Arcanum Sequel? And other newbie questions.

Apologies, as I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum here. But even with the death of Troika games, is there any chance the rights to Arcanum could be sold (say to Obsidian) for a sequel? (As was done with Fallout to Bethesade (sp?) though I'm not sure they're the right studio for the job.)

This was the most compelling game I've ever played; I thought nothing could top Fallout but I was wrong; this game was down right literary an absolute immersion.

I'll have to try the mods (any recommendations, conflictions?) for replay.

Also I have ToEE but really couldn't get into, is it worth another try considering I liked Aracanum so much?

Delighted to see a community devoted to this game.

Best wishes.

 

well since arcanum doesnt have nearly the following of fallout i doubt it would be picked up - it was kind of a flop in the domestic market

 

I second the motion.

Conflicts = just about everything.
After playing a mod, it is probably best to use a fresh arcanum install when installing another mod.
As for which one to play, that depends on what you are looking for.

Welcome to the arcanum community...such that it is.

 

Not sure if it was a flop or not, I dont usually listen to the critics. If you ask me, its one of the coolest RPGs out there, mixing magick and technology. As far as I know, nobody'd really done that outside of Myst or something. If they made a part II, I'd buy it in a second.

Whats TOEE? Am I missing something?

 

I meant in sales. Publishers care about $$$

TOEE is Temple of Elemental Evil

 

Oh. Leaked onto the net? That might well be why it was considered a flop. Wonder if it was a contributing factor to Troika going under?

ToEE. Worth playing?

 

If you can get it to work, yeah. But it'll take something like 3 or 4 patches to breath some life into the damn thing and even then it's still buggy as hell. Plus, it is inferior to Arcanum in each and every way.

Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines just wasn't my thing.

Arcanum is - without a doubt - the only good thing Troika made. Luckily for them, it's so damn good that one is willing to forgive them for fucking up the other two games they developed.

 

What? Vampire not that good? Bullshit. I loved that game, and Fallout's good too. But yes, Arcanum's the best game they did by far.

 

Fallout good? It was great! My favorite game ever, and Fallout 2 was even better. I was a bit disappointed with the brotherhood of steel though, all shooting and no plot.

 

I also read somewhere that the Fallout series wasn't really that best selling either, and that the sequels were more or less due to the rabid fanbase demanding it. Anyone care to confirm? Sad that Arcanum's fanbase, while just as loyal, is woefully overshadowed by Fallout's. :cry:

And it's sad to see that such a great game like Arcanum will most likely never see a sequel due to the sad fact it just won't sell that much. Embitters me, really, especially when you think that EA yearly rehashes sports games and other vapid titles with millions of dollars in budget, while quality games like Arcanum get ignored. :-x

Don't we have any rich Arcanum fans in here? If I were a millionaire or just won the lotto, Arcanum would be the first game I'd personally fund just to see a sequel(Freespace 2 would be next).

 

It didn't sell that much in the first place because the game was leaked over the internet for free. Tons of people played it, but only a handful payed for it. *me included*

 

Even if I were rich, I'm not sure I'd want anyone besides the now-defunct Troika to develop it. Bloodlines is a good, if flawed game which was rushed out before it was finished. I haven't played ToEE much, but what I have played was fun. I didn't know Arcanum was leaked over the internet, and even in view of that, I don't think it would have done too well. At my school, only six people had even heard of it, and I was the one who told three of them.

 

Fallout 2 was the same engine (with a couple improvements, like you can push people and double click to run instead of doin the chicken dance) as the one they just developed for Fallout. I believe 2 was released only a year after the original, all they pretty much had to do was a few more models and then the story and scripting (which does take a lot of time) but they didn't have to really develop or design any new technology etc. so it was a hell of a lot cheaper than releasing it in a couple years when the gamers would demand better graphics n shit that cost $$$$$$ to develop

 

Yeah it may not have done too well. Like you said, few people heard of it, and I didn't even know it existed until two years ago, a good 4 years after it was released. I'm not sure how Troika expected to sell this game without proper advertising. I didn't even see any mention of it in PC magazines of the time.

 

Why couldn't some other software company do the same? Take the
Arcanum engine and develop a new storyline? All the hard stuff
was already developed. With proper advertising, and proper security
to keep it from being dumped on the internet (and bankrupting a good
company), it probably wouldn't cost more than what it takes to hire
a few developers to take the time to build it.

Heck, I bet a few of the modders from this site could probably spin
up a kick-ass version Arcanum 2!

How much do you think the engine would cost...?

 

Hmmm....how much does a game's engine normally cost? I've never had to buy one, normally the games I buy have open source.

 

Wouldn't it be easier to just make a mod out of a pre-existing RPG? Neverwinter Nights comes to mind. I'm not too familiar with it, but if I recall, it has some sort of module builder that lets you make your own stories.

In fact, someone should do one for Arcanum, even if just a total conversion to Neverwinter Night's engine. Of course...I know it's easier said than done as I've seen lots of potentially awesome mod projects never finished.

 

Hmm, if you need to make the artwork too, it is preferable if you make it for an open source / free / self-made engine.

Not to mention that commercial engines costs many $$$$, and if you make a mod only, not a full game, only the owners of the original game can play with it.