No but they might say, "Hey, previous versions of WC made money, maybe a new version might also be a big seller. We might make MORE money." That's how smart businesses work. Making big bucks on UO or any of their other projects might give them capital to take a "chance" on another WC game. Look at all the sequel games whose original bombed in the stores - it happens all the time. Sure, if WCI-V bombed it would be ridiculous to make another - but the fact is they didn't. The games were rated very well in gaming magazines. What I see happening is somewhere in the near future, EA will decide to put out another WC game without FMV. How hard do you think it will be to come up with a story? Not very I'd imagine.
Where Hath Origin Gone?
- Thread starter Marcml30
- Start date
No but they might say, "Hey, previous versions of WC made money, maybe a new version might also be a big seller. We might make MORE money." That's how smart businesses work. Making big bucks on UO or any of their other projects might give them capital to take a "chance" on another WC game. Look at all the sequel games whose original bombed in the stores - it happens all the time. Sure, if WCI-V bombed it would be ridiculous to make another - but the fact is they didn't. The games were rated very well in gaming magazines. What I see happening is somewhere in the near future, EA will decide to put out another WC game without FMV. How hard do you think it will be to come up with a story? Not very I'd imagine.
Frosty
a full fledged GF
Why on Earth would they take this chance if they didn't need to? If they overextend themselves, then they're in trouble.
I doubt they want to shoot themselves in the foot, if that happened, they'd probably fire the committee who determined that working solely on UO for the time being was the best course of action. Maybe they should hire you.
Frosty
a full fledged GF
Ah, how cleverly the opposition disregards my point. Allow me to repeat:
Why bother spending the money to produce another WC game when UO offers so much more in terms of profits? It'd be silly. The chances of acceptable profits being made from another WC game are obviously not great enough to cause EA to want to spend the money to produce one. Obviously UO2 is a far more stable option.
Why bother spending the money to produce another WC game when UO offers so much more in terms of profits? It'd be silly. The chances of acceptable profits being made from another WC game are obviously not great enough to cause EA to want to spend the money to produce one. Obviously UO2 is a far more stable option.
I'm sure EA/Origin has done their focus group, market research, etc. homework. WCP didn't do wonderfully well, if I recall correctly. It was respectable, but not outstanding, and that factored into the decision making. I also think without Chris Roberts there as an oustpoken advocate for the series, the WC franchise was damaged as well. Not so much in the sense that Chris made better games (maybe he did, but that's not my point) but that he had a vision for the game and the personal charisma, energy and determination to get the project rammed through.
I tend to fall into the cycles crowd, though. I think Space sims are at a lowpoint, but that they will come in to favor again at some point. EA/Origin could even take the lead on the resurgence in a few years. I've seen this pointed out elsewhere, but it desreves repeating, Origin moved Ultima to the side for the WC games, but eventually went back to it. I see a resurgence in space sims when there is a larger percentage of folks with broadband, but that's just my humble opinion. What I really want to see come back are text adventure games, but I don't hold any hope out for that
I tend to fall into the cycles crowd, though. I think Space sims are at a lowpoint, but that they will come in to favor again at some point. EA/Origin could even take the lead on the resurgence in a few years. I've seen this pointed out elsewhere, but it desreves repeating, Origin moved Ultima to the side for the WC games, but eventually went back to it. I see a resurgence in space sims when there is a larger percentage of folks with broadband, but that's just my humble opinion. What I really want to see come back are text adventure games, but I don't hold any hope out for that
In any business, it costs money to make money. The key is to spend only the necessary amount to produce whatever it is to be marketed. Then you have to have a market for it. No one here would argue that there is a lack in the space sim market. Regardless if EA or OSI make a kazillion bucks with UO, they can also make money on WC if they do it right. The movies and all were great back in the days when interactive media came out. Well we are byond that. Example, the Descent series. Even the latest Descent does not use full blown actors and sets, none of the series did, all computer generated. True live actors and sets makes impressive "side elements" to a game, even if the movies focus on the main plot, but you figure in all that expense for sets, actors, producers, cameras, film, digitizing all that etc etc, ya it becomes expensive. Besides, out of all the games with movies in them, where do you spend a majority of time anyway, watching the movie or in the cockpit? I prefer the cockpit!
RFBurns
"I shall mount your bones in my hull!" [Kilrathi, Privateer/RF]
RFBurns
"I shall mount your bones in my hull!" [Kilrathi, Privateer/RF]
Now, I have decided to get my old and trusty Privatter game box, and I descover that the game I have,is itself a rerelase by EA, its says "Electronic Arts presents CD ROM Classics",the box have only the CD and the manual is in Acrobat,the date is 1996 (I belive, not sure, but I buy the game long after that date, I got really lucky with that, and you sould all have looked at the expresion on my face when I found the box.). now why does EA not do the same thing with KS?
And UO2 does come with the same risk that the first UO, and there now a lot of games in the same fashion,I dont belive that it will make the same income that the first UO.
All new games come with a risk, there are no sure hits in the entertaining industry.
UO2 can either make or break.
And UO2 does come with the same risk that the first UO, and there now a lot of games in the same fashion,I dont belive that it will make the same income that the first UO.
All new games come with a risk, there are no sure hits in the entertaining industry.
UO2 can either make or break.
I must say one final thing earlier someone said WC without any FMV could be released, no offence but WC has always been a movie and SO was not nearly as good becuase of the lack of FMV, FMV is WC as much as the actual gameplay, and without it, it would not be the same or as great. Plus WCIII didnt cost too much to make so they could do something like that.
Excuse my language, but that's bull****.
FMV came with WC3, and since then only four WC games had FMV. That's four out of ten games and six add-ons. No, FMV isn't necessary for WC. A few more engine generated cutscenes, and fiction available in the game, and SO could have been much better withoug any expensive cutscenes
EW: I included the animation from the pre WCIII games in the FMV catagory becuase that was as close as they could get at the time. And thus only 1 WC didn't have FMV/ANimation and that was SO a game which I didn't really like all that much. I got tired of having to fly with the exact same Wingmen (frankly Maestro pisses me off more than maniac ever did, to quote blair "maybe someday someone might just rotate their turret" (thats not the exact quote but close enough)) and also hearing exactly the same words with only a little variety in the opening sequences all the time. (another similarity to WCP, i got annoyed after hearing the same message from both the CAG and Rachel every single time, yet in WCIII for some reason it wasnt as annoying). well those are just my opinions and you are free to disagree.
EW: No thats not what I meant!!!!!!!!!! what I meant is that at the pre WC3 time the animated people were the best that they could do at the time so it is a substitute for FMV but when real FMV is possible then the little cut scenes don't count. Also the cutscenes in WCSO are bad, not on par with the rest of WC and I know that you knew what I meant anyway you just had to be annoying. Finally, There is a fundamental difference between so and the rest of WC as too quality of the story/cutscenes/voice acting/the time put into it. SO is fine as a freebee download and perhaps as an addon. The story behind it doesnt involve enough detail or info without the fan ficton to be worth while. But hell thats just the opinion of a meglomaniacal, genius, WingNut since he was 7
Please... don't count...
Oh my, have you lost your glasses. No, those cutscenes aren't any state of the art cutscenes, but they based on the Prophecy engine, the best looking WC engine we have, and one that still looks great even without hardware acceleration.
No, aparently you don't. I consider the SO FMV as real as any other in WC.
Hm, stragne. I remember buying Prophecy Gold in '99, even though I already had Prophecy, and I remember enjoying SO greately. I also remember that I didn't bother with the SO fictions untill few months after I finished SO...
That was my opinion of it. And the cut scenes seen in WCIV and P that don't use the In game Models, you know during jumps and for instance in the Vesuvius vs St. Helens and Intrepid, the art of those cut scenes is above and beyond the in flight models of those ships, more detailed ect. But again I was underwhelmed by So that doesn't mean that you didn't like it earthworm, it means that I did not like it as much as other WCs. In the end it is still wc and is acceptable as a hold over until a new WC but unfortunatly Privateer 3/POL and WCO/WC6 were all canceled/not even begun and thus were not made so a temporary bridge is now 2 years old and the newest WC. The best thing about WC is that one can play the fan made projects on it.
Yeah I kind of share Napoleon's view on SO , I think the best thing about it is that it can play the fan made stuff.
I found SO's story was weak. It's not that the cutscenes are bad graphically it's that they don't add up to much of a story. I would of preferred a WC with the old animated style sequences, as it would of allowed for more then just in space storyline.The characters had no depth no life, they just flew around shooting things. In priv,rf you flew around shooting things and you conversed with people in the bar. In wc1, sm1, sm2, wc2, specialops1, so2,wc3,wc4 you watched what unfolded outside of the cockpit with regards to what the pilots did during there off time, how they got along. what was overall going on in the war . In SO your isolated in your own little corner of the galaxy and the only time you talk to someone is when there flying on your wing.
Wc2 and 4 were probably my favorite two wing commander games. As there plots were good and based heavily on the characters. As well as they were two of the more thrilling in the cockpit. In SO the missions just don't seem as intense. Picture this I'm hot on the Nepheliem's tail firing down on it, it's at critical another second or two and it'll go boom, but my speed is a bit faster then it. The ships collide just before impact and then *BOUNCE* nothing happens. Then I realize I was so busy with the one enemy that I overlooked the flashing missile warning, I drop a decoy but it's to late *boom* my aft shields are gone I swing around and take out the enemy. My mission is over and I return to base. There are two reasons that wouldn't have gone so well had I been playing wc2 or 4. SO just wasn't as thrilling in the cockpit even if it's on nightmare.
It's not so much how the cutscenes LOOK as it is what they contain.
I found SO's story was weak. It's not that the cutscenes are bad graphically it's that they don't add up to much of a story. I would of preferred a WC with the old animated style sequences, as it would of allowed for more then just in space storyline.The characters had no depth no life, they just flew around shooting things. In priv,rf you flew around shooting things and you conversed with people in the bar. In wc1, sm1, sm2, wc2, specialops1, so2,wc3,wc4 you watched what unfolded outside of the cockpit with regards to what the pilots did during there off time, how they got along. what was overall going on in the war . In SO your isolated in your own little corner of the galaxy and the only time you talk to someone is when there flying on your wing.
Wc2 and 4 were probably my favorite two wing commander games. As there plots were good and based heavily on the characters. As well as they were two of the more thrilling in the cockpit. In SO the missions just don't seem as intense. Picture this I'm hot on the Nepheliem's tail firing down on it, it's at critical another second or two and it'll go boom, but my speed is a bit faster then it. The ships collide just before impact and then *BOUNCE* nothing happens. Then I realize I was so busy with the one enemy that I overlooked the flashing missile warning, I drop a decoy but it's to late *boom* my aft shields are gone I swing around and take out the enemy. My mission is over and I return to base. There are two reasons that wouldn't have gone so well had I been playing wc2 or 4. SO just wasn't as thrilling in the cockpit even if it's on nightmare.
It's not so much how the cutscenes LOOK as it is what they contain.
ChrisReid
Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Software's a bit different that music. It takes a lot more effort to get old software to run on new hardware. And then you have to have people able to provide technical support for it. Chris Roberts left Origin before Prophecy was even begun really btw.