Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The MMO-encompassing Massively recently spotted that Cheyenne Mountain have finally offered some news on the development of their Stargate MMO, despite weeks of quiet. The silence set in after the news that they were still in grave financial trouble, despite aid from new investors. So grave, in fact, that the company apparently couldn’t even afford to update its website with news of progress. The MMO dev and their investors are still apparently intent on bringing the game out, but the messages from the company still seem to point to gloom. Check out the updated screenshot gallery for overdue proof that the game is still being made.

The best bit about the Stargate movie (no, seriously, there is a best bit) is when all the soldiers are running around the pillars under some Egyptianesque building. Every time they get to a pillar they press their backs against it and “cha-chunk” their big rifles. Next pillar, “cha-chunk”. Pillar after that, “cha-chunk”. The amount of live ammunition lying all over the floor in that room must have been a hazard. And that is definitely the best bit in that film. Apart from trying to guess if that baddy is a boy or a girl. Fortunately this is unlikely to have an influence on the MMO Stargate Worlds, for which there is a trailer below.

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Blimey, it sure is convention season. There’s a whole load of other stuff coming out of Comi-Con in San Diego (where our own Mr Gillen currently pimps his second career) and one of the most interesting bits of info-fluff is this first look at StarGate Worlds. An MMO with machineguns? And people apparently using cover? Stealth? Beautiful sci-fi worlds? Okay we were expecting that last bit, but still: stuff!

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I have to admit I never quite saw the appeal of the StarGate TV series, but there’s no accounting for taste. It is clear, however, that the gates make the perfect fiction for a science fiction MMO. It’s a fair bet that StarGate World’s creators Cheyenne Mountain are feeling a little nervy in the light of Tabula Rasa’s high-profile lack of success, so perhaps the huge TV show fanbase will be help them along a bit. And, y’know, let’s hope the game is fun too.

Anyway: there’s a beta coming up. “A game is nothing without players. We’re fired up to finally get our game in the hands of the community,” said Dan Elggren, Stargate Worlds studio head. “We’re at the point where we need external testers to take Stargate Worlds to the finish line. Our devoted fans have helped guide us for more than two years through our forums. Together, we’re going to craft a balanced, polished, and most of all, fun game.” I hope he’s right. And I’ll hopefully see you lot in there.

So Stargate Worlds is going to be an instance-heavy shooty MMO with a level based structure, and just a teensy bit of grinding. Perhaps not all that surprising: the fiction could have been invented for instancing, and, well no one is making an MMO that isn’t level based in some way. Of course all this is also a little reminiscent of another MMO that turned up a few months ago. Stargate Worlds’ awesomely named tech director Demetrius Comes says that they’re “shooting for less grinding” but that there will “always be kill missions”. Hmm.

GameTrailers, you have an instance of our thanks.

Yesterday saw The Sci-Fi Channel debut a trailer for StarGate Worlds, the MMO based on the popular sci-fi film spin-off series. It’s an odd one, I have to admit. StarGate was one of those films that had a fine explosion at the end, but achieved almost nothing else during its 121 minutes. The fact that the TV show incarnation has run so long and hard somewhat mystifies me. Still, it does make the perfect concept for an MMO: the StarGate is so close to being that swirly portal of instancing that we already seen in MMOs every time we’re teleported into a dungeon or private netherworld. Not only that but the StarGate fiction is an evolved fiction of contemporary soldiery and sci-fi absurdities, providing the developers with plenty of fodder for their characters, classes and quests. And there will be characters, classes and quests because we have heard little from developers Cheyenne Mountain to suggest that StarGate Worlds will deviate too far from the Everquest template.

Thanks, Game Trailers!

If you want to follow the development of this MMO a little more closely then the blog and official forums are ripe with info-fruit.