Prerelease:Madness: Project Nexus (Windows)/2014 Kickstarter
This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Madness: Project Nexus (Windows).
 | This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes. |
 | To do: Pretty much everything. Go into more detail about the cut content, document things outside the Kickstarter page (such as the Steam Greenlight page, Tumblr, etc.), you name it. |
In 2013, both The-Swain and Krinkels officially announced the Kickstarter page for Madness: Project Nexus (then titled Madness: Project Nexus 2), with its official Kickstarter page opening up soon after in 2014. The Kickstarter ended with $64,214 pledged, and 1,271 backers. Only $49,198 was successfully pledged, not counting the money from fake backers and the money that went to Kickstarter and Amazon fees.
Contents
Pre-release Images
On the Kickstarter page, several screenshots of the game were posted, with a few showing several differences between the final game. Note that in many of them, the player is a basic grunt instead of one of the major characters like Hank, Sanford, or Deimos.
An early version of the Arena mode layout.
A gif of the player character firing. (Click to animate)
What appears to be a sort of laboratory-like area.
A gif of the player character firing at zombies, with some early and rougher animations.
An image demonstrating the Grazing mechanic.
An image demonstrating the Sweet Spot mechanic.
A screenshot of the game in development, posted after the Kickstarter was successfully funded.
An early version of the title screen.
An image of a television with the Auditor on it.
According to The-Swain, this is an early wireframe test.
A screenshot of a map editing tool open.
The map editor being used.
Pre-release Videos
In the alpha teaser it shows many early stuff:
- At 00:09, it shows off an early inventory system and, you would have armor on your feet.
- Also in 00:09, all guns use their actual name unlike the final which uses fictionalized names.
- In 0:11 it shows an unknown enemy faction, it's most likely an early version of the survivors or fanatics due to both factions hanging around abandoned areas.
- At 0:26, it shows off an early version of the mag sporting a red visor and body armor, unlike the final game it has a different visor and uses a Giant Desert Eagle.
- In 0:36 a scrapped mechanic where you would push your allies out of the way.
- In 0:43 another scrapped mechanic where you would have thrown your enemies.
And in the entire video, it plays an early version of Funky Punch.
During the Kickstarter, several videos showcasing early gameplay were also shown off.
A video created by The-Swain, one of the developers of the game, discussing Project Nexus. Some footage of an early game is shown here, including some early versions of the models and environments.
More early footage uploaded by The-Swain on May 18th, 2015.
Early footage was posted on a Kickstarter update, showing off the player firing at some enemies.
Concept Art
Several pieces of concept art were also shown off, including some cut areas and ideas that never appeared in the final game.
An early concept Mag Bandit, having a different armor having no marking on his bandana, no helmet, having a backpack instead of a gas tank, and having a giant sword instead of being unarmed and sometimes using various environments as makeshift weapons. He would also would been encountered at the tower instead of being fought outside the city's walls.
An area known as 'Zed City, South End: The Industrial Zone,' where the Sheriff would've been found.
Concept art for various MAG enemies that didn't make the cut. Even though they were all scrapped two of them, inspired some enemies like the robots in the nexus core might be a successor from the COG mag while The mistake might have inspired the Odium Abominations due to how both have mutated arms.
Concept art for the Ghoul enemy which looks completely different compared to its final design, having a more fleshy appearance and more undead-like while the final is more robotic.
An earlier design for the Hive boss, It would have been restrained and would have dispensed normal grunts, while the final he has Rockets on his back, has crutches to move around, and dispenses Hiveslugs instead of grunts.
Crudely drawn art demonstrating the Skill Tree mechanic in Arena Combat mode.
Was called Merc Gunner Class zero instead of being called Merc Recruit.
Was called Merc Gunner Class one instead of The Merczerker which the Merczerker would have used guns instead of duel wielding melee weapons and lacks the mohawk. It might have been repurposed as the Merczerker due to the Bandit Berserker being cut.
Was called Merc Gunner Class two instead of being called Merc Sniper.
Was called Merc Gunner class three before being shortened to Merc gunner.
Stretch Goals
As per usual with most Kickstarter games, several stretch goals promised new modes and concepts of the game. Unfortunately, by the end of the Kickstarter, it only managed to pull around $64,214, and thus, none of the stretch goals were met.
A.A.H.W Mode
According to the Kickstarter, this would've been some sort of tycoon-like mode, in which the player would've built their own hideout, training their own minions and fighting off anybody who comes in. Not much of this mode is known, as this goal was never reached.
Online Multiplayer
As the name implies, this would've involved players fighting online in Arena mode-like setups. Another mode was proposed, with directing minions towards an enemy player. Again, not much is known, as this goal was never reached. Online Co-Op was also proposed, in which two players could invade randomly-generated fortresses to fight off against enemies.
Character Design Contest
During the Kickstarter, Krinkels and The-Swain hosted a character design contest, in which the winner would be included in the final game's Story Mode. While Mr. M won the contest, four other nominees were considered. Mr. M also looks quite different in the original concept art, wearing a hood and generally looking less like a businessman.
