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Hero's Journey: A Visit to Simutronics
Staff Writer Adele Caelia recently visited the Simutronics offices where they are making the MMORPG Hero's Journey. Today, she files her report.
I recently had the honor of spending the day with the developers of Hero's Journey at the Simutronics studio in St. Charles, Mo. I approached the day with a bit of curiosity as to what I would find, having never been in an actual game studio before. As I approached the front doors I found an artist sitting upon the steps, his sketchpad in hand, enjoying the nice weather the St. Louis area has had recently. He didn't seem to notice me, and why should he? It was very obvious that he wasn't in Kansas anymore, but in the far off world of Elanthia. In this world, the reporter does not exist. This is a world where only Heroes are to be found. Not wanting to force him to leave such a happy place I walked on past without disturbing him and entered the building.
When I entered the studio, a very pleasant woman behind the front desk and the Simutronics guardian hound named Xena greeted me. I am pretty sure both were elite mobs and I wasn't about to go any further without their permission! Lucky for me that they were non-aggro, and instead of being attacked, I was quickly introduced to Developer Eric Latham, and soon after met Lead Designer Stephanie Shaver.
;)
Eric and Stephanie gave me a tour around the studio allowing me to meet the staff and snap a few photos. I quickly spotted the concept art on the walls across from the artists and took a picture. If you look closely at this picture you will find the muse behind it all. Yes that's correct! You are indeed seeing David Hasslehoff! From hanging out with hot babes on the beach, saving Sponge Bob, and helping to inspire great video games the man is one of worldly value indeed!
Now on to the juicy tidbits that I was able to find:
I sat down in the conference room with a group of the top dogs around the building, and might I say they are a very relaxed and fun bunch! They were pretty easy going with my questions, but they weren't shy to say if there was something they couldn't answer as well, so I will go over what it is that they were able to tell me, and hopefully it will be enough to feed your gaming hunger for a bit.
What is the game about?
The game takes place in the world of Elanthia, where magic gone awry has torn the world apart. There are four factions that are working to put the world back together. Three of these faction hate each other, and that is where pvp will come in, and well the fourth is a neutral faction that does not dislike or like the others.
The world of Elanthia boasts six races: Human, Ilvari (elf), Burian (dwarf), Silvan (half-elf), Dranaar (half-dwarf), and the Qwi. There are nine classes, which consist of: bard, cleric, gear knight, healer, necromancer, ranger, rogue, warrior, and wizard.
;)
Starting at the beginning, which generally means character creation, if you put any thought into it at all, you can expect to spend no less than two hours on your character creation, or if you are like me it will probably take you three to complete the process. The options are endless when it comes to creating your character, and I am told that if you take enough time, you could make an exact replica of yourself.
The creation system is very much like EverQuest 2, except that each body part has multiple sliders. There looked to be around ten for the forehead alone. You will also be able to customize the height, body type, and skin color to very exact definitions.
I was stunned the most by the hair choices. The hair actually looked real. It had a sheen all of its own that created a silky smooth finish. The clothing was just as stunning. It looked and moved like cloth, and I had the feeling that if I were to reach out and touch the screen, it would have been soft to feel. I also found out that you are not stuck with anything in this game. If you decide you want to change your hairstyle or color later, then it's your right to do so! This is a huge plus as I myself tend to get tired of looking at the same hairstyle on my toon after months and months of playing.
When you start out in the game you start as a hero. This being the case you will not find yourself wearing the rags that are common to first level characters in most games. You are born a hero and you are going to dress like a hero! The outfits you can choose from are pretty spiffy as well! Oh yes, I said outfits. There isn't one outfit that everyone starts off wearing, and the color selection to choose from is enormous! The amazing outfits continue through your game play and it will be very unlikely to see multiple people looking the same. In fact if there is a robe, chest piece, or pair of boots that you can't part with, you don't have to.
;)
Hero's Journey has something they call a wyr. This little magical item can go into your armor, weapons, or abilities, and change the properties that those items have, in other words, you can use a wyr to enhance an item so that you don't "outgrow" it. You can also add multiple wyr's or change them up to upgrade an item. What this means for the players is that they don't have to change anything they adore, and can change the stats of an item or ability to make it more pleasurable for them.
The gameplay is simply amazing. It will consist of a leveling system with 50 levels at launch, going up to 100 with future add-ons. The questing, I am told, is so expansive that you could create multiple characters and never have to do the same quests! You will also find yourself re-visiting areas at higher level that you first explored when you were a younger level. The quests will return you to these places, and thank goodness they do because you never know what options have opened up to your character since you last visited. This also keeps away the "ghost town" effect that certain areas of games often acquire.
The quests in this game are organized in a kind of branching system. Hero's Journey is all about choices, and the choices you make will affect the future of your character. As I mentioned before, there are four factions and you can't make everyone happy. Obviously, not saving one faction's town and helping another could have dire consequences. You can indeed fail a quest, but of course only by your own choosing. For example, if you decided to help some baddies plunder a farm instead of save it. That would be your choice, and you couldn't then go back and save the farm. There will often be more than one way to complete a quest. It is easiest to think of the system as a type of chose-your-own-adventure book. Who doesn't love those?
Good news for all you solo players out there; you haven't been forgotten and this game will be perfectly playable for you.
"We love our solo players!" Stephanie Shaver said, "We love grouping, but we know there are times when everyone wants or needs to play solo."
;)
Don't worry, they love their group players too, but to keep everyone happy, a large portion of the quests will be dynamic instances that scale to the level and size of the group. There will be some open areas of play, but concerning the instances, the solo players will be able to zone in and have the mobs scale to fit their level. In the same sense, those who enjoy grouping will also be able to zone in with a group and have the zone scale to meet their group criteria. These is a huge plus when you have those quests that in other games might sit in your journal until they are gray because you can't find that group to complete them.
In terms of guilds, I have also been told that they adore guilding, and because of the importance of friendships and guilds that are created in online gaming, there will be a lot of support inside and outside of the game for guilds. I would love to elaborate on that, but that is all I could get out of them at this time.
You may have heard that NPCs will have unique reactions to you depending on what you have done in the game, and if you read our site, I am sure you know that you could possibly be ambushed, but there is going to be a bit more to it. I can't tell you much, as they are pretty tight lipped about the subject at this point, but when I asked if we could expect a random NPC to run up to our character and ask for help I was told "Don't be surprised by anything, and expect the unexpected."
If you have heard of EQ2's guide program, you will be pleased to know that Hero's Journey will also have a mentor system. In fact, according to them, Simutronics created the mentor system and Sony borrowed it. Expect the mentor system in Hero's Journey to be a lot more in-depth as their mentors will have a lot more power than the EQ2 guides, and I am sure that this will add to a whole new level of fun for us players.
;)
The graphics in this game are absolutely beautiful and that isn't even saying enough to truly express how nice they look. I have never seen such beautiful colors and blending in one game. It is stunning. Pretty much any color you can imagine is there, and those colors can be applied to your armor as well. When it rains, it pours, and it almost seems as if you could reach out your hand and feel the cool trickle of the water. I asked if the weather itself would have an effect on your character, and was also told it depends on the circumstance and that anything can happen. The game runs on real time as well, and the sun sets and rises just as you would expect it to. The sky gradually changes shades as both dusk and dawn approach. There is nothing dull and gray about this game world at all. The hair looks touchable, the clothing looks snuggly, and the world looks to be painted by a world famous artist. Of course this is due to a fantastic art team, but is also made possible by the Hero Engine.
The engine is very unique and is a huge part of what will set this game apart from others and set in motion a huge change for the world of online gaming. If you have ever played The Sims then you have built houses and landscapes, and created your own little virtual world. When building in Hero's Journey it looks very similar to a game of Sims. They can pat down and build up hills just like you do in The Sims, or put in a tree, chair, house, or mob with a simple click of a button. Anything in the game can be changed on the fly, and the GMs can leave GM notes in the world that only other GMs can see. This means less wading through bug reports and emailing back and forth to find out what exactly needs to be done. What does that mean for us? Less downtime! The Hero Engine works in such a way that patches won't be obsolete, but they will be needed far less often. Most bugs and game changes will be able to take place while the game is live, and players won't even know it happened. They may see a random house or tree pop up when they are out adventuring, or perhaps that cow that was missing a leg might suddenly be healed, and you could see a random chair slide across the room. If you do indeed see something of this sort, it only means that you just witnessed the devs working hard making the world a perfect place for you to live.
;)
So this sounds great, but you are probably wondering what all this high tech business means for your machine. What will it take for you to handle the Hero Engine? I asked this question, and was told it was too soon to give minimum requirements, but expect the game to require a decent system to play. Those who aren't keen on keeping their computers up to par will be able to turn the game settings down low, but there could be a few people with low end systems that are left out. Although technology is always changing so nothing can be really said for sure.
I also asked the developers if they thought that fantasy was done, and there would no longer be a market for the genre when the game released. Their answer was a big fat NO, and I have to agree with them. There will always be room for fantasy. It is a world of heroes and magic that has no end and remains timeless. Hero's Journey is going to be a game that sets itself apart from other MMOs, and could make a huge impact on the world of online gaming as we know it. It sets a new bar for upcoming and so-called next generation games. If all goes well, this could be the game that finally brings us to the next level of play. It sounds to good to be true? Maybe. Only time will tell. I can tell you that while I walked into Simutronics a gaming journalist, I left as a Hero.
*I would like to give a special thanks to John Ratcliff and Eric Latham, and the rest of the Hero's team for taking so much time out of their day to have me out.
Uh...the link is broken :)
Detailed character customization, multi-classing, and combat more than just auto combat – it has my interest.
Good support for roleplayers will make me buy it, I'm looking forward to it.
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.
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.
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.
Let's see some good video footage of gameplay soon please!
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.
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.
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.
Uhh *looks at the one guy with an armrest in the picture and the poor fellow barely fits in the chair* since all the chairs look alike im guessing they all have the same armrest. As for lighting..i dont know what it is about artist guys they like it dark which is why i had to resort to bringing my own desk lamp to where I work at. Course I atleast have a sectioned off cozy cubicle lol.
When this game finally sees the light of day I'll be totally excited!!!
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.
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.
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.
It's not just me. And don't confuse news with fluff. By contrast, and to illustrate my point, check out the Warhammer Online monthy newsletter if you want to see what information is, and how much information there is when a game is on track and being made. That's just one example. I'm not touting that particular title.
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?
As an artist, I can explain why this is.
When doing sketches and the like on paper, we generally like more light. However, when using the computer, heavy lighting, especially overhead florescent lighting, causes terrible glare issues and causes a lot of eye fatigue and headaches. Low and indirect lighting is much better for long term work on computers. Even eye doctors have recimmended it to my fellow artists to help stop the headaches.
The reason for this is the nature of the environment. The screen generates color by producing light. The brighter the color, the more light needed. Since the light is already being sent directky to your eye, you don't need another direct light source. If you are reading a piece of paper or drawing on it, you need the reflection of light to see what's on the paper. The screen is already producing all the light you need for it, so now you just need a small indirect lamp to see the keyboard and anything else on your desk.
I hope this clears up this issue for you. As an electronic production consultant for over 15 years, I've had to explain this very situation over and over again, so I'm quite familiar with it. It seems to contadict what we've been told by our parents growing up, but computers, and more importantly the screens, work differently. Once that's acknowledged, it makes perfect sense.
As foe HJ, I've been following it's progress for some time. I loved the article and share the same frustration about the lack of additional info, but that's just because of I can't get enough. Once the game is out, I'll be a very happy camper.
In the MMO industry, for every good apple there are 10 rotten. HJ and BioWare MMO's are mostly consisting of good apples! That is incredible.
To say I am hyped, that I am a fanboi or such comment would be underrated. I am not blind, and I would fire at will at the first sign of betrayal from any devs. But, they just seem to understand what they have to, and to work on strong basics.
I doubt I would be subscribing to two MMOs at once ever, but, I could afford to. I definitely plan on trying HJ, even if they are definitely not on my top expectations, they are on the "to try list". They have everything to keep me addicted to their game, only time will tell if they will.
Nice article and nice to see the guys at Simultronics getting the MMO part of this project back on line. It amuses me that posters such as Amathe seem to have such a negative approach and it is my hope that Simultronics will stick to their guns and develop as they see fit.
What is interesting is I believe that the concept of Beta will not be the norm as it will be mainly stress testing, I believe the content will be at a pretty polished level as well as the game mechanics. If they just get 70% of the complexity contained within there MUD offerings into the charachter dev code and the environment this game will be exceptional. A real challenge in a real 3D environment.
The sale of the Hero Engine to other Developers will almost certainly ensure that this game will go live due the MMO elements of this being developed no by multiple sources.
Can't wait...
Well put I guess Amathe has to keep the boards rolling shame that he/she/it will be considered a laughing stock if he/she/it continues to add no apparent value to these orums...
You and one other person thinking its vapourware - dont make a growing belief. Peddle your conspiracy theories somewhere else.
If you are so desperate to protect people from themselves - cant you join the CIA?
So they are slow to update their website - big deal. If this game comes out in 2008 or 2009 I will be happy and play it then. Until then - I dont loose sleep over it.
Warhammer is close to release so yes they are peddling the marketing.
I think you might be confusing marketing with product development. Phosphoros got it right in his post. Their marketing stinks. As for the questions listed, they probably were asked. It just doesn't make for much of a story to write, "Were not ready to release that information", over and over.
QFT.
Bzzt. Game never coming out. Prove me wrong.
Bzzt. Game never coming out. Prove me wrong.
Bzzt. Game never coming out. Prove me wrong.
Bzzt. Game never coming out. Prove me wrong.
Makes me want to oil him or get him a new battery or something.
CRT monitors are actually better for artists because they can be calibrated much easier. You have three guns to calibrate instead of a thousands of individual pixels. It's not that you can't calibrate an LCD, it's just more time consuming, takes more expensive equipment, and can go out of calibration much easier.
Hey, I was so pleased, when I saw the article on Hero's Journey today. Things do seem to be moving!
The way Adele describes the character creation and the grafics in the game sounds fantastic. I am one of these "shallow" gamers, who really like their eye candy!
I also like the way they don't seem to forget about solo-play.
And as a final observation, I also don't believe, that a company would invite a journalist into their office, just to pretend their developing a game...
Warhammer is set for release the first quarter of 2008. Heroes Journey claims on their website they are releasing in 2007. The difference is, Warhammer isn't lieing.
Oh my lord, Amathe. Please get a grip on yourself. You're making yourself and us sick with your constant complaining. You've made your point over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over... ad nausiem.
Stop!
Simutronics has never given a firm date. They originally said 2005, then changed it to 2006, then changed it to 2007. Each time they explained that their date was only a guideline and that it would be released when it was ready. Blizzard did much of the same thing for World of Warcraft. This is also not out of character with Simutronics with their existing games, giving a very broad time for completion and sliding that date if the project wasn't ready.
I highly suggest you go 'play a game' Amathe and quit obsessing over Hero's Journey. I'm suprised you don't have an ulcer with that frustration you obviously show in your life over a game. You seriously need to kill some pixels.
Just my humble opinion.
I suggest you direct your comments to the game, or to my opinion about the game, rather than to me. You disagree with me? Fine. Say so, and say why. The personal attacks don't support your opinion and if you haven't noticed, don't deter me from commenting in the slightest.
But thanks for clarifying for those who do not know the years of release date pushbacks, and the fact that they currently have no date (other than a fictitious one) and refuse to even select a target date.
Seriously if you think his post was a personal attack, you need to grow some thicker skin. This just leads me to think you're prone to over the top responses and I really think you might be doing the same over release dates. The company is well known for put backs until they get things right. Frankly I wish more companies had the same attitude. I'll play it when it's out, whenever that is.
But your opinion has been stated so many times, it's nutz. We get it. You don't think this game will ever see the light of day. It's time to move on.
It might be a bit to much to call it vapourware, but simu do have them self to blame for such rumours, when they suddenly became silent after the pretty good marketing campaign with screens and/or dev.logs once a week. And after the "radio silence" we only heard echo's on each interview (its not only Amathe repeating himself
..but, as Simu sais "Don't be surprised by anything, and expect the unexpected." ...and that includes the cancellation of the game I guess. However, it was fun to get an insight of their (indi?)office and I really, really hope to play this game.. I does sound fun!
..and Steph, I think you look like a very nice person, and not tired! Keep up the good work and make sure you hand over a great game experience to us, when HJ is finished! ;)
Based on you constant replies to responses to your original topic, it is obvious you are using this news post to incense the HJ community of this website. Your questions and points are not without justification, and even if you did not initially offer too negative of a post, your responses have quickly escalated you to a "troll" status.
We all know it is very unlikely HJ is coming out in 2007. With a lack of beta (to the best of my knowledge) and the test/revision cycles necessary to offer a production-quality release. However, you do not so much ask for new/updated information - you demand it! It is in the best interests of Development Studios to offer updates and information, to keep the community looking for more. However, if they do not do so, for whatever reason, it does not suddenly mean the game is "vaporware."
For now, HJ is on track. This may change down the road, but in the meantime, I'll eagerly await the release - and any new information that is released.
Looks like a nice game. I would so love a game where everyone did not look alike at the same level. Unfortunately another rigid class system. Wish some of these devs would break out of the EQ mold and go for a skill instead of class system.
I have been doing computer project management longer than any of you and the continued lack of any plan dates is discouraging. The problem is usually lack of reasonable goals for the feature set. That has killed more MMO's then you can shake a stick at. Then again they may have actually found some patient people to fund it. Having to release a game before it is ready can be a real disaster. They are dealing with a very fickle marketplace.
At least they are letting journalists see what they have, not like that other famous vaporware "Darkfall".
If they release it, I will most definitely try it, but I will not get my hopes up.
Just one suggestion for the devs, it is better to get something out with a feature set that works well than putting everything you promised into the build, A limited feature set at release can actually be tested by QA, most games I see today make the QA job impossible. Remember the KISS principle gets projects done once the major points have been identified and included, it is the fluff that is hard to identify and kills more projects than one can imagine.
Let me explain myself better in terms of my intent. I have played a lot of video games. I don't make a habit of praising or being critical of 99% of them. For example, I beta tested Auto Assault and thought it was crap. Never posted anywhere about it. I beta tested Rose Online (why, I dunno) and thought it was crap. Never posted about it. I have played others I really liked, such as City of Heroes. Never posted about it. I could list dozens of others, pro and con, about which I have said nothing, good or bad.
But there is one thing that raises my ire. It will cause me to post, early and often. That is when a game is held out as being something wonderful, and I bite and get interested in it, only to discover that material things being said about the game are not true. When a company does that, I do speak out. I spoke about about Vanguard and was branded a troll. Now look at the mess that game is in. There are so many people trashing it that I can hardly get a word in edgewise. More than half of everyone who purchased it has quit. More than half the employees were fired. People have come around to where I was 9 months ago. I'm not a troll there anymore - I am the majority view.
So it will be here. Right now people are angered by my opinions because I am telling them something they do not want to believe, just as with Vanguard. It's cognative dissonance. But not one of those people can justify HJ pushing back year after year after year after year, with no new date in sight.
If Simu is going to give interviews to promote its game, it ought to be willing and want to share with its fans what reasonably can be expected in terms of the release of that game. This is not a Star Trek Online situation where the game is so nascent they can't be expected to know. This has been in production for so long its absurd now that they don't know. When they hide from that, it should tell you something.
If anyone has actually noticed, that FAQ stating that HJ will be released in 07 was last updated in May of 2006. So I think it's obvious that the game isn't going to be released this year. Is that a problem? Not at all. Whenever the game is released is fine by me. It's better that they take their time and get it right rather than rush a game and have it be horrible at launch. Remember that WoW took 5 years to develop and it's not even that good of a game. So just think how much work is required to make a game with the depth and detail of HJ?
And I wouldn't worry about how many races are actually playable at launch. As has already been stated, this game will be in constant development, even after launch, so whatever isn't available at launch will be added later on. I think that some people are getting the impression that because something that was said to be in the game at launch and has since been scratched will never be in the game. Just because something isn't going to be able to make launch doesn't mean that they'll just give up on it. Whatever is included in the launch will still be better than at least 90% of the MMO's out there and their game engine will only allow the game to improve over time. That's what we're overlooking here. How their engine will seperate HJ from current games. You won't have to buy an expansion pack to get the new features so I don't think that we'll have to wait a year or two after launch to see the things that didn't make the launch.
This game will come out and it needs to come out. Right now the MMO industry is plodding through mud. There are so many games out there that follow the same old boring mold. This game will change how MMO's are made and it's only fitting that the company responsible for the MMO industry will be the one to take it to a brand new level.
You need to seek out Gyren. He has all the answers you seek and more. In fact, he may very well know everything there is to know about anything.
Bottom line? Gyren knows.
Cemm
Amathe is making some valid points. The game has been in development for a long time, the publishing date has been postponed several times and in the last year there was very little new information forthcoming. All this could point to vapourware.
But for me the situation reads a little bit differently. I do think, that they put the game on to the backburner a bit to work on their new engine. However, I think, that they now have gone back to HJ to finally push it out. Otherwise they would have just let it die a quiet death right now. Why rekindle interest in a game, that does not exist? What would be the business sense in that? It would only damage their reputation.
I do think, they have to now move speedily towards launch, otherwise they are in danger of having a dated game on their hands. They also have to give the community more solid information, I agree with that. But at the moment, I am totally willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. The screenshots, the little bits of video, the information they've given us on game-play, all sounds really interesting and fun, so I hope they can deliver.
Also, if an argument is constantly repeated, again and again, however valid it is, it starts to grate...
The fact is, nobody knows. Not I, not Amathe, nobody but the bosses of Simutronics. All else is speculation.
The company has a history of this sort of thing, it's not good but it really doesn't bother me.
For the most part they are self funded from the licensing of the HJ engine to Bioware for their MMORPG. In fact the MAIN reason we probably don't hear much about HJ is because they wanted to get the HJ engine down and out there, now they can get on with the game.
Not true! People are annoyed that you keep saying it over and over and over and over again. You arn't saying anything new. We get it. We understand your opinion. Their is no need for you to post it over and over and over. Your not labeled a troll because of what you believe, it's the redundancy. It's the tired "vaporware" whine, every time a new story or bit of information is posted.
Reading comprehension. Why is it so hard for you to get it through your head that they have not committed to a release date? The quote below is very clear. The game will be released when it is deemed ready, by the company.
Thank you for asking! (Though I am puzzled why, if you find me repetitious, you keep reposting my observations and asking me questions.)
When a game is brand new, it is common for it not to have a release date. Who knows how long it will take? Three years? Six? When all you have is some concept art you can't really expect that kind of specificity. And if you ask, you will be told it will be released when it is ready.
But the longer a game is in production, the more the presence or absence of a release date becomes an indicator or whether it is really going to market. The mmorpg.com list is filled with major games that went into production after HJ, and they have release dates. That's because they are real.
If you had asked Simu in 2005 when the release would be, and they had said when it is ready, that would have been fine. Mid 2007 and no answer? Combined with the paucity of new info and demonstrable progress? That's a big neon red flag.
I'm not surprised. Perhaps your need for repetition is because you don't get it the first few times around.
I asked you a questions that would hopefully elicit a NEW response from you. I see however, you just took the question to restate the same old response.
I don't care what you THINK simu owes you. I don't care what you THINK simu should do. What I want to know is, why can't you get it through your head, that they are not going to give you the answer until they are ready?
This is just the way Simu does things. I hate it and I think you hate it as well, but it does not prove your claim.
Time will prove you right or wrong. Your account of the situation is on record and noted. There is no need for you to repost it after every new post or bit of news.
Jonny
The article spoke to release at the end (albeit with no date). So my post was relevant. You don't like that? I don't care.
For the people who think it's Vaporware.. Maybe you're right. Judging by past mmorpg standards, yes, it might be right. However, this company is a bit different from the current companies out there so it is hard telling. If you ask anyone who is on the GM team, though, I'm sure they will tell you that it is NOT vaporware. Maybe it can be said to be wishful thinking, I do not know. The company is still taking on volunteer GMs (although with a strict hand) and that's probably all there is to tell from besides the many movies. One was made somewhat recently even, but it is admittedly blurry so it's hard to tell anything. www.heroshall.com/gdc20071.php
The rest of the site isn't bad for information either.
For the people who do not think it is vaporware.. It seems Amathe at least doesn't mind being ignored. State the reasons for your beliefs and move on from that one. Time will tell who is right and only the ones who feel under-confident that others have a reason to believe them repeat themselves. It reminds me of the song "I Just Can't do it Alone" from Chicago. It's also called Act of Desperation for a reason.
First off, I would like to say that this game will be good, if it ever releases. As much as I would like to see this game on the market, I understand that bad things happens, oh well.
And Amathe, I do agree that you have a valid argument, but I also think that you should be open to the possibility that it's not vaporware. And maybe you are, I don't know what you truly think, only what you post.
I know Simutronics has been around a long time, and I think they know they have a large enough fanbase that will wait patiently and loyally until the game is ready (if ever). I also think that Simutronics knows what sad shape the MMOG market is in right now, with games like Vanguard going to market in a state not even worthy of being called Beta, and that Simutronics wants to make sure that their game is released when it is ready.
And even if this game does turn out to be vaporware, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I think other developers will see the excitement generated by this game, and start to try incorporating the elements of this game into their own games.
So whether or not this game comes out, I still think it will change MMOGs. Everyone just needs to be open to the fact that it may or may not come out. My opinion is that it will come out, based on this article and the release of class info 3 at a time.
Ahhhh, the silence has been broken. Whew...
As several have said, they're waiting for this game and so am I. Additionally, there is that "Air of Caution" in the MMO arena. Pay X-Amount, see it crap out and spend more. Yeah, we love our MMOs but it's like the Holy Grail. Such is the Industry.
Are MMOs dead? No. Are *GOOD* MMO's coming out? Sure, although it depends on who you talk to and which game they're talking about. The question is which one to (both) play-test and lay down silvers.
With HJ, I honestly think that laying down the coin of the realm is in my (hopefully near) future.
Great article and my hope is renewed in Simu!
If this game gets even have the roleplayers it had in DR and GS then this game will hands down be the best if not for the rping aspect alone. Simu has the best GM's as well. There is just nothing quite like playing GS and DR.
Peoples idea of Rping in the current MMO's is laughable. They think if you say "Aye" or "Tis" there roleplaying.
If this company proved one things its that a game doesn't have to have graphics to be good.
Thumbs up Simu
I truly look forward to this one.
Raven
I just want to say thanks for the article, it was a good read. It is good to know that Simutronics is focused on creating a game and an engine that really does push the MMOG genre forward.