Tag: Shut down

Bought Craft of Gods After It Shut Down? Read Me


Yesterday I mentioned that Craft of Gods mysteriously shut down with no notice from the outside world, apparently including Gamestop’s Impulse Driven download service. Complaints on the Craft of Gods Facebook page showed players who had purchased the game on Impulse only to find that the servers are down, the website does not work, and the keys have no use. Additionally, Kalicanthus Entertainment’s website shows a shut down notice that has been up since March.

 If anyone purchased too late email downloadsupport@gamestop.com

If you do need a refund for Craft of Gods, send an email to the above address. It may be a while before Craft of Gods is actually removed from sale, so I am posting this in case anyone is searching for a solution.

Craft of Gods Disappeared: No Idea Where It Went


Craft of Gods is gone. Dead. Kaput. Gamestop’s Impulse Driven digital distributor is still selling the software, but the website is offline, the servers are apparently not working, and Kalicanthus Entertainment’s website is gone with a shutdown notice. The Craft of Gods Twitter account has not been updated since December 20th, and the Craft of Gods Facebook page has users complaining that the service has been offline and keys nonredeemable since March.

I have reached out to Gamestop to see if the title will be pulled, but as of this publishing the game is still for sale even though there is nowhere to redeem the keys and the game is apparently unplayable as the servers are offline and the game has been abandoned.

Until then, I recommend that you do not purchase Craft of Gods, unless you really like wasting your money.

Phantasy Star Universe Sunsetting For Good In September


While Playstation and PC users already had their experience cut short two years ago, 360 gamers who enjoy a bit of Phantasy Star Universe will be sorely disappointed to hear that the game will be shutting its last doors later this year. In an announcement on the Sega forums, Edward@Sega detailed that servers will come down September 7th, 2012, and that while “network mode” will no longer be available, Phantasy Star Universe will still be playable in single player.

This was not an easy decision but there comes a time when we must consider the level of service and support we can provide for an ongoing game, and balance those concerns against preparing for the future, and providing you with new opportunities and new experiences.

Players with subscriptions extending past September will be refunded by Microsoft on a pro-rated basis. You can read Edward’s notes and his eulogy at the link below. Phantasy Star Online 2 is due for release in Summer 2012 as a free to play title for PC, with versions out for the iOS and Android devices by the end of 2012, and a version for Playstation Vita coming in early 2013.

(Source: SCEA Forums)

8Realms To Shut Down, Jagex Layoffs Employees


So far Jagex hasn’t had a great track record with their in-house titles that are not named RuneScape. MechScape was cancelled to the tune of millions back in 2009 and revived as Stellar Dawn which was “paused” a couple of months ago so Jagex could focus on a strong list of games set for release this year, including 8Realms and Transformers Online, not to mention the major combat upgrade we learned is coming to RuneScape.

Well, take 8Realms off of that list. Gamesindustry is reporting that 8Realms only received 10% of the audience necessary to turn a profit, and will be shut down. Jagex’s Daniel Clough gave a comment on the matter:

 “During the 8Realms beta it has become clear that the game doesn’t meet our high expectations for success and we are therefore channelling our focus on other exciting opportunities in the pipeline.”

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

MMOs: Bring Them Back, Or Let Them Lie


I love reading about MMOs being resurrected, almost as much as I hate reading about MMOs being resurrected. On one hand, it’s great to see that a game I once thought dead has attracted the attention of another enterprising company. But then I sit back and ask myself, “do I really want someone else touching my game? Tainting my memories?”

So I will be publishing several lists of dead MMOs, and whether I feel they should be brought back or if they have given us all that they can.

The Matrix Online

As much as many of us would love to see The Matrix Online make a return, the franchise hit its heyday a long time ago and it is not coming back. Bringing back The Matrix Online would be a financial investment not only in infrastructure but requiring new people to learn how to code and maintain the system, an investment that only a person of questionable sanity would be willing to forego.

There isn’t enough interest in the Matrix anymore to justify bringing this ancient one back, so sorry but:

Verdict: Let It Lie.

Bringing Tabula Rasa back would require a bit of a lore-shift for the MMO. After all, since NCSoft worked the closure into the game, when the servers shut down on February 28th, 2009, it resulted in the AFS forces detonating a massive bomb that resulted in the mutual destruction of the AFS and Bane forces. So that leaves us with humanity: dead, and Bane: dead.

Of course, re-writing history is the easy part. But were someone to purchase the rights and the code, they would find the remnants of what could have been a masterpiece, and was gearing up for just that when NCSoft shuttered the title. Somewhat like Star Wars Galaxies, in the months after NCSoft announced the shut down, Destination Games worked tirelessly to introduce many of the features players had been asking for and probably quitting over since the game launched.

Buying Tabula Rasa would be far easier and likely much less expensive than working on an original sci-fi MMO of the same variety.

Verdict: Pitchblack Games Should Buy Tabula Rasa

Absolutely not. Take this from someone who supported Earth Eternal through every company and iteration the game has gone through so far. I personally found Earth Eternal to be a charming game, but commercial success this game is not. Consider the fact that even when Earth Eternal was 100% free to play, that no one was playing should be an indication that any money spent into reviving this title for a third run would be wasting money that could have gone to a more productive service.

Like a bonfire.

Verdict: Its Zombified Corpse Has Liquified. Stop.

Sure, why not. Lego Universe was a great game and there are many reasons it should be brought back, not the least of which being that LEGO continued the great NetDevil tradition of poorly advertising their game and then wondering why it didn’t gather the attraction they so desired. If LEGO Universe is to be brought back, however, some changes should come with it.

For starters, LEGO could do well with a similar subscription plan to Wizard 101: allowing families to bundle their subscriptions for a discount. Additionally, the game would need a more open trial system than it had pre-shutdown, and LEGO would have to do some real advertising.

LEGO Universe has potential, and not the kind that you use to describe a broken system. The game is fine, more people just needed to know about it.

Verdict: Resurrect it.

I have no idea how much it would cost to translate Everquest Online Adventures to a download-format and bring it back on the Playstation Network, but I’m guessing it would be expensive. When EQOA shut down, it wasn’t because the game was busted or Sony was going under, but simply because the game had become old.

There were no new players coming into Everquest Online Adventures, and for good reason: The Playstation 2 is a dead console and the Playstation 3 is not backwards compatible (sans 1st generation). Additionally, finding new copies of Everquest Online Adventures was near impossible, or otherwise extremely expensive. Unlike other MMOs, EQOA never had the opportunity to transition to a download format, and once the game was off store shelves, its death sentence was written.

Unfortunately, translating the game to be playable on new Playstation 3’s may be too expensive or even impossible on the very antiquated engine.

Verdict: Resurrect If You Can, Though You Probably Can’t.

Dominus Is Dead, Announces Pitchblack Games


It is with a heavy heart that I have to say goodbye, or at least goodbye for now. We simply cannot deliver the game you deserve with the resources we have. We never quit trying, even when hope faded, because you – our community – kept us inspired.

It is a sad day for sandbox fans, as another title has died on the operating table. Dominus, or Prime: Battle for Dominus as it was once known as, is being shut down mid-development due to a lack of resources over at Pitchblack Games. This may not be the end of Pitchblack Games, or Dominus, however.

Interested investors are kindly asked to email info@pitchblackgames.com. The notion of using Kickstarter has been thrown around by the community, with no response from Pitchblack on the matter.

Either way, it is sad to see another prospective gem fizzle out before it even has a chance to compete.

(Source: Pitchblack Forums)

Hundreds of Thousands To Lose Internet Access In July


MMO Fallout is all about the internet, and in order to maintain our world we must keep it secure. Last November, the American Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a raid alongside other agencies to take down a massive internet ad-fraud scheme. The hackers involved were exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows to redirect users to false websites for phishing purposes.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the virus the FBI was unable to simply pull the plug as the computers had become reliant on the servers being up. So they replaced the servers with clean hardware and have maintained the systems at a rather high cost (over $80 grand), without anyone knowing that their internet was being modified. Approximately 360,000 computers are still believed to be infected.

The bad news gets worse, however. The servers are having their plugs pulled in July, after which anyone still infected will lose access to the internet, and that brings us to why I am talking about this here at MMO Fallout.

I strongly suggest that all users visit the following website. If dcwg.org is down (which is probably will be), try the website below it.

http://www.dcwg.org

http://www.dns-ok.us/

These websites will check if your computer is looking up IP addresses properly. If they aren’t, you are infected, and should head over here to find a fix:

http://www.dcwg.org/fix/

Browse safe, my friends.

Warhammer Loses Another Server: Drakenwald Closing


As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain an active, competitive, and engaging experience in WAR we have decided to open free transfers for players to specific servers. WAR, more than many games, only gets better with more people. These transfers will enable players to experience more action during all hours whether fighting in scenarios or Open RvR.

Absolutely true, and if there is one thing that Warhammer Online could use, it is more people. By now, Warhammer players should be well tuned with the process. Starting tomorrow, Drakenwald will be marked as a “legacy server,” disabling the creation of new characters. Existing characters are free to transfer to Badlands or Karak Norn for three weeks until the server is deactivated and you will be forced to transfer anyway.

On the other hand, Warhammer has almost run out of servers to close down.

(Source: Warhammer Herald)

gPotato Sunsetting Two More Games


For every day that goes by, the odds of successfully importing a free to play MMO from Asia to the west become more difficult. Several years ago, the only competition that a publisher had to contend with consisted of similar titles with an insane amount of grind, poor localization, and an almost nonexistent customer support to match the “pay to win” cash shop. Now that the Western free to play market is no longer a place where subscription games go to die quietly, the market has become ever more saturated with each passing fiscal quarter, and the market has only grown less tolerant of poor imports.

Last December, gPotato shut down Tales Runner. More recently, the publisher announced that on March 27th, two more games will meet the same fate. Luna and Prius Online will both be turned off at the end of March. To compensate players, gPotato is offering compensation packages including cash shop currency reimbursement to use on their other titles.

So far in 2012 we have seen or will see the launch of TERA, The Secret World, Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter, and a whole lot more. and the free to play conversions of Aion, Star Trek Online, and Everquest (to name three), and the deaths of Everquest Online Adventures, Earthrise, and Lego Universe (so far). In an already crowded and competitive market, developers and publishers must become increasingly vicious to keep their games afloat and to not be tossed to the sharks.

Everquest Mac Accidentally Diagnosed As Dead


How much does John Smedley love you? Enough that, earlier tonight, he posted this on Twitter:

Ok EQ Mac Players. You are a wonderful group of players. We will leave it running with no changes or subscription fees. Details soon.

Sony announced with sorrow last month that Everquest Mac would come to an end on March 29th. Players mourned the loss of what many play for the experience of a “near classic” Everquest, what with EQMac still being based in the Planes of Power (4th expansion, 2002).

Additional details will no doubt come this week or next, but it is reassuring to see the game being run with no changes or subscription fees.

(Source: John Smedley Twitter)

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