Firesky posts

Stargate Worlds receives new funding, development to continue

by James Egan Aug 21st 2009 at 7:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds

The sci-fi MMO Stargate Worlds had mostly fallen off of our radar, and with good reason. It's seemed that Stargate Worlds would not see a release -- the developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment faced major cash flow issues resulting in employees not being paid and subsequent lawsuits. There were also departures of some of the major individuals connected with the game's development that painted a grim picture. There has been the occasional glimmer of hope of obtaining more funding, though, and some of the Stargate Worlds team has stuck with the project as additional financing for the title was sought. Now it seems things may be turning around for Stargate Worlds with the latest bit of info we came across, that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has gotten that needed funding.

Dana Massey over at MMORPG.com recently spoke with CME about where the project stands. Massey writes, "Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has received the funding that they believe will allow them to complete work on Stargate Worlds, and eventually pay back vendors and past and present employees who are still owed back pay."

Tags: breaking, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, creative-director, dana-massey, firesky, mmo-industry, mmorpg.com, new-titles, sci-fi, sgw, shane-hensley, stargate, stargate-worlds

Rumor: Stargate Worlds facing an August 1st deadline to raise capital

by Kyle Horner Jul 24th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items, Rumors

Stargate fans have long since been left wondering what's been going on with Stargate Worlds, but come August 1st -- or sometime soon thereafter -- their wait may finally be over. The rumor stems from a claim made by a recently departed employee who claims MGM has given Firesky until the beginning of next month to acquire funding or face having the licensed pulled.

Apparently a group of doctors who could potentially invest up to $8 million are the game's last hope. However, the same ex-employee says there's little chance the deal will actually go through by the deadline. Shane Hensley, Firesky's director of new business development, has said that they're continuing to speak with investors -- including the doctors. While he also says they've never considered scrapping the project, he doesn't deny the claim, either.

Ultimately, Hensley has hope but seems to be realistic about the situation, saying, "I doubt this will last much longer, but those who are here currently are amazingly dedicated and continue to make progress on our projects despite the circumstances." We'll keep you updated on any new progress, and hopefully there's a happy ending to all of this, even though our instincts are currently warning us to think otherwise.

Tags: august, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, firesky, mgm, rumor, sgw, shane-hensley, stargate-worlds

Firesky confirms Dan Elggren's departure

by Lesley Smith May 15th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

We reported earlier this week about rumours that Stargate Worlds' Executive Producer Dan Elggren had left Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/Firesky for Gazillion Entertainment. However, the reasons for his decision were left rather vague aside from excerpts from Elggren's family blog. Firesky's Kevin Ballentine officially commented on his departure in an MMORPG.com blog post:

"While we are saddened by Dan's departure, we believe that Stargate Worlds will benefit from this unforeseen change. Dan's guidance has been crucial to getting Stargate Worlds to this point, but we believe fresh eyes may find ways to improve the game moving forward. We wish to express our appreciation to Dan for all he has done for our company and wish him the best of success in his new endeavors. Dan will be transitioning his responsibilities to Rod Nakamoto, senior vice president of product development, over the next week."

Tags: cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-en..., cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, dan-elggren, firesky, firesky-llc, gazillion-entertainment, stargate-worlds

Stargate Worlds studio head leaves company for Gazillion Entertainment

by Kyle Horner May 13th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

Dan Elggren has apparently left troubled Stargate Worlds developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment / Firesky for recently announced Gazillion Entertainment. This news certainly doesn't bode well for CME, who've been having financial trouble for a long while now. Dan is merely the most recent departure, although he seems to have weathered the storm longer than most.

What does this mean for Stargate Worlds? Well considering all the financial issues and employee departures, it sadly points to a game that's less and less likely to ever see launch day. Frankly, it'd probably take a funding miracle to finish the project and in this currently downtrodden economy most investors probably won't be taking much risk.

Moreover, what do we make of this MMO industry vacuum that is Gazillion Entertainment? They also picked up Jumpgate Evolution developer NetDevil last year while in stealth mode, and something tells us they're not done absorbing talent just yet. So much is known about the company and yet much more remains a mystery. Maybe they've got enough money to release Stargate Worlds, although they may not have the mind. Whatever ends up happening, we're sorry to see anything like this ever happen to an MMO, pre or post launch.

Tags: breaking, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, dan-elggren, firesky, gazillion, gazillion-entertainment, jge, jumpgate-evolution, netdevil, sgw, stargate, stargate-worlds

Stargate Worlds marches onwards and upwards, says development team

by Kyle Horner Apr 8th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

"Our official response is that the lights here are still on and the development team is working hard every day to get this game built." say the developers of Stargate Worlds in an open letter to the community at large. This response comes in light of the not-too-pleased state that Stargate executive producer Brad Wright was in concerning the game's overall progress.

But Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment says that while the global economic downturn has affected the team, they are still plugging away seven days a week on the game while being supported by altruistic investors -- whom we hope have the clout to see the game through to completion.

The message closes with the assurance that CME is negotiating several deals to cover their financial responsibilities and fund development up through launch, and that when it happens they'll let us know. So until that fateful day comes, they'll keep developing, we'll keep reporting and everyone will assuredly be giving the team their best wishes.

Tags: cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, economy, firesky, launch, sgw, stargate, stargate-worlds

Interview gives more perspective on the state of Stargate Worlds

by James Egan Apr 6th 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds

We take no pleasure in pointing out the difficulties a new MMO faces in making it to market, even less so when members of our own team are big fans of the IP an upcoming game is built upon. Regardless, if something's happening in the MMO world we've got to point it out, as is the case with Stargate Worlds and the difficulties it's having along the way.

Darren Sumner, writing for GateWorld, recently spoke with Stargate executive producer Brad Wright (who serves as a creative consultant on Stargate Worlds) about the title. Although it's officially still in development at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and slated to be published by their partner company FireSky, there's no release in sight.

When asked about the status of Stargate Worlds, Wright tells GateWorld, "We don't know. It's a shame. If it doesn't happen - and, let's be honest, it should be happening now if it was happening. It's a shame. It's a terrible shame."

Tags: brad-wright, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, darren-sumner, firesky, gateworld, mmo-industry, new-titles, sci-fi, sgw, stargate-worlds

New Stargate Worlds images show off armor and weaponry

by James Egan Mar 19th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Stargate Worlds

We must admit, Massively isn't certain what's going on at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment in terms of development for Stargate Worlds. The MMO builds on a popular sci-fi IP with lore fleshed out in both film and television, but we've heard the company is beset with cash flow issues.

We were concerned that the project might not be going forward given some of the news we've reported in recent months, but they've added two new screenshots to their gallery along with a brief summary: "The Stargate Worlds art team took some screenshots in the top secret Omega Site Ruins, but we were able to sneak a couple out to show off to the fans. These two shots show a soldier wearing Tier 4 Ablative Armor armed with the never before seen in public Tier 5 PVK Advanced Sub-Machine Gun."

Tags: cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, firesky, firesky-llc, sci-fi, screenshots, sgw, stargate-worlds

Meet Jumpgate Evolution's new(ish) community manager

by Kyle Horner Jan 9th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Jumpgate Evolution, New titles, News items

This one managed to pass under our radar last month, but Katie "Khatie" Postma -- previously the community manager for Stargate Worlds -- is the newest community manager for NetDevil's upcoming Jumpgate Evolution. If the name seems familiar to any Massively readers, that's probably because Katie was one of the many community managers who spoke at the ION 2008 event. And for everyone else who's unfamiliar with her, we highly recommend reading through her viewpoints on taking an MMO community from pre-launch to live.

We're happy for Katie and even happier for the Jumpgate Evolution community that should get her expertise as the game's launch creeps nearer and nearer.

Tags: cme, codemasters, firesky, ion08, jge, jumpgate-evolution, katie-postma, khatie, netdevil, stargate-worlds

Stargate Worlds newsletter reveals awesome new Jaffa armor

by Kyle Horner Nov 20th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

The second Stargate Worlds community newsletter has descended upon us, and with it comes what can only be described as a sweet crocodile Jaffa armor. We also get a peek at some Jaffa abilities such as Ground Blast and Kree!, an AoE knock-back and mez ability. Of course, a community newsletter wouldn't be complete without some sort of video to sink our teeth into and CME doesn't disappoint here with the YouTube insider page for Stargate Worlds. Since its launch, this page has become packed with all sorts of clips for fans to ravenously consume.

We're quite curious about what other sorts of Jaffa armors are in store for this game. Our vote goes towards a Beagle armor, because who'd want to mess with a face like this? Like the saying goes, "Always let a Beagle win."

Tags: beagle, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, crocodile-armor, firesky, goa-uld, jaffa, stargate, stargate-worlds, tollana, youtube

Stargate Worlds interview with Cheyenne Mountain studio head

by James Egan Oct 24th 2008 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, PvP, Stargate Worlds

GameZone recently spoke with Dan Elggren, studio head at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, about the upcoming title Stargate Worlds. The interview topics range from the challenges in moving the IP forward while remaining true to its origins, to the fact that sci-fi MMOs generally aren't as well-received as fantasy titles.

Elggren goes on to explain how Cheyenne Mountain has tried to merge the feature set and gameplay expected from an MMO with the more visceral feel of tactical shooter. A key aspect of their business model is that it's predicated on regular content updates. "We'll be adding new story, new levels, new archetypes and, obviously, new worlds about every three months post launch. This will be free content that we're giving away on an aggressive schedule," Elggren says. The interview also touches on Stargate Worlds having opt-in PvP at launch, which he states should later evolve into 'platoon-on-platoon large scale PvP events'. Check out the GameZone interview with Dan Elggren for more info from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment on what we can expect from Stargate Worlds.

[Via Blue's News]

Tags: business-models, cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, dan-elggren, firesky, game-mechanics, gamezone, interviews, ip, pvp, sci-fi, sgw, stargate-worlds, television, tv

Stargate Worlds video shows impressive sub-orbital explosion

by Samuel Axon Oct 10th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, Stargate Worlds

Twiddling your thumbs in anticipation of the beginning of Stargate Worlds' closed beta test? The folks over at Ten Ton Hammer have an NDA-exempt goodie for people who are waiting -- a video of a Ha'tak class Go'auld attack ship exploding in the stratosphere of a planet.

We were actually a little surprised at how spectacular the explosion looked. TTH alleges that it's part of some pre-planned event within the game, so it's a special case, but still -- it's pretty awesome, with some interesting shaders to simulate the shockwave, and attractive fire effects as the broken pieces of the ship plummet through the air. Hey, there's not all that much Stargate Worlds video out there, y'know? We'll take what we can get.

Tags: cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, cruiser, explosion, firesky, hatak, sgw, stargate, stargate-worlds, teaser, video

Stargate Worlds closed beta announced for October 15

by James Egan Oct 4th 2008 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

Stargate Worlds is one of the hotter sci-fi MMOs in development based off a popular television and film IP. We've been following this title for a while now through its ups and downs, and other places on the web are taking notice of the game as well. Massively's sister site Big Download has received word that the Stargate Worlds closed beta is no longer pegged for an unconfirmed date, and is now slated to commence on October 15th.

If you haven't been selected for the closed beta from that pool of over 200,000 people who signed up, at the very least there's a gallery of new Stargate Worlds screenshots to check out over at Big Download. Open beta is still a long ways off though, so the Stargate Atlantis episodes will just have to keep you occupied until then.

Tags: beta, big-download, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, closed-beta, firesky, open-beta, sci-fi, stargate, stargate-atlantis, stargate-worlds

Introducing the Stargate Worlds YouTube channel

by Samuel Axon Sep 29th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Interviews, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

Firesky has launched a Stargate Worlds channel on YouTube, and has promised that a new video will go live every week day from here on out. So far there are six videos, all of which are brief, punchy developer interviews related to the various weapons in the game.

A few of them are a little painful to watch due to extreme geekiness, but there is a somewhat amusing running joke about the flamethrower weapon being a terribly kept secret. Its existence is unconvincingly denied in most videos, and in one it is confirmed but the developer insists that flamethrower gameplay is not ready to be shown to the public. He says this while a monitor behind him displays all kinds of in-game flamethrower carnage.

Firesky proudly brags that the channel was the #1 most subscribed on YouTube during the week of the 21st, and that it sits comfortably in the top 25 for the whole month of September. That said, most of the videos have only had a couple thousand views, except for the very first video (the flamethrower one), which had 8,000 views. Huh; that's kind of like a microcosm of the monthly lifecycle of an MMO! Anyway, we've embedded the flamethrower footage on the other side of the jump.

Tags: channel, cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, developers, firesky, flamethrower, interviews, sgw, stargate-worlds, video, weapons, youtube

New Stargate Worlds wallpapers feature in-game imagery

by Samuel Axon Sep 28th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, New titles, Wallpapers, Stargate Worlds

The official Stargate Worlds website has been updated in two waves with nine new wallpapers, most of which show in-game locales and combat engagements. You can go look at them at the official site, or you can grab them right here instead! We're awesome like that.

Most of the wallpapers depict a city, but we're apparently not quite Stargate SG-1 literate enough to identify it. There are a couple images of combat (including one of someone getting torched by a flamethrower; that's kinda cool), one shot of a Jaffa in the previously mentioned city (pictured above), and one montage of weapon concept art.

Despite a few cash flow problems at the studio, Stargate Worlds' closed beta test is either already underway or imminent, depending on who you ask. So if you like these images, you might as well go sign up.

Gallery: Stargate Worlds Wallpaper Gallery

Tags: cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, closed-beta, cme, firesky, flamethrower, galleries, gallery, images, jaffa, screenshots, sgw, stargate, stargate-sg-1, stargate-worlds, wallpapers

Stargate Worlds studio faces cash flow issues

by Samuel Axon Sep 18th 2008 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items, Rumors

Get ready for some dubious corporate drama. We were contacted by a tipster claiming to be a Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment employee. He or she alleged, among other things, that CME/Firesky is in critical financial condition -- that it has accrued a large debt, that massive layoffs are planned, and that the future of Stargate Worlds might be in jeopardy. Knowing full well that potentially-scorned anonymous employees are rarely a wholly reliable source, we contacted the company and provided them an opportunity to comment.

We were told that the tip was full of inaccuracies and overstatements. The official comment was this: "Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is a start up, and like many start ups, we face the typical cash flow issues that all pre-revenue companies face. CME continues to fund its operations in the same way it has done for three years and the viability of the Stargate Worlds project is not in question. We fully expect to complete and ship Stargate Worlds in 2009."

Tags: breaking, business, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, debt, finances, firesky, kevin-balentine, layoffs, rumor, sgw, stargate, stargate-worlds, startup, statement, tip, tipster