Cryptic: we must improve for Neverwinter

By Oli Welsh Published 24 August, 2010

Boss admits STO, Champions lacked polish.

Cryptic Studios boss Jack Emmert has admitted the company needs to "dramatically" improve the quality of its output for its new multiplayer RPG, Neverwinter, announced yesterday.

In a frank interview with Massively (via VG247), Emmert admitted that "nothing was polished" in the developer's last two MMOs - Champions Online and Star Trek Online - and that they contained "hundreds of hours of mediocre content".

"From our point of view, we just had to take a look at ourselves and kind of change the way we were doing things... we knew that Neverwinter had to be the highest possible quality, and we had to improve, dramatically, everything that we did," Emmert said.

"The best way to do that was to sort of change the style of gameplay so that the focus wasn't on hundreds of hours of mediocre (some would say even worse than mediocre) content, but instead create a rich story-driven multiplayer game."

Unlike Cryptic's last two games, Neverwinter won't aim for the scope of a full-blown MMO, but instead be a more "focused" multiplayer game for small groups, similar perhaps to Phantasy Star Online or Guild Wars.

"Coming into the launch of STO and Champions, I made sure we had something for everyone. Here was the problem. By following that philosophy, nothing was polished. We ended up having lots of half-done features in some quarters," Emmert said.

Emmert admitted that Cryptic had become known for its efficiency and speed rather than the quality of its games, and said he wanted to change that with Neverwinter.

"Super-fast doesn't mean super-good. And that's what the reviews said, that's what the players said. The type of game that we made before World of Warcraft... City of Heroes was great for its day, but we can't just keep repeating the same methodology over and over - we've got to make stuff that's great."

Champions Online and Star Trek Online both scored 6/10 on Eurogamer.

Cryptic's chief creative officer Bill Roper, formerly of Flagship and Blizzard North, left the studio earlier this month. His departure followed that of Star Trek Online executive producer Craig Zinkievich in July.

Neverwinter will be released in late 2011 for PC, and is based on a new book trilogy by fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, as well as the original Neverwinter Nights games by BioWare and Obsidian and, of course, the Dungeons & Dragons table-top role-playing games.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cianchristopher #1 2 years ago

    You're a shit developer! Now fuck off and go into administration!

  • McBradders #2 2 years ago

    They're actually a pretty good developer, but seem to be caught in a cycle of launching product before its finished. CoH, STO and Champions all launched 3/4 finished.

  • Spekingur #3 2 years ago

    Yeah, cianchristopher. Cryptic should run a country, they would do that very well, wouldn't they?

  • cw- #4 2 years ago

    You're a shit developer! Now fuck off and go into administration!

    Although I don't rate Cryptic as a studio, everything I've tried that they've made has been very very 'meh' and imo, not a good game (for me at least).

    But they're not a shit dev and wishing them to go into administration? Just a tad harsh... if you don't like them, simply vote with your wallet ... do ... not ... buy ... their ... products.

  • riceNpea #5 2 years ago

    Cryptic must improve?

    Jordan curing cancer is more likely.

  • mcreddie #6 2 years ago

    Almost like washing powder adverts:

    "Our last product was shit, but this new one changes all that."
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/10 @ 12:01

  • iamian #7 2 years ago

    While the honesty in the article can be seen as a good thing, it doesn't really promote their current games in the best light - basically telling everyone that was thinking about giving them a go that actually, the games are bit shit. Someones gonna get a PR bollocking later!

  • Antaios #8 2 years ago

    Cryptic should keep their hands off of much loved franchises. STO was severely flawed at best and I'd hate to see what they would do to the Neverwinter-series.

    Also: put your hard work into your existing games instead of cramming out an MMO per year. STO in particular is a virtual goldmine if handled well, so go and fix that.
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/10 @ 12:19

  • SClaw #9 2 years ago

    Cryptic are lazy. CO and STO both could have been great games... but instead they are very not great games. Not terrible games but certainly not that good either. And neither one shows any sign of being properly polished up yet.

    The way this guy talks about them is not a good thing. It sounds very much like he wants to draw a line under those mistakes and move on to the next big thing. Which inspires little confidence.

  • McBradders #10 2 years ago

    They do eventually fix them, just usually years and dozens of patches after the fact. Which is pretty unacceptable given the space they are competiing in. Unfortunately these final pieces of the puzzle usually break the stuff everyone had grown accustomed to and liked and thus the cycle begins anew XD

  • riceNpea #11 2 years ago

    " While the honesty in the article can be seen as a good thing, it doesn't really promote their current games in the best light - basically telling everyone that was thinking about giving them a go that actually, the games are bit shit. Someones gonna get a PR bollocking later! "


    telling the truth is the worst thing you can do when promoting...that's how i've ended up with 6 faulty XBOXs

  • Eraysor #12 2 years ago

    He's obviously given up on STO and Champions ever being good; way to frighten off any future customers!

  • darkmorgado #13 2 years ago

    So they admit that they just push their games out as fast as possible with no regard to quality.
    They say they want to change that, and announce Neverwinter.

    And then Neverwinter will be released in late 2011

    Oh dear, they've sort of missed their own point, haven't they?

  • node #14 2 years ago

    Why is it that developers are so keen to hold their hands up and go "We did something shit, sorry!" as if they'll get brownie points.

    It's not like it'll make us trust them any more next time, they just look stupid.

  • Shikasama #15 2 years ago

    He must have seen the comments thread in the last article.

    And I've heard all of this before in the Champions Online beta. Sorry jack but you need to earn trust before you get it.

  • butler` #16 2 years ago

    At least they're headed in the right strategic direction.

    Don't fuck with Blizzard: start playing around with ARPGs with MMO elements (GWs, and perhaps most notably HG:L, Mr Roper...)
    Focus on quality over quantity

  • Xensor #17 2 years ago

    @mecreddie

    Almost like Apple adverts:

    "Our last product was shit, but this new one changes all that."

    fixed :)

    I kid, i kid! I like Apple.... especially apple crumble with custard, nom nom :)

  • SleepyMagpie #18 2 years ago

    Less talk, more do.

  • Monkey_Puncher #19 2 years ago

    I feel sorry for the people who forked out for life time subscriptions to Star Trek online. For the dev to come out and say they're rubbish, doesn't really bode well for the future.

  • McBradders #20 2 years ago

    STO's biggest crime is the fact that 90% of it is better played solo :/

  • Rack #21 2 years ago

    Cryptic are a good developer forced into a poisonous development cycle. Champions is a very good launch ready MMO now but it was pushed out way too soon and given far too little resources. If instead of doing 3 MMOs they focussed on 1 they are entirely capable of doing a tier 1 title, but too little good content is not much better than enough mediocre content for an MMO. Maybe if they went F2P they could do well on these restrictions.

  • dirtysteve #22 2 years ago

    So, it's a big screw you to anyone still playing their mmo products, but we're supposed to believe they won't do the same on NWN?

  • President_Weasel #23 2 years ago

    Seriously, they think people wil be willing to give them another chance? STO was their "another chance"; Champions Online was a poorly-supported, unfinished cash-in job (but, hey, let's be fair, the character creator was great!) , but there were still plenty of optimists willing to sign up to STO. From all the reports I've had it's a poorly-supported, unfinished, nigh-content-free cash-in job (but hey, the character creator is meant to be pretty decent!).
    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool some of the more optimistic MMO players twice? Actually, kudos to them for not being a bitter old cynic like I am.

    Bring out a third "MMO" that's more than likely a thin skin of procedurally generated "content" with a half-decent character creator, and little if any incentive to group up and form guilds, skimping on the test and balancing time and leaving out half the stuff that should be in there for launch?
    Get fucked, Cryptic.

  • MaxiSleep #24 2 years ago

    Bought champions online. Wont be buying anthing else.

  • iokthemonkey #25 2 years ago

    I like CO and still play it. But comments like this aren't going to do it any good. What they need to do is admit where they got it wrong and then assign a load of staff to actually FIX what's wrong, not just go, ''oops, sorry! But hey, we'll get it right in OUR NEXT GAME!''

    How about getting it right with the games that are already out there?

  • sneetch #26 2 years ago

    Well, I haven't played any of their MMOs so all this does is make me more wary of their Neverwinter game. I'm not sure they've done themselves any favours here.

  • Gylfi #27 2 years ago

    Stop making standardized MMOs!

    Every MMO has to be unique!

  • darc #28 2 years ago

    "...but instead create a rich story-driven multiplayer game."

    OK so far so good..

    "Unlike Cryptic's last two games, Neverwinter won't aim for the scope of a full-blown MMO, but instead be a more 'focused' multiplayer game for small groups, similar perhaps to Phantasy Star Online or Guild Wars."

    Hmm... perhaps not the best examples, and ironically, wouldn't either of the preceding NWN's provide better examples? Are we maybe over-thinking this?

  • Scimarad #29 2 years ago

    I'd happily play both STO and Champions if it didn't involve a monthly fee. I wouldn't rate them as terrible games but at the same time I wouldn't pay constantly to play them. Also, STO could look very pretty at times, especially in some of the space bits.

    And they both had fantastic character creator/editors which is something I very much enjoy messing around with. Unfortunately I don't think they're going to have quite as much scope in their new game considering how dull most of D&Ds playable races are.

    What they really need to work on is the actual quests and stories. The same randomly generated crap is not really going to work in NWN...

  • Amblin #30 2 years ago

    If you believe this latest round of PR spin then you get what you deserve. CO = rushed, imcomplete, unbalanced. STO = CO in space.

    NWN will not be polished, nor will it be good. NWN players have been spoilt and that was due to some decent modding tools (restricted but still better than most) and an amazing community. Bioware built that community though 1st rate communication and diligent support for their games.

    Cryptic on the other hand...well all I will say is this. They have consistantly misled or lied to the playerbase. What makes you think this is going to change now? They are the Stock-Aiken & Waterman of the mmo biz and the only target they are interested in is the release date and payment. This will not equate to a good game folks. Sorry but it's the truth and it has to be said.

  • dirtysteve #31 2 years ago

    @Gylfi - when was the last time you actually saw a truly unique mmo? They're not the new darling's of the industry anymore, we're long past the stage where there should be a mmo for everyone.
    I should point out that I bought STO and CO,neither of which I played for more than the initial 30 days, i don't really need a third bite.

  • darc #32 2 years ago

    It concerns me that MMO's keep coming up in these threads at all. That was kind of the point of my last comment, actually - that even Jack Emmert seems to be a little bit confused between the design possibilities of a co-op RPG and a full blown MMORPG (based on the examples he cites.) Out of the box, the structure of NWN1 and 2 skewed closer to single player RPG's that happened to support cooperative play. (And that's a good thing.)
    Edited by 1 at 24/08/10 @ 18:32

  • dagas #33 2 years ago

    Why not improve STO instead? Only way to get quality is to focus on one game and not put out an MMO every year.

  • WinterSnowblind #34 2 years ago

    @Iamiam
    This certainly shows they perhaps don't think much of STO, but I think everyone who was going to buy that game already has, it has quite limited appeal. I also think they've come out and said this because almost everything said about this new NWN game has been overwhelmingly negative, due to Cryptic being attached as the developer.

    I admit to being among those people. I was a big fan of the first two NWN games, despite their flaws and I do not see Cryptic doing the series any justice. Especially as they have already slapped an MMO tag onto it, most likely to charge a subscription despite the other NWN games being very multiplayer based anyway.

    I'll give the game a chance when it's out, but this press release does nothing to reassure me. Champions and STO lacked far more than just 'polish'.

  • nuanimal #35 2 years ago

    For a minute there I read the tag line as refering to Polish people?

  • darc #36 1 year ago

    Negged for waaa? :/