General Gaming Thread

[TKz]

I downloaded the trial and played a bit of it, it's okay... seems really in depth though. Does it get really good or something? I'm playing a tutorial and it made me play as the Chinese. >_>

[apsham]

I've always liked the Civ games but I've never really been able to get into them. This on is about slick as it comes and at 12 dollars for GOTY edition, I'll certainly pick it up to screw around in when I have the time. I really, really need to get into strategy games.

[Ruki]

I love the Civ games....but then again, I love turn-based games and taking over the world.

[King Ellis]

I love the Civ games....but then again, I love turn-based games and taking over the world.

Of course.

[TKz]

I'm having trouble figuring out how to get started well. I mean I like it and all, but so far I've accidentally declared war on Greece and had most of my military crushed by Sparta(ns, PREPARE FOR GLORY!) and dicked around looking at the map. I was trying to figure out how to build Mines and stuff to get mining on gold and stuff...

Is there like a getting started guide or something?

[Ruki]

I'm having trouble figuring out how to get started well. I mean I like it and all, but so far I've accidentally declared war on Greece and had most of my military crushed by Sparta(ns, PREPARE FOR GLORY!) and dicked around looking at the map. I was trying to figure out how to build Mines and stuff to get mining on gold and stuff...

Is there like a getting started guide or something?

Talking to me on Steam?

[apsham]

It takes some time playing the game really to get it right - if you start out at the easiest level there are tutorial menus for most everything, but this game holds your hand more than others. Before it was possible to go through turns ignoring giving orders to your units but this one makes sure you have all your bases covered each term.

[Bobfoc]

Games like Civilization often involve doing a dummy run the first time round, in which you tend to learn the ropes by making mistakes. As with most strategy games, Civ 5 requires a considerable amount of perseverance before you can truly feel comfortable with it, but once you've got the hang of it, it's as compulsive and addictive as any game out there.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Try usng the Civ tree.

It will explain every action, and also you can use the tech tree to plan out how to do things like mine, and even set your guys up to research along those lines.

[apsham]

My ultimate plan is to clear out whatever island that I am on, heavily fortify it and then try to get some kind of culture victory.

[Lint]

38 Studios, makers of Kingdom of Amalur, shuts down

It appears 38 Studios and its subsidiary Big Huge Games are no more. The Verge and Joystiq heard from sources today that all employees at Curt Schilling's Providence, Rhode Island-based and Maryland-based development studios have been let go. The company put out just one game in its lifetime, February's well-received role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

All 38 Studios staffers are out of work, according to the report.

All 38 Studios staffers are out of work, according to the report.

38 Studios employed 379 employees full-time as of mid-March, according to a report from last week. Employees at the company had not been paid since May 1 and lost health care benefits today, according to Joystiq. As of press time, 38 Studios had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment on the matter.

Troubles at 38 Studios first came to light earlier this month, when reports from the Rhode Island government indicated that the company had failed to make a $1.125 million loan payment to the state's Economic Development Corporation. The studio eventually made the payment, but it also enacted a round of unspecified layoffs. The company's CEO, Jen MacLean, left the studio in March, with senior vice president of product development John Blakely heading out just this month.

The fate of 38 Studios' massively multiplayer online role-playing game Project Copernicus is unknown. Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee recently revealed the title was being readied to ship in June 2013. If 38 Studios decides to sell its Amalur intellectual property, it can expect to get $20 million for it, according to one industry analyst.

38 Studios purchased Big Huge Games from THQ in 2009. It is unclear what will happen to the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sequel that Schilling confirmed was in the works earlier this year. The original sold 1.2 million copies during its first 90 days, outperforming publisher Electronic Arts' estimates, according to Schilling.

[uPDATE]: In a press conference this afternoon, Governor Chafee explained that the state had not been informed of the pending layoff of 38 Studios' entire staff. In explaining how the studio hit the skids seemingly overnight, Chafee explained, "The game failed. The game failed." He added that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning would have needed to sell 3 million copies just to break even.

[Your Mom]

Man you hate to see that many people lose their jobs. Plus the game was pretty amazing. I guess this goes to show just having a great game isnt enough.

[Lint]

Never played it myself, but the reviews I read for it rated it average (6-8) to pretty good (8-9)

[EWB's Best Poster.]

The game itself is a solid title, but its an eggs all in one basket project. 3 million sold just to break even? No one doing the books could have thought that was realistic.

I just read that minecraft reached 9 million. thats only (ONLY?) three times as much and its MINECRAFT. Shits everywhere.

I dont know who was doing the books thinking that was a realistic goal just to break even. That would make it a 180 million dollar project? Fuck me, thats a LOT of expense for a game with no previous fanbase past its writers and artists rep.

Mindblowing, and now all the little guys have to suffer for making a GOOD GAME.

[Universal]

Here is video of the MMO they were working on. Looks cool. Very unfortunate and I hope the developers find work and the IP/Project gets bought out.

Completely mismanaged company though. Highly unrealistic expectation and gross overspending. I feel bad for the talent involved. Curt Schilling put together an awesome team (which is one of the reasons the project ran into so much money) so I hope their work sees the light of day. Hate to see all that hard work go to waste.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Universal

[King Ellis]

This is what I was talking about in Will's recent thread. They needed 3m sales just to break even. That's pretty crazy from a new IP. I mean, I suppose it is possible, I think Dead Island pulled it off but still.

[Universal]

This is what I was talking about in Will's recent thread. They needed 3m sales just to break even. That's pretty crazy from a new IP. I mean, I suppose it is possible, I think Dead Island pulled it off but still.

Zombie games are in currently (as opposed to the fantasy genre which is plentiful with big-time IPs). The game had tremendous marketing. It also wasn't the first game from that developer. So yeah, barely possible. It would have had to been an amazingly popular game.

There is also a clear difference between being able to ship 3 million copies and depending on it to survive (or just 'break even'). 1.2 Million is a success as it is. Just clear incompetence. So unfortunate.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Universal

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Dead island also had an amazing ad. This had little

[Maxx]

It's really fucked up. They claimed they'd bring in 450 new jobs to RI by the end of 2012, and they couldn't even make it half the year. They've essentially cost Rhode Island $75 million. It's exactly what the state didn't need to happen as its already struggling and largely without industry and has high unemployment. It's going to push them even further behind in the tech industry as no one is going to sign off on a project from a new industry again for a long time.

[Your Mom]

I read they can sell the Amular IP off for like 20 million though. Thats a start anyway