Does anybody have any info on what happened to Eclipse Software?

[MAYAman]

Iron Soldier 1 and 2 are some of my fav games ever and still play them. Just out of curiosity I googled them and can't find a single damn thing.

 

What ever happened to the guys on that team?

[+SabertoothRetro]

Here's some info on the team. Click on their names to see what they've worked on before and since.

 

http://www.mobygames.com/game/jaguar/iron-soldier/credits

[MAYAman]

Thanks man, I wonder why they broke up? They had two games that were great and could have parlayed that into some gigs on the consoles that sold big numbers. Shit I would kill for an updated Iron Soldier on the original Xbox, Xbox 360, Dreamcast. Hate when this happens and shit devs just continue to survive with bullshit.

 

edit: damn some of these guys haven't worked since the 90s,

 

I remember meeting Tal at one of the Atari media days

 

Really miss those days.

Edited September 19, 2014 by MAYAman

[+save2600]

Amen! Can you imagine one of those fancy Mechwarrior-type controllers and an updated Iron Soldier on more modern systems to go along with it!

[108 Stars]

Ha, they have finally taken down their website. It was still up two years ago, just with no updates.^^

 

I do think some of the Atari homebrewers are in contact with some of the guys there like Marc Rosocha and Daniel Hericks. I remember one of the two working on a Lynx homebrew 2 years ago that was ultimatly cancelled.

 

Anyway, obviously it is not that easy to get into the big business. They had not two, but THREE great games (Iron Soldier 3 really being superior to 1 and 2), yet it wasn't enough. It seems IS3 did not sell well on PS1, and that was the last generation where smaller teams could still compete. It would be even less possible to make an impact on later systems for a tiny dev like Eclipse was. That's why the small studios have all gone belly-up or taken over by bigger ones.

[MAYAman]

That makes me really really sad. All three of those games are fuckin awesome. I still play all three, part 3 via remote play

 

The best time in gaming for me and the best time in my life was 1986 to 1999. Everything after that is bullshit LOL

Edited September 19, 2014 by MAYAman

[MAYAman]

108 stars I was thinking about what you said and how small dev houses can no longer make games. Isn't that what platforms like OUYA are all about? Do you think a game like Iron Soldier 4 could be made by 4 to 10 guys, and put on OUYA or any other indie friendly platform and be a hit?

[Lost Dragon]

'Recent' interview over on RVG:

 

http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/index.php?topic=2966.0%22

[MAYAman]

thanks for the link, good read if a bit brief and sparse.

[108 Stars]

108 stars I was thinking about what you said and how small dev houses can no longer make games. Isn't that what platforms like OUYA are all about? Do you think a game like Iron Soldier 4 could be made by 4 to 10 guys, and put on OUYA or any other indie friendly platform and be a hit?

You are correct in that nowadays, owner budget games have made a comeback thanks to download platforms and console manufacturers opening up to indies (until a few years ago, dev systems and the license to publish games on a console cost a small fortune only big companies could afford).

 

So yes, in theory a new Iron Soldier could happen that way.

 

But: Most of the indie games are rather simplistic from a technical standpoint. Iron Soldier on the other hand was always a game series pushing the hardware it was one. Be it IS1 and 2 for Jag, or IS3 for PS1, they were very impressive games for their systems. And that they could not do today with a small team. But if we could all live with a game that does not look state-of-the-art, maybe that would be a chance.

[TXG/MNX]

iron soldier 3 for jag I would donate $150 for it... When it would be made

[+Saturn]

But if we could all live with a game that does not look state-of-the-art, maybe that would be a chance.

I could

[108 Stars]

iron soldier 3 for jag I would donate $150 for it... When it would be made

Honestly, I wouldn't. IS3 exists, and it was made with the PS1 in mind. There is no way this can be made for Jaguar without severly cutting corners.

 

Think of it like this: The Jag got IS2, tailor-made for the system and pushing it. Let's stick with that, stuff that was made to be on the Jag, instead of wishing for handicapped, scaled-down ports of games not intended for the hardware. What the Jaguar needs is tailormade software utilizing its strengths, not crippled me-too-ports of games it can't handle.

[MAYAman]

I could as well, I'd easily pay $250 for a new IS with quality of the previous games. At this point Jag games of that quality should cost what Neo Geo games cost.

[+save2600]

I could as well, I'd easily pay $250 for a new IS with quality of the previous games. At this point Jag games of that quality should cost what Neo Geo games cost.

That's crazy talk! :crazy:

[Lost Dragon]

108Stars really does pretty much nail it.Iron Solider 3 was simply designed for newer hardware in form of Nuon and PS1 and i believe there are cosmetic differences between these 2 versions-Transparencies are better, textures and graphics cleaner etc on Nuon version.So any atte,mpt at a Jaguar port would see sacrifices made.

To me any talk of 'funding' Iron Solider 3 on Jaguar would kinda like be asking for Tempest 3000 and Merlin Racing to be converted from Noun to Jaguar or asking Rebellion to see IF they still have the PS1 code from planned conversion of Jaguar AVP to PS1, which featured more detailed visuals, ability to look up/down as well as left and right, had Aliens crawling along ceilings, attack from underneath walkways etc....

If i had the money to fund such projects, i'd be wiser to source a NUON for Tempest 3000/Merlin Racing and buy another PC for the windows'95 version of AVP (classic ver, not Gold re-release with ahem, actors' on comms screen).

[MAYAman]

Hehe not looking for IS3 on Jag. Looking for IS4, with just the same graphics as IS2, just new missions. That should be possible and I think if Jag is going to get new stuff for it, it basically has to be Neo Geo priced. $250 to $300, that way there is at least some incentive.

[Lost Dragon]

Ahhh.Now your talking, say something like i dunno:

Iron Solider:The Lost missions (or something) cue dodgy plot about a black op's engineering team running missions buried so deep they ain't never going to see daylight :-)

A purpose built new I.S game using every coding trick discovered on Jaguar since IS2 and made specifically to take full advantage of the Jaguar hardware's strengths.

Also:Having watched Metal Head on Youtube, i knew something had been bugging me..the viewpoint from your cockpit-it's too damn low, it makes you look like your say viewing from machine gunners nest on a tank, it should be a lot higher up.In I.S i had to look down to see tanks underfoot, here they are slightly lower than eye level, you just don't get the sense of piloting a towering Mecha-Godzilla as it were.Slave Zero on DC suffered a similar lack in terms of sense of scale.

[MAYAman]

Exactly, don't understand why devs can't make games like AVP, IS, Tempest 2000 but new games. Yes, I know that it takes talent, but those games were made with tiny teams. Is it that the talent just isn't there anymore? I know there's no money it, so that doesn't help. But if they charge for new games like if they were Neo Geo games, then maybe they would make it.

 

I know, pie in the sky thinking.

[Zerosquare]

those games were made with tiny teams.

Yeah, tiny teams... of professionals. Working full time (which means "an absurd number of hours per week" in the videogames industry). And being paid for it.

 

Jaguar homebrews development conditions aren't even remotely in the same ballpark.

 

But if they charge for new games like if they were Neo Geo games, then maybe they would make it.

It wouldn't work any better. With Neo-Geo like prices, how many would you sell? A few dozens at best? Not enough to recoup the investment.

[+CyranoJ]

Well, they can be done. But they won't be done in a space of 6-9 months, they'll take years. And then some people bitch out about how long things are taking.

 

Or, you can have smaller projects (which, from my point of view are more fun to work on) - which actually get released regularly. And then some people bitch out about how there are no big titles being made.

 

Bottom line: If you think it can be done, pick up a book and learn to do it yourself before bemoaning others

 

Exactly, don't understand why devs can't make games like AVP, IS, Tempest 2000 but new games. Yes, I know that it takes talent, but those games were made with tiny teams. Is it that the talent just isn't there anymore? I know there's no money it, so that doesn't help. But if they charge for new games like if they were Neo Geo games, then maybe they would make it.

 

I know, pie in the sky thinking.

[MAYAman]

Lol who is bemoaning others? I asked more rhetorically than anything. Do you think pro coders today could do what those guts like Eclipse and Minter did back then in less time. It would be fun to see that. Stop being so sensitive.

[+CyranoJ]

Do you think pro coders today could do what those guts like Eclipse and Minter did back then

 

Yes.

 

in less time

 

No.

[CrazyChris]

IS2 is my favorite game for the Jaguar.

[NeoGeoNinja]

Anyway, obviously it is not that easy to get into the big business. They had not two, but THREE great games (Iron Soldier 3 really being superior to 1 and 2), yet it wasn't enough. It seems IS3 did not sell well on PS1, and that was the last generation where smaller teams could still compete. It would be even less possible to make an impact on later systems for a tiny dev like Eclipse was. That's why the small studios have all gone belly-up or taken over by bigger ones.

 

Just to touch on this; IS3 for PS1 didn't surface until the END of the console lifespan though, back in 2000 - when the DC & PS2 already existed.

 

Had IS3 been a launch title, designed with the DC or PS2 in mind, then the fate of that title may have been different. But, as it is, it was a Nuon to PS1 port in 2000. Was never really going to sell tbh...