Dead

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:22 pm

So is Descent Underground officially dead?

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:28 pm

...what are you talking about? They've been releasing updated versions of the game pretty much every week. Actually they just added co-op mode versus AI bots in the last update.

LightWolf · Post by **LightWolf** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:57 am

I think that the D:U forum in the DBB is dead, but the project is alive and kicking!

Pumo · Post by **Pumo** » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:48 am

They are pretty far from dead, it's an official Descent game after all, and it's improving and growing more each time.
It's going pretty good!

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 8:22 am

My my, take a look at the colour of your glasses.

...
They had a couple hiccups with some major bugs in the last few weeks but they're back on track now and releasing updates again.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:46 pm

They have to do something very impressive that I even became interested in this game again.

Ktulu · Post by **Ktulu** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:39 pm

Yeah...

I get newsletters from the DU developers every few weeks.
I cried shenanigans over 2 years ago calling DU a moneygrab etc.
Seems like it's still the same sort of deal. Lots of updates patches and re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-(etc...) releases of a beta version.
There was talk back then of a release date. Recently... NADA!
I'm a horse that's smart enough to realize that THAT carrot dangling in front of me on a stick will always be out of my reach!

So much time has gone by. I'm not a hacker, developer, programmer, or some couch potato who has money to throw away. I'm just some friggin old dude who remembers how awesome the Descent series was. Haven't bothered looking these days, but I'd be willing to bet it was just a god dammed moneygrab like I said years ago. (referencing DU)

Descent was the greatest game I've ever played. I am a fan to this day with music in my playlists across multiple devices. My phone is customized with old school Descent pics and icons. I have custom ringtones for all of my known contacts that are Descent tunes. And my text alert is the Piccu Station Distress call. LMAO... people look at me strangely when I get texts in public. They think it's some kind of official BS er something. Fackin LOVE it!

I miss the mines... Best game EVER!!!
Ktulu<-----END TRANSMISSION

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 4:30 am

I gave up on it. Sadly it's not what I had hoped it would be. I keep the game updated and try it once after each update but it really sucks compared to overload and even D1/2/3 of old.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:39 pm

Ktulu wrote:Yeah...

I get newsletters from the DU developers every few weeks.
I cried shenanigans over 2 years ago calling DU a moneygrab etc.
Seems like it's still the same sort of deal. Lots of updates patches and re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-(etc...) releases of a beta version.
There was talk back then of a release date. Recently... NADA!
I'm a horse that's smart enough to realize that THAT carrot dangling in front of me on a stick will always be out of my reach!

How is it a "moneygrab" if they're continuously putting out new content and updates? Putting one's opinions of the game itself aside, this is easily one of the most open crowdfunded gaming projects I've come across. They've been very upfront about their plans going forward and issues that have popped up along the way. (It's pretty much the anti-Star Citizen in that regard.) Honestly I've spent little to no time with the game itself, but nothing I've seen makes me regret backing them from a developer standpoint.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:30 am

A kickstarter is never a guarantee you will get anything, let alone what you want. I don't regret contributing to the D:U funding, even though it is clearly off in the middle of nowhere near the core of what made Descent really tick. I don't even really have any plans to play it (because I quit descent years ago), but I am glad to see they are still working on it and from the sounds of it enjoying their work.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:54 am

Eeh, there's a vast grey area between "Descent-level fun" and "not fun at all". I'm sure I'll be jumping in occasionally especially once they have some singleplayer content.

vision · Post by **vision** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 12:33 pm

Alter-Fox wrote: I'm sure I'll be jumping in occasionally especially once they have some singleplayer content.

I'll probably make time to play the SP campaign if it ever materializes, but I abandoned the D:U website and any updates over a year ago. They seems to be doing everything I don't like about gaming. Can't wait for Overload. I haven't downloaded any betas because I want the finished product. I don't even watch footage of the game and am very selective of the threads I read because I don't want spoilers!

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:23 am

I supported their efforts and gave them a sizable donation during the KS. Overall though, just like Krom, I just don't really play Descent or games much at all these days, with the exception of the odd bit of modding. I praise them for their efforts and they are a nice bunch of guys. But Underground just doesn't sit right with me. Overload really does nail the Descent vibe and DU seems to completely miss it.

vision · Post by **vision** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:47 pm

Man, this game tanked. I just decided to take a look at the Descendent Studios site and saw a blog post from five months ago announcing the game was being bailed out by another company -- but I can find no signs of further development. What a ★■◆●-show. More than two years and all they came up with was a couple buggy MP levels.

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:05 pm

They are still working on it. You can get news through something called brightlocker.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:43 pm

Yeah, it can't be dead or tanked. Not with this fan made 2:30 minute trailer we made for it back in 2015

vision · Post by **vision** » Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:48 pm

Hunter wrote: ↑Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:05 pm They are still working on it. You can get news through something called brightlocker.

Ah, I see. Here is their update page. Looks like they are moving along, but wow, it seems they are way too worried about the graphics and trying to be an "AAA" game (whatever the duck that means and who gives a ship?) instead of working on gameplay. Also, looks like the gameplay is totally convoluted. You know, when a MP game has too many "modes" it usually suffers because people segregate themselves and the community gets thin and bitchy. Good grief, what a disaster. I feel like they completely mismanaged this project from day one. They should have started simple, got a solid, playable game out there while the enthusiasm was high, and slowly introduced more ships/modes/whatever over time.

It also looks really bad that they've essentially abandoned their website, which is a ghost town anayway.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:40 am

I gave up on it early 2017. Not what I thought it would be.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:54 pm

Well, I'm not looking for absolute perfection since I'm gonna have Overload for that anyway

(and much sooner too). But if it has a singleplayer game with a few fun bits I'll still play it now and again.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:30 pm

You know what would really help them get it done? If we complained about it not being done, every day.

Hunter, hurry up. Stop not doing the game.

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:21 pm

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:13 am

Is it done yet?

ReadyMan · Post by **ReadyMan** » Sat May 05, 2018 12:50 am

What a complete waste of money.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Sun May 06, 2018 6:24 pm

Damn, I invested good money into this. But I stopped playing it long ago as it sucked.

vision · Post by **vision** » Sun May 06, 2018 7:05 pm

Jesus, Wingman even jokes about it in the fist minute of this video, created just days ago. Cringe.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Mon May 07, 2018 9:15 am

Now I have this strange urge to act out the Dead Parrot sketch about this game...

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Mon May 07, 2018 3:22 pm

This guy wants to make a game, but still uses the default sound set (or for that matter uses sounds at all) in windows? No wonder its dead.

vision · Post by **vision** » Mon May 07, 2018 5:51 pm

Krom wrote: ↑Mon May 07, 2018 3:22 pm This guy wants to make a game, but still uses the default sound set (or for that matter uses sounds at all) in windows? No wonder its dead.

That doesn't bother me as much as the sound of his voice, like a man defeated. Like a man going to a job he hates but can't quit because he's so broke.

And why the ★■◆● are there 20 different ships?

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Mon May 07, 2018 6:00 pm

You think they're running on fumes? There is no mention of funding, but I assumed they have an investment from Little Orbit.

defconx · Post by **defconx** » Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:01 pm

I congratulate the devs for patiently plodding on despite somewhat unpleasant heckling. It's not at all dead. In a couple months (or less, if their hints are indication) the game is going to be going through Alpha/Beta testing.

They did not manage their "open development" with a professional level of experience because they didn't have any experience in the experiment of a sequel/prequel game "built largely by the community enthusiasm". Though community development is a cool idea it probably isn't something to implement on such a small budget or on enthusiasm as fickle as some fan enthusiasm has proven to be. That's not a slight against people with great feedback that won't be implemented in D:U.

It seems to me that luckily a game's quality doesn't suffer from just being behind a time line or being less communicative about fan feedback (which they really do value). So I think Wingman was joking about that experiment not being timely or effective, i.e.; "our game, a year ago" refers to the direction of constantly trying to discuss and re-discuss every little decision with fans.

A Monty Python-esque sketch about this whole thing could be about unruly community members complaining to the devs that they don't feel enthused, while expecting devs to incorporate that particular kind of "feedback" into the game design. Not sure how you build loathing into a game but it seems that would be a bad idea. I'm glad they've taken the reins back even though I love they have incorporated community contributions too.

vision · Post by **vision** » Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:57 pm

defconx wrote: ↑Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:01 pm... or on enthusiasm as fickle as some fan enthusiasm has proven to be.

You mean how so many people were disappointed that they game they were designing is so far off track from the original series? I mean, Revival got it spot on with the same budget in half the time, and apparently with a smaller staff.

Yeah, I agree it is admirable that they keep developing D:U. I just wish they had done a little more research before scooping up the IP and running it into the ground. I'm still hoping to get a good single player campaign out of it, but the problem with shitty "story-based" campaigns is they usually have less replayability.

Sirius · Post by **Sirius** » Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:04 pm

Revival raised half as much money on KS ($300k instead of $600k). Though I don't know how much funding went in from other sources. Their team is probably bigger now than Descendent Studios (not counting Little Orbit, whose impact hasn't really been seen yet), but earlier on they only had like five core guys, yeah. I think the difference was Luke is a machine, and Matt/Mike are very seasoned devs in familiar territory. And the Volition connection is probably a big advantage too.

As much as the level of "hating" surrounding D:U bothers me, I can't deny it has a cause. I don't know if it'll ever really go away.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:20 pm

Greetings!

I had the game installed and played a bit from the early stages. I was a kickstarter supporter but didn't keep up with it after a few times and now years later I got an email showing the wonderful new 'complete' game about to be released and tried to load up steam and play the game only to find that it isn't there...

So long story now aborted...how can someone who had access to the game at one point get access to it again? I can't even find Descent in my Steam profile....likely because I built a new PC and created new Steam account. Searching emails doesn't reveal any mention of having had access to the game.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:25 pm

You need to log in to your old steam account (the one from the old computer) on your new computer in order to access the games in it for somewhat obvious reasons. Games are tied to the account, so one person can have multiple accounts and have different games on each account. Once a game key (such as descent underground) is associated with an account, it cannot be used for a different account.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:53 pm

Thanks! I searched emails etc and can't find anything to clue me in to what my Steam account was back then,,,which email account, user ID etc. I might have used. I'll keep searching. But if that fails can I buy it again somewhere?

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:29 pm

They delisted it from early access, so the only way to get it is to recover your old account that it was assigned to.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 6:43 pm

Yeah, it'll be posted again for purchase once the full version is released.

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:12 am

You won't find the game on Steam just yet. If you backed the game to a certain level you'll have access to the beta soon.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:50 am

Hunter wrote: ↑Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:12 am You won't find the game on Steam just yet. If you backed the game to a certain level you'll have access to the beta soon.

Thanks!
The problem is I don't have the same Steam account that I did and can't find any emails from the time I received permission to play, a license key or download etc. I don't know what my Steam ID/password was either.
I have emails starting from April 2015 from Descendent Studios giving me the latest news about builds etc. But nothing that would indicate I was given some kind of access to play...

I did find the hard drive I was using at the time is still in the PC but it was repurposed as a storage drive when I installed a faster drive as the primary drive and installed a fresh Windows 10 into it.
So the folders and a lot of the documents are still in there from the original operating system including a Steam folder in the Programs folder on that old drive from when it was the primary Windows drive. I just don't know what to look for...what would the file name of the actual Steam license key be? Or the file the old Steam account user name/email that I had used then be named...?

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:33 am

I found this folder in a backup on the old drive but clicking on the descent application doesn't do anything. Any suggestions?