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[GnH] Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising Cancelled [NSF56K]

KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
edited October 2007 in MMO Extravaganza
Loyal and faithful community members and Beta testers, thank you for your support, help, and understanding during the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising development process.

The development team established some very lofty and ambitious goals when the initial work was started on Gods & Heroes. Recently, we took a step back to evaluate the competitive landscape, the game's current state, and the overall goals for our organization. And while we are truly proud of and pleased with what we have created in Gods & Heroes, we also realize that achieving the level of quality and polish that we are committed to will take a significant investment.

The Perpetual team is faced with a unique challenge of simultaneously developing both Gods & Heroes and Star Trek Online in addition to growing our Online Game Platform business. After assessing all of Perpetual's opportunities, we have made the decision to put the development of Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold.

I want to express my overwhelming gratitude to the community, engineers, designers, artists, animators, and the game services team for the support and effort that has gone into Gods & Heroes.

Moving forward, we're shifting our collective focus, resources and development efforts to Perpetual's Platform Services division and Star Trek Online, thereby ensuring that the game lives up to the high level of expectation set by the dedicated Star Trek fan base.

Again, I would personally like to thank all of the Gods & Heroes supporters who have been with us from the beginning. Hopefully, your continued support will be as valuable to our future endeavors as it was with Gods & Heroes..

Vade in pace,
Chris McKibbin


Update from the Community Manager on Beta Keys
Try this link instead.

http://www.godsandheroes.com/

What is it?
An MMORPG set in mythological ancient Rome, it is unique in that every class is a pet class, since you manage a squad of minions. Minions can be healers, tanks, mages, or DPS machines. Each class also can choose from one of two gods to be a scion of, with each god giving you different powers.

What are the classes?

- Gladiator: Scions of Fortuna or Jupiter, Gladiators are vicious, brutal, and intimidating warriors who can perform combat moves like Pankratic Assault, a high-damage wrestling move, and Impale, a devastating finishing move. Your basic DPS warrior.

- Soldier: Scions of Mars or Minerva, Soldiers are efficient and deadly warriors who can perform such attack moves Triarius Strike and Gut. Your basic tank warrior.

- Mystic: Scions of Bacchus or Trevia, Mystics have mastered the arcane arts of elemental sorcery and necromancy, enabling them to cast such spells as Numinous Flame and Miasma. Your basic mage class.

- Nomad: Scions of Mercury or Nemesis, Nomads are itinerant heroes who are equally adept at healing and fighting. Kind of like a shaman, but not.

- Priest: Scions of Juno or Pluto, Priests are the servants of the gods and can bless their allies.

- Scout: Scions of Apollo or Diana, Scouts are lethally accurate archers. The ranged DPS king.


So, Rome huh?
Yes, ancient Rome and some of its surrounding area. You can check out the world map and some more detailed areas on the Gods & Heroes main page.

Beta?
Closed beta is still ongoing, which you can sign-up for, or alternatively, while supplies last, you can get a beta key here. But make sure you've created a forum account first here.

Pix plz

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KingMole on
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Posts

  • SabanSaban Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
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    i didnt want to play anyway

    Saban on
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  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    *shrug*

    There have been some new "I'm new" threads in the beta section.

    But a friend of mine was having the same issue as you, so no idea. Try again tomorrow?

    KingMole on
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  • piLpiL Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I think you have to have signed up before 7/23. Oh well.

    piL on
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I could use a new beta to play, but I'm getting that error as well. I guess it's because we didn't sign up before 7/23?

    DiscoZombie on
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Update: Try using this link instead http://community.godsandheroes.com/betacodes/

    From the CM.

    KingMole on
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  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    woot, it worked, thanks :D looking forward to trying this sucker out.

    I guess we're not allowed to discuss it due to the NDA right?

    though isn't Tabula Rasa still under NDA and there's like a 10 pages long discussion about it =p

    DiscoZombie on
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    There is an NDA for this, but not for Tabula Rasa.

    KingMole on
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  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Since I'm giving up on TR, and this is a long weekend, this is pretty perfect timing. Let's give it a whirl.

    Scooter on
  • LepLep Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Gonna let this patch over night.

    Lep on
  • FightTestFightTest Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Anyone else have a problem with the launcher dying with a javascript error while trying to apply the patches?

    FightTest on
    MOBA DOTA.
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Apparently you need like 10 gigs free for patching. I'm still trying to get it up myself, uninstalled some more stuff and started again.

    Scooter on
  • CelethangCelethang Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Is it just me, or is that community site not working at all? Neither does the launcher, which I think is trying to access the same site.

    Celethang on
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Its working for me now, but it wasn't earlier. Maintenance or some-such excuse.

    Also making a thread in LFG for people to post their character's names in to meet up.

    KingMole on
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  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Celethang wrote: »
    Is it just me, or is that community site not working at all? Neither does the launcher, which I think is trying to access the same site.

    I was getting that too - and I thought it was ironic, because it was perpetually stuck at the Perpetual logo.

    DiscoZombie on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    The website works, but the launcher doesn't.

    Scooter on
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Scooter wrote: »
    The website works, but the launcher doesn't.

    Its working for me. O_o

    KingMole on
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  • CelethangCelethang Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I'm now getting that javascript error while patching too >.<

    Edit: Okay it seems to be working now. Must've been more server issues.

    Celethang on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I guess they were rebooting the server while I was trying to get in or something.

    Scooter on
  • AccualtAccualt Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Patching it up now.
    I'm a sucker for Roman stuff so I hope this is good.

    Accualt on
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I'm definitely digging it so far. more fun than Tabula Rasa. I always liked pet classes in MMORPGs, so a game where everyone's a pet class is awesome for me.

    DiscoZombie on
  • JAEFJAEF Unstoppably Bald Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Keeps crashing for me :|

    JAEF on
  • SonelanSonelan Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    You guys need to post your names and such in the beta forums LFG thread we got going.

    And don't feel bad JAEF it dies on me alot too.

    Sonelan on
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  • AccualtAccualt Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I wasn't out of the tutorial before it crashed on me.
    Probably a good thing, though, since I had things I needed to do.
    I can't really comment on anything other than the graphics look like something from a PS2. That wouldn't be so bad if everything in the starting area wasn't so painfully generic looking. I'll give props to the animations, though.

    Because this is Roman and squad/pet based I'm in strangely interested in buying it even with the ho-hum standard MMO UI and sub par graphics. The fact that one of the pre-order bonuses is a 16 slot bag (the largest in the game) calls to me.

    Accualt on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    It doesn't seem like anything too special, but while it seems like TR had a high potential it's not living up to, at least this seems to be getting as much as it can from the usual MMO cliches. And I do enjoy the feeling of being a demigod among mortals, who gets a personal army and can go down to a temple and have a personal chat with a god from time to time. And it's fantasy, but not "high" fantasy so much, so it does have a unique flavor.

    I could see myself giving it a try if the release doesn't time with a CoX issue, and they fix up the servers.

    Scooter on
  • AccualtAccualt Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I have to agree with everything you just said. If the graphics were just, I don't know, pretty I could see myself getting rather hyped for the game based simply on the setting and squad stuff. Unless it turns out to be rubbish I know I'll at least pick i up when the box copy drops to $20.

    I just read the people making it let go 30 to 40 members of the team because content is complete, they are just working on bugs and trying to polish everything up for the early '08 release.

    I also read the same developer is making the Star Trek MMO. Good lord if the Star Trek MMO has such bland graphics I will murder faces.

    Accualt on
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    compare this early closed beta to TR, which is in, like, late open beta. This game is in good shape for the development stage it's in.

    it's really hard to complain about graphics in an MMORPG. The game certainly looks no worse than WoW. I do like the setting and style, and pet classes are my favorite thing in MMO's, but I do admit that this game needs a bit more before it will be worth paying for...

    DiscoZombie on
  • AccualtAccualt Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    See, I don't like the way WoW looks but at least it has style. Having watched a few videos and looked at some screenshots the graphics mostly look bland with moments of "hey that is nice." (like the "green" screenshot in the OP) The monsters mostly look good but the human characters and most of the geometry just isn't doing it for me. None of it is bad its just...meh looking. If this looked more like Guild Wars, oh lordy, I'd be hyped.

    The good news is I think something as simple as bump mapping could really improve the hell out of the terrain and character models could be updated in the future, like EQ & DAoC did.

    I think they spent all of their "art" money on animations because, gooooood lord there are some awesome animations. Everyone should go watch some of the IGN videos. Not Gladiator Arena Battle or Not Just a Sword, though, those two are boring.

    Accualt on
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I'll definitely vouch for the animations. they do stand out while other aspects of the graphics are bland.

    DiscoZombie on
  • grrarggrrarg Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Things are afoot at Perpetual. Details are still sketchy, but it sounds like they are cancelling Gods&Heroes and reorganizing the company.

    The game's concept was interesting, on paper. Unfortunately, the game itself was mediocre and uninspired when I tried it a month or two ago.

    It's a sad time to be a MMO gamer sick of WoW's slow patch cycle. So many of the upcoming MMOs are running into problems.

    grrarg on
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Loyal and faithful community members and Beta testers, thank you for your support, help, and understanding during the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising development process.

    The development team established some very lofty and ambitious goals when the initial work was started on Gods & Heroes. Recently, we took a step back to evaluate the competitive landscape, the game's current state, and the overall goals for our organization. And while we are truly proud of and pleased with what we have created in Gods & Heroes, we also realize that achieving the level of quality and polish that we are committed to will take a significant investment.

    The Perpetual team is faced with a unique challenge of simultaneously developing both Gods & Heroes and Star Trek Online in addition to growing our Online Game Platform business. After assessing all of Perpetual's opportunities, we have made the decision to put the development of Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold.

    I want to express my overwhelming gratitude to the community, engineers, designers, artists, animators, and the game services team for the support and effort that has gone into Gods & Heroes.

    Moving forward, we're shifting our collective focus, resources and development efforts to Perpetual's Platform Services division and Star Trek Online, thereby ensuring that the game lives up to the high level of expectation set by the dedicated Star Trek fan base.

    Again, I would personally like to thank all of the Gods & Heroes supporters who have been with us from the beginning. Hopefully, your continued support will be as valuable to our future endeavors as it was with Gods & Heroes..

    Vade in pace,
    Chris McKibbin

    Fuck. I was having a good time with it's early beta too.

    KingMole on
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  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    It might as well be canceled. If the graphics area bit low now, they'll need to redo the whole thing for it to be competitive a few years down the road.


    On one hand, I can appreciate not releasing something you don't think is your best effort, on the other, canning an entire MMO at this stage of development seems like a colossal waste of money and effort.

    Scooter on
  • FightTestFightTest Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Well since everyone else has already talked about it and it's now canceled I guess I'll ignore the NDA too.

    The game just felt too plain. The setting was a good concept but just human PCs gets boring. The "every class is a pet class" idea was an okay concept to set it apart from other games, but frankly that's a play style and I don't like pet classes so it didn't do anything to make me like the game more. It was just an added hassle. I play a game to feel like I'm a badass, not to feel like I'm a badass if I have minions running beside me.

    The graphics fell into the same trap that so many games lately do.. that is trying to be realistic and ignoring any sense of flavor in style. I go out and see realistic people and trees and bushes all the time, give me something new and fun to look at. EQ2 was the first to really go for this but at least they have some crazy races to play as and more "fantastical" environments. I felt like Vanguard was too bland also, this game was much the same. (I also quit Vanguard beta before they released the beast races/zones, so who knows.)

    The game basically just gave me the inspiration to reactivate my EQ2 account. It's probably a good thing it got canceled, it was going to fail. There was nothing that set it above WoW or EQ2. Not a bad game, just sort of generic feeling amongst the masses.

    FightTest on
    MOBA DOTA.
  • AccualtAccualt Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I just tried to log on, couldn't do it.

    Jesus this is random. I was actually considering pre-ordering the thing based on the little I'd seen, just because of the concept, animation, and squad. God damn...I'd be pissed if I was Circuit City, who took out full page adds in at least one gaming magazine for this.

    Seriously, this is fucked up. The lead designer just said that the game was content complete and they were simply working on polish before releasing it. To can the whole thing after all of that effort is...just wow.

    The simple fact that it was Roman flavored could have provided it enough of a niche market to keep the doors open.

    Accualt on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I feel silly getting upset about this, since I only heard about it like 5 days ago and only got to level 6; for all I know the entire game past level 10 was a huge shitfest. But I was enjoying the concept and flavor of it, and if they'd kept the servers stable and I'd been able to try another 10 levels or so, it's actually pretty likely I would've paid money for this.

    Dammit! I don't have any MMOs I'm looking forward to other than Conan and MUO, and they're both too far off. I really wish I could see the numbers they'd pulled up that said canning it was a better financial decision than selling it and at least getting the box price of a few thousand copies. And if they've fired everyone, then it's not like it's really helping STO.

    Scooter on
  • SonelanSonelan Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I was really liking the game so far. The gladiator animations were awesome. Nothing like running someone through then knocking em off your sword with a shield uppercut to the face.

    Sonelan on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • KingMoleKingMole Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Well, it was the first beta of a game I've been in that has been cancelled.

    I was having fun with my Mystic and my Soldier, minus occasional server/game crashes. I loved the environment graphics, didn't like the character models so much. I thought the God Powers were more trouble than they were worth, too much Favor cost with minimal damage. Some of the minion bugs got a little annoying, IE Rufus the worthless idiot healer not healing.

    KingMole on
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  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    ouch. so weird. the game was in better shape than Vanguard still is, or TR, IMO, and vanguard was released and TR is about to be. I'm surprised they would cancel it when it's about done. where's the business sense in that? wouldn't it be better to just release it and have it be a relative flop but make SOME of the money back?

    DiscoZombie on
  • grrarggrrarg Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Not if having it flop hurt the image of their platform and company more than just killing the project. From the articles, they are going to try to market the engine and finish Star Trek Online. They'll need a lot of luck to survive. The engine isn't that impressive compared to other MMO middleware, and their poor execution on the gameplay and content does not inspire much hope in ST: O. Not that I expected much from the game in the first place.

    grrarg on
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    grrarg wrote: »
    Not if having it flop hurt the image of their platform and company more than just killing the project. From the articles, they are going to try to market the engine and finish Star Trek Online. They'll need a lot of luck to survive. The engine isn't that impressive compared to other MMO middleware, and their poor execution on the gameplay and content does not inspire much hope in ST: O. Not that I expected much from the game in the first place.

    I don't know - it seemed to do everything these other cookie-cutter MMOs like LotRO and WoW do, even if it didn't really improve on them in any major ways. the gameplay and content was fun to me; my only major complaints were some uninspired visuals and the bugs, which were nothing crazy for a closed beta... I certainly don't think it was, like, soo bad that it would hurt their rep if they released it... and it sounds like it hurt their rep anyway because you sound turned off from the company, so they would have had nothing to lose by releasing =p

    DiscoZombie on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I would've placed it on about the same level as LoTRO, from the little I've seen. It's not nearly as pretty as LoTRO, but the gameplay could've made up for it. Of course, I have no idea how well LoTRO is doing, so that may or may not be a good endorsement.


    I can agree that a flop could do long-term damage to their rep, but still, they must've been really sure this was going to flop to take the hit of a few million $ in a couple months, vs. the vague cost of reputation a few years down the line.

    Scooter on
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