I am not sure if any has heard about this yet, but I don't know how I feel about it... I have been hoping the Uber Ones would eventually be able to acquire the TA Brand. I wounder if their interest to make TA2 came about because how successful PA has done with the Kickstarter. My fear is if they do make the game they may ruin the name as all the worthy RTS guys I know of are on team Uber (only reason I backed PA)... Sort of how the SC name got tarnished with SC2. http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/04/12/gas-p ... -doing-so/
Well. CT is only half a year late to the table. Besides, the problems with a TA clone are largely technical. Huge battles are very difficult to design in a way that doesn't turn into a lag fest, something that is an issue with every RTS to date. Uber seems to be tackling those problems head on, making them one of the few companies to actually develop a next generation game. Of course, we have yet to see if PA manages to pull it off. The Uber team has a lot of experience, but there's also a lot of new territory to cover. RTS games are not easy to make, especially one with a core set of rules like TA.
In an interview at DICE Chris gave Planetary Annihilation his somewhat dubious "Best Wishes" in the same breath as saying that Uber Ent didn't make nearly enough money to make their vision. Not to mention he went of record with Rock, Paper Shotgun as saying: Bigger Equals Better is “Flawed Thinking” Basically saying that people aren't smart enough to fight multiple battles at the same time. Chris does come off as rather egotistical, thinking he's qualified to speak for everyone (IMO).
That old Chris made TA and SupCom, that old Chris was a genius. I'd say the fact that PA reminds him of his old self can be considered positive. It is just a bit sad how the industry has whittled down CT's old self. I still would not mind him go and make a TA2. The more games of this type are made, the better.
The industry has utterly robbed him of a lot of his "positive" passion I feel. He nearly broke down into tears in his Kickstarter updates, talking about dissolving the company and letting everyone go. And yes that shows he's passionate. But then he's browbeating his "old" self, saying that taking a game any further forward towards an even grander scale is doomed to fail and a rather tepid response to wanting to work on TA2, instantly talking about business models like whether it should be a "boxed product" or not? He's just coming off as not really knowing what he really wants to do anymore. Which is the saddest thing to happen to a Videogame visionary.
Personally I feel really bad for Chris for the reasons you just listed. I am currently wanting to get into the video game industry but if this will happen to me (All positive life sucked out of me) then I will go into other fields.
This is THE reason I am currently learning to make business software and not games. Making games can be fun, but the industry that comes with it is crazy. Too unstable to be appealing imho.
Indeed, the Industry is so rough around the edges it's very depressing. Seems like every other month we hear horror stories like what happened to Team Bondi and how draconia many publishers are when dealing with Developers. Frankly aside from income, I get way more satisfaction out modding than I think I ever would in the industry. As to the topic; I don't see the point, we're already gettign PA and frankly, I don't think they can compete with Uber on this one. The only way I see them having a chance is if PA totally bombs so hard not even modders can save it. They'd be better off going with KnC instead, they can still play the nostalgia angle because CT is still there, but still stand apart from PA. Mike
I like the part where he admitted he didn't want to do it this way. Where he felt like the games he wanted wouldn't sell in this market. So he'll make iOS games...... christ if I ever came into a position like that I think I would just kill myself it seems as soon as they have kids, great people become mediocre people that's all I can say, george lucas started a family, made ROTJ and then he did the prequels CT becomes this more responsible business person family man and out the window goes TA style stuff and in comes supcom2 and facebook gaming platforms on the web
yeah i think chris really wanted to make KnC - maybe as another shot at the RTS genre. he seems like an earnest guy, he's saying what he means and means what he says. sure there's some mixed messages/signals when PA is brought up and I'd imagine he probably has mixed feelings. uber is doing an homage to one of chris' games afterall.
Originally, I wanted to become a game designer, but upon many late nights of reflecting precisely on the video game industry of today, with all of its issues, I realize it would be better for me to enter it at a later time. That's why I'm going to go into computer engineering, to surf off the incoming wave of Quantum Mechanics (supposedly, it's only within a decade when the first Quantum computers will appear [I know that sounds ambiguous and for that, I apologize xD]). But like anything, **** happens, and things change utterly. Let's see what the future stores for us, eh?
He should just retire knowing he helped make TA. No need to become a George Lucas, or a Harrison Ford. Die [figuratively] and give the younguns some oxygen.
Who cares about the IP if it is just the name of the game? Uber Entertainment have some of the veteran developers of TA and SupCom on board. It is their experience that matters and watching the livestreams and reading their posts I get the impression that they make PA because they love making it and not because they want to get rich. This is also why I pre-ordered.
Pretty much, I wonder aside from CT, how many people at GPG(or WGN I guess now?) currently actually worked on TA, or even SupCom/FA for that matter...... Mike
