Catch me up on everything that's happened to NC over the past 2.5 years.

[NS_CHROME54]

I recently decided to give Neocron a go again. This game has been a part of my life, on and off anyway, since early 2001. Considering I was born in late 1986, that is quite literally nearly half my life.

The fact is though, ever since the migration to NC2, I haven't really been an active player. Sure, I pop in now and again (mostly to post a "Hey, what's up" in the Visiting Vets thread), but I never really stuck around, mostly owing to the fact that none of the people I played with back in the day played anymore either. Back in Neocron 1, I was in a few Fallen Angels clans (the only clan name I can really recall is "Resistance Breeds Revolution") and then several of us migrated to DRE and formed a clan called "Hostile Takeover" in the twilight hours of NC1, before the push into NC2.

Winter is a time of eternal boredom where I live, so I decided a few days ago to check up on things and maybe even re-download the game. To my surprise, I discovered that Terra, along with every character I had, was no more. This made me sad, but I also reluctantly recognized it for the opportunity it was: a chance to reacquaint myself with the game while having something to accomplish. To that end, I've leveled a tank up to roughly 37/35 in the past few days.

With that, I wouldn't mind catching up on everything that's happened since my last foray into Neocron. So, some questions:

- Last I really looked into things, KK was going belly up, Kirk was pondering the creation of a sort of shell-company called Nukklear in case KK declared bankrupcy, and they also announced something called "Neocron Reloaded." What all happened with that?

- Searching for Reakktor nowadays, I see they're developing Toxikk. Is that Reakktor at all connected with NC in its current form?

- Is Kirk Lenke still kind of the "head guy" when it comes to KK and Neocron?

- Why was Terra nixed?

- Last time I logged into Terra, there seemed to be a lot of Russian players that seemingly adopted the game, but they all seem to have gone now. Did something specific happen to that group, or did they simply get bored of the game?

Also...

- Is Warbot hunting for techs profitable anymore? If not, what's the best way?

[pottburter]

I recently decided to give Neocron a go again.

Mandatory welcome back statement :-)


So, some questions:

- Last I really looked into things, KK was going belly up, Kirk was pondering the creation of a sort of shell-company called Nukklear in case KK declared bankrupcy, and they also announced something called "Neocron Reloaded." What all happened with that?
KK is dead and gone.
Neocron Reloaded never got any funding, afaik.


- Searching for Reakktor nowadays, I see they're developing Toxikk. Is that Reakktor at all connected with NC in its current form?
Toxikk is a new project by MJS and is in no way affiliated with Neocron.


- Is Kirk Lenke still kind of the "head guy" when it comes to KK and Neocron?
He owns the intellectual property on Neocron, but has stepped in the background and generously allowed Zoltan and Alduin (and the others I can't name atm, sorry :-) ) to carry on with NC.


- Why was Terra nixed?
Because it got DDOS'd to death by some angry cheaters who got banned and went petty angry.


- Is Warbot hunting for techs profitable anymore? If not, what's the best way?
Yes it is. Though others might say you get more out of fire mobs, and you don't have to hack them.
It's a matter of flavour probably. I do both, simply to avoid boredom :-)
Part drop is pretty decent, so you can normally expect to get 1-2 parts out of each warbot/fire mob.

Last thing: All above is afaik. Should I be wrong in some point, please don't shoot me... I'm a trader :-)

[Dribble Joy]

Part drop is pretty decent, so you can normally expect to get 1-2 parts out of each warbot/fire mob.

Drop rate for WBs is roughly 50%, titans are a little higher. Grims will always drop at least one, sometimes two and rarely three. The advantage of WBs is that they are a lower level (80/88 vs 110/120) and the surrounding mobs are lower in level and density.
Firemobs are still very popular as they don't need to be hacked (favourite of tanks), but that also means the WB zones are less busy.

[Trivaldi]

- Why was Terra nixed?
Because it got DDOS'd to death by some angry cheaters who got banned and went petty angry.

After Reakktor Media GmbH was dissolved the servers were moved to a host in Canada but on minimum spec hardware which couldn't cope with the DDOS attacks frequently dispatched against them.

While this was a contributing factor in the decommissioning of Mars, Mercury and Terra it was not the main reason. It was mainly due to the horrific state the databases existed in. As most are aware Neocron continued to exist on borrowed time, while Reakktor Media GmbH worked on Black Prophecy. This basically meant that while the game was still online after "the F6 patch" it was without any sort of real maintenance. Before the move to Canada hardware was failing and the databases were groaning due to corruption and a significant amount of abuse during that time.

It wasn't a decision taken lightly but it was one made with the best of intentions so we could provide a better service with far less risk of data loss. We still have the databases securely backed up, so your characters are still alive, they're just in stasis until such a time-... until such a time where they're not in stasis...

Regarding the Reakktor situation:
Reakktor Media GmbH was the company which survived the demise of 10tacle Studios AG and went on to develop Black Prophecy with gamigo AG. That was the business which unfortunately went into liquidation in early 2012. Rights to the Neocron IP now sit with Nukklear UG, a company of which Kirk is the CEO. It is with Kirk that the Neocron Support Team have an agreement to continue the operations of Neocron.

The Reakktor name returned to game development as Reakktor Studios GmbH, under the founder of the original studio MJS. While the new studio's name and founder are obviously closely linked to Neocron, the new studio which resides at reakktor.com has no involvement with the Neocron IP.

Anyway. That's all the past. :)

Neocron has improved a lot, if you check out the patch notes (http://www.neocron-game.com/patch-notes) you'll see we've made a significant number of improvements and changes to the game. I could list some of them but it's totally worth reading through the notes as the quality of the Neocron experience has improved by leaps and bounds.

We've still a lot to do but compared to where we were when we took over at patch level 174, we're miles ahead.

It's good to see you again, welcome back to the fold properly this time I hope. It's great to see the return of the Mechsican! ;)

[jvasquez33]

After Reakktor Media GmbH was dissolved the servers were moved to a host in Canada but on minimum spec hardware which couldn't cope with the DDOS attacks frequently dispatched against them.

While this was a contributing factor in the decommissioning of Mars, Mercury and Terra it was not the main reason. It was mainly due to the horrific state the databases existed in. As most are aware Neocron continued to exist on borrowed time, while Reakktor Media GmbH worked on Black Prophecy. This basically meant that while the game was still online after "the F6 patch" it was without any sort of real maintenance. Before the move to Canada hardware was failing and the databases were groaning due to corruption and a significant amount of abuse during that time.

It wasn't a decision taken lightly but it was one made with the best of intentions so we could provide a better service with far less risk of data loss. We still have the databases securely backed up, so your characters are still alive, they're just in stasis until such a time-... until such a time where they're not in stasis...

Regarding the Reakktor situation:
Reakktor Media GmbH was the company which survived the demise of 10tacle Studios AG and went on to develop Black Prophecy with gamigo AG. That was the business which unfortunately went into liquidation in early 2012. Rights to the Neocron IP now sit with Nukklear UG, a company of which Kirk is the CEO. It is with Kirk that the Neocron Support Team have an agreement to continue the operations of Neocron.

The Reakktor name returned to game development as Reakktor Studios GmbH, under the founder of the original studio MJS. While the new studio's name and founder are obviously closely linked to Neocron, the new studio which resides at reakktor.com has no involvement with the Neocron IP.

Anyway. That's all the past. :)

Neocron has improved a lot, if you check out the patch notes (http://www.neocron-game.com/patch-notes) you'll see we've made a significant number of improvements and changes to the game. I could list some of them but it's totally worth reading through the notes as the quality of the Neocron experience has improved by leaps and bounds.

We've still a lot to do but compared to where we were when we took over at patch level 174, we're miles ahead.

It's good to see you again, welcome back to the fold properly this time I hope. It's great to see the return of the Mechsican! ;)

Everyone past and present, that has allowed and will continue to allow me to play Neocron, are my fuckin heroes!

[aKe`cj]

Rights to the Neocron IP now sit with Nukklear UG, a company of which Kirk is the CEO

The IP likely still sits with the Reakktor Media Holding GmbH (the trademark certainly does), a separate entity to the Reakktor Media GmbH (the one that went down the drain) – and to my knowledge – not related to the new Reakktor Studios GmbH. Nukklear UG and the Holding share a common CEO though: Kirk Lenke.

[Trivaldi]

The IP likely still sits with the Reakktor Media Holding GmbH (the trademark certainly does), a separate entity to the Reakktor Media GmbH (the one that went down the drain)
Yes, the trademark does and that's another KK I didn't mention out of simplicity/laziness. Either way the easy way to say it (and the way I should have said it) is that the IP is in Kirk's hands.


and to my knowledge – not related to the new Reakktor Studios GmbH.
As far as I'm aware, Reakktor Studios GmbH may have historic or sentimental attachments but it is not related to Neocron or the "Old Reakktor" (either of them) beyond name and founder. I will add a disclaimer that while I am involved with Neocron as a project, I am not an employee of any of the companies mentioned here, so I can't officially state any of the above. :)

[Drachenpaladin]

I did actually spot a few known names among the new ReaKKtor employees in the wake of Toxikk. Just saying. Its likely that old connections got reactivated.

[Dropout]

I did actually spot a few known names among the new ReaKKtor employees in the wake of Toxikk. Just saying. Its likely that old connections got reactivated.

As long as those "old connections" stay the fuck away from NC, Im happy...

The volunteer team (eventhough it is way too small) have done more positive things for NC since they started, than the payed team from KK did in pretty much all the time of NC2 (cant speak of NC1, as I did not play it).

[yavimaya]

Yea i dont know what to think about the original team, i mean they gave us the best game ever, but the tiny volunteer team make the whole of the old reakktor team look like absolute amatuers.

I did buy Toxikk though, so lets hope its good. :)
lets also hope my $30 means NC3 will get made!

[Drachenpaladin]

I did buy Toxikk though, so lets hope its good. :)
lets also hope my $30 means NC3 will get made!
... well...

As far as I'm aware, Reakktor Studios GmbH may have historic or sentimental attachments but it is not related to Neocron or the "Old Reakktor" (either of them) beyond name and founder.

[yavimaya]

Yea i did read that.

i still want MJS to deliver NC3 though, leave it to someone who wasnt in on the original plan and its likely to be yet another world of warwhatever clone, like 99.9% of the other games out there now.

[ashley watts]

After Reakktor Media GmbH was dissolved the servers were moved to a host in Canada but on minimum spec hardware which couldn't cope with the DDOS attacks frequently dispatched against them.

While this was a contributing factor in the decommissioning of Mars, Mercury and Terra it was not the main reason. It was mainly due to the horrific state the databases existed in. As most are aware Neocron continued to exist on borrowed time, while Reakktor Media GmbH worked on Black Prophecy. This basically meant that while the game was still online after "the F6 patch" it was without any sort of real maintenance. Before the move to Canada hardware was failing and the databases were groaning due to corruption and a significant amount of abuse during that time.

It wasn't a decision taken lightly but it was one made with the best of intentions so we could provide a better service with far less risk of data loss. We still have the databases securely backed up, so your characters are still alive, they're just in stasis until such a time-... until such a time where they're not in stasis...

Regarding the Reakktor situation:
Reakktor Media GmbH was the company which survived the demise of 10tacle Studios AG and went on to develop Black Prophecy with gamigo AG. That was the business which unfortunately went into liquidation in early 2012. Rights to the Neocron IP now sit with Nukklear UG, a company of which Kirk is the CEO. It is with Kirk that the Neocron Support Team have an agreement to continue the operations of Neocron.

The Reakktor name returned to game development as Reakktor Studios GmbH, under the founder of the original studio MJS. While the new studio's name and founder are obviously closely linked to Neocron, the new studio which resides at reakktor.com has no involvement with the Neocron IP.

Anyway. That's all the past. :)

Neocron has improved a lot, if you check out the patch notes (http://www.neocron-game.com/patch-notes) you'll see we've made a significant number of improvements and changes to the game. I could list some of them but it's totally worth reading through the notes as the quality of the Neocron experience has improved by leaps and bounds.

We've still a lot to do but compared to where we were when we took over at patch level 174, we're miles ahead.

It's good to see you again, welcome back to the fold properly this time I hope. It's great to see the return of the Mechsican! ;)



Un-stasis my characters so I can play again ;)