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Stargate Worlds open beta to come right before launch and not suck
Stargate Worlds Studio Head Dan Elggren told videogamer.com in an interview that there will be an open beta test for the game immediately before the commercial launch date. That's not a shock; most MMO developers these days run a small open beta test in the one or two weeks immediately preceding launch.Elggren promised that the beta will be "pretty solid product," and pointed to Funcom's Age of Conan open beta event as the best example of what Cheyenne Mountain/Firesky is trying not to do. Our readers who participated in that beta may remember terrible performance and stability issues.In both videogamer.com's interview and in a chat with us earlier in the summer, the SGW team has acknowledged that open beta events are more marketing tools than technical ones. The closed beta (which will begin within the next few weeks) might be a different kind of affair though.[Via Ten Ton Hammer]
Stargate Worlds beta "just a few weeks away"
Cheyenne Mountain/FireSky's Stargate Worlds beta test plans seem to be on track. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Studio Head Dan Elggren told the press that the beta would start in "early September/October." If you were worried that wouldn't happen, it might be time to stop worrying and start signing up (if you haven't already); there's an announcement at the official website saying that the closed beta test is "just weeks away."No further information was provided. We just got the above and a reminder to sign up. Since it's just the closed beta, though, you're not very likely to get in too terribly soon what with 200,000 applicants and all. That probably shouldn't upset you too much, since early closed beta tests tend to be about as playable as Ultima IX: Ascension.Hardcore Stargate Worlds fans will of course ignore these words of wisdom, because that's the kind of crazy gamers can proudly be.
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 level cap to increase every three months
Stargate Worlds France conducted a very substantial interview with Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/Firesky Studio Head Dan Elggren at the Games Convention in Leipzig. We say it's substantial because it includes a few new revelations about the game.The most notable of those revelations: CME/Firesky will be raising the game's level cap (50 at launch) by two levels every three months to coincide with new content updates and episodes. The second most interesting tidbit is about teams. Teams are a social unit smaller than commands (guilds); think of them as persistently existing and organized groups/parties. Anyway, the big news about teams is that players will be able to name their regular groups. Cool! Other topics included various Stargate inside jokes, Elggren plugging the gas-guzzling Hummer promotion, and some stuff about the Asgard, Archaeologist, Jaffa, and Go'auld classes that has already been floating around for a while. Watch the video for all that. Note that most of the video is in French with English subtitles, while the interview itself is in English with French subtitles.
Stargate Worlds beta invites coming in "early September/October"
In addition to a previously reported train station appearance, and in defiance of all common sense in the midst of a global gas crisis and panic about carbon emissions, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/FireSky promoted Stargate Worlds at the Games Convention in Leipzig by meeting the press in a constantly-moving caravan of pimped-out, gas-guzzling Hummers.In one of those Hummers, Ten Ton Hammer's John Hoskin recorded a video interview with Stargate Worlds studio head Dan Elggren. Hoskin asked Elggren about CME/FireSky's beta plans. Elggren said that the friends and family beta test has been going on for a while (it was when we visited the studio back in July, even) but that invites for "gameplay testing" will be going out to the public in "early September/October." Not quite the summer date we were promised, but we're still impressed at how quickly it's coming up.Hopefully that will cheer up Stargate fans who are depressed over the recent news of Stargate Atlantis' imminent cancellation. Yet another spin-off -- called Stargate Universe -- will premiere in 2009, though.
Stargate Worlds reaches 200k beta signups, dev chat on Friday
The Stargate Worlds team announced yesterday that 200,000 people have signed up for the game's beta test. That's not an unimpressive number, although both Age of Conan and Warhammer Online reported a lot more (but at later stages in development). Of course, history has shown that the number of beta applicants doesn't necessarily reflect on a game's post-launch popularity.In other Stargate Worlds-related news, the game's sound designer (Nick LaMartina) will be participating in a live dev chat that will be open to all on Friday the 22nd at 11:00 AM Pacific time. Head over to the Stargate Worlds website for details and links on reaching the IRC chat room where it will take place.When we visited Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment just over a month ago, a representative told us that the company was hoping to start the closed beta phase before the end of the summer. We've been a bit skeptical. Time's a-tickin'!
Stargate Worlds will be on display at Leipzig train station
European Stargate fans take note: Stargate Worlds will be making an appearance at the Leipzig Games Convention in -- you guessed it -- Leipzig, Germany. As was the case earlier in the summer at Comic Con, Firesky/Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have some special stuff planned.The team will be "taking over" the Leipzig Train Station, where they'll be showing "the latest" gameplay trailer (we don't know if it'll be new or not, but presumably, right?) and giving away various stuff, including t-shirts and dog tags. Apparently the prizes will be given out by "Stargate commandos." People in uniform, perhaps? Also, Studio Head Dan Elggren and marketing guy Kevin Balentine will be on site to promote the game and talk to the press.The Stargate franchise has always been popular in Europe -- especially in Germany, so we know there are a few of you out there who'll want in on this. And with that subsidized airfare, getting there might be almost affordable, right?
Interview: Stargate Worlds aims high with artificial intelligence
MMORPG has posted its second video interview with the folks working on Stargate Worlds. Last time, it connected with Howard Lyon to talk about customization the game's user interface. This time, studio head Dan Elggren tells the site a little bit about the artificial intelligence that guides the actions of Stargate Worlds' hostile entities.Elggren explains that there are different types of AI behaviors -- personalities, if you will. An aggressive enemy might throw caution to the wind and charge the player with a knife, while a defensive one will play it safe behind cover. Elggren hopes this will make combat more dynamic in Stargate Worlds than it is in other MMOs. He also said that enemies might run away or retreat for the sake of self-preservation. Of course, enemies do that in plenty of MMOs already, but hopefully it's a bit more complicated than the "run at 15% health" trigger that we're used to seeing.
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?
Chat with Stargate Worlds artists on your lunch break
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is hosting another developer chat for fans who want to know more about Stargate Worlds. This time, the participating developers are Lead Artist Austin Germer and Lead Animator Carl Cross. The chat will take place at 11:00 AM Pacific and 2:00 PM Eastern, and will last for one hour. So that falls right on top of lunch for most folks -- or at least it can, if they schedule it right. So sneak in while eating a sandwich at your desk.The place to which you may sneak: IRC chat room #Stargate-Worlds at irc.sgwirc.com. Once you're in, ask up to three questions using the /q command. More info can be found at the Stargate Worlds community website. If you're new to the game and want an introduction before the chat, (shameless plug alert) check out the coverage of our exclusive visit to the game's development studio and our interview with the directors. Hey -- you knew we couldn't help ourselves.[Via Ten Ton Hammer]
Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 3
In part three of our interview with Cheyenne Mountain's studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine, we discuss endgame content and go into great detail about the graphics and combat.
Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview
During our visit to Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's Arizona studio, we got to sit down with five of the top minds on the Stargate Worlds team -- studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine. This exclusive, in-depth, and conversational interview is overflowing with information about everything in the game, including TV series tie-ins and cameos, episodic content, combat, graphics, mini-games, and much, much more. This meaty interview is an essential read for any Stargate or MMO fan. We've split it up into four parts for easy reading. Enjoy!%Gallery-27249%
Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 4
In part four of our interview with Cheyenne Mountain's studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine, Lyon describes the philosophy behind the game's artistic style, and we learn more about the company's plan for launch and post-live content.
Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 2
Our part two of our interview with Cheyenne Mountain's studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine, we talk about the team's plans to reach out to Stargate fans with little gaming experience and we learn about the classic Stargate characters and lore we'll see in the game.
Massively visits Stargate Worlds
In the intense heat of North America's Sonoran Desert you'll find Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the company producing the upcoming MMO Stargate Worlds. The location seems appropriate, as the climate conjures up images of ancient Egypt, where the Stargate franchise's mythology began. Braving the Arizona summer, we visited CME's development studio and spoke with several leaders of the Stargate Worlds team. We also observed live gameplay. Now we're happy to share our impressions of both the studio and the game with our readers.The story of our visit and our eyes-on experience with the game is after the break. Additionally, we have an exclusive, in-depth interview with studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine. Finally, there's a gallery of exclusive artwork, screenshots, and photographs for your examination.%Gallery-27249%
Massively visits Stargate Worlds, part 2: Gameplay
We saw gameplay in two contexts. First, we saw canned footage of a firefight on the planet Lucia. Second, we visited the Quality Assurance department and watched testers play the game. The scenario they were playing appeared to be a prison break. From this we acquired a relatively good understanding of the basics of Stargate Worlds' combat. We didn't see any of the other modes of gameplay, but we talked about them a bit in our interview with the directors.
Massively visits Stargate Worlds, part 3: Impressions
We found a lot to like in Stargate Worlds. Its cover-based, ranged combat should prove tactically interesting for groups of friends playing together. We were impressed by the attention to detail in the recreation of Stargate lore and places. We were especially excited by the mini-game concept and its integration with more traditional hardcore-friendly modes of play. CME is trying to reach and please a very broad audience, and we believe this product could potentially accomplish that goal. CME's promise to support the game with regular episodic content updates makes the package that much more attractive.
X-play opens the Stargate and brings back Stargate Worlds gameplay video
G4's X-play gained access to the FireSky Studios where the developers are hard at work on Stargate Worlds. G4 was allowed to open the Stargate and returned back with gameplay footage, while undergoing their mission they infiltrated Studio Head Dan Elggren, Creative Director Chris Klug and Art Director Howard Lyon. As for game footage Elggren took a character through several environments of a pre-alpha build and played through an assault on a drug lord stronghold on the alien planet Lucia. The game is looking great, albeit some video lag in some parts. No earth-shattering revelations were disclosed, but if you'd like learn about the game be sure to check out all our SGW coverage.
Stargate Worlds to make a dramatic showing at Comic Con
Firesky, MGM Home Entertainment, and the United States Armed Forces will be showing Stargate Worlds at Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego. The convention will run from July 24th to 27th. Firesky plans to deploy a full-sized stargate replica outside the convention center for photo ops. Fans will also get to be among the first in the public to see gameplay footage. Check out booth 3525 if you're going to be there.Footage is exciting and all, but we're intrigued by the partnership with the Armed Forces. Presumably this means recruiters will be present at the event as well. The Stargate franchise has always had a close relationship with the military; its central characters have mostly been members of the Air Force. In fact, Stargate SG-1 has featured a handful of cameos by real-world military figures, including Air Force chief of staff Michael E. Ryan, who played himself in the episode "Prodigy."[Via Ten Ton Hammer]
Stargate-themed home theater saves you a trip to space
Hot on the heels of the $150,000 Italian home theater comes one from another galaxy... literally. Designer Phil Chaney teamed up with science fiction addict Andrew Caldwell to create a Stargate-themed lair that could probably lift off at any moment. The room is decked out with stars, ambient lighting, Atlantic Technology in-wall speakers, a Control 4 system and an elusive Blu-ray player to boot. Nah, it won't be easy to recreate this one without some serious cash (and space), but those still waiting to receive SciFi HD can torture themselves further by checking out the slideshow in the read link.