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Why Raven ended the series

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:40:39

Necromancer

I've been pondering over exactly why Raven Software discontinued the Heretic/Hexen series. <!-- s:? --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":?" title="Confused" /><!-- s:? --> Possible reasons: a) Heretic 2 wasn't very successful. b) They lost interest in the series. c) They decided that they had explored all possible story opportunities. d) There was little point in continuing the series without John Romero. Probably a combination of all these. *Waits for inevitable Hexen 2/Heretic 2 sucks replies.* <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt=":roll:" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:56:00

RambOrc

It's more mundane than that - Raven sold itself to Activision and Activision cared only about money and SoF and sci-fi titles made more money than fantasy.
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:07:19

NeoWorm

Naturaly Star Wars franchise games will earn more money than anything else. And I think Raven used parts of their combat system from Heretic 2 in JK games.
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:57:13

RambOrc

Actually their JK games kinda sucked - in the early days, Raven's games had beautiful artwork AND awesome gameplay. Starting with Hexen II or so, they dropped the gameplay part.
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:46:17

Necromancer

Wasn't that around the time they were acquired by Activision?
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:35:06

Firebrand

Yes, it was.
Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:11:46

leilei

it wasn't the same without Romero.
Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:45:34

VikingBoyBilly

Why do people keep saying Hexen 2 sucks? I thought it was a pretty good game, especially with the greek/mexican/egyptian themed hubs that changed the game's scenery continuously enough to prevent it from starting to look dry (a problem which plagues Doom and Quake in particular, but also Heretic, Hexen, Marathon, etc. to a lesser extent). I'll still agree that the original Hexen was an overall better game. I mean, was the leveling-up feature in Hexen 2 really necessary? It kind of comes off as an attempt at an RPG/FPS hybrid rather than an FPS with an original theme, which is more detrimental than beneficial IMO. Heretic 2, on the other hand, is a different story altogether XP
Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:33:20

NeoWorm

[quote="VikingBoyBilly":1pqv6odr]Why do people keep saying Hexen 2 sucks? I thought it was a pretty good game, especially with the greek/mexican/egyptian themed hubs that changed the game's scenery continuously enough to prevent it from starting to look dry (a problem which plagues Doom and Quake in particular, but also Heretic, Hexen, Marathon, etc. to a lesser extent). Problem with these different themes is that they are completely out of place. It just dont fit into Hexen universe.
Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:15:30

RambOrc

Not just that, it actually made the game more boring after a point - unless and until you can solve all the pointless and partially really idiotic puzzles in a hub, you run around looking at the same textures and architecture forever. I loved the Ancient Egypt theme hub, but after 3 months of trying to get out of it I hated the game. Recall that Hexen II came out in 1997, when you couldn't just go to a hint website, find the clues and solve the puzzle at once. To this came that Hexen II's puzzles actually had a couple of serious bugs, and you'll see why the game should have never been released the way it was. Raven finished Hexen in 10 months, and still it's a polished game. They spent a lot longer on Hexen II and it's not really done, they just sold it.
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:49:41

The 4th Class

who wants to start a petition to make John Romero start up Hecatomb once and for all? AFAIK he's still crying sour grapes about it, it must mean something to him.
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:43:52

Crimson Wizard

[quote="The 4th Class":3fktt20o]who wants to start a petition to make John Romero start up Hecatomb once and for all? AFAIK he's still crying sour grapes about it, it must mean something to him. who wants to start a petition to make John Romero join Korax Team and work on SE? <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:30:31

Firebrand

I'll begin writing the petition right away, heh! <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:43:27

The 4th Class

<!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> I'd actually send it to him too! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:48:24

TheCount

I actually think it's a good idea <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt=":roll:" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:09:05

The Ultimate DooMer

[quote="VikingBoyBilly":24v7ssm6]I mean, was the leveling-up feature in Hexen 2 really necessary? It kind of comes off as an attempt at an RPG/FPS hybrid rather than an FPS with an original theme, which is more detrimental than beneficial IMO. To me the levelling up thing had no real effect on the game except if you were playing a class that had a useful special ability at lvl 3 or 6. If anything, a level break meant a free krater of might to fill up that constantly-starved manapool :p
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:43:26

RambOrc

I think we all agree that gameplay wise, Hexen II was weak.

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