cheyenne-mountain-entertainment posts

Stargate Worlds: We're still kicking, the pics prove it

by James Egan Nov 16th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Classes, MMO industry, Stargate Worlds, News items

It's been a long, difficult road for Stargate Worlds -- a game that has been mired in financial woes for quite some time. Now and again we do get to report some positive news about the sci-fi MMO, but it's clear that Stargate Worlds isn't out of the woods quite yet. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment recently made an announcement to the game's fan community, thanking them for their support through tough times. CME stated, "We know you expect nothing less than the AAA content in Stargate Worlds our development team is working hard to give you along with some additional exciting news we will be revealing very soon! We want to thank everyone for their continued support and passion for Stargate Worlds and we can't wait to show you more of what we've been cooking up over here."

As to what they've been working on, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment released some new screenshots of the armor and weapons for the Goa'uld, Jaffa, Soldier, and Scientist classes. CME explains, "Each of these armor sets will have unique traits that make them ideal for certain situations. As players become familiar with each world and the various environments they will encounter, they will discover which sets of armor best suit their play." The most recent Stargate Worlds images can be seen at the top of the gallery on the SGW Community Site.

Gallery: Stargate Worlds Screenshot Gallery

Tags: armor, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, classes, cme, goauld, jaffa, mmo-industry, sci-fi, scientist, sgw, soldier, stargate, stargate-worlds, weapons

Stargate Worlds site returns, but funding still tight

by Krystalle Voecks Oct 14th 2009 at 8:30AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Server downtime, Stargate Worlds, News items

Over the weekend the Stargate Worlds site had planned a bit of maintenance which took their site offline on the 9th. From what we know now, the plan was that they would be migrating servers since they've been experiencing problems with their hosting. Many expected the site to be back up within a day or so - a normal time-frame for a DNS change and many cases of forum maintenance. When the entire site hadn't come back up by the 12th - and their Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites remained eerily silent - we decided to reach out to them and see how things were going.

While we're glad to see that the Stargate Worlds web site is now back on line, the note that we received back from Timothy N. Jenson, President and CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment was a bit disheartening. While the team remains optimistic, it indicates that they are continuing to have funding issues despite the news that they'd picked up new investors in the tail-end of August. For those interested in reading the full statement we received, we've included it behind the break.

Tags: cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, cme, mgm, server-outages, sgw, stargate-worlds

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

Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 48

by Shawn Schuster Apr 8th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Massively meta, Massively Speaking

Massively Speaking Episode 48 returns this week with more news of the wider MMO world. Shawn is joined by contributing editors Krystalle Voecks and Colin Brennan as they talk about everything from WAR's first official city takeover to FusionFall's 4 million member milestone. It's sure to have something for everyone!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
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[Digg] Like the show? Digg it.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
[VW] Listen at VirginWorlds.com
Listen here on the page:

Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Tags: age-of-conan, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, fallout-mmo, funcom, fusionfall, massively-speaking, masthead-studios, podcasting, podcasts, stargate-worlds, the-secret-world, turbine, warhammer-online

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

Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment sued over unpaid bills

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 17th 2009 at 3:15PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, Stargate Worlds, News items, Legal

The developers of Stargate Worlds, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, has already admitted to cash flow problems. They also have had problems with not paying their employees for at least 25 days of service. Now, problems are looking even worse for the Stargate Worlds developer as they find themselves the target of a lawsuit over unpaid bills.

Capital Princess LLC has sued Cheyenne Mountain over an unpaid open account, according to the Arizona Business Gazette on azcentral.com as of March 5th. This just adds to the problems of the unreleased game, which makes us all nervous and wishful that Stargate Worlds will reach completion.

We'll keep you informed on this situation as we get more information.

Tags: breaking, capital-princess, cashflow, cheyenne-mountain, cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, civil, civil-lawsuit, lawsuit, legal, stargate, stargate-worlds, unpaid-bills

Cheyenne Mountain responds to rumors of no pay for employees

by Shawn Schuster Dec 5th 2008 at 11:30AM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds, Rumors

As the story spread across the blogosphere yesterday concerning the website http://days-since-cheyenne-mountain-employees-have-been-paid.com, we at Massively remained interested, yet apprehensive on something that was little more than an anonymous url. Yet today we're happy to report on an actual response to the rumor and speculation.

Kevin Balentine, senior Marketing Manager at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment released an official explanation of the rumors: "At Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, we have always been upfront with the media and our fans that we are a start up. Like many start ups, we face the same cash-flow issues that all pre-revenue companies face. We have maintained a core of dedicated investors, but the new economic realities are forcing us to seek out additional sources of funding and that's what we're doing. We continue to move forward on the Stargate Worlds project. We recently completed a successful phase of closed beta testing and we will start a second phase early in 2009. We invite all of your readers to come to our site, check out our fantastic community and sign up for our beta."

Tags: cheyenne-mountain-entertainment, employees, rumor, rumour, stargate-worlds, ten-ton-hammer

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