Gearbox Software (Borderlands, Brothers in Arms, Duke Nukem, etc.)

[Dr. Insomniac]

Jhonen's review.

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Jhonen's review.

Brilliant!

[Foggle]

The plot thickens. This was supposedly written by a current Gearbox dev, but it's from Reddit, so take it with a grain of salt. It seems very believable to me, though. And no, I'm not linking to Reddit.

First off, due to me breaking NDA, I can't provide any proof that I'm not just talking out of my ass. But I figure you'd be interested in hearing what I have to say regardless. I've been on the project for around a year and a half, so some of the following are things I've heard from more senior guys.

Pecan (the internal codename for ACM) has a pretty long history. SEGA, GBX and 20th Century FOX came to an agreement to produce an Aliens game around 6 years ago, after which SEGA almost immediately announced it, long before Pecan had even started production. The game has been in active development in the past, only to be shelved in favor of another project (Borderlands, Duke, etc), and each time it was resumed it would undergo a major content overhaul.

SEGA, naturally, wasn't super pleased about the delays, but GBX got away with it for a long time and the contract between SEGA and GBX kept getting augmented to push the projected release further and further back. The last time it was resumed, GBX outsourced a good portion of the game to outside companies. Initially, the plan was for TimeGate to take the majority of campaign, GBX would take MP, Demiurge and Nerve would handle DLC and various other focused tasks. This decision was made mostly so that most of the developers at GBX could continue working on Borderlands 2, while a small group of LDs, coders and designers dealt with Pecan.

Somehow the schedules for Pecan and Borderlands 2 managed to line up and GBX realized that there was no ******* way they could cert and ship two titles at the same time. Additionally, campaign (which was being developed by TimeGate) was extremely far behind, even as Pecan's Beta deadline got closer and closer. In April or May (can't remember which), Pecan was supposed to hit beta, but GBX instead came to an agreement with SEGA that they would push the release date back one more time, buying GBX around 9 mos extension.

About 5 of those 9 months went to shipping BL2. In that time, TimeGate managed to scrap together 85% of the campaign, but once Borderlands 2 shipped and GBX turned its attention to Pecan, it became pretty apparent that what had been made was in a pretty horrid state. Campaign didn't make much sense, the boss fights weren't implemented, PS3 was way over memory, etcetcetc. GBX was pretty unhappy with TG's work, and some of Campaign maps were just completely redesigned from scratch. There were some last minute feature requests, most notably female marines, and the general consensus among GBX devs was that there was no way this game was going to be good by ship. There just wasn't enough time.

Considering that SEGA was pretty close to taking legal action against GBX, asking for an extension wasn't an option, and so Pecan crash-landed through certification and shipping. Features that were planned were oversimplified, or shoved in (a good example of this are challenges, which are in an incredibly illogical order). Issues that didn't cause 100% blockers were generally ignored, with the exception of absolutely horrible problems. This isn't because GBX didn't care, mind you. At a certain point, they couldn't risk changing ANYTHING that might cause them to fail certification or break some other system. And so, the product you see is what you get.

Beyond gameplay, the story has been raised as an issue several times. I can't really comment without feeling bad beyond saying that the script was approved by 20th Century FOX, and that the rush to throw a playable product together came at the cost of the story. Campaign does a pretty bad job of explaining a lot of the questions raised at the start of the game, and so hopefully there will be DLC to flesh that out a bit better.

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So basically, Gearbox bit off more than they could chew, but cared more about Borderlands 2 and Duke Nukem Forever than Colonial Marines, so they outsourced a good deal of the production to TimeGate, who didn't have enough time to finish it because GBX got pigeonholed into releasing what basically amounts to an early beta of the game by Sega.

What a mess. Makes sense, though. As it stands, I don't think TimeGate should draw any ire for their subpar work on Colonial Marines; it's Gearbox's fault for not giving a shit in the first place and Sega's fault for forcing them to release the game before it was ready.

Also, TimeGate confirms that they made at least half of CM:

They are responsible for the weapons, the characters, some of the story, a fair amount of the aliens, and I don't mean conceptualization, they did the actual work of making said weapons and so on. Technically they did work on the MP component, just not in the way I initially thought.

This said, the game underwent a lot of changes so TG doesn't actually know how much of their content is left. Some had the estimate that 50 per cent of what you see in the campaign is their work, others wanted to see for themselves and would get back to me after playing the game themselves.

One has to remember that you can't really "blame" TG for this. They were outsourced to do parts of ACM, and it does not represent current TG design philosophy. ACM is still mostly a Gearbox production and it was they who made the final call on all content.

http://www.videogamer.com/videos/aliens_colonial_marines_what_the_hell_happened_to_aliens_colonial_marines_2.html?playersize=full

[Spark Of Spirit]

So I come online after a few days away and get this from a friend about Colonial Marines:

Long story short, Gearbox goofed by attempting to make this and Borderlands 2 at the same time, farmed out the campaign to another studio who did substandard work. And the only reason they released it now was because they'd have been sued by SEGA if they asked for another continuance.

Gearbox... what are you doing? I'm definitely going to remain ambivalent to anything they make from now on until release. I don't buy Gearbox products to buy another company's game.

[Foggle]

According to someone from Gearbox who leaked info to Kotaku:

• Apparently, the old 2011 demo I saw was real, and was taken from the 2006-2010 version of the game developed internally at Gearbox.
• The plan wasn't to have TimeGate make the game, the plan was to let them work on it while GBX polished off Borderlands 2 and Duke Nukem Forever. Afterward, they would take Colonial Marines back and finish it themselves using the work of both studios.
• For whatever reason, TimeGate decided to ignore most of Gearbox's work on the game, threw out almost all of the assets they'd produced, and basically remade it from scratch.
• Then, because Sega threatened Gearbox with legal action, they had to hastily make TimeGate's version shippable because - in spite of still being an unfinished beta - it was more complete than their own version. The story is so bad because they had to completely rewrite it and fit it in around what had been done in a few months.
• "People at Gearbox knew the bad reviews were coming, our source said. They knew that the game wasn't good." However, they couldn't just cancel it after so many years, as Sega probably would have sued them for everything they had. This is also why they couldn't ask for another delay.

If true, this is absolutely shameful for everyone involved.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Based on all of this information, if I had to place the blame on one single party, I'd have to say it really lies on Gearbox, being that they clearly took on far more than they could handle by agreeing to make Aliens: Colonial Marines while simultaneously working on another huge, time-consuming project that just wouldn't allow them the time that they needed to work on ACM themselves. In the end, Sega didn't force them into a contract to make the game, and while TG may have a lot to do with why this game is shitty, its Gearbox who outsourced it to them in the first place because they knew that they didn't have enough time to develop the game by themselves. In the end, Gearbox should have really evaluated the situation and determined whether they would have enough time to develop a game like this or not, and the worst part is that it seems like they DID evaluate the situation and knew full well that they didn't have the time to make the game. If that's the case, then the only reason they signed on as the developer for it was because of the quick cash-grab they could get from making a game under the Alien license, which is pretty fucking disgraceful if you ask me.

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Have you seen the old footage? It looks amazing. The game would have been excellent if TimeGate hadn't ignored Gearbox's work on it. Or, y'know, if GBX had delayed Borderlands 2 instead and finished it themselves. I don't think they took on the project as a quick cash grab at all. They're stupid, not scumbags.

Everyone needs to be blamed for this.

Gearbox for outsourcing the game in the first place, and for outsourcing it to fucking TimeGate of all developers. You know, the guys who made F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate. Also for not managing the project properly to ensure that none of the below would have happened.

TimeGate for throwing out Gearbox's work on the game and replacing it with something that I'd only call subpar if I was feeling generous.

Sega for allowing the game to release in this state. I know it's all about the money to publishers, but good lord, spend 30 minutes with Colonial Marines and you'll see that it isn't anywhere close to finished.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sega had to put it out because it's one of their tent-pole series (probably not anymore, though) and it's already been delayed for far too long. Honestly, I think Sega was losing trust in Gearbox for pushing it back so much and when they got the final prodect they just couldn't risk even more delays. TimeGate still made a terrible game, but Gearbox should not have trusted them in the first place with their own game for easy cash.

They probably won't do it again, but I'm still disappointed because I was looking forward to this. I mean, come on, Borderlands 2 could have waited another few months for them to honor their commitments.

Sega for allowing the game to release in this state. I know it's all about the money to publishers, but good lord, spend 30 minutes with Colonial Marines and you'll see that it isn't anywhere close to finished.

It's been done.

[Foggle]

Well, obviously Gearbox is the root of the problem here. But they're all at fault; if TimeGate had actually made a good game, or if Sega had canceled the project/delayed it again, we'd all be much better off. But only GBX's reputation will be tarnished from this, certainly.

If they patch the game up well, and I mean really patch it - I'm talking replacing the graphics with the 2010 models/textures/lighting, improving the AI tenfold, making the shooting feel better, redoing some of the level design, rewriting the story and re-recording the dialogue - for free, I'm sure many will regain their faith in them as consumers.

[Foggle]

Another rumor has popped up.

According to the tester, SEGA was well aware that the game sucked when they were promoting and when they were about to release it. Not only that, but the tester claims that Gearbox used the money they got for Aliens: Colonial Marines on Borderlands 2. It's really awkward hearing such things, and we are really wondering whether Gearbox and SEGA will respond to those accusations.

The tester has also revealed that the E3 demo was never part of the actual game and what was showcased was not from Unreal Engine 3. The tester admits that the final game has a similar mission but it's not as exciting as the one featured in the press demo.

As for the WiiU version, the tester had this to say:

"Oh wow. Yes okay. I was hoping someone would ask this. I have played the WiiU version. The one that is supposedly the best of all of them? It is not. It is the worst. It is a bit of a joke. The WiiU is basically the same game as the console version but with framerate issues, worse texture loading, and horrendously misguided minigames thrown in. You get a 'scanner' to scan enemies and get bonus points that aid your harming them. When you cut open doors (which happens a lot in the game) you have a game where you have to keep the heat 'optimal'. They just add frustration, and take away even more from the fun. We don't know if it will come out, Sega are conisdering canceling it, but right now its still going."

The tester has also confirmed that Gearbox was mainly responsible for this whole mess and not TimeGate Studios, something that has been confirmed by SEGA too.

This makes sense, but it also contradicts the supposed Gearbox devs and confirmed TimeGate devs. Though if this one is true... good god.

[Eddy]

I don't know if I can believe the "Gearbox used Sega's money to make Borderlands 2" rumor because I don't see how that could in anyway be legal.

[Foggle]

I don't know if I can believe the "Gearbox used Sega's money to make Borderlands 2" rumor because I don't see how that could in anyway be legal.

Yeah, if that's true, and Sega finds out, Gearbox is done.

...Then EA buys Borderlands and releases yearly sequels of Colonial Marines-level quality.

Though Gearbox said that 2K basically gave them as much money as they needed for BL2 and there were no problems on the budget end, so I kind of doubt they pulled from their Aliens pool. But who knows.

[Daxdiv]

According to that article, the Reddit guy ended up deleting his account... could go either way as a lie or covering his ass due to NDAs, like the article mentioned in it's update. Hmmm... I don't even know what to believe anymore. Though I still think that this is the biggest blunder since Duke Nukem Forever.

[Foggle]

I read the entire screencapped AMA, and a couple of things in it don't add up. He also failed to respond at all to the most vital questions, ones which would have proven his being genuine beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Until I see Sega take legal action against Gearbox, I'm calling bullshit on this one.