3DRealms closing doors

by **frag.machine** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:42 pm

TBH, I think that's the best thing could happen to the Duke Nukem IP.
Now someone *COUGH*id*COUGH* can buy the franchise and slap it into a last generation engine *COUGH*Rage*COUGH*.
DN needs a new home, id needs a winning franchise to shine like in the old times again.

by **scar3crow** » Fri May 08, 2009 1:14 am

I disagree on the simple virtue of I do not know the quality of the present id staff, I was not a fan of Doom3's game or level design all in all, and it was lacking in personality. Great level design and thorough personality is a key trait for a good Duke game.

Those who say it should be picked up by the likes of Valve or such just disgust me. Besides, 2K still holds the publishing rights to DNF. Honestly for Duke, I turn to the community at duke4.net, or 3dRealms either pulling a prank, or returning, not to another established studio of the modern design philosophy, that of games as a passive medium.

by **MauveBib** » Fri May 08, 2009 1:42 am

Hopefully they'll just let it die. It's become too much of a joke to ever be playable. It's one of those jokes that's been running so long it's not even funny any more.

by **Megazoid** » Sat May 09, 2009 12:42 pm

by **scar3crow** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:53 pm

I saw your comment regarding such on the 3dR thread... I've been lurking it since all this started.

I sit the fence though, I accept that they're dead and gone, that DNF is no more, that 3dR is no more. But if they show up at E3 with a completed game, already in the process of replication, I will still not be surprised at all. It just... seems like them.

by mh » Sun May 10, 2009 10:34 am

Colour me "not surprised". Sometimes one just has to bite the bullet and get some product out there, even if it's not 100% perfect or in tune with one's original vision. ID know this - look at Quakes I and II, for example.

I shudder to think at how much money went into DNF over the years. Running a company out of one's own back pocket with no sustainable income aside from bargain bin repackagings is not financially long-term viable; it was inevitable that sooner or later the plug would have been pulled.

It's a shame really. If DNF had been released in 1998, or even 2001, there would have been a pretty cool - if flawed - game out, enough people would have bought it on the strength of the franchise to keep things afloat, and 3DR would have been able to build on that foundation for a truly whup-ass follow-up.

Relentless pursuit of perfection may be admirable, but it doesn't pay the bills and in the end you run the risk of releasing zilch.

In the end I don't believe the "scam" conspriacy; unfortunately the story I'm buying is a sadder one - this game did exist, it was being actively developed with an intended release, but technology moved too fast, and rather than sticking to their original guns and accepting a result delivered on older tech, someone kept chopping and changing, like what happened with Daikatana but writ super-large and repeated multiple times over.

by **Urre** » Sun May 10, 2009 10:49 am

Hm, I always got the impression Quake 2 was one of id's "perfect" games, in terms of how close to the original idea the end product ended up as.

by **Electro** » Sun May 10, 2009 12:05 pm

Urre stop trolling with your trash you crazy swede. You're just looking for a fight!

/me secretly likes Quake2 also.
...
/me runs away with Urre to a magical land with unicorns and midgets made of gold

by **CocoT** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:09 pm

I kinda Daikatana...

/me turns around and runs after Electro and Urre, singing songs praising good-hearted dragons and goblins.

by **frag.machine** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:11 pm

There's some flying around the net (shows both ingame and editor animation/scene scripting work). Man, I'm really sorry they didn't finished it. I surely would like to play it regardless the graphics not being Crysis-like.

by **scar3crow** » Sun May 10, 2009 4:25 pm

Graphics come and go, what looks great now will look like shit in 2 years time, trust me. Many games are a good example of this. Art design is the only thing that can carry a game visually through the years.

Don't forget that 3dR had revenue streams from Prey as well, and Max Payne, and they got some money selling the rights for the movie of that also.

by mh » Sun May 10, 2009 8:17 pm

by **scar3crow** » Mon May 11, 2009 12:40 am

Based on the status of biggun.bsp I would say its unfinished...

by **FrikaC** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:39 pm

by **Megazoid** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:53 am

3DRealms closing doors

3DRealms closing doors

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