Except, you actually do :) That's what the whole idea was behind the business model that Kickstarter based it's own model off of. The "Reason to buy" part of the formula in this case would be mostly for a new Shadowrun game, but it was also for a DRM-free game.

Right now, I haven't heard much about copyright legal actions taken by project leaders of a Kickstarter project against end-users, but if there are some, I will be furious about it. The fact that the threat still even exists offends me. I find it offensive that Kickstarter projects would take the ideas from those business models and use them to put the risk on the backers and then use legal action to keep the public from using the game however they want to.

Perhaps I was naive too believing that Kickstarter/crowd funding would stop issues like this (DRM, copyright, DMCA, file-sharing) from being issues in the first place.

Something this team could have done is have several more small Kickstarter projects for DLC/expansions and then seed them once they're completed. Maybe $20,000 goals? I don't know what they would need but it shouldn't be a lot since the game engine is already made. It seems even simpler to me than using servers.

Yeah, those indie devs jsut love to swim in "we hate mainstream corpos and their games" and then they just do the same things they do ;P

And that Polish gaming site probably got their information from this Kickstarter update: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-returns/posts/453037 (just search for "license" and you will find the relevant part)

Anyway, to give my opinion:
- Personally, I don't care about a Steam requirement
- Like timppu, I can fully understand the people who are angry now... I would not want a partially crippled version either and the devs have been pretty generous with their usage of "DRM-free" during the campaign. At best, it was very bad communication.

Cool, but if they weren't sure if Microsoft will agree on DRM Free, they shouldn't ever make promises like that.

But it's indie devs. What would you expect from them... Reason in doing business...?

Yeah, it's sad. I'm afraid of how many games are going to be DRM infested after using DRM-free as a marketing trick to get more backers. The money is already taken and used. If many people were allowed to get refunds, they probably wouldn't all get them if it caused bankruptcy, but at least that would still send a message.

Yes, I thought exactly the same. If they knew that the details about the license were not worked out at that point, they simply should have said so and not promised a "DRM-free" game. It's rather questionable to release chunks of information now that the game is almost finished.
Anyway, I'm curious how this will turn out. They probably lost the trust of a certain group of people, but it's not clear how significant this group of people really is.

as far as I can tell from their update. The terms to use the Shadowrun license included having to use some sort of DRM when releasing. But they managed to make a deal to get their backers a DRM free version of the core game plus the first DLC (Berlin).

Apart from that it also seems like all user created content will work just fine with the DRM free version, it'll just not be automated to the degree that Steam workshop does.

And considering the outcry there's been about Omerta having actual DLC on Gog, why are you saying you won't consider the game if you can't even get the DLCs DRM free? So....it's a horrible crime that someone may want to release paid DLC which you have to actually buy if you want. And at the same time it's just as much a crime if they do so in a way you can't buy if you are a backer and refuse to run the steam version?

At least I know not to kickstart anything.

Look, we got the ball rolling for these guys. Any "future" content would not exist period; without the backers (our) money. The are a few more problems I have with this besides the fact that they clearly stated in the pledge tiers that the game would be DRM free. They can't take the money that was funded them and incorporate a loot system, but these motheruckers are already planning future DLC that's only available through steam. I'm sorry, but I think the bullshit is getting mighty deep at HBS. I will not back another fucking kickstarter without a detailed plan of "this is wtf we are gong to do with your monies" in writing. Show me a fucking itemized spreadsheet of where all of this money is going. And be transparent about it. I didn't fund this project so i could be bent over and fucked up the ass just so you could get your shit together to take a project in a totally different direction than what you clearly presented. And I know for a fact if the actuall cards had been laid out on the table; this project wouldn't have been funded the way it was. DRM free was part of the incentive that made a lot of folks pull out their wallets and throw money at this thing. They already have my money and I'm not asking for a refund. I just hope this game is as good as I hope it's going to be and that all of this will be worth it in the end.

Who knows, maybe a loot system will be part of the future DLC. -___-

I've funded several successful Kickstarters, including some video game ones (delivered as promised and even some on time).

Glad I didn't pledge for the game.

It's quite possible it'd still have been funded though. Sure, *you* wouldn't have funded it, but a guarantee of being in at the doorstep for a guaranteed Steamworks/Workshop game would probably have secured other backers to replace you.

And considering they were 3x over it's quite possible that even if you pulled out *all* the funds from the people who actually care that much about this issue it'd still be funded.

Well, that would've been excellent then because all the DRM free proponents would've passed this over and picked it up at our own fucking leisure. But that's not what happened is it? So, we now return to: back to reality.

If you'd stayed there instead of brought the hypothetical situation up to begin with you could've saved yourself those posts then :)