25-01-2003 00:31									#1
	IG Press release - MOO3 gone gold Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030124/242237_1.html

Master of Orion III PC Game Goes Gold
Friday January 24, 1:33 pm ET
Fans Get Ready for New Frontiers in the Building of Galactic Empires as Highly-Anticipated Sequel Ships


BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2003--Infogrames, Inc. a leading global publisher of interactive entertainment software, announced today that the highly-anticipated and long-awaited sequel in the space epic Master of Orion® 3 has gone Gold and will ship to retail as early as February 25, 2003.

"Master of Orion 3 is the definitive game for building civilization in space," says Nancy MacIntyre, Vice President of Marketing for Infogrames, Inc.'s Beverly, MA studio. "This game offers a truly immersive experience into all of the science fiction mystery, intrigue and adventure fans have come to expect from the Master of Orion® franchise and we're sure that fans everywhere will find it worth the wait."

In Master of Orion 3, the sequel to one of the best-loved strategy games of all time, players assume the biggest role ever. No longer do players merely represent petty interplanetary dictators. Players become the controlling power behind an entire galactic civilization; the dictators, presidents, councils, and overlords that come and go are merely pawns in the player's arsenal. One must use these governments, their citizens, and their leaders to secure the destiny of their civilization, to manipulate policies of freedom and oppression in both foreign and domestic arenas. It is not enough to be an able economist or a great starship captain to succeed in Master of Orion 3; considerable political, administrative, research, and espionage skills must be applied to claim the title of Master of Orion.

Featuring a robust Single Player game and up to 8-player simultaneous turn-based Multiplayer, Master of Orion 3 is the definitive 5X Space Strategy game; Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate and now Experience grand strategy as you never have before.

Master of Orion 3 is being developed by veteran developer of classic strategy games Quicksilver Software, Inc and features a wide range of multi-player and solitaire play options, 16 highly-distinctive alien races, crisp graphics and an intuitive user interface. Master of Orion 3 is available for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP PCs.

About Quicksilver Software, Inc.

From Quicksilver Software, Inc., the developer of such classic strategy games as STAR TREK: STARFLEET COMMAND, CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD and CASTLES, MASTER OF ORION 3 features a wide range of multi-player and solitaire play options, 8 highly distinctive alien races, and a level of graphics and interface design that will raise the stakes for the entire genre.

About Infogrames

New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM - News) is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony Computer Entertainment America, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames' catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization®, Backyard Sports(TM), Deer Hunter®, Driver(TM), RollerCoaster Tycoon®, and Test Drive®, and key licenses including Warner Bros. The Matrix®, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues® and Dora the Explorer(TM), Dragon Ball Z®, Unreal®, Mission Impossible®, Terminator®, Harley-Davidson®, Major League Baseball®, and the National Football League®, among many others. The Company's Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children's and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.

Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms. In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including rights to use its line of software based on well-known licenses such as MONOPOLY, Jeopardy®, TONKA, and Atari®, which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.infogrames.com.

(C) 2003 Infogrames Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.

	25-01-2003 00:36									#2
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

ok, that's two people crossposting the same press release

Let's hope it gets released asap...

	25-01-2003 01:27									#3
	Tired of ads?

congrats Devereaux, you wrote history by a difference of seconds

	25-01-2003 01:30									#4
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Thanks - doesn't really matter, since the thread got buried under the 15 similiar threads

	25-01-2003 02:05									#5
	Suffering from ads?

1. Why the delay until Feb 25 AT THE EARLIEST to get the game in stores?

2. Does Rantz want to east crow for saying the game would be done WELL before Feb28? 25 is close to 28.

	25-01-2003 02:31									#6
	Tired of ads?

http://moo3.quicksilver.com/main.html

No sweeter sight.

	25-01-2003 02:35									#7
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

- MarkG closed the crossposted threads with this one. Go Devereaux

	25-01-2003 02:38									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

quote: Originally posted by GP 1. Why the delay until Feb 25 AT THE EARLIEST to get the game in stores? 2. Does Rantz want to east crow for saying the game would be done WELL before Feb28? 25 is close to 28.

Who says it'll be released 2/25? SimCity 4 was supposed to be release 1/24, but was released two weeks early due to it becoming gold too soon.

It could come out in 7-10 days.

	25-01-2003 02:39									#9
	Got spare money?

w00t! Apparently I beat the others by a few seconds...

	25-01-2003 02:41									#10
	Suffering from ads?

quote: Originally posted by GP 1. Why the delay until Feb 25 AT THE EARLIEST to get the game in stores? 2. Does Rantz want to east crow for saying the game would be done WELL before Feb28? 25 is close to 28.

1. Maybe they meant January? Remember the 'idea' that Rantz mentioned of the game going gold on Friday and the game being in the stores on Monday? Feb 25 could be the last date they plan to have it everywhere and not just in the US assuming the translations take a few weeks like happened with Civ3.

2. Well the game *is* done now apparently, which is well before Feb 28. If the publishers can't get it out sooner than that date (my bet is it will be in the stores by the end of next week) then that's not the fault of the developers.

	25-01-2003 05:02									#11
	Remove this text

Hail Deveraux!
Hail MarkG
Hail MooIII

Did I mention I write my last Exam on Feb 25.?
Coincedence? Luck? Conspiration?

//Actually I just saw I have an additional one on the 28. .. ahh well.. Next Year

	25-01-2003 05:20									#12
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

All right. All the fellows having predicted Feb 2003 like me in the past were finally right on target about the delays. Now it's over and we'll have this long awaited jewel in a month. I suppose they've nailed good the nasty bugs spotted before Christmas ?!

That's grand news, I'm delighted, and I can't wait, but oh my that decision to stick all the development time on 800x600 graphics still bugs me...can't wait to see that also on my 19'' monitor and on my friend's high-end system ( and with a 21''). Other than that, the wait renders incoming Feb the longest month of 2003...

	25-01-2003 05:46									#13
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Yet still the question remains, is Feb 25th the world-wide release date or what?

When's it coming to NZ and Australia?

	25-01-2003 06:11									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

YIIIIIIPEEEE!!

Thanks Devereaux!

Okay, now I have to wait until I see what all of you intelligent people have to say about the game before I get it.
(Well I'll also have to get a new computer to run MOO3 but if it is worth it...)

Thanks again.

	25-01-2003 11:02									#15
	Inflate your Upload Space

'Nuff said...

	25-01-2003 12:28									#16
	Suffering from ads?

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooold!!!!!
(Think FIFA )

Just in time. I was about ready to cancel my pre-order this weekend.

	25-01-2003 12:38									#17
	Full PM-box? Change here!

At long last!

Finally!!

Let's go get it!

O.k., I think this about sums my feeling on the subject, excpet for - YIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPY

(And I really really hope this will not be a huge flop after all the expectation).

	25-01-2003 12:59									#18
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Ozymandous Feb 25 could be the last date they plan to have it everywhere and not just in the US assuming the translations take a few weeks like happened with Civ3.

Translations which take a few weeks?
In which Universe do you live?

Civ 3 took I think half a year til the german version was published.
At least you could buy the US Version right from the start, so it didn´t matter for me.
And this was no Exception but is rather normal for german Versions
Perhaps you remember the legal Issues between Infogrames and Kai Fiebach, who was forbidden by court order to publish a mod which translated large parts of Civ 3 into german.
The official German Version of Civ 3 was then put on the Market in March or April the next year AFAIR.

O.K. but now to really important matters

It is gooold

	25-01-2003 14:37									#19
	Remove this text

And there was much rejoicing...

	25-01-2003 15:39									#20
	Yay! Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Excellent! Looking forward to buying it!

I guess the big question now is when it will be released here in the northern wastelands of Europe

In any case it's good news, finally the light at the end of the tunnel is there for all to behold

	25-01-2003 16:37									#21
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Yippee its gone gold! so how long till its in stores?

	25-01-2003 18:41									#22
	Support Apolyton

quote: Originally posted by GP 1. Why the delay until Feb 25 AT THE EARLIEST to get the game in stores? 2. Does Rantz want to east crow for saying the game would be done WELL before Feb28? 25 is close to 28.

Simple logistics. Going gold is a reference to the CD master that used to have to be created (probably still in some format). So a going gold announcement jsut means they have it in a format to be sent into production. And it was a friday so likely nothing will really happen 'til monday. Then you have the logistics of pressing and packaging a few hundred thousand units and then transporting them so you can have a single release date across the country of your choice. The distribution alone is likely to take a week. So they ought to be able to trot the game out in 2 weeks or so. Thats assuming they didn't have to make last minute changes to manuals (most manuals are printed weeks or months before the game is finished, and usualy last minute changes are small enough that the manual can be amended with online/on disk readme's and updates. However, if the changes made before xmas were as significant as some rumours had it, there may have been heavy reprinitng issues needed. And printing the manuals ain't as quick as pressing the CDs....)

All this can be done faster if you inject enough cash into the problem, but why bother at this stage? From a distributors point of view there're no big spending peaks at this time of the year, so they go with most efficient printing and production costs not just the absolute fastest. If this had been a couple of weeks before xmas the job would likely have been done on the high cost uber fast track, but hey, the pissed us all of this long, why rush now?

	25-01-2003 19:38									#23
	Re: Yay! Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by Nightingale I guess the big question now is when it will be released here in the northern wastelands of Europe

Same question here. Hopefully, some stores will import the original US version.

	25-01-2003 22:49									#24
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Saitir, where did you get the impression that there were "significant changes" made in the game "before xmas?" I've been closely following the forums here and at QS (as well as assorted other rumor mills) and have not heard of any such changes coming after about late Summer.

True, the Prima guide probably does not reflect the later builds, but it was probably written and went to press last Fall, perhaps September or so, and so reflected late Summer builds.

The only thing I'd picked up about the December delay was the bugs issue, and that was supposedly mostly confined to multiplayer.

Or do you have some insider info you'd like to share?

	27-01-2003 05:11									#25
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: Originally posted by saitir Simple logistics. Going gold is a reference to the CD master that used to have to be created (probably still in some format). So a going gold announcement jsut means they have it in a format to be sent into production. And it was a friday so likely nothing will really happen 'til monday. Then you have the logistics of pressing and packaging a few hundred thousand units and then transporting them so you can have a single release date across the country of your choice. The distribution alone is likely to take a week. So they ought to be able to trot the game out in 2 weeks or so. Thats assuming they didn't have to make last minute changes to manuals (most manuals are printed weeks or months before the game is finished, and usualy last minute changes are small enough that the manual can be amended with online/on disk readme's and updates. However, if the changes made before xmas were as significant as some rumours had it, there may have been heavy reprinitng issues needed. And printing the manuals ain't as quick as pressing the CDs....) All this can be done faster if you inject enough cash into the problem, but why bother at this stage? From a distributors point of view there're no big spending peaks at this time of the year, so they go with most efficient printing and production costs not just the absolute fastest. If this had been a couple of weeks before xmas the job would likely have been done on the high cost uber fast track, but hey, the pissed us all of this long, why rush now?

Yeah...newbie. But Rantz or Chantz said that gold to stores could be done inside a week. He said this in response to people saying that it would be a month from gold to stores a long time ago. I'm responding to that. Try to understand where the conversation has been. You can save some pdeantic posts that way.

	27-01-2003 22:27									#26
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

They said it could. They also said this around the time of the originally scheduled release date, when the skids were already greased at the retailers and IG. All of which makes it not particularly unreasonable that the lead time would be longer.

As saitir said, "All this can be done faster if you inject enough cash into the problem, but why bother at this stage?". I think you were wrong to simply dismiss his post out-of-hand.

	27-01-2003 23:04									#27
	Increase Your PM Length

Yeah...and they were disingenuous for stressing that it could be less than a month (sometimes heatedly) when it IS going to be a month.

	27-01-2003 23:30									#28
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: Yeah...and they were disingenuous for stressing that it could be less than a month (sometimes heatedly) when it IS going to be a month

Yep. I tend to believe in the original press release. The one that said "as early as Feb 25." Its not something QS has any control over, its just up to IG. And they could be under constraints we have idea of.

I am quite dissapointed that it will take so long, and I hope to see it sooner, but oh well. I guess it'll give me more time to work on my compiler and software testing assignments. Though that isn't really a good thing either . . .

	28-01-2003 00:08									#29
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

How are the AOL boards? Are they still jabbering about Marines on the newbie board?

	28-01-2003 00:17									#30
	Tired of ads?

Hah hah! Now THAT brings back some memories. Man, its been a while, eh?

I was the last one to leave the old board I think. Shoot, that must have been three years ago! Remember when they cut the main board off and the only way you could get to it was through bookmarks?

How about the evil empire discussion?