hellgatelondon

posts about #hellgatelondon more →
Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate
Where Hellgate: London And Flagship Studios Went Horribly Wrong
HanbitSoft To Continue Hellgate: London - No Really
Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
As You Were, Hellgate Not Reopening In US/EU
Hellgate Creator On Why Hellgate Sucked
Hellgate, Mythos Development Picked Up By Korean Publisher
Flagship Sunk, Who's In Charge of Hellgate?
Flagship Co-Founder: Hellgate Was Overambitious, Rushed
Hellgate: London Korea's Most Successful Launch

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Hellreject
04/03/09

In reply to Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate
Thanks a lot Namco, for cock-blocking the only chance I had to play this game online again. Not that I have to, or that the world will go under now that I can't, but still. Would be nice to play the game i fucking paid for.
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VengefulRonin
04/03/09

I don't understand why they can't reopen servers...like what, is it going to cost them an exorbitant amount of money or some shit just to keep servers running? They can do it in Asia but not here or Europe. The least they could do is give a reason why.
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KnightsofRound
04/03/09

@VengefulRonin: Namco's probably just pissed at the money they may or may not have lost because of this game's failure.

What I don't get is why they can't just sell the publishing rights to Hanbisoft and rid themselves of Hellgate altogether.

Hell, I'm not gonna pretend that I was completely satisfied with Hellgate, but I am kind of interested in seeing where the game is capable of going if it gets patched/updated, and all that stuff.
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Paladin58
04/03/09

@KnightsofRound: You know, I also wonder why they haven't gone with the option of selling he publishing rights to HanBitSoft. Sounds like NamcoBandai is a little butt-hurt that an MMO from a relatively unknown developer went under, and would like to just sit on its bad decision, rather than cut some losses.
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Gabbelgak
04/03/09

In reply to Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate
CURSE YOU HELLGATE! I shall never forgive myself for that lifetime subscription purchase.
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Strangelove
04/03/09

@Gabbelgak: @ShamanNY: @Mienvard: @Neko_Tech:

Ooh, I bought it at launch but resisted the lifetime membership. The should have to reimburse you.
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sudo rm reality.exe
04/03/09

In reply to Namco Bandai Holding Up The Return Of Hellgate
Excuse my french, but Fuck Namco. >_<

I loved Hellgate, and was excited about this. Great that they have to be a bunch of asses and prevent it from happening. Meh. I'm sure someone will find a way, unofficially.
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Anemone
04/03/09

@_SN-78007841181843: Protip: Singaporean people speak English and are generally awesome people in my experience from Granado Espada. [hellgate.iahgames.com] You can find their site there. The company is really great too in my opinion they host all sorts of fantastic real life community helping events with players like having a group of players take a preschool class to the park (just try to imagine that happening in America.) Anyway I'll stop hyping them before I sound like a shill. Give them a look.
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Strangelove
03/26/09

In reply to Where Hellgate: London And Flagship Studios Went Horribly Wrong
I played Hellgate from launch for a month or two, and I'll tell you what went wrong: Horrible, crushing repetition (in the environments, the building blocks for the environments, and the enemies).

What went right? The best loot system I've ever used.
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Valnen
03/26/09

In reply to Where Hellgate: London And Flagship Studios Went Horribly Wrong
They betrayed Blizzard. Nobody does that and gets away with it.
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Chalkdust
03/26/09

@Valnen: Thanks for bringing the comedy to this post. :p
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Cykoe
03/26/09

In reply to Where Hellgate: London And Flagship Studios Went Horribly Wrong
I remember when they first made the announcement of the subscription system. That's what turned me and many of the people initially interested off from the game. The idea that you can be better off if you pay just didn't seem fair. I bet things would have turned out just a littttle better in there favor had they not done that.
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coalhalo
03/27/09

@Cykoe:
Agreed. That was the beginning of the end for most people. They shot themselves in the foot when they announced the subscription plan.

When I first heard about Hellgate, the fact that it was being developed by members of the Diablo team was enough to make me want to get it. But by the time release day came, I no longer cared.
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mav180
03/26/09

In reply to Where Hellgate: London And Flagship Studios Went Horribly Wrong
"There was no plan B. Everything was going to be a massive success."

There's your problem. ALWAYS have a Plan B.
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UsernameOfTheDead
03/26/09

@mav180: This sounds like the PS3. A gauranteed, massive success turned into FAIL.
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Superlocke
03/26/09

@UsernameOfTheDead: lmao. It may not be beating the 360 (or heaven forbid, the Wii) but it's only 7 million or so behind the 360.

Not sure if sony is making money on it yet or not, but 20+ million units isn't what I'd consider a failure.
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Ariakkan
03/26/09

@Superlocke: < it is considering Wiit Fit sold almost 20 million. So for every Wii Fit there is one PS3, which is kind of lame for Sony imo
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EnigmaNemesis
03/26/09

@Ariakkan:

Or kinda lame for all those who bought the WiiFit and now sits in their closets.
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Jordan White
03/26/09

@EnigmaNemesis: Or kind of lame for all those who bought the PS3 and now sits in their closets.
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EnigmaNemesis
03/27/09

@Jordan White:

It cant, it actually plays DVDs and Blu-Ray!

/wink
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Jordan White
03/27/09

@EnigmaNemesis: So does my DVD player and Blu-Ray = DVD with High Def, no need to upgrade, I just want the fucking film.

/middle finger
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EnigmaNemesis
03/27/09

@Jordan White:

Wow, internet is serious biznez to you!

QQ
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Polterg3ist plays bass in a band
01/26/09

In reply to HanbitSoft To Continue Hellgate: London - No Really
Really? Free?

Now if only Korean developers would come to the US to make Spore live up to its expectations, recreate Red Alert 3 so it resembles a game from this decade, bring back the Homeworld series, and put Uwe Boll on trial for crimes against humanity.

One can only hope.
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Aegd
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
Since when did Hellgate become an MMO? It was anything but massive. It was a bleak and unsatisfying Diablo clone that used a monthly payment plan. Having a monthly payment plan doesn't make it an MMO.

Bill roper started out as this "God" when he worked for Blizzard, but once he left he started to rot and fester inside and turned into this bloated zombie-pig-man that only knew how the create FAIL.
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Phronima
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
People have already mentioned the main reasons like WoW and over saturation of the market but for me personally I just don't think a lot of MMOs are that fun. Sure, they're addicting. I've played quite a few but they all get pretty boring to me.

Although not really a MMO, PSO (Phantasy Star Online) was probably my favorite online rpg I've played so far. It was repetitive, simple hack and slash dungeon crawling with an obsession with finding rare items but it was just great.

I had a Dreamcast but I never played it until the Gamecube version and that version I didn't play online. I really got into the PC version called Blue Burst and got hooked. Played about 1,000 hours just using my Snow Queen (I was a ranger, a freeze rifle) as support for three other people. The thing I liked about the game was that the weapons and items actually had significant differences besides appearance. It wasn't about damage per second and what not. It wasn't some number crunching game. It was simple, but it was personal. You actually felt useful. I never made it to level 200 but my level 180-ish RAmar was fun.

I miss that game and I've been hoping for something like it to come around. I look forward to Phantasy Star Zero in the meantime.
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Grisaille: Flip it, Ninja!
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
Never played an MMO. The concept just doesn't feel right. I'm an RPG fan, yes, but if I'm online with a massive amount of other people, I want to be able to kick ass using skill not just my level and clicks. I thought the idea of Planetside (anyone remember that?) was cool, but I want an engine that relies on both level AND ability. Or a proper Final Fantasy MMO arrives. Dunno, just my opinion.
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ragnair
01/11/09

@Grisaille: Why isn't FFXI a proper FF MMO?
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badasscat
01/11/09

@ragnair: Because it sucks?
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Archaotic
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
Well, the less MMOs out there, the better. Maybe if the situation continues to worsen, LucasArts will wise up and make a REAL KotOR sequel instead of MMOing the franchise into oblivion.
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Doomcryer
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
I think what makes or breaks an MMO is the community. It's why I can't play WoW even though it's a very good game. 90% of the people I encounter make my want to tear my eyes from my sockets and eat them out of frustration.
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Fallible.
01/11/09

@Doomcryer: I completely agree. I personally couldn't get into WoW because of the people I encountered, grinding for no other reason than to be able to say they're a high level. It got the point where I was thinking no one was actually having fun on the game, it really just set a bad tone and gave me a bad taste in my mouth.

City of Heroes, whilst it was in fact a grind, had a good - strong - community. I remember logging in on my first day and being walked through how things worked, who I should avoid and how I should evolve my character. It was terrific, sadly that community has been shattered by lack of activity and WoW, but it's one point in my gaming career(?) that I can actually look back on and unashamedly say that I was part of a gaming community.
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Chalkdust
01/11/09

@Fallible: You often have to deal with a lot of.. bad people to find the good ones. But they're out there, playing.
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Neocorey
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
All I can say is: Darkfall
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SketchyIndividual
01/11/09

@Neocorey: All I can say: writing checks their game won't be able to cash.

Think about it my friend, Darkfall promises so much and sounds so good, but we're so close to launch it's almost knocking on our doors yet we hear no new info, no advertising, nothing. In fact, I've been hearing less about Darkfall now then I did 6 months ago and that alone causes me some worry.

They promise too much and I just worry that they'll be pulling a Molyneux with an MMORPG.
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Neocorey
01/11/09

@SketchyIndividual: It's not coming out in America for a while. This could be why you haven't heard much. Aslo there is a strict NDA going on right now. They have tons of information released, go find it if you'd like. Also the game has been in development 6-7 years.
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cowboyshootist
01/12/09

@Neocorey: 6-7 years of development tells you something right there. My first concern is that they are trying to bring this game to market without a publisher. The nice thing about a publisher is that they kick your @ss and make you meet deadlines.

Darkfall has done a good job of defining the game that lots of gamers want but can they pull it off? Espcially in this economy where people are going to think twice before dropping $50 for a game client that won't even be around in a year. I wish them well, I really do.
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Comatose Turtle
01/12/09

@cowboyshootist: Unfortunately, I think publishers have killed a good many MMO's. Forcing deadlines that become increasingly unrealistic will just turn your game into worthless fluff like those mentioned in the article.
"No, look, we have to meet this deadline. The gamers will understand."
Uh-huh.
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suya123
01/11/09

In reply to Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"
The culprit: World of Warcraft.
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Aye Mak Sicur
01/11/09

@suya123: The problem with every MMO pitch in the last few years is that they all start with "It's like World of Warcraft, but..."
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okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)
01/11/09

@suya123: It's really that simple! A large reason if not the complete reason why many of these MMOs failed is because WoW has redefined the standards of what qualifies as a successful MMO in addition to being the largest user-base out their. People have invested hundreds of hours into WoW and spent thousands of dollars doing it. It's a marriage by default. These new MMOs are hot naive sluts who think they can steal a man from their household. Sure he'll tell you he loves you, wants to leave his wife and marry you, and will have an amazing quick fling with you. But if you think he's really going to leave his family and give up what he's built up over a long time to be with you because you're tighter and dirtier in bed then you deserve what you get!

Sorry for the over-invested analogy. The point is that MMOs are money grubbing whores (with the exception of WoW who is the faithful loving wife that swallows) o_0

...I'm sorry :(
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Jimmy Billingsley
01/11/09

@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): Quite a detailed analogy you have there, do you have experience in the subject matter, sir?
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okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)
01/11/09

@Jimmy Billingsley: One would think huh :( I love my wife!!! I love my wife!!! I'm sorry honey :( I love you?
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okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)
01/11/09

@Jimmy Billingsley: ...is that you my shinning light? <3
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