Company News Troika is closed

[triCritical]

As for SPECIAL, it was mostly created by Chris Taylor.

That is unless its Fergie, or any of the other two guys saying it was mostly my idea.

 

[Sol Invictus]

1) Arcanum was a very non mainstream setting, with many features that were not mainstream, ie, lack of l33t graphics and linear character and story progression.

I don't think a lack of mainstream exposure was Arcanum's primary problem. After all, China Mieville's steampunk-setting books sell quite well. Arcanum's problem was its hybrid turn-based/real time system and its poorly conceived character system (STEAM). The lack of polished animations was another issue, but I don't think there was anything wrong with the environment graphics or the minute details they put into the game, like the newspaper.

2) ToEE was a non mainstream look at high fantasy with old sk00l module and TB combat. Not necessarily creative, but refreshing.

ToEE's main problems were its length, overabundance of bugs, and the reason it didn't sell too well was because Atari never bothered to give it much market exposure with advertisements. ToEE was as mainstream as fantasy could ever be, TriCritical. The oldschool module didn't help, especially since they didn't bother to add anything to what was essentially a bare-boned, empty little module. TB is hardly an issue, considering that the Final Fantasy series is the best selling RPG on the console. GameSpot's opinion on the 'difficulty and complexity of TB' notwithstanding.

I think this was more of a publisher fuckups or developer related management mishaps than any problem with the sales. After all, TOEE was Atari's highest selling RPG that year.

 

[tilting_msh]

"We might yet see some good RPGs from them in separate studios."

I can see it now..

Day 1: It's reported that Tim Cain has signed with Blizzard.

Day 2: The fanboys yell out," BLIZZARD CREATED FALLOUT!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

LOL. Actually, all this nonsense about Troika/Cain inventing Fallout always has got on my nerves. Mindless fanboism at its worst. And they say Bioware fanboys are a delusional lot...

As for Troika, I always admired their vision, but unfortunately their implementation of their ideas left a lot to be desired. Yeah yeah I know - that's not Troika's fault, it's Atari/Activision/Sierra/Volourn's fault.

I can't say I'll miss them, though. Sorry to see people lose their job, but all of their games, IMO, were sub-par AT BEST. Potential eventually has to be realized, and there was no way that was going to happen with Troika. Lots of hype, very little action.

 

[Sol Invictus]

How's this?

Black Isle Studios didn't create Fallout.

Troika didn't create Fallout.

Interplay created Fallout

These guys created Fallout:

Production
Producer Timothy Cain
Asistant Producer Fred Hatch
Division Director Feargus Urquhart
Asst. Division Director Jeremy S. Barnes
Original Producer Thomas R. Decker
Production Assistant Jason G. Suinn
Monkey Boy Michael Green
Mac Assistance Chris Benson
Additional Programming By Mark Harrison (Lizard Byte), John D. Price, Chris DeSalvo, Mark Murakami

Art
Art Director Leonard Boyarsky
Lead Artists Jason D. Anderson, Leonard Boyarsky, Gary Platner
Artists Robert Collier, Michael Dean, Tramell Ray saac, Eddie Rainwater, Scott Rodenhizer, Sharon Shellman
Additional Art By Peter Kroko, Justin Sweet, Joseph Cesario, Cheryl Austin, Jay Esparza (Tachyon), Geoff Gregor, Arlene C. Somers, George Almond, Erik Jamison, Helena Wickberg, James Doyle (Apples Animation)
Clay Modeller Scott Rodenhizer
Conceptual Artist Tony Postma

Design
Lead Designer Christian Taylor
Designers David Hendee, Scott Bennie, Brian Freyermuth, Scott Capbell
Technical Designer Scott Everts
Additional Design By Robert Hertenstein, Jess Heanig, Nick Kestin
Design/Dialogue Mark O'Green
Original Game Design By Timothy Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, Jason D. Anderson, Christian Taylor, Jason Taylor, Scott Campbell

Programming
Lead Programmers Timothy Cain, Chris Jones
Programmers Jesse Reynolds, Kevin Weatherman, Nick Kesting, Robert Hertenstein, Jess Heinig, Jason Taylor
Mac Programmer Tim Hume
Movie Technology Paul Allen Edelstein
Installer / Autoplay Darren L. Monahan

Quality Assurance
Director of Quality Assurance Chad Allison
Assistant Director of QA Colin Totman
PC Version Lead Testers Ronald Hodge, Greg Baumeister
PC Version Testers Shanna San Paolo, Evan Chantland, Edward Hyland, Steven Reed, James Chung, Kaycee Vardeman, Bill Field, Richard Barker, Rene Hakiki, Erick Lujan, Matt Kaupa, Steve Victory, Scot Humphreys, Timothy Anderson, Darrell Jones
Mac Version Lead Testers Jim Dodds, Matthew Murakami, Steve McLafferty
Mac Version Testers Adam Chaney, Dennis Presnell, Savina Greene, Kaycee Vardeman, Scot Humphreys, Michael Krueger, Matthew Golembiewski
LS. Technicians Bill Delk, Steve Cabiness
Director of Compatibility Phuong Nguyen
Compatibility Technicians Marc Duran, Dan Forsyth, Derek Gibbs, Aaron Olaiz, John Parker

Audio
Audio Director Charles Deenen
Audio Mastering Craig Duman
Background TV music Ronald Valdez
Cinematics Re-recording Mixer Dave West
Cinematics Soundeffects West Productions
Foley Artists Doug Turner, Gary Murello, Larry Peacock
Foley Editor Caron Weidner
Foley Mixer Debby Ruby
Foley Mixer/Artist Cecilia Perna
Foley Recorded at West Productions
Foley Supervision Charles Deenen, Larry Peacock
FX Editor Michael Dickeson
Intro Re-Recording Mixer Charles Deenen
Music Supervisor Brian Luzietti
Music By Mark Morgan (for Four Bars Entertainment)
Sound FX Librarians Douglas Rappaport, Sergio A. Bustamante II, Ronald Valdez
Sound FX Designers Charles Deenen, Gregory R. Allen, Larry Peacock, EFX Weddington, Caron Weidner
Voice Editors Douglas Rappaport, Sergio A. Bustamante II
Voice Producer Fred Hatch
Voice Recording Engineer Paul Hurtubise
Voice supervisor Chris Borders
Voice Talent Coordination Julie Morgavi
Voice Dialogue Recorded At Hollywood Recording Services. Hollywood. CA
Voice Direction Jamie Thomason

Feauturing the Voices Of
Harold Charles Adler
Killian Richard Dean Anderson
Loxley Jeff Glenn Bennett
Rhombus Clancy Brown
Set, Gizmo, The Master Jim Cummings
Decker Keith David
Harry Brad Garrett
The Lieutenant Tony Jay
Jain Tress MacNeille
Overseer Ken Mars
Cabbot Richard Moll
Butch Harris, Narrator Ron Perlman
Vree CCH Pounder
Nicole Pamela Segall
Aradesh Tony Shalhoub
Laura, The Master Kath E. Soucie
Tandi Cree Summer
Morpheus David Warner
Maxson Frank Welker

Marketing
PR Manager Genevieve Waldman
Director of Marketing Paul Sackman
Marketing Managers Mike Markin, Craig Owens, Michael Courtney
Associate Marketing Manager Tod Mack
Traffic Manager Steve Spandle

Credits
"Maybe" Performed by Ink Spots
MAYBE Written by Allan Flynn, Frank Madden (Used by permission of EMI Robbins Catalog Inc. ASCAP)
--- Sections from the High Energy Weapons FAQ by Carey Sublette used with permisssion. Some chagnes were made to fit the background of Fallout. All errors are the fault of Interplay.
Thanks to: Scott Everts (for contributing above and beyond the call of duty to the Qoute File), Brian Eno, the soda fridge, the Spirit of Christmas, Demo the cat, Nicol, Tracy & Korey, Mary & Adam, Lisa, Jamal, T-Ray's Mom, the two Donalds, Teresa Brooks
Special thanks to the Fallout webpage bulletin board members for comments, suggestions and bug reports about the demo. Your feedback was appreciated!

 

[Seven]

I think of that lis these are the most important names:

Original Game Design By Timothy Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, Jason D. Anderson, Christian Taylor, Jason Taylor, Scott Campbell

BTW, did you have to include the voice actors and testers? Especially you you say: "These guys created Fallout."

 

[ElastiZombie]

I think of that lis these are the most important names:

Original Game Design By Timothy Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, Jason D. Anderson, Christian Taylor, Jason Taylor, Scott Campbell

BTW, did you have to include the voice actors and testers? Especially you you say: "These guys created Fallout."

Obviously, you do not understand the value of a top notch testing department.

 

[taks]

I don't think Troika made a non-quality product.

sorry tricrit, but as a whole, their games just did not measure up to AAA titles. certainly there were aspects of troika's games that qualify as stunning. but in general, taken as a whole, their games just weren't of high enough quality to really get going. take all the good aspects out of each of the three, and you'd have one good game. one damn good game, surely, but only one.

And if quality was the name of the game, Windows wouldn't be on everyones computer.

like it or not, MS is probably the highest quality piece of software on the market. sad to say, actually, but given the size of the OS, it is truly unbelievable. not that it couldn't be better, mind you. there is nothing that compares (sorry linux guys, but it is only good for hardcore users). your opinion, tricrit, is quite obviously jaded by your choice of careers

taks

 

[Jed]

Update on my buggy non-Troika gaming experience: KotOR just CTD'd and now I've got a corrupted save game.

MORE FREE RIDES PLZ!

 

[Sol Invictus]

OWN'D.

edit: Nah. Just kidding. No offense, man, but that really sucks. LucasArts should have given the game more time to bake in the oven.

 

[Halenthal]

Out of curiosity, what exactly would be an example of a triple A non buggy game? I mean, if we're comparing bugginess of game vs game and developer vs developer, we need some sort of standard to base these arguments on.

As for Troika's demise, my personal feeling is that it sucks. Sure, there is a lot of flaws in each of their games, but dammit at least they tried to create some decent RPGs. And bugs or no bugs, I love Arcanum, you just can't beat a game that gives guns to elves.

 

[Claw]

GTA: VC ran pretty reliably on my pc. I experienced 2-3 CTDs, but blame the old machine. Apart from that, no bugs I was aware of.


In all fairness however, I don't think there is a game that never crashed on any pc I ever had. And for every game that ran well on my pc, I heard or read that it was unplayable for someone else.

 

[Hajo]

Out of curiosity, what exactly would be an example of a triple A non buggy game? I mean, if we're comparing bugginess of game vs game and developer vs developer, we need some sort of standard to base these arguments on.

If you go back to the 1980s, many video console titles were virtually bug free, at least to a level that the player didn't notice any mistakes.

The games were much simpler that time, so maybe it's not possible to keep the level, but I also think the pressure on the programmers is much higher today and even if they want to create bug free games, they just have too little time to test and bugfix their games

 

[Reklar]

The original Sid Meier's Pirates! is the only "large" (two 5.25" floppy disks) no crashing game I remember. It may have had a bug or two (I still think the 320,000 gold limit was a bug), but they weren't obvious if they were there. That was 1987, back when the PC gaming market was still relatively new.

-Reklar
(a Fallout/RPG fan)

 

[taks]

Out of curiosity, what exactly would be an example of a triple A non buggy game? I mean, if we're comparing bugginess of game vs game and developer vs developer, we need some sort of standard to base these arguments on.

i never said "AAA non-buggy." all games have bugs to some extent. bugs are overlooked if they aren't too major and other aspects of the game are solid. bugs weren't the only problems with troika games, however. it's when you combine all the failed aspects into one game that you have a problem...

taks

 

[ElastiZombie]

If you go back to the 1980s, many video console titles were virtually bug free, at least to a level that the player didn't notice any mistakes.

The games were much simpler that time, so maybe it's not possible to keep the level, but I also think the pressure on the programmers is much higher today and even if they want to create bug free games, they just have too little time to test and bugfix their games

Part of the difficulty of developing and testing gamesfor the PC is the difference between console systems and PCs. With a console system you have the same hardware and OS for every unit. With a PC you could have a near-infinite number of combinations of hardware, not to mention different OS versions. To test them all thoroughly is tricky to say the least.

 

[Elwro]

The original Sid Meier's Pirates! is the only "large" (two 5.25" floppy disks) no crashing game I remember. It may have had a bug or two (I still think the 320,000 gold limit was a bug)

Of course it was. I checked it and they just reserved too few bits for gold.

 

[AlanC9]

RPGs seem to be the buggiest genre. I can't remember a TBS game that shipped with a lot of showstoppers (though minor gameplay issues often abound).

 

[ElastiZombie]

RPGs seem to be the buggiest genre. I can't remember a TBS game that shipped with a lot of showstoppers (though minor gameplay issues often abound).

That probably has to do with the fact that RPGs tend to be the most complex games. More complexity = more chance for something to go wrong.

 

[Volourn]

If that's true than someone should be intelligent enough to test them more. But, nooo....

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

<Saint_Proverbius> What did VD do now?
<jiu-jitsu> well i successfully photoshopped it..
<jiu-jitsu> but it's terrible
<Saint_Proverbius> JIU
<jiu-jitsu> they scalped exitium and cut his face off and tim is wearing his scalp and leon is wearing is face..
<Saint_Proverbius> WHAT DID VD DO?
<jiu-jitsu> i thought he came up with the "Equip teh ring!" joke
<jiu-jitsu> but it was spazmo i guess
<Saint_Proverbius> Actually, according to Volourn, since I own RPGCodex, I came up with it.

 

[Jinxed]

You like to rub it in eh saint? I guess he deserves it.

However, he didn't point out the CEO. So I guess by "volourn think" The RPG Codex came up with it.

 

[Volourn]

Keep whining. It doesn't make it any les Troika's fault.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Keep whining.

The word you're looking for is mocking, Volourn.

 

[Volourn]

No.

 

[DarkSign]

Dont think that telling anyone to stop thinking its Troika's fault is going to work.

I did as much in that other thread, but people remain in their little fantasy worlds and there's nothing you can do to get them out of them.