Turbine might be a good backup option

[NoName]

Hopefully the Disney thing works out but if not Turbine might have made a case to be a good home for CoX. I know it has been mentioned a couple times before but I just saw this posted up earlier:

Greetings!

Asheron's Call 2 has returned! We have opened up a new server for anyone who has an active Asheron's Call subscription to play Asheron's Call 2 for free! Although we would have loved to revisit some of our old characters with you, we were not able to bring over any of your old characters. We do, however, present this new Asheron's Call 2 server, Dawnsong, to all active Asheron's Call players with a paid subscription or who purchase an ACTD retail key and subscribe.

What does this mean to you?

Below is a link to the Asheron's Call 2 client installer so you may get the game up and running. This will provide access to the new Dawnsong server. Although the server has passed our initial tests, we have a lot of monitoring and tweaking to do to the game environment and we want to ensure that our players understand that. This game service will be provided as a beta for all players with an active Asheron's Call account. That said, the game server is currently up and running. So join us for a nostalgic trip back to a Dereth where the golden age was not interrupted.

If you are an active paid AC1 subscriber there will be no need to create a new account for Asheron's Call 2; you will simply log into the Asheron's Call 2 game using your current Asheron's Call credentials.

Please note that this is a beta, the environment might have some known issues that we will be working on. The friend's list functionality, for example, will not be available when this new server goes into beta. As can happen during a beta release, the server might be taken down for maintenance or troubleshooting at some inconvenient times if deemed necessary. See you in game!

Asheron's Call 2 Download


Looks like they brought one of their shut down games back from the dead and are letting people play it for free for the time being. That seems like a cool move. I know when I played Lord of the Rings Online from them you could earn game money by doing quests. Is really the only F2P game I could say I didn't spend a penny. I heard it got worse over the last year or two but still seemed ok.

I will keep helping in any way I can with the #1 choice Disney. I don't know the order that the team wants to go in but thought I would put this up to see that at least one company is going in the opposite direction that most other companies are going in and actually bringing a game back to life.

[Kistulot]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but why NOT branch out right away?

Let's face it, while some of us will keep caring forever... not all of us will remain as patience. Life could interrupt. Things could simply drift away.

This is a great direction to look. If Disney decides to go for it, and Turbine has already made a move, I don't see how that would be bad for us. Given the resurrection of Asheron's Call 2, I would have to agree that this would be a good direction to explore. Why not cut to the chase and do it now, just to hedge our bets?

Anyone who decides to go after CoH from NCSoft will not think that attempts to diversify our attention-grabbing are due to disrespect or show disingenuous loyalty that will not equate to profit should CoH reopen. I think it would just show pragmatism.

[Traybor]

... and are letting people play it for free for the time being.

Not for free.  You do have to have a paid subscription to AC1 to play on the AC2 beta server.  But still, it's an interesting move to bring back a game that had been shut down.  And certainly shows a different approach to their game property and the customers than a certain other company that used to operate COH.

[healix]

I was thinking just that when I saw that article! I think we should explore all possibilities! Wouldn't that be amazing if Turbine could do that for us???

[Victoria Victrix]

Turbine probably can't support anything like a studio, but it won't hurt to see what they have to say.

Meanwhile keep up the letters.

[Surelle]

It's tough, because Asheron's Call 2 is their own game, and they self-publish all their games.  They aren't very big to begin with, and they have never paid another studio to do anything for them.  So I kinda think they're out.

I sent my letters to Disney, but frankly I'm not holding my breath on that one either, nice though it would be.  This endeavor was not by invitation-- it was a shot in the dark lobbed at an unsuspecting target, who may well consider us harassers by this point.  Let's face it, they are openly making moves to break into the Asian market with their brand-new gaming franchises, and here we are with our 8 1/2 year old game having just been shut down by a very large, if not the largest, Asian MMORPG publisher.  (Of course, we had no idea about the direction Disney was taking with their online gaming when Team Wildcard made their pitch, but still.)  And CoH (though I love it as much as anyone) bombed in Asia besides.  I'm not getting my hopes up too far on this one.

I still think Valve would be a better option (they make money off one-shot sales-- even their online shooter facets are F2P so CoH's monthly fees may well interest them, and as they don't run massively multiplayer games, it may be more worth it to them to rehire as much of PS as they can to develop and run CoH).  But the best option of all would be for Brian Clayton to re-forge his financial alliances and make another offer for CoH similarly to what he tried to do this past September.  In reality, no one else is going to care even remotely as much about CoH as he and PS do.

But who knows, what with this crazy new "wholly-owned subsidiary" thing going down on December 24th, NCSoft may not even want to think about CoH or risk dredging it up for a sale so that it entangles these other proceedings of theirs.  I more than suspect that this whole big deal thing is why CoH was shut down in such a knee-jerk fashion to begin with-- in preparation for this new total transfer of stock.

I just wish we knew whether having Brian go in to rescue CoH BEFORE this new subsidiary steps in (isn't that what Fansy was mumbo-jumboing about, that all ties would be severed right when CoH closed?  Well, it's been closed for 2 weeks now!  What are we waiting for?) would be better than trying  to wait until after the new layer of trouble and control takes over....

[Victoria Victrix]

I know it is very hard to be patient.  Two weeks seems like an eternity.  In the eyes of a company the size of Disney, that's just enough time to open one eye and notice that there is something moving at the edge of your vision.

Short of dredging up about 10 million dollars, the best thing we can do right now is keep our visibility high, recruit other game/fan groups to help us out (that includes the Colbert Nation), and wait and see.  Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but it's all I can offer.

[Ironwolf]

It's tough, because Asheron's Call 2 is their own game, and they self-publish all their games.  They aren't very big to begin with, and they have never paid another studio to do anything for them.  So I kinda think they're out.

I sent my letters to Disney, but frankly I'm not holding my breath on that one either, nice though it would be.  This endeavor was not by invitation-- it was a shot in the dark lobbed at an unsuspecting target, who may well consider us harassers by this point.  Let's face it, they are openly making moves to break into the Asian market with their brand-new gaming franchises, and here we are with our 8 1/2 year old game having just been shut down by a very large, if not the largest, Asian MMORPG publisher.  (Of course, we had no idea about the direction Disney was taking with their online gaming when Team Wildcard made their pitch, but still.)  And CoH (though I love it as much as anyone) bombed in Asia besides.  I'm not getting my hopes up too far on this one.

I still think Valve would be a better option (they make money off one-shot sales-- even their online shooter facets are F2P so CoH's monthly fees may well interest them, and as they don't run massively multiplayer games, it may be more worth it to them to rehire as much of PS as they can to develop and run CoH).  But the best option of all would be for Brian Clayton to re-forge his financial alliances and make another offer for CoH similarly to what he tried to do this past September.  In reality, no one else is going to care even remotely as much about CoH as he and PS do.

But who knows, what with this crazy new "wholly-owned subsidiary" thing going down on December 24th, NCSoft may not even want to think about CoH or risk dredging it up for a sale so that it entangles these other proceedings of theirs.  I more than suspect that this whole big deal thing is why CoH was shut down in such a knee-jerk fashion to begin with-- in preparation for this new total transfer of stock.

I just wish we knew whether having Brian go in to rescue CoH BEFORE this new subsidiary steps in (isn't that what Fansy was mumbo-jumboing about, that all ties would be severed right when CoH closed?  Well, it's been closed for 2 weeks now!  What are we waiting for?) would be better than trying  to wait until after the new layer of trouble and control takes over....

I earlier laid out what we are facing if the game is purchased. I would be very surprised to see it open in less than 6 months and more likely a year.

This is sad but it is also how to do it right. A fly by night wham bam opening would in the long term cost a lot of money that could endanger the stability of the game if it did reopen.

[Surelle]

I know it is very hard to be patient.  Two weeks seems like an eternity.  In the eyes of a company the size of Disney, that's just enough time to open one eye and notice that there is something moving at the edge of your vision.

Short of dredging up about 10 million dollars, the best thing we can do right now is keep our visibility high, recruit other game/fan groups to help us out (that includes the Colbert Nation), and wait and see.  Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but it's all I can offer.

This Monday will make 3 weeks since Team Wildcard's pitch hit Disney's desk, expensive signed delivery and all though, right? 

[Victoria Victrix]

This Monday will make 3 weeks since Team Wildcard's pitch hit Disney's desk, expensive signed delivery and all though, right?

In the life cycle of a business, 3 weeks is like 3 hours to you and me.