Rather strange... - TTLG Forums

CyberFish on 14/10/2002 at 20:39

I was recently given a copy of a 3d RTS game called WarTorn, which a friend of mine purchased from 'a guy he met in the pub' for about £1. He wasn't able to run it because of a graphics card incompatibility, and so he passed it on to me. It seems pretty good, plays well and has nice graphics. However, there appears to be stuff missing from it. It's clearly designed as a multiplayer game, but there doesn't seem to be a multiplayer option. Some of the other options seem to be absent too, and it's also fairly unstable. Plus, there was no paper manual, the manual instead being presented in .PDF format on the CD.

So, I do a search for information on the game, hoping to find a patch to fix the instability or something. The website mentioned in the manual [ (www.wartorn.com) ] is for sale. The developer's website [ (www.eyst.com) ] is now an insurance company or something. The only download I could find was a beta demo, and the only reviews I could find were previews. It's like the game was never released.

Interestingly, (http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/zones/strategy/target/cancelled.html) gamesdomain.com lists it as a game that was cancelled prior to release. This, however, does not explain why there's a playable copy of it sitting on my desk.

I suspect that the developer went bankrupt before releasing the game, and was put into liquidation. One of the assets could well have been a stack of CDs of the unreleased WarTorn, perhaps beta test versions or evaluation copies. One of these somehow made its way to my friend, by way of the ubiquitous Guy He Met In A Pub.

Can anyone else provide possibly enlightenment, or information on either Eyst or WarTorn?

Gingerbread Man on 14/10/2002 at 21:55

Released December 1998, published by Impact, developed by Eyst Pty Ltd.
Eyst also developed Dogday, a puzzle-based game set in a bleak oppressive society run by a corrupt totalitarian regime (I get the impression it was sorta like a dystopian Myst or something).
Company profile for Eyst still comes up with "developer and publisher of entertainment software," but their website is no longer where it's supposed to be. There's one of those UltimateSearch things there instead.
(http://www.wartorn.com) was another URL which purported to link to Eyst company info, but that domain is now for sale and no page appears. Same goes for (http://www.eyst.com)

WarTorn was built on a proprietory engine called Eyst's Threedee Tactics Engine (ETTE) and was apparently one of the first attempts anyone had made to incorporate 3d acceleration into an RTS. EETE was developed from the ground up in 1996 to support line of sight. Apparently it has a Voodoo 1 as a minimum spec, but it was built to support all cards which use D3D.

Eyst Pty Ltd was formerly Asylum Productions (I think). And now it seems like Eyst has been Vanished.

Wartorn couldn't have been cancelled prior to release, as I found patches and trainers and at least 3 demos. Not to mention places to purchase it. And at least one (http://www.gametalk.com/talk/pc/wartorn/) forum (okay, so it's as active as Richard Simmons' testosterone glands, but hey)

BenIsHere on 3/11/2011 at 00:36

I Just stumbled upon this thread looking for something, so I thought I would update it with the true story of this. How do I know. Well, I developed the game and was the owner of Asylum / Eyst. When I say developed, of course not alone. I had a team working for me.

Yes, Eyst is long gone now. We were severely screwed over by the end publisher, Virgin Interactive Entertainment (VIE). This completely sunk the ship. I had at the time poured every cent I had and then some into this, so when Virgin did not perform as per the contract, it wiped me out. Yes, by perform I am talking about money here.

Yes, it was always a network game and the code was disabled in the end as an attempt to get Virgin to perform. Part of the stalling tactics they had systematically thrown at us. This was a common practice of publishers at the time. They know you cannot respond from such a weak position and it has wiped out many.

The game is extremely feature rich, to the point where I am not sure it has been surpassed in this area. But, then again it may have been too feature rich.

In the end, it need a little more work to really make it shine, but of course that did not happen.

If I had known this was the fate for Wartorn, I would have just kept the millions in my own pocket. Live and learn.

demagogue on 3/11/2011 at 02:24

There may be some people that look down on dredging up a ~decade old thread with an axe to grind, but I'm not one of them. ;) I'm all for gaming gossip & inside stories. I wish more devs came on our boards to give us inside stories to games, especially when there's dirt involved. I'm always interested in how the industry works, the goods and the bads. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to set the record straight somewhere, and we'll probably be more interested than other boards would. Just wanted to say that to counter any negative reaction to your post; it's still a pretty old topic, but I guess it's better to necro it than start a new thread.

lost_soul on 3/11/2011 at 02:44

An interesting story indeed. I think if I had a chance to talk with a developer, I would go with one of the folks who worked on the original SiN, or Carmack. I have never heard of this "War Torn" game before.

icemann on 3/11/2011 at 04:10

As much as I'm usually against reviving long dead threads this time it looks to be for a good reason. Sorry to hear about your companies demise BenIsHere. All the best for the future.

gunsmoke on 3/11/2011 at 04:29

I don't know why thread necromancy is even being brought up here, this is probably one of the most legitimate necros ever.

Sulphur on 3/11/2011 at 17:21

^^ True, there isn't even a need to question this thread being brought back.

Ben, I'm sure it's caused you pain and heartache, but have you considered going at it again/finishing the game and releasing it via Steam, or otherwise independently, today? It seems that you've got more support these days via Kickstarter and indie channels than at any time in the past.

Of course, I'm sure you've probably thought about it already and have a far better grip on the pros and cons, but it's something I was wondering about after reading your post, the feasibility of it all today compared to the past.

gunsmoke on 5/11/2011 at 06:02

That is a great point ^^^. Steam, Desura, the indie scene is definitely a lot bigger and the fanbase far more reaching than in years past. I am sure you would get a lot more support and/or encouragement than ever.

BenIsHere on 2/3/2016 at 10:30

I had no idea that there would be any follow up on what I posted in 2011 and I just saw it today. So I apologise for not replying back then.

I would just like to say thanks for the kind words and thoughts and suggestions. I think as advanced as Wartorn was it would a massive job to bring it to current tech but also a lot easier than the original development. Still probably a no go. I think I still have all the CD backups of code and artwork in boxes tucked away downstairs along with original Dogday artwork and code backups. Full of cobwebs I'm sure. Haven't had the heart to throw it out yet. Working on something new now and much simpler.

Anyway thanks again.