Jeff's final decade

[supercow]

He said recently (Twitter/X? Blog post? I forget) that he thinks he has about a dozen years left before retirement.

 

Surprisingly, he also mentioned that Avernum 4 is on the list of future remasters (I thought he would stop after the first trilogy). I expect he'll also do QW3 and Geneforge 3.

 

Are there any other titles we can expect before Spiderweb Software rides off into the sunset?

[Randomizer]

By the time he finishes QW3, GF3, and A4 it would be time to update A5 and 6. I don't know if we will ever see a third version of Nethergate since Jeff never wanted to return to that game engine.

[Edgwyn]

Finishing QW, GF3-5 and A4-6 would take up that entire 10-12 year span.  I would love to see a new Nethergate, but it does not look like there is time for it

[Archaeolagent]

The remasters don't take as long as the new games, though.  And remember that the previous Nethergate remaster was literally completed in three months -- SW's fastest game ever.  I don't think it's impossible to do or to wish for.  It's just a question of if SW thinks it would sell.  Personally I'd guess there's a better market for it now than there was in 1998...

[ultra112]

I wonder if Avadon will get remastered as well?

[Jawaj]

Some information from his latest blog post:

Quote

Looking To the Future

I am probably about 12 years from looking at retirement. In that time, we have six old games that are really cool but need a full remaster treatment to bring them into the present. We also have several other games that need a quick polish treatment (like art and rebalancing) to send them into posterity.

And we have ambitions to make new stuff too.

That said, I’m sort of transitioning into the Billy Joel phase of the career. My best, most creative period is behind me, but there is still a lot that should be done. I've written 18 all-new games. Eighteen! This has already been a hugely prolific career. Now I need to wrap everything up, tie up the loose ends, and take a bow with as many people satisfied as possible.

In a few months, I'll let our fans know what the next two years of Spiderweb will look like. We have some exciting plans!

https://bottomfeeder.substack.com/p/we-released-geneforge-2-infestation

 

From the recent stream Queen's Wish 3 might not be happening due to finances, perhaps some short "DLC" story (but likely free) for QW2 to wrap things up instead.

The part about "polish treatment (like art and rebalancing)" for some games is interesting.

Edited March 28 by Jawaj

[Ircher]

I would like to see Nethergate get another remake. I've always wanted to actually finish it, but the datedness has prevented me from doing so.

[Thaluikhain]

Huh, that title had me worried for a bit.

[mikeprichard]

Wow, I didn't realize QW3 might not happen. But as others have pointed out and Jeff mentioned on the G2 remake demo streams recently, he plans to remake G3-G5 and A4 and A5 (not sure about A6) - all of which could definitely benefit from the remake treatment. From his lengthy track record, this is entirely feasible within a ~12-year period.

[Jawaj]

Jeff has said he's remastering six games, which presumably includes A6. It's definitely the least dated of the original Avernums, but the engine and art and UI could still be updated to modern Spiderweb standards and various things polished and filled out. And after doing the rest of the second trilogy it makes financial sense if nothing else.

 

More details on updating old games from the AMA, Avadon and Avernum 1-3 will likely get a final balance pass one day:

Quote

I also want to go back to the original Avernum trilogy and Avadon and give it balance and repolishing, but this is a big job that won't happen for a while.

 

Edited April 2 by Jawaj

[Archaeolagent]

A fourth version of the original trilogy?  Lol.

 

But that is admittedly a much simpler job.

 

(Number of times Jeff has now created a Tower of Magi map, which he once swore he'd never do again: 15 and counting...)

[Jawaj]

Sounds more like he means a free update to the reremakes haha.

[Magic Master]

My wish is to see, if nothing else, at least an Avernum 4 remake that would really change the game a lot, along the lines of the excellent A1-3 remakes. I would be sad to see only small changes.

Edited April 2 by Magic Master

[Archaeolagent]

A4-A6 sound like they are in the "actual remake" category along with the rest of Geneforge.

[Edgwyn]

Didn't Jeff say somewhere that the A4 remake is going to keep the combined indoor/outdoor map?

 

[mikeprichard]

Yes, on a GF2 Infestation demo stream. It's just too much work for him to "upgrade" (IMO) all the zones to the proper world map format used in most of his other games which provides a much more accurate/immersive sense of scale/proportion.

Edited April 2 by mikeprichard

[Randomizer]

In Jeff's latest Bottom Feeder, post-mortem on Geneforge 2 - Infestation.

 

Queen's Wish 3 will be made some day just to finish the trilogy. However because of poor sales for QW2, it will probably be delayed for more profitable remakes.

[Jawaj]

Well, this is what he said about QW (emphasis added):

Quote

Eighteen months ago, we released Queen's Wish 2: The Tormentor. This was an all-new title, the second game in what I had planned as the Queen's Wish trilogy. This game sold very poorly.

 

This was a shame. I'm really proud of the game. It's the sort of game I want to play, and I really liked playing it. However, in my advanced age, I may have fallen out of touch with what people want.

 

When I was younger, I always said, "I write the sort of games I want to play. If people don't want what I like to play, I'll quit this business and sell shoes." Luckily, since this didn't happen until I'm old, I'll do remasters instead.

 

(I WILL finish the Queen's Wish story somehow. I'm still figuring out a way to make it viable.)

Sounds like he's committed to finishing the story in one form or another but for financial reasons wouldn't necessarily be a full third game in the trilogy.

[Randomizer]

from Jeff's Bottom Feder blog ---- some numbers on how his games have sold on Steam:

 

"In the first 2 weeks, we sold about 3000 copies (and sent a lot to Kickstarter backers). This is about 2.5 times what Queen's Wish 2 did, but about 40% of what Geneforge 1 - Mutagen did. These multipliers held when the game was out a month."

 

Now we get the comparison of Queen's Wish 2 to the Geneforge remakes.

[Edgwyn]

The big drop off between Geneforge 1 and Geneforge 2 must be concerning also

[nikki.]

I played Avadon 1 + 2 recently (like a month or two ago) and they hold up really well, to be honest. Much less needing of a remake/polish than the second Avernum trilogy. 

 

I would LOVE to see a Nethergate remaster/remake though. Return to the OG levelling system, update to the engine so I don't have to hurt my eyes playing it, and make Hero of Old good again, and I'd throw money at it so fast...