HAHAHA! Take -that- Ion Storm!

[plin]

blablahincoherentbabbleblahblahblah

Looks like whatever mental impairment Volurn suffers from is contagious.

Awww, someone's sad because I use logic and reason and have an open-mind. "Volurn" seems to be another who uses them.

The poor creature is in denile.

says the king of idiots

 

[DemonKing]

Is it any surprise that Ion Storm is being disolved?

I was surprised after releasing the digital excrement known as "Daikatana" they managed to hang on so long (presumably based on the success of the original Deus Ex, which didn't do too much for me, incidentally, being neither a great shooter or a great RPG IMO).

I will be buying Thief 3 on PC, so I can't comment on that as yet, but I think so far neither Spector or Romero has managed to make anyone "their bitch" with Ion's previous releases.

Although this is strangely reminiscent of Looking Glass going under shortly after the release of Thief 2. What studio would dare to develop Thief 4 given the fate previous Thief teams have endured post-release?

 

[chrisbeddoes]

Did they hired Herve as new CEO ?

Seriously M$oft is to blame here.

They lost much more than 1 Billion $$$ to dump their x-box and that is driving the incredible hardware console sales.(people think that they lose about 750 mil per year)

There is a reason that economists think that selling a product at half price of the cost is bad.

But when M$oft gets down from the console wars only then people will start to invest more in pc games.

 

[Anonymous]

blablahincoherentbabbleblahblahblah

Looks like whatever mental impairment Volurn suffers from is contagious.

Awww, someone's sad because I use logic and reason and have an open-mind. "Volurn" seems to be another who uses them.

The poor creature is in denile.

says the king of idiots

Right, and you're the Serf of Idiots, now fuck off or i'll have your head chopped off.

Bitch.

 

[Jed]

Owned!

 

[Elwro]

The poor creature is in denile.

Your spelling seems to be eencorrect.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Jesus H Christ. I'm playing Thief 3 right now and it's a LOT better than I expected for it to be, too. It's really sad to see a team like Ion Storm Austin get shredded to pieces like that. DXIW was a bad game, but in my opinion they redeemed themselves a lot with Thief 3 - and now this happens.

I guess Eidos is more interested in going down the console-only route than making any games for the PC. I hope they rot in hell.

 

[Sol Invictus]

I'm with Plin on this one too. I don't think that Spector and co are fully responsible for the dumbing down of DXIW (and subsequently Thief 3, which isn't dumbed down that much. It's still a better game than Thief 2). I mean, really - they don't run their own company. They still take orders from Eidos, or at least they were before they were all fired en masse. I would hold Eidos fully responsible for all, if any of the issues pertaining to the console->pc ports.

 

[Sol Invictus]

In whose pocket Ion Storm, Spector, and tbe Deus Ex license are isn't really an issue here. My point was that such things as dual development or porting had been surely agreed upon before this particular development started. I also highly doubt that Spector was a pawn who was forced to do Eidos bididng

Why would you doubt that? For the sake of argument? For once, don't argue - it's pointless.

You would be wrong in disputing this, because history has proven itself time and time again that developers are often coerced into this sort of shit. I'm sure you'll remember Tim Cain and gang (including Steve Moret) saying relatively good things about their relationship with Atari, but I'm sure most of us know, that despite their saying otherwise, the relationship is far from good. Lack of communication from the publishers and last-minute bullshit like the removal of children and the switch from 3.0 to 3.5 without due notice are just some of the few issues with Atari and Troika. It's not as if Troika could back out of the deal at that point. The same with Spector - I don't think he would have been able to back out of DXIW when Eidos decided to take the console port route with it.

Take note that Warren Spector, as important and as respected a developer as he is, just didn't have the opportunity as Blizzard's former chiefs and especially Bill Roper - who had the clout, the investors and the manpower to back him up in his departion from Blizzard when the higher ups decided to take over the reins and shut him out of providing development input.

Though one could mention Feargus and co, the fact is that they took a much smaller risk than Bill Roper did mainly because Interplay was a sinking ship, whereas Blizzard is still way up there. Just the same, Spector and crew probably didn't leave because of the monthly income they were getting while developing DXIW and Thief 3. Would you quit your job just because it displeased you? Perhaps, but you'd probably give it a little time before you did, to see if conditions changed.

Ah, well... it looks like conditions have changed for Ion Storm, and not for the better.

 

[undead dolphin hacker]

Thief 3 > Thief Gold > Thief 2.

OMG PEOPLEZ LOTS THIER JOBS ROFL;; WURRAN SPIKTER SUX OMGROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!111111;; KEKEKEKEKEKEKE ZERGRUSH ^_^;;

Grow up.

 

[Volourn]

The idiots who dragged my name into this silly thread should stop trolling for my appearance. I know you want me; but spamming my name even when misspelled isn't gonna get me in your bed.

Cease your actions.

 

[Sol Invictus]

It's not funny that they lost their jobs. They were all talented individuals run by a bunch of fuckhats at Eidos. As for those of you who think Warren is solely responsible for the failure that is DXIW: grow the fuck up. Consolizing it was a mistake, and he even admitted that:

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/499/499751p3.html

And to be completely frank, and I don't think I've ever actually said this, we made a really bad, bad decision.

Please take note that he wasn't even the lead developer of DXIW so blaming Spector for it is just plain idiotic. You'll take note that him, and a lot of the people who worked at Ion Storm Austin worked on games like Thief, Thief 2, System Shock, System Shock 2, Crusader: No Remorse, Wing Commander series, Ultima VII.

Thief 3 would have been a total crapfest if it wasn't for Ion Storm's insistance that the game release be delayed in order to fix the bugs and issues which it had some weeks ago (when Gamespy previewed it). All of the bugs mentioned there don't even exist anymore, and the game is pretty damn sweet thanks to their working their asses off to release it in a good state. And believe me, it's in a damn good state for what it's worth.

Blaming Harvey's team for the fuckload of bugs in DXIW is as asinine as blaming Troika for Atari's fucked up QA. Yes, they did a bad job, but they didn't have much time to do it, and their resources were mostly limited. Just as well, they were under constant pressure (as any developer would have been in their position) to make the game 'simpler' and 'more accessible' for console gamers.

People lost their jobs. Stop gloating, just shut the fuck up.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Edit: I hope you are wrong Dhruin. I mean, it is far too early to say they fired those guys because Thief 3 didnt sell isnt it? The game barely came out.

It's an understood belief at Shacknews that they were fired from Ion Storm because they refused to release the game on time and instead forced Eidos to extend the development period for some very critical fixes. I'm glad to see that they did, too - because the game runs well and plays even better than the original two. Publishers generally dont like it when their developers insist on quality over quick dollars.

It was either that, or these PC oriented developers didn't fit into their vision of a 'console future' direction that the company is heading in, or both.

As for Gamespy calling this one of the 'ugliest' games in recent date - I want to know what the fuck they are smoking.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Is it any surprise that Ion Storm is being disolved?

I was surprised after releasing the digital excrement known as "Daikatana" they managed to hang on so long (presumably based on the success of the original Deus Ex, which didn't do too much for me, incidentally, being neither a great shooter or a great RPG IMO).

I will be buying Thief 3 on PC, so I can't comment on that as yet, but I think so far neither Spector or Romero has managed to make anyone "their bitch" with Ion's previous releases.

Isn't it ironic that you would choose to bitch about the incompetence one company while completely mistaking the company you're bitching (Ion Storm Dallas) for another (Ion Storm Austin)?

 

[Psilon]

It's not funny that they lost their jobs. They were all talented individuals run by a bunch of fuckhats at Eidos. As for those of you who think Warren is solely responsible for the failure that is DXIW: grow the fuck up. Consolizing it was a mistake, and he even admitted that:

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/499/499751p3.html

And to be completely frank, and I don't think I've ever actually said this, we made a really bad, bad decision.

I agree that celebrating Ion's demise is pretty stupid, but you're taking Spector's comment way out of context. The "bad decision" Spector's referring to is the lack of drag'n'drop in the inventory interface.

[W]e made a really bad, bad decision. I was involved in it, and the entire team was involved in it, by not supporting drag and drop in the interface on the PC version of Invisible War, and that was unforgivable.

That's it.

Admittedly, the horrible inventory is one of the most obviously console-centric parts of the IW interface, but that's all he can come up with? Talk about spin doctoring.

EDIT: For the record, I never tried the retail version. The demo was simply too awful.

 

[Shevek]

Specter may not be the sole thing that was wrong behind DXIW (wasnt Harvey Smith helming that title?) but his interviews and speeches since indicate that he didnt exactly disagree with the design direction the game had taken. Also, he used to be fairly forthwright in his interactions with the media but has turned more and more into a spin doctor. One has to wonder why exactly his new opinions are so drastically different than his older ones. Its hard to see Eidos as the puppeteer guiding Specter on invisible strings. Instead, I just dont think Specter is as focused on making innovative and quality products I thought he was. In any case, it should be painfully clear to fans of the original Deus Ex (like myself - it is one of my favorite all-time titles) that we will most likely not be seeing a true sequel to that title because of this shift in design priorities and that alone is enough to erase all respect I had for this development team.

 

[plin]

Right, and you're the Serf of Idiots, now fuck off or i'll have your head chopped off.

Bitch.

No thanks.

 

[undead dolphin hacker]

In any case, it should be painfully clear to fans of the original Deus Ex (like myself - it is one of my favorite all-time titles) that we will most likely not be seeing a true sequel to that title because of this shift in design priorities and that alone is enough to erase all respect I had for this development team.

If it's any consolation, what I've played of Thief 3 so far smacks of Deus Ex-like level design... in the first (real) level alone, for example, there are 3+ ways to infiltrate all of the major areas--I don't want to write any spoliers, so I won't be more specific, but it's very impressive.

 

[Anonymous]

Grow up.

Yeah, not liking some piece of shit means I need to grow up.

 

[Anonymous]

The poor creature is in denile.

Your spelling seems to be eencorrect.

halp fone internit ditctonarie

 

[fnordcircle]

I'm not happy some poor developer schmucks lost their jobs. I'm happy to see a company with a complete fuckwad like Warren Spector hit hardtimes after what they did with Deus Ex. The average age of gamers is 29. 41% of gamers are female, this was in the NY times recently. And yet we still get games developed with 12 year olds who bust their zippers over pixelated boobies in mind as the primary audience.

So, while I'm not happy to see some working coder slob get the axe, I am happy to see little Warren's plans result in hard time for the company.

emote gloats.

 

[plin]

Grow up.

Yeah, not liking some piece of shit means I need to grow up.

I think it's your childish views, taunts, and lack of compassion. A healthy dose of maturing can cure some of it.

 

[Anonymous]

Grow up.

Yeah, not liking some piece of shit means I need to grow up.

I think it's your childish views, taunts, and lack of compassion. A healthy dose of maturing can cure some of it.

Of course, you only think that because you liked the game. Had you not, you'd be right up with everyone else.

The 'GROW UP' thing sure is a great last defense, or whatever.

 

[plin]

Grow up.

Yeah, not liking some piece of shit means I need to grow up.

I think it's your childish views, taunts, and lack of compassion. A healthy dose of maturing can cure some of it.

Of course, you only think that because you liked the game. Had you not, you'd be right up with everyone else.

The 'GROW UP' thing sure is a great last defense, or whatever.

Like what game? Thief III? I haven't even played it yet. Or do you mean Deus Ex 2?
I wouldn't say I particularly liked it, it was o.k., but I still don't think it's the atrocity most people tend to say it is. I think it's better than most mediocre, and mindless shooters out today.

And my liking of a game doesn't change the fact that you're immature. If I didn't like the game I would simply state that "I didn't like the game" not: " it was a fucking peice of shit. Fuck Ion Storm, and fuck Warren Spector, that fucking tool." To jump on the stupid-people bandwagon.

There's really no need for a defense at all, you've made it clear that you are an idiot, and that you're childish.

 

[Volourn]

If you came to RPGCodex expecting anything more that's your problem.