Might I make the bold prediction this game will be really bad
I thought this thread was going to be about it being cancelled.Yeah, I was afraid of the same thing!
Has there been any story about why this took so long to come out? IIRC Gearbox announced this before Borderlands even.This is what I want to know about most. Seems like it took forever to come out and not exactly how it was supposed to.
However, they describe the Aliens as having no sense of danger about them, that your skin doesn’t crawl when the tracker starts to go off as it should: “At no point are you given a real reason to fear the Aliens: after all, they are pests and you are part of the intergalactic extermination crew.”
QuoteHowever, they describe the Aliens as having no sense of danger about them, that your skin doesn’t crawl when the tracker starts to go off as it should: “At no point are you given a real reason to fear the Aliens: after all, they are pests and you are part of the intergalactic extermination crew.”
That's exactly the feeling I got from the most recent trailer. Game's tone seems to be "yeehaw, let's kill heaps of aliens!" which is soooooo the opposite of what makes Aliens great.
QuoteHowever, they describe the Aliens as having no sense of danger about them, that your skin doesn’t crawl when the tracker starts to go off as it should: “At no point are you given a real reason to fear the Aliens: after all, they are pests and you are part of the intergalactic extermination crew.”
That's exactly the feeling I got from the most recent trailer. Game's tone seems to be "yeehaw, let's kill heaps of aliens!" which is soooooo the opposite of what makes Aliens great.
(http://i.minus.com/i212wUcwcU0eE.gif)
the story goes iirc ist hat you had gearbox that was led by jace hall, who work on borderlands now. this is the good gearbox that was around pre halo port. once they did the halo pc port htey got loads of money, jace hall left and made a new team which is what worked on sambo de amiga wii after coutner shit zero. then that team went onto this aliens project while hte A team was working on the first brothes in arms then borderlands iirc
QuoteHowever, they describe the Aliens as having no sense of danger about them, that your skin doesn’t crawl when the tracker starts to go off as it should: “At no point are you given a real reason to fear the Aliens: after all, they are pests and you are part of the intergalactic extermination crew.”
That's exactly the feeling I got from the most recent trailer. Game's tone seems to be "yeehaw, let's kill heaps of aliens!" which is soooooo the opposite of what makes Aliens great.
(http://i.minus.com/i212wUcwcU0eE.gif)
maybe im confusing monolith for gearbox i forgot one of the stories is true for a developer
It's not even a bug. Game spoilers:
"It's not a bug. There's a ~sewer level~ where there's all these weird shambling zombie xenomorphs that track you by sound because they can't see you (the developers obviously didn't notice that the xenomorphs in the movies didn't have eyes...) so you walk around slowly while these zombies get up and wander around randomly.
The objective is to flick these switches that turn machines on and make noise to distract them, right? So then they hear the noise, run towards it in a neat line and explode one after the other. There's no explanation given as to why they randomly commit suicide by exploding.
I wish I was making this shit up "
(the developers obviously didn't notice that the xenomorphs in the movies didn't have eyes...)
QuoteHowever, they describe the Aliens as having no sense of danger about them, that your skin doesn’t crawl when the tracker starts to go off as it should: “At no point are you given a real reason to fear the Aliens: after all, they are pests and you are part of the intergalactic extermination crew.”
That's exactly the feeling I got from the most recent trailer. Game's tone seems to be "yeehaw, let's kill heaps of aliens!" which is soooooo the opposite of what makes Aliens great.
(http://i.minus.com/i212wUcwcU0eE.gif)
It's not even a bug. Game spoilers:
"It's not a bug. There's a ~sewer level~ where there's all these weird shambling zombie xenomorphs that track you by sound because they can't see you (the developers obviously didn't notice that the xenomorphs in the movies didn't have eyes...) so you walk around slowly while these zombies get up and wander around randomly.
The objective is to flick these switches that turn machines on and make noise to distract them, right? So then they hear the noise, run towards it in a neat line and explode one after the other. There's no explanation given as to why they randomly commit suicide by exploding.
I wish I was making this shit up "
There's also no explanation given for why they look like they need to poop and they're rushing towards the bathroom.
(http://i.minus.com/i212wUcwcU0eE.gif)
Hate to say it, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too high for Colonial Marines. I used to work at Gearbox, and the development of that game has been a total train wreck, going on what, 6 years now? Gearbox isn't even making the game, except for the multiplayer. Primary development was outsourced to TimeGate Studios, which has a less than stellar past.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=512813From that thread:
lol, this game just keeps on giving. It was released in Australia without executable. (http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=243779)
They forgot which studio should be responsible for this.
its like a little baby alien tip toeing into the ktichen to steal a cookie and trying not to wake up momma alien:lol
alien drank way too much and stayed at the bar way too late without calling, is stumbling through the darkened house hoping she doesn't wake up and start a whole big thing about it:rofl
remember, the nearly complete Obsidian Aliens RPG was killed off 4 YEARS AGO so that SEGA could funnel all resources to the sure-thing Gearbox FPS!
Robert Florence @robertflorence
Brandon Justice at EGM says this - "excellent level design and solid alien AI." And that is a lie. An outright lie.
How did this get 90 from EGM?QuoteRobert Florence @robertflorence
Brandon Justice at EGM says this - "excellent level design and solid alien AI." And that is a lie. An outright lie.
:lol
Brandon's reviewing games again? Eww, career backslide.
Anyway, there's no way he's taking payola. But he has always been very, very, very fond of SEGA. I remember him hyping Floigan Brothers on the Dreamcast as a viable answer to Mario or something.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is much more than a loving homage; it serves as one of the most robust story-driven co-op experiences to date. The concept definitely has room to grow, but as maiden voyages go, Colonial Marines is a clear winner.
Seems the game goes for the avant-garde experience- giving the player a more metaphorical feeling of what it's like to be a marine in Aliens. Going in, they're full of confidence and high expectations of some fun alien hunting, only to be shocked by the jarring reality of the situation and wishing they'd known what they were signing up for. As it is the consensus seems to be that it's one of those times when you shoulda just nuked it from orbit.
Perhaps the most disgraceful element of Colonial Marines' story is a plot twist ham-fistedly forced into a late chapter that, for fear of upsetting readers with spoilers, I cannot adequately detail. Suffice it to say, the story undoes canon established in the movies, and does so with such casual disregard, it comes off as an insult to the audience's intelligence. When one character points out a fatal plot hole in this awkward twist, the revealing party actually says, "That's another story," and it's never addressed again.
From the Destructoid review (http://www.destructoid.com/review-aliens-colonial-marines-244276.phtml):QuotePerhaps the most disgraceful element of Colonial Marines' story is a plot twist ham-fistedly forced into a late chapter that, for fear of upsetting readers with spoilers, I cannot adequately detail. Suffice it to say, the story undoes canon established in the movies, and does so with such casual disregard, it comes off as an insult to the audience's intelligence. When one character points out a fatal plot hole in this awkward twist, the revealing party actually says, "That's another story," and it's never addressed again.
Since I am obviously never going to play this game, I don't mind being spoiled - please do so when you play the game.
From the Joystiq review, I gather it's related to (spoiler):spoiler (click to show/hide)Bringing back the dead? But it doesn't mention what character comes back. Is it Ripley?[close]
$10 in Borean Gold to the first to spoil!
Ok, I just watched some walkthrough vids of this game.
The graphics, glitches, tearing, distinguished mentally-challenged AI, horrible animation and pacing are really only just minor issues compared to the sexist POS story.
Warning massive spoiler ahead, so don't highlight unless you're sure you want to:
Hicks coming back, with some rage inducingly boring ass explanation is probably the worst retcon I've ever seen. Honestly, this is grade A level fanfiction bullshit. This is insulting and reeks of stupid fans getting their way with a story. Horrible.
Yeah right, Weyland troops were in Orbit over Fury 161 but didn't bother to check the surface...
Hicks planting another body in the cryo tube for whatever bullshit reason...
Ripley and Newt being turned into Women in a fridge tropes just so that Gearbox can spin their macho sexist Marine bullshit story avenging the death of those poor helpless women as uber masculine males with massive guns and badass one liners.
This is downright insulting in it's infantile, sexist and condescending writing.
This is a new level of bad and embarassing. If you thought Other M was bad in it's depiction of women and character retcon, this basically takes Ripley, puts a princess gown on her and skullfucks her character and achievements in one foul coma inducing pile of vomit.
AGAIN!!!! Don't look this up if you want to experience the worst fanfiction ever produced in playable form yourself.
Spoilers from GAF:spoiler (click to show/hide)Quote from: fabricated backlash;47575797Ok, I just watched some walkthrough vids of this game.
The graphics, glitches, tearing, distinguished mentally-challenged AI, horrible animation and pacing are really only just minor issues compared to the sexist POS story.
Warning massive spoiler ahead, so don't highlight unless you're sure you want to:
Hicks coming back, with some rage inducingly boring ass explanation is probably the worst retcon I've ever seen. Honestly, this is grade A level fanfiction bullshit. This is insulting and reeks of stupid fans getting their way with a story. Horrible.
Yeah right, Weyland troops were in Orbit over Fury 161 but didn't bother to check the surface...
Hicks planting another body in the cryo tube for whatever bullshit reason...
Ripley and Newt being turned into Women in a fridge tropes just so that Gearbox can spin their macho sexist Marine bullshit story avenging the death of those poor helpless women as uber masculine males with massive guns and badass one liners.
This is downright insulting in it's infantile, sexist and condescending writing.
This is a new level of bad and embarassing. If you thought Other M was bad in it's depiction of women and character retcon, this basically takes Ripley, puts a princess gown on her and skullfucks her character and achievements in one foul coma inducing pile of vomit.
AGAIN!!!! Don't look this up if you want to experience the worst fanfiction ever produced in playable form yourself.[close]
I saw a few places mentioning this was 24.99 on PC - turns out it's 37.99
WALK ON BY
Steam version still won't boot at all. Keeps crashing immediately on startup. Thank a lot, Randy Pitchford.
This is Aliens: Colonial Marines:
-Run through a hallway
-Shoot dozens of aliens
-Listen to generic military chatter
There's no tension here. There's nothing unique about this game. There's nothing interesting about this game. It's a generic shooter with the Alien license attached to it. I hate myself for wasting money on this.
It was 25% off at GMG, so I paid $37.50. Which is still way, WAY too much, just so we're clear.
$1 is too much, just so we're clear.
its the year 2013 why aren t you pirating pc games ???
Don't buy this game, guys. Don't make the mistakes I've made. It's too late for me, but for you there's still time. There's still time...
Isn't this the game that was going to look the best on Wii U? :lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQ
:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
Pecan (the internal codename for ACM) has a pretty long history. SEGA, GBX and 20th Century FOX came to an agreement to produce an Aliens game around 6 years ago, after which SEGA almost immediately announced it, long before Pecan had even started production. The game has been in active development in the past, only to be shelved in favor of another project (Borderlands, Duke, etc), and each time it was resumed it would undergo a major content overhaul.
SEGA, naturally, wasn't super pleased about the delays, but GBX got away with it for a long time and the contract between SEGA and GBX kept getting augmented to push the projected release further and further back. The last time it was resumed, GBX outsourced a good portion of the game to outside companies. Initially, the plan was for TimeGate to take the majority of campaign, GBX would take MP, Demiurge and Nerve would handle DLC and various other focused tasks. This decision was made mostly so that most of the developers at GBX could continue working on Borderlands 2, while a small group of LDs, coders and designers dealt with Pecan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQ
:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
So the game basically brings up a plot hole that a character in the fucking game calls out only to be smacked down by another character saying that shit dont matter.
:lol :lol
Also according to SEGA Gearbox was reponsible for everything and a "insider" gives the dirt on what supposedly really happened
http://www.reddit.com/r/LV426/comments/18ewf4/a_lot_of_you_are_rightfully_upset_at_the_final/QuotePecan (the internal codename for ACM) has a pretty long history. SEGA, GBX and 20th Century FOX came to an agreement to produce an Aliens game around 6 years ago, after which SEGA almost immediately announced it, long before Pecan had even started production. The game has been in active development in the past, only to be shelved in favor of another project (Borderlands, Duke, etc), and each time it was resumed it would undergo a major content overhaul.
SEGA, naturally, wasn't super pleased about the delays, but GBX got away with it for a long time and the contract between SEGA and GBX kept getting augmented to push the projected release further and further back. The last time it was resumed, GBX outsourced a good portion of the game to outside companies. Initially, the plan was for TimeGate to take the majority of campaign, GBX would take MP, Demiurge and Nerve would handle DLC and various other focused tasks. This decision was made mostly so that most of the developers at GBX could continue working on Borderlands 2, while a small group of LDs, coders and designers dealt with Pecan.
So Gearbox apparently did the same bullshit Silicon Knights was doing with Xmen destiny :lol :lol :lol :lol
QuotePecan (the internal codename for ACM) has a pretty long history. SEGA, GBX and 20th Century FOX came to an agreement to produce an Aliens game around 6 years ago, after which SEGA almost immediately announced it, long before Pecan had even started production. The game has been in active development in the past, only to be shelved in favor of another project (Borderlands, Duke, etc), and each time it was resumed it would undergo a major content overhaul.
SEGA, naturally, wasn't super pleased about the delays, but GBX got away with it for a long time and the contract between SEGA and GBX kept getting augmented to push the projected release further and further back. The last time it was resumed, GBX outsourced a good portion of the game to outside companies. Initially, the plan was for TimeGate to take the majority of campaign, GBX would take MP, Demiurge and Nerve would handle DLC and various other focused tasks. This decision was made mostly so that most of the developers at GBX could continue working on Borderlands 2, while a small group of LDs, coders and designers dealt with Pecan.
So Gearbox apparently did the same bullshit Silicon Knights was doing with Xmen destiny :lol :lol :lol :lol
stolen from gaf
Colonial Marines E3 Demo vs Retail *be sure to have the annotation stuff on since they fucked up the representation for a while*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo
basically Atmosphere = gone
stolen from gaf
Colonial Marines E3 Demo vs Retail *be sure to have the annotation stuff on since they fucked up the representation for a while*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo
basically Atmosphere = gone
Colonial Marines E3 Demo vs Retail *be sure to have the annotation stuff on since they fucked up the representation for a while*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo
It looks like they were relying heavily on dynamic lighting, which is a definite no-no on UE3 on PS3. The game never would have looked like that on consoles.
I'm not saying that Randy Pitchford needs to be sent to prison or that Gearbox is the worst thing since Hitler, but this whole debacle has probably made me more mad about a videogame that I bought than just about anything else.
And I'm usually pretty good at weeding out games that are obviously flawed, so I really dropped the ball on this one. :-\
Are you an Aliens fan?
Gearbox Software,
I recently purchased Aliens: Colonial Marines for the PC, believing that it would be held to the level of quality that I've come to expect from the developer behind Borderlands [a series that I love]. It was not.
The action is repetitive and flat. All I do is run through corridors and shoot waves of aliens [or humans] who require no strategy beyond clicking the button that fires my weapon and occasionally reloading. Or I can simply run past them to the next checkpoint. It is not exciting, there is no tension. The squad mates I pick up along the way are utterly useless.
Then I find out that most of the development was farmed out to another studio entirely. I understand that development is complex and often must require the help of outside studios, but little mention was made of this fact or of the fact that Gearbox itself left much of the single player segment of the game to this outside studio. The results speak for themselves at to whether this was a good idea or not.
Then I see a direction comparison between the demo shown recently at E3 2012 and the game as it was actually released. The difference is as clear as night and day. The atmosphere is stripped away entirely, ruining any tension that might have been gained there. Dynamic lighting and fog effects are now nowhere to be seen, despite how prominently they were presented in the demo. This is simply not acceptable, as this demo was presented as a representation of how the final product would look.
I've been a fan of Gearbox for years. I preordered Borderlands 2 and even picked up the season pass, because I had faith that you would deliver a quality product. In that case, you did. I also preordered Aliens: Colonial Marines. That was a mistake. I'm left with a game I have no desire to play and no way to get a refund.
I don't care how you respond to this email, but I want it made clear that the handling of Aliens: Colonial Marines is not acceptable in the slightest and means that I will no longer buy any Gearbox games until well after they've been reviewed [in the case of Aliens: Colonial Marines, those reviews were held back at the request of Gearbox until AFTER the game came out] and after others have spent their money on it.
If you can't even be bothered to earn my money, then I certainly feel no desire to give it to you in the future.
[name redacted]
Just sent this to Gearbox:QuoteGearbox Software,
I recently purchased Aliens: Colonial Marines for the PC, believing that it would be held to the level of quality that I've come to expect from the developer behind Borderlands [a series that I love]. It was not.
The action is repetitive and flat. All I do is run through corridors and shoot waves of aliens [or humans] who require no strategy beyond clicking the button that fires my weapon and occasionally reloading. Or I can simply run past them to the next checkpoint. It is not exciting, there is no tension. The squad mates I pick up along the way are utterly useless.
Then I find out that most of the development was farmed out to another studio entirely. I understand that development is complex and often must require the help of outside studios, but little mention was made of this fact or of the fact that Gearbox itself left much of the single player segment of the game to this outside studio. The results speak for themselves at to whether this was a good idea or not.
Then I see a direction comparison between the demo shown recently at E3 2012 and the game as it was actually released. The difference is as clear as night and day. The atmosphere is stripped away entirely, ruining any tension that might have been gained there. Dynamic lighting and fog effects are now nowhere to be seen, despite how prominently they were presented in the demo. This is simply not acceptable, as this demo was presented as a representation of how the final product would look.
I've been a fan of Gearbox for years. I preordered Borderlands 2 and even picked up the season pass, because I had faith that you would deliver a quality product. In that case, you did. I also preordered Aliens: Colonial Marines. That was a mistake. I'm left with a game I have no desire to play and no way to get a refund.
I don't care how you respond to this email, but I want it made clear that the handling of Aliens: Colonial Marines is not acceptable in the slightest and means that I will no longer buy any Gearbox games until well after they've been reviewed [in the case of Aliens: Colonial Marines, those reviews were held back at the request of Gearbox until AFTER the game came out] and after others have spent their money on it.
If you can't even be bothered to earn my money, then I certainly feel no desire to give it to you in the future.
[name redacted]
Heap your mockery upon me, I've earned it.
Are you an Aliens fan?
Yeah, I love Alien and Aliens, two of my favorite movies ever. Making it a direct sequel to Aliens and bringing back the actors and locations overrode my senses.
Just sent this to Gearbox:QuoteGearbox Software,
I recently purchased Aliens: Colonial Marines for the PC, believing that it would be held to the level of quality that I've come to expect from the developer behind Borderlands [a series that I love]. It was not.
The action is repetitive and flat. All I do is run through corridors and shoot waves of aliens [or humans] who require no strategy beyond clicking the button that fires my weapon and occasionally reloading. Or I can simply run past them to the next checkpoint. It is not exciting, there is no tension. The squad mates I pick up along the way are utterly useless.
Then I find out that most of the development was farmed out to another studio entirely. I understand that development is complex and often must require the help of outside studios, but little mention was made of this fact or of the fact that Gearbox itself left much of the single player segment of the game to this outside studio. The results speak for themselves at to whether this was a good idea or not.
Then I see a direction comparison between the demo shown recently at E3 2012 and the game as it was actually released. The difference is as clear as night and day. The atmosphere is stripped away entirely, ruining any tension that might have been gained there. Dynamic lighting and fog effects are now nowhere to be seen, despite how prominently they were presented in the demo. This is simply not acceptable, as this demo was presented as a representation of how the final product would look.
I've been a fan of Gearbox for years. I preordered Borderlands 2 and even picked up the season pass, because I had faith that you would deliver a quality product. In that case, you did. I also preordered Aliens: Colonial Marines. That was a mistake. I'm left with a game I have no desire to play and no way to get a refund.
I don't care how you respond to this email, but I want it made clear that the handling of Aliens: Colonial Marines is not acceptable in the slightest and means that I will no longer buy any Gearbox games until well after they've been reviewed [in the case of Aliens: Colonial Marines, those reviews were held back at the request of Gearbox until AFTER the game came out] and after others have spent their money on it.
If you can't even be bothered to earn my money, then I certainly feel no desire to give it to you in the future.
[name redacted]
Heap your mockery upon me, I've earned it.
You couldnt get a refund for the game? Stores usually allow that kind of thign if that game is that bad or atleast store credit.
We heard from a tipster about a month ago that the Wii U version had been "postponed indefinitely." We reached out to Sega, and they denied it. I'll let you guys fill in the blanks there. :)
Sad that SEGA was planning on this being one of their four pillars in the Western retail market.
I haven't been following this - WHY is this game horribad? Please give me tl;dr
Are there vids etc?
I haven't been following this - WHY is this game horribad? Please give me tl;dr
Are there vids etc?
It's boring in every way possible, poorly constructed, and full of bugs and glitches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPF8jpItCs
Why is this a big deal?
On one hand, props to Gearbox for shitting out games (DNF, Aliens) that just need to GET THE FUCK RELEASED- on the other hand maybe they don't NEED to get released.
I don't think anyone actually liked them putting out DNF once it actually came out.
na but i found this under Pecan [BuildInfo]
; maj022811 - resetting build number
; TG-Build3: 2011-04-20 07:09
BuildNumber=55
Good on you for be proactive and voicing your displeasure with a product you purchased directly instead of sitting around a message board talking about how you'd do something but never act. Good on you.
I feel bad for Timegate. That Section 8 game was pretty good but now they get saddled with being known as the D-tier studio that ruined the Aliens game.The truth is, Timegate outsourced this game to me. I'm sorry guys.
Why don't you tell them the truth, that you outsourced the game to me!spoiler (click to show/hide)Then I outsourced it to Wilco.[close]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8SzBhjqaQSublime.
:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
It looks like they were relying heavily on dynamic lighting, which is a definite no-no on UE3 on PS3. The game never would have looked like that on consoles.Who's the baddest mofo lowdown around this town?
Let me sum up our forthcoming review quite simply: Don't buy Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Don't consider it. Don't even let your brain ponder it.
What Gearbox has done is effectively a massive bait & switch. It feels like fraud.
It looks like fraud too.
They took this project on 6 years ago though. And supposedly they could only afford to make Borderlands 1 and 2 to begin with because they were funneling the money out of this project and into that one.
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/gamereport/aliens_colonial_marines_utFzud6bSAPpIjIucF7YOO#axzz2KqOjw9CzDid you post a link to the New York Post? :roflQuoteLet me sum up our forthcoming review quite simply: Don't buy Aliens: Colonial Marines.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo
Don't consider it. Don't even let your brain ponder it.
What Gearbox has done is effectively a massive bait & switch. It feels like fraud.
It looks like fraud too.
Your point being?
According to Gearbox Software commander-in-chief Randy Pitchford, the developer "got the jump on the next generation." He says Gearbox is "providing it in this generation" via Aliens: Colonial Marines, which employs a proprietary new rendering engine that will "be standard for games that go for a realism look in the next generation.
rumbler, i was kinda surprised at the original thread and you buying it right away as from leaked reviews it sounds like garbage
had you already bought the steam key before hearing about the shittiness of this game?
They had time to reference Spaceballs, but not make a good game:
(http://i.imgur.com/sKu7rRF.jpg)
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/gamereport/aliens_colonial_marines_utFzud6bSAPpIjIucF7YOO#axzz2KqOjw9CzDid you post a link to the New York Post? :roflQuoteLet me sum up our forthcoming review quite simply: Don't buy Aliens: Colonial Marines.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo
Don't consider it. Don't even let your brain ponder it.
What Gearbox has done is effectively a massive bait & switch. It feels like fraud.
It looks like fraud too.
That's like making a political argument and linking to Breitbart. :rofl
GreatRumbler stop playing this game, I keep seeing you on Steam subjecting yourself to this assrape
To be fair, DNF probably really was an awful, awful situation. Gearbox didn't do much to help it, though.
does anybody want to start a list of quagmire games. Shit that was eventually shoved out the door years late, knowingly shitty, possibly by a different studio that began the game just because the damn thing was a money pit and the publisher needed to have at least something to show for it. Something like this...
-Aliens Colonial Marines
-Inversion
-Quantum Theory
-Rogue Warrior
-Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
-NeverDead
-The Cursed Crusade
-Duke Nukem Forever
-Splatterhouse
-Alone in the Dark
-Dark Void
feel free to add your own.
i can't even make it through this game, can't do this to myself anymore. I have it rented till friday and am seriously considering just putting it in the dropbox a couple days early...
An anonymous writer, who has been regularly spilling details from within SEGA on the blog SEGA Awakens, has addressed the ongoing Aliens: Colonial Marines saga, adding fresh perspective and blaming SEGA, TimeGate, and Gearbox in different ways. Mostly Gearbox, though.http://www.destructoid.com/gearbox-embezzled-aliens-colonial-marines-money-246558.phtml
I've independently corroborated the blogger's information using my own resources, which is why I'm confident enough to share his rather valuable insight. In his blog, the man writing under the alias "Bryan Danielson" states that the torrent of rumors following Colonial Marines' release are "99% true," but wished to correctly apportion the blame.
In an engrossing read, the writer separated the culpability of the three main entities involved, detailing exactly how SEGA, TimeGate, and Gearbox messed up. He begins with TimeGate, the studio rumored to be responsible for most of Aliens' development under Gearbox's command.
"TimeGate is at fault for: Wanting to even take on this project and their shoddy work," Danielson wrote. "Granted, I heard about their claims about Gearbox having full creative control, but they should have tried to show their side of the argument and fight more if they had problems with Gearbox's creative control and creative direction.
"Honestly, I thought they should have risked some arguments and the possibility of losing the contract, if they had problems with the project like the Reddit poster said. However, there still is a chance of their claims being a lie or a half truth, but as I said above, TimeGate has some responsibility."
The whistle blower addressed the idea of TimeGate throwing out Gearbox's original project work when it took over, but could only offer speculation. The possibility is entertained that TimeGate may not have been legally allowed to use Gearbox's work, but it's also entirely possible the new studio decided to start again from scratch for some other reason.
"SEGA is at fault for: Announcing the project in 2007 when no work was done at all," he continued. "In my views, a game project should be announced publicly when it is 50-60% done, so you won't have to wait 6 years for a game that turns out to be shit.
"SEGA is also responsible for not permanently cancelling the game in 2008. I don't know who found out about the mishandling of funds by Gearbox, but [canceling Colonial Marines] had to be one of the few right decisions the board has done, or this person is one of the few board members who knew what they were doing (from what I heard, this person may have left the board a while ago when SEGA decided to start the project again). This game should have been cancelled permanently, and the final product is undeniable proof of it.
"Despite that, I believe SEGA wanted to try to get some of the money back, at the fans' expense. So another blame for SEGA there. SEGA should have also watched the project and development a lot better, because there was a lot of warning signs that said this was a disaster in the making. So whoever was assigned to watch Gearbox and the game has some responsibility too, unless the board was forcing him to do it. SEGA and their lawyers also have some blame on the wording of the contract too, but more on that later."
The blog then moves onto the main event, addressing the involvement of Gearbox Software and its CEO, Randy Pitchford. In no uncertain terms, the studio is accused of robbing its publisher and lying to its face.
"Now here is the company that should get most of the blame: Gearbox Software and Randy Pitchford. Gearbox stole from SEGA, they robbed us, lied to us about the game, and tried to get another company to make the game instead. Let's see where the funding went shall we? Everyone said the game went to both Borderlands games, but Duke Nukem Forever gets a mention as well, but it's pushed out of the spotlight, because people want to forget about that game, and I don't blame them! Duke Nukem Forever had a big impact on Aliens: Colonial Marines as well."
A Gamasutra article was used to back up the claim. The article in question is an interview with Pitchford, in which he explains how his studio got the rights to Duke Nukem Forever.
"It clearly shows that Pitchford and Gearbox wanted to focus heavily on Duke Nukem Forever, but how would they get the money to hire some of the 3D Realms team and even buy the intellectual property? Sure, they made a lot from Borderlands, but guess where they got the money to fund Borderlands in the first place? Yup, SEGA.
"So Gearbox essentially lied to SEGA, mishandled funds, broke agreements and contractual obligations to work on other projects, didn't want to work on a game they were contractually obligated to work on and gave it to another team, poor organization and direction on ACM, took on too many projects from different companies at once, and other things that we may not even know about. Hell, part of me believes that Gearbox wanted this thing delayed as much as possible so they can get more funding money to embezzle from SEGA."
Danielson concludes by saying he's heard rumors of possible legal action being taken by SEGA, but admits the contract may preclude such a step from being taken. All Gearbox apparently had to do was ship the game to fulfill the agreement, which it's now done. He added that SEGA should have canceled A:CM and taken the studio to court, rather than try to make the fans pay for the investment. The writer even goes so far as to suggest SEGA ought to have published Borderlands, given it paid so dearly for it.
"In this case, what happened clearly was SEGA had a decent eye on the project, rightfully cancelled it, when they saw the problems, then someone decided to restart the project, leading to this massive mess," he concludes. "Where is our money Randy? We should get sales from Borderlands 1 and 2, since it was our money that funded it."
does anybody want to start a list of quagmire games. Shit that was eventually shoved out the door years late, knowingly shitty, possibly by a different studio that began the game just because the damn thing was a money pit and the publisher needed to have at least something to show for it. Something like this...
-Aliens Colonial Marines
-Inversion
-Quantum Theory
-Rogue Warrior
-Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
-NeverDead
-The Cursed Crusade
-Duke Nukem Forever
-Splatterhouse
-Alone in the Dark
-Dark Void
feel free to add your own.
For there to be embezzlement here, among other things, SEGA will have had to have retained ownership of the funds it gave to Gearbox, which is almost certainly not the case.Quote"So Gearbox essentially lied to SEGA, mishandled funds, broke agreements and contractual obligations to work on other projects, didn't want to work on a game they were contractually obligated to work on and gave it to another team, poor organization and direction on ACM, took on too many projects from different companies at once, and other things that we may not even know about. Hell, part of me believes that Gearbox wanted this thing delayed as much as possible so they can get more funding money to embezzle from SEGA."
I doubt Gearbox did anything illegal here. Kind of falls on SEGA for being foolish with their money, something that comes all too naturally for them.
So apparently Craig Harris had something to do with the game on Sega's side:
https://twitter.com/crankycraig/status/300123872768966657
I doubt Gearbox did anything illegal here. Kind of falls on SEGA for being foolish with their money, something that comes all too naturally for them.
I dunno, if SEGA can show that Gearbox took money they gave them for Colonial Marines and spent it on Borderlands 1/2, isn't that a fairly clear breach of contract?
("if")
cash is fungible but this is not a $30 million game :lolHow much did Too Human cost to make?
man, i kinda wish this would go to court. interesting stuff.
cash is fungible but this is not a $30 million game :lolHow much did Too Human cost to make?
man, i kinda wish this would go to court. interesting stuff.
The defense rests.
cash is fungible but this is not a $30 million game :lolHow much did Too Human cost to make?
man, i kinda wish this would go to court. interesting stuff.
The defense rests.
They never did get the grants.cash is fungible but this is not a $30 million game :lolHow much did Too Human cost to make?
man, i kinda wish this would go to court. interesting stuff.
The defense rests.
wouldn't that be the Canadian government v. SK? Don't they live off of some grant/subsidy?
also a lawsuit I'd like to see, though i don't know shit about your legal system.
One of the thing Bungie's contract with Activision has stated repeatedly and publicly is that they're only allowed to use 5% of their staff for projects which are not Destiny.
And then there was interference-with three companies involved in decision-making on Pecan, bureaucracy was inevitable. According to one source, Sega's producers wanted Colonial Marines to feel like Call of Duty—in other words, more shooting marines, less shooting aliens. Upper staff at both Gearbox and TimeGate disagreed with this mentality, the source said, and there was a tug-of-war between developer and publisher on how the game should be designed.:fbm
Because of this sudden success, Gearbox decided to immediately start working on Borderlands 2—internally codenamed Willow 2—so they decided to outsource the bulk of development on Colonial Marines—codenamed Pecan—to a company called TimeGate, best known for the first-person shooter Section 8. At the time, TimeGate was finishing up development on the sequel, Section 8: Prejudice.
Around November or December of 2010, TimeGate had a company meeting to talk about their next project. Things went well.
"There was really good synergy between both teams about what needed to happen," one source told me. "It was a very love-love situation."
"Everyone at [TimeGate] was pretty stoked," said another source.
So Gearbox sent over the game materials, and TimeGate's team started to work on project Pecan—although at least a few staffers were shocked by how little progress Gearbox had made on the game.
"There was obviously not four years of work done on the game," one source said.
According to three people familiar with the project, Gearbox didn't put a lot of work into Colonial Marines between 2007 and 2010. Instead, those people told me, Gearbox chose to focus on Duke Nukem Forever, Borderlands, and Borderlands 2. Colonial Marines was not a priority.
One source told me that when TimeGate got the project, Colonial Marines was "basically a hodgepodge" of assets, including the shader—or lighting processor—from Borderlands. "A lot of assets just didn't seem like they fit there," the source said.
Another issue: incompatible management styles. Gearbox and TimeGate are two very different developers that approached the game in two very different ways.
"You could not pick two companies whose general workflow is more diametrically opposed," said one source. "Gearbox is used to 'work, work, work, iterate, iterate.' TimeGate is the exact opposite—they're always about shipping the product."
The truth might not be as malicious as some have speculated. According to a few sources I spoke with, the demo for Colonial Marines was built by TimeGate—with animation assistance by Gearbox—and ran in real time. As is standard for E3 demos, it ran on a high-end computer with specs that would be unfeasible for a normal console game.
"We were told many times through demo production, 'Don't worry about performance, just make it awesome,'" said one source. "There was a reason [the demos] were never playable."
(Press attending E3 2012 could join hands-on multiplayer sessions, but the single-player demo was not playable there.)
The demo looked better than the game does because the demo didn't have to be optimized for old hardware. Though these games are created using powerful PCs, any console game has a "performance budget"—the ceiling above which an Xbox 360 or a PS3 cannot go. The Colonial Marines demo was way over performance budget, and the development team had to cut back significantly for the final product.
"We were constantly cutting back more and more in terms of texture, shader and particle fidelity, in order to fit into the jacked memory restraints," said another source.
once Gearbox had finished most of Borderlands 2, they took the project back from TimeGate. And Gearbox changed everything—partially because what TimeGate had produced was not very good, two sources told me, and partially because it couldn't run on the PlayStation 3.
"[Gearbox made] big changes to lighting, texture and shader complexity," said one source who had not played the final game, but was familiar with some of the later builds. "Design elements were altered or redone entirely. It looks like a lot of [TimeGate's] assets remained intact, with the exception of lower-res textures and faster-performing shaders."
A number of TimeGate staff were removed from the project and, in some cases, let go from their jobs. And while Gearbox's staff knew that they didn't have enough time to fix this disaster of a project, according to one source, they felt like they couldn't ask for another extension from Sega. Not after seven years.
"The game feels like it was made in nine months, and that's because it was," said a source.
For as "in the know" as GAFfers claim to be they sure are acting like this is the first time anyone has ever pulled a pitchford. Some of them were boasting that this would shame him and Gearbox out of the industry forever.
They never did get the grants.cash is fungible but this is not a $30 million game :lolHow much did Too Human cost to make?
man, i kinda wish this would go to court. interesting stuff.
The defense rests.
wouldn't that be the Canadian government v. SK? Don't they live off of some grant/subsidy?
also a lawsuit I'd like to see, though i don't know shit about your legal system.
We both have common law systems (except for Quebec), derived from hundreds of years of English case law. Canada's civil statutes (e.g., securities acts, corp acts, privacy acts, etc.) are often modeled after similar acts in other common law jurisdictions, like America.
It's been four or five years since I took contracts or torts, so I'm a little rusty. The amount of money SEGA gave Gearbox seems irrelevant in the absence of a condition in their contract that Gearbox was to use x dollars in development (for business efficacy and based on industry standards, a term can be implied that a certain level of funding is required, but I'd hate to hear the expert evidence on that issue). The contract probably contained milestones and such, but if the milestones were met, what's SEGA's case? That the game sucked? Outside of technical requirements, how much assurance can a developer give a publisher that its product will be good?
I love how Bungie left MS so they wouldn't have to keep grinding out one franchise forever, and then immediately took that deal.
I'd assume they wouldn't use things like "AAA" but apparently Activision thinks that's okay. I think the technical specs can very specific though, to at least avoid having an embarrassing looking p.o.s.It seems that, by definition, Destiny will be an AAA title because that is what a big-budgeted, heavily marketed shiny game is, right?
Do they not require some kind of log/breakdown for how the money is spent? Publishers probably should when it comes to $30 million....but as we know, the whole world should be doing lots of things, but they just don't-- even when millions upon millions are at stake. :lol
Getting money from one publisher and channeling that chedda into another publisher's project is par for the course in this industryFor serious. When I was at Accolade, my neighboring cube-mate was working on Bubsy 3D. Nearing completion of the game, we received a tech demo for a new project from the external dev making Bubsy. It was incredible; it was hard to believe that it was even the same company that was pawning off the legendarily bad Bubsy on us. It was hard to believe it was even running on the same hardware, except that we were running it on I our own devkits.
Worst of all, this embezzlement is why we aren't getting a multiplatform Bayonetta 2, Gearbox pitchforded the cash right out of the Bayonetta jar in the breakroom!
It's the first I've heard of such a thing happening but stopping to think about it it's not that surprising. Game industry is seriously fucked up.For as "in the know" as GAFfers claim to be they sure are acting like this is the first time anyone has ever pulled a pitchford. Some of them were boasting that this would shame him and Gearbox out of the industry forever.
Yeah the reaction to this whole thing has been a little surprising to me. This isn't the first time something like this has happened.
On the one hand, this is pretty skeevy
On the other, I got Borderlands 2 out of it
It's the first I've heard of such a thing happening but stopping to think about it it's not that surprising. Game industry is seriously fucked up.For as "in the know" as GAFfers claim to be they sure are acting like this is the first time anyone has ever pulled a pitchford. Some of them were boasting that this would shame him and Gearbox out of the industry forever.
Yeah the reaction to this whole thing has been a little surprising to me. This isn't the first time something like this has happened.
Sega Europe has agreed to add a disclaimer to all videos published on its website and via YouTube stating that they depict a demo version of the game.
"We consider that with the disclaimer in place, customers are unlikely to get the impression that the trailer shows the finished product, and the ads are therefore unlikely to mislead," the A.S.A.'s response read.
I keep having a dream about playing an awesome next gen Aliens gameHere's hoping Creative Assembly's game doesn't get axed... sigh.
I seriously just cannot fathom how you can screw up an Aliens game - Ugh
The suit claims that by sending out review code to the press under an embargo that lifted in the early morning of Aliens: Colonial Marines' launch date of Feb. 12, the game's pre-orderers and early adopters would have no knowledge of the discrepancies between the demo and final game. As such, it seeks damages for anyone who purchased the game on or before its release date.
yesspoiler (click to show/hide)This lawsuit is doomed to swift failure, because all this marketing and PR guff is too much a grey area. But if this whole fiasco somehow ended in the passage of law requiring all digital purchases to allow refunds, like they have in sociamalist Europe, that would be great. But it won't, because FREEDOM.[close]
yesspoiler (click to show/hide)This lawsuit is doomed to swift failure, because all this marketing and PR guff is too much a grey area. But if this whole fiasco somehow ended in the passage of law requiring all digital purchases to allow refunds, like they have in sociamalist Europe, that would be great. But it won't, because FREEDOM.[close]
It's not even unfair marketing fluff. I assume the whole case is "I saw the previews from a long time ago, then ignored the review embargo, didn't wait for the embargo to go up, bought the game, and it wasn't like the previews I saw months ago. Gimme money." I'm not sure what else it could be.
This is definitely not the case for digital refunds. Shit has to be super on point to set precedent like that.
yesspoiler (click to show/hide)This lawsuit is doomed to swift failure, because all this marketing and PR guff is too much a grey area. But if this whole fiasco somehow ended in the passage of law requiring all digital purchases to allow refunds, like they have in sociamalist Europe, that would be great. But it won't, because FREEDOM.[close]
It's not even unfair marketing fluff. I assume the whole case is "I saw the previews from a long time ago, then ignored the review embargo, didn't wait for the embargo to go up, bought the game, and it wasn't like the previews I saw months ago. Gimme money." I'm not sure what else it could be.
This is definitely not the case for digital refunds. Shit has to be super on point to set precedent like that.
The Madden lawsuit was successful and it was just whiny NFL2K fans who were pissed that they couldn't have their game anymore so now anyone who ever bought a Madden game from 2005 on is going to get money.
yesspoiler (click to show/hide)This lawsuit is doomed to swift failure, because all this marketing and PR guff is too much a grey area. But if this whole fiasco somehow ended in the passage of law requiring all digital purchases to allow refunds, like they have in sociamalist Europe, that would be great. But it won't, because FREEDOM.[close]
It's not even unfair marketing fluff. I assume the whole case is "I saw the previews from a long time ago, then ignored the review embargo, didn't wait for the embargo to go up, bought the game, and it wasn't like the previews I saw months ago. Gimme money." I'm not sure what else it could be.
This is definitely not the case for digital refunds. Shit has to be super on point to set precedent like that.
The Madden lawsuit was successful and it was just whiny NFL2K fans who were pissed that they couldn't have their game anymore so now anyone who ever bought a Madden game from 2005 on is going to get money.
Monopolies are a different story, we have laws against that.
but you know, maybe they could find review embargos to be anti-consumer. that would be pretty nice, actually...finally game journalizm taking a hit.
Could you imagine Polygon being called to the stand? At what point would the judge just be like "fuck this gay earth" and walk out of the courtroom?
But EA doesn't have a monopoly. Their NFL exclusivity only applies to consoles. So again it was just butthurt 2K fans crying.
The tale of Aliens: Colonial Marines' mismanagement gained an additional layer on Wednesday when the game's co-developer TimeGate Studios filed for bankruptcy protection with the Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court.
TimeGate's bankruptcy protection filing comes on the heels of a 2009 legal battle with SouthPeak Interactive, in which SouthPeak was awarded $7.35 million and full control of the embattled Section 8 license. The final ruling on the arbitration award is pending within the U.S. Court of Appeals; in the bankruptcy protection petition, TimeGate listed their financial obligation to SouthPeak as "unknown."
Other items on TimeGate's list of creditors include:
Epic Games (developers for the Unreal Engine)
Agora Games (online game service)
DJ2 Entertainment (a transmedia firm)
Birthplace Management Group (a video game agency, owed $20,539.20)
A local pizza establishment (owed $34.80)
TimeGate's total liabilities fall within the range of $10 million to $50 million.
Section 8: Prejudice was't a bad game. They should have been working on a free to play version of that.
Section 8: Prejudice was't a bad game. They should have been working on a free to play version of that.
As mentioned in the article, they lost control of that franchise to Southpeak.
Section 8 Prejudice is a fucking terrible name for a game being sold in the U.S. :lol
So, that's... Where in the storyline? Pre-Alien3?
Back in May, Gearbox Software was dropped from the controversial Aliens: Colonial Marines lawsuit brought against the company and SEGA, alleging false advertisement of the game. Gearbox always maintained that it should never have been included in the lawsuit as it was neither the game’s publisher nor seller. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this week, Gearbox President and CEO Randy Pitchford said that the lawsuit was a “huge waste of time” and that the legal system was being manipulated using “mafia style extortion tactics.”
QuoteBack in May, Gearbox Software was dropped from the controversial Aliens: Colonial Marines lawsuit brought against the company and SEGA, alleging false advertisement of the game. Gearbox always maintained that it should never have been included in the lawsuit as it was neither the game’s publisher nor seller. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this week, Gearbox President and CEO Randy Pitchford said that the lawsuit was a “huge waste of time” and that the legal system was being manipulated using “mafia style extortion tactics.”
:pacspit
Speaking of Denis Dyack:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/05/26/veteran-game-designer-denis-dyack-most-of-the-developers-i-know-are-pro-gamergate/
:neogaf
Denis Dyack, former president of development studio Silicon Knights, director of the critically-acclaimed Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, and 2011 inductee to the Canadian Gaming Hall of Fame.
:comeon
LOL the SJW media and NeoGaf thought that there'd never be a day of reckoning when they insulted Dennis Dyack long ago. They were of course as always, wrong.
Bored people in large numbers are dangerous. Boredom + too much money + lack of struggle in life= why SJW's exist to begin with. Well that and the edJEWcation system brainwashing a generation of youth with Communist thought as per ex KGB Uri Bezmenov's lecture videos about this.
GG could only win. We actually play games and like games. The anti GG people don't even play in most cases. They're just activists flitting from issue to spittle covered issue.
At the end of the day, we will remain because we actually play games. They're not buying games. Nothing. Not a single game they've promoted has gone on to commercial success. They're not selling PC gaming hardware. They're not selling console hardware. They're not selling games. They are nothing useful or meaningful to the industry.
We are... we buy the hardware. We buy the games. We care. They don't. We win.
Game over. GG.
The dominos are tumbling, aren't they?
QuoteBored people in large numbers are dangerous. Boredom + too much money + lack of struggle in life= why SJW's exist to begin with. Well that and the edJEWcation system brainwashing a generation of youth with Communist thought as per ex KGB Uri Bezmenov's lecture videos about this.
Commonwealth Nations are so weird.Denis Dyack, former president of development studio Silicon Knights, director of the critically-acclaimed Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, and 2011 inductee to the Canadian Gaming Hall of Fame.
:comeon
That's his full title, and the only way you are allowed to address him.
NCRelite Liberal_Men_Are_Pussies • 2 months ago
Cucktaku
JenkPac Shakur Guest • 2 months ago
Faux and MSNBCuck are both controlled by the same hooked nosed nation ruining parasites as is the rest of western media. None can be trusted.
Billy OzzieIsaacs • 2 months ago
I always read comments like this and shake my head in shame because there have been a lot of "complex female characters" throughout time that just didn't receive any kind of recognition for their roles in the games.
For instance, the media loves to tout how "progressive" today's gaming scene is but it's not like there's been a quality follow-up to something like No One Lives Forever, or The Colonel's Bequest, or Phantasmagoria.
Many games made back in the day starring women have gone ignored in today's gaming circles, much in the same way that many games starring women in today's games go ignored in many gaming circles.
You bring up the "scantily-clad, wooden placeholders" but this was mostly for games aimed at a specific demographic. Unsurprisingly, stuff aimed at teenage boys featured games that most teenage boys would enjoy: guys with big muscles, big guns and beautiful women.
It's no different than finding that many of the games aimed at more neutral audiences back in the day, like some of the King's Quest titles or Alone in the Dark (another game where you could play as a male or female protag but often never gets any recognition for such) had female characters that weren't just there for "wall decoration".
I mean, I'm probably sure you've never heard of the game Meat Puppet or Traffic Department 2192? The latter game had some very interesting characters that put many of today's games to shame.
Unfortunately, most people unfamiliar with the gaming industry only believe what they've been told and most media these days only tell you that female representation in gaming didn't "get good" until recently, which is a very disconcerting bit of misinformation.
Denis Dyack, former president of development studio Silicon Knights, director of the critically-acclaimed Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, and 2011 inductee to the Canadian Gaming Hall of Fame.
:comeon
That's his full title, and the only way you are allowed to address him.