Grimoire delayed. For one final time?
Grimoire delayed. For one final time?
Game News - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sat 31 May 2014, 07:41:25
Tags: Cleveland Mark Blakemore; Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged ExemplarGrimoire has been delayed... again. Some call him a charlatan, others criticise him for being a long-running fraud (at least one person we know called him a Nazi this one time), while true-believers refer to him as a messiah - struggling bravely to complete the greatest RPG ever known.
Cleveland Mark Blakemore, Developer of Grimoire
Whatever your take on Cleveland Mark Blakemore is, there's no denying that Grimoire must be the longest in-development RPG in the entire history of the RPG industry. Started in around 1995, Grimoire was Cleve's personal take on the Wizardy series (a series which like many RPG series before it and since, kind of went to shit. You can read the full history of the series' developers, Sir-Tech - Cleve himself provides some input).
The game's system requirements reflect the by-gone era of the project's start date:
Grimoire has been in development for so long, it's game-play style not only went out of fashion, it's gone full circle and become retro. All the while apparently being "almost near completion", as Cleve was "just working on the last 1%".
Grimoire's development history is older than the Codex itself (we were only founded in 2002). But here's a brief glimpse into its history from our own archives:
It's no surprise then, to learn that the game has been delayed yet again. This time, Cleve posts:
After 19 years, will this really be the third and final IndieGoGo Campaign for Grimoire? Have we truly reached the last 30 days before the game's full release is upon us?
Hah! Yeah right.
Cleveland Mark Blakemore, Developer of Grimoire
Whatever your take on Cleveland Mark Blakemore is, there's no denying that Grimoire must be the longest in-development RPG in the entire history of the RPG industry. Started in around 1995, Grimoire was Cleve's personal take on the Wizardy series (a series which like many RPG series before it and since, kind of went to shit. You can read the full history of the series' developers, Sir-Tech - Cleve himself provides some input).
The game's system requirements reflect the by-gone era of the project's start date:
386SX Motherboard or better (Pentium 90 or better recommended)
DOS / Win 95 / NT / OS-2 / Macintosh PowerPC, 8 megs minimum, 16 megs recommended
VESA Compatible Video Card
Sound Card
Microsoft Mouse (A mouse? I think I've got one of those.)
30 megs Hard Drive Space
"Some computers may require Sci-Tech's Disk Doctor or the UniVBE drivers to assure VESA compatibility. A chipset specific mode will be available but it may not run on all cards out there. The default is VESA support, but the user will be able to configure it to run on direct video calls to the video card BIOS if his chipset is supported. This can result in speed and performance similar to Direct X or X-mode. Grimoire in chipset specific mode can attain frame rates of 24 fps on a 486. Pretty good for a pixel perfect SVGA game."
DOS / Win 95 / NT / OS-2 / Macintosh PowerPC, 8 megs minimum, 16 megs recommended
VESA Compatible Video Card
Sound Card
Microsoft Mouse (A mouse? I think I've got one of those.)
30 megs Hard Drive Space
"Some computers may require Sci-Tech's Disk Doctor or the UniVBE drivers to assure VESA compatibility. A chipset specific mode will be available but it may not run on all cards out there. The default is VESA support, but the user will be able to configure it to run on direct video calls to the video card BIOS if his chipset is supported. This can result in speed and performance similar to Direct X or X-mode. Grimoire in chipset specific mode can attain frame rates of 24 fps on a 486. Pretty good for a pixel perfect SVGA game."
Grimoire has been in development for so long, it's game-play style not only went out of fashion, it's gone full circle and become retro. All the while apparently being "almost near completion", as Cleve was "just working on the last 1%".
Grimoire's development history is older than the Codex itself (we were only founded in 2002). But here's a brief glimpse into its history from our own archives:
July, 2004: Already maligned as vapourware (before Duke Nukem Forever was even conceived), now defunct RPG site RPG Dot has a preview of Grimoire stating the game (which began development "a few years" after 1991) "is nearly finished" after "many stops, starts and re-starts".
September, 2004: Just a few months later, "With a few more months of scheduled testing and balancing before its release, the final product should please (and silence) all of those who said the game would never be released".
June, 2005: "world wide release of the game scheduled for October of THIS YEAR!!"
August, 2009: After years of silence, the game's website is updated from "Coming July 2009" to "Coming Fall 2009".
March, 2010: And then it was 31st March.
July, 2010: And then Fall again...
May, 2011: "I can actually finish this monster before this year is over."
October, 2012: Cleve finally realises that he should be asking for money. Despite raising $10k USD of its IndieGoGo campaigns entirely unrealistic $250,000 USD goal, we still fail to see the release of a complete game despite the campaign having, in capital letters:
October, 2012: "scheduled for released in May 2013".
February, 2013: We make another IndieGoGo campaign, raising another $6,000 (why stop when you're on to a winning formula).
April, 2013: "Remember at the stroke of midnight, May 31st 2013 if I do not have the pledges in transit I must commit hari-kiri in the most painful and disturbing public fashion".
January, 2014: "There will be a third campaign on Indiegogo", "The NEW DATE FOR RELEASE IS MAY 31st, 2014. Sorry we missed the first one but it was because we had to add extra special helpings of incline, win and excellence to make it worth the wait."
September, 2004: Just a few months later, "With a few more months of scheduled testing and balancing before its release, the final product should please (and silence) all of those who said the game would never be released".
June, 2005: "world wide release of the game scheduled for October of THIS YEAR!!"
August, 2009: After years of silence, the game's website is updated from "Coming July 2009" to "Coming Fall 2009".
March, 2010: And then it was 31st March.
July, 2010: And then Fall again...
May, 2011: "I can actually finish this monster before this year is over."
October, 2012: Cleve finally realises that he should be asking for money. Despite raising $10k USD of its IndieGoGo campaigns entirely unrealistic $250,000 USD goal, we still fail to see the release of a complete game despite the campaign having, in capital letters:
COMPLETION NOT SUBJECT TO FUNDING!! THIS GAME WILL SHIP IN MAY 2013 WITH OR WITHOUT ENHANCEMENT!! A PLEDGE HERE WILL BE FULFILLED. THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOT A FUNDING FOR COMPLETION, IT IS A FUNDING FOR ENHANCEMENT!!! COMPLETION IS GUARANTEED HERE! SEE VIDEO FOR DETAILS.
October, 2012: "scheduled for released in May 2013".
February, 2013: We make another IndieGoGo campaign, raising another $6,000 (why stop when you're on to a winning formula).
April, 2013: "Remember at the stroke of midnight, May 31st 2013 if I do not have the pledges in transit I must commit hari-kiri in the most painful and disturbing public fashion".
January, 2014: "There will be a third campaign on Indiegogo", "The NEW DATE FOR RELEASE IS MAY 31st, 2014. Sorry we missed the first one but it was because we had to add extra special helpings of incline, win and excellence to make it worth the wait."
It's no surprise then, to learn that the game has been delayed yet again. This time, Cleve posts:
Going to release the enhanced and properly debugged super demo shortly which reflects the completed state of the game and run an IndieGoGo campaign for 30 days while testing and implementing any remaining pledges. This is in response to popular demand by at least a hundred people complaining the campaign ended before they had a chance to pledge.
Mean what I say about this third campaign. You will always be able to buy the game digital download but the manual, hint book and map will only go to pledges. Forever. Once that door shuts at the end of the third campaign those materials will become mythical artifacts like Faberge Eggs and Holy Relics of the Cross. They will never be available anywhere else.
After the third campaign ends … the game will be released, first for download by all pledges on some provider and thereafter by anyone. The manual, hint guide, map and CD ROMs will ship a little while afterwards.
Mean what I say about this third campaign. You will always be able to buy the game digital download but the manual, hint book and map will only go to pledges. Forever. Once that door shuts at the end of the third campaign those materials will become mythical artifacts like Faberge Eggs and Holy Relics of the Cross. They will never be available anywhere else.
After the third campaign ends … the game will be released, first for download by all pledges on some provider and thereafter by anyone. The manual, hint guide, map and CD ROMs will ship a little while afterwards.
After 19 years, will this really be the third and final IndieGoGo Campaign for Grimoire? Have we truly reached the last 30 days before the game's full release is upon us?
Hah! Yeah right.
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