Russians Skating On Thin Ice

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Russians Skating On Thin Ice
February 26th 2002, 13:57 CET by m0nty

Nikita, makers of the only computer game played by cosmonauts on the Mir space station, is working on what it claims is the first ever Russian MMORPG, tentatively entitled Sphere (or Sfera in the mother tongue). A charming interview by producer Stepan Zotov with Daily Telefrag details the standard Tolkien-influenced elf fest, but the similarities with Croteam are interesting. Can Nikita inject a fresh Eastern European flavour into a tired American-dominated genre, like Serious Sam did for the FPS?

We all know how the Norwegian-sourced Anarchy Online has gone, so the history of European MMORPGs is not without its contentious products, but some continental projects are showing some signs of innovation. For instance, the Interactive division of Paris-based corporate developers Vircom is working on two online RPG titles: Dune Generations, based on the latest TV series adaptation of Frank Herbert's sf novels; and Black Moon Chronicles, which will bring to life a long-running French graphic novel series when it is released in March.

The problem is this: Serious Sam managed to spruce up the shooter by going old skool with masses of dumb monsters, and concentrating on adrenaline inducement. How can anyone, particularly a Russian developer with no experience at online gaming, come up with a thrilling game atmosphere/playstyle in the MMORPG genre which can knock our socks off like SS did? Isn't everyone sick of the levelling treadmill, and the Tolkien milieu? How can elves be exciting any more? Will we have to wait for Tetris: The PIG?

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#40 by jafd
2002-02-26 18:11:02

seperate windows on links

hold down SHIFT

EOD! EOD!

choose any two: Cheap, Fast, Good.

#41 by Bailey
2002-02-26 18:30:42

On and in regards to the article, this was mentioned just after discussing a player army laying seige to a castle:

Stepan Zotov: Single game server is capable to accomodate 12000 players at a time. (...) System requirements and bandwith preferences are pretty low for a modern game. Well, say 28800 kbps modem connection is just allright for Sphere.

Ahahahaha... No.

This sounds like just another clueless company trying to jump in on the MMOG money-makin' scene. Unless they're sitting on 10 million in liquid assets, they're not going to be able to develop independently, (take a look at Mimesis Online for the results of that sort of attempt) and if they go looking for investors, they'll be told to make another Everquest because, hey, that's the only proven model so far.

Not that the tired cliche of a fantasy world mirroring our own technological-driven world isn't the most hackneyed plot concept as is. Hey, why not have the character tumbling through a portal to land unequipped and confused in this alternate world? What's that?

Stepan Zotov: Player is plunged into the world of Sphere without the faintest knowledge on special skills and has neither powerful weapons nor piles of gold with him.

Oh, they managed to find time to pencil that in too! Where do I sign up?!

Bottom line, the reason SS worked was because it was a budget production that sold for half the price of most other titles on the market, the same reason Deer Hunter XVII will outsell a game of some measurable quality. You can't do that with a MMOG, or you get Mimesis, currently begging people to come play it's alpha-level game for three days, for free, no credit card required!! That's the tangy scent of desperation on the air.

Now, if you really want to watch an up and coming euro MMOG company, keep an eye on Razorwax! ...guys who couldn't get jobs at Funcom, so they started their own business.

#42 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:34:05

WHAT THE FUCK IS IT WITH YOU FOOLS AND MMOG??? ALL TOPICS ARE ABOUT MMOG AND/OR AO. MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#43 by m0nty
2002-02-26 18:38:14

I will Joker, I promise. Just for you. Although be warned, if I posted about what games I actually play, you'd be bored shitless with tales of FIFA, Civ3 or ADOM. Nevertheless, the next topic I submit will have no MMORPG content whatsoever!

#44 by Matthew Gallant
2002-02-26 18:40:52

MMOG news: Final Fantasy XI release date of April 27th in Japan, is going to have a 2 month subscription waiver, and thereafter cost $3.75 a month. This of course doesn't count the $50 for the game and $200+ for the hardware. But still.

No worldwide release date yet.

#45 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:44:02

Hmm, somehow SOME of my Profile was mysteriously deleted last night. Curry man, I don't suppose you have anything to do with it?

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#46 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:46:47

#43 m0nty, the australian bunny hunter:

No problem I was just reacting my anger on you, over the fact that I'm too tired these days to even think about jerking off.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#47 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 18:48:00

Jokarrr:

Curry man, I don't suppose you have anything to do with it?

Your wang did it.

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#48 by crash
2002-02-26 18:51:14

from topic:

The problem is this: Serious Sam managed to spruce up the shooter by going old skool with masses of dumb monsters, and concentrating on adrenaline inducement. How can anyone, particularly a Russian developer with no experience at online gaming, come up with a thrilling game atmosphere/playstyle in the MMORPG genre which can knock our socks off like SS did?

by making the game environment as bland as possible, encouraging players to create the story, and having the kind of mutable tech that makes that happen. the last thing this market needs is another leveling treadmill. will it happen? you tell me.

Duality:

To me that means they have the engine built with placeholders, but no real content. And they're expecting a Q3/4 2002 release. If they can develop content that fast, they should be working for Mythic!

or funcom. same kind of schedule, same sort of game--placeholders, tech demo, no content.

wizard:

Completely off topic, who sings the song with the following lyrics:

Puddle of Mudd. song is "Control". the rest of the CD sounds nothing like that song.

coda:

has anyone played WarCraft 3 yet?

yes. and if you've played warcraft 2, so have you.

Duality again:

But why does nobody ask if its going to be another level treadmill? Is it just expected and assumed that that's going to be the system they use?

yes. it's the easiest way to code persistence, and it's the easiest way to give players both a clear goal as well as a reason to keep paying to play it. thus, it's what we'll be seeing for a very long time to come, in one form or another.

Hugin:

User settings are cool, because, like Matt, I really like links to spawn separate windows.

so do i. thank god my mouse comes with a right button, and my keyboard with a shift key, or i'd be totally screwed.

Joker:

WHAT THE FUCK IS IT WITH YOU FOOLS AND MMOG??? ALL TOPICS ARE ABOUT MMOG AND/OR AO. MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!

hm. just checked the pipeline, and i don't see any joker-authored articles. put up or shut up. :-p

- if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. -

#49 by Morn
2002-02-26 18:54:54

Joker:

Curry man, I don't suppose you have anything to do with it?

Yes. Don't make me regret the work I've been putting into this. Thank you.

Hendrik "Morn" Mans - morn@planetcrap.com

#50 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:55:25

#48 crash, my lover:

why wasn't Hulka's topic posted about the news stuff and the women? I thought that was really good. and FYI I have posted 2 topics since PC6 launched and they got rejected. They were about discussing Gunp01nts gayness, which I think is a pretty important subject.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#51 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 18:56:39

your topics got rejected because we discuss actual facts here and not fiction.

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#52 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:56:57

#49 Curry man:

YUO = FAGOT

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#53 by Duality
2002-02-26 18:58:15

crash:

I fail to see it as a reason to keep paying to play it. :) I haven't picked up DAoC in 2 weeks and won't bother with renewing my subscription when the 6mo. is up. Yeah and I only got up to LV 28 before getting sick of it. :P

I think I'm going to be like Bailey and just play PIGs during beta.

-duality
... disguised as a genderless burrow owl ... 6.0!

#54 by crash
2002-02-26 18:58:38

so we have a choice between Gunp01nt's budding homosexuality and MMOGs. the news stuff and women was a good topic--was an interesting post; i'd never thought about it quite like that before--but come on, we both know the instant any whiff of "news media conspiracy" was being discussed here, we'd be treated to post after post of link-heavy "proof" of same from flamey. i'd rather talk about Gunp01nt's sexuality, personally, and that's definitely the lesser of two evils.

man i need sleep. stayed up too late last night finishing Renegade. blah.

- if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. -

#55 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 18:58:38

I think Joker hasn't had his jackoff for some time, he's being an even bigger biatch than usual....:/

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#56 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 18:59:25

#51 Siem:

you sir, are in denial.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#57 by crash
2002-02-26 19:00:47

Duality:

I fail to see it as a reason to keep paying to play it. :)

i agree. it's not about leveling. however, there has to be a base of some kind that devs can point to in order to obtain front money from publishers, and telling them, "Yeah, if we put level numbers in here, our lemmin--er, customers will continue to play the game to watch those numbers go up. What? Content? Bah, we'll just give 'em stuff to kill while they're chatting. As long as they can keep increasing their numbers, they'll keep paying. Look at the market, for Christ's sake! It's like printing money!"

i wish that weren't true, but it is.

- if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. -

#58 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:01:47

#55 Siemonnetje:

I should probably shut up now before Curry man, who is in fact a very cool guy, and my hero, bans my ass.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#59 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 19:02:16

sorry joker, I'm afraid your love for me is an unanswered one....

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#60 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:09:59

#59 Siem:

Don't worry, I get all the love I need from crash and curry man. And jafd satisfies even my wildest sexual desires.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#61 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:16:19

Aaalrighty then. New profile up. Hopefully Mr. Mans is ok with it now.

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#62 by Duality
2002-02-26 19:16:58

So you no longer have a need for Gunp01nt's sister?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ....

-duality
... disguised as a genderless burrow owl ... 6.0!

#63 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:25:13

#62 Duality:

Hold it right there, HOLD IT. I did not even mention his sister, much less not having a need for her. I can always make room for her in my ..my...err....love life, or what i'm trying to make of it....whatever. Anyway, she's mine, ALL MINE....

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#64 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 19:26:17

better hurry up then because a friend of mine is all over her

if you want a shot at her meet us at the Time Out this friday :P :D

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#65 by Hugin
2002-02-26 19:35:09

Man, crash ate his cranky flavored Wheaties this morning. So sorry I thought leaving the choice of how links spawn to the user was such a bad idea, I guess hitting the shift key or accessing a context menu no matter what is the right thing to do. Geez.

#66 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:36:23

#64 Brother in law:

Damnit. Damnit I say. Why do I have so much bad luck. This friday is way too soon, and you know it. Any chance you can like...make your friend have some bad luck?

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#67 by Hugin
2002-02-26 19:37:24

Sigh. Good idea rather. Choice is good. User prefs are good. Automating behaviors according to your usage patterns good.

#68 by Matthew Gallant
2002-02-26 19:37:41

I think "Open Link In Same Window" is what should be in the context menu and the default behavior of a browser should be to open links in a new window.

#69 by Creole Ned
2002-02-26 19:39:07

Er...yeah, I think we need another MMOG, can't get enough of 'em. Will it succeed? I dunno. Despite the massive problems and the talk of an MMOG glut, Anarchy Online and World War II Online are still kicking around.

Does anyone else find "EOD" already as annoying as "SKO"?

I've never bought into the comparisons between Doom and Serious Sam. I played Doom, Doom II, have played Serious Sam (in co-op) and about one-third of SS2 (also in co-op) and I find the only major similarity is a) you have lots of guns b) you shoot lots of monsters with your guns while working inexorably toward the final boss monster, with a paper-thin story as the backdrop to the action. Now, you might snarkily say, that's all the games are, anyway, so case closed.

But...Doom is much more of a conventional shooter, complete with the assortment of puzzles, traps, maze-like constructions and the things you expect to find. Serious Sam, on the other hand, strips away most of this (although SS2 does offere a bit more in the way of puzzles) in favor of a "set piece" style of construction. Example: In SS2, near the end of the first episode, you exit a plaza and round a corner, looking down a long, narrow walled-in path. There are a few piles of cannonballs you can pick up. Sam says something cute about bowling and sure enough, you hear the thunder of a multitude of werebulls that start charging down the path toward you. Pull out your cannon, line 'em up and knock 'em down. When you're done, you proceed through to another plaza.

In Doom, the action is more conventional...you work your way through a series of small battles, with the occasional big furball (but even these pale to the sheer scale of battles in SS). The feel is completely different. So I suppose I can see someone not liking either game because both are "mindless action", but to me the presentation is different enough to not make Serious Sam just a modern Doom knock-off.

Bleah. That was longer that I expected.

#70 by Creole Ned
2002-02-26 19:42:29

Link debate: Make it a user choice, much like whether or not to save while playing a game. 'Nuff said. :)

#71 by Duality
2002-02-26 19:42:39

I don't think its a knock-off, either -- but there are definitely similarities in some of how the games work.

-duality
... disguised as a genderless burrow owl ... 6.0!

#72 by Gunp01nt
2002-02-26 19:48:15

jeuker:

Any chance you can like...make your friend have some bad luck?

I dunno. Ask his girlfriend.

<<< Do you believe in a god that tells you lies or do you believe in me? >>>

#73 by The_Joker
2002-02-26 19:57:05

#73 PunG01nt:

D00d? He has a girlfriend and you ALLOW him to mess with your sister?????? .... THAT'S AWESOME. So I can keep jafd even if I have her. Cool. Plus I thought Hollanders were like "If you're a friend of mine don't mess with my sisters, I don't like it."

Joker, Ph.D. Procedural Assholian Behaviour, Pedophilosopher
- All your ass are belong to my wang Jafd. Prepare to are penetration.

#74 by Dev
2002-02-26 20:03:14

Eve online is being produced by a European company, is it not?

"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." -- Lewis Carroll

#75 by Morn
2002-02-26 20:04:10

Indeed! CCP.

Hendrik "Morn" Mans - morn@planetcrap.com

#76 by Dev
2002-02-26 20:04:53

Maybe I should rephrase that.. being programmed by a European company. Bleh ;p
CCP?

"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." -- Lewis Carroll

#77 by Dev
2002-02-26 20:05:17

Heh, bad timing on my part.

"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." -- Lewis Carroll

#78 by Leslie Nassar
2002-02-26 20:19:47

it could be worse, they could be chinese or indian programmers.

#79 by Bailey
2002-02-26 20:21:16

For future reference:

Right now it's such a commitment but we're trying to make a different type of game.

#80 by Bailey
2002-02-26 20:29:03

For the record, CCP are likeable folk. At the time I was writing for the flesh-eating disease that was DTN, I had a little fun with CCP's poor grasp of how acronyms work, (i.e. actually involving letters used in the phrase being abbreviated) so they gave us a live Q&A session and offered a handful of beta passes once the game went press-friendly status. They seemed rather amused by their fans going absolutely bugfuck over my gentle teasing.

However, the idea of a Homeworld-esque RTS GIP doesn't really appeal to me, so I've not really followed their product since. Beautiful screenshots though.

#81 by Dev
2002-02-26 20:48:32

Yeah, the folks at CCP really seem to be nice people.. judging from the responses they have left on the Eve "official forum". On an unrelated note, the developers for Elder Scrolls Morrowind really seem to be on the ball and polite to their fans. If you can get a development group that is as friendly and capable as the Bethesda Softworks peeps, directly behind an MMORPG.. you've got it made imho..

"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." -- Lewis Carroll

#82 by Michael
2002-02-26 21:44:28

All of the MMOG you ever really need: Progress Quest

#83 by Post-It
2002-02-26 22:01:26

I'm not quite sure why but, this little movie clip reminded me of alot of Joker's arguements here on PC. ;)

#84 by Bailey
2002-02-26 22:04:43

Dev

Yeah, the folks at CCP really seem to be nice people.. judging from the responses they have left on the Eve "official forum".

Link?

Sir, you are seriously hunting my wumpus.

#85 by crash
2002-02-26 22:05:57

Hugin:

Man, crash ate his cranky flavored Wheaties this morning.

naah, i'm just trying to cut back on my emoticon usage. turns out i need them more than i'd like to admit. feh, i say. no crankier than normal. don't eat wheaties, though. don't really have breakfast, come to think of it.

Creole Ned:

Does anyone else find "EOD" already as annoying as "SKO"?

i might if i knew what it meant, or if i cared enough to find out.

- if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. -

#86 by Duality
2002-02-26 22:09:49

don't eat wheaties, though. don't really have breakfast, come to think of it.

Maybe that's why you're so cranky.

-duality
... disguised as a genderless burrow owl ... 6.0!

#87 by Bailey
2002-02-26 22:21:35

crash

naah, i'm just trying to cut back on my emoticon usage.

Preach on, true soldier.

Sir, you are seriously hunting my wumpus.

#88 by _Fury_
2002-02-26 22:22:49

,,|,, (O_o) ,,|,,

#89 by jafd
2002-02-26 23:03:22

#60

And jafd satisfies even my wildest sexual desires.

If I had known you were going to be the tiresome jackass that you've been for the last ten months, I really would have cybered with you when you asked me to, instead of just telling you to fuck off. It would have ultimately been less nauseating.

Now, with a new version of PC, comes a new sole instance of me telling you to fuck off. At least there's something you're good at.

Fuck off.

Any chance you can like...make your friend have some bad luck?

Well, he could show her your posts and attribute them to him. That'd keep any sane woman as far away as possible.

choose any two: Cheap, Fast, Good.

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