So here's how it's all gone down. Beginning July, a higher up at Flagship went on record saying they rushed Hellgate. It was obvious that not all was right on the ship. So it didn't help when a developer posted on his blog staffers were being nixed left and right at Flagship.
Then, over the weekend news hit the street that Flagship was closing it's doors and the Hellgate and Mythos IP would go under the control of Hanbitsoft. The site that dropped the news claimed this info came from Hanbitsoft itself. Apparently Hanbitsoft co-own the Hellgate IP with Flagship...but there was no official word from Flagship itself.
Needless to say, a shitstorm ensued. The Hellgate forums went wild, over 11,000 responses over the course of four days! The Mythos forums became a somber somber place, with many different threads reflecting the worry of a community that had started to feel as much a part of the games growth as the developers themselves.
Finally, yesterday, Flagship released a statement with very mixed ramifications. They said that Flagship is still open. They're firing most of their staff. And that Hanbitsoft is full of shit, they own the Hellgate and Mythos IP.
Then, today, Hanbitsoft went on record claiming that Flagship is full of a bunch of bitches that don't know a good offer when they see one. Hanbitsoft claims to have tried making a deal with Flagship to help them with their financial woes. And are now seeking legal action to aquire the Hellgate IP.
Mommy and Daddy are fighting. The community is torn, some people want to see Hellgate get continued support while others have sworn undying loyalty to Flagship and would rather see Hellgate die than in the hands of Hanbitsoft.
The future of Mythos is still in question, with most of the community accepting that their game will probably just be locked away in a code basement. Many are asking for the code to go open source so people can run the game in it's current state on their own machines and servers.
I haven't touched Hellgate for some time so it's easy for me to side with those loyal to Flagship as I hope the best for the Flagship heads and I just don't like how Hanbitsoft released info to the community early. It's almost like they sucker punched Flagship.
I'm very sad for Mythos. The real irony is that the demise of Mythos doesn't hit so hard because of the Diablo 3 announcement. I was amazed at just how much Diablo 3 looks like a well polished Mythos. Even in its early stage of development.
Anyways, there's the breakdown of events...the cup community has spent some time in the Hellgate universe so I'm curious to hear what you all think.
Ron, did I behave myself last night? I only remember sitting down (not sure if it was the couch or the floor) and I woke up sprawled on the couch with a blanket over me. My body kind of upset...but I had a good time.
3 comments:
I would bet that you passed out on the couch to begin with. I have my doubts that Ron could have gotten you up there otherwise. Did you know you make sounds like a giant frog when you puke? What did you drink anyway? Were you chugging whiskey when no one was looking? hehe
Um.. as for the Hellgate carpola, I still log on and shoot/stab a few demons from time to time, so I'll be sad if it dies, though not as sad as if warcraft suddenly disappeared. If it goes under, I hope it doesn't set a bad precedent for the whole free to play MMO scheme.
You behaved yourself... for the most part...
dude Im sad and pissed about the loss of Hellgate! I just jumped back on! I played for like 3 hours straight the other night and it was seriously fun. Less glitch and better performance coming from my computer (perhaps due to my defrag?) led to a much more pleasant experience. As for the story line I loved it. I was defender or paly whatever monkey, but it was fucking fun bashing demons in the head with my shield and than using their numbers against them to gain defense or health. Very Diablo II. OK, so Diablo III is on the way, thats fucking cool, but, in the mean time, without Hellgate Ill lose all my wacking hellish minions on my pc time. I will still have RE Umbrella Chronicles for Wii but its just not the same. I dont know, if Flagship is getting raped, or doesnt feel like it can continue, than I guess I support that but mostly Id just be sad to see game play be cut off. If Hanbitsoft could carry the title with dignity Id support that. At the end of the day its all about the game, not the designer. Different titles have been bought out and changed, not all of them have been changed for the worse. Tough call, sad situation though. I feel for the mythos folk, it just was never really my thang.
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