Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
>From: "anna" >To: >Subject: Emailing: viewtopic >Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 20:05:42 -0600 > >Legion of Ash :: View topic - Ram gives TKO the finger > Legion of Ash > Legion of Ash forums > FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups > Profile You have no new messages Log out [ tebeth ] > > > Ram gives TKO the finger > > > Legion of Ash Forum Index -> Members forum > View previous topic :: View next topic > Author Message > ArchDuke > > > > Joined: 05 May 2004 > Posts: 6 > > Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:42 pm Post subject: Ram gives TKO the finger > >-------------------------------------------------------------- > > Ok, I'm posting this in full here because it'll get killed on Stratics in short order. Ram suggested we all fork this to hell and keep it out of the memory hole, so here's my part in this: > > ============= > > Okay, gang, I'm going to take one on the chin for ya'll- I fully expect to really anger some people at TKO for posting this, but, you know, I just don't care at this point. > > I was going to post this in either Developer Posts or Announcements, but I don't have the ability to post in either one of those anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if The Powers That Be try to get Stratics to delete this post- so copy and paste, people. One of the big benefits of TKO being too cheap to host their own forums is that they can't immediately delete the posts they don't like- they have to talk Stratics into doing it. > > I can only post this now because I'm no longer at TKO. I'm staying at my sister's house for the evening, and in the morning I'm moving to Oregon, to work for another company. One of the standing rules at TKO is that You Shall Not Disparage TKO- even though we absolutely HATED everything that TKO was doing, we couldn't let you guys know what was going on. Believe me, no matter how much we felt you guys deserved to know what was going on, we had our livelihoods to think about. And, to tell the truth, deep down we believed that TKO would eventually figure it all out and then things would turn around. > > Well, guess what? It ain't gonna happen. > > I'm only going to say enough that you guys get an idea of what's happened over the last year. I'm taking a chance, here, so if I don't go into too many details, you can guess why. Also, a lot has happened- if I screw up on some of the details, please forgive me. > > Where do I start? > > Okay- when TKO purchased Dransik and hired all of us on, we were told that we had just over a year to get a certain number of players. I'm not sure of the exact number, but it wasn't too big . If, by the deadline, we didn't have that number, well... things would have to be re-examined. We didn't anticipate any problems- our numbers were slowly but surely improving. > > We were also promised an advertising budget, a customer service department (so we wouldn't have to do it anymore), and that they would do their best to find us a publisher to get the game on the shelves. > > After the ink had dried, we were given a few catches- one, the game wasn't "sexy" enough. They wanted a game that looked more like Diablo. Fine, we had some ideas. Two, we were going to go back into free Beta until the first half of March (if I recall correctly), to give us time to get the necessary upgrades. > > We started working. Then we found out that the Operations department, which had taken over billing for us, couldn't get the new billing system to work. So our programmers had to derail themselves a bit to get it to work. > > Then the deadline was pushed up about two weeks- we had to start charging for the game before the updates had gone through, and before the new billing system could be tested. As it turned out, the system had a few bugs. Remember how upset you all were? Double it for us. We didn't get any say in it- but we didn't have to like it. > > Then, to cover the bugs that we inherited, and the fact that they couldn't get the billing servers going... well, remember the Denial of Service attack? Pretty damned convenient, eh? Now, I'm not saying it was a lie- I wasn't involved in that situation, but let's just say that it REALLY bothered us that we had to maintain that story. > > Somewhere in there it was handed down to us that the name had to change. "Ashen Empires" wasn't our decision, but hey, at least it was better than "Fantasy Sword". Personally, I wanted "Eidolon". > > Remember Obi-Wan? That guy TERRIFIED us. Frankly, I was pretty pissed that he was getting paid to drive off players, 'cause that was certainly what it looked like to us. Too many Mondays started off with, "Have you seen what he posted over the weekend?" We actually started a pool to see how long it would be before he was let go... but let's just say he "had connections", and it was a lot longer than most of us thought. > > That whole business of Jason, Jeff and Beth leaving? "Fired" is the word you're looking for. I suspect it was because they were very outspoken in the company- and they managed to make a few enemies in TKO, one of them being Obi-Wan. > > It was around this time that my finely-honed game developer senses started tingling- I started looking for work. Luckily, the day we found out about the office being shut down was the same day I found out about my new job. > > Oh... and that bit about the Austin office being "absorbed"? Read that as "fired". As far as I know, only two of us were offered jobs at the other offices- the rest of us had to "apply" for jobs... and to this day I still can't tell you what the openings were, if there were any. We were certainly never told of any. > > So much for our deadline, eh? We didn't even get a year. Heck, we don't even get any of our stocks vested- not that we'd want them, of course. We never got any advertising, and nobody was ever hired to try to sell the game to publishers. > > Pay attention- this part affects YOU. > > In the same conference call/slideshow presentation where we were told that we were being "absorbed", there was another slide. It was entitled "things we aren't going to do". One was Sahara, the game that had been cancelled a month or so prior. The other was "Ashen Empires". Yep- Ashen Empires is being cancelled. It's just not bringing in enough money for 'em- never mind the fact that they drove off most of the players themselves. > > Let me reiterate that- Ashen Empires is being discontinued. > > I don't know when- but it'll probably be soon. There are NO Developers working on it, and no intention to hire any. As far as I know there is ONE Customer Service guy. The other people hired were hired for all of TKO's projects, and they aren't spending too much time on AE. > > Now, the good bits: > > I LOVED working with the people in Austin. We all struggled with crap you just wouldn't believe- but we all managed to have fun and stay friends throughout it. On the whole, we had great players (of course, there were a few that really pissed us off ), and that's why I'm posting this. You guys deserve to know The Truth. > > Keep your eye on Lothgar.com. I've heard a bit of what's going on over there, and it sounds like exactly the sort of game I'd play. I'd love to work with 'em, but I've already got this other gig lined up. Who knows? In a year or so I may be back, seeing if Jason could use me again. > > Oh- I should add. We were taken off of AE about two weeks before Gonzo was finished. I seriously doubt it'll ever be finished by TKO. It's a shame- we had some good stuff in there. You could become a freakin' WEREWOLF, man! We had all the grounwork in for Construction. We had an all-new paperdoll system- with more slots and better art and animations. All new weapons, some of them one-of-a-kind Artifacts. I mean... jeez. So much. It's a shame it'll never be seen. > > =========== > > I'll get this up quick, then post my reaction after along with all of you. > > Back to top > > > ArchDuke > > > > Joined: 05 May 2004 > Posts: 6 > > Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 6:09 pm Post subject: > >-------------------------------------------------------------- > > Ok, anyway now: > > Ram says they had a year to make the game take off. Depending on wether this was counting from the actual takeover or from the rebranding, this means either October/November of this year, or January of next. > > It's pretty much a done-deal that they didn't reach the target number of subscribers thanks to TKO's failure to proide an advertising budget, the issues with CS, and the breakdown of other contracts (probably the big news they brought back from E3), meaning that AE's on borrowed time past September. > > Anyway, hopefully Dream'll keep the boards up? We could always try to join up again on a new game. Maybe Loth's new game, or something else. > > I'm a bit worried for Ram, though. He most certainly broke a nondisclosure agreement in posting this (as he said, he was going to take one on the chin). He works for Sony now, maybe they'll help him out or something, but he could really mess himself up. I expect the worst TKO will do is shut the game down entirely. > > Back to top > > > Thrashman > Centurion of the Legion > > > Joined: 29 Mar 2004 > Posts: 29 > Location: Wakefield, MA > Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 6:21 pm Post subject: > >-------------------------------------------------------------- > > Yo, ArchDuke, thanks for posting this .. I didn't even try to get to Stratics to see if it was still on. > > I don't think we ever met in game, I know for certain I was gone before you joined LoA, but you have the right idea there. Hopefully Dream will keep the boards up and we can see if we can agree on a new game and all meet up again. I'd like that very much. > _________________ > Having fun again > > Back to top > > > Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First > > Legion of Ash Forum Index -> Members forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours > > Page 1 of 1 > Watch this topic for replies > > Jump to: Select a forum Public----------------
