Flagship Studios goes the way of the dodo

[Piuc2020]

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/n...aff-Fired-All-I-P-Lost

It's sad to see a good team of developers go bankrupt, their game Mythos had a lot of promise and I'm not sure how Hanbitsoft will handle it (probably turn it into a full-fledged MMORPG for the asian market).

I don't know what Comerica is (a quick google search says they are a bank?), development on Hellgate on asian markets is supposed to continue through Hanbitsoft though it's unlikely they'll support a version for American countries so they'll probably license it to someone like EA or something.

This is what happens when you offer an experience Diablo II offered for free in a paid subscription model and combine that with an unfinished (read: buggy and unpolished) game with a serious lack of content.

 

[pontifex]

good riddance...now they can't make any more shitty games like HGL

 

[KeithTalent]

I've already gone on ad nauseam about all of the bad (and the good) things about Hellgate, so I won't reiterate everything here, but I honestly believe they signed their death certificate by doing these three things in-particular:

1. Early release. It seems they pushed to get the game out of the door, but not only did it not work properly on launch, but it did not work properly for months thereafter. Not to mention how it took them even longer to fix the broken single-player.

2. Subscription model. Could have worked, but the way they implemented it was inherently flawed. The haves (subscribers) were, essentially, better off than the have-nots (non-subscribers) and that just created animosity between the two groups. Not to mention they pretty much punched subscribers in the stomach by giving away previously heralded "subscriber only" content to non-subscribers after they complained enough.

3. Horrible demo and no open forums. So many people were wary of this game due to numerous bad reviews and player complaints, but they did not even release a proper (i.e. decent) demo to woo new players or even allow them to read about the ongoing changes and developments in the game (forum access). This may seem relatively minor, but I think it just points to how poorly done the entire release of this game was.

Anyway, it is sad to see this happen, but to be honest I can't say I'm particularly surprised. I'm sure many of the more talented developers in the team will raise their heads elsewhere in short time.

Just my thoughts on it all.

KT

 

[duragezic]

As I said in the Mythos thread, I don't have Hellgate but I'm worred about what this is going to do to Mythos! If some of the core developers like Travis Baldree aren't working on Mythos anymore, and its taken over by an Asian team, well we can probably forget all of the great things about it as it turns into a Koren f2p grindfest.

 

[CottonRabbit]

Well, this shouldn't come as a surprise since their flagship game sank in the harbor. I started testing the Hellgate alpha with great enthusiasm and I left the closed beta sure the game would bomb. Hopefully the Diablo 3 team learns that some "mmo" features don't translate well to an old fashioned hack and slash rpg.

I doubt the current Mythos will see the light of day. I was testing that months before Hellgate, and it's still in closed beta right now. Not to mention the fact that they recently attempted to completely overhauled the game-play architecture. With the real Diablo 3 in the making, even if the diablo-clone comes out, it's days are still numbered.

 

[Maleficus]

Originally posted by: pontifex
good riddance...now they can't make any more shitty games like HGL

I knew there was a reason I liked you most of the time.

 

[Maleficus]

Mythos sucks also btw, how so many people mess up a diablo clone will never cease to amaze me

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've already gone on ad nauseam about all of the bad (and the good) things about Hellgate, so I won't reiterate everything here, but I honestly believe they signed their death certificate by doing these three things in-particular:

1. Early release. It seems they pushed to get the game out of the door, but not only did it not work properly on launch, but it did not work properly for months thereafter. Not to mention how it took them even longer to fix the broken single-player.

2. Subscription model. Could have worked, but the way they implemented it was inherently flawed. The haves (subscribers) were, essentially, better off than the have-nots (non-subscribers) and that just created animosity between the two groups. Not to mention they pretty much punched subscribers in the stomach by giving away previously heralded "subscriber only" content to non-subscribers after they complained enough.

3. Horrible demo and no open forums. So many people were wary of this game due to numerous bad reviews and player complaints, but they did not even release a proper (i.e. decent) demo to woo new players or even allow them to read about the ongoing changes and developments in the game (forum access). This may seem relatively minor, but I think it just points to how poorly done the entire release of this game was.

Anyway, it is sad to see this happen, but to be honest I can't say I'm particularly surprised. I'm sure many of the more talented developers in the team will raise their heads elsewhere in short time.

Anyway, just my thoughts on it all.

KT

I kind of agree but now Im annoyed.

I just installed HGL on my Vista64 rig to test out my HD4870 in DX10 @ 1920x1080.... now HGL is going dodo :|

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: pontifex
good riddance...now they can't make any more shitty games like HGL

:thumbsup:

The shambolic developer demo on GameTrailers was hilarious, watched it again yesterday for the lulz.

 

[JSt0rm]

nosed around the forums and found this no idea how valid it is:


Originally Posted by Lucifugue View Post
Ah, ok TY for the info, it sounds like they are sold -- if no devs have come foward to co unter the rumor.
Actually, a dev did come forth and say the statements that he was quoted for he never said.

Honestly, just wait a day when they give an official response. I think you're capable of waiting a day, aren't you?

As of right now, this is the most recent thing I've heard on the issue that wasn't just a rehashed copied and pasted story from V3d

Hellgate Guru:
"
UPDATE: Flagship Studios has sent Hellgate Guru an official response via e-mail with regards to the story:

This story is an outright lie. We have no idea where they are getting their information from and have asked legal counsel to pursue the issue. We are mystified by Hanbitsoft?s conclusions and any attempt to take over the IP will be met with a strong and swift response, to ?illegally take over the IP?. All right title and interest in Hellgate; London resides in Flagship Financing, LLC a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flagship Studios. We are outraged that Hanbitsoft would attempt to completely tarnish the reputation of its most vital developer. Hanbitsoft?s new management clearly does not understand the terms of its relationship with Flagship.

Because the story is already public, we feel that we would be doing a great disservice to the public by removing it from existence. We do however feel that it is only fair for us to publish an official response from Flagship Studios itself.

 

[skace]

A smarter Flagship Studious would have released Mythos first and HGL second. Mythos being the easier to develop, low budget game, with a serious backing of tried and true gamers and HGL being their experimental high end game that they should have built off of Mythos' profits. However they did the reverse...

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01
nosed around the forums and found this no idea how valid it is:


Originally Posted by Lucifugue View Post
Ah, ok TY for the info, it sounds like they are sold -- if no devs have come foward to co unter the rumor.
Actually, a dev did come forth and say the statements that he was quoted for he never said.

Honestly, just wait a day when they give an official response. I think you're capable of waiting a day, aren't you?

As of right now, this is the most recent thing I've heard on the issue that wasn't just a rehashed copied and pasted story from V3d

Hellgate Guru:
"
UPDATE: Flagship Studios has sent Hellgate Guru an official response via e-mail with regards to the story:

This story is an outright lie. We have no idea where they are getting their information from and have asked legal counsel to pursue the issue. We are mystified by Hanbitsoft?s conclusions and any attempt to take over the IP will be met with a strong and swift response, to ?illegally take over the IP?. All right title and interest in Hellgate; London resides in Flagship Financing, LLC a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flagship Studios. We are outraged that Hanbitsoft would attempt to completely tarnish the reputation of its most vital developer. Hanbitsoft?s new management clearly does not understand the terms of its relationship with Flagship.

Because the story is already public, we feel that we would be doing a great disservice to the public by removing it from existence. We do however feel that it is only fair for us to publish an official response from Flagship Studios itself.

My question is (and I haven't taken upon myself to investigate) what of all the supposed devs' blog posts of all the devs jumping ship?

It's a shame, I just started playing Mythos again too. My guess is that with Diablo 3 shown off to the world, it's time to close up shop.

 

[Ryland]

My son and I like Mythos. Hopefully it will be supported by the new owner and they won't trash it.

 

[Jadow]

I was pumped for HG:L, so much that I pre-ordered it. With the pre-order came access to the Beta.

I started the Beta and got a couple levels, right away I was like "man this sucks a55". Cancelled the pre-order and got Mario Galaxy instead. GOOD CHOICE

 

[Schadenfroh]

I bought HellGate: London for ~$12 at a local salvage store (sealed, new in box).... after reading this thread, it looks like I got ripped off!

 

[lupi]

To a degree I'm glad as I hoped this shitty ass pay monthly for the full experience model would fail (not to mention the locked forum crap). So many things here went wrong with so little right.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Maleficus
Mythos sucks also btw, how so many people mess up a diablo clone will never cease to amaze me

Well, I suppose it only makes sense that trying to clone Diablo and making it just as fun is not as easy as it may seem. Many have tried and failed.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: pontifex
good riddance...now they can't make any more shitty games like HGL

Aye.

I've actually started playing it again and it's bearable now. You can get through an evening of playing with about a 50/50 chance of a crash. Unfortunately now I'm realizing that the repetitiveness noticed in the early levels extends all the way to the end of the game. I was really longing for some of the feeling from Diablo III....it's on the way now.

I remember when it was first released there were me and two buddies trying to play together. We NEVER got to finish a level together. Not one single map. One or two of us was always off restarting the game due to a crash. How could you release something like that? Some individual or group at Flagship made the conscious decision to say, "whatever, lets' ship it anyway."

Good riddance indeed.

 

[hooflung]

Man this really sucks. I pre-ordered it. I loved it. I never played Diablo so I was not a snob like most other people. I played Final Fight, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage as a kid and HGL always reminded me of that type of mindless gameplay which is very satisfying when you want to veg out and shoot stuff. I even subbed for like 4 months. I never finished it and I hope they push out at least one final SP patch to incorporate the MP content into the SP game.

Does this officially mean HGL is going to close?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I bought HellGate: London for ~$12 at a local salvage store (sealed, new in box).... after reading this thread, it looks like I got ripped off!

Sorry Schad, but that made me laugh.

If it makes you feel any better I spent $25.00 to watch The Happening the other day. :frown:

KT

 

[duragezic]

So what is the deal with this even? The whole weekend there was all this talk on forums, and everyone expected an announcement on Monday. Things are kind of weird and there has been no official statement from FSS AFAIK. Last night on the Mythos forums, the only thing that a mod said was that all Mythos and Hellgate servers are up and live, and they've been locking new topics on it.

I definitely agree with shortylickens about releasing Mythos first, then Hellgate. I think FSS might feel that way too now.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I bought HellGate: London for ~$12 at a local salvage store (sealed, new in box).... after reading this thread, it looks like I got ripped off!

Sorry Schad, but that made me laugh.

If it makes you feel any better I spent $25.00 to watch The Happening the other day. :frown:

KT

ouch! went out on a date?

i paid $8 for my batman ticket.. woot woot, going to the opening show on thursday

 

[Canai]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53693

Flagship Studios today denied recent stories that is has closed, saying that it is still in business - though it did have to lay off most of its employees.

In a statement, CEO Bill Roper had this to say, "It is with deep regret that I must announce that Flagship Studios has laid off most employees. However, the core management and founding team members are still at Flagship. The past five years have been an incredible experience for us, but unfortunately, we couldn't sustain the size of the company any longer."

The company also notes that it still owns the rights to Hellgate: London and Mythos, something that is being disputed by Korean partner and investor HanbitSoft.

Because of its current situation, Flagship will no longer bill Hellgate: London players, nor will it take on any new subscribers for the game. No update was offered on the status of Mythos.

So wtf?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
If it makes you feel any better I spent $25.00 to watch The Happening the other day. :frown:

KT

ouch! went out on a date?

i paid $8 for my batman ticket.. woot woot, going to the opening show on thursday

Yeah sort of a date, but she paid for popcorn, though I'm not convinced it was a fair deal because I still had to sit through that movie.

You lucky bastard, I have to wait until Saturday.

Originally posted by: Canai
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53693

Flagship Studios today denied recent stories that is has closed, saying that it is still in business - though it did have to lay off most of its employees.

In a statement, CEO Bill Roper had this to say, "It is with deep regret that I must announce that Flagship Studios has laid off most employees. However, the core management and founding team members are still at Flagship. The past five years have been an incredible experience for us, but unfortunately, we couldn't sustain the size of the company any longer."

The company also notes that it still owns the rights to Hellgate: London and Mythos, something that is being disputed by Korean partner and investor HanbitSoft.

Because of its current situation, Flagship will no longer bill Hellgate: London players, nor will it take on any new subscribers for the game. No update was offered on the status of Mythos.

So wtf?

WTF indeed. It sounds as if they are suspending normal operations until this gets sorted out, or they get some sort of funding injection. I can't imagine they will be able to sustain themselves much longer, without someone buying them or at least finding an angel investor of some sort.

Certainly an interesting one to watch.

KT

 

[lupi]

We're not taking any new subscribers, we've fired all non-founding members, and are in discussion with other associated companies regarding ownership of our IP.


Yep, those notes over the weekend about their demise were way overblown.