34 replies to this topic

[Supreme Cmdr]

Just wanted to let you folks, our long term fans, be the first in the public to know that effective this evening, 3000AD Inc has signed a multi-title publishing deal with a publisher.

The deal, in the short term is primarily for Battlecruiser Millennium Gold and Battlecruiser Generations, the next two products (one of which is an XBox* project) in the Battlecruiser franchise to be released next year.

Battlecruiser Tactical Command** as a separate title has been cancelled and elements of that product are being integrated in GCE and BCO.

More info tomorrow.

No, I'm not going to name the publisher. I am giving them the honors of doing that publicly via their own press release. Expect something later this week. I only wanted you - the long time fans - to know about this before the rest of the world.

An official statement from me, explaining these events and decisions, will be issued along with the publisher's press release.

*This title is in pre-production and is our next title following the release of BCG next year

**BCO will be my last PC title and it didn't make sense to delay it further by doing another PC product following BCG. Besides, the XBox project is a welcome break from complex titles.

EDIT: To include link to press release

[ 12-31-2002, 02:37 PM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]

[Urza]

A publisher? I didn't know you had it in you.

I'm eager to find out what brought you to this decision.

[Epsilon 5]

a pppublisshheer??

*runs*

[Sebastian Tivis]

No! BCTC cancelled! That was the one I wanted most! I know you will be able to walk inside your ship in BCO but that is an online game and I am primarily a single player gamer.

[Supreme Cmdr]

[indent]quote:

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Originally posted by Epsilon 5:
a pppublisshheer??

*runs*

---

[/indent]hehe, that was the same reaction I got when I signed with Interplay back in 1998. And that worked out OK. Too bad they couldn't afford to do BCM.

Well, like the Interplay (publisher) and EB (direct retail) deals, I had an insider who I know has everyone's best interest in mind. In fact, I had offers from three publishers - one of whom I was on the verge of signing with, but backed out and started new negotiations from scratch with the particular publisher. Essentially, pissing away over two months of negotiations - only to start from scratch again (in early November).

I had good experiences with Interplay and EB, so, I'm not as jaded as I was post-Take Two. As such, I have high hopes for working with these guys.

Besides, anyone who doesn't already know that in order to work with me they need to :

• Leave me to do what I'm good at : development
  
• Respect the fact that my teams don't comprise of clueless n00bies panhandling in the industry. In other words, we're all pros who have a history of shipping products that actually make money.
  
• Not fool around with my Intellectual Properties
  
• Not put me, my teams or my company at risk in any shape or form

...has no business distributing my games.

Needless to say, given the direction the industry is going, I have absolutely no worries about working with these folks. Like them, I did my homework and the industry buzz (from devs, media, agents etc) is that they're a fine bunch of folks - despite the fact that I have a trusted industry contact working there.

Sure, they're not as big as most of the others, but that means they spend their resources on the projects they sign. There is a big difference between have 50+ SKUs and 5 SKUs.

The good news is that I can focus on development again and I am left to preserve the focus and direction of my properties (naturally with input here and there from them) while they focus on ensuring that the properties are marketed, presented and exposed properly worldwide. Thats what publishers and distributors are good at.

The bad news is, well, BCG will be the last PC game of its kind. BCO, as you know, is pay-for-play only.

After doing this for so many years and approaching 40, its about time I quit pissing around with all these caps I'm wearing and just hunker down to do what I do best: designing and developing kick-ass games that a bunch of you want to buy and play.

I'm off to bed.

[Pedro Pablo Laracuente]

I feel your pain Sebbish....

[indent]quote:

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a pppublisshheer??

*runs*

---

[/indent]I second that.

Hey SC, why BCTC wont see the light of the day? Why will BCO be your last PC title?, i mean, what about the future?

Lets all hope for the best!
Sorry if i'm bugging you with al these questions SC. The only one which i really want you to answer is this : Why will BCO be your last PC title?

Sorry, but i'm a bit worried... because of the problems you've had before with publishers! I hope they let you support us like you are doing now (i mean, endless patches)

*Cmdr. Laracuente starts Listening to Pink Floyd music to see if he can rellax*

[ 12-18-2002, 08:27 PM: Message edited by: Cmdr_ Laracuente ]

[Viper2000]

Well that was a smack in the face

[Cmdr Nova]

Heh. Myself and Urza seem to be more optimistic about this than the rest.

Sounds good. Lets you put more time into quality and features for the games.

Knowing the past, I'm pretty sure you're already confident with this publisher, considering the fact that you made an actual deal with them and all. (Which is a good sign.)

The game plan sounds good. The first-person portion would be pretty damn cool in BCO. And the fact that you're spending more time working on developing the games.....

Man, this makes me want BCG and BCO even more.

Just hoping the decision leads to a good ending.

[ 12-18-2002, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: Cmdr Nova ]

[Supreme Cmdr]

[indent]quote:

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Originally posted by Viper2000:
Well that was a smack in the face

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[/indent]For someone who has only been around here since August and who rarely has a clue, you'd better start explaining what the heck that means.

[Wolferz]

I hope it isn't one of the publishers that I loathe

[ 12-19-2002, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: Wolferz ]

[DREADA]

Well that IS quite an announcement! I always get the willies anytime I click on Important Announcements...

I don't quite understand myself the attraction of the XBox platform over PC or even (dare I say it) PS2, but I hope your new deal works out anyhow - you deserve it!

I also hope, if these two are to be your last PC titles, they will be all that your fans have waited for. I have no doubts - BCO(bctc) has an awful long list of awesome, much-awaited features!!

[ 12-19-2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: DREADA ]

[Supreme Cmdr]

Just to set the record straight, terminating BCTC as a stand-alone title was entirely my idea and has nothing to do with this deal.

I simply didn't want to overstretched myself. While BCM Gold is basically BCM, patched up, some new features and better multiplayer, BCG, having been in development a year (this November), is an entirely different beast and upon which engines and technologies for GCE and BCO rely on.

So, having one more stepping stone (BCTC) to BCO, coupled with my decision (back in September) to do an XBox* title, would only further complicate matters.

And since BCO relies on internal levels (buildings, bases, stations, capital ships), it just made sense to just focus on what was already work in progress in terms of technology, instead of again coming up with a new product which would span, yet another eighteen months or so to complete. And cost me another bushel of money.

In fact, I started thinking about terminating BCTC as a separate project earlier this year. The levels are re-usuable and as such will be in BCO and possibly a few will appear in GCE.

I know how most of you will feel, but trust me, nothing changes in terms of my product focus and commitments. If anything, you can think of this as a distribution deal, but with someone else picking up some of the tab, injecting new methods of promoting and extending the franchise beyond its current state and reach, bringing in new expertise in terms of recognition, marketing, support etc and of course letting my crew and I focus on whats important and what we do best: Game Development.

Case in point: BCM never got released worldwide. This will no longer be the case going forward. And thats why BCMG is even factored into this whole thing.

*We were approved by MS for the RDP program a few months back. This program is usually for publishers etc and not indie devs.

[ 12-19-2002, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]

[Sebastian Tivis]

Well I guess since everything that was to be in BCTC will be in BCO and GCE things will still be fine. I didn't think I would get BCO, but I've been playing online lately and enjoying it so I guess I will. I'm curious to see what GCE will be like. What type of game will it be?

Good luck to you SC and all of 3000AD!

[Cmdr Nova]

[indent]quote:

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Originally posted by DREADA:
I don't quite understand myself the attraction of the XBox platform over PC or even (dare I say it) PS2

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[/indent]It's called not having to upgrade your rig when the next-generation of games comes out. ATM, I can't play BCG. It's taking me forever to be able to assemble the upgrades.

Also, with consoles, you'll end up with better-quality games, because you don't have 4 OSes out there and a billion-and-one possible combinations of hardware and software configurations running around. (Which is one of the hardest support factors in PC games and patches for them, etc.) The game only needs to be developed for one kind of hardware, and one only. No need to worry about people using alternate settings, different configurations. You can push the hardware to the max, whereas on the PC, you really should at least keep soem sort of low setting to keep the average user accessible to the game.

Those are my 2 cents on console gaming.

[Viper2000]

They cost more, the controls are limited to a damn controller with at most 10 buttons, there will always be one game out that you want for one console that you don't have, and most devlopers have to conform to the limitations of the system they are producing the game for.

O and of course modding is 50 times harder on consoles then it is on pc.
I just think you get your moneys worth with PC gameing.

[Epsilon 5]

[indent]quote:

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It's called not having to upgrade your rig when the next-generation of games comes out.

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[/indent]erm .. when the new "box" gets out the one you have become obsolete fast. So instead of upgrading parts, you upgrade the whole thing!

And a TV is not as clear as a monitor, and while you CAN plug a monitor, MOST people don't! And I hate low resolutions, I luff details.

[Urza]

Agreed. There's only so much you can get from a television screen. Monitors are a significant investment, but if you get a decent one straight away, you may not need a new one for a long time. Same goes for other peripherals.

As for upgrading, just swap out the 'weakest link' in your hardware whenever you need a performance boost. Every major upgrade can run you a few hundred dollars, less if you want to ride a little behind the curve. I won't even get into the patching/modding/downloading/internet realm.

The only thing a console can do better than a PC is same-room MP. (you only need one system, one TV, one copy of the game, and a few extra controllers) But, then again, there's nothing stopping you from throwing a LAN party!

[ 12-19-2002, 02:28 PM: Message edited by: Urza ]

[Viper2000]

True

[Commander Jamont]

nice work s.c.

i know publishing deals are important to a developer

[chrismoney7]

NO BCTC

I really hope you have stuff like that in those other games!