KickTraq

Satellite Reign is a Kickstarter funded real-time cyberpunk strategy game that's finally entered its beta stage. (Read More)

Welcome back Cliqateers! If you were here last week, you already know that this is our weekly brew of all the crowdfunding news fit to print, but for those of you who missed out last time around, welcome! Here, we’ll be concocting a delicious brew or information. The ingredients? The top news stories from all of the best games now on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo! So, without further ado, let’s get started! (Read More)

What crowdfunded game are you most looking forward to? (Read More)

5 Lives Studios has finally released a gameplay video of their much anticipated Syndicate-esque cyberpunk strategy game Satellite Reign. (Read More)

Matt takes a look back at the year that was on Kickstarter: what got funded, what missed out, what was released, and what ran out of cash. (Read More)

The past six months have proven fruitful for crowdfunded games. In total, 186 different Indiegogo and Kickstarter video game projects earned $23,914,666 from the months of June through November. Those numbers are courtesy of 500,467 backers in the six-month period, who raised $13,173,182 beyond the combined goals of the projects to reach stretch goals that will bring games to additional platforms and grant players more content. (Read More)

Environmental Destruction Stretch Goal Reached!With PayPal bringing in pledges in the background, we've managed to bring our combined total up to £440,000! Thanks to everyone's support, you'll now be able to wreak havoc on your surroundings! That... (Read More)

A new video for 5 Lives Studios' crowd-funded spiritual successor to the Syndicate series, Satellite Reign, introduces viewers to the game's technology. (Read More)

Two big wins this week and both are projects that I’ve been intrigued by since I first saw them. Lacuna Passage is the game about mysteries on Mars, using real topography of the Red Planet, and Satellite Reign is the Syndicate successor that promises an emergent cyberpunk city. Excellent news. (Read More)

Localisation Stretch Goal Met!Before we get to the cool tek video, let's all take a moment to be thankful that the Localisation stretch goal is well and truly behind us. So we now support the following languages. English, French, Italian, German,... (Read More)

PayPalAfter a few hiccups and setbacks, we're happy to announce pledging via PayPal is now Live! You'll be able to get all the same rewards available here on Kickstarter, minus those limited quantity tiers, and all your pledges go towards reaching... (Read More)

Hidden amongst the dark recesses of any megacity street, you can find them... if you know the right person, where to meet, and what to ask, that is. When you need a target executed quietly, without evidence, witness or remorse, you need... The... (Read More)

Upcoming real-time, class-based strategy game Satellite Reign has finally been funded on Kickstarter, after a nasty period where it looked like a close run. (Read More)

Great success! We've reached our initial funding goal! A huge thanks from the entire team to everyone who has backed thus far. We're still a few days out and we've got some meaty stretch goals to aim towards so we'll be continuing with our update... (Read More)

We're now up and running, some come along and join in, ask us questions, watch Mike play Syndicate Wars while Chris annoys him and Brent mans the chat window. Mitch is on his long journey back from PAX and Dean has crashed and burned after a long... (Read More)

90%!Thanks to all our generous backers, both recent and those who've been here from the start, we just reached 90%! This update was going to celebrate reaching £300,000 but the strong push from everyone has accelerated things faster than any of us... (Read More)

There comes a time where negotiations fail, when propaganda falls on deaf ears and when covert tactics are ineffective. At that time, when you just need something blown up, shot up or broken up, you need your heavy hitter, your front line, your... (Read More)

In Engine Gameplay VisualisationWe’ve had a quite a few requests to see gameplay footage, the dilemma for us being that it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation. To accurately portray the kind of immerse, simulated and emergent world we want to... (Read More)

Futuristic, cyber-punk, Syndicate-alike Satellite Reign is one of the best game concepts to have come to Kickstarter. The concept of a living city, operating many levels of interlinked simulation to create a deep, emergent game tickles my fancy more than I’ll comfortably admit. Plus, it’s not being made by a set of complete unknowns: Mike Diskett, one of the creators of Syndicate, is behind Satellite Reign, along with a team who have worked in some of the biggest studios on the biggest games. (Read More)

There have been plenty of weeks with no losers and several winners, but I can’t remember compiling this column and finding losers without winners to sit above them. There are lots of projects that are readying themselves for a spot in the winners’ section though, propped on the podium, parading their plaudits. Dungeonmans and Tangiers are my current favourites, with Monochroma not far behind. It’s a busy week though and there should be something for everyone. Except sports fans. Nothing for sports fans. Probably the least Kickstarted genre actually. Licensing issues to blame? (Read More)

Greetings agents! Usually the weekends are relatively quiet and since were are knuckling down preparing the coming FINAL weeks onslaught of updates for the Kickstarter we thought it might be time to have our agents do a bit of reconnaissance work for... (Read More)

Adventures at PAX - Day 01: After a marathon drive from Brisbane to Melbourne, and a whole lot of recovery sleep, my other half and I found ourselves standing out in the cold, waiting to get into the big, warm hall of gaming goodness that is PAX. ... (Read More)

Just a quick update to say we are proud to be joining the Kicking-It-Forward Community. We are pledging to put at least 5% of our profits back into the Kickstarter Community. Check here for more details  (Read More)

Stretch Goals! We were hesitant to reveal our stretch goals until we met our funding target, but due to a lot of requests, we’ve let the cat out of the bag. There’s been a lot of reports lately from developers against even having stretch goals.... (Read More)

Behind the scenes is where these fringe dwellers lurk; inside networks and minds is their battlefield. They are the one who'll get you the information you need, for the right price. You'll need...The Hacker Agent. Call on them to bolster your army by... (Read More)

Mike Diskett of 5 Lives Studios talks about their Kickstarter for Satellite Reign, Cyberpunk, corporate espionage, and the state of the games industry. (Read More)

We are happy to announce we are opening the flood gates to add-ons. Add-Ons are available to anyone who has pledges at the "Loyal Citizen" tier or higher. To add one of these items to your pledge tier, simply add the correct amount of funds to your... (Read More)

Greetings Agents, We've been a bit behind in posting these but we've had a few interviews go live over the past week... First up the team answered some questions for our friends over at Game Zone. Mike chats to Game Star about everything and anything... (Read More)

In the first of our "Meet the..." features covering the 4 agents of your squad we'd like you to... The Support is the Agent who’s always got your back, there to cover your arse when you’re backed into a corner and ready to stand up for you when... (Read More)

MikeD here. I thought I'd write a piece about AI and how I'm coding it up with relevance to emergent game-play. You may not want to read on if you prefer to think its all done by magic, but if you want to take a glimpse behind the curtain read on. I... (Read More)

Hello Agents,Our security databases have revealed one of our very own has aged another cycle.This Agent believed he could suppress this information...he should have known better, the company has eyes everywhere.Mike, as punishment for attempting to... (Read More)

Just a few hours after we launched the Kickstarter for Satellite Reign, we were already the victims of a hostile takeover. The CEO “Big Boss” reward tier which grants the backer the right to become the competing CEO in Satellite Reign was... (Read More)

We’re back from…well nowhere, but I totally space cadet’d yesterdays deadline in lieu of other monstrous tasks. We’ve received tons of emails from Kickstarter hopefuls this week, and we’re nabbing one of the more unique picks from our inbox to share along with two other fantastic projects that have secured a combined total of nearly one million thus far. We’ll be controlling colossal mechs (not Pacific Rim), bribing executives, and spiriting away to the Old North in this weeks Kickstarter Spotlight. So, strap in, it’ll be a bumpy, steam driven ride. (Read More)

Thanks everyone for your questions, we had a great time chatting to you all about all things Satellite Reign. During the chat, we managed to reach 60%! Things are coming along, but we've still got a long way to go. Let's keep it going! Feel free to... (Read More)

We're all here, ready to answer your questions. Come ask us stuff! http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1i18ea/we_are_5_lives_studios_the_team_kickstarting/ Our username is 5LivesStudios.  (Read More)

We’ve had a few articles and interviews pop up about us we thought you might appreciate. First up, Mike and Chris chat with PC Games Hardware about our choice of game engine among other topics. This interview is also available in German. Brent has... (Read More)

Greetings Agents, We have another game design chat video with Mike, Dean, Chris, Mitch and Brent decided to show his ugly mug. In this episode we go over the class system and how death works in more detail as well as a cameo from our mascot, Bob.... (Read More)

Thanks to everyone's support and a generous shout out from the Wasteland 2 team on Facebook we woke up this morning (Australian Time) to see Satellite Reign roll over to £200k! An Amazing effort on everyone's part, given it's been just a week and a... (Read More)

Greetings Agents, Things have inevitably started slowing down, but we're not letting that slow us down. First of all, all backers in the Elite Agent tier and above will now receive their Limited-Edition boxes signed by the 5 Lives team! As requested... (Read More)

One week in and thanks to everyone for helping us reach the 50% funded milestone. As we mentioned in the last update Chris is appearing in the Krautfunding show for an interview about Satellite Reign. Showtimes: 18:00 (UTC/GMT) 19:00 BST (London, UK)... (Read More)

Mythical beasts. A spiritual sequel to a classic 90s game. They're two Crowdfunding Friday projects we've picked for your consideration... (Read More)

Greetings Agents, After a lot of requests, and some late nights talking with manufacturers, we're pleased to report we're adding a new reward tier for limited-edition physical boxed copies of Satellite Reign! This limited-edition physical boxed copy... (Read More)

Hello again, Agents! That 50% milestone is already in sight. If this keeps up, we'll be digging into those meaty stretch-goals in no time. But, onto the news! First up, Mike Diskett has just had a great interview with Jim Rossignol over at Rock Paper... (Read More)

Hello Agents, We've got our first video update for you, a design chat between four members of the 5 Lives team. Sorry for the delay on this one, we've had some technical issues. In this video, Dean, Mitch, Chris and Mike discuss some of the questions... (Read More)

Remember to go vote for Satellite Reign on Steam. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, even tell your mum. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=157080530  (Read More)

The creator of Syndicate Wars has taken to Kickstarter to fund what looks like a spiritual successor to that game. Syndicate Wars creator and lead programmer Mike Diskett is part of indie developer 5 Lives Studios, which is seeking £350,000 (AU$576,730) for Satellite Reign, a real-time, class-based strategy game set in an open world cyberpunk city. (Read More)

Perhaps it’s my insomnia, but I’m feeling rather emotional. There was something that made me want to well up in my interview with Satellite Reign lead, Mike Diskett. Even with the fall of Mucky Foot on his CV, it seems unfair to say that Diskett has had a tough time of it – he’s a talented programmer working on numerous successful (and not so successful) projects over many years – now living in Brisbane. But there’s something else simultaneously tragic and beautiful going on here, which is bound up with the two empty decades since Syndicate Wars. It’s something about the dreams of what games could be. (Read More)

Feature – Satellite Reign Kickstarter Launched By Syndicate Wars Creator Posted Jul 1 2013 by Dylan Zellmer with 0 Comments Satellite-Reign-Kickstarter Kickstarter is known for crowdfunding innovation, nostalgia, and in some cases – a combination of both. The team at 5 Lives Studios have worked on some very notable titles in the past. More recently their portfolio contains games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Darksiders 2, and L.A. Noire. However, if we roll back to 1996-97 you’ll see that 5 Lives Studios’ Mike Diskett Directed the much loved corporate espionage thriller - Syndicate Wars. (Read More)

Greetings Agents, We're 48 hours in and we're just shy of £100,000! But we've still got a long way to go.  Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far and an extra thanks to everyone who's been spreading the word and sharing the link to our... (Read More)

As expected, real-time strategy game Satellite Reign recently began its Kickstarter project, and will need £350,000 ($532,455) by July 28 to become a reality. (Read More)

Last week I was at Rezzed instead of looking at Kickstarter pages but I’ve made up for it by spending most of today browsing through projects. Thoughts of Kickstarter’s purpose have been hanging in the air (on twitter and in chatrooms that I frequent) and I have been pondering how I see the site. I have backed projects knowing that I’m essentially pre-ordering something that I assume will be released and will be as expected, based on the team’s previous work and a comfortable place in a familiar genre. But I mostly back smaller projects that I want to support and to play because they are different, risky and challenging. There’s a great deal of innovation among the nostalgia. (Read More)

As expected after the tease earlier this year, Satellite Reign is the name of a game that really just wants to be a new Syndicate. A proper Syndicate, not a shooter bearing the franchise's name. (Read More)

As recently teased, Brisbane-based indie studio 5 Lives Studios has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Satellite Reign, a strategy game that promises to be very much a spiritual successor to Bullfrog's classic Syndicate games (thanks ivy_mike). (Read More)

We're officially past the 24-hour mark, and thanks to your support, we're already more than 20% of the way to our goal! We can't stress enough how thrilled we are by the reaction we've seen. Help us keep this awesome momentum going, and Satellite... (Read More)

Hello Agents!   From the moment we hit the big "LAUNCH" button, we've been wearing down our F5 keys. We seriously didn't anticipate the response we've recieved, you've blown away our expectations! You're all amazing! Rest assured, we're reading all... (Read More)

As predicted, Satellite Reign has appeared on Kickstarter, promising to make the Syndicate-style game we always wanted. Watch these chaps get a million quid in no time. Slick-as-rain pitch video below. (Read More)

Satellite Reign, a spiritual successor to Syndicate that looks and sounds like the real thing, is now up on Kickstarter. (Read More)

5 Lives Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign for Satellite Reign today, a spiritual successor to Bullfrog Productions' Syndicate series of real-time strategy games. (Read More)