Topic: Where are they Now ....Is Taldren dead or alive

[S31-Riptide]

Chris!! I used to love you... but now I have to hate you!!!


It's all Chris's Fault!!!!


Runs screaming from the room!!!





Just Kiddin Chris!!! lol

[RazalYllib]

Thanks for the Heads Up Scott, truth is important ya know.

Next SFC convention (whenever whereever) you (and David and the other unsung heroes) should stop on by, let us shake your hand and hand you a beverage of choice in appreciation of the long hard path you were on to get into our sweaty hands, the community, our favorite diversion. 

[FA Frey XC]

Thanks for the Heads Up Scott, truth is important ya know.

Next SFC convention (whenever whereever) you (and David and the other unsung heroes) should stop on by, let us shake your hand and hand you a beverage of choice in appreciation of the long hard path you were on to get into our sweaty hands, the community, our favorite diversion. 

We should really try to do a get together in the coming year. Someplace centralized, we've been talking about this in the Admin forums for a while.

Hummmmm, the annual fundraiser is coming up... maybe we could collect and put the funds towards a con of our own ....

 

Opinions? Anyone interested if we set it up several months in advance?

[RazalYllib]

Yeah Frey run with it....I would REALLY love to attend any gathering of the Faithful....

[IAF Lyrkiller]

Dallas is as central as you can get, IMHO

Frey would need to find a conference room or larger to have it.

Just my 0.02 pfg

[_Rondo_GE The OutLaw]

Thanks for the Heads Up Scott, truth is important ya know.

Next SFC convention (whenever whereever) you (and David and the other unsung heroes) should stop on by, let us shake your hand and hand you a beverage of choice in appreciation of the long hard path you were on to get into our sweaty hands, the community, our favorite diversion. 

We should really try to do a get together in the coming year. Someplace centralized, we've been talking about this in the Admin forums for a while.

Hummmmm, the annual fundraiser is coming up... maybe we could collect and put the funds towards a con of our own ....

 

Opinions? Anyone interested if we set it up several months in advance?

intriguing

[Sirgod]

Thanks for the Heads Up Scott, truth is important ya know.

Next SFC convention (whenever whereever) you (and David and the other unsung heroes) should stop on by, let us shake your hand and hand you a beverage of choice in appreciation of the long hard path you were on to get into our sweaty hands, the community, our favorite diversion. 

We should really try to do a get together in the coming year. Someplace centralized, we've been talking about this in the Admin forums for a while.

Hummmmm, the annual fundraiser is coming up... maybe we could collect and put the funds towards a con of our own ....

 

Opinions? Anyone interested if we set it up several months in advance?

You know I'm up for it Bro. Just let me know when , where, and what I can do too help.

Stephen

[Chris Jones]

Upstate NY hahaha!

I'd be interested, if close enough.

[Skaren]

Western Mass is not that far from you Chris !!

[E_Look]

Midwesterners!

(Standing on toidy-toid an' toid)

[Sirgod]

Midwesterners!

(Standing on toidy-toid an' toid)

You know E_Look, you have the free invitation out here, at Casa, Del Stephens.

The old guys, Scott and Dave, also have a free pass, anyday, anytime. It's the only thing I can do to honor them.

Stephen

[Caseck]

 One would think that Bethesda, the maker of Morrowind would have done better.  That was my one hope for Legacy really...  but even Bethesda has been criticized by their fans lately for "dumbing down" Oblivion...although that game is still pretty good.   I sense they ran into the same icemen Bethke ran into when he made SFCIII.

I sense that getting any further involved in this discussion is a mistake, but then again what do I care. I have a couple of things to say about that paragraph.

First, Activision had just about zero input on the game mechanics. The design was generated internally, mostly by Josh and myself. Activision had major input on the storyline, but at no time were they raining down mandates upon us about how the game would work. The extent of their involvement with game mechanics was that we had to present our plans to them in order to prove we had a plan. Standard publisher stuff. As I recall, they liked it and approved it with zero problems. It was the story they fought over, long and hard.

Second, let me explain something about Bethke and SFC3. The only reason he went to Activision and pursued that deal is because no one wanted to give him money for Black9. No one got it, no one believed in it, no one thought it was worth their money. Microsoft hit the nail on the head... they said Taldren didn't have the experience or know-how to make that game. They could tell that much from the staffing plan and the impossible mission it presented.

By this time people were already on reduced salaries and the bonuses from our contracts were cut. The company was out of cash and there was no more money to be squeezed from the employees. So in order to make Black9 he went to Activision and convinced them to do SFC3 with us. The money and time that gave Taldren was used to push forward on Black9 until he jedi mind-tricked Majesco into picking up the game.

To be clear, team members, including myself, were diverted from SFC3 to develop B9. I wan't even on the project when it shipped. In fact, I think only Dave and Ken might have been on it full-time at that point. Josh had already been fired for daring not to be a yes-man, and Brad was also let go fo some bullsh*t reason... two people with influence, who were listened to, who weren't drinking the Black9 Kool Aid.

So please dispense with whatever illusions you have about that guy being your champion against the evil publishers, waving a shield with the Starfleet Command symbol on it. Ok? He didn't give a flying f*ck about SFC3 except that it gave him a way to waste people and money on his pet project. Ironically, of the two games the only one that had a shot in hell of saving the company, if all its resources had been put behind it, was the one he treated like a vehicle.

Have you ever thought about "Getting The Band Back Together" and doing it again?

[Scott_Bruno]

Have you ever thought about "Getting The Band Back Together" and doing it again?

Oh Lord no. OK, let me rephrase that. I get the urge to do some pet project or other all the time. Lately I've been thinking it would be neat to take Source and turn it into some kind of space combat thing... maybe even a BSG thing. But after 8 or 10 hours a day of coding a game, the last thing I want to do when I get home is code some other game. I have all kinds of goodies at home I can work with, up to and including console dev kits; I just lack the will.

About the other stuff... don't feel bad for me. I was at Shiny within a couple/three weeks of Taldren's demise and making twice as much to boot. So while Taldren technically got away with 10 or 11 K that belonged to me, it can also blow me.

On SFC3, yeah, if you didn't like the design Crim you can blame me and Josh :-) Of course if we'd had a full team to work on the thing full time instead of a token crew at the end... ah, who knows where it might have gone? We had some mighty fine plans.

A get-together sounds like it could be fun. Also sounds like a logistical nightmare though... have you folks done this before?

[Sirgod]

Have you ever thought about "Getting The Band Back Together" and doing it again?

Oh Lord no. OK, let me rephrase that. I get the urge to do some pet project or other all the time. Lately I've been thinking it would be neat to take Source and turn it into some kind of space combat thing... maybe even a BSG thing. But after 8 or 10 hours a day of coding a game, the last thing I want to do when I get home is code some other game. I have all kinds of goodies at home I can work with, up to and including console dev kits; I just lack the will.

About the other stuff... don't feel bad for me. I was at Shiny within a couple/three weeks of Taldren's demise and making twice as much to boot. So while Taldren technically got away with 10 or 11 K that belonged to me, it can also blow me.

On SFC3, yeah, if you didn't like the design Crim you can blame me and Josh :-) Of course if we'd had a full team to work on the thing full time instead of a token crew at the end... ah, who knows where it might have gone? We had some mighty fine plans.

A get-together sounds like it could be fun. Also sounds like a logistical nightmare though... have you folks done this before?

I've tried, god knows I've tried.

The first time, I had one of the script writters John something fly out, and had one guy from Shawnee show up (Icehawk).

The next time was a few years later, and I had alot of the mods show up. Frey, StormBringer, and Sethan, complete with families, and snakebite kits, on my birthday a few years back.

I know alot of the East coasters have met each other at various bars , where I suspect, J'inn owns.

Too be honest, on the logistics, I have always sugested, Let's do a four part approach. East coast, Central, West Coast, and Canada. (Hey can't forget our Canadian friends up there.)

As far as the game, wasn't there a game suggested by your Fellow Taldrenites, that Involved France surrendering? Something about Cheese, and Magic Photons?

Stephen

[EmeraldEdge]

Heck, I'd be interested in a game where the single goal was to make France surrender as quickly as possible.  I mean, just think about how many times you could win the game in a day.  :rolleyes:  Do we still have the post chronicling the development of that game?  Wasn't it Space Navy Command, or something like that?

It's interesting to have some confirmation that it wasn't (as I've always said) the big bad ATVI that came in and submarined SFC3.

You know, I remember there were several guys near where I live, (stoneyface and his compatriot among them) and I never got up there to hang with them.  Don't even know if they are still there or not.  Only a couple of hour drive but just couldn't manage it (although my car at the time would have been hard pressed to make that tip.  Finally smelled like mold and gas with too many things falling off if it and malfuncioning before I sprung for a new one.  Yipee, for new cars that allow you to actually leave your neighborhood without a tow truck. lol).

As long as you're not forgetting Canada, perhaps you should throw in a European or Foreign category.  At times it seemed like most of my hard core Romulans were from somewhere other than the America's.

[Sirgod]

You speak wise Emerald.

I think Stoney is up in Iowa now, and I've been trying to get him to visit for years now.

Dang, that car story is funny. oh well, peeps hee have my number , so anytime you want to get together and all that.

Stephen