Someone on the official HJ forums posted this arcticle so I thought that I'd share it here. It's a brief interview with Neil Harris of Simu. It's more about the HeroEnigne than the game but in the interview he states that HJ is on the backburner and still a long ways away from completion.

I have to wonder how much time has really been spent on the game. I know that they did this very same thing a few years ago, put the game on hold in favor of developing and licensing the engine,  and it makes me wonder if that's all they've been doing since then.

But at least someone from Simu has finally admitted that this is what's been going on instead of the same stuff we've been hearing for who knows how long. Either the very vague "yes people are working on the game" or worse, nothing at all. At least someone with Simu has confirmed what we've suspected all this time. That the engine is the priority and the game is a distant second.

If they ever do pick up work on the game again then they had better make sure they keep it innovative. My fear is that if this game ever does come out it won't be as fresh and new and innovative as it looked in 2005 because I'm guessing, and this is just a guess, that a lot of the features that Simu plans on including in HJ will have already been implemented into other games.

Any ways, here's the link to the article. I know it's a couple months old but I just found it today.

I actually think HJ was a "real" game under development a few years back. But when the HE got attention it slowly turned into a good demo, that could show off the features in HE. An even tho the offsite GM's has been working alot on the "demo" I think they turned into beta-testers of the engine, and nothing more.

I know they are very loyal to Simu, but sometimes Simu dont deserves to have the GM's take every bullet that head in Simu's direction. (I'm pretty sure a GM will defend simu in this thread as well).

I'm really happy for Simu and the innovative engine they developed. But I don't think HJ will be released, and if it do, I agree with the OP, the announced feature wont be very "hot" anylonger... (if it ever will be released I will give it a try, ofcourse, but I wouldn't hold my breath)

 The Hero Engine does look very neat. I wish I could go back in time and be a programmer/ designer. I am sure Bioware is having a blast with this Engine for its MMO.

I had heard from someone who got to be one of the volunteer game masters that they were having financial problems and switched focus to HeroEngine a long while back in order to replenish their funds - and HeroEngine just kind of became the primary focus...

I told you so, over and over. Doesn't anyone want to say "ooooh this is just so they can make it absolutely perfect without even a need for a beta test because, well ,they're just that good." LMAO. Vaporware, then and now. Please all you so called HJ "Devs" who lied to everyone come and take a bow.

HJ will get many bugs just like the other games theres no game thats perfect........

no matter how hard work u do it will still hve bugs........

Originally posted by Amathe

I told you so, over and over. Doesn't anyone want to say "ooooh this is just so they can make it absolutely perfect without even a need for a beta test because, well ,they're just that good." LMAO. Vaporware, then and now. Please all you so called HJ "Devs" who lied to everyone come and take a bow.

And we've told you, over and over, that Simu is always ridiculously late making stuff, but they do get it DONE...eventually. Wait for The Old Republic to come out, since it in all likelyhood will be the first HeroEngine based game since Simu is working on the engine while bioware works on the game. Then you can say HJ is late. Until then it's right on schedule. They kinda need an engine to make a game anyway.

Originally posted by Draq

 

it's right on schedule.

Who cares if HJ is on schedule or not. You read about a game that has a very distance release time frame. The company decide not to develop it any further or shift it's priorities. Who cares?. They don't owe you a game. "but but but they promised! i got my hopes up for nothing!!" I still don't see how they owe you anything or should prioritize based on what YOU want. Last time i checked it was their company. Unless you have money invested somewhere then stfu.

I see stupid rants like these all the time. "Why won't they release Star Farce unleashed to PC. Fuck LucasArts i will never buy a game from them again!". They owe you nothing.They are not obligated to follow your whims.

This was meant for the general whining public not necessarily the OP. Unless he is part of that crowd.

Originally posted by Amathe

Originally posted by Draq

 

it's right on schedule.

 

Yeah, that's basically how Simu schedules work. Now you're starting to get the idea.

 You people need to realize something about that company.   They will never release that game!!!! don't worry, nothing special is coming out of that place.  It is over, the game that never came out will officially never come out. The company just let a bunch of people go, they didn't position themselves very well for an economic downturn and now they are paying the price.  Poor leadership I guess.  And now no game, lets move on.

 I am curious how Simutronics is doing financially. They still have viable MUDs that people still pay monthly for. Outside of some server costs and infrastructure costs, those games should be generating a profit. You would also think that Hero's Engine is generating a profit by now. As for layoffs, not sure why they would lay off volunteers since most of the builders worked for free.

It obvious that the engine has taken center stage here. More than likely they ended up with a property that is in demand and don't have the infrastructure there to keep it afloat. Cash flow problems can be a major pain.

However, I don't see Simu going defunct any time soon and they have back burnered HJ before. For some that might remember, HJ was going to be a UO styled game for a bit, then EQ came out and they back burnered it then. I guess that's when they looked at the 3D market potential and decided to go that route. However, seeing the lack of decent building tools and the fact they have built their own systems from scratch before, it makes sense that they designed the Hero Engine.

All we can hope for at this point is that their financial situation and the financial windfall opportunities of making HJ improve. That's about the only reason HJ will see the light of day at this point.

As far as future MMOs go, HJ and Star Trek Online are the only ones that seem to interest me now. I guess STO will become my primary focus instead of HJ. Oh, well... I'll keep a side glance view available.

Their studio is in the same county in which I live. I actually have been in their studio and saw programers and artists working on HJ. There was quite a few people working on it also. They even have (or had) a pool table in their break room. I will have to take a drive by and see if they are still in the same building as they were last year.

I've dealt with Simutronics in the past.

Their method of a development cycle has been unique...to say the least. I still don't quite understand why they have so many "volunteers" stabbing at their projects. They don't pay these people, and the level of commitment is very...chaotic.

Simutronics had a great franchise in 1996? maybe, in the days of Americian Online pay by the hour, with their Gemstone/Dragonrealms MUDs. To my knowledge, they still have subscribers, but its nowhere near what it used to be.

I've been watching Hero's Journey, and to be honest, I'm not sure how interesting it will be if they keep prolonging it. It disappoints me...especially Neil Harris in particular, who I used to know.

 I used to be a GameHost for Dragonrealms for about a year. Simutronics is very secretive though and getting information, even when you are the low man in the loop, is pretty much non-existant. What I did learn is there are quite a few talent people with time on their hands that wanted to help make a game they enjoyed better. I'm sure HJ is no different, but since it was a graphic MMO, it does take a certain level of talent that a text based game does not.

It is interesting though. I found the comments about HJ on the backburner a bit out of context here. I highly recommend reading the original interview. There's no doubt that HJ is on the backburner, but it's not dead. I'm sure they have a desire to actually see HJ see the light of day. Now, whether reality of the MMO marketplace and the economy will allow that, we'll just have to wait and see.

Simutronics though has never met a deadline... ever. This could be see as good or bad depending on your perspective. I'm still hoping it will come out, but I won't mind playing other MMOs until it does.