[TexMurphy]

I stubled across this announcement... http://www.wcnews.com/news/update/6934

Ed Filho noticed that NCSoft has inked a publishing deal with Spacetime Studios. NCSoft's North American operations are run in Austin by Origin co-founders Robert and Richard Garriott, and Spacetime was recently founded by a number of former Wing Commander developers. They are currently working on an unannounced massively multiplayer title. A space themed MMO game would both fill in a critical gap in NCSoft's lineup and take advantage of Spacetime's particular experience. I'm sure we'll be hearing quite a bit more about them in the future.

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2006—NCsoft® Corporation (KSE:036570.KS), the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announced today its latest partnership with a new company in Austin. Spacetime Studios™, composed of a core team with previous leadership roles on successful franchises such as Privateer, Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies, will publish its next game under the NCsoft brand.

If you look at the names of the people involved, the history and the studio name it does smell space sim, big time.

NCSoft is also big enough to actually be able to buy the Wing Commander brand from EA. One can only hope, but Im quite positive this will be very interesting....

The second one...
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145813.html

Whats interesting is that Rich Vogel the producer of the canceled Privateer Online is involved in this one. Though by the background of the studio is more RPG oriented...

Located in a longtime hub of game development, BioWare Austin already has a veteran management team in place. James Ohlen, BioWare's current creative director and former lead designer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights, will become lead designer at the one-game shop. Richard Vogel, former SOE vice president of product development and a senior producer at Origin when Ultima Online launched, has also been offered a high-ranking position. Also on board is another MMORPG vet, Gordon Walton, a former VP at both SOE and Electronic Arts. The studio is also filling positions for programmers, designers, artists, animators, writers, and world-builders.

But who knows even this might lead to a space sim mmpog.

Tex

[Jump]

Hmm, does this mean they aren't impressed with Netdevil? Since they are already working with an experienced developer of space sims and chose someone else?

[Radi]

Maybe state of Jumpgate turned them off. :P

Remember that NCsoft games are not as hardcore as Jumpgate.

[WileE]

You never know what is coming around the next bend.

[Pyrophred]

the first 1 seems pretty definite... the second if it is would probly be more like eve, if i understood correctly

[TexMurphy]

Originally Posted by Pyrophred

the first 1 seems pretty definite... the second if it is would probly be more like eve, if i understood correctly

Yeah but since the first one is published by NCSoft it could very well be another EvE since NCSoft so far hasnt rosed the market with any skillbased games.

We might end up seeing the first beeing another EvE and the second one another SWG.

But then again both of them might be trying to realize "everyones" wet dream, Privateer Online. Yeah yeah Im dreaming...

Tex

[MyStride]

i had some quite amount of experience with all types of mmos and such. the article(except for the wcnews) did not mention if the new mmo is gonna be space themed or not.

if there was another space mmo that is hardcore like Jumpgate, i predict that it will have a low subscriber base.

my closest match is, space mmo with arcade style flight engine with ship's speed like freespace 2.

but who knows. i hope there won't be another space mmo like jumpgate to come out any time soon. it will steal the rest of the players away from the jumpgate playerbase as i myself have been waiting for years to see a major update to happen in that game.

[Jump]

Originally Posted by MyStride

i had some quite amount of experience with all types of mmos and such. the article(except for the wcnews) did not mention if the new mmo is gonna be space themed or not.

if there was another space mmo that is hardcore like Jumpgate, i predict that it will have a low subscriber base.

my closest match is, space mmo with arcade style flight engine with ship's speed like freespace 2.

but who knows. i hope there won't be another space mmo like jumpgate to come out any time soon. it will steal the rest of the players away from the jumpgate playerbase as i myself have been waiting for years to see a major update to happen in that game.

Hello Powo.