Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse

[Vraciu]

Ok Archie.  You need to cough up who you really are. We're sceptical because we don't know who you are and have no credibility with us. To establish said credibility, you need to inform us who you are - which I have my suspicions.

In general, to earn our trust, you need to let us know who you really are.

Unless your Shuffler. He's still a putz. 

Actually, HE doesn’t need to do anything.  WE need to stop feeding him.   

Just my opinion. 

 

[guncrasher]

did you guys know the omaha steaks filet Mignon wrapped in bacon are really small?  I mean they're great, but really small 2 bites and they're gone.  damn pictures on the web site shows them at like 10 times the size.


semp

[Archie]

And Mild-Dill has shown no signs of life since...mid-June?

Seems he is active on twitter, or someone else is running it, but their twitter is active and they are giving October release....... we will see

[Vulcan]

Has anyone been bitten by a scorpion yet?

[Mister Fork]

Has anyone been bitten by a scorpion yet?

no but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last week...

[noman]

Scorpions sting not bite. 

[hitech]

Unbelievable.

First Micro Prose is simply a brand name and has not been a company since 1993.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroProse

2nd I have followed IENT on and off  since I left in November of 1998 . I have a good estimate of their current yearly sales and expenses.

I also have an understanding of how much time and money it takes to develop games.

I also know Wild Bill and his product mentality. He believes he can sell a pig with lipstick. And quite frankly Bill is one of the best guys I know to head up a Sales & advertising division of marketing. Given a great product with no control over the content, Bill could sell the crap of it.

My guess is Bill may have purchased the Microprose  trade mark or possibly made a deal to use it on one product. This would make since because Bill always saw himself at the reason Microprose was a success. He would still believe the Mircoprose reputation would be good to help rebrand his product and hence make it look like a new product. Go to the web page http://www.micropose.com it is nothing but a landing page with classic Bill all sizzle and no steak. ( I do wish I had someone who could create sizzle with my steak)

I hear a tale like this every few years. They always have one thing in common. Content images that did not come from in game, and were not described as what they really are. I.E. If real they would be described such as "Our current 109 image taken in Maya". Voss was the biggest , but anyone remember Target Korea?  This was a real development that never got past it's alpha proof of concept stage.

I doubt Bill would be able to raise cash (do to past reputation in the investor world) for a complete development team but is still trying to relaunch Warbirds as a new title. Most likely he has one inexperienced coder porting WB to the Unreal engine. This would make since for them to do but is far more of an undertaking then they may estimate. The screen shot of the 109 is obviously a simple content creation screen shot in a 3d content creation program.

Making static screen shots is very simple and requires very little effort. The planes can be purchased inexpensively online from something like turbo squid. And then rendered with many different rendering packages. But the content is still a long way from game play able.We purchased many models from turbo squid as a starting point to create Aircraft and vehicles.

P.S. Any idea that Wild Bill came in and saved Warbirds is laughable. Warbirds started going down hill  after I left. When I started AH WB had a larger customer base and revenue stream. Eventually we overtook them.Air Warrior and Fighter Aces closed.

HiTech

[Vraciu]

Wild Bill is the reason I am here.   He was toxic.  The man ran off his customer base, he definitely didn't save a thing.

[Shuffler]

I came over from Fighter Ace. Never looked back.

[CptTrips]

I also know Wild Bill and his product mentality. He believes he can sell a pig with lipstick. And quite frankly Bill is one of the best guys I know to head up a Sales & advertising division of marketing. Given a great product with no control over the content, Bill could sell the crap of it.

Heh.  I have a real ambivalence towards guys like Bill.  I don't know Bill, but I know the type. 

He is probably a perfectly amiable guy.  I suppose if you just met him at a party and he didn't have any power over you, or wasn't trying to sell you something, then I bet he would be a hoot to share a beer with.

However, I've worked for two tech companies run by salesmen that worked their way up to CEO due to their sales prowess.  And then watched both destroy the companies through staggeringly stupid decisions.  I swore I'd never again work for a tech company run by a salesman.  I'll dig ditches first.

On the other hand, I am currently working for a tech company run by brilliant engineers with no sales or marketing people.  I always liked to think of myself as reasonably bright, but these guys are on a whole different level.  These guys are truly the most brilliant people I've ever worked for or with, and I think we have a revolutionary product that could make a real impact on the world, but we'll probably be insolvent in a year or so if something drastic doesn't change.  Why?  Because the geniuses I'm working for (and I'm not saying that cynically) can't sell their way out of a wet paper bag.

In their mind, they should just be able to read 50 books, extract the appropriated sales techniques and then design an efficient algorithm to  implement the strategy.  Sadly, it isn't that simple.  It's a human thing, which always makes things more complicated.  Or I like to think of it like Lord of the Rings.  Each member of the Fellowship was from a different race that brought unique skills and talents to the team.  NO one could shoot a bow like an Elve, or have the ferocity of a Dwarf, or the wily cunning of a Human, the magic of a Wizard, or the innocent heart of a Hobbit.  Each one brought a unique gift to make a complete whole.

Salesmen just have that shameless personality and gregariousness that it takes to go out and cold-call and beat the bushes until they find a sale.  That is literally a different race of being than your normal introverted tech engineer. Properly harnessed and directed, they can make the difference between insolvency and success.

Every Sid Meir needs a Wild Bill.  But you never let one have control, for cripes sake! 





 

[snugar109]

I took a 10 year break because of the toxic environment in wb. Went back about 2 years ago to try it out and catch up with some old friends. Their latest update back then ran me off.

Wish I would have switched to AH when I took that 10 yr break, ahh hindsight. These last 10 months here have been nothing but entertaining and I am just now getting into the scenario stuff. Good times here and better plane modeling for sure.

[CptTrips]

I hear a tale like this every few years. They always have one thing in common. Content images that did not come from in game, and were not described as what they really are. I.E. If real they would be described such as "Our current 109 image taken in Maya". Voss was the biggest , but anyone remember Target Korea?  This was a real development that never got past it's alpha proof of concept stage.

Or...Confirmed Kill?    You may have heard of that one.   

http://www.combatsim.com/archive/htm/htm_arc1/ck.htm

I was on the beta of that one.  I remember downloading a bunch of crap.  I don't remember if I had anything flyable (I think I did) before I got the email they were abandoning the product at some point.

[icepac]

Wild Bill is the reason I am here.   He was toxic.  The man ran off his customer base, he definitely didn't save a thing.

I remember your leaving was not by choice, skull1

That said, neither was mine but it was a simple mistake of my posting a link without checking who owned the site in the link.    Hint: sneaky russian site.

[Vraciu]

I remember your leaving was not by choice, skull1

That said, neither was mine but it was a simple mistake of my posting a link without checking who owned the site in the link.    Hint: sneaky russian site.

Why are you following me around the boards posting nonsense?  You mad, bro?       Take a chill pill or something.

I was in WBs until I left on my own and came here.   My callsign was PrinzF (something like that any way) the day I walked out the door under my own power.  I still have an account there as it stands, btw, but it is long dormant.   Wild Bill is a tool and his game is D-E-A-D.   I'm not giving him one more cent.

(I'm not going to get into a tit for tat over this stuff.  It doesn't affect the Earth's rotation one iota any way.)

[Ack-Ack]

P.S. Any idea that Wild Bill came in and saved Warbirds is laughable. Warbirds started going down hill  after I left. When I started AH WB had a larger customer base and revenue stream. Eventually we overtook them.Air Warrior and Fighter Aces closed.

HiTech

And I mentioned in a previous post, killed MicroProse in the '90s with bad investment deals and ideas like moving into the arcade market.