The Future of Mage Wars Arena

[Sailor Vulcan]

So what do you think lies in Mage Wars Arena's future? Things seem kinda bleak right now. Will the whole thing just die out? Will Arcane Wonders release a newer version that actually is successful and doesn't ruin everything? Will they lease the rights to a 3rd party? Or will someone just pick it up in toto and revive it at some point after it dies without Arcane Wonders' permission?

Discuss!

[Karadox]

For me, I'm waiting for the next year and what's going to happen with respect to Arene, and if they will respond to us in any way, if nothing develops for the better, I will not buy any more products even if I still find Mage Wars Arena is the best game i know.

[Kelanen]

So what do you think lies in Mage Wars Arena's future? Things seem kinda bleak right now.

Yep, but no more than the last 18 months.

Will the whole thing just die out?

Already happened to all intents and purposes.

Will Arcane Wonders release a newer version that actually is successful and doesn't ruin everything?

Almost certainly not.

Will they lease the rights to a 3rd party?

Almost certainly not.

Or will someone just pick it up in toto and revive it at some point after it dies without Arcane Wonders' permission?

It's a pretty cheap cease and desist to close them down, they don't have a leg to stand on. AW is not remotely in trouble, in fact it's doing pretty well. They are choosing to run down MW, but they still own the IP even if they don't use it, and are in fact required to defend it. And to be honest, I'd completely support AW - if they want to kill it (or is the least of various business evils) then it's their right to.

[ThisIsDeutch]

Or will someone just pick it up in toto and revive it at some point after it dies without Arcane Wonders' permission?

It's a pretty cheap cease and desist to close them down, they don't have a leg to stand on. AW is not remotely in trouble, in fact it's doing pretty well. They are choosing to run down MW, but they still own the IP even if they don't use it, and are in fact required to defend it. And to be honest, I'd completely support AW - if they want to kill it (or is the least of various business evils) then it's their right to.

So if someone wants to improve what Arcane Wonders is willing to do, why put them down for it? You're putting blind faith in a company, which you expect to continue supporting Mage Wars, even though they aren't doing anything to make things better.

[Kelanen]

So if someone wants to improve what Arcane Wonders is willing to do, why put them down for it? You're putting blind faith in a company, which you expect to continue supporting Mage Wars, even though they aren't doing anything to make things better.

No, I'm not. I have zero faith in AW, and MW is dead as an evolving concern. The state of playtesting, and lack of reaction to our feedback made me draw this inference over a year ago. There *might* be an LG2 to use all the current promos, bu other than that I don't expect to ever see another Arena product. None of this breaks NDA since none of this has been told to us - but I'm 95% confident in thge outcome.

But if that's the case then the best thing to happen to the product from my point of view is it to be frozen (which lets face it is what's happened for most of the last 4-5 years), not a fan evolution. I've seen them in other games, and never seen one that was a positive experience.

[ThisIsDeutch]

So if someone wants to improve what Arcane Wonders is willing to do, why put them down for it? You're putting blind faith in a company, which you expect to continue supporting Mage Wars, even though they aren't doing anything to make things better.

No, I'm not. I have zero faith in AW, and MW is dead as an evolving concern. The state of playtesting, and lack of reaction to our feedback made me draw this inference over a year ago. There *might* be an LG2 to use all the current promos, bu other than that I don't expect to ever see another Arena product. None of this breaks NDA since none of this has been told to us - but I'm 95% confident in thge outcome.

But if that's the case then the best thing to happen to the product from my point of view is it to be frozen (which lets face it is what's happened for most of the last 4-5 years), not a fan evolution. I've seen them in other games, and never seen one that was a positive experience.

And so for those who decide to continue supporting the community-made project after it has been officially discontinued, they will unite and form a group that uses the same rules and the same custom fan-made content, similar to how Heroscape has been developing for the last couple of years- it makes for a healthy community that supports each other and releases new content.

You don't think any good will come of it? Fine, why not just stay out of it? If you don't want people to continue supporting a product then it is not your place to tell them what to do.

[Kelanen]

You don't think any good will come of it? Fine, why not just stay out of it? If you don't want people to continue supporting a product then it is not your place to tell them what to do.

Again - you misinterpret me. I want people to keep playing and supporting the core product, not a variant. It's nto my place to tell anyone what to do, but it's absolutely my right to voice my negative opinion as much as you to voice a positive one.