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Firefly Universe Online: Announcing a Launch Date and ...

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  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910


    Originally posted by parrotpholk

    Originally posted by stragen001
    Well, Apparently :
    On January 2, 2012 website Ten Ton Hammer uncovered documentation that Multiverse, the team behind both the Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly MMO projects, had ceased operation on both games as of December 7th, due to lack of funding. However, on January 5, 2012 former members of the Mutiverse team announced that they had acquired the source code, and were still working to develop a finished product.
    and
    Massively article
     
    Which will mean this will be underfunded and a Gods and Heroes type mess most likely.  



    The only problem with Gods and Heroes was the asking price when they went live. Had they gone with a F2P or an inexpensive B2P business model, I think the game would have been received very well.

    There's no word on what FFO's business model will be. If it stays a community project, then I'd guess F2P/Donations. If the IP holders get involved, then I'd expect a somewhat over priced P2P.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432


    Originally posted by Agoden
    Oh wow.. A firefly mmo.. i .. Uhm.. Wow.
     
    Yeah...
     
     I dont know...
    I'll definitely follow it, but I'm not sure what to think of it.

    Same here, though I'd heard about it awhile back. I am surprised to hear they are this far into it. Getting into my wait and see mode :)

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432


    Originally posted by TruthXHurts
    If the survey keeps getting the same results it sounds like it will be exactly what I'm looking for.

    Warning: 63 questions long :)

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


  • OkhamsRazorOkhamsRazor Member Posts: 1,047

    LoL talk about flogging a dead horse . 14 episodes then cancelled and film that did so-so at the box office and now an mmo . Why not make a Buffy mmo instead that lasted 7 seasons and had a much larger following .

    I didn't dislike Firefly but I thought its concept wasn't paticulary revolutionary and essentially its failed twice to find a significant enough audiance so why would an mmo based on it be any different .

  • AutemOxAutemOx Member Posts: 1,704

    Originally posted by Axehilt

    Certainly it'll capture the witty scripts and interesting characters of the shows -- script and character depth are strongpoints of MMORPGs, right?  ...er...right guys?   

    What a great setting to develop our own characters and get to know each other and grow together in.  A MMO should not be about the main characters of its IP, it should be about the universe and the stories we make for ourselves.

    Play as your fav retro characters: cnd-online.net. My site: www.lysle.net. Blog: creatingaworld.blogspot.com.

  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504

    Originally posted by wormywyrm

    Originally posted by Axehilt

    Certainly it'll capture the witty scripts and interesting characters of the shows -- script and character depth are strongpoints of MMORPGs, right?  ...er...right guys?   

    What a great setting to develop our own characters and get to know each other and grow together in.  A MMO should not be about the main characters of its IP, it should be about the universe and the stories we make for ourselves.

    MMORPGs aren't really capable of providing those elements though.  A tabletop RPG might come closer, but still -- as witty as my friends are there's no way our sessions would quite compare to an average Firefly episode.

    So you can say an MMO "should be" this or that, but the reality of the situation is translating IPs (even amazing IPs like Firefly) to games you're always going to lose certain elements in translation.  With an action-heavy IP like Star Wars this might not be as noticable (unless you make a SW game about crafting), but with a script/character-heavy IP like Firefly you'd lose all the soul of the series.

    It'd be like trying to make a game out of The Wire, Deadwood, or Dexter.  These IPs would be almost unrecognizable in game form.

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • MagnetiaMagnetia Member UncommonPosts: 1,015

    Just something to note from the website. From what I understand it is a gathering of fan made information coupled with fan development. That's not to say it won't be decent but best not to expect too much.

     

    The very life blood of what has made the Firefly MMO project possible; fans like yourself with a talent or two. I'm sure you've heard of the many, dare we suggest hundreds, of MMOs or interactive titles that have failed these many years. Six years of development and 5 million dollars later, only to be pulled off the shelves within the first year of launch. Regardless the reputation and experience of the dev team, dwindling budgets and overly saturated markets prevail; as inevitable a predicament as a drifting ship toward a Reaver raiding party.

     

    This is where a fan-driven title comes in, and DarkCryo Entertainment herself. We do things a might differently. Fans across five continents are voicing their MMORPG specifications, and contributing Firefly-related works; models, voice acting, music scores, concept art and canonical data. Assets that would have taken years to create under a six or seven figure budget, is what is making the production of this interactive title an unprecedented inevitability.

     

    Financial remuneration is presented in the form of Alliance credits, useable for many ingame commodities such as toward the purchase of your own ship. The more you contribute, the greater the financial return to you at the start of play. Contributors are also given portfolio credit, and the prestige of participating in the making of the long-awaited Firefly MMO.

     

    No matter what your specialty, it would be an honour for you to join us in whatever capacity you feel most comfortable. Simply create your DarkCryo Ident and browse the Jobs Bulletin in the Cortex. You'll go from Fan to Big Damn Hero in minutes!

    Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?

  • NeblessNebless Member RarePosts: 1,835

    Originally posted by Axehilt

    Originally posted by wormywyrm

     What a great setting to develop our own characters and get to know each other and grow together in.  A MMO should not be about the main characters of its IP, it should be about the universe and the stories we make for ourselves.

    MMORPGs aren't really capable of providing those elements though.  A tabletop RPG might come closer, but still -- as witty as my friends are there's no way our sessions would quite compare to an average Firefly episode.

     

    I don't know Axe, back in pre-everything SWG there were characters and their stories known to different segments of the pop.  So based on that, I think an MMO could provide a vehicle for player stories / backgrounds.

    Considering our current choices of space games (Eve = seems like too much work, STO = really just a space shooter, Vendetta Online = good game but too alien) I'd welcome a sandbox style game with a familiar background, be it Firefly or Babylon 5.  Something I could identify with.

    As far as it being fan driven; PotBS was indepently developed, fans of that style of game, or even Vendetta Online, just a very small group developing and running it or B5: I've Found Her (a SPG) done by B5 fans.

    SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter

  • AutemOxAutemOx Member Posts: 1,704

    Originally posted by Axehilt

    Originally posted by wormywyrm


    Originally posted by Axehilt

    Certainly it'll capture the witty scripts and interesting characters of the shows -- script and character depth are strongpoints of MMORPGs, right?  ...er...right guys?   

    What a great setting to develop our own characters and get to know each other and grow together in.  A MMO should not be about the main characters of its IP, it should be about the universe and the stories we make for ourselves.

    MMORPGs aren't really capable of providing those elements though.  A tabletop RPG might come closer, but still -- as witty as my friends are there's no way our sessions would quite compare to an average Firefly episode.

    So you can say an MMO "should be" this or that, but the reality of the situation is translating IPs (even amazing IPs like Firefly) to games you're always going to lose certain elements in translation.  With an action-heavy IP like Star Wars this might not be as noticable (unless you make a SW game about crafting), but with a script/character-heavy IP like Firefly you'd lose all the soul of the series.

    It'd be like trying to make a game out of The Wire, Deadwood, or Dexter.  These IPs would be almost unrecognizable in game form.

    A MMO that is not about the player but about the main characters of the IP probabably has never been attempted, and why would it?  It is a game, not a tv show.  I don't think any elements need to be lost in translation, rather the focus will be changed from the characters of the original IP, whom would now be minor characters, to your character and your friends in-game.  Character development can still be there, the original characters can still play a role, and the universe can be the same (firefly would make an excellent setting).

    I don't think the soul has to be lost.  They could have had other actors playing the parts in this series, and the characters could have developed differently during the 12 episodes of the show.  The show would be the same...  A grungy sci fi series about space smugglers and rebels focused on the characters motivations and development with a quirkly/silly twist.  It doesn't need the exact same characters to have the same feel.

     

     


    Originally posted by Nebless

    I don't know Axe, back in pre-everything SWG there were characters and their stories known to different segments of the pop.  So based on that, I think an MMO could provide a vehicle for player stories / backgrounds.

    Considering our current choices of space games (Eve = seems like too much work, STO = really just a space shooter, Vendetta Online = good game but too alien) I'd welcome a sandbox style game with a familiar background, be it Firefly or Babylon 5.  Something I could identify with.

    As far as it being fan driven; PotBS was indepently developed, fans of that style of game, or even Vendetta Online, just a very small group developing and running it or B5: I've Found Her (a SPG) done by B5 fans.

     

    Yes I agree SWG is a great example of how to keep the feel of a big IP while making the story about the player and not the IP's characters.  When the game was released, it had a lot of backlash for being 'everquest in space'.  Firstly, I think that the MMO genre was being unfairly picked on at this time (EQ being its flagship) and looked down on by other gamers as being 'too nerdy'.  Secondly, these reviews were up prematurely (as is so common) before the reviewers got to experience the 'themepark' quests that contain iconic starwars characters and all the other empowering features that separate it from previous MMOs.  Thirdly, they were largely just upset about the lack of spaceships, as which can be seen by similar complaints being made about SWTOR despite it having some spaceships.

    Also, PotBS is a great example of how a community pushed a game to be something amazing.  I did not play it after release, but I had 1000+ posts on the PotBS forum pre-release and it was the highest quality and most mature community I have ever seen.  That game went from being a simple low budget ship simulator to being a close-to AAA MMORPG.  The community helped push for this, creating the hype and support needed for the developers to expand their budget.  The community even modeled over 75% of the ships available in the game at launch.  They assisted each other in learning to use 3D modeling software and created ships vastly more beautiful than the ones the developers themselves were creating.  It really was a beautiful thing!

    Play as your fav retro characters: cnd-online.net. My site: www.lysle.net. Blog: creatingaworld.blogspot.com.

  • happydan20happydan20 Member UncommonPosts: 260

    something doesnt sit right with me, i signed up to the website some time ago to see where it went, then i get an email inviting me to level up (20 dollars) and still theres no offical forum or actual community to speak of, just how in the hell is all this fan support supposedly working for the game?

  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432


    Originally posted by happydan20
    something doesnt sit right with me, i signed up to the website some time ago to see where it went, then i get an email inviting me to level up (20 dollars) and still theres no offical forum or actual community to speak of, just how in the hell is all this fan support supposedly working for the game?

    I got that, too. I had to laugh. I'm not holding my breath for this one...

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


  • mmoguy43mmoguy43 Member UncommonPosts: 2,770

    Pull this from the FAQ

    What will questing be like in Firefly Universe Online? Will it be similar to World of Warcraft?

    No, the failure of most MMORPGs are that they are simply cookie-cutter gameplay mechanics. For the Firefly Universe, one that relys on tactics over grinding, intellect over gunplay, that would not be fitting with the atmosphere depicted in the Firefly series. Although we are still some time away from implementing questing mechanics, we can tell you that it will be exactly like the TV series in that no job goes smoothly. How a player can anticipate and adapt to any given situation will determine their success or failure of a quest.

     

    I dunno, It sounds like and neat little fan project and no where near a AAA MMO. I suspect most of the devs aren't very experianced but they do sound like passionate gamers. Will have to wait and see... image

  • SuperGuppySuperGuppy Member Posts: 33

    Is Firefly Universe Online a licensed title?

    No, Firefly Universe Online is not affiliated with 20th Century Fox or Mutant Enemy Inc at this time. Until Firefly Universe Online receives official endorsement by parent copyright holders, we will proceed under fair use as a tribute to the fans, the beloved cast, and creator Joss Whedon.

     

    I wish it were true as i loved the show. However Joss Whedon made Serinity (a great movie) because of his personal attachment to the show and its fan base. He would never allow this intelectual property to be recreated if it was not up to very high standards. I dont see it. And thes guys dont seem to have very high standards. High aspirations maybe...but not high standards.

     

     

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