Worlds of Magic 1.0 released

[bbmike]

A lot of the reviews seem overly harsh to me. Explorminate's review is the closest to reality IMO. I think with a little more work this will be a very good game.

[Huw the Poo]

Any game that flat out calls itself the true successor to MoM is bound to be judged harshly by people who are precious about that fabled game.  Whatever.  From what I've read - and seen on Youtube - it looks damn good.  I'm not blind either, I know there are still some issues which is the only reason I haven't bought it already, but it seems fairly clear they're being addressed.  It seems it's suffering from released-too-earlyitis, but hell, if Stardock can pull Elemental back from the precipice, it can certainly be done with WoM.

[Greybriar]

....if Stardock can pull Elemental back from the precipice, it can certainly be done with WoM.

Yeah. Elemental was supposed to be the successor to Master of Magic, too. Brad had to give away a lot to lure Elemental purchasers back after the disaster of its release.

Between the two, I'd say that Worlds of Magic's release was much better than Elemental's. It resembles Master of Magic more than Elemental, too.

[Huw the Poo]

I've never changed impressions of a developer so quickly.  First I was disgusted with Elemental because, for various reasons, I'd spent close to £100 on it.  It's not that it was fundamentally broken as many claim...it just wasn't really a game.  It was as if they'd laid the foundation for a game but forgot to include actual gameplay mechanics.  It was painful to see.

But then they went to great lengths to bring people back in, as you say Greybriar, and they made good on almost all their promises (I never did see a 64-bit executable).  And now look at it.  The latest iteration, FE:LH, is greatly respected by lots of people and is a bloody good game.  Incredible really, and testament to Stardock's fortitude.  I've seen devs completely implode under that kind of pressure in the past.

[Martok]

To be fair, Stardock benefited from at least a couple things: 1.) Brad being the sole owner (and thus not being beholden to stockholders); and 2.) not being dependent on their games division as their primary revenue stream.  That being said, I do agree it's pretty amazing what they did to try and make things right.  Perhaps just as -- if not most -- importantly (and as you just pointed out Huw), Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes turned out to be a very good fantasy 4x game, and (for most people) put the series back on track. 

While the Worlds of Magic devs obviously don't enjoy those same advantages (that Stardock did), they also aren't faced with nearly the same degree of PR nightmare either.  The game is fundamentally sound; it mainly just needs more tweaking/polishing/bug-squashing. 

[FarAway Sooner]

Yeah, Brad being the sole (or just majority?) proprietor of a software firm who makes enough revenue off business software that he can develop games as a hobby does give them A LOT more flexibility to get things right.

As long as their gaming division doesn't screw up like Elemental too often...  I will say, I think that's the best save I've ever seen a firm make and it puts Stardock a notch above  the competition in terms of how much I might trust them to do right by their gaming customers.

[Greybriar]

To be fair, Stardock benefited from at least a couple things: 1.) Brad being the sole owner (and thus not being beholden to stockholders); and 2.) not being dependent on their games division as their primary revenue stream.  That being said, I do agree it's pretty amazing what they did to try and make things right.  Perhaps just as -- if not most -- importantly (and as you just pointed out Huw), Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes turned out to be a very good fantasy 4x game, and (for most people) put the series back on track. 

While the Worlds of Magic devs obviously don't enjoy those same advantages (that Stardock did), they also aren't faced with nearly the same degree of PR nightmare either.  The game is fundamentally sound; it mainly just needs more tweaking/polishing/bug-squashing.

It was also fortunate for Stardock (and those who purchased Elemental: War of Magic!) that GameStop bought Impulse from Stardock which brought a flood of cash into Stardock's coffers that no doubt helped pay for "the first two expansions for the game for free (as well as our normal long-term support for the game itself)."

One of my concerns about Worlds of Magic is how long Wastelands Interactive will be able to afford to provide support for it. Constant patching costs money and if sales don't provide enough income to offset the cost, support for the game will cease. Hopefully there will be sufficient revenue to prevent that from happening.

[Martok]

It was also fortunate for Stardock (and those who purchased Elemental: War of Magic!) that GameStop bought Impulse from Stardock which brought a flood of cash into Stardock's coffers that no doubt helped pay for "the first two expansions for the game for free (as well as our normal long-term support for the game itself)."

To be honest Greybriar, I'm pretty sure the money Stardock made off their sale of Impulse didn't affect their ability to fund FE and FE:LH one way or the other.  I think they were always going to be able to make those two games/expansions regardless. 


What I *do* suspect the financial windfall from Impulse's sale accomplished was that it allowed Brad to (among other things): 

1.) Finally expand Stardock's games division sufficiently so that they could work on multiple titles at once (instead of just the "one and a half" like in the old days)

2.) Invest in new technology for strategy games (particularly the new Oxide Engine that's been floated about the last year or so)

3.) Invest in new studios (such as Oxide Games and Mohawk Games) that either are about taking advantage of new technology like the Oxide Engine, and/or are just trying to make new/different/fun types of strategy games. 

...And who knows what else?  I can hope.  :) 

One of my concerns about Worlds of Magic is how long Wastelands Interactive will be able to afford to provide support for it. Constant patching costs money and if sales don't provide enough income to offset the cost, support for the game will cease. Hopefully there will be sufficient revenue to prevent that from happening.

A concern I share.  I hope the revenue will be sufficient for them to be able to support the game long-term as well.  For as flawed as WoM's current state may be, there are so many things it does right I'd genuinely hate to see its potential not be fulfilled. 

[Greybriar]

To be honest Greybriar, I'm pretty sure the money Stardock made off their sale of Impulse didn't affect their ability to fund FE and FE:LH one way or the other.  I think they were always going to be able to make those two games/expansions regardless....

You are most likely correct; Stardock has deep pockets. According to MobyGames, Elemental: War of Magic was released on 24 August 2010, two months before Brad announced that "....Until the end of THIS MONTH (October 31), anyone who purchase Elemental: War of Magic, will get the first two expansions for the game for free...." and eight months before GameStop acquired Impulse. At least the money from GameStop insured Brad's promise would be fulfilled.

From what I've seen on the 'net, Worlds of Magic is a diamond in the rough and has the potential to become a classic PC game. I would like to see that happen.

[doomtrader]

due to some agreements we needed to release the game on date.

However we are actively working on improving the game, and I've got the feeling that we are leaning more from fixing to tweaking and upgrading, which should be a good news.
Actually the game is improved to 1.0.10 with probably 1.0.11 to be released tomorrow, and multiplayer beta (IGOUGO) to be released next Friday.

The GOG version will be released after we will implement greater zoom out, which is scheduled for next week, so I would expect GOG version within two weeks. Sorry it tooks so long but we just can't afford another bad "start".

We just want the initial experience to be as positive as possible.


Also we are planning to release Demo at some point, but I just can roughly tell it will be ready somewhere in late May.

[Martok]

You are most likely correct; Stardock has deep pockets. According to MobyGames, Elemental: War of Magic was released on 24 August 2010, two months before Brad announced that "....Until the end of THIS MONTH (October 31), anyone who purchase Elemental: War of Magic, will get the first two expansions for the game for free...." and eight months before GameStop acquired Impulse. At least the money from GameStop insured Brad's promise would be fulfilled.

Sounds about right.  (Kudos on digging up the relevant info, btw.) 

From what I've seen on the 'net, Worlds of Magic is a diamond in the rough and has the potential to become a classic PC game. I would like to see that happen.

I most heartily agree. 

[Martok]

due to some agreements we needed to release the game on date.

I'd heard that before.  Something about being pinned to the release date (of March 19) because of brick-and-mortar locations in Europe? 

However we are actively working on improving the game, and I've got the feeling that we are leaning more from fixing to tweaking and upgrading, which should be a good news.
Actually the game is improved to 1.0.10 with probably 1.0.11 to be released tomorrow, and multiplayer beta (IGOUGO) to be released next Friday.

The GOG version will be released after we will implement greater zoom out, which is scheduled for next week, so I would expect GOG version within two weeks. Sorry it tooks so long but we just can't afford another bad "start".

We just want the initial experience to be as positive as possible.


Also we are planning to release Demo at some point, but I just can roughly tell it will be ready somewhere in late May.

Good to know!  Thanks for the info doomtrader. 

[Huw the Poo]

Good luck Doomtrader, and thanks for the info! O0

[bbmike]

The GOG version will be released after we will implement greater zoom out, which is scheduled for next week, so I would expect GOG version within two weeks. Sorry it tooks so long but we just can't afford another bad "start".

Oooh, that's a nice one. Thanks!  O0

[Anguille]

due to some agreements we needed to release the game on date.

However we are actively working on improving the game, and I've got the feeling that we are leaning more from fixing to tweaking and upgrading, which should be a good news.
Actually the game is improved to 1.0.10 with probably 1.0.11 to be released tomorrow, and multiplayer beta (IGOUGO) to be released next Friday.

The GOG version will be released after we will implement greater zoom out, which is scheduled for next week, so I would expect GOG version within two weeks. Sorry it tooks so long but we just can't afford another bad "start".

We just want the initial experience to be as positive as possible.


Also we are planning to release Demo at some point, but I just can roughly tell it will be ready somewhere in late May.

Thanks for the info O0...i am in no hurry (even though i am looking forward to play it). I also think that i should have a physical copy in my pledge...going to be nice.