Greetings once again fellow Crusaders, it’s been a while since last we spoke, and there have been several significant changes in that time. New people joining the Crusade, old veterans leaving for new battlefields, and we are getting ever closer to seeing the first Early Access Module. Read on for the full details.
First, let’s talk about our latest Crusader, the new Senior Producer for Eternal Crusade: Nathan Richardsson, formerly of CCP where he was very involved in the development and growth of EVE Online, as well as having a hand in Dust 514, Defiance, and even the late, lamented World of Darkness. Nathan is known throughout the industry as being someone who gets things done, as well as being a bit of an odd duck on occasion. If you watched the most recent Twitch Stream for Eternal Crusade you will know exactly what I mean. Nathan can certainly be forgiven a bit of eccentricity, he is Icelandic after all, and those people aren’t completely right in head. Yes, all 300,000 of them are just a bit…off. Don’t get mad at me for generalizing, I’m sure Nathan would say the same thing!
Thus far Nathan has been humble, and steadfast in his insistence that he is not here to replace Miguel (actually, he is the successor to Stephanie Marchand, the former Senior Producer), but rather to provide the team with vision and direction and the tools they need to implement those things. The affection and regard that the EVE community holds Nathan in is something very promising for fans of Eternal Crusade. As for his 40K pedigree, I know he likes Blood Angels, and is extremely conversant in many Warhammer 40K topics, so that is all to the good. Looking at his past successes I have very high hopes for his involvement in Eternal Crusade, and I think we will soon start seeing more consistent progression.
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Next we should address what I feel is a great loss: our beloved lead Crusader, Miguel Caron, has departed for new challenges. Having gotten to know Miguel pretty well over the course of the last year or so, I can’t help but feel sad. No one is as excited and enthusiastic about the potential of Eternal Crusade than Miguel is. He put together a fantastic development team, many of whom have worked with Miguel in the past, which gives you a little insight as to how loyal he is. Miguel wasn’t always right on the ball when it came to Eternal Crusade, or Warhammer 40K, he was still learning a lot of things about the game and its history, but I can tell you this: he LOVED the IP.
I’ve never seen a person immerse themselves in a game and culture as completely as Miguel did, and the number of people he was able to bring to the Eternal Crusade game was incredible. It’s fair to say that the success of the Founder’s program was largely due to Miguel and his never-ending struggle to be real, be fair and be transparent. I don’t understand the reasons behind his removal, after all he brought millions of dollars into Behaviour Studios and he was the heart and soul behind the game that has consistently placed very highly in many (many) Most Anticipated Game lists. Replacing such an individual is nearly impossible, and I struggle to understand why any company would even try. I hope to speak to Miguel officially in the near future to find out what is next on his To Do list, and share it with all of you. I have no doubt it will be something as ambitious and exciting as Eternal Crusade.
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Also, there was a rumor circulating that Eternal Crusade had found a publisher in Square Enix. If I recall correctly, Square Enix and Behaviour were in talks all during E3 this past year, but, at the end of the day, nothing came of it for whatever reason. While I know that Miguel has been in talks with lots of potential publishers between then and now, to the best of my knowledge, no decision has been made or announced. If that changes, you can be sure that I will get that information to you all as soon as I know.
So, lots of exciting things going on in and around the Eternal Crusade community. Remember, if you want to hook up with your fellow Crusaders and discuss all these things, and more, head over to the Eternal Crusade forums and sign up, get involved, be heard. If you don’t you have only yourself to blame.
