I am starting to lose all hopes in spiderweb...

[Valdain the King]

If jeff finishes remaking Avernum 1-3 and Geneforge 1-5 and maybe 1 new series along with Avadon.....Yeah that's about right. With 20 games, V for Vendetta (Blu-ray), I can see positive things happening in the next century.

[Dikiyoba]

"Lambda Closure likes this"

 

That'll be €70.61, or half an hour of SW community service.

 

Please send payment to:

Dikiyoba "the Great" Dikiyora

Dikiyobia City Court

4222 Spiderweb Avenue

Dikiyobia, Internet

 

Failure to pay may result in additional fines, arrest, and/or disembowelment by Velociraptors. Please don't make Dikiyoba use the Velociraptors!

[Aran]

All right, all right. I got confused and thought I was on Facebook for a moment there.

[WLDD]

you know...one could make an MMO using all the existing graphics, formulas, dialogues, etc.

Leaving only the multiplayer part to be worked on.

 

unbalanced? Who cares! It would be crazy fun. Imagine making a party with each member being a real player? imagine shaper/rebel/empire/avernum conflicts with real players,especially those choices where both factions get different missions in one area. Imagine all the value seemingly worthless artifacts would get! Imagine the unsellable throwels!

 

Oh well, it will never happen. (OR WILL IT)

I like this guy! Btw this is my first hot thread

[BMA]

you know...one could make an MMO using all the existing graphics, formulas, dialogues, etc.

 

Somebody (not me) might just decide to make one; there are lots of create-mmo tutorials lying around.

[Earth]

Avernum or Avadon as mmo:

 

player 1: let's make a raid to kill Rentar/Emperor/Redheard/whatever boss tomorrow at 8pm. p2: sure. p3: I can't, I gotta do homeworks at that time. p4: do your homeworks later. p5: what he said. p6: yeah. p3: can't or my mommy/daddy will yell to me. p1: okay, how about 2 hrs earlier at 6pm? p2-6: sure. yeah. ok. whatever. fine.

 

next day at 6pm: p1: are you ready? p2-6: ready boss. after boss is dead: p3: WOHOO!!!!!! YAHOO!!! I GOT THE KILL AND *insert name of special item here*!!! rest of players: yea you did, just like in last 7/10 raids.

[WLDD]

Avernum or Avadon as mmo:

 

player 1: let's make a raid to kill Rentar/Emperor/Redheard/whatever boss tomorrow at 8pm. p2: sure. p3: I can't, I gotta do homeworks at that time. p4: do your homeworks later. p5: what he said. p6: yeah. p3: can't or my mommy/daddy will yell to me. p1: okay, how about 2 hrs earlier at 6pm? p2-6: sure. yeah. ok. whatever. fine.

 

next day at 6pm: p1: are you ready? p2-6: ready boss. after boss is dead: p3: WOHOO!!!!!! YAHOO!!! I GOT THE KILL AND *insert name of special item here*!!! rest of players: yea you did, just like in last 7/10 raids.

You are hater of MMO or what? It doesn't have to be just one boss in raid., it could be 10 of them with pretty hard time killing them. And it could be a group of only 3 players since there are hundreds who will play time isn't problem.

[Xaiya]

This sounds horrifying. MMOs can be done well, yes, and there's nothing wrong with speculating on something that will almost certainly not happen, but let's not bring up the horrors of children being obnoxious on a game you're trying to relax on playing.

[xenogears]

WRT the OP's suggestion:

 

I don't think there's any need to or interest in *expanding* the company, in terms of hiring more full-time employees. But I would like to see them take more risks.

 

Spiderweb has been making the same game for 20 years. It is in the process of its *second* round of Exile remakes. I get that Jeff wants stability; he knows what the safe investment is. And that's fine, no one can fault you for having "a stable source of income" as one of your aspirations. But this is an incredibly conservative model even for a major publisher, much less a plucky indie developer. Yes, going out on a limb and trying something new, something outside your established formula, is a risk, and a particularly stressful one for an indie dev. But let's not act like it's impossible. Indie game developers do this *all the time.*

 

Yeah, the lack of inspiration is really starting to show (in my opinion). Jeff has stated in blog posts that he no longer enjoys making games for a living, and for my part, I can tell. I see incremental improvements in gameplay streamlining and sanitization but next to nothing in terms of new, interesting ideas. It's starting to feel like a game of Mad Libs, swapping proper nouns and incidental plot details from game to game, but always fitting into the same (increasingly rote-feeling) formula of "EPIC fantasy adventure, huge world, dozens of dungeons, *the choice is yours*!" Even the writing - something which is consistently, and to my mind, inexplicably touted as the company's strong suit - makes no effort to mature. 20 years after Exile we have moved from fighting an evil Empire to "the Corruption." Corruption. Really?

 

Again - I respect the decision to be conservative with respect to innovation in the interest of financial stability. But if that's what's going on, probably we should also be honest about the sort of product is that ensues. Which is to say - derivative, regurgitated, and apparently, consistently profitable.

[Earth]

You are hater of MMO or what? It doesn't have to be just one boss in raid., it could be 10 of them with pretty hard time killing them. And it could be a group of only 3 players since there are hundreds who will play time isn't problem.

 

totally opposite and getting group of friends together for boss-raid can be difficult if they live on different timezones (1-2 in Yankeeland, 1-2 in Europe, 1-2 in Asia).

[Edgwyn]

but next to nothing in terms of new, interesting ideas. It's starting to feel like a game of Mad Libs, swapping proper nouns and incidental plot details from game to game, but always fitting into the same (increasingly rote-feeling) formula of "EPIC fantasy adventure, huge world, dozens of dungeons, *the choice is yours*!" Even the writing - something which is consistently, and to my mind, inexplicably touted as the company's strong suit - makes no effort to mature. 20 years after Exile we have moved from fighting an evil Empire to "the Corruption." Corruption. Really?

To me, the Avadon series is new and interesting. There is moral ambiguity and the Tinkermage class is quite different and innovative, and the Corruption is different than Wretch/Ogre/Titan bashing.

 

Yes, Jeff spends a lot of time keeping Exile current and up to date for financial stability. One of the reasons that I have not purchased the Avernum series is that I am waiting for the remakes. If I sat down and completed A2-6, I would have no interest in the remakes for years. I have had to take long breaks from Star Trek and Star Wars because there has not been a lot of chance since the late 60s (Star Trek) or late 70s (Star Wars), then after a few years I am able to return. To me, Fantasy RPGs, computer or paper are the same way. The basic ideas were new and innovative in the early 70s but have been repeated countless times since then. I take a few years off and then I return.

[Randomizer]

Remakes always add content so there is always something new when you replay the new version.

[Trenton.]

1388516343[/url]' post='268046']

This sounds horrifying. MMOs can be done well, yes, and there's nothing wrong with speculating on something that will almost certainly not happen, but let's not bring up the horrors of children being obnoxious on a game you're trying to relax on playing.

 

Hey dud, that guy i's using a charged Thahd to fight Shaper Monsrch. Can u beliv thisguy?

 

ikr what a scrub

I request that if Spidweb ever goes mmo, it has an age requirement. Then again, nothing I'd like playing a game with a n eight year old telling you that he could take you in real life and making derogatory comments about your mother.

[WLDD]

totally opposite and getting group of friends together for boss-raid can be difficult if they live on different timezones (1-2 in Yankeeland, 1-2 in Europe, 1-2 in Asia).

And? You are talking like one player is playing from each country... There will be a lot of players and raid could be created easily... I play wartune on some poorly populated server and still we found good time and we are all having fun

[Earth]

yea in mmo you can play with whomever you want or with your friends and if those happen to be scattered around globe then getting party together could be tough.

[Edgwyn]

I am totally uninterested in a MMO option, but I fail to see why there is the nay saying about the time zone issue. Yes, it is hard to interact in real time with people who are many time zones away. Not creating an option to interact because it is hard to interact does not make sense. That is kind of like saying lets restrict live chats, Skype/face time and phone calls to only work in adjacent time zones because it would be hard to use them with people who are farther away.

[Earth]

1's night is other's morning and vice versa.

[nikki.]

As the various AIMHack campaigns here have attested, even when members do live in time zones outside of North America, they are more than willing to stay up late (as I have many times), or wake up early (as Lilith often does). I can't imagine that organising something would be that difficult.

 

Of course, there's also the option of just playing with people who can make particular times, and not playing with people who can't make those times. I mean, c'mon.

[WLDD]

As the various AIMHack campaigns here have attested, even when members do live in time zones outside of North America, they are more than willing to stay up late (as I have many times), or wake up early (as Lilith often does). I can't imagine that organising something would be that difficult.

 

Of course, there's also the option of just playing with people who can make particular times, and not playing with people who can't make those times. I mean, c'mon.

Thats what I am saying all the time, some people just don't get it...

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

I like how these are all general MMO problems that would only expand to spiderweb MMOs if they were ever made, not actually being caused by a SWMMO (sounds catchy)

[adc.]

Somebody (not me) might just decide to make one; there are lots of create-mmo tutorials lying around.

 

I remembered BMA created an alpha fan-made walking fyora, I forgot exactly where it was.

-----

-Nightwatcher

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

Hey, what happened to that Geneforge arcade game someone made?

[Valdain the King]

Whatever the case. If Jeff sells his company the games will be 10% of what they are now. His writing is excellent as is his world creation. The only games that are just as cool are Planescape Torment and others from golden era. If anyone else starts writing them, they will be terrible beyond belief and I cant stress that enough. The only way it could work would be if his wife or child did it with his support.

[shoopypit]

if he really wanted a bigger budget game and work with other talented artists and designers he could always do a kickstarter campaign. that way he wont have to spend much money upfront. that would actually be really cool if he did that. higher budget geneforge prequel? yes please

[Earth]

if he really wanted a bigger budget game and work with other talented artists and designers he could always do a kickstarter campaign. that way he wont have to spend much money upfront. that would actually be really cool if he did that. higher budget geneforge prequel? yes please

 

doubt that, what I have read he wants to keep all threads in his own hands.

[peteralexanderjex]

why does everyone think they can just attack the game designer directly. like spiderweb has to answer to every single criticism .... If you wanna make your own games ... do it.

 

if you wanna program a mod for said game. do it.

 

you wanna take your business else where. do it.

 

all the sudden because a game developer is more accessible and needs to listen a little more to his fanbase everyone can tell spiderweb it's business.

 

It reminds me of all the irritating rules lawyers at tabletop rpg sessions. Those completely unaware of themselves know it all's that just cant sit back and go on a ride.

[WLDD]

why does everyone think they can just attack the game designer directly. like spiderweb has to answer to every single criticism .... If you wanna make your own games ... do it.

 

if you wanna program a mod for said game. do it.

 

you wanna take your business else where. do it.

 

all the sudden because a game developer is more accessible and needs to listen a little more to his fanbase everyone can tell spiderweb it's business.

 

It reminds me of all the irritating rules lawyers at tabletop rpg sessions. Those completely unaware of themselves know it all's that just cant sit back and go on a ride.

How about no?