Will Daybreak games shut down in 2 months?

Buy the company, but not the management. Show them the door ASAP!

 

There's an oxymoron if ever I saw one, right there.

(With the exceptions of ttobey and Kaitheel)

 

Hell if they could get management that stops the tone policing on the OF, that in itself would be a big improvement. The way they currently respond to customer complaints is abhorrent. I've worked in customer service for a very long time and I'd have never kept a job if I treated customers with the contempt that they show.

But yeah a dev team that actually focused on the issues that matter (rather than how we talked to them) would be nice.

 

On one hand, I'd like to see the entirety of Daybreak liquidated and the EverQuest I.P. sold to another company -- I'm pretty sure it's the only thing that could get me back on Norrath at this point. On the other hand, I'd be worried about it being bought up by an Asian MMORPG company with the intention of turning into a tedious, anime-ified pay-to-win fest. Even worse, Kander and Gninja would be let loose to apply to other game companies -- possibly those of games I enjoy, and this prospect terrifies me.

 

Would it be cheaper to buy Daybreak and then fire everybody or just buy the IPs?

 

Neither deal strikes me as attractive, but yeah, you have a point.

My bet is DBG would probably have to fire everyone and sell anything of value off in pieces. They could also accomplish the same thing under bankruptcy protection if it ever comes to that.

Who knows. Mabey they are operating profitably. I just have a hard time believing that even if they are it is sustainable.

I mean, what do they have to offer a potential buyer?

A couple of office leases?

Incompetent, disfunctional management and team leads?

No interesting future products in development?

Old tech that no one wants to use?

Years upon years of declining sales and customer attrition?

Some hardware and azure leases?

A bunch of code barely holding together?

A horrible reputation?

The ip's MIGHT be worth something. The dev talent is probably worth something if you fired all the management and leads. They've got a huge list of current and former customers, that's worth something.

 

Honestly, I think EQ1 is doing better than EQ2. Seems to be more active accounts considering all the prestige gear for sale for millions of play at level 100+ in General on AB. No RP, but lots of loot for sale. Seen some items for 30 million which is like 7 to 8 krono EACH!

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

Pretty sure you can't fire all the devs. The code would take way too long for anybody to pick up and learn from scratch.

Like it or not, we are basically stuck with the devs that remain.

 

Well there is a difference from the code base to the developers correct? like Kander, is he a coder or does he just make the game itself? I know they just hired a new coder. But the decisions to run the game the way it is and updating the code base is two different things

 

The answer to that is, "We'll develop a new game from the IP and shut down the older ones".

Which, as I've said before, may be the best result possible given the circumstances.

 

Errror's point applies to both the designers (eg: Kander, Chrol, Gninja, Caith, Kaitheel) and the programmers (Bunji, Thart, and Jamiss), really. So much of working with EQ2 is knowing the game itself but also knowing the idiosyncrasies of how things work behind the scenes, whether it be in the code or with the design tools.

 

That's always the case with big monstrous code dino-hydras that keep growing more heads.... in ANY industry with code.

 

It's also why code/dev shops are seldom shut down wholesale to the last person--usually folks either train their replacements or are kept around just long enough to get the new folks up and running. Seldom perfect, but there it is.

Of course it's possible a hypothetical new owner could just hire a bunch of new folks, expect the old hands to bring 'em up to speed...then dump the older folks.

Honestly, keeping the IP, dumping the old hands, and starting fresh on EQ3.5 is the best thing for it. Less worry about surprises left by the old crew, bring in new tech and new blood, etc. Much risk, as has been noted, but still.

 

While it would be nice to see EQ2 saved don't you think it has had it's day in the sun

The Glassdoor review put it very well

"Despite the talent on the floor, management and even the technical leaders are very stubborn and backwards thinking. None of them are versed in modern engine design, they don't keep up with GDC talks, don't know what the state of the art is. If you propose an idea from the last 10 years they will actively argue with you. The company is run like the mafia. Obey or you're gone."

 

Thart seems nice and polite, which is good to see from a developer and DBG employee.

 

I worked for a software company (not gaming) many moons ago that filed for bankruptcy. The entire company was laid off and shut down and the main software was sold off to a different company with an entirely different staff and the software is still afloat 17 years later. Yes taking on old code without the developers who coded it on staff is hard, but not impossible.

That said, I'd rather see a new company start fresh with the IP rather than try to salvage the current EQ2. I loved it until the last few years but the direction it has gone would be really hard to ever recover from, at least for my personal play style.

 

I have to assume that company's work was well documented. From what I understand (i.e., about as much as anyone else here) the EQ2 code base is...well, not well documented.