What might have been...

[Commander Raiden]

http://www.unseen64.net/page/63/

BABYLON 5: INTO THE FIRE!!!

Wtf? Happend.....yet another project that got lost in space, along with the movies, new series, re-boots, etc....

Is it jinxed? Ie anything new and significant launched that has a B5 name on it, its doomed to the abyss.....

[Jan]

That was 13 years ago. I forget exactly what happened but word is, they were awfully close to completion when it was scrapped. They even had promotional materials ready in the form of posters, watches and mouspads that they practically gave away.

Jan

[Reverend]

I think Triple-F has a better grasp of the ins and outs of this than I do, but I think the basic reason it was axed had to do with the publisher (Sierra?) being bought out or merged. This caused a whole slew of project cancellations, so it's not as if ITF was singled out or anything.

But yes, they were stupidly close to going gold and IIRC they even had a working demo ready to go. Actually, I vaguely recall seeing a photo of Jerry Doyle having a go at some convention or tradeshow.

[Triple F]

Bet me to it. ; )
It was the internal politics that killed it and the other projects, as best as I understand it.

Backup of original website.

http://www.firstones.com/b5games/

Samples of some concept art created by Luc Mayrand (who along with Tim Earls still have their watches ; )

http://www.themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen3_06_1

Interview with one of the developers (tells you why it was cancelled).

http://www.themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen1_16_1

Forum where handful of the developers still hang around – so you can get info directly form the horses mouth.

http://www.firstones.com/

A demo for the game was produced (and it does still exist). . . . . . but it’s unlikely to ever see the light of day for one reason and another.

[JoeD80]

Sierra had a massive re-org that killed all their adventure games. It was a sad day for me because the King's Quest line got killed. Lucky for me the final Quest for Glory game was completed right before.

[Wyrmling]

There is a group of guys who have been putting together a game over the last few years called Babylon 5: I've Found Her. I played through the first campaign a few years ago and they have since put out another one that I have yet to play. It is definitely an enjoyable little game with some fun easter eggs thrown in the mix for those willing to find them. Progress is slow for the game but the content is worth it to check out in my opinion.

http://ifhgame.ru/main/

[Commander Raiden]

Yeah but its a typical of all things when trying to revive the the B5 universe...a game that could have been something ends up getting cancelled along with the planned movies, re-boots etc......surely there must be a day when a big b5-project be it a game, web-isode, or something sees it completion to the end and doesn't get cancelled at the 11th hour??

[KoshN]

http://www.unseen64.net/page/63/

BABYLON 5: INTO THE FIRE!!!

Wtf? Happend.....yet another project that got lost in space, along with the movies, new series, re-boots, etc....

Is it jinxed? Ie anything new and significant launched that has a B5 name on it, its doomed to the abyss.....

It's not jinxed; Warner Brothers is just STUPID, letting the whole Babylon 5 franchise die from lack of interest on their part. They don't know what they have and they won't grow the franchise. They could be backing a re-start of Crusade, having the game finished, backing a feature film, and new novels in the Babylon 5 universe and/or to continue and finish Crusade. They COULD BE promoting the Babylon 5 universe in these ways, but they don't do it. Instead, they come up with halfhearted, cheap attempts every few years, and nothing substantial ever comes of it.

[David Panzer]

Yes there will. Whether it will be in this universe is another matter.

[Jonas]

When Sierra was sold, things went to hell very quickly. A lot of great projects were killed at 99% completion or more. It was sad and idiotic and entirely typical of corporate thinking.

[OmahaStar]

I hate pretty much the entire Sierra incident.

I have the script for the game, both volumes. There was a TON of new material, with the original actors reprising their roles. ALL of it was filmed, and Sierra had it. New material with President Susanna Luchenko, for example. More from Jane, plus all of the B5 regulars, and filmed on the standing B5 sets.

For many of them, this was the last time they ever played those characters.

And when the game was canceled, instead of Sierra handing the tapes over, or even keeping them safe somewhere, they were destroyed. I don't know if they were intentionally copying Clark's "Scorched Earth" policy, but that's what comes to mind.

A handful of stills from those recordings still exist, but the audio and video is long since gone.

The only thing that survives now is the music. Christopher Franke composed new music for Into the Fire. Much of it was reused in Legend of the Rangers.

[sirenbrian]

Destroyed?!

I'm really sorry to read those tapes were destroyed. This footage has always been in the back of my mind as the last bit of unseen B5 story and it's really, really stupid of Sierra to have done that. I wonder if some executive ran off a copy first, though?

I got one of the promo "shadows" watches and a 3d lenticular mousepad.

*sigh* One day there'll be more B5. I wonder why its not available on Netflix/Hulu, let alone not being shown on any cable networks?

[KoshN]

I hate pretty much the entire Sierra incident.

I have the script for the game, both volumes. There was a TON of new material, with the original actors reprising their roles. ALL of it was filmed, and Sierra had it. New material with President Susanna Luchenko, for example. More from Jane, plus all of the B5 regulars, and filmed on the standing B5 sets.

For many of them, this was the last time they ever played those characters.

And when the game was canceled, instead of Sierra handing the tapes over, or even keeping them safe somewhere, they were destroyed.

Ah, the corporate types plumb the new depths of low and stupid. Irreplacable stuff gets destroyed.

[Marsden]

I think it's flawed thinking that intellectual property is valueless. The creativity that was invested was written off as nil vs. potential expenditures on advertising and distribution. The flaw comes in not valuing what was already invested, not just in this game but in many things that are created. It's a shame, really.

[B5-Stefan]

That was 13 years ago. I forget exactly what happened but word is, they were awfully close to completion when it was scrapped. They even had promotional materials ready in the form of posters, watches and mouspads that they practically gave away.
Jan

Relating to this threat I'm late but otherwise...

** SHADOWS AT HAND ** (*)

Since then the SierraFX-watch is my last best hope for timeliness.
It's my everyday wristwatch that never failed all the years.
But the watch band (steel) meanwhile is the second one.
And there are some SierraFX-Poster still hanging around.
Stefan


(*) You also might say: "The Hand are very close to the Shadows"