Glad to see LotRO might be getting some love, again.
It had been my go-to game even after the Fangorn update. Then's when the RNG went insane, and we were 8 months into what would turn into 2+ years of nonstop evacuation of villagers. Trappings of the source material, I suppose.
Never could get into "Big Battles"; never felt like I was doing anything that meant anything. Minas Tirith would turn out to be a great main questline smothered in Big Battles and busy work, being a delivery boy running from one end and level of the city to another...
Hate to pick apart a game I loved so much. I will come back to play when all of this gets done, though I may end up just bee-lining the main story. After playing Witcher 3 I can't help but think secondary quests can be pretty special, too. And if they aren't, I just can't enjoy doing them, anymore.
Do you really think Daybreak a company where MMOs are going to, to get shut down is going to improve LOTRO? Add to that the licenses is only renewed THROUGH 2017. So if Daybreak is not making money do you see it getting renewed after that?
Sorry but LOTRO should be shut down just like several other MMORPGs right now. DDO being another one.
Daybreak has nothing to do with the license or development of either game. They will only be the publisher. Standing stone owns the licenses and is responsible for development.
Yea and what has Daybreak done so far? Kill off developer jobs let go of management offshore all the work and put these games into maintenance mode. Do you think LOTRO or DDO are some special snowflakes? The games are done. Standing Stone changes are in coming, do you believe this interview will usher in the change they are saying it will? The same nonsense was talked about when SOE became Daybreak, the same SOMETHING SPECIAL WILL HAPPEN nonsense was talked about. What Happen? EQNext shut down, developers fired, Management fired games put into maintenance mode. Likely they will sell off IP assets OR try to make a spin off of these IPs.
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
Glad to see LotRO might be getting some love, again.
It had been my go-to game even after the Fangorn update. Then's when the RNG went insane, and we were 8 months into what would turn into 2+ years of nonstop evacuation of villagers. Trappings of the source material, I suppose.
Never could get into "Big Battles"; never felt like I was doing anything that meant anything. Minas Tirith would turn out to be a great main questline smothered in Big Battles and busy work, being a delivery boy running from one end and level of the city to another...
Hate to pick apart a game I loved so much. I will come back to play when all of this gets done, though I may end up just bee-lining the main story. After playing Witcher 3 I can't help but think secondary quests can be pretty special, too. And if they aren't, I just can't enjoy doing them, anymore.
Do you really think Daybreak a company where MMOs are going to, to get shut down is going to improve LOTRO? Add to that the licenses is only renewed THROUGH 2017. So if Daybreak is not making money do you see it getting renewed after that?
Sorry but LOTRO should be shut down just like several other MMORPGs right now. DDO being another one.
Daybreak has nothing to do with the license or development of either game. They will only be the publisher. Standing stone owns the licenses and is responsible for development.
Yea and what has Daybreak done so far? Kill off developer jobs let go of management offshore all the work and put these games into maintenance mode. Do you think LOTRO or DDO are some special snowflakes? The games are done. Standing Stone changes are in coming, do you believe this interview will usher in the change they are saying it will? The same nonsense was talked about when SOE became Daybreak, the same SOMETHING SPECIAL WILL HAPPEN nonsense was talked about. What Happen? EQNext shut down, developers fired, Management fired games put into maintenance mode. Likely they will sell off IP assets OR try to make a spin off of these IPs.
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
Except Daybreak owned the games they closed. They don't own Standing Stone games they are just publishing the games.
Does that mean that automatically everything is going to be awesome with LOTRO nad DDO? No. Does it mean they are "special snowflakes"? No. It does mean they are "different snowflakes".
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Glad to see LotRO might be getting some love, again.
It had been my go-to game even after the Fangorn update. Then's when the RNG went insane, and we were 8 months into what would turn into 2+ years of nonstop evacuation of villagers. Trappings of the source material, I suppose.
Never could get into "Big Battles"; never felt like I was doing anything that meant anything. Minas Tirith would turn out to be a great main questline smothered in Big Battles and busy work, being a delivery boy running from one end and level of the city to another...
Hate to pick apart a game I loved so much. I will come back to play when all of this gets done, though I may end up just bee-lining the main story. After playing Witcher 3 I can't help but think secondary quests can be pretty special, too. And if they aren't, I just can't enjoy doing them, anymore.
Do you really think Daybreak a company where MMOs are going to, to get shut down is going to improve LOTRO? Add to that the licenses is only renewed THROUGH 2017. So if Daybreak is not making money do you see it getting renewed after that?
Sorry but LOTRO should be shut down just like several other MMORPGs right now. DDO being another one.
Daybreak has nothing to do with the license or development of either game. They will only be the publisher. Standing stone owns the licenses and is responsible for development.
Yea and what has Daybreak done so far? Kill off developer jobs let go of management offshore all the work and put these games into maintenance mode. Do you think LOTRO or DDO are some special snowflakes? The games are done. Standing Stone changes are in coming, do you believe this interview will usher in the change they are saying it will? The same nonsense was talked about when SOE became Daybreak, the same SOMETHING SPECIAL WILL HAPPEN nonsense was talked about. What Happen? EQNext shut down, developers fired, Management fired games put into maintenance mode. Likely they will sell off IP assets OR try to make a spin off of these IPs.
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
How can they sell ip assets that they don't own to begin with? Also, EQ Next was a daybreak title. LOTRO and DDO are not. Again, Standing Stone owns the licenses for both games and develops both games. Daybreak is the publisher, nothing more.
Daybreak can't shut down the games, they don't own them. They publish them only. It's not comparable to Daybreak shutting down games it owned.
You want to make a bet they cannot shut these games down? Daybreak is owned by an investment/venture company that makes their money by selling off assets and/or taking an IP and redesigning it their way. Standing Stone can be gone tomorrow because A Capital company owns them as much as you want to say NO THEY DONT. Standing Stone Games is a START UP company started in Oct 2016, Where do you think they got the Capital for a start up? Columbus Nova the OWNER of Daybreak, you also might have Warner Brothers in there as well BUT you would likely see that Columbus Nova has an investment in Standing Stone. If in a year money is not being paid back dont be surprised if Columbus Nova pulls the plug.
Glad to see LotRO might be getting some love, again.
It had been my go-to game even after the Fangorn update. Then's when the RNG went insane, and we were 8 months into what would turn into 2+ years of nonstop evacuation of villagers. Trappings of the source material, I suppose.
Never could get into "Big Battles"; never felt like I was doing anything that meant anything. Minas Tirith would turn out to be a great main questline smothered in Big Battles and busy work, being a delivery boy running from one end and level of the city to another...
Hate to pick apart a game I loved so much. I will come back to play when all of this gets done, though I may end up just bee-lining the main story. After playing Witcher 3 I can't help but think secondary quests can be pretty special, too. And if they aren't, I just can't enjoy doing them, anymore.
Do you really think Daybreak a company where MMOs are going to, to get shut down is going to improve LOTRO? Add to that the licenses is only renewed THROUGH 2017. So if Daybreak is not making money do you see it getting renewed after that?
Sorry but LOTRO should be shut down just like several other MMORPGs right now. DDO being another one.
Daybreak has nothing to do with the license or development of either game. They will only be the publisher. Standing stone owns the licenses and is responsible for development.
Yea and what has Daybreak done so far? Kill off developer jobs let go of management offshore all the work and put these games into maintenance mode. Do you think LOTRO or DDO are some special snowflakes? The games are done. Standing Stone changes are in coming, do you believe this interview will usher in the change they are saying it will? The same nonsense was talked about when SOE became Daybreak, the same SOMETHING SPECIAL WILL HAPPEN nonsense was talked about. What Happen? EQNext shut down, developers fired, Management fired games put into maintenance mode. Likely they will sell off IP assets OR try to make a spin off of these IPs.
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
How can they sell ip assets that they don!t own to begin with? Also, EQ Next was a daybreak title. LOTRO and DDO are not. Again, Standing Stone owns the licenses for both games and develops both games. Daybreak is the publisher, nothing more.
You sir need to connect the dotted lines. Standing Stone is a Start up Started in Oct 2016. Where do you think they are getting the money for the Licenses of DDO and LOTRO? Likely Columbus Nova. And Likely Columbus Nova has the rights to the IP if Standing Stone does not make the money that CN loaned them. So you can talk out your ass all you want. Yep SS owns the Licenses for both games BUT CN invested in SS and if bills are not being paid the Licenses transfers to CN which will transfer them to Daybreak. This is how this shit works with Investment/Venture companies. You can say all you want until you are blue in the face. These businesses buy shit that is going to FAIL all the time just to get the IP and YES if SS goes Bankrupt tomorrow CN and Daybreak will own the licenses and the IP.
What I see happening is Daybreak shutting down these two MMOs but holding on to the IP so they can spin other games off. Daybreak is not going to spend money on 2 older MMOs that just are not making money, Trubine would have kept these games had they been making money. I am sorry but it is true. Don't believe me? Daybreak is owned by an investment company that buys new companies, takes certain product it wants and shuts down others. They use this as tools to get rights to certain IPs so they can use the IP in their own way to make money.
You might want to edit that post because what you wrote is completely fake news. Daybreak is just providing the servers and providing publishing help for these games. Daybreak has no say whether this games are shut down whatsoever, they have no ownership stake at all.
You really should at least know something about the subject before posting.
Daybreak can't shut down the games, they don't own them. They publish them only. It's not comparable to Daybreak shutting down games it owned.
You want to make a bet they cannot shut these games down? Daybreak is owned by an investment/venture company that makes their money by selling off assets and/or taking an IP and redesigning it their way. Standing Stone can be gone tomorrow because A Capital company owns them as much as you want to say NO THEY DONT. Standing Stone Games is a START UP company started in Oct 2016, Where do you think they got the Capital for a start up? Columbus Nova the OWNER of Daybreak, you also might have Warner Brothers in there as well BUT you would likely see that Columbus Nova has an investment in Standing Stone. If in a year money is not being paid back dont be surprised if Columbus Nova pulls the plug.
That's not how it works. I worked for a startup company that got funds from a venture capitalist and they had no say in anything other than eventually being paid back.
Standing Stone games has said they are a private company. Other than being registered in Delaware, there really isn't a lot of information known about them.
But if you have some special information about them being purchased by Daybreak or some insight into the actual business terms between them, by all means say so.
Otherwise this is just speculation.
but yeah, maybe they did borrow money. And if they did they will need to pay it back. But that doesn't mean that Daybreak (columbus nova) gets to one day decide to close them down.
Oh yeah, I had actually forgotten this. The venture capital company that funded the startup I worked at also funded Turbine! I remember seeing the posters.
Maybe Standing Stone went back to them. (Highland Capital Partners).
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Daybreak can't shut down the games, they don't own them. They publish them only. It's not comparable to Daybreak shutting down games it owned.
You want to make a bet they cannot shut these games down? Daybreak is owned by an investment/venture company that makes their money by selling off assets and/or taking an IP and redesigning it their way. Standing Stone can be gone tomorrow because A Capital company owns them as much as you want to say NO THEY DONT. Standing Stone Games is a START UP company started in Oct 2016, Where do you think they got the Capital for a start up? Columbus Nova the OWNER of Daybreak, you also might have Warner Brothers in there as well BUT you would likely see that Columbus Nova has an investment in Standing Stone. If in a year money is not being paid back dont be surprised if Columbus Nova pulls the plug.
DBG do not own Standing Stones Games. DBG cannot close LotR or DDO.
That is like saying Wal-Mart can close down Kellogs. Or that Amazon can close WoW / Activision.
Clear? Simply selling a product does not mean a company can close it down.
Nor is SSG a "START UP". The company was set up by Turbine. Who then vested (gave) the new company various assets - buildings, IP rights, titles - and allowed Turbine employees working on those games to join this "new" company. Essentially a sort of "severance" pay.
Turbine is owned by WarnerBros Interactive Entertainment - a mega-million $ company. WarnerBros Interactive Entertainment is owned by WarnerBros - even bigger company. WarnerBros is owned in turn by Time Warner - very big company indeed. And if the $108.7B deal goes through they will be owned by AT&T.
No need whatsoever for any "venture capital" funding. Big company. Very, very, big company divesting itself of a tiny, tiny bit.
What I see happening is Daybreak shutting down these two MMOs but holding on to the IP so they can spin other games off. Daybreak is not going to spend money on 2 older MMOs that just are not making money, Trubine would have kept these games had they been making money. I am sorry but it is true. Don't believe me? Daybreak is owned by an investment company that buys new companies, takes certain product it wants and shuts down others. They use this as tools to get rights to certain IPs so they can use the IP in their own way to make money.
You might want to edit that post because what you wrote is completely fake news. Daybreak is just providing the servers and providing publishing help for these games. Daybreak has no say whether this games are shut down whatsoever, they have no ownership stake at all.
You really should at least know something about the subject before posting.
I'm not even sure if Daybreak provide the servers personally. In the Massively interview, they said that the physical servers were not impacted by the switch to SSG (which is locate in the same office as before).
Glad to see LotRO might be getting some love, again.
It had been my go-to game even after the Fangorn update. Then's when the RNG went insane, and we were 8 months into what would turn into 2+ years of nonstop evacuation of villagers. Trappings of the source material, I suppose.
Never could get into "Big Battles"; never felt like I was doing anything that meant anything. Minas Tirith would turn out to be a great main questline smothered in Big Battles and busy work, being a delivery boy running from one end and level of the city to another...
Hate to pick apart a game I loved so much. I will come back to play when all of this gets done, though I may end up just bee-lining the main story. After playing Witcher 3 I can't help but think secondary quests can be pretty special, too. And if they aren't, I just can't enjoy doing them, anymore.
Do you really think Daybreak a company where MMOs are going to, to get shut down is going to improve LOTRO? Add to that the licenses is only renewed THROUGH 2017. So if Daybreak is not making money do you see it getting renewed after that?
Sorry but LOTRO should be shut down just like several other MMORPGs right now. DDO being another one.
Daybreak has nothing to do with the license or development of either game. They will only be the publisher. Standing stone owns the licenses and is responsible for development.
Yea and what has Daybreak done so far? Kill off developer jobs let go of management offshore all the work and put these games into maintenance mode. Do you think LOTRO or DDO are some special snowflakes? The games are done. Standing Stone changes are in coming, do you believe this interview will usher in the change they are saying it will? The same nonsense was talked about when SOE became Daybreak, the same SOMETHING SPECIAL WILL HAPPEN nonsense was talked about. What Happen? EQNext shut down, developers fired, Management fired games put into maintenance mode. Likely they will sell off IP assets OR try to make a spin off of these IPs.
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
How can they sell ip assets that they don!t own to begin with? Also, EQ Next was a daybreak title. LOTRO and DDO are not. Again, Standing Stone owns the licenses for both games and develops both games. Daybreak is the publisher, nothing more.
You sir need to connect the dotted lines. Standing Stone is a Start up Started in Oct 2016. Where do you think they are getting the money for the Licenses of DDO and LOTRO? Likely Columbus Nova. And Likely Columbus Nova has the rights to the IP if Standing Stone does not make the money that CN loaned them. So you can talk out your ass all you want. Yep SS owns the Licenses for both games BUT CN invested in SS and if bills are not being paid the Licenses transfers to CN which will transfer them to Daybreak. This is how this shit works with Investment/Venture companies. You can say all you want until you are blue in the face. These businesses buy shit that is going to FAIL all the time just to get the IP and YES if SS goes Bankrupt tomorrow CN and Daybreak will own the licenses and the IP.
"So you can talk out your ass all you want." Pretty ironic coming from the guy who doesn't understand how developer/publisher relationships work, and who is just randomly making up "facts" as he goes.
What I see happening is Daybreak shutting down these two MMOs but holding on to the IP so they can spin other games off. Daybreak is not going to spend money on 2 older MMOs that just are not making money, Trubine would have kept these games had they been making money. I am sorry but it is true. Don't believe me? Daybreak is owned by an investment company that buys new companies, takes certain product it wants and shuts down others. They use this as tools to get rights to certain IPs so they can use the IP in their own way to make money.
You might want to edit that post because what you wrote is completely fake news. Daybreak is just providing the servers and providing publishing help for these games. Daybreak has no say whether this games are shut down whatsoever, they have no ownership stake at all.
You really should at least know something about the subject before posting.
I'm not even sure if Daybreak provide the servers personally. In the Massively interview, they said that the physical servers were not impacted by the switch to SSG (which is locate in the same office as before).
The servers will be rented like the office space, so it was likely just a matter of transferring the contracts over to SSG. Same with the IP licences.
As for ownership, it's a private company so nobody knows. But if it were owned by a public company it'd have to be disclosed, and since they've stated they're an independent company, they're unlikely to be owned by the publisher. Since the game clearly makes money, they likely got funding from standard investment.
I'm happy to see DDO potentially getting some much needed attention, but I've been disappointed with Lotro post-Moria. A new publisher along with less focus on a cash shop and more on content by the same dev's will never bring me or anyone I knew back. Looking forward to the next attempt at a lotr mmo some day.
Haxus Council Member 21 year MMO veteran PvP Raid Leader Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
I'm happy to see DDO potentially getting some much needed attention, but I've been disappointed with Lotro post-Moria. A new publisher along with less focus on a cash shop and more on content by the same dev's will never bring me or anyone I knew back. Looking forward to the next attempt at a lotr mmo some day.
How it will work out ........ ? I don't see the publisher being a factor though.
I think we can be pretty sure though that there is stuff planned for the next 12-18 months maybe 2 years. Otherwise I don't think the staff would have moved over. If the future plans had called for nothing new after 6 months ....
So positives looking forward.
That said there has been a lot of - imo - decent stuff. Regular quest packs - three Gondor ones for example; the move to a new datacentre; upgraded server code; 64 bit; server mergers. There were rough patches whilst they transitioned but I don't think Turbine / WarnerBros can be faulted. This is not a game that has been in maintenance mode.
However if you have tried the new - post Helm's Deep - stuff I doubt you will like what is to come. If you haven't you might - maybe - be surprised.
What I see happening is Daybreak shutting down these two MMOs but holding on to the IP so they can spin other games off. Daybreak is not going to spend money on 2 older MMOs that just are not making money, Trubine would have kept these games had they been making money. I am sorry but it is true. Don't believe me? Daybreak is owned by an investment company that buys new companies, takes certain product it wants and shuts down others. They use this as tools to get rights to certain IPs so they can use the IP in their own way to make money.
You might want to edit that post because what you wrote is completely fake news. Daybreak is just providing the servers and providing publishing help for these games. Daybreak has no say whether this games are shut down whatsoever, they have no ownership stake at all.
You really should at least know something about the subject before posting.
I'm not even sure if Daybreak provide the servers personally. In the Massively interview, they said that the physical servers were not impacted by the switch to SSG (which is locate in the same office as before).
The servers will be rented like the office space, so it was likely just a matter of transferring the contracts over to SSG. Same with the IP licences.
As for ownership, it's a private company so nobody knows. But if it were owned by a public company it'd have to be disclosed, and since they've stated they're an independent company, they're unlikely to be owned by the publisher. Since the game clearly makes money, they likely got funding from standard investment.
You are correct that they are an independent company and that they are not owned by the publisher.
When it comes to the servers - probably depends whether WB own them or have an agreement with e.g. CSC. If its an agreement WB might not want to re-negotiate. Various options from WB included a server allowance when they set SSG up and SSG will pay rent or SSG got less money but have been given a grace period - "free" servers for a few years.
By way of background WB took the decision to consolidate the hosting of all their games. (Not just Turbine's games). Good news for LotR since it got new servers in 2015, re-written server code, upgraded Windows, 64 bit etc etc. Even if the transfer was a bit of a nightmare! So no surprise they are, as they have said, using the same servers.
Still there with a great group of people doing the current challenging raids - looking forward to rolling a high elf as well as taking my burg through Mordor.
Love being a lifetimer.
Playing: Darkfall New Dawn (and planning to play Fallout 76) Favourite games have included: UO, Lineage2, Darkfall, Lotro, Baldur's Gate, SSX, FF7 and yes the original Wizardry on an Apple IIe
Daybreak can't shut down the games, they don't own them. They publish them only. It's not comparable to Daybreak shutting down games it owned.
They can choose to stop publishing them and if SSG can't find another publisher, then they effectively close down.
Yes DBG could - presumably at the end of the agreed contract - stop "publishing" the games.
Now if I knew what exactly "publishing" means then I could say what impact this might have. At a guess maybe DBG are handling the "external" cash purchases - if people buy expansions or points.
As far as "publishing" the game though: newslash LotR is in its 10th year. Other than changing Turbine to SSG pretty much nothing has changed. I have scoured the pages and - nope - no mention of DBG. To download a copy of either game you go to the SSG page not a DBG page. https://www.lotro.com/en
I can understand people being sceptical about DBG but when it comes to them being able to "close down" LotR or DDO no. If that happens it won't be because of DBG.
Daybreak can't shut down the games, they don't own them. They publish them only. It's not comparable to Daybreak shutting down games it owned.
They can choose to stop publishing them and if SSG can't find another publisher, then they effectively close down.
Yes DBG could - presumably at the end of the agreed contract - stop "publishing" the games.
Now if I knew what exactly "publishing" means then I could say what impact this might have. At a guess maybe DBG are handling the "external" cash purchases - if people buy expansions or points.
As far as "publishing" the game though: newslash LotR is in its 10th year. Other than changing Turbine to SSG pretty much nothing has changed. I have scoured the pages and - nope - no mention of DBG. To download a copy of either game you go to the SSG page not a DBG page. https://www.lotro.com/en
I can understand people being sceptical about DBG but when it comes to them being able to "close down" LotR or DDO no. If that happens it won't be because of DBG.
Well, if I understand game publishing the same way I understand other entertainment publishing ventures, then it works like this:
1. The creator (developer, in this case) makes the product. 2. The publisher provides services like the website, advertising, platform (servers, in this case), billing, account management, support, etc.
According to the information on the Turbine site, DBG provides publishing services. #2 is why LOTRO/DDO fans should worry about the longevity of the games, IMO. DBG could pull the rug out at any time and it would be a herculean effort to recover for a small company like SSG.
Comments
Daybreak has yet to do anything not consistent with investment/venture companies looking to obtain assets to sell or rebuild in their own way.
Does that mean that automatically everything is going to be awesome with LOTRO nad DDO? No. Does it mean they are "special snowflakes"? No. It does mean they are "different snowflakes".
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Cheers,
One game is a poorly imitated WoW clone the other is an insult to pen and paper.
You really should at least know something about the subject before posting.
Standing Stone games has said they are a private company. Other than being registered in Delaware, there really isn't a lot of information known about them.
But if you have some special information about them being purchased by Daybreak or some insight into the actual business terms between them, by all means say so.
Otherwise this is just speculation.
but yeah, maybe they did borrow money. And if they did they will need to pay it back. But that doesn't mean that Daybreak (columbus nova) gets to one day decide to close them down.
Oh yeah, I had actually forgotten this. The venture capital company that funded the startup I worked at also funded Turbine! I remember seeing the posters.
Maybe Standing Stone went back to them. (Highland Capital Partners).
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
That is like saying Wal-Mart can close down Kellogs. Or that Amazon can close WoW / Activision.
Clear? Simply selling a product does not mean a company can close it down.
Nor is SSG a "START UP". The company was set up by Turbine. Who then vested (gave) the new company various assets - buildings, IP rights, titles - and allowed Turbine employees working on those games to join this "new" company. Essentially a sort of "severance" pay.
Turbine is owned by WarnerBros Interactive Entertainment - a mega-million $ company.
WarnerBros Interactive Entertainment is owned by WarnerBros - even bigger company.
WarnerBros is owned in turn by Time Warner - very big company indeed.
And if the $108.7B deal goes through they will be owned by AT&T.
No need whatsoever for any "venture capital" funding. Big company. Very, very, big company divesting itself of a tiny, tiny bit.
I'm not even sure if Daybreak provide the servers personally. In the Massively interview, they said that the physical servers were not impacted by the switch to SSG (which is locate in the same office as before).
As for ownership, it's a private company so nobody knows. But if it were owned by a public company it'd have to be disclosed, and since they've stated they're an independent company, they're unlikely to be owned by the publisher. Since the game clearly makes money, they likely got funding from standard investment.
21 year MMO veteran
PvP Raid Leader
Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
How it will work out ........ ? I don't see the publisher being a factor though.
I think we can be pretty sure though that there is stuff planned for the next 12-18 months maybe 2 years. Otherwise I don't think the staff would have moved over. If the future plans had called for nothing new after 6 months ....
So positives looking forward.
That said there has been a lot of - imo - decent stuff. Regular quest packs - three Gondor ones for example; the move to a new datacentre; upgraded server code; 64 bit; server mergers. There were rough patches whilst they transitioned but I don't think Turbine / WarnerBros can be faulted. This is not a game that has been in maintenance mode.
However if you have tried the new - post Helm's Deep - stuff I doubt you will like what is to come. If you haven't you might - maybe - be surprised.
You are correct that they are an independent company and that they are not owned by the publisher.
When it comes to the servers - probably depends whether WB own them or have an agreement with e.g. CSC. If its an agreement WB might not want to re-negotiate. Various options from WB included a server allowance when they set SSG up and SSG will pay rent or SSG got less money but have been given a grace period - "free" servers for a few years.
By way of background WB took the decision to consolidate the hosting of all their games. (Not just Turbine's games). Good news for LotR since it got new servers in 2015, re-written server code, upgraded Windows, 64 bit etc etc. Even if the transfer was a bit of a nightmare! So no surprise they are, as they have said, using the same servers.
Love being a lifetimer.
Playing: Darkfall New Dawn (and planning to play Fallout 76)
Favourite games have included: UO, Lineage2, Darkfall, Lotro, Baldur's Gate, SSX, FF7 and yes the original Wizardry on an Apple IIe
~~ postlarval ~~
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Now if I knew what exactly "publishing" means then I could say what impact this might have. At a guess maybe DBG are handling the "external" cash purchases - if people buy expansions or points.
As far as "publishing" the game though: newslash LotR is in its 10th year. Other than changing Turbine to SSG pretty much nothing has changed. I have scoured the pages and - nope - no mention of DBG. To download a copy of either game you go to the SSG page not a DBG page. https://www.lotro.com/en
I can understand people being sceptical about DBG but when it comes to them being able to "close down" LotR or DDO no. If that happens it won't be because of DBG.
1. The creator (developer, in this case) makes the product.
2. The publisher provides services like the website, advertising, platform (servers, in this case), billing, account management, support, etc.
According to the information on the Turbine site, DBG provides publishing services. #2 is why LOTRO/DDO fans should worry about the longevity of the games, IMO. DBG could pull the rug out at any time and it would be a herculean effort to recover for a small company like SSG.
~~ postlarval ~~