Bob McDob
Better Health Through Less Flavor
This is an essay I've compiled based on several posts from other boards - it concerns the release of the Allegience source code as well as the FS2 20th anniversery edition, and what it might mean for the genre as a whole.
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As you all probably know already, Microsoft has released the source code to Allegience. IIRC, Allegience was from 2000 - think Battlezone in Space. It was actually quite a good game from what I've heard, but it suffered from poor timing - the game was released during the height of the "space sims suck" movement, and suffered from poor sales.
Microsoft eventually discontinued its Gaming Zone servers, but private ones continued to run the game and distribute it in hopes of finding new fans - I've had the situation described to me by a longtime fan as "free warez", and similar to distribution of FreeSpace 2 on "abandonwarez" sites before Interplay pulled the plug on that by rereleasing the game. In fact, a lot of the things sound suspiciously like FS2 - a flagship space combat game released by a leading publisher, poor sales that eventually led to its demise, a small but devoted fan base that kept the game alive, and the release of the source code by the publisher.
Speaking of Freespace 2, plans for a re-release were recently announced by Interplay, but the rather exorbiant $50 asking price has left some people suspicious. I don't think this is some sort of EVIL PLOT by Interplay to screw over fans, though - most of the existing FS fans already know about the Source Code Project (a project to "modernize" the FS2 engine, as it were, and a rather successful one at that) and are unlikely to shell out fifty quid for the re-release. And anyway, $100,000 is less than chump change for a MegaCorp like Interplay - there's absolutely no chance of turning a meaningful profit from this (in fact, it's more likely to generate a loss, which if true would be pretty impressive considering Interplay's financial state).
No, it's more likely an attempt to win over new fans (as a promotion for a future Freespace 3? we'll see) who don't know you can buy 20 copies of FS2 for 20 dollars on eBay. The ones who've never played a computer game before (and yes, there are still those) or aren't familiar with PC gaming, and might be tempted to pick it up, not knowing it's five years old. Or are the FS fans saying it can't compete with modern space sims? (which is itself an oxymoron - there have been three space sims in the past three years, not counting Freelancer).
Coupled with X-2: The Threat, the release of the Allegience source code, rumors of a new Wing Commander game and even Derek Smart's Universal Super Desktop Commander 3000 Millenium Edition, it's a good time to be a space sim fan - I can't think of there being this many options in the genre since 1999. Hopefully the space sim slump is nearly finished - we're almost past the age of MMORPGs, and the only ones that'll matter are continuations of existing franchises (Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Everquest II, Ultima Online and Middle Earth Online). The whole multiplayer boom as a whole seems to be slowing down as well - there are few games like Counter-Strike on the horizon, and one of the biggest titles on the horizon, DooM III, is single-player focused.
With all the industry fads dying down, what will the publishers go for? How about space sims? This all could mark a resurgence similar to the RPG renaissance in the early '90s spawned by games like Diablo (and how many times has Freelancer, for instance, been compared with Diablo? ). Things are most definitely looking up.
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As you all probably know already, Microsoft has released the source code to Allegience. IIRC, Allegience was from 2000 - think Battlezone in Space. It was actually quite a good game from what I've heard, but it suffered from poor timing - the game was released during the height of the "space sims suck" movement, and suffered from poor sales.
Microsoft eventually discontinued its Gaming Zone servers, but private ones continued to run the game and distribute it in hopes of finding new fans - I've had the situation described to me by a longtime fan as "free warez", and similar to distribution of FreeSpace 2 on "abandonwarez" sites before Interplay pulled the plug on that by rereleasing the game. In fact, a lot of the things sound suspiciously like FS2 - a flagship space combat game released by a leading publisher, poor sales that eventually led to its demise, a small but devoted fan base that kept the game alive, and the release of the source code by the publisher.
Speaking of Freespace 2, plans for a re-release were recently announced by Interplay, but the rather exorbiant $50 asking price has left some people suspicious. I don't think this is some sort of EVIL PLOT by Interplay to screw over fans, though - most of the existing FS fans already know about the Source Code Project (a project to "modernize" the FS2 engine, as it were, and a rather successful one at that) and are unlikely to shell out fifty quid for the re-release. And anyway, $100,000 is less than chump change for a MegaCorp like Interplay - there's absolutely no chance of turning a meaningful profit from this (in fact, it's more likely to generate a loss, which if true would be pretty impressive considering Interplay's financial state).
No, it's more likely an attempt to win over new fans (as a promotion for a future Freespace 3? we'll see) who don't know you can buy 20 copies of FS2 for 20 dollars on eBay. The ones who've never played a computer game before (and yes, there are still those) or aren't familiar with PC gaming, and might be tempted to pick it up, not knowing it's five years old. Or are the FS fans saying it can't compete with modern space sims? (which is itself an oxymoron - there have been three space sims in the past three years, not counting Freelancer).
Coupled with X-2: The Threat, the release of the Allegience source code, rumors of a new Wing Commander game and even Derek Smart's Universal Super Desktop Commander 3000 Millenium Edition, it's a good time to be a space sim fan - I can't think of there being this many options in the genre since 1999. Hopefully the space sim slump is nearly finished - we're almost past the age of MMORPGs, and the only ones that'll matter are continuations of existing franchises (Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Everquest II, Ultima Online and Middle Earth Online). The whole multiplayer boom as a whole seems to be slowing down as well - there are few games like Counter-Strike on the horizon, and one of the biggest titles on the horizon, DooM III, is single-player focused.
With all the industry fads dying down, what will the publishers go for? How about space sims? This all could mark a resurgence similar to the RPG renaissance in the early '90s spawned by games like Diablo (and how many times has Freelancer, for instance, been compared with Diablo? ). Things are most definitely looking up.