Mystery GOG countdown (now general GOG discussion)

[Huw the Poo]

"Expect the Unexcelled"

I don't recall anything like this on GOG before, and it sounds like something even bigger than their monster sale at Christmas.  My money's on it being a particularly major new publishing deal.

Lucasarts catalogue, anyone?

[Destructor]

Lucasarts catalogue, anyone?

Mostly already available via Steam.

No, it has to be something bigger. Or another publisher.

[Huw the Poo]

Lucasarts catalogue, anyone?

Mostly already available via Steam.

No, it has to be something bigger. Or another publisher.

Ah, didn't know that.  I still think it'll be a major publishing deal though.

[Zarkon]

SSI?

Man, that'd be SWEET.

[Bullwinkle]

That space background looks very LucasArty.  And, if I'm not mistaken, X-Wing and TIE Fighter are not available on Steam...

Or it's System Shock.

[CeeKay]

Wasn't there a game company that used excelled or unexcelled as a tag line? Sir Tech maybe?

[KC]

Maybe they got the rights to Lotus 1-2-3.

[rittchard]

They're launching their whole lineup coinciding with the Apple Tablet (also on the 27th) 

[Destructor]

Wasn't there a game company that used excelled or unexcelled as a tag line? Sir Tech maybe?

That's what I was thinking, but nothing came to mind at all.

[baelthazar]

I just had a brilliant thought!

What do you call something that is not or cannot be excelled? I would say that something like that would be the "ultimate" - or final, farthest, utmost.

Expect the Ultimate... Ultimate comes from the latin word ultimus/ultima. Hmmm... are there any games with the name... Ultimus... or...  

That would make me one VERY happy camper.

Bael

[Huw the Poo]

Damn, you're not on your own there, Bael!  The Ultima collection would be unbelievable!

[Arkon]

Damn, you're not on your own there, Bael!  The Ultima collection would be unbelievable!

I would buy that in a heartbeat, some of my fondest gaming memories are from the Ultima series.

[CeeKay]

all the Ultimas would be cool.  heck, the entire Origins catalog would be nice 

[Sarkus]

I'm guessing it's EA in general, which would presumably include Origin stuff.  Apparently someone from GoG posted on their forums that this was the biggest news for GoG since the launch of the service, so they are setting some high expectations.

[Huw the Poo]

Apparently someone from GoG posted on their forums that this was the biggest news for GoG since the launch of the service, so they are setting some high expectations.

Splendid, that's what I want to hear.  I can't wait to find out what this is.

[CeeKay]

I also saw on the forum some people suggesting the font for the countdown is rather similar to the font used for advertising Mac's, so this could be them announcing support for the kiddie toy crowd 

[ROTC1983]

I also saw on the forum some people suggesting the font for the countdown is rather similar to the font used for advertising Mac's, so this could be them announcing support for the kiddie toy crowd 

Hey hey now...I hope that would be true though

[Laner]

I just had a brilliant thought!

What do you call something that is not or cannot be excelled? I would say that something like that would be the "ultimate" - or final, farthest, utmost.

Expect the Ultimate... Ultimate comes from the latin word ultimus/ultima. Hmmm... are there any games with the name... Ultimus... or... 

That would make me one VERY happy camper.

Bael

To add to this theory, the background of the timer looks like the curve of a planet; Origin's motto? "We Create Worlds"

[baelthazar]

Call me nuts, but it does look like the starfield contains the constellation Draco (near the middle) and Ursa Minor (to the right a bit). Ursa Minor contains Polaris, which is the North Star. I believe that Origin's logo was a mix between a compass rose and the North Star.

Just a crackpot theory...

If they get all Origin's games... oh how sweet...

Autoduel
OGRE
Times of Lore
System Shock
Bioforge
Wing Commander
Shadowcaster
Ultima Series

That would be a MAJOR coup...

Bael

[Old Negus]

Whatever the announcement is, I hope it results in the Crusader games being put up on GOG. Have had little luck in getting my CDs to work in these newfangled computing machines.

[Huw the Poo]

They've Twittered the first clue:

Start guessing, we're giving you the first hint: The return of incredible karmic awareness.

...which immediately made me think ULTIMA ULTIMA ULTIMA!

...until someone on the GOG forum pointed out that the initials spell Troika.  Bah!

[Freezer-TPF-]

Troika is a defunct developer, so they wouldn't really hold any distribution rights to their games, would they?

[CeeKay]

I don't think I'd call any of Troikas games 'unexcelled'....

[baelthazar]

Also, some of Troika's games are readily available. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is pretty easy to find. Arcanum was fun, but is this really worth the hoopla? Temple of Elemental Evil literally could format your hard-drive if you uninstalled it - and that was its most notably feature.

Perhaps this is a "package" of old developers? Maybe they are getting Sierra's games? Sierra = saw in Latin (Serra), so no "unexcelled" pun.

I'm not convinced it is Troika... that would be a "meh" type announcement. If it IS Troika, it is Troika and several other developers (hopefully Origin).

Bael

[Razgon]

Eh - they made Fallout as well...pretty solid most of the time...

btw

Temple of Elemental Evil literally could format your hard-drive if you uninstalled it - and that was its most notably feature.

ROFL!

IF it was TRoika - an updated sort of Arcanum would be pretty damn cool...

[Farscry]

Well, my most wanted titles on GOG are the Wizardry games (especially 6 and 7) and the Ultima collection (particularly 6). So I'm hoping for one of those.

[CeeKay]

Eh - they made Fallout as well...pretty solid most of the time...

Fallout 1 & 2 don't count as part of the Troika catalog. I also think it was the last Pool of Radiance game that had the reformatting bug, not Temple. Still, from what I understand, Temple was still buggy on release, and don't get me started on how the squandered the capability of the source engine when they made Vampire.

[jersoc]

who do i have to kill or suck off to make this x-wing?

[stimpy]

Facebook Clue: Where history overlaps with the present time.

[Huw the Poo]

Well, my most wanted titles on GOG are the Wizardry games (especially 6 and 7) and the Ultima collection (particularly 6). So I'm hoping for one of those.

If I could only have one Ultima, it'd be 6.

OH GOG PLEASE DELIVER US ULTIMA!

[Huw the Poo]

Facebook Clue: Where history overlaps with the present time.

Intriguing.  As the kid who becomes the Avatar, do you actually go back in time when you go to Britannia?

[stimpy]

Popular opinion seems to lean towards Arcanum.

[Teggy]

You can get Arcanum for $18 on Gogamer. Why would it deserve such a grand reveal? Sure, there have been plenty of horribly hyped up announcements in the recent past, but they'll look pretty silly if that's all it is.

[Huw the Poo]

Yeah, there's no way this is about Arcanum.  I think I discerned somewhere in the madness that is the GOG forum at the moment that there were three announcements, or something.  Man, I can't wait for Thursday.

[stimpy]

Well, as previously mentioned here, it may be Troika, which includes Arcanum, among others.

[Huw the Poo]

I think Troika was a misdirection.  I mean, would the Troika catalogue really be the biggest news since the launch of GOG?  Bigger than Ubisoft signing on?

[Bullwinkle]

I think Troika was a misdirection.  I mean, would the Troika catalogue really be the biggest news since the launch of GOG?  Bigger than Ubisoft signing on?

You seem to not understand how these announcements of announcements have gone in the past.   

[Sarkus]

I think Troika was a misdirection.  I mean, would the Troika catalogue really be the biggest news since the launch of GOG?  Bigger than Ubisoft signing on?

Seriously, Troika is three games by three different publishers - I don't see how they can call that a big thing.  It has to be EA/Origin or LucasArts or else there is going to be a lot of unhappy fans.

[Huw the Poo]

I think Troika was a misdirection.  I mean, would the Troika catalogue really be the biggest news since the launch of GOG?  Bigger than Ubisoft signing on?

You seem to not understand how these announcements of announcements have gone in the past.  

Haha!  Well, I trust GOG.  They're good guys.  I don't think they're going to drop the ball with this one, I really think this is going to be huge.

Popular buzz on the forum is EA or Activision.  It's not impossible.  I mean, GOG have said in the past that the hardest part of their job is convincing publishers that they'll make money and it's a good use of their IPs which are otherwise sitting around unused.  Perhaps their internal sales figures are at a point where they're good enough to make that job a lot easier these days.

[TiLT]

Temple of Elemental Evil literally could format your hard-drive if you uninstalled it - and that was its most notably feature.

No no NO! That was Pool of Radiance 2, a totally crappy D&D game where most of it was done without access to the rules (3rd edition D&D was still being created while development was going on). Where PoR2 had no redeeming features, Temple of Elemental Evil was actually a very well done game for D&D fans, albeit a buggy one, and still gives me the itch to go back to it for another round of Iron Man. I wish we'd get more turn based D&D goodness, but I have my doubts.

My theory: GOG has acquired the entire back catalog of D&D and AD&D titles, Temple of Elemental Evil being one of them. That's assuming they didn't want to spoil the entire surprise with their first Twitter clue.