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[Kresnik258]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...hes-spin-off-maker-after-troubled-development

Terraria owner Re-Logic contracted Dutch developer Engine Software to make Otherworld after its good work porting the original to PS Vita, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But it seems things did not go well.

Re-Logic broke a period of radio silence with a forum post published in July 2016 to say Otherworld "needed quite a bit of work - and even a good bit of rework - in a number of areas". The lead designer and art lead at Engine were replaced "to better align to our vision for the game".

At the time, the expectation was that Re-Logic would continue to work with Engine Software to try to save Otherworld, but now, half a year later, it is clear that effort failed.

In a post on the Terraria forum, Re-Logic said it had taken Otherworld away from Engine Software and handed development duties to Pipeworks, a studio that did Terraria re-write work on console and mobile.

What this means is a fresh start for Otherworld - and a lengthy wait for fans.

Re-Logic plans to work with Pipeworks to examine the entire game from top to bottom, but warned fans to expect the quiet period to go on a bit longer.

So, what went wrong with Engine Software? It's clear the studio struggled to meet the expectations of Re-Logic, but there are also suggestions the project suffered from mismanagement.

Disappointing to hear that. Engine Software have been a solid porting studio (Oceanhorn; Terraria) but they seem to be having a bit of trouble lately. They're the studio behind the ever-delayed 3DS/Vita versions of Mighty No. 9 too.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Engine seem to be legit good to me. Right now they're busy porting RIVE and Oceanhorn to Switch as well.

Pipeworks indeed are also behind the Switch version of Terraria.

 

[Kresnik258]

Engine seem to be legit good to me. Right now they're busy porting RIVE and Oceanhorn to Switch as well.

Pipeworks indeed are also behind the Switch version of Terraria.

I agree they seem to be a decent porting studio, but the article suggests a high level of mismanagement with actually making this game:

In a panel organised by the Centre for Computing History, ex-Ocean Software artist Simon Butler discussed his last project, which happened to be Terraria Otherworld.

"First day, here's your PC," he said during the panel. "Excellent. Nice desk. Even got me the right software. So, what would you like me to do? Tumbleweed goes through the office. Well don't worry about it, we'll look at the game design. There isn't one. Oh, we don't have a game design, we have a wikipedia. Well, let's have a look at the wikipedia. Nothing has been touched on it for over a year.

"People had collected a salary and done nothing on the project for a year."

I wonder whether they're taking on too many things at once. Didn't even know they were porting RIVE to Switch.

 

[Hero of Legend]

I wonder whether they're taking on too many things at once. Didn't even know they were porting RIVE to Switch.

Yepper, Engine and Two Tribes actually go way back IIRC, I think it was said Toki Tori 3DS was their first collab in 22 years?!

Also Engine can be victim of too many projects at once. All of those Big Fish and Jewel Quest games on 3DS were by them and how many of those came out in quick succession? No wonder those are not terribly good. Also the hardware could've been too little for those.

But I would think Engine getting those on Switch could be FAR easier. Would LOVE a Luxor collection myself.