Civitas at first glance seems like a massive backhand to the face of EA after the recent SimCity debacle. Promising all the features the most recent SimCity lacked such as terraforming and a DRM free experience, Brandon Smith and his team want to make sure their first game makes an impact. What better way then taking on EA by attempting to make a better game for a fraction of the cost?
While on track to reach their $250,000 goal, today the project was cancelled. This wasn’t the end though, but instead the beginning. In their latest update they announce they have secured funds through private means. While giving no details about where they exactly pulled the money from, they emphasize that they still have creative control and that “Civitas will still be released DRM free on all of the platforms we currently plan to support”.
They also announce that they will soon be relaunching their website with improved forums. Beta features will also be rolled out soon to a limited number of people.
Seems the future may be bright for the project if they can deliver what they promise. Taking on the big-boys however is no easy task, and this is the teams first game. Many of them have years of game and film industry experience though, not making what they promise entirely impossible. Hopefully the new source of funding will help them realise their vision as they move forward into development.