Magna Mundi

[Blxz]

It got cancelled recently. I am not sure if anyone has heard of it or been following it, but a rather unfortunate problem.

They 'finished' the game and sent it to the publisher, publisher rejected it because it was too buggy, second (and 3rd and I think 4th) versions were sent and apparently they were getting worse and then the developer apparently started mouthing off at the publisher so the publisher (who owned the intellectual rights) cancelled the game.

A sad day.
Was anyone following it?

[toaster Assassin]

Someone mentioned it on this forum a few months ago so I looked it up (Wanted to buy it) and eventually forgot about it. Pity it was cancelled. I am starting to have a disliking for certain game publishers (obviously in this case it was the devs fault) but I can also see the Piranha bytes VS Jowood effect here.(I.E. Jowood forced Piranha to release an unfinished game (but that was due to stockholder pressure)).

[Blxz]

Yeah, to be brutally honest I knew of the developers on the forums years before they finally decided to make a game (when the whole idea was only a mod) and didn't like them at all. While I don't pretend I know anything about their business life, the way they acted, even when in an official game designer capacity, was not very professional or confidence inspiring. its a pity that they turned out to be such a bunch of misfits since like many deranged 'artists' they had some good ideas.

[Kamos]

I honestly didn't anticipate them being successful anyways.

[Blxz]

I honestly didn't anticipate them being successful anyways.

Who knows, if the fanboi's are anything to go by they have many loud and eager customers. The mod itself has supposedly been downloaded by 2/3rds of the number of sales the game got (of course account for multiple downloads per user but its still a lot).

Who knows? I think the thing looked like a visual eyesore but it's still unfortunate that its not coming out; could have been a fun change from the usual.

[dragyouintohell]

Manage warfare, diplomacy, economy, knowledge, internal affairs, cultural outlook, religious policies, espionage and much more to engrave in gold your country’s name in the Annals of History… or fail in that delicate balance and witness how it will become a faded footnote lost in ages long past.

That game does sound interesting, I'm really interested in games that do stuff like this, to bad it got canceled though.

[SilentHill]

I never really got into those type of games, without a interesting catch like total war and m&b had. Most of Moddb and other mod sites are filled with countless unfinished projects, its rare for a large mod to be finished, its a shame it was canceled when it was so close.

..... downloaded by 2/3rds of the number of sales the game ....

Other way around unless 33% of buyers did not download.

[Blxz]

No, downloaded by 2/3rds of the number of sales of the game. So for example there were 999 sales of the base game that means that there were 666 downloads of the mod which is 2/3rds of the number of sales. much like I said the first time.

Also, for those who don't know, this mod was made and released years ago for Europa Universalis 3 (although doesn't work on the most recent expansion). 'Magna Mundi the Game' was a stand-alone game of its own made by the guys who made the mod using the engine licensed from the developers and was to be published by paradox (the guys who made the base game). Basically this allowed them to reprogram all the hardcoded things that they couldn't change in the mod and include more things that would have been impossible to mod in.

[toaster Assassin]

Sucks for the people who bought a copy in alpha/beta,but investing in indev games has its risks. Exactly how much was the game?

[Blxz]

Sucks for the people who bought a copy in alpha/beta,but investing in indev games has its risks. Exactly how much was the game?

I think there is some confusion.

There is a game made by paradox called Europa Universalis 3 (and its expanisions).
This guy had an idea to make it way more complex and as close to real history as possible within the confines of the game. He created 'Magna Mundi' the mod. Wildly successful mod which has a number of downloads that is equal to about 60% of the total number of purchases of Europa Universalis itself.

A few years later (2009) he accepted an offer from Paradox to make a stand-alone game under the same name. This time he could make all the changes he wanted with none of the hardcoded problems from the previous game and could license the engine and everything from the developers (and they ended up giving him a free upgrade when they themselves made the newest expansion with its vastly improved graphics and map calculation settings). Unfortunately, going from mod leader to tyrant-in-chief of a gaming company seems to have allowed all his excesses to run loose and free. They had a total of (apparently) 10 beta testers of which 3 never downloaded the game and only 4 bothered to ever reply again. They replied with some fairly crippling bugs but general praise for the game in general. Check out the 'Good replies' from the disgraced ex developer.
http://forum.universo-virtual.com/viewt ... f=8&t=4320
He posted these himself thinking they prove his point about it being ready to release. Some of these were posted less than 2 weeks before the release date (already 1 year overdue from the original). It seems he has taken generally positive, fan based reviews as praise that the game is ready to be released. Legal action is being threatened (which won't get anywhere) and it just generally shows his blustering, false bravado nature. Also, the entire development team has handed in their resignations and some of them reported to the publisher about what it was like on the inside. Sad times.

I am sorry for this history lesson but I love history. And since toaster assassin is a mod he has no choice but to read my whole post checking for the 6 hidden swear words I included.

Check again.

I lied, I wouldn't swear. I am an upstanding member of this forum who hopefully will have a nice shiny new name colour in the coming days.

[1337]

I found it quite entertaining (talking about the post). I didn't know it was being developed into a standalone game, only knew the mod.

When I think about it, it's sad to waste a nice opportunity like that. Goes to show that modding a game doesn't mean you have the needed skill to make a full game or at least lead a team of skillfuls.

Also, forum-mods get new eye implants when they start out. With them, we can read 100 times faster than mortals and words of importance are highlighted. The rest will be kept secret.

PS: i read those posts on your link (everything to the end) that ubik guy is crazy, he's like:

[Blxz]

I know, its so amusing. I really have no need to watch drama on tv when there is a great real-life one unfolding in front of me. All those posts that you read are new btw. I only read them when I linked through as well.

[toaster Assassin]

What I was confused about was that I thought the standalone version (Which started as a mod by an independent,yes ) was more of a standalone (made by a third party) and sold for a price.(Like the Guild Renaissance) So me calling it an indie would be incorrect along with the whole "buying in alpha".Basically when I looked at the web-page it looked like an indev made game, without knowing it's history prior.(starting as a mod). The history lesson was fine by me. As for your Easter egg swears, I am sorry but 1337 is correct that by becoming a mod you get eye implants.


Yeah, the ubik guy seemed to try and dodge the reported issues rather than defend his work. His response was that the people needed to trust what they saw on you-tube or they could go to Lisbon and test the game for themselves. The man lacks professionalism.