Factor 5 is back on Wii

[Rob2600]

Factor 5, the developer of the Nintendo 64 and GameCube series Star Wars Rogue Squadron, is back. In a phone conversation with IGN Wii this morning, company president Julian Eggebrecht confirmed that the studio is underway with at least one all-new Wii project and it's not a Virtual Console game. He also noted that the new title would not re-use Rogue Squadron technology. Instead, significantly updated or even completely new technology has been developed to help accommodate it.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/845/845353p1.html

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This is good news for Wii owners looking for a developer to create a game with really impressive, outstanding graphics...even more impressive than Super Mario Galaxy. I posted this in another thread a while ago, but it bears repeating:

This is from IGN.com's interview with Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht on February 8, 2007:

IGN.com: Resident Evil 4 was a beautiful GameCube title. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader was doing things on the GameCube at launch that developers still haven't done on the Wii. Why do you think that is? Are studios getting sloppy on the Wii?

Julian: Yes. I'm so disappointed knowing exactly what the Wii can do - and I still think nobody knows it better than we (no pun intended). I really have to say, boy, am I disappointed! They all have finally figured out, five years into the hardware's life cycle, how to do at least basic shaders and a rim light, but I still don't see enough bump mapping and normal mapping, if any. I still don't see enough post effects, even though you have insane fill-rates with Wii. I don't see any of that. I was digging out Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for the GameCube the other day and was looking at it. We had some people who were visiting ask, "Why isn't anybody doing this on Wii?" and I am at a loss. I really am.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/762/762984p1.html

[j_factor]

Hopefully they don't make yet another Star Wars game.

[Rob2600]

Hopefully they don't make yet another Star Wars game.

I never really got into them, but they were highly rated and featured impressive graphics and music.

I haven't played Lair on the PlayStation 3, but according to IGN's review, the framerate was often choppy and some of the visual effects were poorly implemented. However, the people at Factor 5 know the GameCube/Wii hardware inside and out and would be able to maximize it much more easily than the PlayStation 3.

I wonder when Eggebrecht will reveal what the new game is.

[WiseSalesman]

five years into the hardware's life cycle

Um ... what? Pretty sure the Wii hasn't been out five years.

[Rob2600]

Um ... what? Pretty sure the Wii hasn't been out five years.

Right, but the Wii shares the same architecture as the GameCube, so developers are now five years into the actual hardware. They should know how to maximize it by now. It's not like working with the PlayStation 3 where developers have to start from scratch learning a new architecture and creating new tools.

[Half Japanese]

Um ... what? Pretty sure the Wii hasn't been out five years.

It may be an error, but it may also be indicative of the Wii, hardware-wise, being little more than Gamecube 1.5.

Either way, after the turd that was Lair, I doubt anybody cares outside of Nintendo fans desperately searching for another Wii game that isn't a half-assed port or budget title.

[Rob2600]

after the turd that was Lair, I doubt anybody cares outside of Nintendo fans desperately searching for another Wii game that isn't a half-assed port or budget title.

That's my point: the people at Factor 5 know the GameCube/Wii hardware inside and out and are able to maximize it much more easily than the PlayStation 3. They'll be able to focus on the game design instead of struggling with the hardware.

[CartCollector]

Why doesn't Factor5 sell their engine, then, if they know the Gamecube/Wii better than everyone else? It would be like Unreal for the Wii (except less good-looking, probably). Developers would line up to buy it, if they're so much better than everyone else.

[Leo_A]

Hope this leads to their N64 titles being released on the Virtual Console and perhaps a compilation of RS2 and 3 for the Wii, they deserved more attention than they got back on the GameCube.

If they even own what they developed or still have the rights to sell it, I'm not familiar with their relationship with Lucasarts.

[Chuplayer]

Hopefully they make another Star Wars game.

Fixed.

[Rob2600]

Why doesn't Factor5 sell their engine, then, if they know the Gamecube/Wii better than everyone else? ... Developers would line up to buy it, if they're so much better than everyone else.

You're right. That's a good point. Maybe Factor 5 will do that once it's done with its new game engine.

Hope this leads to their N64 titles being released on the Virtual Console and perhaps a compilation of RS2 and 3 for the Wii, they deserved more attention than they got back on the GameCube.

That would be great.

Fixed.

[heybtbm]

So Nintendo is taking Sony's leftovers now?

After the debacle that was Rogue Squadron 3 and the trainwreck that was Lair..Factor 5 destroyed any remaining status and credibility that they once held in the industry. I'm guessing they have to start doing Wii games because they don't have the $$$ to make 360 or PS3 games after Lair.

IMO: Rogue Squadron was one of the best N64 games ever released. Rogue Squadron 2 was impressive and probably the best Gamecube lauch title available. Rogue Squadron 3 was a huge step backwards...a completely embarrassing flop that I'm still bitter for paying $49.99 on release day.

I'll be eyeing their new Wii project with extreme skepticism. I guess this squashes any hope of a Rogue Squadron sequel for real next gen consoles.

[FantasiaWHT]

With the exception of the on-foot levels (what the hell, did they think people LIKED that in Star Fox?) I really enjoyed Rogue Squadron III.

I really hope to see the next one on the Wii, too. Can you imagine a joystick/throttle accessory/adapter?

[Lord_Magus]

This is awesome news. Factor 5 has always been one of my favorite companies, even before their GameCube games came out.

I can only hope that they make a polished 2D Wii Turrican. Then my life would truly be complete.

[Rob2600]

After the debacle that was Rogue Squadron 3 and the trainwreck that was Lair..Factor 5 destroyed any remaining status and credibility that they once held in the industry. ... Rogue Squadron 3 was a huge step backwards...a completely embarrassing flop that I'm still bitter for paying $49.99 on release day.

Was Rogue Squadron III really that bad? It received a 7.6 out of 10 overall.

Anyway, the point is that in terms of graphics, Factor 5 should push the Wii to new heights.

[darkhades]

I thought Rogue Squadron III was pretty good. Anyways, I'm excited to see what Factor 5 can develop for the Wii

[PapaStu]

Hopefully their 'gimickey' Lair controllers arn't so gimickey this time around.

I don't think it'll be another Star Wars game, but its nice to see them back. I really don't feel so bad that Nintendo let them go when they dumped them and Rare. So far I don't regret that 'loss' one bit.

[Chuplayer]

The on-foot sections of Rogue Squadron were kinda lame, but they were far from bad. They should've stuck with air combat, but the air combat in the game was rather good.

[Rob2600]

IGN - Update: Factor 5 Wii Project

Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht:

"We're almost done with the engine and it does everything that the PS3 did and then some, quite frankly.

Whatever we're working on will at least blow you away in a lot of the technical aspects. We're really trying to do everything to squeeze the maximum out of the Wii.

I'm also hoping we're going to pay respect to what the console is all about, which is the innovation in terms of controls, in terms of accessibility, new experiences, things like that. We're really, really trying hard. I hope it's going to pay off."

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I too hope they stay away from another Star Wars game ...

The best parts of Rogue Squadron III were:

A.) The disco opening

B.) The inclusion of both the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back vector arcade games

I kept my copy strictly to play the vector games.

The flight sections of Rogue Squadron III were okay, but the foot missions were so horribly broken, that they made getting the gold medal achievements nearly impossible on some levels.

Truly a disappointment.

[Icarus Moonsight]

"We're almost done with the engine and it does everything that the PS3 did and then some, quite frankly."

And then some? Big words to fill. Either they are going to fail to meet that statement or they're going to turn peoples perception of the Wii around completely.

Personally I'm hoping for this outcome.

"Wii = Gamecube 1.5"

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

"We're almost done with the engine and it does everything that the PS3 did and then some, quite frankly."

And then some? Big words to fill. Either they are going to fail to meet that statement or they're going to turn peoples perception of the Wii around completely.

Personally I'm hoping for this outcome.

"Wii = Gamecube 1.5"

Hmmm ... if I were Factor 5 ... I wouldn't compare anything that they're doing on the Wii to product produced on the PS3 ... as Lair was easily the biggest 1st party software exclusive debacle on the system.

And, here's hoping whatever they make ... they'll have the sense enough to add classic controller compatiblity in addition to whatever standard Wiimote structure it'll have.

[ProgrammingAce]

Why doesn't Factor5 sell their engine, then, if they know the Gamecube/Wii better than everyone else? It would be like Unreal for the Wii (except less good-looking, probably). Developers would line up to buy it, if they're so much better than everyone else.

Selling your game engine is a giant pain in the ass. You have to clean up the code base, release monthly patches and provide support for each and every developer that runs into any sort of problem. On top of that, you're creating competition for yourself. If you don't already have a large staff capable of handling the support and development tasks, then it's insanely difficult to sell your engine.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I can see that. Besides the support staff issues, commenting code is a pain as it is. Making notation for your in-house staff to simply remind or give a basic outlining of where they are at in the structure is one thing (write the machine/enviroment code around the pseudo-code which is left in as comment lines, well, that's what I was taught anyway). Imagine not only building an engine with normal commenting, but also having to include an "Idiots Guide to our game engine" line for line, spelling out every little aspect, function and variable as explicitly as possible.

I'd hate to be on the design document staff too. Total nightmare.

@Frankie: Glad you specified 1st party. There is Gundam: Crossfire.