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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
According to the news, Sir-Tech have sold their franchise on "Jagged alliance" games to "Strategy first", and try now to find a buyer for the "Wizardry" license. With W8 as a great commercial for the Wizardry series and it's own great name with a long tradition, one should think that they should have no problem selling this license, and hopefully a W9 will see the daylight! This would be like a dream comming through!?  |
Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:10 am |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,
I want to see Wizardry 9, I want, I want, Yes, Yes, Yes, |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:12 am |
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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
Hehe, and by all means use the same engine, if that will make an release already this year! Just make it happen!!!! |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:30 am |
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Guest Dare
Guest
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But doesn't that mean that if there were to be a W9 that it would be developed by someone else?
I mean its the people who did 1-8 that made it wizardry.... once someone else is in the driver seat it will no longer be wizardry....  |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:51 am |
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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
Probably they will change or add something new, but if they (who ever that will be) are smart, they don't change (much) what is already very good, and maybe those who buy the license also buy some of the original developers to work for them. Maybe naive thinking, but I won't let the good news be spoiled from bad waves! |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:57 am |
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Ken Tucky
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Jun 2002
Posts: 5
Location: Tromsų, Norway |
I would really love to see Wizardry 9 come true. Almost as much as I would like to see 'System Shock 3'.
What's up with Sir-Tech anyway? Are they about to close down?
It's a shame if they should go the same way as the great Looking Glass Studios.
_________________
Ken Tucky |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 10:09 am |
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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
Sadly, Sir-tech is closing down, and they are now trying to sell their best game licenses including the wizardry license. So we can only hope for a good buyer, that will prevent the games spirit into a "Wizardry IX" game! |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 10:57 am |
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Bilbo
High Emperor
Joined: 12 Mar 2002
Posts: 1620
Location: New York |
YES! YES! YES!
Find a buyer! Bring on Wizardry 9!
Regarding the licensing issue, here are some thoughts about what it would mean for sequels:
1) It's a license to develop new products using the "Wizardry" name. New means that there will be changes made. What changes, who knows.
2) But any company that buys the license knows what a Wizardry player would expect. So don't think they'll create something like a shoot-em-up and try to pass it off as Wizardry. (They can use their own product names for that.)
3) Successful Wiz8 endings have a save file "Ending.sav". They may well choose to continue the theme of importing parties (1->2->3; 6->7->8 ).
4) They probably won't use the same engine. Critics have already said the graphics in Wiz8 are a few years out of date. They will probably use a new graphics engine. As to the rest of it, they can pick & choose what they want.
(History lesson: From Wiz3 -> Wiz5, the interface was identical, and they later upgraded Wiz1 & Wiz2 to the same interface. They called it "Window Wizardry", as it was before Macintosh brought the concept of windows to the masses. But don't give credit to Sir-Tech [or Apple or Microsoft] for inventing "Windows", as the concept was originally developed by Xerox!)
5) Wiz8 has gotten great reviews world wide. But how many copies have been sold? This will be the key factor to the value of the license, and if someone will purchase it. SO GET PEOPLE TO BUY WIZ8 SO THAT SOMEONE WILL HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO MAKE WIZ9!
_________________
The world itself shifts and changes and fades to mist like the strings of a minstrel's harp, and mayhap the dreams we forge are more enduring than the works of kings and gods.-Robert E. Howard
=Member of the RPGDot Shadows, The Nonflamers' Guild, and The Alliance of Middle Earth= |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 12:28 pm |
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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
1) Sure any buyer wants to set it's own fingerprint on a game, but hopefully only good improvement, which the game still need on a few areas!
2) Making a RPG to a FTS or RTS like fallout did with Fallout Tactics! No hopefully not, but from Might & Magic to HoMM (RPG to TBS) was a succes, however we still want to keep the RPG game too!
3) Importing characters sounds terrific, but mostly it's just a dissappointment to see your old character be degraded in power and level. So , no sweat from me if we can't import old characters!
4) I agree they will probably not use the same engine because of the arguments made, but that also probably means another year of development! 
5) Problem over here in Europe, is that the game isn't distributed in most countries. I had to buy an overseas copy from America. So I don't think their sales figures are as great as they could have been with a broader release! I DO recommend this game to everyone I know who loves PC games! |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 2:00 pm |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
Happiness!
Who do you think would do a good job making a Wizardry game? I'd hope it'd be someone with a reputation for making excellent RPGs and can put the weight of their name behind the game. 
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Freeeeeeedom! Thank heavens it's summer!
What do I have to show for my hard work? A piece of paper! Wee!
=Guardian, Moderator, UltimaDot Newshound=  |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 5:22 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Wet blanket time...
The quote at Gone Gold says they are shopping the Wizardry back catalog. They did not say they're shopping the franchise. The Game Spot report says the JA franchise is sold and talks about Wiz, implying a similar type of deal. Not sure which source is correct, and a word here or there makes a big difference on this one...
@ Val-
I'd actually like to see the guys that used to work at NWC (home of M&M) take a shot. The overall game mechanics between Wiz and M&M have a good bit in common. This assumes that the MM9 team is ashamed of what got put on the shelves (I'm hoping it wasn't their fault but that 3DO forced the issue). NWC had that magic touch with making a game addictive and the Wiz character system seems a little better than M&M. Combine the two and you should have something special.
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Jun 06, 2002 9:04 pm |
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Guest
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Yah, this is my favorite character development system in any CRPG for me. The ony RPG system i like better is HARN. |
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Fri Jun 07, 2002 5:08 am |
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Bilbo
High Emperor
Joined: 12 Mar 2002
Posts: 1620
Location: New York |
After doing some thinking and re-reading my earlier post and subsequent posts, I want to modify what I said before:
1) I suggested that the fact the final ending did have a save game might influence the sequel. I now think this is wrong for two reasons: a) Your characters have become gods. What is left for them to do? b) Given that they will probably re-do the game massively (see earlier post) rather than rely on the same engine, why waste time reverse engineering the save game files so the stats can be used? Not that it's a huge factor [I could probably reverse engineer most of a character in under 24 hours... and no, I will not divulge my secrets], but why bother if you're going to be starting from scratch anyway?
2) I don't know what rights have & haven't been sold. Dteowner has provided conflicting reports, and I have no inside info. Having said that, let me speculate on what would or would not have been licensed. A few years ago, The Ultimate Wizardry Archives containing Wiz 1-Wiz7 was released by Sir-Tech and Interplay. While there were sales, it certainly wasn't a blockbuster. And most people who would have wanted it probably got it when it was released back then. So there would be littled demand now for the archives, and the license for that wouldn't be worth too much. Nor do I see a huge market if the games were "updated" in terms of graphics before being re-released. What Wizardry does offer is a name that many RPGers, especially the old timers, are familiar with. They may think (wrongly IMHO), "Oh it's Wizardry, it's not for me" or something like that, but they may at least look at to box because of the name to see what it's about. This is where the potential lies, IMHO, because if they do develop a Wiz 9 they might be able to make a lot of money based upon name recogntion, assuming that it's a quality product. (If it's bad, bad press and word of mouth would sink it fast anyway.)
_________________
The world itself shifts and changes and fades to mist like the strings of a minstrel's harp, and mayhap the dreams we forge are more enduring than the works of kings and gods.-Robert E. Howard
=Member of the RPGDot Shadows, The Nonflamers' Guild, and The Alliance of Middle Earth= |
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Mon Jun 10, 2002 2:37 am |
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Moonslash
Celestial Guardian
Joined: 04 May 2002
Posts: 1378
Location: California, USA |
Oh, Wizardry 9...impressive! I will be addicted to playing Wizardry again if it does come out. 
_________________
=Farseer=
Things are neither completely bright nor dark.
Do you go right? Or do you go left? A simple decision, yes? No ambiguities. Only the dream of the path not taken! And so one might stand in this place and contemplate for a long while. What will I miss if I go left? What will I lose if I go right? And in my indecision, have I chosen a worse fate? |
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Mon Jun 10, 2002 3:32 am |
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HolyWarrior
Guest
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Just hope they don't end up with a company that runs the franchise into the ground, as 3DO has with Might & Magic |
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Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:20 pm |
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