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Teal'c visits Stargate Worlds
Stargate SG-1 actor Christopher Judge visited Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's game development studio to check out Stargate Worlds last week. Judge played the part of Teal'c -- the Jaffa warrior on the SG-1 team -- for the entire run of the TV series and in the movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum, and has appeared on Stargate Atlantis as well.Members of the development teamed gushed about how awesome he was on the Stargate Worlds community site. "I wouldn't have thought I was the type to get embarrassed and feel like a blushing teenage girl (no offense to blushing teenage girls) when meeting a star like Christopher Judge but apparently I totally am," said one of the team members. The team got the impression that Judge was "SUPER excited" about the game.CME/FireSky put up a gallery of pictures from the visit. The studio was also visited by Formula1 race car driver Jonathan Summerton, which seems kind of random. If you want pics of that event, there's a gallery for that too.
Stargate Worlds Comic-Con event plans unveiled
We learned a while back that developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and publisher FireSky are teaming up with the United States Armed Forces and the creators of the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis TV series to present Stargate Worlds at this year's Comic-Con. Fans will get to ask questions about the game and the series, as well as see gameplay footage. A life-sized stargate wll be deployed for photo ops, too.Now the schedule has finally been announced. It'll all go down in Ballroom 20 on Friday the 25th. From 10:45 to 11:45, the showrunners and stars of Stargate SG-1 will sit in a panel discussing Stargate Continuum, the new movie based on the series. After that, the Stargate Worlds presentation will run from 11:45 to 12:15. Finally, the cast and crew of Stargate Atlantis will talk about season 5 from 12:15 to 1:15. All Pacific time, of course, since the convention's in San Diego.So if you're just interested in the game, show up at 11:45 and leave at 12:15. We figure you'll go for the whole thing if you'll go at all though; most folks interested in this game are probably fans of the series too, right?
Stargate Worlds developer chat on May 9th
Do you have any burning questions about Stargate Worlds? Something on your mind? The admins of SGWirc have announced a Stargate Worlds special event for May 9th, a developer chat with Aruspex of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment. The dev chat kicks off at 4pm EST, or 9pm for those of you on UK time, and is slated to last for one hour. Here's where to find him:Address: irc.sgwirc.comChannel: #stargate-worldsJava: http://www.sgwirc.com/chatWho, or what, is Aruspex? Well the May 9th dev chat announcement is a bit clearer than Aruspex's hidden message from back in January, which was written in Ancient -- or really some variant of a Caesar cipher. His game ultimately revealed that he's in charge of Stargate Worlds' crafting system. While it hasn't been announced exactly what sort of questions Aruspex will field, a moderator at the Stargate Worlds forums hinted that Aruspex may also discuss minigames in addition to crafting. So get your questions into the IRC bot early to grill Aruspex about anything and everything your heart desires -- and if it's about crafting in SGW, so much the better. [Via Curse]
Behold SGW's Battle Walker
The Stargate Worlds site revealed three new screenshots and piece of concept art yesterday. The three screenshots show the planets Lucia, Anima Vitrus and Tollan, while the concept art sketch shows the badness that is the Battle Walker (seen above).If those things are playable... I want one!Expect to see more new images In the coming weeks. Check out the Stargate Worlds Gallery for the visual treats.
Inspecting the Asgard drone
The Senior Systems Designer for Stargate Worlds is Chris Bernert. In an exclusive (to SGW forum members) chat he reveals the inner workings of the Asgard drone. Referred to as "The Little Grey Dude Enabler," it does all the dirty work for the Asgards, who aren't the most agile or physically formidable race you'll run across. As such, the drone is the "backbone" of the Asgard archetype. Want to know more? Well, since it's an exclusive to forum members only we don't want to steal their thunder (or piss them off). So head over to the site, sign up, and get reading!
A Stargate Worlds progress report
MPOGD.com recently interviewed CME's Senior Marketing Manager Kevin Balentine and asked him for a progress report on the highly anticipated Stargate Worlds. Here' a few brief highlights from their interview: SGW won't offer player-controlled vehicles - at launch. While the sci-fi MMO will be solo-able, it's designed for community play. The enemy AI will react like first-person shooter opponents, flanking and using cover to engage the player. During a new video trailer showed to them (which did not show any in-game combat or PvE involvement) , the MPOGD guys said the graphics sported by the Unreal 3 graphics engine looked good. When asked how SGW would exist along side the MMO King, World of Warcraft, Balentine responded with: "We co-exist nicely with WoW...because sometimes, you know, you just want to take your P90 and shoot things up." Nice! Head over to MPOGD to read the full interview and see some exclusive screenshots.
Chat with a world builder
Ever feel like chatting with a world builder? I'm not talking 'bout the religious Almighty who "built" this world in seven days. Hey, wouldn't it be nice if MMO worlds could be built that fast?Seriously though, if you want to know what goes into building an MMO world here's your chance. The world builder for Stargate Worlds - Derek Sunshine (what a bright, happy name!) - will be the special guest on this Saturday's SG1-Radio program (5pm EST). Derek will be there to answer your questions (log in to http://sgwirc.com and fire away!), discuss gaming, talk about the Stargate franchise, and generally illuminate listeners by revealing what it is he does at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment.
Stargate's Comedy Line Countdown contest closes
If you were paying attention way back on February 1, you'll recall that we gibber-jabbered about the Stargate Worlds Comedy Line Countdown contest. In that post we mentioned that you had 30 days to work your mad video and comedy skillz. Well, time's up. Hopefully you were one of the nearly 200 videos made and submitted by fans. If you didn't, too bad. You might want to skedaddle on over to the SGW YouTube Group and see if you could have done better. Although submissions are no longer accepted you can still post your own "hilarious" lines to the group. But they better be funny. You don't want to look like a Jaffa now do you? Expect to see a SGW video podcast featuring the finalists later this month.
How to get into the Stargate Worlds beta
Oh, so you want to jump headfirst into an untested Stargate do you? Well, listen up soldier. Right now the ONLY way to get into the beta (keep your knickers on - it hasn't begun yet!) is to be a member of the Stargate Worlds Forum. According to Katie Postma (Senior Community Manager), until such time as they (they being Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment) actually has a beta capture process implemented all you have to do is register on the forum website. They'll be sending out invitations over the upcoming months based on the emails found in their forum database.Why are you still here reading this soldier? Go register already!
CME wants to know: How do you want your Stargate?
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment wants to know what you want to see in the upcoming Stargate Worlds Collector's Edition boxed set. Both inside and out. Everyone has to have a collector's edition boxed set, and I'm all for them... as long as their is intrinsic added value. And I'm not jut talking about some flashy collectible cards, a glossy concept art book, or an extra DVD full of behind the scenes whatnot. Those are nifty baubles that Gollum-like folk might be entranced by, but I want something more pertinent. Something that's really worth my money.So if you're like me and want extra bling for your in-game characters, things like rare weapons, a vehicle, special emotes, equipment, buffs and other stuff that really sets your character apart from the pack... the discussion is already underway over in the official Stargate Worlds forums. Let them hear your opinions! Kudos to the CME gang for actually wanting player input on this. Don't squander the opportunity.
Behold the Jaffa!
The Assistant Art Director for Stargate Worlds, Nick Heitzman, chatted with StargateWorlds.com about the inspiration behind the look of the Jaffa. At first blush I'd say steroid enhanced NFL linemen. But that's just me. Heitzman said he wanted them to look "strong, sexy and exuding an aura of command." Welp, I'd say he hit it right on the head. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to meet up with these guys in a dark alley! The Jaffa will be bigger, more muscular and militarily precise in their movements. Heitzman compared them to Spartans in both their clothing and armor choices, preferring function over form, with color tones hearkening back to Greece and Rome. Endowed with peak physical conditioning honed by constant training and a fanatical devotion to achieving higher levels of effectiveness, the Jaffa really will be like the "Steel Curtain." All I know is, if I can be a Jaffa... that's what I'll be playing! In addition to this nugget o' knowledge, the Stargate Worlds Gallery has been updated with pictures of the Jaffa (see above), vehicles, and containers for Anima Vitru.
Ask the SGW Creative Director anything... really
The great thing about the myriad of fan sites and official community forums for games these days is that they give gamers unprecedented access to those people actually making the games. Back in the early days, when this industry was still crawling around on it's hands and knees, gamers were lucky to even know the name of the development company let alone have direct communication with the men and women down in the trenches.Chris Klug (Creative Director for Stargate Worlds) is literally giving players the chance to ask him whatever they want. "Ask me anything, really," invites Klug. "Personal, game-related, whatever you want. If I know and can tell you, I will. If I know and I can't tell you yet, I'll tell you that. I'll tell you why we did stuff... this is a 'no b.s.' zone." Gotta love frankness like that!
SGW's Sean Dugan chats with MMOZone
Sean Dugan, the content lead and head writer for Stargate Worlds, recently sat down with MMOZone and revealed a Pharaoh's tomb worth of info regarding their upcoming MMO.At launch the level cap will be 50, and the plan is for players to be able to achieve this by running just the main story missions. It should take approximately 200 -250 hours of gameplay to reach. When asked about the endgame, Dugan stated it will be significant and engage the players for a considerable length of time. When asked how much time one could expect to spend on each world Dugan said it will vary because some worlds are huge, while other are "gigantinormous." MMOZone also asked if he could reveal any spoilers. Normally, the pat answer is - "what are you smoking?" This time though Sean actually revealed a few things. Players will apparently get to re-visit forgotten allies, see places only hinted at in the show, explore Ancient cities devastated by the plague, and witness the formation of the Lucian alliance.I so hope this game pans out to be as good as it sounds! For the whole rucksack o' goodies, check out MMOZone's full interview.
RPG Vault: Stargate Worlds Diary #4
Chris Klug, Creative Director for Stargate Worlds, continues his chat about the power of choice in a new dev diary on RPG Vault. In it he deconstructs a mission from Earth & Beyond wherein the player must listen to his conscience -- and make an important choice.Chris says that to successfully deconstruct the mission it is imperative that we understand what emotion the writer wanted for his audience. At the heart of any well written story... be it anything, is this: a creator manipulating the audience to feel something. Sure, it happens all the times in books, movies and television shows... but how often does that happen in a video game? When was the last time you actually felt something - something with emotional complexity, not the adrenaline rush you get from fragging 17 people in a row - during a video game? For me it was playing Bioshock. More specifically, when was the last time you felt a true emotional response during an MMO?Morality and player's conscious have been a hot button topic of late. In his weekly column, Building a Better MMOusetrap, our own Dave Moss talks about morality in video games. In fact, he asks: can there really be moral choices in an online world? From a purely creative standpoint all of this "esoteric" thinking is fascinating. I'm glad to see that these philosophical questions are being asked because they will have to be answered if video games are to evolve to the next level, one that requires a true moralistic choice to be made. Check out Chris' fascinating article (which includes three brand new pieces of SGW concept art), peruse Dave's article then let us know what you think.
Writing a Stargate story
WarCry has a very interesting dev journal up from Sean Dugan, the Lead Content Designer for Stargate Worlds. In the entry Sean asks, "When I say Stargate, what do you think of?" Good question, especially when you consider that the show has 10 years worth of mythology, a movie, and two TV shows (with one more on the way). The bottom line: each us has a different interpretation of what Stargate is, and that becomes their biggest problem when creating content for SGW. With all of that, where do you set the game? After all the research was done CME found a "sweet spot" -- between seasons 8 and 9 in the SG-1 timeline -- to plop what takes place in SGW without violating canon. The line these guys have to walk is so thin it makes Paris Hilton look obese. They have to simultaneously keep the game fun and exciting without stepping over canon boundaries, all the while not letting the series characters overshadow the players characters. Wow. I for one can't wait to see the final results. Check out Sean's entry, then come back here and let us know your thoughts. What comes to mind when you think of Stargate, and are you looking forward to the upcoming MMO?
New Stargate Worlds contest
In the same vein as the knee-slapping show Whose line is it Anyway? the Stargate Worlds team is holding a new contest called "Comedy Line Countdown." In this contest you must submit your own phrase in place of a human soldier's dialog. Ah, but it's not nearly as easy as just submitting some witty jargon. You're gonna have to work for this prize. Here's what ya gotta do: Download a video template (you'll get more directions from there as well). Insert your own hilarious line(s) using whatever video editor lights your fire. Go check out the Stargate Worlds video page on YouTube and upload your video. The Stargate Worlds team will select the top 10 videos for inclusion in a future SGW video podcast. In addition to that glory, the top 10 will also receive Stargate Worlds t-shirts with the shiny new logo. There's no limit to the amount of entries you can make, but they all have to be in by Friday, February, 29, 2008. Yes, this is a Leap Year, so you all get one extra day to procrastinate.
Cheyenne Mountain opens the Stargate for IGN
In a new (and very lengthy) interview with IGN, the guys at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (Chris Klug, Dan Elggren, and Howard Lyon) keep the PR machine rolling with more new info about their upcoming sci-fi MMO, Stargate Worlds. It's a fantastic read that includes some very intriguing nuggets 'o knowledge. Over the course of the game players will acquire many gate addresses (which are required to travel to other worlds via the Stargate) in various ways -- sometimes via quests (either as a reward or given when a player first gets a quest), and some are just given automatically. Each archetype starts out in different location and gets a short solo experience to help define who their character is. CME does this to bring all players (not just hardcore TV series viewers) up to speed with Stargate lore, as well as being able to walk them through the game play mechanics. PvP will have a staggered launch. Events and battlegrounds will be brought in slowly as the game matures. Some servers will be PvP only, and it will eventually have "world PvP" as well. According to Klug, players will enter queues to join staged battlegrounds with certain win/loss conditions. These battlegrounds will be military-styled battles rather than open melee (ala WoW). Perhaps one of the more reassuring statements (for me) came during questions regarding how the shows story was implemented into the game and how it was going to be presented. Dan Elggren said that one of the biggest hurdles for them was figuring out how to tell the story without players having to read the story via text. Chris Klug followed by saying that players will in fact be doing things during the missions that reveal the greater story instead of having it told via boring NPCs. I'm a writer, and one of the major tenants of writing fiction is show, don't tell. Thankfully, that seems to be exactly what the CME crew is doing.
Stargate Worlds: A TTH post-trailer interview
TenTonHammer's Cody "Micajah" Bye and Garrett Fuller got a chance to sit down with Stargate Worlds' Dan Elggren (Studio Head), Chris Klug (Creative Director), Howard Lyon (Art Director), and Jeremy Taylor (Product Manager) to grill them about the game's first trailer seen during the season premiere of Stargate Atlantis. The rather lengthy interview breaks down virtually every detail of the relatively short trailer (which is good for those of us obsessed with minutia) and is chock full of great information. Two planets were revealed in the trailer. According to Klug, Agnos is basically just a giant artificially intelligent entity. "It takes the form of a location in space, but it's really just a construct of the artificial intelligence." Whereas Anima Vitrus is a "living world" (the planet is actually a living entity). Both are locations for high-end players (late 30s to early 40s level range) and are set up so that you go from from Agnos to Anima Vitrus in sequence.When asked about game play ratios (combat to exploration, etc.), Klug said that combat will take precedence, with a 60/40 or 70/30 ration. Dan Elggren chipped in by saying that they wanted to give players different ways to play the game, so if you're bouncing around as a scientist or archaeologist you won't have to fight if you don't want to. Those archetypes will be much more heavily geared towards exploration and playing out mini-games. I'm an altaholic by nature, so whenever an MMO offers me a variety of ways to play the game, so much so that the game itself is different, I'll take part in it. And since I'm also a big shooter fan (man can not live by frags alone however), I'm very curious to see how these different archetypes play out. For the whole scoop be sure to peruse "Stargate Worlds: A post-trailer interview with the team" on TTH.
More new screenies appear for Stargate Worlds
The Stargate Worlds website just updated their gallery (again) to include several new screen shots of an Egyptian themed Goa'uld world, along with several concept paintings of the Castle (an abandoned outpost that Stargate Command commandeered and uses as a prison), a primitive human settlement and a human planet.With each new batch of images my desire to jump through the Stargate grows. They're breathtaking. What's more, they continue to look better and better. While I watched the first few seasons of the acclaimed Stargate series, I haven't watched it in many years. But I still love the concept and lore. I think the TV show is a perfect fit to become an MMORPG because it's laid out just like one. Each episode is about a team of four characters with completely different skills that get sent through the Stargate to overcome challenges, defeat enemies and recover phat lewt! And ain't that what an MMO is all about?
Stargate fans launch an IRC chat room
The Stargate Worlds website is reporting that fans have launched a new chat room called the StargateWorlds IRC Network. Moderator Zoeff hopes it will help support simultaneous developer participation. Apparently they were having some legitimacy issues as multilple deveopers were pipping in from the same IP address. The StargateWorlds IRC Network is located on irc.SGWirc.com. If you've never IRC'ed before, grab the Java PJIRC client at www.sgwirc.com and get chatting!
