The Rise of Stellar Dawn, And the rebirth of MechScape Options

[Ren]

Quick facts:

• MechScape has been reborn as "Stellar Dawn"
• The gameplay and content will be different (so anything you heard about the game may no longer be the case)
• "Not everything's lost. We're able to reuse the engine and actually most of the game in fairness" (source)
• "Stellar Dawn will have a PVP aspect" (source)
• It will have free/members as RuneScape does, but will probably be more expensive. (source, source)
• RuneScape creator and Jagex founder Andrew Gower is now in charge of the project
• It's still going to be a browser-based game (source)
• They hope it'll be ready to launch in 2010 (but no guarantees)

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On the 23rd of October MechScape World was the first outside of Jagex to hear the news that the MechScape project was having a reboot and would be reborn as Stellar Dawn and that Andrew Gower was now at the helm. Effectively this means they will be rethinking the gameplay and making new content for it, but keeping any ideas they like. It is unknown how much of the game assets (sound effects, music and graphics) will be re-used but this probably depends on how much Stellar Dawn differs from MechScape. However, they will benefit from the improvements to the engine and the expertise the team has gained from the production. In regards to the release date Mod MMG said that "It's really hard to say at this point in time but I do personally think there is a good chance it could come out in 2010" (source) but as usual they won't release it until they think it's ready so it could easily be later than that.

In his Q&A Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard (Mod MMG) made the following statement (source) [note: it was made during our Not So Cold War event hence the communist/capitalist references]:

I suppose I’m going to upset a few people because I can’t say too much about the game in development and I don’t want to steal the teams thunder with regards to their upcoming press release but I can talk a little about where we are today and how we got here.

Some 5 Years ago, Andrew and a few members of the then RuneScape team asked the question “if we could make RuneScape all over again, what would we do differently?” and a flurry of debate ensured – surprisingly whilst RuneScape was a runaway success there were a number of things they would do differently if they could do it all over again, also a ton of ideas came in on completely new types of game ideas that simply wouldn’t fit in the RuneScape universe.

So almost immediately they began working on a game design document for a new MMO called Mechscape. A team was formed and they began work on the game, the team rapidly grew into a dedicated Game Studio approaching the size of RuneScape.
Since then a lot of things have happened, our chiefly “secret” project started becoming uncovered layer by layer by a Communist called Ren - and other capitalists on MSW. As a result various people in the company made a few comments about the game over the last few years, with the community piecing together more and more of the game over time. On the 10th August this year all the various parts of the game we finally put together and Andrew, the Mechscape Team and I got to actually play the full game.

Sadly the game was not as complete as we wanted and we spent the first few months trying to “fix” the game where we could. About a month or so ago we took the decision to stop trying to “fix it” as we still wouldn’t have the game we wanted and the game certainly did not meet all the objectives and specifications established in the original game design document and therefore it would be better to go back to the founding principles and build the game we always wanted –Andrew is now overseeing the project and working very closely with the team to build Stellar Dawn, not all was lost as we naturally have developed the game engine substantially over the last few years and the new designs benefits massively from this as well as a ton of experience within the team as to what works and what doesn’t. So whilst the content and a lot of the game play will change from what was previously built almost everything else will go straight back into Stellar Dawn.

It goes without saying that we are all 100% behind the development teams and are confident that we will be able to publish a fantastic sci-fi MMO for your all, I also would like to add that I have never seen Andrew and the team so excited about this project since I joined the Studio.

This was followed by an article at GamesIndustry.biz on the 29th of October (source):

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard has confirmed that RuneScape successor MechScape has been canned just prior to its release.

The decision, he told GamesIndustry.biz, was made in August when the assembled game failed to meet the standards of Jagex's new CEO and his team.

"Initially the reason for building MechScape was that we would learn all the lessons from RuneScape having run it for around four years at the time.

"It got near completion and we discovered, oops, it didn't do all of those things that we wanted it to. So we went back to the original design document and said 'let's do it again'."

Cancelling the project at such a late stage has made for an expensive learning curve, admitted Gerhard, although he agreed the company's continued financial success helped the situation.

"Yes, it's a luxury that we are doing well and we can afford to make the decision. I didn't make the decision lightly because it's effectively cost us tens of millions of pounds. Maybe more."

But it was vital, he said, for Jagex to release a game it was proud of and that its team would want to play. “ It's crucial to me we don't just ship a title because we've built it.”

"The previous game wasn't a game that we want to play. As much as we ended up thinking of it like a baby – we were 'reasonably' proud of it, we thought it was a good experience and we'd achieved something – it wasn't a game ready for launch.

"It was expensive. I hope never again to have to make the same decision twice. But it was the right decision."

Not everything has been lost however, and Gerhard says that much of the game – including its engine - will be reused in the new secret project the Jagex development team is now working on.

"A lot of the content will change," he said, "a lot of the gameplay will change. Exactly what the game will look and feel like I don't actually know because the guys are working on it as we speak. But we've got that arsenal of lessons and everything else."

This new title will be released within a "meaningful time frame" he added with a smile. At Game Horizon's Best of British event on Wednesday, Simon Seefeldt, the company's head of business development, was more specific, saying Jagex's next game will appear sometime in 2010.

Ending on a positive note, Gerhard said the new MMO's development team has been "galvanized" by the decision that's been taken.

"I've been in the organisation for two years now and I've never seen that team so excited since I joined," he said.

"They've spent years of toil on this and never quite got there, and now the entire team, sees what the plans are to change and what the new game will be. There's a real buzz in that studio, which is fantastic. The guys are doing an incredible job of bringing this to market."

Note: They say that decision was made in August, but seeing as it wasn't until the 10th of August that they put it all together and after this they then tried to fix it then it seems plausible that the decision was made in September and GI got a bit confused. To put the "tens of millions of pounds. Maybe more" into context Jagex mades had a turnover of £32m last year with an operating profit of £14.5m (source) so it'd effectively be a couple of years worth of profit.

In response to the GamesIndustry article Mod Timbo provided the following clarification (RSOF QFC 133-134-464-59814960):

I would just like to clarify that MechScape as a project hasn't been canceled but rather the name and has been renamed Stellar Dawn. Stellar Dawn is still going ahead and if you read in the article, is the new project (or game) that we're working towards.

Just to clarify, MechScape hasn't been canceled but has been reborn under Stellar Dawn which we are now working on.

Although, other than what I've said, I don't have any more information that I can give.

Timbo

So what does this mean for us? Well for one it certainly seems to affirm Jagex's statements that they won't release the game unless they think it is fit to be released. Secondly, it means we've got more waiting to do. Thirdly, it means anything we know about the game (e.g. being a 4X MMORPG) is subject to change.

Further reading: Pliigi's thread which contains various third-party articles on this topic.

[Human]

I asked that question :P
He answered me with the good chance of 2010,

Well if they feel the game wasn't good enough and they didn't want to disapoint us then let them.

Their Game, Their Company and Their Money which they worked for.

As for the name i feel its way better than mechscape as mechscape makes the game sound like it's runescape in space even though it isn't now (as the trailer was from 18-20 months ago)

I just noticed you changed the Mechscape forum's title to Mechscape/Stellar Dawn.


This post has been edited by Human: Nov 2 2009, 05:43 PM

[whovian39]

You must feel well chuffed with mod mmg mentioning you in one of the interviews!

[Orbie]

Excellent summary of what we know. Odd that Jagex leaves it up to a fansite to get out the facts about their game, but MSW does it well, so...y'know. Whateva.

[Pliigi]

Thanks for writing this Ren, it's nice to have most of the information we have in one place.

[whovian39]

Thanks for writing this, Ren, it's nice to have most of the information we have in one place.

I agree! Tyvm ren!

[Flatypus]

I'm still disapointed all that waiting was for nothing, and I'm sure the Stellar Dawn employees are mad that all or nearly all of their work is gone.
We now know MechScape is gone. Will the site be changing its name?

[Human]

Since then a lot of things have happened, our chiefly “secret” project started becoming uncovered layer by layer by a Communist called Ren

I hope people don't take the communist part seriously as what would people think of jagex giving information to a communist?

Well i'm glad this summary was made so when i forget a part or misunderstood it i get this summary to remind me all the time :P thankies Ren :D

Have some space pie.

This post has been edited by Human: Nov 2 2009, 05:26 PM

[JJ17400]

Great summary of the info Ren. I'm still of the mind that if they canceled mechscape and are doing a rework, it must have had some big issues.

This post has been edited by JJ17400: Nov 2 2009, 05:24 PM

[Human]

Great summary of the info Ren. I'm still of the mind that if they canceled mechscape and are doing a rework, it must have had some big issues.

No issues at all, it just didn't go with their expectations.

[gemlegaci]

I think we need to keep this thread bumped so that everyone sees it. It will answer tons of questions that are being asked repeatedly. Maybe it should even be stickied?

[Ren]

I think we need to keep this thread bumped so that everyone sees it. It will answer tons of questions that are being asked repeatedly. Maybe it should even be stickied?

It doesn't quite work like that on the Confirmed News forum. As currency is key all posts are sorted by date the thread was posted. This means that new posts can't get buried and old posts can't be revived (except by being stickied).

[JJ17400]

yea it did not meet their expectations, so therefore it must have had issues. I'm not meaning tech issues, just general issues

[Syphzar]

I think this is a good idea to rework the game as I believe that snippet trailer of MechScape probably showed close to what that game would of looked like in standard detail. It wasn't bad, but I could see how it was not exactly what they were hoping it would be. Fingers crossed for 2010.

[LordTobytwo]

Nice work renmaster.

Good to see it formatted like this. I have posted in my list of new names for the site so gl for the future.

This post has been edited by LordTobytwo: Nov 2 2009, 07:23 PM

[Egg]

Hopefully Stellar Dawn means a bright future and not another case of the same "Here is the same info we have always given you, have fun with it."

[Dracul]

hmm, good info. I'm actually happy they arent publishing the previous version of the game, and i'm glad they clarified that it isnt actually scrapped its merely being redone

[Spam]

It saddens me we have to wait even more. I just hope its out sometime in 2010...WAAAA!!! I WANT STELLAR DAWN!!!!!!

[Shadowgoomba]

Eh, here's hoping to better quality than what was shown in that video ;)

[urantis]

I'm excited for this next venture in finding new information and what kind of stuff they'll want to share with us.

Can't wait.