Shadowrun Returns in June

[Steven Bogos]

Shadowrun Returns in June

A massive news update on the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter page reveals release date, collector's edition information and DLC details.

Shadowun Returns, is a cyberpunk fantasy tactical role-playing game under development by Harebrained Schemes, an indie game publisher led by Jordan Weisman, the original creator of the Shadowrun tabletop role-playing game. As of writing, its Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-returns/posts] has raised an impressive $1.8 million of its initial $400,000 goal, and Harebrained Schemes has posted a huge information dump on its Kickstarter page. Details revealed include the game's release date (June), as well as information on the collector's edition and future DLC.

The last chance to get the Shadowrun Returns collector's edition is Sunday, April 28th. A breakdown of when backers and collector's edition pre-orderers will get their rewards is as follows:

Your DIGITAL rewards (the game, the editor, the wallpaper, special ability, the soundtrack, the short story anthology PDF, etc) will all be available on the Harebrained Account Website on launch day.
Your PHYSICAL rewards (the t-shirts, the DocWagon cards, the hardcover short story anthology, the USB dog tags, the deluxe box edition (which contains a bunch of stuff), will ship about 3 weeks after launch day.
People who pre-ordered the Shadowrun Returns Deluxe and Collector's Editions will get their digital and physical goodies in the same timeframe as above. (And will download their digital goodies from the Harebrained Account Website too.)
Early access to the Shadowrun Returns EDITOR will be available to eligible Backers at the end of April.
Backers eligible to have their photo turned into an NPC or CUSTOM PC have already been contacted and work has already begun!

The team released some pictures of the collector's edition dog tags and DocWagon cards [http://www.harebrained-schemes.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/docWagonCards.png] and they look pretty badass.

DLC plans for the game were also detailed:
Berlin Campaign (new campaigns also allow you to build with an expanded set of tiles)
Map Packs (new terrain tiles and props for you to use in your own campaigns)
All New Shadowrun Stories (created by HBS)
Additional Outfits and Portraits for your character

Backers and collector's edition pre-orderers will get the Berlin Campaign at no charge. Any further DLC developed after launch will require payment.

The game will be available through Steam for PC, with pre-orders opening on April 29th. This means that the only way to get the collector's edition is through Harebrained Schemes' official website [http://harebrained-schemes.com/shadowrun/shadowrun-returns-pre-order/].

In complying with their promise that Shadowrun Returns will be completely DRM-free, a non-Steam version of the game will also be offered to every customer (because Steam is actually a form of DRM in itself). Unfortunately, the DRM-free version of the game will not have access to any DLC released for it.

Source: Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-returns/posts]

Permalink

 

[Genocidicles]

I'm fine with DLC (unless it's day one), but making it exclusive to Steam is a load of bullshit.

 

[Darks63]

June? so soon? how long has this been in development? because unless i was looking at the other shadowrun game i thought they were still in alpha.

 

[Abomination]

DLC? Meh, I can handle.

June release? Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy^200

 

[1337mokro]

I'll buy the regular edition thank you very much.

I'll just get the Berlin DLC later if the game turn out to be good. I might go with the Deluxe if the bonuses turn out to be good. I am not paying 80$ to ship a physical copy just to get extra DLC.

 

[Bat Vader]

Is Sahdowrun Returns a single player game or is it more like an MMO? I heard rumors that it is an MMO.

 

[ramboondiea]

Is Sahdowrun Returns a single player game or is it more like an MMO? I heard rumors that it was an MMO.

there is an mmo coming out but that isn't until next year, shadow run returns is a single player only.

ot: glad its coming out soon, didnt back but pre-ordered, kinda hoping those keys are for pre-orders aswell as backers as not being able to use the custom maps would suck.

 

[Bat Vader]

Is Sahdowrun Returns a single player game or is it more like an MMO? I heard rumors that it was an MMO.

there is an mmo coming out but that isn't until next year, shadow run returns is a single player only.

ot: glad its coming out soon, didnt back but pre-ordered, kinda hoping those keys are for pre-orders aswell as backers as not being able to use the custom maps would suck.

Thank You. I was worried that it was going to end up being an MMO. I have nothing against MMO's. I was mainly worried that if it was an MMO that it would force people to PVP. My fears are gone now. Thank You again.

 

[ramboondiea]

Is Sahdowrun Returns a single player game or is it more like an MMO? I heard rumors that it was an MMO.

there is an mmo coming out but that isn't until next year, shadow run returns is a single player only.

ot: glad its coming out soon, didnt back but pre-ordered, kinda hoping those keys are for pre-orders aswell as backers as not being able to use the custom maps would suck.

Thank You. I was worried that it was going to end up being an MMO. I have nothing against MMO's. I was mainly worried that if it was an MMO that it would force people to PVP. My fears are gone now. Thank You again.

no worries, and for future reference the MMO is unimaginatively called Shadowrun:Online, different company doing it, did there own kickstarter around the same time as well so i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people are confused.

 

[Tyranicus]

Im getting this and probably Eador. Masters of the Broken World on gog.com

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/eador_masters_of_the_broken_world

So many awesome games coming out this month and surprisingly none are from a big bad AAA studio.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Too bad it ain't for console's too.

Apart from that I shall remain sceptical.

 

[wolf thing]

from the pen and paper RPG the world sounds cool, but i have never really got to the isometric perspective but i see how story and what not is when it comes out.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

You should see all the hate they are getting in the comments from it's own Kickstarter backers. A lot of nasty feedback over this decision to crap out and charge extra for planned "DLC". This from a game we the f'ing people funded ourselves.

Harebrained is trying to spin damage control with the offer of the DRM free version (ONLY to original backers) and all DLC being free to original backers. That's nice and all but they are missing the point that the very practice itself is disgusting and we backers are furious that ANYONE is going to get milked for DLC. It's not about who gets the DLC for free, it's that they are charging ANYONE for it at all.

Buy the product. Get the product. No pieces, no incomplete BS. If they want to develop "extra" material, have at it. You want to charge us for it, keep your extra crap and work on a real sequel. They insult our intelligence with this EA style BS.

Except that hate might be misplaced. DRM in a game like this is fairly important because, unlike a major developer, they can't absorb losses due to piracy. Steam is also a very effective distribution mechanism for small games like this. Most people who will likely buy this game will probably have a Steam account (I will and do). They chose an easy and effective distribution mechanism that, yes, uses a DRM system to prevent piracy. I'm not going to fault them for that. That be like faulting them for saying "I want to sell a product, but I don't want to put it in a store." Yes, it is technically possible to do, but you're going to have much more success by selling your product in a store...

As for DLC: This is another thing that I understand and actually support. A lot of games cut story or quests because they don't have the time or resources develop them fully (and others are cut because it falls under the "too big to fit in this game, too small to justify it's own"). Post-shipping DLC does three positive things: (1) it gives more time to develop and polish non-essential elements of the game, particularly the stuff that just wasn't ready to ship but can't justify a delay of the main product, (2) it prevents underwhelming sequels (i.e. games that are essentially the same game with a new plot and minor tweaks) by essentially giving us a new/additional story without building an entirely new game unnecessarily (see Bioshock 2, which felt more like Bioshock with a few minor needed tweaks and tacked on multiplayer than a proper sequel), which is much more efficient than the sequel model, and (3) it extends the life of the product significantly longer with actual content rather than just advertising and hoping for the best. Let's be honest here, this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123105-Far-Cry-3-Blood-Dragon-Is-Neon-Soaked-80s-Action] does not belong in Farcry 3, but it definitely would not work as a stand alone game (and, no, Hotline Miami is not a counter point to that). We had no problem buying "expansions" for games in the past. DLC is just the current more-convenient form for of that.

And yes, unscrupulous corporate publishers will abuse this system (see EA, Activision), but I view it as a lesser of two evils (DLC or microtransactions) with the potential for interesting plots attached to it.

 

[LordMonty]

Backed this and cannot wait <3 this will be out just as i catch up with Bioshock, tomb raider and a couple of others. Should keep me busy for a few weeks hopefully.

P.S also agree with the above Gentleman its not the end of the world and as a backer I do not personally care. People have to show a little understanding for once.

 

[Epitome]

I just took a peek in the comments on Kickstarter for the project and the hate there is palpable. What is the problem with offering a Steam download in addition to the DRM free version from the HBS site?. I'm so looking to this game, from all the updates they have put out I'm very optimistic that it's going to be a fun return to the SR universe.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I'll be honest, I didn't like their DLC and "Exclusive content" policy from the start and it was one of the main reasons why I didn't pledge for it while I did for most other RPGs (like Wasteland 2, Project: Eternity and Torment at Physical Reward levels).

This one is still a "wait and see", maybe even wait till they release a Complete Edition at some point.

I feeling exactly the same. It is a shame I was thinking of picking this up after seeing the gameplay, having not originally backed the project. But the idea that the drm-free version of the game is possibly hamstrung by not having the same support for mods and dlc as the Steam version has cooled my interest. I've got no problem using Steam personally but if I'm given the choice between steam and DRM free, drm free wins every time for me. Expect on this occasion where it seems at first that the drm-free is an inferior version of the game.