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Imperator MMOG On Hold
Gamasutra has the word that Mythic Studios' Roman/Sci-Fi title Imperator has been put on indefinite hiatus. From the article: "All Imperator staff will be moved onto existing projects, such as a new Dark Age of Camelot expansion titled Darkness Rising, as well as the just-announced Warhammer-licensed online game, being created following the cancellation of a similar project at developer Climax. However, none of the developers that were formerly on Mythic's Imperator project will be laid off."
Mythic Entertainment, developers of Dark Age of Camelot and the upcoming Warhammer MMORPG, have announced the indefinite delay of Imperator, a third massively-multiplayer project announced in October 2004. The futuristic game, which also integrated elements of the Roman Empire and was originally scheduled to be released in June 2006, has been put under review regarding its future at Mythic.
All Imperator staff will be moved onto existing projects, such as a new Dark Age of Camelot expansion titled Darkness Rising, as well as the just-announced Warhammer-licensed online game, being created following the cancellation of a similar project at developer Climax. However, none of the developers that were formerly on Mythic's Imperator project will be laid off.
Nonetheless, the move will not come without a slowdown to proposed expansion plans: as a result of the delay, Mythic is holding off on establishing a previously announced European office until the 2007 release of Warhammer.
Since TA Associates completed a $32 million venture capital investment in Mythic in March 2003, the largest ever granted to any independent game developer, the company, which is privately held and does not need to publically report financial results, can likely support the added financial burden that this cancellation brings.
Speaking on the reasons for the postponement, Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs said: "Our team made a tremendous effort with the game and the praise it drew at E3 and in previews reflected their skill and dedication. But in the final analysis it just wasn't great enough to be a Mythic game at this time."
Article by Nich Maragos
What the heck -- let's make it six comments.
... wierd concept. But then again, Warhammer has Elves in Space, so ... meh. A game is fun or not based on gameplay, not on realism.
... it makes sense that they would shift their development efforts away from Imperator and onto Warhammer. Mythic produces a polished product, and having Mythic acquire the Warhammer Online rights is a great move for everyone.
I can see you hated DAoC. In the interest of keeping the facts straight, though, there are currently 5 expansions, and the game was released three and a half years ago. That's about 9 months between expansions.
Love it or hate it, DAoC made some strides forward in the genre:
= 3-faction RvR (2-on-1 teaming against the leader)
= positional & situational combat moves
= stealth system that relied on distance
= clever magic lines, such as Bladeturn and the Theurist "one target" pets
= PvP where ability to hit an opponent was independant of level (level 20 could hit a level 50 -- although they barely did any damage)
= massive scale PvP: 150 vs. 150 was not uncommon during the first year
= a stable release. They raised the bar for Acceptable Release Day Performance.
You can focus on the negatives, of course. If that's your karma, then it's your karma. I just want to get the record straight for anyone else taking the time to read comments here.
As far as Imperator: I thought the same thing
Given that Warhammer has a huge existing fanbase, and everyone looks at Imperator and says, "Romans in Space? Wierd."
In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there's a big difference.
Wow, Hiblets crying on /. It all depends on what server you play on. Each server has an underdog and it's not always Hib. I played on MLF for years and Mids and Hibs teamed up on the Albs all the time, it was great. It couldn't have been all bad if you played for 2.5 years. The point is, no matter what game you play, people always cry that their chosen race/class is gimp and everyone else is uber, especially in a PvP oriented game.