That the Obsidian Developer Chat was cancelled (http://www.sorcerers.net/index.php#001801) and didn't take place on Wednesday doesn't mean there was no chatting whatsoever. Here are some juicy bits of the chat log (http://www.exit.szm.com/chatlog.txt) we've received from an anonymous source. First of all, it looks like there aren't going to be any more patches or premium modules for NWN1, no matter how much the community is looking forward to each update. The Live Team seems to have been disbanded and the Dragonlance Adventures (DLA) team let go. Here are some of their quotes from the chat:

May 26 02:55:16 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> Atari called to tell BioWare they were stopping the premium mod program and not authorizing any further patches for NWN1
May 26 02:55:22 <Adam_Miller> Ouch.
May 26 02:55:23 * Cygnata points to Lisa. Is.
May 26 02:55:24 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> They did not want any talk of free horses at E3
May 26 02:55:25 <Lord_Niah> Yikes!
May 26 02:55:33 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> NWN1 is dead. Atari killed it.
May 26 02:55:35 <Pal_SoC_WC> lol
May 26 02:55:37 <Cygnata> SW: WHY?
May 26 02:55:42 <[DLA]Lisa> the live team was disbanded

If you're asking yourself "why", here's a follow up, casting some light on Atari's current situation:

May 26 02:55:52 <pentagruel> I thought they would
May 26 02:55:57 <Cygnata> Why?
May 26 02:55:58 <[CEP|1oRP]TheExcimer500> I had a feeling they'd do that. Can't have competition...
May 26 02:56:04 <[DLA]Lisa> all cause our stuff was too good :(
May 26 02:56:05 <Pal_SoC_WC> Yep
May 26 02:56:07 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> Atari is near insolvency and is deperate that NWN2 succeed. They don't give a rat's ass about DLA horses
May 26 02:56:15 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> they do care very much - however - about BioWare horses
May 26 02:56:17 <[DLA]Amala> They want full focus on NWN2
May 26 02:56:26 <Lord_Niah> NWN2 would still succeed even with NWN1 around
May 26 02:56:28 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> that would make NWN2 about what it doesn't have - as opposed ot what it DOES have
May 26 02:56:34 <pentagruel> same reason microsoft tries to kill old versions of windows
May 26 02:56:35 <Lord_Niah> Lots of casual gamers would buy it
May 26 02:56:36 <[DLA]Lisa> you would think
May 26 02:56:37 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> and they did not want that spin for the game that is going to save theur company
May 26 02:56:41 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> so they killed it

And here's more about the horses cut out:

May 26 03:05:05 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> having to cut horses hurt the spin on the product
May 26 03:05:07 <[DLA]Lisa> for us too
May 26 03:05:14 <[DLA]Lisa> at first we couldn't believe it
May 26 03:05:15 <sidefx> So no chance of 1.68 or anything like that?
May 26 03:05:26 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> to have that underscored by BioWare releasing fully rideable horses (and they really are gorgeous)
May 26 03:05:29 <[DLA]Lisa> we thought it was something else
May 26 03:05:30 <[Fr]Nord> Someday.. you guys will get something out off all this
May 26 03:05:32 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> would just not help them
May 26 03:05:32 <[DLA]Lisa> then found out
May 26 03:05:44 <[DLA]Lisa> that they targeted us cause of our horses

However, BioWare still has the provisions to patch the game and and it will also continue to sell the modules released so far into Digital Distribution, according to the further parts of the log:

May 26 02:57:06 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> no licesee approval - no patch
May 26 02:57:14 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> but BioWare has provisions to patch the game anyways
May 26 02:57:17 <[CEP|1oRP]TheExcimer500> The license would fall back to Infogrames, right?
May 26 02:57:19 <[DLA]Steel_Wind> we'll see what they will do

There's much, much more that we aren't posting because of spatial limitations, so make sure you read through the log on your own.

UPDATE:

Derek French, BioWare's Technical Producer has clarified (http://nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=482695&forum=42) BioWare's position on the disbandment of the Live Team in all this a bit more:

Some clarification. It never was the NWN Live Team. It has always been the BioWare Live Team. We have worked on NWN, both expansions, all the updates, helped with the BioWare Community Site, external license parties, KotOR PC and now Jade PC, and Dragon Age in the future. Our size and staffing has always fluctuated with the work load. Me and my programmers have about 3 years of work lined up in front of us. http://nwn.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Also, Atari has not been involved in any of the patches for NWN in the last year or so, except for approving new content additions.

There will be a 1.68 update for NWN as there is a significant bug in 1.67 that exists, but thankfully has a workaround. 1.68 will be the last update for NWN and we have been saying that for a while now.

In short - one more patch, and it's all over for NWN1.

[ May 27, 2006, 16:25: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

It's not terribly surprising, truthfully, that this is happening. The fact that Bioware has continued support for NWN 1 for nearly five years is rather unprecedented in the gaming industry...at least on the high level they have been supporting it. Patching games is normal for long hauls but adding content and continuing to develop material for the game is pretty unusual. Still, it's obvious that Atari is in deep doo doo and they are betting the farm on NWN 2. It is the only PC game that they are releasing for the rest of 2006 so it's fairly obvious that they are counting heavily on huge sales of NWN 2 to "save" the company from financial ruin.

As you said on your main page, however, this is unconfirmed at this point though the word of the DLA folks is a fair indicator of its veracity. I would like some commentary from Atari regarding this one.

This thread (http://nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=482695&forum=42) has some more insight on the issue.

I know, Taza! I started it. :p Salinea is the handle I use only at Bioware. :)

It does make sense for Atari, though the shady way that it's been done in is probably going to cause some negative feelings in the community again. Not that there's really any way that this could have been done in that wouldn't, but keeping it hush-hush and hoping that the word doesn't come out is the dumbest way possible. Things like these always come out. And it's always worse than if it had been done openly.

I also have a feeling that Atari felt threatened by the digital distribution of content that BioWare has started to use regularly. Instead of making at least one more expansion (all the modules released officially thus far could amount to closer to 2), they've been selling them past Atari... and if there's anything that big publishers hate with a vengeance is to see the game developers making money by bypassing them (even if not completely in this case, since Atari still owns all the licences).

There's a great deal of tension between the traditional way of publishing content and the direct way that more and more game developers want to take at least to some extent... and given Atari's financial situation, seeing BioWare make money that they could be (AND threatening NWN2 at the same time)... well, you can see why they'd start fighting back hard.

I have appended the original news post with some additional information.

I think that Steel_Wind and all of the DLA folks have every right to feel slighted and ticked off. They have been very poorly treated and, truthfully, if anyone at Atari had a soul, it should hurt about now for the shameless way this situation was handled.

That said, Atari is a business, albeit a poorly run one, and sometimes business is mercenary...hell, it's ALWAYS mercenary in the wide world of game production. They made what they think is a sound business decision....one that most of us see as just the opposite.

Why not have waited until all the projects were completed and released with the statement, "Hey guys, when you're finished with "project X", your work with us is done and best of luck to you in the future" rather than just nailing the virtual doors shut? I don't suppose we'll ever know.

There's no question that Atari is in very hot financial water and perhaps this whole mess is the result of a desperate attempt to make quick dollars. What it probably has accomplished much more effectively is the alienation of perhaps a small but VERY vocal group of people.

For me, I will not hesitate to buy NWN 2 when it comes out in September. It, IMO, does not serve any useful purpose to boycott the game to "hurt" Atari. The only guys who would get the shaft by my withholding $$$ are the guys at Obsidian. I don't want to see -another- group, especially this one, hurt where it counts the way DLA was.

Yeah, they could at least have had the gut to spell things out and the decency to keep it civil. What Atari lacks is customer care and class... generally, it seems to be particularly deficient in the realm of external relations.

As for NWN2, I just fear like Steel_Wind that they will release it rushed and buggy and patches won't be coming. Remember the fate of IWD2 patch 2?

If I were DLA, I wouldn't work with Atari anymore, no matter what, without an apology coming first. Perhaps with Obsidian but still...

I've written a small op-ed piece on this...note OPINION EDITORIAL! :p You can read it at NWN 2 Warcry (http://nwn2.warcry.com/#54542).

Posted. ;)

HI :)

As I'm sorry as the next chap to hear about Ataris (and hereby Obsidian's) trouble financially, it does not come as a very big surprise to me.

When Infogrames and Atari fusioned and the D&D License went to Infogrames/Atari, I suscpected it could well end this way. Why ? Because, IMHO, infogrames and atari today are more it in for the money than in it (the gaming industri) in order to make decent games.

When, and if a company (any company, not just a game company) needs to ship a title at a precise date in order to not go chapter 11 - then something is very wrong. The same can be said for the fact that a company fusions with other companies or lays off loads a peoole in order to get black number on the bottom line. [black numbers meaning a profit].

Of course, I'm not blind to the fact that companies, including, gaming companies, shold make money. But the reason (or why) they has to make money, just shouldn't be for the sake of making money - the main reason, should be, IMHO, that the company wants to make good games (or rpgs) for the gaming comminuty.

And you what: People are not (that) stupid: They can easily see through all the hype, all the commercialism, all the xx and yy that a game company uses to sell their product (game). And if a game isn't up to their expectations or is too easy or isn't good enough
in playablity - people simply won't buy the product.

And this the game companies simply have to realize - people play computergames not to fill the gamecompanys hunger for money - but simply because they ave fun playing them.
And it brings them hope, comfort, joy and they are feeling something when they play i.e. rpgs. They want to suffer with ther main character, feel saddened as the PC does when a
a comrade dies in combat, and they want, at least in their fantasy, to know, that they have helped this world to be a better place - by doing the quests in the game, both the main quest and the side side quests. [I mean, you feel good when you have found a way to release prisoners from slavery etc. etc].

This is want I want to see in a good (rpg) game. And ridable horses, compas, fast travel,
etc. etc. aren't something's that bothering me - if they aren't in the game.

What I care about is the gameplay, the main quests and the side quests beeing welll done and well written - and maybe not something you haven't seen so far.

And just this is what, Bioware, DLA, and Obsidian does.

bye

You'd think that game publishers would have to make sure to publish consistently good games, not rush the developers into releasing half-finished or buggy products and not rely on licences to drive the momentum.

But then you only need to look at EA and see that, in fact, all of the above works just fine for them. Atari's only problem is that they're not as good at this game as EA is.