[Terror~of~the~seas]

Hello all - I was at EB Games the other day "hoping" to find a boxed copy of Enigma: Rising Tide - Special Edition, but apparently it has not been received yet by stores here in Canada (Northern Ontario, to be specific). I referred them to the EB Games website which listed it under "new releases" (http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/255351.asp), but according to the staff at EB whom I had the chance to talk to, it is "still" in transit to stores here in the "Soo" (Sault Ste. Marie - even though Silent Hunter III, released months later, has already arrived on shelves here).

Any word on whether this is true and, if not, where I might find a copy?

Thanks,

Eric

[EAST]

Thanks for the heads up. We'll be asking our Publisher in TORONTO about this.

[AdamWarren]

Hey East, could you explane a bit about the Special Edition? Is it any different than GOLD?

[EAST]

It is the GOLD edition, our often uncooperative publisher sometimes begins things on their own. The wanted to call it the Special Edition! Contract said no, they started to do it anyways, we got them to stop, they never corrected it.

[Terror~of~the~seas]

Thanks for the support... it is actually a relief to know that this is a publishing problem, although I suppose that this should have been obvious - it is still nice to receive some form of confirmation from the development team Ever since a tragic accident befell my copy of the original release (I "literally" sank it... long story!), I have been very anxious to find the GOLD release on shelves here in town - Enigma being perhaps the best naval combat-oriented game with a random patrol generator that will actually run on my PC (SHIII is, for the moment, way out of my league). Anyhow... here's just a few extra questions on the contents/future of the GOLD/"special" edition: 1.) Have there been any patches more recent than those in the retail GOLD edition that I should know about? 2.) Whenever multiplayer is (eventually) released, will those who own the original/SP game be able to install the MP elements as a sort of "add-on" (as opposed to having to install the MP elements as an entirely seperate, though no-doubt similar, program)?

Thanks,

Eric

[EAST]

Hi TOTS,

Mini update:

- We are working on MP - having to refactor much of our engine code for MP. MP will be a free upgrade to anyone with an original or GOLD copy of Enigma.

- There are some singleplayer competitions getting ready to kick off over at http://enigma.tidesofwar.net : player generated missions.

- We will be releasing a full add-on for Enigma (and GOLD) later this year that includes internet multiplayer (not MMOG), an entire new campaign set (dynamic, but still story driven). Some new ships including a US Battleship and possibly your first glimpse of land. It will also include many requested upgrades to Enigma.

- Enigma Chapter Two is in the works as is another Enigma world game.

--East

[Terror~of~the~seas]

Thanks for the update, East - I checked with EB again today and the manager their told me that the ERT GOLD release, at least at stores in Canada, was a "discontinued" item - hence I could not order it through the store (although it is still possible through ebgames.com). Are there any even "rough" estimates on a possible release date for the next in the Enigma series? I am just wondering whether it would be best to wait for the next, as I cannot seem to find ERT GOLD locally (and having things shipped tends to be a pain in the @&# - this being is a relatively isolated location). Thanks,

Eric

[EAST]

I can't give you a timeline for another week or so, but once we get there I'll do it. I'll also ask the publisher what happened!

If you own the original version, there is a free patch to the GOLD btw.

[Sonarman]

East Wrote

[EAST]

It looks like we will release an add-on for Chapter One (including GOLD) tentatively titled: "Sink The Hood". This will include some new ships including US Battleships and a few surprises. Land will probably not be in the Add-On, however LAN play will be. It will have a stand-alone server and be playable across the internet or on a LAN. Not sure how many players it will support, we are working that out. We are focusing on stable, smooth play for the multiplayer and will restrict the player count accordingly.

[Justin Prince]

Just out of curiosity, is that the massive multiplayer, or are you also creating a more traditional multiplayer as well?

By traditional, I mean a few guys just decide to play a mission, not like what you have planned for the massive multiplayer.

[EAST]

We'll be doing an official release soon on this. The multiplayer in it will be lan/internet - player hosted servers. Play cooperative, sub, surface, against each other (any of the 3 factions) - drive a tanker if you like...

[JconradH]

[EAST]

Hi Jeff,

If you had the Gigex version, then you received a free retail version. I personally sent them out. While you may feel cheated, I'm not really sure by what guidelines you are measuring it. Who knows, in your shoes I might feel the same way.

[JconradH]

East,

I disagree with your description of me. What I was telling you is you had support from both my friend and I very early on. We bought Enigma to help you get your dream going and we really were looking forward to playing Enigma MMOG. We were ready to sign up and for pay and play almost immediately when Enigma was announced.

I was dissappointed to hear of all the extra BS you went through with publishing and then the loss of an employee vital to your operation.

My feeling is if you need capital the best way to get it would be to ramp up the MMOG right away and try to get mutliple months or yearly subscriptions. To use the current Enigma enigine rather than developing Sink The Hood. This way you would satisfy your older customers and could use the revenue to continue to update the engine and release addons like Sink The Hood.

Unfortunately the financial support you can gain from me, my friend and many others like us would be with the subscriptions, updates and possibly Enigma Merchandise. I certainly can help out a little and alone it's not much, however if you get many like me we could help keep you going.

I understand how you might react since you have had to deal with all this extra BS (which none of your customers were responsible for), but just remember, we wanted to play (PAY) MMOG from the very beginning and I believe both my friend and I have a right to feel perterbed that MMOG will be pushed further back.

I will purchase Sink The Hood. I will try to support your company in the way that I can afford to, and I accept that MMOG will not be released anytime soon.


Regards,

Jeff Hunt