Curse

Esan · Jul 14, 2008, 01:25 PM // 13:25

Guild Wars has, even today, a certain genius in its design that I have found lacking in every other MMO. But it's a hard to define genius -- every time I think I have my finger on what makes GW special, I have quickly realized that it isn't so and other games have done it better. It may just be luck, but I think Prophecies being very polished at release, which almost no other MMO since has been, is more likely. It is hard to overcome an initial disappointment.

Conversely, once you are convinced of a game's basic merits, you will cut the designers a lot of slack subsequently. GW has been coasting on the good reception of Prophecies and it is only for GW:EN that the published reviews have actually bordered on hostile. This explains why Anet are now being tight lipped about GW2 -- to make a polished first release and to keep expectations realistic -- so I think they are playing their cards right. Announcing GW2 last year was a mistake, though possibly unavoidable as they themselves had realized that GW:EN would be a weak release.

I just hope that GW2 also has the same genius that I came to love in GW1.

Anarkii · Jul 14, 2008, 01:27 PM // 13:27

They made some poor decisions about HGL, but I don't think anyone can honestly doubt the capability and talent of the Schaefers and David Brevik. For the same of the gaming industry, I hope these guys are back in some form soon.

Elder III · Jul 14, 2008, 02:03 PM // 14:03

I've played several F2P mmorpgs and nearly always quit within one month.... every game I tried had at least one serious problem that harmed the gameplay or just made it unpleasant. GW is not perfect, it indeed has a few problems.... but none of them affect the playability to a great enough extent to be detrimental. Perhaps some of those that have played for 2-3 years are becoming bored, but show me another F2P game that has such a large base of players over that time period...... (if anyone says Runescape I'll shoot them lol). My point is that - GW is and has been the best F2P game available for a long time and will continue to be in the near future.

Dante the Warlord · Jul 14, 2008, 02:23 PM // 14:23

Despite finding HG:L very interesting i never had the time to play the demo. I saw the trailer and thought that it was one of the greatest things ever... Combining swords with guns? Fricking awesome.... I think it would have faired better if it was released for XBOX 360 or PS3 and was not an MMORPG. Somethings like HG:L could be so much cooler if it was a console game. Anyways, my two cents, but HG:L's failure was probably not attributed as much to its gameplay, but its marketing.

Tatile · Jul 14, 2008, 02:31 PM // 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzer20

if that's true, AoC and Warhammer will die soon. Not that any one cares though i was hoping Warhammer would be great.

The problem with WAR (sorry to go a bit off topic here) is the lack of the gritty, dirty nature that people have come to expect and except from the Warhammer realm. The Great Unlean one looks sterilized*, the Nurglings are all the same, the streets are too clean and the entire thing looks too much like a typical fairy tale rather than world ravaged by the forces of Chaos, plague, Orcs, undead hordes, Duruchii (hate spelling that) and the raw magic spill over from when the Old Ones left.

It's too bad about Flagship Studios though, if they'd had a bit more forethought it sounds like this mess could have been avoided.

*A direct insult to Papa Nurgle as well, I'll have you know.

Sleeper Service · Jul 14, 2008, 02:41 PM // 14:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dante the Warlord

(...) Anyways, my two cents, but HG:L's failure was probably not attributed as much to its gameplay, but its marketing.

that game was nothing BUT marketing.

pamelf · Jul 14, 2008, 03:09 PM // 15:09

Hmm I bought it, and played for about 2 hours. Always thought I could go back to it. Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean the game is no longer playable? I assume single player mode is still ok, but what about multiplayer? I just don't know how this works...

So, would my $90AUD go down the drain?

Jaythen Tyradel · Jul 14, 2008, 03:30 PM // 15:30

I played for about 10 hours and just gave up. I wanted to like. I REALLY did.
However, it was just sooo damn repetitive and boring. Diablo and GW had their fair share of running around, kill or collect something, and then return quests, but I had fun doing those quests. Nothing about HG:L quests seemed exciting enough to keep my interest.

Wrath Of Dragons · Jul 16, 2008, 07:10 AM // 07:10

Mythos Beta Forums

Quote:

Flagship Studios Still in Operations

San Francisco, CA (July 14, 200 -- Flagship Studios has announced today that despite rumors to the contrary, the company is still operating.
“It is with deep regret that I must announce that Flagship Studios has laid off most employees. However, the core management and founding team members are still at Flagship.” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The past five years have been an incredible experience for us, but unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain the size of the company any longer.”

Flagship Studios owns the rights to all its technology and IP, including Hellgate: London and Mythos. Due to the current situation, Flagship will not be taking any new subscribers for Hellgate: London, and all current subscriptions will not be billed.

Flagship wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to those that have supported the company and games over the past five years.

About Flagship Studios
Flagship Studios is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focused on ease of play, replayability, and fun. The studio was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North® and represents the creators of the worldwide, best-selling Diablo® franchise. With members that are renowned within the gaming industry, Flagship Studios and its Flagship Seattle division embodies a team that has worked together for over a decade and have numerous #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards to their credit.

Lawnmower · Jul 17, 2008, 08:14 PM // 20:14

damage control?

I hope mythos will be able to make it...

Sell HGL and forget it ever happened... get your last guys, finish mythos, become succesful and everything is good.

Sleeper Service · Jul 17, 2008, 09:11 PM // 21:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrath Of Dragons

Mythos Beta Forums

its not all rosy.

http://forums.mythos.com/showthread.php?t=20721

no one know what the hell is going on....but it all seems pretty bad.

maybe Anet/NcSoft can give them a hand ^^

Tingi · Jul 17, 2008, 09:56 PM // 21:56

Grrr, I was so hyped for this game. I even imported the CE from America (cost a lot too >

).

Flagship have officially been flagshipped. Serves them right tbh...

I Dont Do Coke · Jul 18, 2008, 01:20 AM // 01:20

I enjoyed reading Mel Odom's Hellgate: London novels, and that's what got me into the game. But TBH, the game sucked. I shrugged off the news of Flagship going down since I barely played Hellgate anyway. The game was too damned repetitive. I got tired of fighting through the same subway levels from Acts I to VI and stopped there. I'll just read the final installment to Mel Odom's HG:L novels and forget about the game.

Masamune'spirit · Jul 18, 2008, 05:30 PM // 17:30

I brought HG:L and Tabula Rasa on the same day...

What a face punch that was.

Played Hellgate and TR for around 8 hours and had enough. 2 games pushed out way too soon. Hell in Australia we got HG:L early but everything about it screamed "cheap" and you could tell it was shoddy. Never seen such a cheap product and crappy booklet in all my time with video games and I've seen some shit.

Too bad about all this, I kept up with some news just to see if the game would get better so I might plunge in again. Looks like that ain't gonna happen.

Iuris · Jul 19, 2008, 10:21 AM // 10:21

Quote:

Grrr, I was so hyped for this game. I even imported the CE from America (cost a lot too > ).

Same here. Plus a founder account. And some posters claimed that the founders would kill the game...

Anyway, the game had lots of potential, but:
-lacked real content, all you had to do was grind levels and gear. That's IT.
-lacked a strong story to help one immerse himself in the game. Apparently, they thought "noone reads the quest text anyway" (well, yeah, but only after playing the game for so long that they know the text by heart already. For the first few games, text is crucial. Going without it was like simply grabbing a girl's rear on the first date...)
-was monotonous. The randomized environments took more effort to create which resulted in LESS variety in the world.

And one thing I've always seen in FSS - they were not professional. Not even a proper PR face to lie with some skill.

Sleeper Service · Jul 19, 2008, 10:41 AM // 10:41

the end.

http://forums.mythos.com/showthread.php?t=20721

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mythos team

Message

Travelers of Uld,

We, the ancient elders of Uld are issuing this warning to all citizens and travelers. Hurry! The great darkness that once plagued Uld is returning. Everyone is ordered to close down their shops and prepare. We predict the when night is at its peak the darkness will arrive. The ancient elders of Uld will be leaving immediately in order to preserve the lore of this wonderful world. Citizens please prepare thyself and know that the elders will be back from their travels some day.

From the team:

We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 PST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus. On behalf of all of the Devs and Community team we want to say thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we will see you soon.

The Mythos Team

Lord Sojar · Jul 19, 2008, 10:51 AM // 10:51

Make a flop game, make a flop company. If you are weak, you will be chewed up and spat out by the gaming industry.

bamm bamm bamm · Jul 19, 2008, 03:49 PM // 15:49

True, but it's still a shame, though. The more competition the better. Maybe Roper could get a job at Anet.