We Salute You, Samurai Legends.

[Gothax?]

Samurai Legends, the once highly anticipated MOD that featured an array of impressive features has unfortunately been discontinued due to the lack of availability from the development team. The official release letter can be viewed below.[br]

"We would like to thank everyone for their interest in Samurai Legends and assistance during the closed beta testing. The closed beta revealed a large number of serious bugs and issues not encountered during internal testing, which would require a great deal of time and effort to address and fix properly. The students working on Samurai Legends have graduated and are now working in the game industry, and no longer have the time to continue development on the project. Unfortunately, this means we will not be able to continue further development for Samurai Legends. It was an ambitious project, and we are proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time, but we simply do not want to release an unfinished product. We hope you all understand, and thank you again for all your help and interest in the game."

 

[2Fast4U]

I must say that this sucks...

 

[eklipse14x]

i hate it when hard work has to go to waste..

 

[Alan Freeman]

WHat WHY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Well they are working in the games industry now, and not just modding... So you may soon see their work elsewhere very soon

 

[Geogriffith]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NO! NO! NO!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

NOOOOWOOOOWOOOWOOOWO!!!

Yes, this is to be considered a SERIOUS post. This is bad. REALLY bad.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Showing fantastic commitment there. I'm sure they'll make really valuable employees with that kind of work ethic.

 

[Gothax?]

Yes. I am very upset concerning the cancellation of Samurai Legends. Samurai Legends was one of the MODs that kept my eye open because it held such creativity. Hopefully down the road some other developing company can pick Samurai Legends back up, but I don't think it'll be the same

 

[Smigit]

Showing fantastic commitment there. I'm sure they'll make really valuable employees with that kind of work ethic.

if your not being sarcastic then forgive me, but this was a school/college assignment first and foremost. Most mods wouldnt have gotten to beta so they did quite well.

Good on them for all getting jobs out of this but.

 

[RaBiD WeAzEL]

Hmmm... Maybe they should release the unfinished product to another group of kids getting into the modding community.

At least then, the mod would continue and some bugs could be fixed, and then ... Yeah... I dunno...

I guess it's just natural selection.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

if your not being sarcastic then forgive me, but this was a school/college assignment first and foremost. Most mods wouldnt have gotten to beta so they did quite well.

Good on them for all getting jobs out of this but.

Maybe it was, but the fact that it was announced with great pomp (on a Steam news update, I believe) and then they did a closed beta, then quit when they graduated just shows complete lack of commitment. It's not like they didn't know that they were going to graduate - it can't have come as a surprise to them.
And actually, getting to a beta stage is easy. It's staying the course and actually getting it finished that counts, and that's the hardest part.
Most modmakers do it in their spare time - I seriously doubt that they no longer have any time at all in which to at least get their mod to a publicly-releasable state.
The whole thing just looks like a case of doing the minimum necessary to graduate, and sod the rest. That I don't have a problem with, but announcing it to the public and gaining a following when that's your intention just sucks.
As an employer, I'd look at what a potential employee had finished, not what they started and gave up on. You don't put unskinned renders and unfinished maps in your portfolio, so why would you try to use an unfinished and buggy (by their own admission) mod as your stepping stone?

 

[eklipse14x]

I guess it's just natural selection.

pun?
...

 

[Varsity]

It's not like they didn't know that they were going to graduate - it can't have come as a surprise to them.

From the announcement, I would say the number of new bugs was the suprise.

 

[Betelgeuze]

Why dont they search for a new team to finish it?
A lot of people would want to work on it!

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

and they want to be game developers?

 

[^Ben]

Meow Pi

 

[Finger]

They 'are' game developers, and I'm sure will be great employees. This mod was a great experience for them - just making it to beta is a big accomplishment, and says much for their skills and commitment. It is unfortunate for the community that they are halting progress on the mod, but I don't for one second blame them.

These kids are anxious to get out there and make a living doing what they love. I seriously doubt they all dropped the project like a hot potato once school was over. I'm sure some of the team wanted to go on with the mod, but lets be realistic, when the tie that binds you (school) breaks.... I'd imagine it's hard to keep the crew together. Especially when some of them have landed the jobs they were hoping for, and are working OVERTIME to get up to speed in the real world.

 

[Lucid]

Bummer, Was looking at this mod since it was announced for HL1...
Damn shame, but good luck to them in the industry!

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

It is unfortunate for the community that they are halting progress on the mod, but I don't for one second blame them.

I do. A mod is a great way of getting game development experience. But they announced it to the public. If it was purely for their assignment, then they could have just done it all internally.

These kids are anxious to get out there and make a living doing what they love. I seriously doubt they all dropped the project like a hot potato once school was over. I'm sure some of the team wanted to go on with the mod, but lets be realistic, when the tie that binds you (school) breaks.... I'd imagine it's hard to keep the crew together. Especially when some of them have landed the jobs they were hoping for, and are working OVERTIME to get up to speed in the real world.

Hence, lack of commitment. After ION storm shut down, several ex-employees still worked on patches. Ex-employees of Troika are still helping with patches for the Vampire game. Fixing up your mod in your spare time once things have settled down is not beyond the realms of feasibility.

 

[Varsity]

and they want to be game developers?

They are, that's the problem.

 

[^Ben]

Hrmmm new patches for VTB? Where do theese devs hang out?

 

[Smigit]

I do. A mod is a great way of getting game development experience. But they announced it to the public. If it was purely for their assignment, then they could have just done it all internally.

It's standard in the gaming industry, infact any industry especially when they arent being payed. Where on earth is team fortress 2? that was due about 6 years ago about 3 months after HL1, doesnt mean valve are poor developers though.

As an employer, I'd look at what a potential employee had finished, not what they started and gave up on.

they didnt just "give up", they got to a certain stage and were hired THEN left that project to concentrate on work and potentially other things such as family ect.

I'll point out that its sites like this that hyped the mod, this site and Steam updates ect. They could have said all they wanted and noone would pay attention to it had it not circulated via some means. Besides, you make it sound like they never intended to release it, realistically they probably did want to but even if they had they might not have been able to support it post release in which case it's all a bit pointless anyway. Releasing is one thing, but it needs constant support to get anywhere.

 

[Finger]

But they announced it to the public. If it was purely for their assignment, then they could have just done it all internally.

Half the battle of getting into this industry is getting exposure to the right people. They would be stupid NOT to advertise their mod, whether they thought they would finish or not. I doubt they did so with any mal intent.. I can't imagine that they sat back going "righto - so we pump this sucker to the press, then drop it cold turkey once we get the diploma...MWuhahaha...they'll nevery know what hit em!!"

You have a reason to be upset, though, if you were looking forward to this mod. I'm not really trying to argue that. It just kind of sticks in my craw that people would be pissed at these kids and question their commitment to this craft because of this situation (which we know very little about).

The bigger issue here is, will this be expected from the majority of mods generated by Guildhall students? If that's the case, then we may have to look at these mods with as much scepticism as we do most other mods (or more). Maybe there's an appropriate lesson here. The Guildhall is not directly working for the benefit of the mod community. They are a business working for the benefit of students trying to start careers, and expectations of what they produce should be weighed accordingly.

Bah.. Whatever your perspective, it does suck to lose a potentially good mod.

 

[Betelgeuze]

then release what you have, the hl2 community can finish it!

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

It's standard in the gaming industry, infact any industry especially when they arent being payed. Where on earth is team fortress 2? that was due about 6 years ago about 3 months after HL1, doesnt mean valve are poor developers though.

Not the same thing at all - Valve didn't stop working on TF2.

I'll point out that its sites like this that hyped the mod, this site and Steam updates ect. They could have said all they wanted and noone would pay attention to it had it not circulated via some means. Besides, you make it sound like they never intended to release it, realistically they probably did want to but even if they had they might not have been able to support it post release in which case it's all a bit pointless anyway. Releasing is one thing, but it needs constant support to get anywhere.

It wasn't like Valve went trawling for the information to advertise their mod. They have a website after all. The whole support issue is irrelevant, as they didn't even get to a release.

 

[Geronimous]

I don't understand... AT ALL.
If the mod is SO CLOSE to a final release, why stop now ? why throw everything in the bin? I really cannot get to that. Even if they have jobs, they have friggin' spare time ti finish this?

 

[Smigit]

I don't understand... AT ALL.
If the mod is SO CLOSE to a final release, why stop now ? why throw everything in the bin? I really cannot get to that. Even if they have jobs, they have friggin' spare time ti finish this?

It isn't but, the article said the beta turned out more bugs than they could handle and as such it wasn't close to a final release. Quite alot of self respecting developers would rather release nothing than something they know isn't complete, hell Valve is one such developer except they are paid and can afford to go and remake a game from scratch if need be or delay a game by a year as they have done on several occassions.

I think it's extremly unfair for others to criticise these people on this decision without knowing anything about the personal lives of those involved. Sure, they announced something and didn't finish it, but they aren't obliged to and they probably would have absolutly loved to do it. Giving up something like that was probably not an easy decision to make. If anyone here hasn't begun something then stopped it because you realised your initial aim was too great then feel free to cast the first stone, I honestly believe noone can say they haven't tried to do more than they could accomplish; and this was quite an ambitious project.

 

[DelaZ]

Sad news for the modding community

 

[Smigit]

^yeah

Hopefully some good mods will arrive in comming months. Yet to see anything I've gone "I want that", besides a few yet unreleased ones. All the rest are remakes of games already out, ctf ect.

There are some promising ones on the horrizon but. always CS to fall on......havent played that in 2 months but. Might have to get back into it.

 

[DominicWhite]

My god, some of you people are arrogant...

Here's the situation - this is a bunch of students working at a game development school. This mod was their big project to try and get them noticed and hence get them employed in the industry.

Well, they got what they wanted. They got noticed, graduated, and are off to work. Of course, some of you people here would rather they had turned down their life goal of working in the games industry in favour of retreating back and continuing to work on something for free.

Pathetic.

I'm as disspointed as the rest of you that this mod won't be released in any final form (although maybe someday they'll hand it down to another team for completion), but bitching out the guys because they achieved their goal, hence depriving you of free stuff? You can't get much weaker than that.

 

[r~ Defrag]

It's a disappointment, but some people do tend to forget that this is something these guys poured a lot of effort into, and as a result of their work, gained employment. A mod means different things to different people -- I don't think you should knock people just because they no longer have the time to invest in something that they weren't obliged to provide to people in the first place. Yes, it sucks for people looking forward to the mod, but this is people's lives we're talking about. If it had been released as they had no doubt planned, then fine, but it didn't work out that way. I do agree that it's always better to see something through the finish though. If you were working on a mod and had the ability to gain an industry placement if you jumped ship, most people would do it without thinking unless the MOD was something really special (i.e. more than just a career furthering mod, something they had literally put everything into for years). When you're settling into a new area, a new life, a new job and new experiences, there's not a lot of time in the interum period to continue mod-making. Handing over content is also a prickly issue. Could you say with 100% certainty that you wouldn't mind handing over thousands of your lines of code, hundreds of model source files and so forth to someone you barely know? The mod team seemed to be made of people from the same University course, so the relationship between them would've been more trusting and also a lot tighter compared to most Internet-based mod teams.

So yeah, it's disappointing and some may look upon it as selfish, but perhaps those people's appraisal of the situation is selfish, too?

 

[xiliquiern]

Picture this. You are assigned a project for school, say making a blowdryer. You promise to give all your friends one with it when you are done. You put it together, and everything works great. Then, when you turn it on, you figure out you wired the fan in the wrong direction so it is sucking instead of blowing, none of the heating elements are glowing, and the off button turns it on instead of off. Not only that but you smell that wonderful 'burning electronics odor' suggesting that something else has gone horribly wrong. At the same time, a major CEO comes to your door and asks you to come work for him making other hairdryers - FOR MONEY!!

What do you do? Accept the job, acclaim, and money or stay home and spend hours and hours working out kinks in a product that won't mean much once it's done?

Lesson one: If given the choice, a great majority of people will take a task for money over a task for public benefit. Possibly a reason so many mods are 'considering' going retail.

 

[Pulse]

I think alot of you are being far too dramatic about this, the mod is gone now accept that, arguing certainly will not bring it back. The developers had a chance to move on and flourish, and they chose to do so.

Respect their decision and let it be, half of you are acting like you've been robbed of something from a free mod. They owe us nothing, we owe them nothing. Let it go.

 

[Glo-Boy]

I can't believe they got jobs in the industry. What a shitty mod it was turning out to be.

 

[Betelgeuze]

What about all those other mods? Moste of those mod devs have a job to but can finish what they started. For people who work in the game industry, finishing a mod would be easy if you see that people who never did it before can do that!

 

[shaman]

That is the most narrowminded peice of kack i have read on these comments.

You have to realise that these guys were doing this for an assignment and that it may have been their first priority for the duration of their degree but now that they have graduated they cannot just keep working on it. It does not being a salary which is needed to live on.

I am doing a games computing course and if i happen to make a mod with a group of people on my course for half life or any other game for my end of year assignment. I will try my best to finnish it but if i do not It will be left well alone while I go in search of a proper paid job. Maybe once i am settled I may continue work, but only when I am comfortable.

 

[BaconIsGood4You]

I have to agree that this is very disappointing. I find it very irresponsible to promote ones mod, then to abandon the project. It just does not show commitment. I personally never abandon a project unless it is very bad.

Lesson one: If given the choice, a great majority of people will take a task for money over a task for public benefit.

Ugh. This statement is just disgusting. Yes it is bad when people accept compensation for their labor instead of enslaving themselves by giving their work for "public benefit". Most modders feel that the popularity of their mod will help them get a job or that the practice/artistic value is worth it itself.

 

[Geogriffith]

I can't beleive they're being rewarded with careers for failing to finish the same project that got them the careers. That's just so... undeserved. It just says that all you need to get a nice job is a lot of PR- and a golden parachute.

Lucky bastards. I hope their respective companies also have a failure to follow through on games.

 

[DoctorWeeTodd]

I thought this was released already.

 

[dogboy73]

Was this the Mod that a video was released for not that long ago that detailed game play mechanics & the ideas behind the mod?