Hello and welcome, my fellow gameheads, and welcome to this very latest edition of MMO Weekly! In this week's episode, we'll spend some quality time together, telling tales of the adventures of brave, pasty geeks who never, ever leave their dorm rooms. It'll be epic, so stay tuned.
Stargate Worlds
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the studio that's currently developing Stargate Worlds, is rumored to be in big trouble. These rumors have persisted since late last year, and the trouble is getting bigger every day. The MMO they are developing, Stargate Worlds, has gotten some pretty positive coverage. However, we haven't heard much from ol' Cheyenne lately, and rumors that their employees are not happy are legion. One of them even created this website, creatively entitled Days-Since-Cheyenne-Mountain-Employees-Have-Been-Paid.com. The site is a simple one, and it proclaims only a number. Each day the Cheyenne devs go unpaid, the ticker increases by one. Right now, that number stands at a whopping 95. That means that they've gone unpaid for more than three months.
Guild Wars Saga
Recently, gamers received news that Guild Wars 2, the much anticipated sequel to Guild Wars, has been delayed. Then we received word that it wasn't delayed. Yes, actually it is. No, wait, it's not. Yes, you're right, it's not, but it was, but not really.
If you find yourself having an “Uh....what?” moment, join the club. The official word is that Guild 
Wars 2 technically isn't being delayed. Apparently, that's impossible, because neither ArenaNet (the developer) nor NCSoft (the publisher) ever set a hard release date for the release of the game. The devs at ArenaNet have chosen to address this issue, since fans worldwide have been making a lot of noise over this one. They've indicated that the game is progressing nicely, but it's simply not ready for release. Their goal is simple: they want Guild Wars 2 to be the “best online role-playing game ever created.” As you can imagine, that kind of commitment to perfection takes time.
In doing a bit of backtracking, it seems rumors about the game being delayed go back to three separate sources. The first is the fact that NCSoft West, a branch of NCSoft, was restructured. Considering what happened to Tabula Rasa the last time a part of NCSoft got restructured, fans were a bit worried. However, unlike TR, Guild Wars is immensely successful, and NCSoft has no plans to shut the game down.
The other sources of this rumour come from a financial report issued by NCSoft, and in that report a statement about the release “window” for Guild Wars was made. That window was projected to be in late 2010, or 2011. GW fans, expecting a 2009 release, felt that this was a setback. Finally, it seems that ArenaNet may have inadvertently started this rumor themselves. When the company made Guild Wars, then released each of the game's expansions, they did it on a schedule that would make a Swiss watchmaker jealous. Each of the game's expansions were released a mere six months apart, each was simply outstanding, each was full of new features and loaded with content, and they all launched precisely on time. This precision has caused GW fans to expect fast, beautiful, and high-quality games to launch, you know, yesterday. Since GW2 is taking some time to hone to perfection, it's making ArenaNet fanboys all antsy and nervous. They're just not used to having to wait.
Although GW fans are used to lightning-fast development from ArenaNet, that won't be the case with GW2. What's more, concerns because NCSoft West was restructured, or because NCSoft financial reports give broad windows for the release of GW2, are simply unfounded. A “Letter to the Fans” was published by the ArenaNet team, and they address each of these concerns thoroughly. The bottom line is this: ArenaNet is still chugging along, development of GW2 is going smoothly, and the game will be released when it's done.
Runes of Magic
If you're one of those fanbois or fangurls that just can't wait for the next, latest, greatest MMO to hit the scene, why not give Runes of Magic a try? It's a free-to-play MMO, currently in open beta, that can best be described as a successfully implemented WoW clone. Our good buddy Bill Vaughan, right here at IncGamers, gave Runes of Magic a very thorough preview. Here's an excerpt:
"Another big selling point of the game is the dual-class system. At level 10, players take a trip to the
big city, Varanas. Once there they can chose a secondary class, with the option of switching that class to their primary one when needed. This system creates the opportunity to mix and match characters to produce around 30 class variations. With this system healers can posses the ability smash their enemies in the face with a mace if the mood takes them, or pick off a foe from a distance with a ranged weapon. There are no limitations to this; Mix a Mage with a Warrior to make a barbarian with the ability to throw fireballs, or play a robed caster that is match for a knight in melee skills."
All in all, Runes of Magic is looking quite promising, even at this early stage. If you'd like to see a quick video of one of the instances, and get a feel for the gameplay, this jump is for you.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Are you interested in the stinky, slimy, s**ty back end of space? If so, then this story is for you. Of course, I'm referring to BioWare's latest release of information about their upcoming MMO, The Old Republic. They're showcasing Hutta, the homeworld of the Hutts. It's a planet populated by the giant slugs, complete with graft, greed, overindulgence of every kind, dancing girls, and other bad news. A lurid place, sure to be full of adventure for TOR players. Some Hutta lore can be found here, screenshots here, and concept art here.
While speaking of the upcoming Star Wars MMO, this story seems oh-so-appropriate. It seems that there is a documentary in production entitled “The People vs. George Lucas”. It details how fans of the Star Wars films both love and hate George Lucas. Lucas has given them all manner of cool characters, concepts, and great moments in film. However, he's also given them concepts, characters and cinematic moments so outrageously bad, they're actually embarrassing. Consider that from the same mind sprung both the ultimate supervillain, Darth Vader, and also the super ridiculous Jar Jar Binks. Both Princess Leia and Queen Amidala are great characters. Later in the films, we are surprised to find out, both were somehow elected to be royalty (because, as everyone knows, this makes perfect sense). Despite the fact that Sith lords take names like Sidious, Maul, Nihilous, and Plageus, no one ever senses that they are, in fact, evil.
In “The People vs. George Lucas” this love-hate relationship is explored oh-so-thoroughly. Fans, critics, and those who worked on the films are interviewed, and their varying emotions toward Lucas are detailed. Featured prominently in the film is the epic song, “George Lucas Raped My Childhood”. The trailer for this masterpiece-in-production can be found here.
And Finally…
Finally, allow us to consider this: Jeff Kaplan, known on the Blizzard forums as “Tigole” and lead designer responsible for “world design” on World of Warcraft, is no longer working on WoW. He announced that he has moved on to another project within Blizzard. That project, we learned, is an unnamed MMO.
Jeff discussed this in the forums, and gave the following statement:
"When all is said and done, WoW is still my favorite game. I play it every day. None of that passion is gone. If anything, it fuels the challenge of making our next MMO even better. We know we have some big shoes to fill. So thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the years, and likewise, thanks to those who have given us pointed feedback on all areas of the game. Without all of the feedback and participation, WoW would not be the game that it has grown to be. Azeroth truly belongs to you and we’re lucky to have shared in your journey. And as always, I’ll still be lurking on the forums and in the game.
Mostly, I just wanted to say thanks. It has been an absolute honor."
In retrospect, this is a very good move by Blizz. Moving talent like Tigole over to the new MMO 
brings a level of proven experience that can be found nowhere else. It's the kind of thing that guarantees that this mystery MMO will be a quality project.
Want to know a bit of trivia about Jeff Kaplan? Here's this: The name Tigole is based on his old Everquest character, who he tastefully named “Tig'ole Bitties”. (Don't get it? Try saying it three times fast.)
And with that tasteful tidbit, we must bid you adieu. If you enjoyed these assemblage of random nonsense, check us out each day at WanderingGoblin.com. We bring you the latest and greatest (ok, maybe not greatest, but certainly strangest) stories in gaming, served up with humor a la mode. For now, ciao!
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