Company News Radon Labs file for insolvency

[Fez]

Shame about Drakensang 2 not getting a chance in the English language markets.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

I had read that Drakensang 2 was getting a fan translation, what about that?

 

[Brother None]

Damn, and I was waiting for English version of Drakensang 2, what a let down.

Why would Radon Labs going bankrupt mean there will no longer be an English version? That's up to the publisher, local (dtp) or international (THQ for NA last time), and really has little to nothing to do with the developing house.

 

[mondblut]

I guess they failed to procure financing for next title? That's how most studios go down. Few of them ever make money of their own from sales, they are sitting on a "next budget needle".

 

[aries202]

As I understand it, German (as well as Danish) laws require you to file for bankruptcy if you know you can't make ends meet financially in the near future e.g. you can't foot the bills i.e. you simply can't pay your bills.

In Danish low, you go into what is know as 'betalings-standsning' - a form of bankruptcy where you stop payments while you try to re-organize your shop, e.g. your firm. You then have some tme to try to re-finance your firm e.g. to get mor money.

Regarding the localizations of the game, from German into say English or French; publishers normally do this and make this happen. Or you can learn German...by playing Drakensang 1 and 2.

As for why Drakesang 2 didn't sell that well or in the same amount of , I'll blame the financial crisis. Back in 2008? when DraSa1 came out, many more peope had surplus money to buy a new game from a fairly new developer. Today, people go after what they know e.g. games from EA, BIoware, Koch Media and other such (big) companies.

An Radon Labs might well be an independent studio; they'll still ned financial backing, though. And al indie studios are on a 'next budget string'; such was the demise of the studio behind Titan Quest tells the same story.

And this was probably one of the reasons why Bioware those three years ago, decided to sell (out) to EA; they know from where the money to their next project(s) will come....and that's from EA...

 

[hoochimama]

Why would Radon Labs going bankrupt mean there will no longer be an English version? That's up to the publisher, local (dtp) or international (THQ for NA last time), and really has little to nothing to do with the developing house.

Publishers are less likely to fund anything that has the stink of death to it.

I'm hoping for a decent fan text-translation of drakensang 2.

 

[Brother None]

Publishers are less likely to fund anything that has the stink of death to it.

That'd be relevant if the game bombed, or if Drakensang 1 didn't do too well in English-speaking countries. Neither of those is really mentioned here.

 

[hoochimama]

What makes you say it didn't bomb as far as the publishers are concerned?

It sold less than drakensang 1 despite better reviews and failed to secure funding for a sequel leading to radon labs' bankrupcy. That's not a success.

Would it be wrong of the publishers to consider that since drakensang 2 sold less than drakensang 1 the same might happen with the translated version?

Radon labs' bankrupcy is relevant to drakensang 2 getting translated, if drakensang 3 was still underway the publishers would be more interested in investing in the brand by translating drakensang 2 as that could generate a larger fanbase and buzz for drakensang 3. With the sequel halted there's no long-term profit, just what they'd get from translating drakensang 2.

And keep in mind unlike drakensang 1, drakensang 2 has fully voiced dialog. The translation would be more expensive and could potentially sell even less..

 

[Brother None]

What makes you say it didn't bomb as far as the publishers are concerned?

I didn't say that. Did it?

 

[Castanova]

More evidence that you don't make money as a developer in the games market except in very specific cases.

 

[Spectacle]

Maybe if they hadn't wasted money on full voice acting they would still be in business.

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

How's the voice acting in river of time? Appealing to the ears of a non-german speaker?

It's kind of hard to tell what it sounds like to someone who doesn't understand spoken German. Most of it is surprisingly decent, although you have to keep in mind that the setting is distinctly over-the-top, occasionally bordering on a humorous fairy tale (what Brother None called "whimsical" in his review) and this is reflected in the voice acting as well. Hardly everyone's cup of tea, but not too irritating if you're in the mood for it, apart from the odd high-pitched "young girl" impersonation and exaggerated lisp. Plus, certain loops of ambient conversation and merchant cries tend to be played back too frequently.

 

[someone else]

I blame the english pirates.

 

[Shannow]

That usually happens when you make crappy games.

http://www.bethsoft.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games
-2000 Kodex Kool Kredits

And keep in mind unlike drakensang 1, drakensang 2 has fully voiced dialog. The translation would be more expensive and could potentially sell even less..

Only, nobody forces you to voice the dialogue in the translation. Beyond Divinity was one of the first games to be fully voiced and had that as a major selling point only to be completely un-voiced in the German translation.

 

[Fez]

The voice acting in Beyond Divinity was pretty bad though. I can remember they redid a chunk of it after the demo feedback.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Swansong for Drakensang, how does that sound?

[personally I don't give a damn for DS or if there is a DS2]

 

[Shannow]

The voice acting in Beyond Divinity was pretty bad though. I can remember they redid a chunk of it after the demo feedback.

Yep, the fans didn't like the Death Knight's voice. And he was re-done. The German customers were left with a game that felt strangely empty due to lack of VOs.
Apart from X-Com: Enforcer, Beyond Divinity remains my worst purchase (shortly before KotOR). Pirates might be killing the industry, but the industry made me a pirate.

 

[Morkar Left]

I assume that the publisher dtp has not enough money to finance Drakensang 3 or the sales were really bad. The game is already available for 34 €. The CE for 40 € (should arrive me tomorrow).

 

[made]

Shame. AFDZ was an improvement over Drakensang; part 3 could have been an all-around good game if they had hired real writers in place of those 6th graders. Now we will never know.

 

[1eyedking]

That usually happens when you make crappy games.

http://www.bethsoft.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games
-2000 Kodex Kool Kredits

Troika games not crappy?

Arcanum: boring, unfinished, combat & dungeon design utterly destroy it with no chance of redemption; character models not having the same detail as the background means they feel like they float around (terribad art direction decision). A pity since the general idea of the game was interesting. 5/10

ToEE: unfinished. Good combat system adaption, though a pity since D&D combat rules are boring and utter crap. Thus, being bad the only thing it does good, game sucks massive multiheaded dicks since everything else is subpar (voices, setting, dungeons, NPCs, sounds & music are all very bad). The worst they made. 2/10

Vampire - Bloodlines: terrible combat, terrible art direction (doesn't get nowhere near the punk/decadent feeling Vampire: The Masquerade shoots off), linear, cliche, idiotic end-game. Some quests & characters were good, but overall it was incredibly weak and felt horribly unfinished. 4/10

 

[Gragt]

1eyedking: 1/10

 

[Xor]

 

[Shannow]

That usually happens when you make crappy games.

http://www.bethsoft.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games
-2000 Kodex Kool Kredits

Troika games not crappy?
...

Arcanum: 2/10
ToEE: 6/10
VtM: Bloodlines: 6/10

Only one crappy game...
But all that doesn't have anything to do with what I wrote before.
But since you asked so nicely I'll file you under "considers Beth-games to be non-crappy; possibly played through and liked Oblivion".

Damn, all this constant paperwork.

 

[circ]

ToEE: unfinished. Good combat system adaption, though a pity since D&D combat rules are boring and utter crap. Thus, being bad the only thing it does good, game sucks massive multiheaded dicks since everything else is subpar (voices, setting, dungeons, NPCs, sounds & music are all very bad). The worst they made. 2/10

I'll give you shitty VO and NPC's, even worse than banal shit from BW (except NPC's), but shitty sound and music? No motherfucking way homo.