• Category Archives Rumor Mill

  • James Cameron: Avatar MMO? Perhaps

    Posted on September 28, 2011 by Omali Comment

    Is the Avatar MMO a possibility? A question best left to James Cameron himself, perhaps asked by IGN. And by the good grace of Grendaline, IGN has come through with just such an interview. In an exclusive interview with Cameron, IGN asked the all important question, “what are your thoughts on turning Avatar into an MMO experience?” While the answer isn’t a confirmation that such a game is in the works, it does open the door to an Avatar MMO in the future.

    I think Avatar is a perfect IP for an MMO. It’s a very, very big world and based on the first film, you might not sense that, but we’re talking about an entire planet, an entire alter world, and in fact a universe that has other planetary bodies, as well, and other cultures, other life forms. Eventually people will see enough scope to be able to see how the MMO will work, but that’s going to have to be launched…the timing of that is going to have to be carefully orchestrated with the release of the second and third film because we don’t want to be giving away elements before the fact. And also I think one of the cool things about an MMORPG is that you have to have a lot more possibilities for characters than what you see in the film. The film is really just a leaping off point, so we’ve got to create a rich and diverse world that lives well beyond the films.

    This entry was posted in Editorials, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Bethesda: You Flippin’ Betta’

    Posted on November 10, 2010 by Omali Comment

    Dan Bull wants a new Elder Scrolls game, and here at MMO Fallout we share his desire, although we aren’t necessarily willing to sing about it. Of course, we can always keep up hope that the next Elder Scrolls is the MMO that Zenimax Studios is allegedly working on.

    Oh well. We’re behind you, Dan Bull! We’ll just let you do the rapping, for all of our sake.

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  • Red 5 MMO: No, Seriously, It’s Still Coming Out

    Posted on July 8, 2010 by Omali Comment

    Why the last time...

    Red 5 Studios was founded by World of Warcraft veteran staff, and continued the tradition that Richard Garriot had upheld just a year prior: That for some reason new companies formed by old MMO vets have a habit of imploding in on themselves, if they ever even release a product. I also mentioned that Red 5′s MMOFPS appeared to have been scrapped in favor of a new MMO geared towards the Chinese market. Fast forward one month, and you have The9 (estranged ex-Chinese World of Wacraft host) buying the majority stake in Red 5 and FireRain. Since then, there hasn’t been much word from Red 5.

    And there still isn’t. Production on Red 5′s MMO is still reportedly underway, with information coming soon.

    “The game has not been put on hold or delayed. While we are using a highly-modified version of the Project Offset engine, the closing of the Intel team does not impact our ability to complete our own project. We look forward to releasing more information abouto ur project in the near future.”

    We’ll see.

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  • Project V13 To Offer Some Form Of Permadeath?

    Posted on June 27, 2010 by Omali Comment

    Wishing you were dead...

    Ask yourself: How many MMOs on the market truly have a punishing death penalty system? Games like Ultima Online, Runescape, and Darkfall have you lose most if not all of your items upon death, but when you become rich that is really nothing more of than a minor set back. Eve Online and Face of Mankind, to name two, have a near-permanent death system, but clones are so easy to come by that death in itself is still just a minor purchase. Very few MMOs have attempted permadeath, and practically none have had any success with it. In a genre where progression over long periods of time is key to extorting-that is to say, inspiring players to keep subscribing, the idea of losing your character because of a fleeting moment where a guild ambushed you in a 10 on 1 battle, or someone decided to turn on the old speed hacks and went on a murder spree before he was banned, or even in cases of random lag/server desync.

    In an interview at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, Interplay did a Q&A where, albeit most of their answers being “we can’t answer that,” they did have this to say on player death:

    ??Death is death in the Fallout world and there are no Resurrection spells or magic wands that bring people back to life. The Master in FO1 was on one path to immortality, but even he wasn’t immune to 9mm (or plasma rifles, whatever your weapon of choice was.)

    We have a pretty good handle on how we handle player character defeat in PV13.

    My immediate reaction is to assume that Project V13 will feature some sort of cloning mechanism, similar to Fallen Earth (wake up in a clone machine). With my limited knowledge of the Fallout Universe, I know that Vault City in the original games ran a cloning machine that could replicate human organs. In Fallout 3, Vault 108 has a partially functioning cloning lab, where the player encounters clones of one man. In Vault 108′s condition, the clones that the machine pumped out were increasingly violent, especially towards non-clones.

    If Fallout Online is set years after Fallout 3, it is feasible that cloning technology could improve to explain a cloning system in the MMO to replace a permadeath system. More details are likely to appear in the coming months…hopefully. Don’t forget, the Fallout Online beta doesn’t start for two years.

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  • There Would Be A Call of Duty MMO Tomorrow

    Posted on June 19, 2010 by Omali Comment

    Page 1 of Google "Bobby Kotick"...

    Back in January I talked about how Infinity Ward was rumored to be working on a Call of Duty MMO, which of course would likely be worked on by a different company under Activision at this point given Infinity Ward’s current less-than-functional status. Call of Duty itself, as I have said on a few occasions, has achieved near-MMO status. Starting with Modern Warfare and moving forward, the Call of Duty series has been pumping in the MMO-features, allowing players to level up, gain achievements, earn experience, unlock new weapons and customizations for their weapons, earn badges. Technically all Call of Duty is missing is having the servers run by Activision, and perhaps a subscription fee.

    I also noted that, were Call of Duty to take the WW2 Online route and go for the large persistent world, that the company would likely take the World War 2 MMO genre and dominate it, given the quality of Modern Warfare and World at War. That being said, I did express concern that a Call of Duty MMO with a subscription that operates solely on instances, ala Crimecraft, would likely hit the ground running directly into a brick wall, as players quickly drop the title and return to the free alternative, or even WW2 Online.

    If you believed Robert Kotick of Activision was salivating at the thought of slapping a subscription fee on Call of Duty, then you’ll be needing a replacement bucket. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kotick stated:

    “I would have Call of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow”

    Does the audience want a Call of Duty pro-subscription? Kotick believes so.

    “I think our audiences are clamoring for it. If you look at what they’re playing on Xbox Live today, we’ve had 1.7 billion hours of multiplayer play on Live. I think we could do a lot more to really satisfy the interests of the customers.”

    When asked if Activision would pursue a Call of Duty subscription model, Kotick responded “hopefully.”

    Is it too early to call Godwin’s law on future comments?

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  • Bethesda Vs Interplay: The Lawsuit Is NOT Down

    Posted on April 22, 2010 by Omali Comment

    On your way, vault dweller

    Update: According to a report from Bethesda to Joystiq, the lawsuit has not been dropped. Please accept our apologies as our bounty hunter tracks down Interplay investor “Frymuchan” for his disservice.

    “It’s an ongoing legal matter. I don’t know where whoever reported that got their information, but it is ongoing and we are going to see how it plays out in court.”

    It feels like a long time since I’ve been able to update on the Bethesda/Interplay lawsuit, and in fact it’s been over four months since the latest lawsuit news! And what news it is:

    Bethesda has dropped the lawsuit against Interplay, over the Fallout MMO “Project V13,” allowing the struggling developer to move full steam ahead in their development. The terms of the dropped lawsuit are in the secret vaults for now, but hopefully someone from Bethesda or Interplay can shed some light in the coming days, on the status of Project V13 and the two company’s involvement, and perhaps what led to the lawsuit being dropped.

    For the sake of not getting up hopes, I’m still leaving Project V13 in the “rumor mill” file, as no longer being sued puts the title exactly where it was before the lawsuit began: On a long road to nowhere. We are also awaiting news of Bethesda’s upcoming MMO, speculated to be based on the Elder Scrolls universe (Well if it was a Fallout MMO, it is scrapped now)

    The Fallout MMO is expected to go into beta sometime in mid-to-late 2012, and no that isn’t one of my jokes.

    This entry was posted in Lawsuits, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: We’ll Take Option 3

    Posted on March 27, 2010 by Omali Comment
    /

    Just like two fully loaded buses.

    I don’t want to say that Stargate Worlds is a lost cause, but I’ve seen this before, many times. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is not so much on the path to reinvention as much as it is at the fork in the road that can only be crossed under certain conditions. One of the following will happen:

    1. Hitting the pavement without a parachute: Stargate Resistance is either delayed to oblivion or launches to a less than stellar performance. Considering these losses, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment either closes for good, is acquired by another company, or continues the same path it has been on for the past two years: perpetual delay.

    Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment posted a letter to their shareholders today, which is likely to cause the same reaction as picking up your phone and seeing “Mercy Hospital” on the Caller-ID, that managed to take a bleak situation, murder it, and replace it with an even more depressing painting. In the ongoing in-company battle between Whiting vs just about everyone else, it appears Gary Whiting has decided to appoint a new president to Cheyenne Mountain, Dale Grobois. CME would like to remind everyone that Mr. Grobois does not speak on behalf of the company, and should not be spoken to over financial matters.

    Speaking of finances, Cheyenne has managed to appoint a receiver, a person who keeps watch on the company’s finances to make sure  certain people (why do you keep pointing in Mr. Whiting’s direction?) don’t get access to the company coffers. It is also important to note that Gary Whiting is the individual, allegedly, who filed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The receiver is currently evaluating whether or not CME should go ahead with bankruptcy procedures.

    Meanwhile, everyone loves statistics. Here are a few from the open letter:

    • creditor debt: $2.0 million with possibly more.
    • Payroll owed: $1.1 million.
    • Federal and state taxes owed: $3.0 million.
    • Total cost of complaints: $10.1 million
    • Total in bank account to pay off the above: $10 thousand

    So what does this mean, other than that I have 3/5ths the cash of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (technically I beat them out by 14.2 million, but who seriously counts debt?)?

    With regard to actual operations, game development has ceased.

    Currently, neither CME nor CMG have any employees.

    Hmm…In order to keep Stargate Resistance from shutting down barely a month after launch, CME was forced to enter into a joint venture agreement with Fresh Start Studios (ironically), where the game has been operating since, funded by CME.

    Meanwhile, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is set to be evicted from their building come March 31st, due to an inability to pay rent. I think it’s safe to say now that we’ve reached option 3 in my three options of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, to a point where they are not coming back, ever. What does baffle me about this is the tolerance or low expectations of MGM, owners of the Stargate license. Either MGM is not paying attention, at all, or they firmly believe that Cheyenne, in all of their continuing downward spiral, is somehow the only choice for a Stargate MMO. Or they don’t care anymore.

    This entry was posted in Lawsuits, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Speaking of Drama: Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment!

    Posted on March 19, 2010 by Omali Comment

    Yep, it's that time of the week.

    When we last left Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the company had gone into bankruptcy, and an attempt to push out Gary Whiting has failed, leading to one question: So who is in charge? Well for now, we’re waiting for the courts to decide that. Until then, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is still in bankruptcy and unable to get funding for Stargate Resistance, let alone Stargate Worlds.

    “Unfortunately, with the filing of the bankruptcy, CME was not able to raise any funding and the sales of the game were negatively impacted.  Without adequate cash flow, CME is unable to meet its financial obligation or pay its employees.  CME is not able to have its employees continue working without pay so many of them were laid off.  CME is currently seeking ways to keep the Stargate Resistance game operating and growing including partnering with other companies in a joint venture or outsourcing type arrangement.”
    -Tim Jenson, CME

    Cheyenne was paying their employees? I have a lawsuit filing that disagrees with that. Rumors have it that 70% of the company has been laid off due to financial issues, and Stargate Resistance may be in trouble of having its servers shut down not even six months after the title’s release.

    This entry was posted in Lawsuits, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Gary Whiting: You Can’t Kill Me That Easy…

    Posted on February 24, 2010 by Omali Comment

    He'll get you in your dreams...

    The more this Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment fiasco continues, the more I get the feeling Gary Whiting is going to come back as a Freddy Kreuger-style character who attacks CME employees in their sleep.

    This month, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, developers of the comatose Stargate Worlds, joined the lawsuit against Gary Whiting, former chairman and big time investor at CME. Gary Whiting is being sued by investors of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment for alleged wrongdoings against the company. According to the complaints, Whiting failed to honor terms of the agreement, and also failed to make payments to investors based upon said agreements. As Whiting had named ties between MMOGULs, an alleged MMO portal ponzi scheme, and Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, it was only a matter of time before Cheyenne became involved in the lawsuit.

    When Cheyenne ME joined the lawsuit, Gary Whiting was removed from the board, fired, and all ties with him were severed. Unfortunately for Cheyenne, and any unlucky employee who may have bad mouthed Whiting on his way out, the court has ruled against removing Whiting from the board of directors, from the court papers below:

    As to Plaintiffs’ request for a TRO, the Court finds insufficient grounds to remove Mr. Whiting and Mr. Safiulla from the board of directors; the Court similarly finds insufficient grounds to appoint independent directors to the board of directors.

    That being said, Cheyenne did manage to secure a “receiver” to protect the company’s assets while they continue their forage into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For the time being, at least, Whiting isn’t going anywhere.

    More on Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment as it appears.

    This entry was posted in Lawsuits, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Project V13 Beta! In 2012…

    Posted on January 23, 2010 by Omali 1 Comment

    Don't hold your Nuka Cola.

    I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Project V13, the fabled Fallout MMO and namesake for this blog, is trucking along and will be hitting beta soon. The bad news is that by soon, I mean soon in Valve Time, and it may be likely that the beta will trigger the end of the world as we know it.

    In a recent posting over at Interplay’s website, the company has announced that they have been working with Masthead Studios to bring their vision of Fallout to life, with all of the vaults, irradiated beverages, and super mutants that you know and love. Even more descriptively was the note that Project V13 will be using the same proprietary tools as Earthrise.

    “Masthead joined the project in early 2009 and development continues under Interplay’s direction and control. Project: V13 will utilize the proprietary tools and MMOG technology Masthead developed for its “Earthrise” project.”

    How soon is this beta, you say, Omali? Not soon enough that you shouldn’t put off buying anything. We’re looking at mid to late 2012.

    “This MMOG will have many unique features that we will disclose before launch of the public Beta in 2012.”

    But it isn’t all bad. Tell me, Interplay, will Project V13 be innovative, or will it be just a sad re-skinning of functions and mechanics we have already seen before?

    “Project: V13 incorporates many creative and technological innovations. We believe it will be a unique experience. Our technology will continue to evolve in order to realize all the extraordinary content and features Interplay has designed.”

    Good enough for me. More on Project V13 when we get closer to the beta in two years.

    This entry was posted in Lawsuits, Rumor Mill and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.


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