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Staff Writer Adele Caelia recently visited the Simutronics offices where they are making the MMORPG Hero's Journey. Today, she files her report.
Read the whole article here. Cheers, |
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6/05/07 12:21:44 PM#2
Originally posted by Stradden Uh...the link is broken :) Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED! |
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6/05/07 1:17:48 PM#3
So the list has races has changed...again. We used to have 8 (2 subs of each of FOUR main races) then it was 6. Its still six, but it sounds like we can't have the race morphing that used to be in E3s ago. I liked the idea of a triple mixed breed. I hope they add something less human later cause I like to have more options than just the traditional D&D races.
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6/05/07 1:30:30 PM#4
Detailed character customization, multi-classing, and combat more than just auto combat – it has my interest. |
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6/05/07 1:31:47 PM#5
Originally posted by GreenChaos Good support for roleplayers will make me buy it, I'm looking forward to it.
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6/05/07 1:33:03 PM#6
This is a nice feel good piece and certainly there is much to like about the concept of Heroes Journey . I find a lot of its concepts very innovative and refreshing. But the questions the writer apparently didn't push with Simu, and merely alluded to in the last paragraph, is the growing belief that this game will never see the marketplace. Personally, I would have started there and satisfied myself this game actually has a future before getting into the details of one that probably does not. EQ1, EQ2, SWG, GW, CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War, and a slew of free trials and beta tests |
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6/05/07 2:00:16 PM#7
Simutronics wouldn't be constructing a new building and gearing up to hire dozens of new employees if Hero's Journey was vaporware. My source on this is Tracy Butler, the art director for HJ.
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6/05/07 2:14:39 PM#8
YOU, posting this over and over again, does not make it a "growing belief". It just makes you sound like a broken record and look dumber with the release of each new bit of information. Jonny. |
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6/05/07 2:18:16 PM#9
It's not vaporware. The people who think it is are the same ones calling out for people within the company to give them a few words, and then not listening to any of the words given to them. The article didn't need to ask the question because it has been asked and answered before in almost every article made for the game in the past three months.
The game you are seeing has not been in production for 10 years, it is a different game than the original game, which would be now called vaporware. All it shares is the same name and same company making it. This game can't even be said to have been in production for 7 years. They fully admit that they were not working on the game all that much for about three years while they developed the Hero's Engine. Essentially, we have a game that we could maybe put a man hour equivalent of 5 years to. Great article. I hope to see more soon. Not sure if I'd believe EVERYTHING mentioned in it, but we can hope. |
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6/05/07 2:31:55 PM#10
I really love the sound of this game and wish it got more press. The sound of their quest system alone makes me drool. :)
Let's see some good video footage of gameplay soon please! |
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6/05/07 2:39:04 PM#11
I've been interested in this game for a long time. But let's face it, Simutronics marketing suck.
I don't think the game is a 100% vaporware but it's sure a frustrating game to follow with spurts of info followed by LONG tracts of silence. |
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6/05/07 2:46:47 PM#12
Before having even started to read this article I just feel compelled to comment on something regarding the pictures.
As a fellow member of the industry, I must say, I am rather shocked by the overall state of the ergonomic working environment displayed in those photos. While I have to admit the chairs do look quite comfortable, I'm appalled by the seemingly general absence of underarm support and secondary desk lighting. Now, granted I have no idea of how the actual working conditions are for these employees, however, I sincerely doubt I could manage such conditions myself anymore. I have had my share of both carpal tunnel syndrome and debilitating migraines as a result of poor working conditions, I'm sorry to say, and I suppose I merely expected more from a company with such a corporate history as Simutronics. However, these are just my personal observations at any rate. Looking forward to reading the rest of the article.  Edit: "a" relocation. 
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6/05/07 2:48:53 PM#13
Good article. The pictures are interesting as well. Nice to see a more "open" office space not cut up by cubicles and such.
Vaperware? I think not. In fact, I predict more information being released "soon" now that they're focused more on development of the game than that of HeroEngine. Glass half full for me, thanks. Administrator |
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6/05/07 2:56:02 PM#14
Originally posted by Qworg
When this game finally sees the light of day I'll be totally excited!!! Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED! |
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6/05/07 3:13:48 PM#15
Originally posted by elvenangelHello elvenangel Yes, I did in fact notice that the chairs have armrests when I first looked at the pictures, however, I also noticed that none of them are actually level with the surface of the table and so wouldn't provide the proper support of the underarm by my own estimation. Now, I'm not so deluded as to think that I can sit here and lecture you on ergonomics in the working environment, of course. Therefore I shall merely say how it is my firm belief, as a graphics designer of the past 7 years and ongoing, that complete support of the lower arm is absolutely vital in order to avoid unnecessary pressure on the carpal tunnel for extended periods of time. As such I personally find that an extension of the desk surface is the best solution. Oh and I wouldn't dream of doing any prolonged screen work without my architect's lamp but that may just be me. |
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6/05/07 3:36:53 PM#16
Originally posted by QworgI was an art director in the eccomerce industry for years and my new profession is occupational therapy and I have to agree with this gentleman. Not that any of this matters, but yes, I will agree. |
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6/05/07 3:43:41 PM#17
Wonderful article! I am really looking forward to this game. The Wyr system is a god send for role players.
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6/05/07 3:46:54 PM#18
Originally posted by Qworg
I know its vital I pretty much went to my boss and was like look this chair I have you provided me is causig me to burn through money for back adjustments and everything else so I got my chair. Alot of people dont' realize they can ASK for another chair or bring one. Some don't even honestly care. I love having my lamp I dont know / understand how the artists here can function without proper lighting. Infact I think one of those jackels turned one of the over head lights bulbs off near my desk so i have to complain again. btw this is completely off topic we should drop here since we agree i was merely stating they HAVE arm rests even if the chair isn't ergonomic and the lighting IS bad but I can bet those Guys WANTED it that way. Game programmers / Artists are weird beasts in my experience. Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED! |
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6/05/07 3:58:02 PM#19
Originally posted by Kane The list of races hasn't changed since our last reassessment. There was a minor error in the article. It has been corrected (along with a couple others). Qwi are still Ilvari-Burian hybrids.  There will still be morphing. The Ilvari-Burian-Human morph you saw at E3 and in some movies was just a proof of concept . We are anticipating that each race will have three morph targets to shift between, and in the case of the Silvan (Ilvari-Human), Qwi (Burian-Ilvari), and Dranaar (Burian-Human), we are going to be morphing between their parent races to give that mixed look. This is still somewhat in development, though. We'll be playing with that feature in the engine sometime at the end of this month or start of the next. I hope to get our new AV dude working on getting some movies of just this sort of thing up...sometime.  Thanks to all of you with your kind words. They are greatly appreciated here at the offices. And man, I look half-asleep in that photo. :P As far as ergonomics go -- my office is usually quite dark, with natural lighting. We purposefully turn off all the lights in the art section because the artists request it. The chairs are raised and lowered as per the individual's preference. Josh S. is a low-rider. He's also an artist. And as we all know, artists are nuts. 
S.D. Shaver |
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6/05/07 4:47:32 PM#20
Originally posted by jgankum
But seriously, why not ask some of these questions? Are you still on track for a 2007 release as your website says? When is the beta? What is the target date for release? How much of the game is complete? How many classs are finished? How many races are finished? What parts of the world are finished? And so on. I welcome being proven wrong! If this game is for real I will play it1 Show me something tangible. All we ever get are warm fuzzy what it's gonna be stuff, or things they did years ago. So there are lots of hairstyles? We knew that over a year ago. What has actually been done that is new in the last year?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, GW, CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War, and a slew of free trials and beta tests |
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