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Outcast to be revived by original authors

S

-SD-

Banned
Best gaming news I've read in AGES. If there'll be a Kickstarter for this it'll be the first time I've backed something.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/press...has_acquired_Outcast_IntellectualProperty.php

“Outcast” to get a new life

Yann Robert, Franck Sauer and Yves Grolet announced today that they have signed and closed an asset purchase agreement with Atari Europe SAS recently regarding Outcast intellectual property.

Yann, Franck and Yves, the three founders of Appeal S.A., the studio that developed Outcast, have started the revival of the franchise and will soon announce further developments.

About Outcast

Outcast is a critically acclaimed open-ended game that is described by his fans as being ahead of his time. Outcast was released in 1999 on PC by Atari.
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I recently replayed through the game via Good Old Games and it was even better than ever. Truly one of a kind... and despite the blocky graphics (which I didn't even think about after a while) it still managed to look beautiful. Killer art design does that.

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/outcast

EDIT: Franck Sauer, who did all sorts of things for Outcast, including art direction, looks back at the making of the game. Article is from April, 2013.

http://francksauer.com/index.php?op...cle&id=47:outcast-pc&catid=15:published-games

EDIT: The new studio/team is called 'Daoka' and they've been working on a next-gen console game for two years already.

http://daoka.be

'Daoka' is very a Outcast-like name...

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/31/outcast-devs-form-daoka-will-build-new-games-in-series/

Belgian games industry veterans reveal their new studio.

Gosselies, Belgium, August 1, 2013 – Games industry veterans reveal "Daoka", their new development studio located in Belgium.

The new studio is the fusion of AMA Studios S.A. and former key people from Appeal S.A., the Belgian development house that created Outcast.

Daoka will soon reveal an exciting new project that the studio has been working on over the last two years, due to release in the near future on next gen console. Our new studio will also work on games related to the Outcast franchise. The rights to this much loved IP have recently been purchased by the games original authors who now continue to work and collaborate with us at Daoka.

Our studio is a worker cooperative and is run democratically. This creates ideal conditions for creative individuals to thrive and contributes toward our common goal : delivering great games that are fun for players!
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OH GOD.
 
Holy shit.

HOLY SHIT.

This is amazing news, I was so heartbroken that Outcast 2 was never released. I hope this works out, I'll contribute any amount to see a HD re imagining of the first and the release of the sequel.
 
It was really ahead of its time. I wonder why the sequel was canceled. I remember the screenshots looked very good:

outcast_screen005.jpg
 
Fabrik said:
It was really ahead of its time. I wonder why the sequel was canceled. I remember the screenshots looked very good:

outcast_screen005.jpg
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Because the original bombed pretty badly :(

Still, best news i've heard in ages. Outcast really was a very unique and awesome game back in the days.
 
I remember this game looked out of this world back in the day. It barely ran on my PC, mind. Completely unplayable until I bought a new one a year or two later.
 
Woo hooooooooooo the return of the Gamsaav and the Ulukai. Words cannot express how much I LOVED this game. It was a game that made you feel like you were in another dimension. As soon as the original hit GOG I bought it straight up and it brought back so many memories.

Hopefully this new Outcast will see light of day, but for now I will keep my "expectations" in check.
 
I can remember one thing about the first and that's that the sound design was great. Like walking on snow, creaky wooden floor panels and the music was fantastic.
 
Dolotai Kez Okaar, motherfuckers.

Easy_D said:
I can remember one thing about the first and that's that the sound design was great. Like walking on snow, creaky wooden floor panels and the music was fantastic.
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I think the music was recorded by the Moscow philharmonic. I still have the OST disc somewhere.
 
Incredible game.
My friend randomly got it for me on my birthday, and I made nothing of it, only to realize that it was one of my most memorable gaming experiences to date.

Not sure how they will revive this series, there is a lot to contend with these days, but if they can keep the universe the same and bring the same quality of voice and soundwork, and story, that will be good enough for me.

Great great news, but as some have already said, it will be quite a while before we see anything playable.
 
Oh my god! Best news in years!
I played through it last year after buying it from GOG and it was one of best games i've ever played. The music was incredible. Can't wait to hear more.

I remember reading up on how Appeal had closed down and figured that was that.
 
This is amazing, I hope they get in touch with the Outcast: Legacy of the Yods guys. They literally only need a CE3 license and some money, they have plenty of assets.

Fabrik said:
It was really ahead of its time. I wonder why the sequel was canceled. I remember the screenshots looked very good:

outcast_screen005.jpg
Click to expand...

The developers had a falling out due to vision differences. Some wanted a sprawling, open game like the original, others wanted a more marketable linear action game made for consoles. In the end some people left and the higher ups didn't like the look of it.
 
PepperJack said:
Not sure how they will revive this series, there is a lot to contend with these days, but if they can keep the universe the same and bring the same quality of voice and soundwork, and story, that will be good enough for me.
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Yeah, open world games have come a long way since 1999 and competing against huge budgets probably won't be possible. But if they can settle for some decent graphics and instead focus on the things that set the original apart, like good crafting, nice exploration and, above all, a highly reactive world they can hopefully make it.
 
Awesome. I think I played this to death in the summer of '98. On my birthday even. I was heavily sunburned but this game made me forget all about it. Never made it past the third world though... I was a bit young, plus the game was SO BIG. I took my sweet ass time for every choice I made.

So I remember the second world, the swamp/farmer level, the best. Oh man. It was SO BIG.
 
peakish said:
Yeah, open world games have come a long way since 1999 and competing against huge budgets probably won't be possible. But if they can settle for some decent graphics and instead focus on the things that set the original apart, like good crafting, nice exploration and, above all, a highly reactive world they can hopefully make it.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I wouldn't mind just a small zone or two if it meant high levels of reactivity and detail. As long as it's nothing like their planned sequel.
 
PepperJack said:
Not sure how they will revive this series, there is a lot to contend with these days, but if they can keep the universe the same and bring the same quality of voice and soundwork, and story, that will be good enough for me.
Click to expand...

Pretty simple, in the age of dozens of open world titles, there still hasn't been one as ambitious or as engrossing as that of Outcast.

If they reboot the first title and market it as a sprawling open world adventure set across the galaxy, basically like Mass Effect but done right, it will sell bucket-loads. I know I'll be buying at least 5 copies.
 
I think my PC wasn't strong enough at the time to run it.

I do hope they keep the voxels. 2013/2014 voxels could be awesome.
 
Would back this in an instant. The original was so far ahead of it's time in story telling and game design. It is so sad that it bombed hard, but the hardware requirements back then were insane, to run it on the highest resolution was nearly impossible without really expensive hardware (brand new Pentium III's).

EmCeeGramr said:
ULUKAI
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Oh my, the nostalgia just with this one word...
 
YES! Best news in years indeed, i was devastated when outcast 2 got canceled.

I still have the original game and box, and I still sometimes wear the t-shirt that came with the box.

This is one of the few projects I could think actually taking part kickstarting.
 
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