United fan sites achieve victory: Heroes V saved!
30 January 2006

SaveHeroes.org

Heroes V Has Been Saved

The producer of Heroes of Might and Magic V, Fabrice Cambounet, has announced today on the official forum that Ubisoft will delay the release of the game.
Ubisoft’s decision means that the development team will have more time to finalize the game, add features and remove bugs. The publisher will not repeat the errors made by 3DO a couple of years ago, but instead deliver a product that is on par with the other Ubisoft games that were released during the past few months. It also means that the voice of the community has been heard, thanks to over 2500 signatures and numerous mentions on gaming news sites. We wish to thank you for the tremendous support you have given us over the past few days. Your feedback about the controversial News Suppression Pact was also very important: it showed us that the community is mature, dedicated to its franchise and able to debate the choice of action that was chosen. We hope you understand that time was running out, that there was still a strong possibility to see Ubisoft confirm the March release date that is still showing on various Web sites, and that it was extremely important to make sure that the Might and Magic series didn’t get another unsuccessful game. Ubisoft also deserves our gratitude. They listened to our requests, understood the reasons behind our petition and committed themselves to creating a game worthy of the Heroes name.
As a consequence to today’s announcement, some pages of the SaveHeroes.org site, such as How Can I Help, will be removed. The News Suppression Pact is no longer in effect. The Heroes V coverage will be brought back on all community sites and you can expect to read more good news on their pages during the next few days. Again, we thank you for your patience and your support.

Fabrice Cambounet: "Hi everyone.

The last week was quite rough ! We had to reach a valid version for the open beta and make it available, and also prepare for the flood of feedback. We are now closing on 70.000 downloads of the version in less than a week, this is about twice as planned. So we encountered quite a lot of connection and server problems, which got added on top of the version bugs - sorry for that... We ran into a key shortage too, this is being solved.
Right after that we reached the top position on Gamespot, which is an honor and a recognition of the expectations put on Heroes 5.
And finally we've had a rising of the community! That was quite impressive to see, and the message from the fans was heard loud and clear - it couldnt be escaped really This was clearly useful and I'm extending a thanks to you.
We care about the project and the brand, we've been working for more than two years on the game now, and any feedback is valued. On this project the feedback from fans is especially important, as this is YOU who ultimately decide if a Heroes game is good or not.
The decision has now been taken to delay the release, in order to polish the game, and increase the quality as much as possible. We all need a great Heroes 5 to start the series over ! A new publishing date will be set soon.
On a personal level, I am quite proud to see the level of commitment from the community. It is a reward in itself to be working on a game that is being watched so carefully!"

UbiSoft: "Monday 30.01.06 Delay announcement

Ubisoft is making sure that the game meets the high standards that Might and Magic fans expect while thoroughly analysing the results of the beta testing. In order to guarantee a consistent level of quality for Heroes of Might and Magic V and lay the groundwork for future titles under the Might and Magic brand, Ubisoft has decided to release the game during Q2 of 2006 calendar year (Q1 2006/2007 fiscal year)."

Heroes V: News Suppression Pact
26 January 2006

SaveHeroes.org

Press Release

As of 2pm GMT today (Sunday 29th) administrators of the major Heroes of Might and Magic fan sites around the world have signed a News Suppression Pact in protest to a premature release of Heroes of Might and Magic 5.

The pact was signed by Age of Heroes (International), Archangel Castle (France), Behemoth's Lair (Poland), Castle Gobs (International), Celestial Heavens (International), Drachenwald (Germany), The Genie's Lamp (International), Guardian's Grove (International), Heroic Corner (Russia), La Torre de Marfil (Spain) and The Oracle League (International). All other HoMM websites are also invited to join this pact.

As representatives of the online HoMM Community, we, the pact members, strongly believe that Heroes of Might and Magic 5 will not be of sufficient standard and quality if the release is rushed for March 2006. As admirers of HoMM series and supporters of the current Heroes 5 potential, we will not tolerate a blow delivered by the release of an incomplete and unbalanced game.

As an action of protest, following this announcement, no news or updates will be posted on our web sites. Additionally, Heroes of Might and Magic 5 information will be removed from our web sites. We request that Ubisoft officially confirms that the release date of Heroes of Might and Magic 5 will be delayed past March 2006, for a period of time sufficient to develop a balanced and fully functional game. We do not regard the announcement made on Gamespot as true until Ubisoft issues official confirmation.

As an indication of support for our protest, the SaveHeroes.org Petition has been signed by over 1500 people in less than three days and received 30000 unique visitors. During the last week our web sites received more than 150000 visits.

We encourage all Heroes of Might and Magic fans to join our cause by signing the SaveHeroes.org Petition and to stop posting on the official Ubisoft forums and to use our forums instead.

Additionally, you can help our cause by inviting your friends to sign the petition, by e-mailing Ubisoft and by notifying the media and game retailers about this situation. For more ways to help, see SaveHeroes.org.

Fans petition UbiSoft not to rush Heroes of Might and Magic V
26 January 2006

SaveHeroes.org

Press Release

Heroes of Might and Magic Community Sites Launch SaveHeroes.org

Dedicated Fans and Players Want to Delay Game for Higher Quality Release

Worldwide, Jan. 26, 2006. A group of Heroes of Might and Magic community Websites today launched a collaborative effort to persuade Ubisoft executives to delay the launch of their highly anticipated title Heroes of Might and Magic 5. SaveHeroes.Org is a concerted community effort to further that cause.
This effort, and the reasons behind it, started largely because of the open beta test, which started on GameSpy on Monday, January 23rd. With Heroes of Might and Magic 4 having received poor sales in comparison to its predecessor, Heroes 5 is seen by most as a make or break game. If it fails, so will the entire Might and Magic franchise. If it succeeds, then the product line would gain the support it needs for a long term at Ubisoft.
With these facts in mind, community websites, including Celestial Heavens, The Oracle League, Age of Heroes, Heroes Community, The Genies Lamp, Guardians Grove, and many others started posting petitions and banners to "Save Heroes 5". Not long after, these same leaders gathered to try and organize a collaborative effort to attempt to show Ubisoft that releasing an unfinished game would not go over well at all.
After the rough start and continued issues of the Open Beta, and some investigation, these leaders realized that there was little time to act. Ubisoft's fiscal year ends on March 31, coinciding with the release date. Ubisoft was also the target of a takeover bid in December of 2004, something they are not likely to forget easily. Wanting to hit or exceed their yearly targets could be a reason for the March 31 release date.
However, such short-term plans are exactly what doomed Heroes 4, New World Computing and The 3DO Company. SaveHeroes.Org is now open to try and prevent such a thing from happening.

Might and Magic Tribute comes to Castle Gobs
1 February 2005

MMT News - Because of the long absence of Sir Felgar, the MMT team have chosen Ribannah as our new Project Lead. She will stay on as lead game designer as well, although some tasks will be delegated to other developers.
Ribannah: "Sir Felgar stopped posting several months ago, and although he appeared on the active user list many times, he offered no explanation for his silence. Attempts to contact him have failed. We can only hope that all is well with him in real life. The loss of Sir Felgar as project lead and developer is a heavy blow to the project. In addition, much of the work he has done is lost to us as well, since he did not share the source code of his programming. The production of Might and Magic Tribute continues nonetheless, and new developments will be announced shortly. As only Sir Felgar has administrative power at the old location, and we fear that the old forums may be discontinued at any time, we have moved the development of MMT to Castle Gobs. The website will be updated soon; an update that is long overdue."

Domain for Castle Gobs
10 August 2004

Castle Gobs - Ribannah says:

"Today, Castle Gobs gets its own domain here at castlegobs.nl. At the old location, the site will be discontinued.
With our own domain, we also open a new, ad-free forum page. The 'Trials of Nicolai' is being moved there from The Heroes Round Table at Celestial Heavens and will hopefully be resumed soon."

Might and Magic Tribute team opens webpages
8 February 2004

MMT Forums - Sir Felgar announces:

"After a long wait, the Might & Magic Tribute website has finally arrived!
First off we'd like to thank DaClassico for all his hard work designing and scripting the site. It's taken a long time and a lot of hard work to create the site we wanted to see, but we think it's been worth it in the end.
If you're a regular in these forums you'll recognise a lot of the content on the site that was previously posted in various topics, however we've got lots of new stuff to show you - screenshots, concept art, desktop wallpapers and a fantastic new music track by Oren.
If you're new to the Might & Magic Project then welcome, enjoy your visit and be sure to give us feedback about both the site and the project itself.
We plan to update the site regularly with new content and we've already got a number of things lined up to appear in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back regularly..."

To the MMT Website

Might and Magic Tribute public forums open
11 October 2003

TELP - Sir Felgar writes:

"Just to let everyone know that we are in the process of creating a website for the MMT project. In the meantime we have opened up the MMT public forums where you can find all the latest news for the project and post any questions, suggestions and feedback you may have.
We also have some new screenshots available, and a preview of some of the MMT music soundtrack to download. We look forward to hearing from you!"

To the MMT Forums

UbiSoft buys Heroes / Might and Magic
Thursday August 14, 2003, 6:45 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Some of the assets of bankrupt video game publisher 3DO Co. were sold at auction on Thursday, with Ubi Soft Entertainment and the U.S. arm of Namco Ltd. among the winning bidders.
Howard Gould, an attorney for British game developer Eutechnyx, said the assets of the game "Street Racing Syndicate," being developed by his client for 3DO, were sold to Namco Hometek for just over $1.5 million in a hearing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco.
"My client is very happy," Gould said.
He also said that the assets of the "Might and Magic" and "Heroes of Might and Magic" fantasy games were sold to Ubi Soft to $1.3 million.
Gould said no one made a bid to acquire all of the company's assets, which was an option available to bidders.
The disposition of the remaining assets was not immediately clear.
3DO filed for bankruptcy on May 28 after struggling with weak sales. The company frequently relied on its founder and chief executive, long-time industry leader Trip Hawkins, for funding to keep its operations going.
UbiSoft Lead Bidder
for Might and Magic & Heroes block
7 August 2003
 
3DO - UbiSoft has acquired the status of Lead Bidder for the Heroes of Might and Magic block (which includes the Might and Magic RPG series) for the upcoming auction. The list of Qualified Bidders (the competition) has not been published yet.
8 August, Reuters: "French video game publisher Ubi Soft Entertainment UBIP.PA has been designated the lead bidder for bankrupt game publisher 3DO Co.'s THDOQ.PK "Might and Magic" assets, according to papers posted on Friday.
The agreement with Ubi Soft, one of seven companies to qualify by Wednesday's deadline as bidders for 3DO's properties, was posted on 3DO's bankruptcy Web site and listed a purchase price of $1.3 million for the assets.
Under the terms of the sale procedures set by the Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, 3DO was required by Friday to post any lead bids on its Web site. Bidders were able to make offers on various game asset groups or on 3DO's assets as a whole.
The "Might and Magic" and "Heroes of Might and Magic" games have a long history on the PC, where they have been consistently popular with fans of fantasy games and other genres.
3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 28 and said it would seek to sell its assets. The bankruptcy auction is scheduled for Thursday.
According to the sales procedures, the initial overbid on the "Might and Magic" assets would have to be 4 percent higher than Ubi Soft's offer. Subsequent overbids after the initial one would have to increase in $25,000 increments."
NWC studio closes shop
18 July 2003
 
SOLVANG, USA - At the end of today, Jon van Caneghem closed the New World Computing studio in Solvang that had been part of the now bankrupt 3DO company. 3DO bougth NWC in 1996. They had paid the rent for the offices until this point.
Sir Felgar releases demo level
9 July 2003

TELP - Sir Felgar writes:

"Many months ago I posted in the tavern about the possibility of the fans getting together to produce a fan-made MM "tribute" game. At that time I'd started to code a demo that I hoped to release at some point.
Well, I never gave up, and eight months later I've decided to release what I've done so far.
Please note that this is a tech demo purely to show what the game engine is capable of at the moment. There is no game as such and there are many features missing. For example, there is no AI for any of the monsters or NPCs at the moment so they just stand there not moving. There is no combat, character development, inventory or spell casting yet.
However, you do get to explore the world with your party and complete some quests and although there is no real end to the demo, if you complete all the tasks for the Oracle you will receive a reward!
I've not really decided how (or if) to take this any further than a tech demo. After the months of work it's taken to get to this stage, I'm going to have a rest (and a beer!) for a few days and see what the reaction is.
The download (and a few screenshots) can be found at: MMT Demo Page.
Please see the ReadMe file on the site for more details.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Let me know what you think of the demo - good or bad, and let me know if you have any problems.

3DO hires Alliant Partners
to explore asset sale
Wed June 18, 2003, 07:38 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bankrupt video game publisher 3DO Co. THDOQ.PK on Wednesday said it had hired Alliant Partners to advise it as it prepares to sell off its assets or reorganize. Redwood City, California-based 3DO, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 28, said Alliant Chief Executive Jim Kochman would handle the evaluation.
3DO, founded by industry veteran Trip Hawkins, is best known for its extensive series of "Army Men" games and the "High Heat" baseball franchise.
Financial analysts have ascribed little value to 3DO's assets, though the company has received positive notices in particular for the in-development game "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
TELP's 1.3 patch for MM9 released
14 June 2003

Bones writes:

"Thanks to everyone for their patience. I had initially thought that I could turn out a quick patch in a month. Well, the game was much messier than I could have imagined. Fortunately, kkc came out with his patch and took the pressure off me. The game would have been long dead if not for his work. A toast to kkc. Cheers!"

3DO files for Chapter 11
Seeking to sell!
Wed May 28, 2003, 10:07 PM ET
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Video game publisher 3DO Co. THDO.O on Wednesday said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and would seek to sell either the company or its assets.
Redwood City, California-based 3DO, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the competitive games business and has relied on Chief Executive Trip Hawkins for recent funding, said it filed for bankruptcy protection in federal court in northern California.
In a statement, Hawkins said 3DO was pursuing either a sale of the company or its assets and expected to continue to operate as it worked through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
"This filing gives us more time to complete transactions in the interest of our stakeholders," Hawkins said in a statement. "While we hope that this news will generate additional new opportunities, at this point we are focused on pursuing either the sale of the entire company or the sale of its assets."
The company had said two weeks ago it was exploring its options, including a merger or selling publishing rights to its games in progress, after a sales drop in the March quarter left it unable to fully tap its credit facility.
On May 8, in documents filed with securities regulators, 3DO said it had warned its staff of mass layoffs that were expected to be conducted in July.
In a research note in February assessing the state of the industry and the financial prospects of the publicly traded game companies, Banc of America Securities analyst Gary Cooper said 3DO had no value as an acquisition target.
The company, which has been criticized in the gaming press for its multiple "Army Men" games, has drawn attention for the game "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," a violent adventure title. It has also been praised for its "High Heat" baseball game franchise.
Shares in 3DO closed up 9 cents at $1.33 on the Nasdaq before the bankruptcy filing was announced. The company avoided being delisted from the Nasdaq last year by conducting a one-for-eight reverse split of its stock.
Hawkins, who founded 3DO in the early 1990s, became an industry legend for starting Electronic Arts Inc. ERTS.O , now the world's largest independent games publisher, in the 1980s.
In December, Hawkins himself agreed to provide the company a bridge loan of up to $10 million.
The executive, educated at Harvard and with a work background at Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O , is well-known in the industry for his passion and high-profile projects.
In the book "Game Over," author David Sheff recounts the tale of a 1989 meeting at EA during which, under pressure from financial advisers, Hawkins removed his shoe and began pounding it on the table, in the style of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
However, 3DO was started not as a games company, but rather as a game-console designer. It created the specifications and underlying technologies and then licensed them to companies like Panasonic and Goldstar to be turned into multimedia entertainment devices.
The consoles were hurt by high prices and a limited lineup of titles compared to rival platforms at the time. 3DO eventually exited the console business and turned strictly to game software.