Editing Gregory Fulton/Letter about the Forge's cancellation

This reaction was posted by [[Gregory Fulton]] shortly after the cancellation of the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] and refocus on the [[Conflux]] for {{ab}}.

= Letter about the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge's]] cancellation [https://www.forge.acidcave.net/wywiad_g._fultona.html#EN] =

It's 11:37 PM Sunday evening. I should be getting off to bed, but I have surveyed the [[3DO]] message board and feel now would be a good time to step in comment on all the insanity to have transpired over the past two weeks.

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'''WAS THE [[Forge (NWC)|FORGE]] A BAD IDEA?'''

We will never know.


'''WILL THE [[Forge (NWC)|FORGE]] RETURN?'''

Perhaps, but not in its current form.


'''IS THE TITLE 'ARMAGEDDON'S BLADE' CHANGING?'''

No, but the story line is.


'''HOW FAR ALONG WAS THE FORGE TOWN?'''

A first draft of the town screen was finished and awaiting revision. We also had a first draft of each creature and its upgrade and were proceeding with revisions. All but one map for the campaign was finished.


'''WHAT WAS THE STORY LINE? (!! M&M7 SPOILER !!)'''

[[Armageddon's Blade]] followed a story line set up in the upcoming Might and Magic 7. In the M&M7 story, [[Archibald]]'s necromantic [[Adventurers of Terra|Advisors]] build a machine capable of creating high weaponry. In the Armageddon's Blade campaign, these Advisors build [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] towns and set out to destroy [[Erathia]]. [[Catherine]]'s only hope to stop these hi-tech horrors is to obtain the fabled '[[Armageddon's Blade (artifact)|Armageddon's Blade]]'. In the end, [[Catherine]] finds [[Armageddon's Blade (artifact)|Armageddon's Blade]] and destroys all remnants of the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] towns, concluding the Might and Magic 7 story line.


'''WHY DID YOU PULL THE [[Forge (NWC)|FORGE]]?'''

Reason One: As much as I thought the actions of many fans showed a lack of vision and an inherent distrust for a company who have given them hundreds of hours of quality gameplay, I still didn't want to fight our fans.

Reason Two: There wasn't enough pro-[[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] activity.


'''DO YOU THINK 50% OF THE HEROES FANS WERE AGAINST THE [[Forge (NWC)|FORGE]]?'''

No. Total, the number of emails we received asking to remove the Forge were less than 100. I doubt 3DO received much more. As a series, Heroes has sold over 750,000 copies world wide. I would be surprised if more than 5% of the audience would have 'boycotted' the product. However, I still felt 5% was too high.


'''DID THE NETHER GOD'S POLL AFFECT YOUR DECISION?'''

No. The Nether God's poll was bogus. I voted for all three options three separate times with a dynamic IP.


'''WE DON'T LIKE THE [[Conflux|ELEMENTAL TOWN]].'''

“You'll get the [[Conflux|elemental town]], and you'll like it.”

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'''DOES SCIENCE FICTION BELONG IN HEROES?'''

Yes. Science fiction is the foundation of the Might and Magic universe. It is the reason the Might and Magic universe exists. At its core, the Might and Magic is about advanced civilizations who have descend into barbarism. If you disagree, your reasoning is emotional, not logical. Many people forget the [[Inferno]] is not populated by demons. It's populated by [[Kreegan|aliens who look like demons]]. If I told you the origin of the [[Archangel|Arch Angels]] I'm sure many of you would have a heart attack.


'''DO SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MIX?'''

In the Might and Magic universe they do.

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'''WHY DID YOU GIVE GAMESPOT THE TOPLESS NAKED TANK PICTURE?'''

We have no idea how Gamespot got a hold of the concept sketch. No one on the Heroes team gave it to them. We're still tracking it down.


'''ARE ALL OF THE GAMESPOT GUYS YELLOW JOURNALISTS.'''

No. As a person who has access to all the information pertaining to this subject, I tell you the posted article was very objective.

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'''ARE THE ASTRAL WIZARD PEOPLE ZEALOTS?'''

No. Their intentions were honest though their methods were naive and misguided.


'''ARE PEOPLE ON THE STATESMEN'S QUILL 'ELITIST SNOBS'?'''

No. Though it has been a staple of the Astral Wizard web site for a long time, I personally would like to see the Statesmen's Quill migrate to the Heroes message board. Most of the Sq'ers are already on the message board. I think they would bring some much-needed decorum. I think mixing with new fans would get rid of their 'elitist' label. I also happen to have over 2,000 SQ messages stored on my hard drive and I'm running out of disc space.

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'''DID PARENTS REFER TO THE LITTLETON TRAGEDY IN THEIR EMAILS ABOUT THE [[Forge (NWC)|FORGE]] TOWN?'''

I personally do not remember such a reference. However, one person did argue shooting someone with a gun was more violent than hacking them up with a sword.


'''DID I RECEIVE POLITE MAIL ASKING YOU TO REMOVE THE FORGE?'''

Yes. I received some very polite email asking me to remove the Forge.


'''DID I RECEIVE HATE MAIL?'''

Yes. I received numerous truly hateful emails.


'''DID I RECEIVE DEATH THREATS?'''

Yes.

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'''DO YOU READ THE [[3DO]] MESSAGE BOARD?'''

More than I should.


'''DO YOU NEED IDEAS OF NEW TOWN TYPES?'''

No. Believe me when I tell you we have thought of most every good and bad idea for a town type. This doesn't mean I won't listen to any email suggestions. However, the Muppet town is a definite 'no'.


'''WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH H4?'''

Find the sweet spot.


'''[[Jeddite|JEDDITE]] WANTS TO HAVE MY CHILDREN?'''

Pass.


'''HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?'''

Grrr....


'''WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON ALL THIS?'''

Everyone who participated in this fiasco should get out more often. Myself included.

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'''REGARDING THE ASTRAL WIZARD WEB SITE...'''

Do not… I repeat… DO NOT flame the Astral Wizard web site. We at [[NWC]] have endured enough pain and suffering for everyone these past two weeks. I know [[Phil McCrum]] and consider his web site to be a valuable resource. Leave him and his web site alone. It's time to move on.


'''REGARDING THE [[3DO]] MESSAGE BOARD...'''

Watching the [[3DO]] message board is like seeing a train wreck. It's a tragic thing but you can't avoid watching it.

The [[3DO]] Heroes message board has less tact than the Usenet. If I were a novice looking for information on Heroes, and I read the message board, I would deduce the following, “Heroes of Might and Magic is a buggy product with ugly art, a bad story, terrible scenarios, stupid AI, and unplayable multi-player features.” With comments such as these, I honestly wonder if the people posting on the message board are Heroes fans or employees from other companies trying to tear down our product.

I would implore the fans to make the message board a community. Stop insulting one another. Play nice. Agree to disagree.

There are many constructive opportunities available to you. Talk about maps making philosophies. Assemble bug reports. Review player made maps and tabulate the results for the newcomers. Assemble suggestions. How about helping Gulfwolf start/finish the Tactics section?

With a little cooperation among each other, you could make this part of the [[3DO]] web site yours and turn it into a portal to the Heroes community.

If it doesn't improve, I will have the board shut down.


'''AND LAST...'''

Remember this… you purchase Heroes from a store. You pay $50 just like the next guy. You take it home. You play it. If you don't like it, you take it back. If you like it, you keep it. In the end, your $50 isn't worth more than the other guy's $50… and it's just a game.


'''BUT NOT LEAST...'''

Take care folks.


-GREG

[[Category: Behind the Scenes]]