Layoffs at CCP Atlanta HQ, WOD MMO Affected

[PANZERBUNNY]

Sure it's an EVE fanfest, but as a producer, if you don't see the value of showing you current fanbase for X game, the nitty gritty awesome of your NEW game.....to me that shines of silly. Lost opportunities.

Sure, they are totally different genres, but the people who love EVE and how it was delivered would more than likely have faith in a title they may not have tried otherwise.

Seems like excuses.

Perhaps a genius move would be to do away with EVE fanfest and simply call it CCP Fanfest to cover their entire range of products.

Their attempt to diversify has been sloppy at best.

[Valamyr]

I have limited faith in promises things as ramping up now that we've seen a second large layoff. Less people let go this time around, but there was much less to cut, too.

It smells very vapory as we enter a 8th year of on-and-off pre-production with nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, the MMO competition is much stiffer than it used to be, people expect high quality products and great engine performance, not only for their money but also for their time. Landscape has changed quite a bit, to say the least. If CCP had finally a great  homegrown 1st person 3d engine that works well in a multiplayer setting and looks good (I continue to believe they're not anywhere that), they'd have resurrected WiS.

All options are on the table IMO, but if you asked me whats more likely between CCP slugging along to actually releasing a decent WOD MMO at the end of the decade, or them folding the project and selling the IP, at this point I'd reply "Heads or tails?"

[Rick Gentle]

Sell it to Bethesda! Sell it to Bethesda!
Bethesda or the guys who made Metro: Last Light. I want to see that engine used to do a remake of VTM - Redemption with more better.

EDIT
Gearbox? Is that them?

[Valamyr]

If they sold it to Bethesda to make SP RPGs with toolsets like TES and Fallout, I'd be all over it.

If its so Zenimax makes a MMO out of it, eh, it'd be a step up over amateur-hour-since-2006, but I'm not entirely sold. ESO is promising in some ways yet look very amateurish in others. Its still in beta and all that but still. There's a guild I've played MMOs with since EQ1, pretty damn hardcore bunch and admittedly hard to please, and they have a very negative view of the game after trying it out. Personally I had fun in the couple beta weekends I played but they raised alot of good points. I'm still planning on trying it, as my I'm a TES fan, but no pre-orders, Ill wait for reviews and broader community feedback.

[Rick Gentle]

I want to see how The Elder Scrolls Online plays out before I would want Bethesda to make an MMO out of the World of Darkness. I expected Bethesda to think further outside the WoW-box than what they've showed us so far; we need something honestly new for the World of Darkness MMO, both to set it apart on the market and to do justice to the setting. If they weren't starting with vampires, then it could afford to be more like your average button-mashing action-combat MMO with slicey-dicey, bitey-chompy werewolves or fireball-tossing mages.
But Bethesda Softworks' already proven their track record many times over with high-quality, well-playing, relatively bug-free massively single-player games. (Bug-free considering the size and complexity of the games.) Since Fallout 3, they've also proven that they're extremely welcoming to modders and keeping their game up-to-date with fixes and new content that keeps the quality of the base game.

But first, from anybody who has the IP, I'd like to see a remake of Redemption or Bloodlines so they can prove they've still got it as far as single-player games go. Even if the MMO version bombs, we'd still get a good game out of it that we can play and mod and reminisce about for years and years after its release.

[Valamyr]

I expected Bethesda to think further outside the WoW-box than what they've showed us so far; we need something honestly new for the World of Darkness MMO

Yeah, I know this is an EVE-with-fangs crowd and all, and I tried for a long time to convince myself I'd have fun playing the game you want, but I'm going back to my roots here: I want way more box than CCP hinted at a few years back. Now, we all know they've changed the game alot since and nobody is sure where it stands exactly, but I'm not going to enjoy WOD if its primarily sandbox and wholly rejects traditional progression and PvE challenges elements. I'm doing FF14 lately and its high end content is fairly challenging and its a blast. This is what MMOs were always about for me, and while I'm open to innovation, any game that tries to throw out the baby with the bathwater is likely going to bore me something fierce. So while I'm also careful about ESO, its certainly not for the same reasons as you.

For single player, I agree with you 100%. Beth makes awesome, highly moddable open world SP RPGs. I loved Skyrim, and they're working on Fallout 4 right now. If they ever have any interest in the IP, they have no proof to provide as far as I'm concerned on that front.

[phonixor]

Having played ESO beta(stress test), I can definitely say it's not skyrim online... it sucks monkey balls currently... but I am under a NDA.. so I guess I can' t say much about it... least not in public... :p

[MiloMalkavian]

But first, from anybody who has the IP, I'd like to see a remake of Redemption or Bloodlines so they can prove they've still got it as far as single-player games go. Even if the MMO version bombs, we'd still get a good game out of it that we can play and mod and reminisce about for years and years after its release.

I agree 100%. People are still playing these games and modding them. I would love to see UbiSoft use the Assassin's Creed engine & mechanics to remake both. A 3rd person, free-roam, game controller interface (not point & click). Better graphics, historically accurate settings, shoulder button quick-wheel discipline menus, full map interactivity (open all doors, houses, etc), climb on stuff (even rooftops, but not in a "dash across the whole city" way. More like a creep through the 2nd story window for the stealthy players).
 
You could also use the "high-profile" and "low-profile" buttons for attacking disciplines vs. hidden/mental disciplines. 

The level designs and maps were great, just kinda sparse. I say keep what's already there, but add more side streets and shops. More beggars on the streets, people hanging around the taverns & brothels, etc. Prague had what...like 6 whole citizens?? Maybe more "filler missions" in between that lead up to the main story missions. Sorta like mini-prequels. Assassin's Creed did a great job with the underground dungeon/catacomb type missions, just use the engine and make a VtM:R mod.

[PGM1961]

Hey guys.  Haven't posted in a long time... got tired of the WODMMO being in limbo, and it's hard to stay interested in the same debate rehashed over and over.  Missed some of the people... didn't miss others.

Sounds like things are pretty much the same as when I was here last.  Another CCP layoff, vague promises but nothing solid that the fans can look at and say, "Gee, they really are working on this game!"  People get angry when you use the 'V' word (i.e. vaporware); but I am at the stage where I will only believe that the game will happen when it's released... and maybe not even then.  By that I mean that I might have to read a few game reviews before I buy it, rather than pre-order on blind faith.

I'd give a lot for a new single-player Vampire game, whether VtM, VtR, or a V20-style mashup of the two.  My feelings toward the MMO genre are not good, due to the few multiplayer games I've played in the past-- gankers, hack-n-slash RPG, etc..  I hope that the WODMMO manages to solve some of those problems, but I'm not holding my breath.  Someone earlier in this thread talked about having faith.  Well, I believe blind faith should be reserved for religion... otherwise, trust should be earned. IMO, CCP has not earned my our trust.

[Nanaloma]

Ooh, ooh that smell!  Afraid I agree completely. 

[dbs]

I used to not really get the whole 'sell the IP so someone can make another SP/Bloodlines game' thing, but as of late - Yeah, I see it. Considering how much people have got out of Bloodlines and Redemption, myself included, I really can't even fault the opinion anymore. There's obviously the risks involved with gaming being a very different beast now than it was, and the very likely possibility that a new Bloodlines would follow the same path as the new Thief (read, horrendous), but then you look at the work the TES etc. modding community does, not to mention the Bloodlines modding community itself and again - I get it.

As someone who's wanted this game for years and has been following it just as long, I don't get anything by wishing the game officially just gets canned, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to get excited at new pieces of 'good' 'news'.

I tend to just pop into the usual spots looking for news (Hah) now and then go about my day. I honestly feel Fanfest this year has to be something relevant for me to even continue caring at this point.

[Nigama]

Is there anything that we could do, as fans, that would really grab the attention of CCP in a positive way to get *THEM* excited about the WoD MMO?  And make other fans think we're awesome at the same time?  It could be online, it could be live action (at Fanfest, Grand Masquerade, or even Gen Con).

I'm open to ANY suggestions, but keep in mind it should be feasible and not a pie in the sky dream.  I figure if we're all at such a low about the game, CCP must be practically ignoring it.  If we could showcase our love and excitement for the IP, maybe they would become infected by it to some extent. 

 


Nigama

[Claudia Vonigner]

*shows how much money people have given to OP for KS of  o WoD books*

Nuff said.

[Nanaloma]

Is there anything that we could do, as fans, that would really grab the attention of CCP in a positive way to get *THEM* excited about the WoD MMO?  And make other fans think we're awesome at the same time?  It could be online, it could be live action (at Fanfest, Grand Masquerade, or even Gen Con).

I'm open to ANY suggestions, but keep in mind it should be feasible and not a pie in the sky dream.  I figure if we're all at such a low about the game, CCP must be practically ignoring it.  If we could showcase our love and excitement for the IP, maybe they would become infected by it to some extent. 

 


Nigama

CCP:  "Look, they're excited again!  We can back burner this for many more years now!"

[Azz]

I'll wait for you, WoD. I'll wait forever. ;_;