Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 20:35:
If the most recent Saints Row hadn't been since a colossal fuckup, I wonder if their fate would have been different.

Very much so. This latest version cost Embracer $100M, a substantial amount for game development (excluding Star Citizen's budget). That said, I'm confident every member of Volition is a dedicated professional.

Saints Row 1 &2 and Freespace 2 were such amazing games.

I never played any of the Red Faction games... I took a look at their list of games in the last 8 years and was like "well no wonder"

Really too bad, wish they had chosen or been allowed to continue and update Summoner.

I'd feel bad about this, but they haven't put out anything I've been interested in for quite a while. SR3 was their apex, and that was over a decade ago. I recently watch a "Saints Row - is it good now?" video, which stated the premise, and then immediately said "nope, it's still garbage". It then went on to explain specifically HOW, but the guy didn't waste any time getting to the verdict.
Pretty much everyone above grunt level at Volition is to blame for their failures. The game technically WORKS, but the dialogue is crap, the world feels empty and dead, it was (and still is) bug-riddled, and every "path of least resistance" was used. They shouldn't be surprised at the studio closure; I mean, they all playtested the game, right?!? The game likely needed more time, better writers, and better designers. Even if it had been bug-free, it'd still be soul-free as well.

Hopefully the company's displaced modelers, texture artists and (some) programmers find another place. The rest? Fuck em, they were bad at their jobs.

Part of me goes "I'm sad to see the developer of my all time favorite space combat shooty game go."

The other, more reasonable part of me realizes the people involved with Freespace 2 had departed the company decades ago, and given their last two titles I'd say just let Volition die a bittersweet death.

I actually knew a couple of people who worked in their Champaign office. But I haven't seen them since the pandemic. I wonder how long they knew it was coming...

Serves them right for abandoning the genre that birthed them and won them a fanbase (Descent and Freespace series). They got greedy and wanted a bigger market slice than the reliable and established smaller market they owned.

Freespace 1 and 2. The greatest space combat simulators ever made. Love those games to bits.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 20:35:
If the most recent Saints Row hadn't been since a colossal fuckup, I wonder if their fate would have been different.

They were already fucking up remember the two or was it three games prior that were also trash? They decided to pander to a tiny audience, who won't buy their stuff. And pissed on gamers that made their bank, and didn't want another fortnite clone/etc. The idiot running their social media account was a good indicator that the company was already dead.

Well I'm raising a glass for Volition and the Freespace series , it does sound like they had only become a shadow of their former selves (as many studios end up), but had many good times playing Freespace 1 & 2 and SR to a lesser degree so will be remembering those times.

Ah, it's you, you're finally awake.

WannaLogAlready wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 02:35:
The next studio to close is Valve.

Last successful paid game was in 2011, a sequel, Portal 2.
Then some shitty card game in 2018, Artifact.
And a VR game in 2020 (Felix or something), and we know *nobody* plays VR.

"Good morning, nice day for fishing ain't it?! HYUCK!"

The next studio to close is Valve.

Last successful paid game was in 2011, a sequel, Portal 2.
Then some shitty card game in 2018, Artifact.
And a VR game in 2020 (Felix or something), and we know *nobody* plays VR.

Another one un-embraced . I wonder how many more are to follow. First Campfire Cabal, now Volition, who's next? Must be nice and relaxed days being an Embracer studio lead in these times...

Shoot yourself in the foot and surprisingly you are losing the race. Whoever designed SR 2022 is to blame. The biggest (but not only) problems are the character designs - OMG. Who wrote those characters? A 17-year old?

So, in the end, the SD Lucifer got them and finished them off.

Flatline wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 22:25:

Razumen wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 21:12:
All they had to do was make another SR3 and the reboot would've been amazing, but somehow they managed to screw up even something that simple.

It's not "somehow". They intentionally screwed it up. Not like "oh we're going to tank Volition" but if you look at their twitter feeds and their interviews as the game was announced, they repeatedly talked about not liking the original games, or not playing the original games, or being upset with the humor of the original games, or the need to make sure they weren't "punching down" compared to the original games.

This is the game they explicitly wanted to make. Their attitude to the original fans of the series were basically "suck on it". This was an arguably inept team. I mean, the moment I saw that there were shop buildings you couldn't go in and the vendor was out on the street in front of the door I knew that the game was probably irredeemable.

Volition made Saint's Row 2-4 and they made Freespace & Freespace 2, but that company hasn't been around in a very, very long time. I'd say rest in peace, but the truth is I mourned Volition a long time ago.

Oh I know they are completely to blame, the "somehow" is more from a perspective of a fan whose not aware of the current studio's perspective, which to be fair, is most of the market-and who just wants another fun game in the series.

Such a shame! I know Volition was in deep trouble after their Saints Row Reboot. It was really a bad game in all ways possible! Now we won't never get a Descent 4 or Freespace 3 game ever again though that was an almost very slim to no chance these were getting worked on anyway while they were focusing on a crappy reboot. And the original devs being out of the office a long time ago. It's tragic!

WannaLogAlready wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 23:04:
Liked the Red Faction games though I never could finish Guerrilla, as eventually in some mission so many foes began spawning that you couldn't ever win, what was that?.

I think I was the only person who enjoyed Red Faction Armageddon more than Guerrilla. It wasn't open world but the guns were fun.

Loved Summoner 1 and Descent 3.
Have to play Freespace and any Saint Row yet.

Liked the Red Faction games though I never could finish Guerrilla, as eventually in some mission so many foes began spawning that you couldn't ever win, what was that?.

Sad about the last SR, though most "big" games today aren't that good or they run poorly even with the best hardware.

Thankfully Starfield has good reviews plus it can be played in a reasonable PC.