This is really depressing news to me. I loved this game, but haven't played it in a long while because it was clear that it was not getting any content patches for a long time. All this game needed was content and players. Everything else, the combat, classes, char progression and customisation, atmosphere (this game has some of the best music I've heard in a video game. the login screen is amazing) and a great art direction. The game needed fleshing out, but how many games don't need some polish when released.
Anyone who says this game failed because it was a bad game either has no clue or did not play it and is simply trolling. Even if you played it and didn't like it it would be hard not to see the potential in the game, and how it could be successful if it was given a chance to grow. It wasn't perfect but it was far superior than many releases that have been around for ages. If anything Spellborn proves that building a very good game isn't enough to ensure success nowdays. You have to have a plan for how it will be delivered, how it will be funded and how it will be supported. All the devs fantastic work went down the drain because they chose a publisher that had no idea how to turn a raw product into a success. Imagine this game in the hands of Turbine.
Not very surprising, but horrible news all the same. I am simply gutted.
EDIT: It likely won't make a shred of difference, but here's a petition to sign if you feel as strongly as I and others do.
Originally posted by SynthetickRegardless, the game had all the makings of a good game. The atmosphere was great, the character models and animations weren't bad, the classes and skills unique and flavorful, the game world offered various environments, an engaging storyline, a unique combat system that managed to be as fluid as most mainstream systems. The problem is it was just a concept or a shell.
There was no content, nothing to break the monotony, nothing to steer you away or even attempt at hiding/disguising the grind of quests and levels. Max level there was nothing to do, no feats to accomplish, no goals to achieve. The leveling process, while pretty and fluid in terms of going from sight A to B and whathaveyou, was very bland due to lack of anything other than quests. A late added attempt at group instanced content was too late and too little.
Thing is the game only got a couple of content pages after release before it went FTP. They should have been a bit more frequent, but it highlights the issue with this game which was not enough support.
That said, everything you mentioned was more or less true.
@ robokapp - it DID have players, and recent ones, the petition proves that.
The only thing that ruined this game was the lack of support and publicity and the endless changes in management.
The players of The Chronicles of Spellborn were recently informed the game will be closing at the end of this month.
Since Acclaim sold out to Playdom months ago our community has been ignored by all administrators/moderators/support team and have been fighting keep the game going by contacting all the companies involved.
Acclaim did not reply to any e-mails.
Playdom replied stating they have no involvement in the game.
Spellborn NV did not reply.
Frogster directed us to their German site even after being told the correspondent was English and therefore unable to use a German site.
This latest news about the game’s closure was not received by Playdom, but by a Games.com writer who received an e-mail from Playdom informing them of this decision, this seems strange as they informed us they are not involved in the game. They way in which each of these companies have treated the players is disgraceful to say the least.
We have appealed to Playdom to review their decision but are not hopeful of a reply.
A couple of days ago after numerous game sites reported on the players attempts to contact "someone" "anyone" there finally appeared this post on our forum, locked by an Acclaim representative I doubt any of us have heard of -
"
TCOS will no longer be in service effective Aug 25, 2010
We regret to inform you that The Chronicles of Spellborn will no longer be in service effective August 25, 2010
ACCLAIM COINS
Please spend all of your remaining Acclaim Coins by Aug 25. Otherwise, any unused Acclaim Coins can be reimbursed by emailing contact@acclaim.com.
Please contact customer support with any questions or concerns at: contact@acclaim.com
Thank you for your support!
Yesterday I received word of a friend actually receiving a reply from a Frogster representative. It states that Frogster are in discussions with Spellborn NV about the game, but as we all know, they are in court proceedings with each other due to financial problems, so I am guessing NOTHING can be resolved until this is over.
Originally posted by SynthetickRegardless, the game had all the makings of a good game. The atmosphere was great, the character models and animations weren't bad, the classes and skills unique and flavorful, the game world offered various environments, an engaging storyline, a unique combat system that managed to be as fluid as most mainstream systems. The problem is it was just a concept or a shell.
There was no content, nothing to break the monotony, nothing to steer you away or even attempt at hiding/disguising the grind of quests and levels. Max level there was nothing to do, no feats to accomplish, no goals to achieve. The leveling process, while pretty and fluid in terms of going from sight A to B and whathaveyou, was very bland due to lack of anything other than quests. A late added attempt at group instanced content was too late and too little.
Thing is the game only got a couple of content pages after release before it went FTP. They should have been a bit more frequent, but it highlights the issue with this game which was not enough support.
That said, everything you mentioned was more or less true.
There were content updates any 5 weeks or so. You've got auction house with advanced features, really big arena system, demon chest PVP, tutorial, starter zone revamp among many smaller things like speech bubbles, high house icons (meant to ramp up PVP), and more in the works. The studio in the netherlands was closed and another team took over to change the game towards item shop (and probably something more). When the dev team in the netherlands ceased to exist, the support also stopped.
You can read some of the plans for Lore here. There was also a world PVP system in the works (the Lore text ties into that a bit), with control points, resources and based on the High Houses and also an advanced mount system.
You can read some of the plans for Lore here. There was also a world PVP system in the works (the Lore text ties into that a bit), with control points, resources and based on the High Houses and also an advanced mount system.
Woah, that would be so awesome.
To bad those things will never get in the game now. TCoS RIP
no surprise here. They hoped that by making it free more people would join. then quickly without anyone noticing switch it back to p2p. Main reason i didn't play it in the first place.
Why do all the good ones die first and the over bloated, rip off and time wasters seem to live on forever?
The Chronicles of the Spellborn, will be truly missed, it was a great game and I just loved that combat.
I remember how, so many new players use to complain that there were not enough wild boars to go around and that other players were hogging them, while they would just stand there and wait for the boars to spawn around them, then there was that big old boar that kept on killing me when I tried to solo it, man she was a challenge and a half I tell you, this game will be very much missed.
no surprise here. They hoped that by making it free more people would join. then quickly without anyone noticing switch it back to p2p. Main reason i didn't play it in the first place.
They didn't switch it back to p2p, since there isn't even an option to pay for the game. It was just one of the many errors that we had lately. There is a temporary fix for it by the way.
I'm a pretty avid mmo player and the truth is I disagree with the sentiment mentioned above my post. I don't whine or cry for something new, as a matter of fact I have no problems saying my preference is for things to stay marginally familiar to what I'm used to. I agree with you that it is something we hear often but I'm not sure that saying you want something new people are automatically take into account that new doesn't really mean good to everyone. I can honestly say though I'm reluctant to play games that try to be too different because the truth is then it is just an experiment and I value my dollar too much to take part in it.
I'm not against companies being determined to try using new features but as stated and as seen enough recently that is just not a good idea for a company that is in a make or break state with the game they plan to use it on.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
Oh, boy, I am SO sad. I knew this day was coming, but the thought of my favourite MMORPG shutting down was something I tried to avoid. And now it's gone for good. Imagine your favourite MMORPG going down. I probably feel whatever Tabula Rasa fans felt when their game was shut down.
But while Tabula Rasa went down in flames, with a great end-game event, Spellborn was put down like a stray dog. They promised to keep the servers up until August 25th, yet no servers are up as of 21st. Gone for good.
I am currently saving what I can from the game files - but only the music seems to be salvageable. Unfortunately the maps can't be explored offline, because they're written in the proprietary Unreal 2.5 engine. Would have been ideal for cinematic video creation.
Why can't big suits at Disney release the server side code? Or at least some tools to open the maps? Maybe they don't even have them anymore.
Oh, boy, I am SO sad. I knew this day was coming, but the thought of my favourite MMORPG shutting down was something I tried to avoid. And now it's gone for good. Imagine your favourite MMORPG going down. I probably feel whatever Tabula Rasa fans felt when their game was shut down.
But while Tabula Rasa went down in flames, with a great end-game event, Spellborn was put down like a stray dog. They promised to keep the servers up until August 25th, yet no servers are up as of 21st. Gone for good.
I am currently saving what I can from the game files - but only the music seems to be salvageable. Unfortunately the maps can't be explored offline, because they're written in the proprietary Unreal 2.5 engine. Would have been ideal for cinematic video creation.
Why can't big suits at Disney release the server side code? Or at least some tools to open the maps? Maybe they don't even have them anymore.
I understand your sadness. I too am going through this. I've been with Spellborn years before its release in Europe. I've played through the closed & open beta there. I was there at release. And I'm still there now when it's down. And I'll never forget the game.
But there's one thing most people inc. you don't seem to understand:
Spellborn NV holds the license to the game, not Disney, not Playdom and certainly not the nowdefunct Acclaim or Frogster. So this means that Disney doesn't even have the editing tools, so therefore they can't release them! Spellborn NV might have them as their daughtercompany Spellwork BV created those tools.
So glad I kept the game's music files. Some of the best video game music I've ever heard gets made more eerie now that the game is dead. It's like I'm hearing it from beyond the grave.
Really too bad, they had some good ideas and the mood in the game was very nice.
But too little content and not fun enough to play killed it. The combat system was good in theory but wasn't fun when you played, that didn't help either.
Gameguard was also a turn off, we were 4 that was to try it at the open beta but 2 of the guys never got it to work (ok, it was the 2 less competent with computers but installing and running a game should be the easiest part any moron can do).
I'm not against companies being determined to try using new features but as stated and as seen enough recently that is just not a good idea for a company that is in a make or break state with the game they plan to use it on.
It mattered little. Imagine the exactly same game with EQs or Wows mechanics and interface... You actually think that would have changed anything for the better or worse?
Fun and lots of content are the 2 important facts to sell a MMO, not the game mechanics. Games that lacks one will never be huge and games that like Spellborn lack both will fade away.
So glad I kept the game's music files. Some of the best video game music I've ever heard gets made more eerie now that the game is dead. It's like I'm hearing it from beyond the grave.
Most of it was made by "Within temptation", they are pretty good (particularly their early work). Pretty big band in Holland actually, here are their homepage: http://www.within-temptation.com/
Sad to see it go. Really hope it get's a rebirth elsewhere. It had a very unusual feel ..an odd sense of humor and some unique elements. I just had other game's I liked better. When I did try to install it a second time (after it went F2P) the game guard gave me problems..and I lost patience with the whole effort....figured I'd give it a go when it was re-released in it's new incarnation. Guess that's not happening now..or is it?
So glad I kept the game's music files. Some of the best video game music I've ever heard gets made more eerie now that the game is dead. It's like I'm hearing it from beyond the grave.
Most of it was made by "Within temptation", they are pretty good (particularly their early work). Pretty big band in Holland actually, here are their homepage: http://www.within-temptation.com/
I liked that part too of the game
Well there you go. I had always thought it was Jesper Kyd. Good to know, I'll have to check out that band
I am just curious to know how many of the people who thought this game was unique and different actually continued to support it. It's funny how we all wax poetic about things and talk potential and other meaningless descriptions without putting your money where your mouth is.
Just like how everyone abandon other games and then lament their passing. I continued to play Anarchy Online ,Vanguard and Age of Conan because I saw potential in these games and refused to give up and supported them financially. I think this genre needs more loyalty .We bail out on games so easily.
Just like how everyone abandon other games and then lament their passing. I continued to play Anarchy Online ,Vanguard and Age of Conan because I saw potential in these games and refused to give up and supported them financially. I think this genre needs more loyalty .We bail out on games so easily.
I wont speak for anyone else, but I also dont believe on spending money I earn on something that isnt enjoyable. I have zero obligation to spend money on a game that isnt enjoyable, and I certainly dont pay for potential, because there is zero guarantee that a game can ever reach what my personal feelings of potential are.
In saying that, sure I can wax nostalgic about past games, but it doesnt stop me from realzing that I usually stopped playing something because I stopped enjoying it, and there are certainly other options. In fact, it's better to have companies compete for consumer dollars, because games that "hit" with audiences then have a chance to work.
So glad I kept the game's music files. Some of the best video game music I've ever heard gets made more eerie now that the game is dead. It's like I'm hearing it from beyond the grave.
Most of it was made by "Within temptation", they are pretty good (particularly their early work). Pretty big band in Holland actually, here are their homepage: http://www.within-temptation.com/
I liked that part too of the game
Well there you go. I had always thought it was Jesper Kyd. Good to know, I'll have to check out that band
Not true what you say Loke666!
Matthew Florianz, lead audio & ambient master, made all the ambient sounds and worked closely with Jesper Kyd. Jesper Kyd did the actual soundtrack.
Within Temptation, however, only made 2 songs to promote the game (they aren't featured in the game!). Those songs are called 'Sounds of Freedom' (Destroyed album) and 'The Howling' (this one was featured in a trailer).
Comments
Darn. It sucks when a game shuts down. Even if only 5 people that were still playing that means 5 people are without a place to call home. :P
Welcome to MMORPG. I like to call it limbo.
This is really depressing news to me. I loved this game, but haven't played it in a long while because it was clear that it was not getting any content patches for a long time. All this game needed was content and players. Everything else, the combat, classes, char progression and customisation, atmosphere (this game has some of the best music I've heard in a video game. the login screen is amazing) and a great art direction. The game needed fleshing out, but how many games don't need some polish when released.
Anyone who says this game failed because it was a bad game either has no clue or did not play it and is simply trolling. Even if you played it and didn't like it it would be hard not to see the potential in the game, and how it could be successful if it was given a chance to grow. It wasn't perfect but it was far superior than many releases that have been around for ages. If anything Spellborn proves that building a very good game isn't enough to ensure success nowdays. You have to have a plan for how it will be delivered, how it will be funded and how it will be supported. All the devs fantastic work went down the drain because they chose a publisher that had no idea how to turn a raw product into a success. Imagine this game in the hands of Turbine.
Not very surprising, but horrible news all the same. I am simply gutted.
EDIT: It likely won't make a shred of difference, but here's a petition to sign if you feel as strongly as I and others do.
http://www.petitiononline.com/tcos/petition.html
MUNDO!!
Thing is the game only got a couple of content pages after release before it went FTP. They should have been a bit more frequent, but it highlights the issue with this game which was not enough support.
That said, everything you mentioned was more or less true.
MUNDO!!
*waves to Czelsior and other TCoS refugees*
@ robokapp - it DID have players, and recent ones, the petition proves that.
The only thing that ruined this game was the lack of support and publicity and the endless changes in management.
The players of The Chronicles of Spellborn were recently informed the game will be closing at the end of this month.
Since Acclaim sold out to Playdom months ago our community has been ignored by all administrators/moderators/support team and have been fighting keep the game going by contacting all the companies involved.
Acclaim did not reply to any e-mails.
Playdom replied stating they have no involvement in the game.
Spellborn NV did not reply.
Frogster directed us to their German site even after being told the correspondent was English and therefore unable to use a German site.
This latest news about the game’s closure was not received by Playdom, but by a Games.com writer who received an e-mail from Playdom informing them of this decision, this seems strange as they informed us they are not involved in the game. They way in which each of these companies have treated the players is disgraceful to say the least.
We love this game, and do not want it to end.
The players have created a petition here to keep the game online –http://www.petitiononline.com/tcos/petition.html
We have appealed to Playdom to review their decision but are not hopeful of a reply.
A couple of days ago after numerous game sites reported on the players attempts to contact "someone" "anyone" there finally appeared this post on our forum, locked by an Acclaim representative I doubt any of us have heard of -
"
TCOS will no longer be in service effective Aug 25, 2010
We regret to inform you that The Chronicles of Spellborn will no longer be in service effective August 25, 2010
ACCLAIM COINS
Please spend all of your remaining Acclaim Coins by Aug 25. Otherwise, any unused Acclaim Coins can be reimbursed by emailing contact@acclaim.com.
OTHER GAMES
Check out other Playdom games at http://www.facebook.com/Playdom
Or sign up to test our new game Kogamu at http://apps.facebook.com/kogamugame
Please contact customer support with any questions or concerns at: contact@acclaim.com
Thank you for your support!
Yesterday I received word of a friend actually receiving a reply from a Frogster representative. It states that Frogster are in discussions with Spellborn NV about the game, but as we all know, they are in court proceedings with each other due to financial problems, so I am guessing NOTHING can be resolved until this is over.
All we can do is wait
xx
~x~Fake Friends Killed on Sight~x~
There were content updates any 5 weeks or so. You've got auction house with advanced features, really big arena system, demon chest PVP, tutorial, starter zone revamp among many smaller things like speech bubbles, high house icons (meant to ramp up PVP), and more in the works. The studio in the netherlands was closed and another team took over to change the game towards item shop (and probably something more). When the dev team in the netherlands ceased to exist, the support also stopped.
You can read some of the plans for Lore here. There was also a world PVP system in the works (the Lore text ties into that a bit), with control points, resources and based on the High Houses and also an advanced mount system.
Woah, that would be so awesome.
To bad those things will never get in the game now. TCoS RIP
EDIT: The servers are currently up again! http://www.stillbruch.ch/test/TCOS.php
thanks deb for letting us know
If they wont support the game online anymore, can they turn it into a single player campaign?
Not really a suprise, I did beta testing before acclaim had the game, it just wasn't very good. In my opinion.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
I call it a collective of angry Smurfs, but that's what keeps me coming back. I loved The Smurfs.
Anyway, COS was decent, it just never captured me in the long haul. Regardless, it's sad to see any game go south.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
no surprise here. They hoped that by making it free more people would join. then quickly without anyone noticing switch it back to p2p. Main reason i didn't play it in the first place.
Why do all the good ones die first and the over bloated, rip off and time wasters seem to live on forever?
The Chronicles of the Spellborn, will be truly missed, it was a great game and I just loved that combat.
I remember how, so many new players use to complain that there were not enough wild boars to go around and that other players were hogging them, while they would just stand there and wait for the boars to spawn around them, then there was that big old boar that kept on killing me when I tried to solo it, man she was a challenge and a half I tell you, this game will be very much missed.
They didn't switch it back to p2p, since there isn't even an option to pay for the game. It was just one of the many errors that we had lately. There is a temporary fix for it by the way.
that's too bad. I had real hopes for this game before it's launch
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
I'm a pretty avid mmo player and the truth is I disagree with the sentiment mentioned above my post. I don't whine or cry for something new, as a matter of fact I have no problems saying my preference is for things to stay marginally familiar to what I'm used to. I agree with you that it is something we hear often but I'm not sure that saying you want something new people are automatically take into account that new doesn't really mean good to everyone. I can honestly say though I'm reluctant to play games that try to be too different because the truth is then it is just an experiment and I value my dollar too much to take part in it.
I'm not against companies being determined to try using new features but as stated and as seen enough recently that is just not a good idea for a company that is in a make or break state with the game they plan to use it on.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
Oh, boy, I am SO sad. I knew this day was coming, but the thought of my favourite MMORPG shutting down was something I tried to avoid. And now it's gone for good. Imagine your favourite MMORPG going down. I probably feel whatever Tabula Rasa fans felt when their game was shut down.
But while Tabula Rasa went down in flames, with a great end-game event, Spellborn was put down like a stray dog. They promised to keep the servers up until August 25th, yet no servers are up as of 21st. Gone for good.
I am currently saving what I can from the game files - but only the music seems to be salvageable. Unfortunately the maps can't be explored offline, because they're written in the proprietary Unreal 2.5 engine. Would have been ideal for cinematic video creation.
Why can't big suits at Disney release the server side code? Or at least some tools to open the maps? Maybe they don't even have them anymore.
I understand your sadness. I too am going through this. I've been with Spellborn years before its release in Europe. I've played through the closed & open beta there. I was there at release. And I'm still there now when it's down. And I'll never forget the game.
But there's one thing most people inc. you don't seem to understand:
Spellborn NV holds the license to the game, not Disney, not Playdom and certainly not the nowdefunct Acclaim or Frogster. So this means that Disney doesn't even have the editing tools, so therefore they can't release them! Spellborn NV might have them as their daughtercompany Spellwork BV created those tools.
So glad I kept the game's music files. Some of the best video game music I've ever heard gets made more eerie now that the game is dead. It's like I'm hearing it from beyond the grave.
MUNDO!!
Really too bad, they had some good ideas and the mood in the game was very nice.
But too little content and not fun enough to play killed it. The combat system was good in theory but wasn't fun when you played, that didn't help either.
Gameguard was also a turn off, we were 4 that was to try it at the open beta but 2 of the guys never got it to work (ok, it was the 2 less competent with computers but installing and running a game should be the easiest part any moron can do).
It mattered little. Imagine the exactly same game with EQs or Wows mechanics and interface... You actually think that would have changed anything for the better or worse?
Fun and lots of content are the 2 important facts to sell a MMO, not the game mechanics. Games that lacks one will never be huge and games that like Spellborn lack both will fade away.
Most of it was made by "Within temptation", they are pretty good (particularly their early work). Pretty big band in Holland actually, here are their homepage: http://www.within-temptation.com/
I liked that part too of the game
Sad to see it go. Really hope it get's a rebirth elsewhere. It had a very unusual feel ..an odd sense of humor and some unique elements. I just had other game's I liked better. When I did try to install it a second time (after it went F2P) the game guard gave me problems..and I lost patience with the whole effort....figured I'd give it a go when it was re-released in it's new incarnation. Guess that's not happening now..or is it?
Well there you go. I had always thought it was Jesper Kyd. Good to know, I'll have to check out that band
MUNDO!!
I am just curious to know how many of the people who thought this game was unique and different actually continued to support it. It's funny how we all wax poetic about things and talk potential and other meaningless descriptions without putting your money where your mouth is.
Just like how everyone abandon other games and then lament their passing. I continued to play Anarchy Online ,Vanguard and Age of Conan because I saw potential in these games and refused to give up and supported them financially. I think this genre needs more loyalty .We bail out on games so easily.
I wont speak for anyone else, but I also dont believe on spending money I earn on something that isnt enjoyable. I have zero obligation to spend money on a game that isnt enjoyable, and I certainly dont pay for potential, because there is zero guarantee that a game can ever reach what my personal feelings of potential are.
In saying that, sure I can wax nostalgic about past games, but it doesnt stop me from realzing that I usually stopped playing something because I stopped enjoying it, and there are certainly other options. In fact, it's better to have companies compete for consumer dollars, because games that "hit" with audiences then have a chance to work.
Not true what you say Loke666!
Matthew Florianz, lead audio & ambient master, made all the ambient sounds and worked closely with Jesper Kyd. Jesper Kyd did the actual soundtrack.
Within Temptation, however, only made 2 songs to promote the game (they aren't featured in the game!). Those songs are called 'Sounds of Freedom' (Destroyed album) and 'The Howling' (this one was featured in a trailer).