The dude wasted $50 million on drugs and hiring family member and friends for Vanguard.
People never learn not to trust Brad with money. Well, most did because the KS was a failure
Let me see the proof. Right now, show me the hard muckracker journalism that uncovered this MMO conspiracy theory.
Not going to claim this is proof, but it's been no real secret to anyone close to Fires of Heaven. Here's a grab of something Curt Schilling had to say about criticism Brad was going through back in '08 (kind of an eerie read, considering Curt's ultimate fate).
It was basically in response to a slew of accusations left and right from people near or part of Sigil Games, about Brad's opiate additions and office affairs. His sheer lack of attendance, etc.. Here's another link that details a lot of that stuff with source links at the end.
But yeah, none of that is 100% proof of anything. But it's kind of silly to sit there ignoring the slew of negative information by the people who have worked with him in the past. If it was just one or maybe two employees who were fired or something, I could see discounting it. But when the quantity of complaints (not to mention the common themes of them) just keeps piling up after every disaster he's been part of, you kind of need to take notice.
Or at least not bury your head in the sand and demand proof or else.
It's funny someone posted this in 2007. Not so funny for the people that worked on this game for free for more than 6 months.
"I truly hope that all my friends at Sigil will land on their feet. I also sincerely hope that no one ever gives Brad another cent to make a game or to start a company and put other’s livelihoods at risk. It’s evident that Brad lacks the skills, dedication, or maturity to handle that situation."
I am not rooting for this game. I frequently put money into Kickstarts, I love the concept and have some discretionary money to do it with. However, I never put money into MMO development. IMO it is just a bad idea for reaching the capital needed or start up capital for this type of business.
Originally posted by teti I am not rooting for this game. I frequently put money into Kickstarts, I love the concept and have some discretionary money to do it with. However, I never put money into MMO development. IMO it is just a bad idea for reaching the capital needed or start up capital for this type of business.
Luckily, the kickstarter failed, so the only people that got fleeced was the people who still thought it was a good idea to donate directly through his website.
I will support any game I think is good,but I did not know he took money and pissed his team off.
I will not kickstart something I am not sure is going to be made.
I only kickstarted shroud of the avatar and Gloria victus,they will get made.
the sci-fi ones I am watching but will buy when it releases more interested in the repopulation,i like on the ground fighting not space ships that mush.
I don't even know anymore. Everything that I put money towards - the entire team - is gone. Brad himself will admit that he's only the money manager. It's all gone. Atleast in Vanguard the pros built the majority of the game before newbies were brought in to complete the product. This time there's little more than some ideas, lore, and a half finished unity zone to work with. This game has no money and no professionals. It hurts to see such a budding community left in the ashes of a never was holding on to nothing but The Vision.
If the funds from the most loyal and trusting are already gone than who do you expect to fund this? Everyone that was ready to take a leap of faith has already taken it.
Originally posted by teti I am not rooting for this game. I frequently put money into Kickstarts, I love the concept and have some discretionary money to do it with. However, I never put money into MMO development. IMO it is just a bad idea for reaching the capital needed or start up capital for this type of business.
Luckily, the kickstarter failed, so the only people that got fleeced was the people who still thought it was a good idea to donate directly through his website.
I did know that, yeah that would have set off 'spider senses' to tingling (about donating after a failed Kickstarter). However, I know that I have put money towards things which I regretted later too.
I'm truly amazed there are still a few people saying "Well, I hope Brad can get his crap together so he can make this game" and considering donating money again! I just.. wow. Wow.
You can say about Brad what you want, but in the last years of Vanguard, when he was reemployed by SOE and worked for a time on Vanguard again (he also worked on other projects, such as EQ2), that was when substantial improvements came into the game. I had not payed attention to what was happening at SOE, but I noticed it. Brad really has a knack of spotting the real problems a game has. And a talent for creating new questlines that are really fun to play. While before his return the devs put a lot of stuff in that had been a mindless grind.
Scratch Everquest Next, I'm playing Pantheon -- assuming, of course, all goes well and it is actually released. Brad McQuaid creating a new mmo? That's all you had to say.
I had more fun watching the Pantheon videos than I did actually playing the Elder Scrolls Online.
Originally posted by Kajidourden To put it simply....this is now the only game I give a damn about after watching/reading everything available on it lol.
Same. If this game doesn't make it or flops, I'm giving up on MMO's forever. It is going to be a social PvE game with challenge, lore, and traditional RPG aspects? Yeah, sign me up. Sign me up twice! If it becomes what Vanguard should have been, and what Vanguard almost was, it is going to be EPIC! Trying not to think about this game because it will be a while before it is released and I don't want to get too excited about it.
I played EQ1 for 5 years then left for EQ2 which graphically looked better, but was not a better game. Played EQ2 for 2 years till Vanguard came out and played it for the full 7 year run. The folks who only played for the first few months of VG and dropped out due to bugs/ performance of their old rigs really missed out on some of the best raid fights i ever encountered in EQ1 and EQ2. You should have stuck it out or shelled out the extra dough to upgrade your rig. Point being I played McQuaid games for ~ 12 years of my life and intend to stick by and play Pantheon for an even longer run. If you enjoyed EQ1 and Vanguard as much as i did and you aren't supporting this game, you're either broke or crazy. I don't give a crap about all the drama, I've seen the work this volunteer crew has been putting out and i'm impressed. The folks working on this project right now are doing it for the love of the game, not the love of money. I support people that bring me joy whether they've hit a rough patch or not. I'd kindly ask you folks to do the same.
I really hope this game is successful. I loved Vanguard despite all of its problems. I really don't care about all of the gaming industry soap opera crap. I just want a great MMO to play.
Very soon Pantheon will have a website dedicated to Its Lore, race, class, and beastiary descriptions called The Keeper's Vault. It was just announced to us subscribers yesterday. I'll post a link when it is up and running. As for the whole Sparkles/ Visions thing, I dont think she's even on the team anymore, and if she is, it's in a VERY diminished capacity. Do you really think Brad's going to allow his game to turn into Hello Jesus Island? I don't think so.
If no company/publisher will give their cash to a junkie (or ex-junkie, if there is such a thing) to make an MMO, why should anyone else?
McQuaid should move on with his life and try something else.
You obviously did not like the original Everquest.
You obviously did not like Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
No one else seems to have the ability nor the wanting to make an MMORPG quite like those.
McQuaid has not only proven that he knows what this particular target audience wants, but is willing to do so.
I could care less if he was a junkie RIGHT NOW... If making an MMORPG that this target audience wants is just to feed his addiction as a junkie... I am STILL ALL FOR IT.
How many talents in the music industry were/are junkies, yet produced great music?
So from what I see, the only ones whom should "move on" are people like you whom obviously have the MOBAFPSinMMORPGclothing that you somehow manage to enjoy.
A musician or singer can pretty much make what they want by themselves with minimal input/help from anyone else.
A so-called "MMO maker" needs other people's money and other people to do the actual work, and more to the point, needs to be worthy of getting those, when he is not paying for it himself, but is hitting people up for donations.
Everquest was what? 15 years ago?
Vanguard was a development train wreck that Smed/SOE got suckered into buying from McQuaid's floundering company, all the employees of which were fired in the parking lot on a Friday afternoon. (That is how well McQuaid can run a development effort.)
5 years is an eternity in video/comp game business, and what has this guy done in the last 5 years, besides pocket $45k of the funds donated to make his so called MMO?
Yeah, nothing.
This guy wants to make a game, fine. Let him pay for it himself, and stop promising the moon while begging for cash from people pining for the old days of MMORPG gaming.
And for the record, current MMOs are pretty much all mediocre at best, and I am playing none of them and have not played more than a month of anything in some years, so a MOBA/FPS/MMOlite lover I am not. Not that it makes any difference to McQuaid groupies.
If no company/publisher will give their cash to a junkie (or ex-junkie, if there is such a thing) to make an MMO, why should anyone else?
McQuaid should move on with his life and try something else.
You obviously did not like the original Everquest.
You obviously did not like Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
No one else seems to have the ability nor the wanting to make an MMORPG quite like those.
McQuaid has not only proven that he knows what this particular target audience wants, but is willing to do so.
I could care less if he was a junkie RIGHT NOW... If making an MMORPG that this target audience wants is just to feed his addiction as a junkie... I am STILL ALL FOR IT.
How many talents in the music industry were/are junkies, yet produced great music?
So from what I see, the only ones whom should "move on" are people like you whom obviously have the MOBAFPSinMMORPGclothing that you somehow manage to enjoy.
A musician or singer can pretty much make what they want by themselves with minimal input/help from anyone else.
A so-called "MMO maker" needs other people's money and other people to do the actual work, and more to the point, needs to be worthy of getting those, when he is not paying for it himself, but is hitting people up for donations.
Everquest was what? 15 years ago?
Vanguard was a development train wreck that Smed/SOE got suckered into buying from McQuaid's floundering company.
5 years is an eternity in video/comp game business, and what has this guy done in the last 5 years, besides pocket $45k of the funds donated to make his so called MMO?
Yeah, nothing.
This guy wants to make a game, fine. Let him pay for it himself, and stop promising the moon while begging for cash from people pining for the old days of MMORPG gaming.
And for the record, current MMOs are pretty much all mediocre at best, and I am playing none of them and have not played more than a month of anything in some years, so a MOBA/FPS/MMOlite lover I am not. Not that it makes any difference to McQuaid groupies.
I don't have much faith in McQuaid or Pantheon ever seeing the light of day but I gladly gave them money for one reason. That is this game needs to be made. The MMO genre is either dead or dying. There are no games of substance being made. All modern MMOs are made for consumers who have no patience or attention span. They are all easy mode games being made for those that are too lazy to have to think or pay attention while playing their MMO while their eyes are closed. Giving money to projects like Pantheon provides a hope for the genre even if it is a longshot hope. But games like Pantheon need to be funded regardless if they ever see the light of day. If enough are funded eventually we might end up seeing a complex thoughtful community based group centric MMO made again and those of of us that have been forgotten and forced out of the genre will finally have a MMO worthy of playing.
If no company/publisher will give their cash to a junkie (or ex-junkie, if there is such a thing) to make an MMO, why should anyone else?
McQuaid should move on with his life and try something else.
You obviously did not like the original Everquest.
You obviously did not like Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
No one else seems to have the ability nor the wanting to make an MMORPG quite like those.
McQuaid has not only proven that he knows what this particular target audience wants, but is willing to do so.
I could care less if he was a junkie RIGHT NOW... If making an MMORPG that this target audience wants is just to feed his addiction as a junkie... I am STILL ALL FOR IT.
How many talents in the music industry were/are junkies, yet produced great music?
So from what I see, the only ones whom should "move on" are people like you whom obviously have the MOBAFPSinMMORPGclothing that you somehow manage to enjoy.
A musician or singer can pretty much make what they want by themselves with minimal input/help from anyone else.
A so-called "MMO maker" needs other people's money and other people to do the actual work, and more to the point, needs to be worthy of getting those, when he is not paying for it himself, but is hitting people up for donations.
Everquest was what? 15 years ago?
Vanguard was a development train wreck that Smed/SOE got suckered into buying from McQuaid's floundering company.
5 years is an eternity in video/comp game business, and what has this guy done in the last 5 years, besides pocket $45k of the funds donated to make his so called MMO?
Yeah, nothing.
This guy wants to make a game, fine. Let him pay for it himself, and stop promising the moon while begging for cash from people pining for the old days of MMORPG gaming.
And for the record, current MMOs are pretty much all mediocre at best, and I am playing none of them and have not played more than a month of anything in some years, so a MOBA/FPS/MMOlite lover I am not. Not that it makes any difference to McQuaid groupies.
I don't have much faith in McQuaid or Pantheon ever seeing the light of day but I gladly gave them money for one reason. That is this game needs to be made. The MMO genre is either dead or dying. There are no games of substance being made. All modern MMOs are made for consumers who have no patience or attention span. They are all easy mode games being made for those that are too lazy to have to think or pay attention while playing their MMO while their eyes are closed. Giving money to projects like Pantheon provides a hope for the genre even if it is a longshot hope. But games like Pantheon need to be funded regardless if they ever see the light of day. If enough are funded eventually we might end up seeing a complex thoughtful community based group centric MMO made again and those of of us that have been forgotten and forced out of the genre will finally have a MMO worthy of playing.
The typical respons from you oldtimers.
MMOs are neither dead nor dying. In fact, there are more people playing MMOs now than ever before.
The genre has changed, no doubt about it. Adapt or move on.
And btw, I'm personally 100% sure this game keeps on failing because it's Brad. Almost no one trust him, and there are reasons for that.
I have always liked Brad but imo he can only build half a game,nothing in the SOE portfolio is a full fledged game.
Now and i said this long ago,if i could have a mix of EQ1/2 and FFXI and FFXXIV graphics i would be the happiest person on earth. Iguess my point is that Brad needs a second mind that is totally different from his to give a game that added depth.Yes Vanguard added some depth in some areas but the most important "combat" always felt bad even in EQ and EQ2.
I can still remember what drove me over the edge in VG and no it was not bugs it was a fort scene of which i don't remember the name or map.Anyhow what happened was the entire fort or Orcs would auto aggro me from a very far distance based on nothing more than distance,i thought that is dumb a very lazy AI.What made it worse was i was trying to be stealthy,come in via the water,didn't matter they saw me even though they couldn't see me.
I cannot stand perimeter aggro,EVERY mob class should have it's own aggro type and distance.Example some mobs can see better than others or hear better than others,SOE games lack that kind of depth.Also there SHOULD be a delay in aggro,it looks really dumb when an entire fort all aggro at that exact same precise moment.
I also like stats,lots of stats ,it gives every character a lot of versatility to build a different type player ,be it more damage oriented or less dmg for more accuracy or perhaps a better build to perform combos with other players.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Comments
Not going to claim this is proof, but it's been no real secret to anyone close to Fires of Heaven. Here's a grab of something Curt Schilling had to say about criticism Brad was going through back in '08 (kind of an eerie read, considering Curt's ultimate fate).
It was basically in response to a slew of accusations left and right from people near or part of Sigil Games, about Brad's opiate additions and office affairs. His sheer lack of attendance, etc.. Here's another link that details a lot of that stuff with source links at the end.
But yeah, none of that is 100% proof of anything. But it's kind of silly to sit there ignoring the slew of negative information by the people who have worked with him in the past. If it was just one or maybe two employees who were fired or something, I could see discounting it. But when the quantity of complaints (not to mention the common themes of them) just keeps piling up after every disaster he's been part of, you kind of need to take notice.
Or at least not bury your head in the sand and demand proof or else.
You make me like charity
It's funny someone posted this in 2007. Not so funny for the people that worked on this game for free for more than 6 months.
"I truly hope that all my friends at Sigil will land on their feet. I also sincerely hope that no one ever gives Brad another cent to make a game or to start a company and put other’s livelihoods at risk. It’s evident that Brad lacks the skills, dedication, or maturity to handle that situation."
Luckily, the kickstarter failed, so the only people that got fleeced was the people who still thought it was a good idea to donate directly through his website.
You make me like charity
I am rooting for this one! Despite the problems it is having. There is not a game out there, other then this one I want to see made.
I am hoping Brad will find a backer, and do another KS maybe. Despite the negativity of some, I am still hopeful he will put it together.
Time will tell.
http://s36.photobucket.com/user/mhoward48/media/OnwYv97.jpg.html
I will support any game I think is good,but I did not know he took money and pissed his team off.
I will not kickstart something I am not sure is going to be made.
I only kickstarted shroud of the avatar and Gloria victus,they will get made.
the sci-fi ones I am watching but will buy when it releases more interested in the repopulation,i like on the ground fighting not space ships that mush.
I don't even know anymore. Everything that I put money towards - the entire team - is gone. Brad himself will admit that he's only the money manager. It's all gone. Atleast in Vanguard the pros built the majority of the game before newbies were brought in to complete the product. This time there's little more than some ideas, lore, and a half finished unity zone to work with. This game has no money and no professionals. It hurts to see such a budding community left in the ashes of a never was holding on to nothing but The Vision.
If the funds from the most loyal and trusting are already gone than who do you expect to fund this? Everyone that was ready to take a leap of faith has already taken it.
I did know that, yeah that would have set off 'spider senses' to tingling (about donating after a failed Kickstarter). However, I know that I have put money towards things which I regretted later too.
I'm truly amazed there are still a few people saying "Well, I hope Brad can get his crap together so he can make this game" and considering donating money again! I just.. wow. Wow.
.... Really?
- Nellus
You can say about Brad what you want, but in the last years of Vanguard, when he was reemployed by SOE and worked for a time on Vanguard again (he also worked on other projects, such as EQ2), that was when substantial improvements came into the game. I had not payed attention to what was happening at SOE, but I noticed it. Brad really has a knack of spotting the real problems a game has. And a talent for creating new questlines that are really fun to play. While before his return the devs put a lot of stuff in that had been a mindless grind.
Who is rooting for this one?
Scratch Everquest Next, I'm playing Pantheon -- assuming, of course, all goes well and it is actually released. Brad McQuaid creating a new mmo? That's all you had to say.
I had more fun watching the Pantheon videos than I did actually playing the Elder Scrolls Online.
http://wyrdblogging.blogspot.com/
Necroing a thread to cheer for a criminal.
Way to go Pantheon community.
Same. If this game doesn't make it or flops, I'm giving up on MMO's forever. It is going to be a social PvE game with challenge, lore, and traditional RPG aspects? Yeah, sign me up. Sign me up twice! If it becomes what Vanguard should have been, and what Vanguard almost was, it is going to be EPIC! Trying not to think about this game because it will be a while before it is released and I don't want to get too excited about it.
If no company/publisher will give their cash to a junkie (or ex-junkie, if there is such a thing) to make an MMO, why should anyone else?
McQuaid should move on with his life and try something else.
A musician or singer can pretty much make what they want by themselves with minimal input/help from anyone else.
A so-called "MMO maker" needs other people's money and other people to do the actual work, and more to the point, needs to be worthy of getting those, when he is not paying for it himself, but is hitting people up for donations.
Everquest was what? 15 years ago?
Vanguard was a development train wreck that Smed/SOE got suckered into buying from McQuaid's floundering company, all the employees of which were fired in the parking lot on a Friday afternoon. (That is how well McQuaid can run a development effort.)
5 years is an eternity in video/comp game business, and what has this guy done in the last 5 years, besides pocket $45k of the funds donated to make his so called MMO?
Yeah, nothing.
This guy wants to make a game, fine. Let him pay for it himself, and stop promising the moon while begging for cash from people pining for the old days of MMORPG gaming.
And for the record, current MMOs are pretty much all mediocre at best, and I am playing none of them and have not played more than a month of anything in some years, so a MOBA/FPS/MMOlite lover I am not. Not that it makes any difference to McQuaid groupies.
I don't have much faith in McQuaid or Pantheon ever seeing the light of day but I gladly gave them money for one reason. That is this game needs to be made. The MMO genre is either dead or dying. There are no games of substance being made. All modern MMOs are made for consumers who have no patience or attention span. They are all easy mode games being made for those that are too lazy to have to think or pay attention while playing their MMO while their eyes are closed. Giving money to projects like Pantheon provides a hope for the genre even if it is a longshot hope. But games like Pantheon need to be funded regardless if they ever see the light of day. If enough are funded eventually we might end up seeing a complex thoughtful community based group centric MMO made again and those of of us that have been forgotten and forced out of the genre will finally have a MMO worthy of playing.
The typical respons from you oldtimers.
MMOs are neither dead nor dying. In fact, there are more people playing MMOs now than ever before.
The genre has changed, no doubt about it. Adapt or move on.
And btw, I'm personally 100% sure this game keeps on failing because it's Brad. Almost no one trust him, and there are reasons for that.
I have always liked Brad but imo he can only build half a game,nothing in the SOE portfolio is a full fledged game.
Now and i said this long ago,if i could have a mix of EQ1/2 and FFXI and FFXXIV graphics i would be the happiest person on earth. Iguess my point is that Brad needs a second mind that is totally different from his to give a game that added depth.Yes Vanguard added some depth in some areas but the most important "combat" always felt bad even in EQ and EQ2.
I can still remember what drove me over the edge in VG and no it was not bugs it was a fort scene of which i don't remember the name or map.Anyhow what happened was the entire fort or Orcs would auto aggro me from a very far distance based on nothing more than distance,i thought that is dumb a very lazy AI.What made it worse was i was trying to be stealthy,come in via the water,didn't matter they saw me even though they couldn't see me.
I cannot stand perimeter aggro,EVERY mob class should have it's own aggro type and distance.Example some mobs can see better than others or hear better than others,SOE games lack that kind of depth.Also there SHOULD be a delay in aggro,it looks really dumb when an entire fort all aggro at that exact same precise moment.
I also like stats,lots of stats ,it gives every character a lot of versatility to build a different type player ,be it more damage oriented or less dmg for more accuracy or perhaps a better build to perform combos with other players.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.