funding and we didn’t intend to double-down on battle drones at the expense of support. However, whenever any change is made -- no matter how small -- to stretch goals, it is important to highlight it for the backer community.

New Military Outfit ($130K)

And in a huge burst of momentum, we’ve also unlocked the new military outfit on the same day. Again, what a weekend, it's hard to believe. The milsec class of outfits focus on different types of uniforms and body armor, from light to heavy. We’ve included a set of the concept art and 3D shots of some of the milsec outfits below. The next step for this newest outfit is to pull together a full design for our concept artists and get the new outfit into concept development!

Stretch Goals and Scope

If the campaign continues to hit additional stretch goals, you will be funding additional assets, models, music, story and animations to further expand the game. We've already passed some of the major milestones but we hope we can hit the rest up to Hacking Mk2 and more! We know with additional budget comes additional scope and responsibility. We realize how important it is to stick to the campaign’s objectives and not get distracted or try to do too much. We have been through this process twice and delivered. Both of our previous Kickstarters -- Star Traders: Frontiers and Heroes of Steel before it -- gave us our biggest game budgets to date all thanks to our amazing community support.

We are sticking to the plan and planning to deliver a really great game as our first priority. We will be following the plan as we did with Star Traders: Frontiers where some of the big stretch goals were delivered as free, after launch expansion packs. This is one of the ways we’re working to ensure the extra funding doesn’t slow us down.

Thanks for your support!

Andrew and Cory Trese

Trese Brothers Games

Alpha Spotlight + Reddit AMA
about 6 years ago – Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 02:30:43 AM

Knights and Backers!

To start off, we want to share that we are doing an AMA on /r/Games on Reddit right now. The AMA is on-going all afternoon so we'd love you to join in and ask anything! Ask Me Anything!

For the rest of the update today, we wanted to shine a big shiny spotlight on one of the most important reward tiers in the Kickstarter -- the Alpha Edition at $60.

But first, let’s take a moment to pet our new doggo breed on the head. You’ve helped push us across the $110,00 funding line and unlocked a new breed of cybernetic dogs of the cyberpunk future. At the bottom of this update, we’ve included a poll for your votes -- which dog breed should we include?

Second, when talking about the alpha it's critical to remember what platforms will be covered. The alpha will run on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS devices. So, even if you’re waiting for the mobile port to play the full game, you can still get in on the alpha and play the game early and help us shape it into its final form.

Alpha Access Phase

The alpha access phase holds a very special place in our hearts and our game dev process. We’ve run an alpha with every game since our first Kickstarter, Heroes of Steel, and could not imagine making a game without this key period of constant refinement and community feedback. Not only will the alpha players be the first to play the game, your input will have substantial influence on the game’s final systems, content and balance.

We’ve included some quotes from our Star Traders: Frontiers alpha backers who were willing to share their experiences --

"It was exciting to test what was possible in the early versions of the game, and a fun challenge to have to adapt my strategies as more layers were added as the game was updated. Also, it was gratifying to see how my feedback and the feedback of other community members affected the game's development."  @resistor

"It's definitely a lot of fun being right in the thick of development, helping hunt down bugs, seeing your feedback and discussions with others be turned into tangible change within as little as a couple days. The Trese Brothers do their best to ensure that the alpha experience is one where their backers get to really help shape the game." @brutus aurelius

“You're going to love it, just love it." @ntsheep

To look further at the alpha in detail, we've written up a few common questions about the alpha access phase we wanted to share. We believe that a Trese Brothers alpha is a very unique offering in the game development world and we hope you will all join us! We already have over 400 Knights signed up so this is going to be our best and biggest alpha phase yet!

Why Do You Call It an Alpha Phase?

It’s worth addressing the word we use: “alpha”. For some in software testing that sounds like a buggy mess of software rolled out too early. We are not providing a game that is going into its first round of testing. We will have already played and tested hundreds of hours by this point.

For us, it means releasing the game only when it is both stable and fun but still early enough that we can make big changes. This is why the alpha matters -- we’re letting you, our backers, to be the first to play the game at a time when the game still has a chance to be massively improved and changed. Every game that has gone through an alpha has seen major improvements with the removal and addition of mechanics and often major reworks to system balance.

We don’t like to call it a beta because that indicates you are just getting to play a finished product early. In a Trese Brothers alpha, you’re invited to join us every day on the forum and Discord in a collaborative process of improving, polishing, and expanding the game. You’ll see your feedback and suggestions discussed by the community and often implemented in the game for the next alpha build.

How Important is the Alpha?

Game after game, we’ve found that the alpha is perhaps one of the most influential stages of our game’s development. Obviously, we’ve designed and built the game by the time the alpha team gets it, but the entire point of the phase is to improve and make changes based on the community’s input. This is something you don’t find elsewhere in the game dev world. This is not lip service, we stage these alphas specifically to change and improve the game and based on your input. Star Traders: Frontiers took our alpha experience to the next level, and had an incredible impact on the success of the game and we’re coming back to do it again, bigger, better, bolder.

How Long Will the Alpha Be?

The alpha phase will likely run for 6 to 9 months before the game is ready to be released to Early Access on Steam. During that time, you’ll have private access to an Cyber Knights: Flashpoint board on our forum and a private Discord channel as well as regular posted updates from Andrew and Cory.

As we start the alpha, we will outline its multiple phases and each phase will spotlight certain systems and have stated goals for everyone to focus on. You can play as much or as little as you want. You can play early in the alpha, or later after the game is more polished. You can play for a month and then take 3 months off and come to see how your feedback has been incorporated. We will be operating the alpha phase full time, but backers can join in at any point.

What platforms will the Alpha support?

We will try to support every platform that an alpha team members wants to play on -- that means Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS if we have team members on all of these platforms. If you’re a multi-platform gamer, we’ll be asking you to try the game on all your platforms or devices -- the more the better. We won’t be able to support the alpha on any consoles.

Is the Alpha Fun?

That’s the whole idea! We have learned from our repeated experience that the right moment to roll the game out to the alpha is when it is fun to play and only after our team has played hundreds of hours of the game. We know that our alpha teams have always enjoyed themselves on the alpha. In return, we can't speak highly enough of our alpha player - from Heroes of Steel to Templar Battleforce to Star Traders: Frontiers -- there is no way we could have done it without them.

Can You Tell Me about the Cyber Knights: Flashpoint Alpha?

Just post a comment or send us a message, we’re happy to answer specific questions!

Or join us on Reddit and Ask Us Anything!

New Dog Breed Poll

We've unlocked a new dog breed at $110,000. A huge thanks to everyone pledging, upgrading their pledge or sharing the campaign with a friend. 

Now on to the fun part -- we have to decide which new dog breed to add, either the support beagle or the fast-attack shepherd. We'll leave it up to you to decide!  Comment on this update to give a vote to either doggo. If we get 100 votes, we'll just add them both!

We're picking between Cory and Andrew's dogs. We know this is tough :D 

King Tut is a beagle with the most powerful nose on the street, trained as a utility, fetch and seek dog. Rigatoni is a Belgian shepherd mutt trained to hunt and destroy frisbees at terrifying speed. 

Who will join the game?

King Tut!

Rigatoni!

Ok, all the dogs are too adorable!  Just vote for one or the other and let's get to 100 votes!

Thanks for your support!

Andrew and Cory Trese

Trese Brothers Games