Thank you so much to all of our early donors, we're blown away at all support we've received already! In the first 24 hours we've already accumulated over $2,000, AKA 5% Funded!
@VERSION 1.7
We are currently working very hard on Version 1.7 for ORION and we hope to have a release date that we can announce some time next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP_eQ6NIVvY
@STARSHIP MODULE
One of the most anticipated features in the upcoming v1.7 is the StarShip Module which will allow Guardians to fly around parts of the Galaxy for the very first time!
@STARSHIP TECHNOLOGY (LORE)
This video introduces more/new Orion lore for the first time, examining one of the most talked about aspects of the game lately which was the handling/flight model of StarShip Spaceships. This covers the technology behind it all - we hope you enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fNmJWn7QJQ
@KICKSTARTER SUCCESS = FREE SHIP!
If the Kickstarter campaign is a success we will be able to grant a free StarShip to ALL Backers of the game. This will be the Interceptor A1 and it's an extremely fast and aggressive Ship with extreme boosting capabilities.
We have some great updates planned and cannot wait to share more! Thanks for all the support.
We have huge aspirations for The #ORION Project. We're just coming up on Year 1 and we've already accomplished so much.
We believe that if you do your job for your supporters then those who support you will determine if they want you to continue. This is the best we can do and we're very proud of our community and progress on the project We are here and ready to fight for AND with you.
Our passion is clear. By all means ORION shouldn't even exist considering both failed Kickstarters in 2014 and 2015.
When any other #Kickstarter fails the company take it as a sign of a product not being desired. They certainly don't honor a failed campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orionprelude/guardians-of-orion/posts/1395367
We don't mind supporting our products but we wouldn't do it to the point of self-destruction. It would have been easier years ago but now I have my own family and I'm also responsible for others and their families and there is less room for extreme risks.
By all means an event failure wouldn't be the end of #Trek, just the end of The ORION Project.
We very much enjoy working on this game together and would love to continue to do that with you which is why we've supported the game when it wasn't supported for so long and for so hard.
We believe PC gamers deserve better than what they are receiving and we believe we can deliver better and we believe our work efforts over the years speak for themselves. This will be up to the gamers and whether they agree with that reality and want this.
We love what we do, we love who we get to do it with and we love who we do it for. I am asking for the opportunity to create, communicate, and deliver the game of my dreams and one that I believe will captivate you for years to come.
So I implore you to do one single thing:
Stop giving your money to assholes that can't deliver and give it to this one that can.
<3 Trek.
ORION: Prelude ULTIMATE Edition (Now Available!)
ORION: Prelude ULTIMATE EDITION automatically unlocks ALL store items including: Hats, Armors, Capes, Saber Colors, Dinosaur Skins and more!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/538190/
https://youtu.be/uzm4plcRNeg
'ORION: Prelude' is an indie Sci-Fi shooter (FPS/TPS) that seamlessly blends together incredible visuals and addictive combat.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/104900/
It puts you and your friends together into intense, cinematic battles using some of the most incredible weaponry and amazing vehicles in which you must work or compete against one another to accomplish mission objectives, explore giant worlds and survive the devastating Dinosaur Horde.
In addition to the return of the adventurous, survival-based cooperative gameplay and retro-inspired Arena Combat, 'ORION: Prelude' features massive, Open World Cooperative and PvPvE.
*Previous version names include ORION: Dino Beatdown (2012) and ORION: Dino Horde (2013).
http://store.steampowered.com/app/104900/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/538190/
ORION // Community Update (Q4 2016)
ORION - COMMUNITY UPDATE (OCT 2016)
We have recently conducted a variety of pools and information gathering to learn where the Community is in regards to what they are enjoying, disliking and think of ORION. We do these polls regularly and we appreciate all who interact with and supply feedback. Thank you very much to all of you!
We've also received many fan submissions stating that they believe:
1. The game is TOO ambitious.
2. We don't address issues fast enough.
3. We add content TOO often.
SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?
Well, we use it! We read through every post and curate lists based on the most-submitted. If something can coexist with other systems, designs and mechanics either integrated or planned then it is included.
VERSION 1.7 - NOVEMBER 2016
Most of the main dislikes *will* be addressed in the next major update for ORION, Version 1.7
ORION v1.7 is scheduled for release in November 2016 and we will be addressing the following:
1. Adding additional weapon loadouts per Guardian.
2. Adding ADS (Aim-Down-Sights) functionality for the FPS perspective.
3. We are revamping the Weapon Movement & Recoil systems.
4. We've improved verticality to older maps and made it a focus on the newer maps.
5. We've added small additions to A.I to better compensate for the new verticality.
6. We've added game optimizations (auto-spec detection, based on your specific hardware).
In addition to polishing and improving those features, we are also going to continue to focus on what the game currently has. Version 1.8 will debut some new content but also focus on further polishing the PvE and PvP modules already within the game. This includes Harvest, Mayhem, Survival and WarGames.
POST BELOW!
We always monitor fan feedback. Feel free to post comments, suggestions and questions below. We always love hearing what you think!
Version 1.7 will introduce quite a few new things, including a remastered/updated version of the Temple of Osiris region.
Right now this region is Mayhem PvP only but will eventually open up to and feature Social, Exploration and other modules.
https://youtu.be/ZP_eQ6NIVvY
This video also showcases early ground work to an updated Weapon Mechanic/Movement/Recoil system.
We also just integrated the second space ship - the Corvette A1:
https://youtu.be/BjzdnmJANgo
This is a Support Class ship which features a Power Shield (ability) and much more armor than the Interceptor A1. The increased armor plating comes with the expense of speed which the Interceptor A1 excels at courtesy of the Boost Drive.
ORION is $1 on Steam!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/407840
ORION // Full Transparency Report
Hey all - David here. I am the Founder and Director of Trek Industries and the Game Director on The ORION Project.
I've spent a life time seeking and recruiting the best talent from around the world. Sometimes I was successful, others not. Right now we have one of the best development teams ever assembled and many of them have been by my side since the beginning.
They definitely don't do it for fame or payment as they could be much more successful elsewhere and I have to believe it's because of ORION as it too had captivated me immediately from a very young age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFopklaUqvg
THE ORION PROJECT
It's been my life long work to deliver this experience we've only begun to hint at in this first year. We have a team loving what they are working on and committed years of their lives to bringing it to life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKk4x7OwvJQ
OUR FIRST GAME
I've invested everything we made into remastering and repairing our first game (ORION: Prelude) to ensure we were proud of it, as we're the fans. We are proud of what we accomplished and it's become an extremely fun Co-Op game that we and hundreds of others still enjoy to this day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQ3GBFI4KQ
2014 CROWDFUNDING
In 2014 we attempted to raise funds for The Orion Project but this was unfortunately not successful. Instead we continued supporting ORION: Prelude and developing prototypes in the background.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orionprelude/the-orion-project
2015 CROWDFUNDING
In 2015 we attempted to raise funds for "Guardians of Orion", a throwback to over-the-top games and the days of SNES/Genesis. We showcased a full playable prototype but this campaign was also unsuccessful.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orionprelude/guardians-of-orion
However instead of ending it there we decided to honor every single backer that supported us and rewarded them a copy of various game(s) depending on pledge level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR0UQRV0NvY
OUR FOCUS
We've invested all profits from the first game (ORION: Prelude/Dino Beatdown) in order to REMAKE/REMASTER and continually add content to it for years. Most of the resources were exhausted during this development but enough were set aside to self-finance and create the prototype for Guardians of Orion/The ORION Project.
THE CHARTS
Since July 2016 both ORION games have dramatically dropped in overall players, visibility and discoverability. This is difficult to comprehend or link as our first game, ORION: Prelude, was just recently moved to Free-2-Play having a no-risk entry that should typically surge or at minimal maintain original/existing player count values.
This was not the case and we haven't seen these low of player counts since 2013. In addition to this our new game, The ORION Project, has dramatically dropped in player counts:
The chart above illustrates to us that we were better off ceasing development in Q1 2016. At this time the game had Third-Person, Inventory and Gear added.
However once we started to invest and add more, the numbers went down significantly somehow. This is reflective of v1.5 (May 2016) and v1.6 (July 2016) which we started adding fan-favorite features like First-Person, PvP, Multi-Camera PvE and most recently SpaceShips/NPC's. Each new iteration subsequently offers fewer and fewer players.
THE F2P CONVERSION
Over two million accounts were supposed to receive special Premium DLC for owning ORION: Prelude pre-conversion. Platform Linking failed and instead we were forced to grant ALL owners, including non-valid, and this cost us time, resources and it completely undervalued and depreciated all valid owners in the process. This negatively affected us and our player base.
We had two overall goals with the F2P conversion:
001 - Reward & Thank our Supporters
002 - Use 104900 (ORION: Prelude) as a marketing device towards 407840 (The ORION Project) by allowing players to play and experience the Orion game series for free.
Both objectives are complete failures and it's time to cut losses with what we do have control over.
THE MATH
So to break this all down into the nitty gritty detail. Since August 2010 (which is when we started pre-production on what became ORION: Prelude/Dino Beatdown) we've generated the following amount of revenue: $3,207,912
For a majority of this, it was split:
30% Steam (Platform) $962,373.60
10% Epic (Engine) $320,791.20
We'll say we get 50% of the revenue stream once all things are said and done - and that's still being generous. This is for the sake of easy math:
Total Revenue Generated: $3,207,912
50% (Our Operation Budget): $1,603,956
Now split this across the six years of operating and it comes down to
(Yearly) $267,326 OR
(Monthly) $22,277
THE BREAKDOWN
This is purely operational and comparably it's equivalent two the salary of roughly two developers at an AAA game development studio. So nothing exceptional by any means and it doesn't permit much (any) room for Research, Experimental and doesn't factor any plugins/api/external content or much additional hiring. Most importantly it doesn't permit for any mistakes and requires efficiency and consistency just short of perfection.
THE REALITY
The reality is those are previous numbers and charts and that the current numbers right now have a level of support is only barely covering the server infrastructure and that it's never been lower than since ORION: Dino Beatdown.
YOUR SUPPORT
This is not sustainable in any shape way or form and if you enjoy the game now or the idea of what it can become, now is the time to show that support whether its financial or vocal. I am more than happy to support it and invest in it MORE than we did on our first game, but we definitely need that support matched.
PRELUDE REVERSION
If you've acquired the game for FREE during the 60 day campaign you're more than welcomed to keep the game, please help spread the word if you like it.
Please make sure to not uninstall or remove it if you've acquired it for free as the Platform is unable to determine ownership and we have no system available that would permit us the ability to verify what type of owner you are. If you uninstall or remove the game you will be forced to acquire it via the minimal premium.
Starting Monday October 24, 2016 (10:00AM PT), ORION: Prelude will be reverting to a $1 premium base model for ORION: Prelude (AppID 104900). This will permit that the company is in a healthy position and able to ensure that the Product can be supported, hosted and patched.
INTERCEPTOR A1 & WARGAMES MODULE PRICING
Until we can receive additional support we will have to begin changing variables that we do have immediate control over in order to ensure we can continue making the game better as well as support it for years to come.
Due to this we will not yet be able to offer a free ship to all players like we had originally intended. We would love for nothing more than to be able to do things like this, as we regularly have in the past.
We'd love nothing more than to offer experiences at competitive prices (or free) and amazing content, but we need to do it in a way that ensures that it's done safely for all involved. However until other aspects change this will now be a premium acquisition.
THE PC PLATFORM
After two years and two failed crowdfunding campaigns we are placing the future of The Orion Project in your hands. We love the PC platform. The core of us were born and bred in PC gaming, most of us starting with modding and eventually working our way to full time developers.
We love PC gaming, we love the PC industry and we want nothing more than to support and leave our mark within the PC industry.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING
We love what we do, we love who we get to do it with and we love who we do it for. I am asking for the opportunity to create, communicate, and deliver the game of my dreams and one that I believe will captivate you for years to come.
So I implore you to do one single thing:
Stop giving your money to assholes that can't deliver and give it to this one that can.
CROWDFUNDING 2016
We've setup a crowdfunding event that puts you and the game first and foremost. This is your chance to obtain incredible and extremely limited physical rewards as well as guarantee the required funding for certain features, modules and milestones.
The ORION Kickstarter crowdfunding event is scheduled to begin October 31, 2016 and end December 31, 2016.
OUR MESSAGE TO YOU
We can make the game of our dreams, we will include you and we will support you and our products to the best of our ability for as long as we possibly can. We've illustrated this for years and would love to do this for years to come.
Do you want a developer that is transparent?
Do you want a developer that listens to you?
Do you want a developer that works hard?
Do you want a developer that supports their products?
Do you want a product that supports their communities?
If this event is not successful I cannot guarantee the future of The Orion Project past version 1.8 until further notice. In the end this is up to you!
I believe that if you do your job and support those who support you, then the people will decide whether or not they want to hire you for another round. We are here in the ring and ready to fight with and for you.
Trek.
ORION + Crowdfunding (October 2016)
#ORION is gearing up to launch a massive crowdfunding campaign that will offer a wide variety of rewards and packages, both digital and physical! This event is scheduled to begin on October 7, 2016 and run for 60 days.
#Orion #Crowdfunding #Kickstarter
A Sci-Fi MMORPG Shooter featuring Open Galaxy Gameplay and Exploration on Unreal Engine 4! Featuring Dinosaurs, Robots, Cooperative Gameplay, PvP, Online & Local Gameplay and more!
We all want the ultimate space game. If you've been let down or lied to by other Space games, we are here to remedy this.
https://youtu.be/VFopklaUqvg
We are committed to creating one of the best games of all time and this is courtesy of an extremely skilled team and also our community who we interact with and participate with as much as possible.
When it comes to ORION, it's not about if you'll receive it - but how fast you'll receive it!
https://youtu.be/0tCw1hZSF9U
We hope you are as proud as we are with what we've accomplished in Year One.
EXPLORATION
Travel across multiple Planets & Moons with your friends!
SURVIVAL
Fight against devastating enemies including ROBOTS & DINOSAURS in cooperative gameplay!
BATTLE YOUR FRIENDS
A variety of competitive PvP modes with Kills granting store credits and experience!
PLAY YOUR WAY!
Swap between First-Person, Third-Person and Top-Down perspectives at ANY time during Cooperative gameplay!
GATHER WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Socialize in beautiful hubs including Space Command Centers, Elemental Moons, Complex Cave Systems and Sprawling Cities!
INVENTORY
Collect Loot & Gear along your journeys!
CRAFTING
Forge Resources into Gear and other items.
COMPLETE MISSIONS
A variety of Side Objectives, Weekly Challenges and Daily Challenges to earn store credits, unlock loot crates and earn new gear!
STATISTICS
Track your accomplishments with detailed player statistics and overviews!
LEADERBOARDS
Compete with others across a variety of ranks and skills!
CUSTOMIZATION
Millions of possibilities, including: Armors, Hats, Helmets, Weapon Skins, Shaders, Tracers, Effects, and more!
GIBS & GORE
Decimate your enemies and experience over-the-top violence, gore and gibs! (Can be disabled via gameplay settings).
EXECUTIONS & FATALITIES
Take the violence to another level with extreme finishing moves and fatalities!
LOCAL CO-OP
We will continue to add additional Local Co-Op experiences as ORION continues to grow and evolve!
PLAY or PAY!
The majority of Trek Store items can either be bought outright or played for as a variety of in-game systems grant you store credits, including the resources you collect, all PvP kills and bonus missions, achievements, daily challenges, weekly challenges and more! Our store is cosmetic-focused with no pay-2-win!
COMPANIONS
Pets help assist you in collecting resources, items and gear! Acquire a PET and never be alone again.
A FREE SPACESHIP!
Every Player will start with one FREE StarShip. This will be your tool to travel the stars (with your friends) and to explore Planets and Moons!
WARGAMES
Become the best Pilot and challenge your friends and foes in a free-for-all dog-fighting game mode which rewards store credits and experience for a variety of gameplay and objectives!
NPC'S & VENDORS
Meet interesting characters! We're going to add a significant amount of NPC A.I characters to the game that will include vendors, faction leaders, visual ambiance and larger-than-life characters!
PLEDGE YOUR ALLEGIANCE!
The Faction Module will allow you to support Legion, Reign or to remain as a Privateer.
LOADOUTS
Customize your Weapon Loadout per characters, including Primary Weapons, Secondary Weapons, Item Kit and Grenade Type!
CREATION MODULE
Create anything from within your imagination alongside your friends. Build, Break, Destroy and Survive!
CELESTIALS
Discover and Index over one hundred unique spiritual creatures called Celestials, or CEL's for short! Travel to a variety of moons to locate the rarest ones!
OCULUS & VIVE (VR) SUPPORT
We support Virtual Reality and will be constantly releasing new experiences within The ORION Project with aims to support multiple VR platforms!
We had a few hiccups along the way. Everything is a learning mistake. This is no different than any other person and the only thing we deem important is how you take it from there.
We've invested years of time and money into our communities and products and we do it because we appreciate any level of support but also because we truly love Orion and will see it through regardless, no matter what.
Everyone is absolutely loving working on Orion and we're all creating the most amazing and enjoyable content in the history of our team.
We want to add more, we want to do it quicker and we want to keep pushing this game past the limits that we initially set back just in December 2015.
We had attempted to do a crowdfunding back in 2014, however that was before we had any playable prototype and was mostly based on the core idea and artwork. This was not a success.
https://youtu.be/Kz6mqRgHBGA
https://youtu.be/WOONhMJMg9Q
https://youtu.be/XY1etHdeTqc
We had attempted to do a crowdfunding back in 2015 WITH a playable prototype. This event failed BUT we still honored ALL Backers with rewards AND released the product on time!
We are willing to work night and day for you, for years. Whether it's investing or simply telling a friend, any little action can snowball into the biggest of possibilities.
We know that because we are examples of that and illustrated this on our first game, ORION: Prelude:
https://youtu.be/ShQ3GBFI4KQ
We can only create the game. We need your help to share it.
So we've launched a massive ORION crowdfunding campaign that will offer a wide variety of rewards and packages, both digital and physical. We love ORION very much but we also love the industry in which supports indie endeavors like ORION and constantly fight for it and the gamers that create it.
We want to do so much more with The ORION Project and the focus of this Crowdfunding campaign is to boost production speeds as we approach the massive Version 2.0.
We want to afford existing developers more time, we want to bring on more talent and we want to release content even quicker than we already are.
Lobbies = Fixed
There was an issue reported on the Steam back end that affected a few other games including our own. They were able to address it immediately (thanks Steam!) and if you have any more issues feel free to post here or contact us directly and we will do our best to address it as fast as possible.
connect@trek-industries.com
All we want now is for you and all your friends to have as much fun as possible. No pay walls, no pay 2 win, no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥t no gimmicks. The whole game for free as was + brand new Year 4 Update content.
Our new game, The ORION Project will also convert to a Free-2-Play model on August 25, 2016 to celebrate the game series 16th birthday. You can learn more about The ORION Project here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/407840/
ORION: Prelude Is Now F2P
ORION: Prelude is now Free-2-Play on Steam!
The entire game with no gimmicks!
https://youtu.be/2Uu0C359l9Y
You can experience the full game, for free, forever. This includes:
· 5-Player Online Co-Op
· Class-Based Gameplay
· 50+ Weapons & Gear
· Epic Boss Fights
· Open World Gameplay
· PvP Modes (Dueling, Gun Game, Elimination, King of the Hill)
· Seasonal/Themed Events
· Player Customization
· Progression & Skills
· 250+ Steam Achievemenets
· Steam Trading Cards
· 10 Playable Dinosaurs
PLAY NOW!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/104900/
It's been five years since we first began development on what inevitably became ORION: Prelude. It's been a long journey with many ups and downs but ultimately we couldn't be more proud of this game.
We're approaching 3 million copies sold of ORION: Prelude and now we simply want every gamer out there to experience the Orion series and see what we have to offer. This is an extremely enjoyable game with absolutely zero Pay-2-Win or PayWall mechanics. It has something for everyone and it's even better with friends.
Game on!
ORION: Prelude (Going F2P)
Screw the price tag! We simply want as many gamers to enjoy Orion as possible.
https://youtu.be/lPUq0fXD7d4
ORION: Prelude is officially going Free-2-Play starting THIS Friday - August 5, 2016. The only changes made to the game for this update is the addition of three brand new maps for your enjoyment. (Dune, Marsh, Summit)
Full description here:
http://community.orion-project.net/forums/threads/197
