Gala Games/Mirandus Layoff & RS2 Update

April 23, 2024 was my last official day of employment with Gala Games, where I worked on the MMORPG "Mirandus".
I'm now back to focusing on Rising Star 2's localization effort, hoping to finish it withing a few weeks from now.

[@NormCantShoot]

If there were ever a Kickstarter for Rising Star 3, I'd be first in line to donate.

[@Gearjammer5150]

Second

[@xeitty2433]

@@Gearjammer5150 If your second then im third

[@10bighikes58]

@@xeitty2433 count me as 4th then

[@jesusfranco]

I am right there. Count me in.

[@arridexerandco]

I'll be there 👍

[@xeitty2433]

I hope to see some RS2 ideas come to life like the meet and greets and interviews and all that fun stuff!

[@xeitty2433]

BUT if a rs3 is a possibility I will probably die and ascend to heaven above haha

[@galanodeguide]

It’s great to hear the truth. Thanks! I hope Mirandus still has a chance.

[@SuperVezzeli]

Good to see you Todd! I wish all the best what ever you decide to do.

[@KingBobCat]

All the best, Man... Best wishes moving forward and thanks for all of your hard work! 👌

[@JesseHynes-dt8rg]

I’m sorry this happened. I’m not surprised unfortunately but still sorry. I’m even more sorry to hear that you feel like you need to defend your team from the lies told by some execs. I’ve personally been there so I understand that. Trust me when I say, everyone with common sense knows what’s really happening here but we appreciate your confirmation regardless. Be safe and good luck!

[@TheOneTrueGriswel]

Hope it all works out for you soon. Good news for us for RS2

[@Ascawien]

Sorry to hear about the situation with Gala. Excited to hear about new content for RS2. I still hope you reconsider your original stance on mod support for it, there's so many little things the community could add (new clothing, equipment from different manufacturers etc). Will definitely be staying tuned for more news on the future of RS2 and whether or not you go ahead with RS3.

[@drakedge2000]

Well, if you do decide to make another Gilligames game, let us know. Rising star 3 could be pretty epic with all that you have put together with 2.

[@bobinscotland]

Move on, man... you're better than this company by far. One look at your videos from the last couple of years will show you how much working there has aged you. Your life should be more interesting and more valuable than that. Rising Star 2 is a great production, and looking at other people's efforts in small companies like Hovgaard Games (Big Ambitions) I immediately thought how much you had in common with them... a go-ahead firm with solid ideas. I'm sure they would advise how to gather a small team if that's all that's holding you back from Rising Star 3. Can I suggest whatever you do, you get in touch with people who think like you, and move forward in a positive manner which will allow you to put this episode of your career to bed. Wishing you all the best in everything you do... stay cool.... stay positive... enjoy it all.

[@Corymachine]

Sorry to hear about Gala games. Long time fan of your work, so I'll definitely be watching out to see what's next!

[@donutlordband24]

for Rising Star 2 or 3, here are some ideas for when you do another update. 1. being able to break up your band or change the name of your band and seeing bands in your scene break up or change. 2. scandals (this one you'd wanna handle carefully since if you know anything about rock n roll scandals, this could go into NSFW or NSFL areas which I know you won't wanna do.) 3. giving your character personality traits and thus needing to deal with the personality traits of your bandmates. certain personality traits can lead to you or a bandmate being harder to deal with and can allow you to do certain things like get more violent with bandmates and audience members. 4. start dates. let the player chose when their band starts as in what year, date, and era. if you are playing in the 70s or 60s, you'll have a harder time getting your music out there unless you play out long enough to get a record deal. that will be the extra challenge along with certain years and eras changing what kinda music is popular and lyrical topics can be popular too during each eras. during the 80s, that was the start of indie labels and also the birth of cassette tapes and cds making it a little easier to get your music out there due to not being limited to the big labels and vinyl formats. social political things should play a part to in each region during these eras. 5. allow bands to make live albums and choose what formats they wanna put their music out on. not just cds.

[@punjab6647]

Thank you for your service 🍻

[@Bryanjournalandstuff]

Santiago mentioned!! Somoh el mejor pais de chile hermanoooooooo

[@Bryanjournalandstuff]

btw better to not be associated with any of those nft/crypto bs games that are born dead

[@project1003]

Management lying about a product in order to shift to a cheaper production location? That NEVER happens! Sorry it happened to you, mate, but glad you're back in the Rising Star world.

[@wildgus]

We have the same hairstyle now! You're just missing the beard, it was epic! Maybe mutton chops?? Anyway, glad/sad to hear. You're destined for great things, keep up the great work! If you need help with Portuguese, I'm a native, so I'm here for you, for free. I've translated a full game before (Terroir, but they didn't release it because, in their words, there wasn't a market for that kind of game in Brazil...) and lots of mods/parts of games. My biggest suggestion for RS2, although I'm aware it's difficult, is to open it more to modding. Name lists, instruments, etc. That always helps the longevity of a game. A DLC would also be nice to support you!

[@mrdos7712]

Thanks, now I know I'm going to have to divest in this game eventually. From day one GG has been way too focused on the bottom line (even their "bait" is about player ownership and profit, not a community built around love for the mythos of Mirandus) but to treat senior devs as disposable is dispicable, something that even big companies like Apple (which I still don't like) don't do. Anyone can rewrite a novel better the second time, but the creative effort it took to get to the first draft cannot be underappreciated. Good luck man, and tbh better to find out sooner than after you've given them your best years.

[@mesaratz22]

would be backing you if you go for RS3.... Shame you could not get your old group to come together and do RS3 as a joint effort

[@wildgus]

You should also look up the Pirate Software's streams and shorts, you have the charisma and the knowledge to lead streams like that as well, could be a boost to your overall reach and income :)

[@Imspammedout]

This was rough to see. Obviously I'm glad you're free of that and able to return to something of your own, but such a shitty way for it to happen. Still very much a fan of your work and your character.

[@lycanwarlord]

mind if I do a video going over this?

[@Gillissie]

Hey, you can make a video about whatever you like. :D Not sure if you mean the Mirandus part of the Rising Star 2 localization part.

[@lycanwarlord]

@@Gillissie Mirandus part at least for right now. But rs2 is added to my list 😂 my ever growing list of videos to make 🤣

[@georgeharris3630]

Its ok my man. Let it all out

[@jermmyjonathan2095]

Pls add more limit to the band shirt in game!!

[@andreayres1737]

Plz add pedal effects and pedalboards to Rising star 2 !

[@Dearestandme]

unfortunately the big profit company gaming industry is a mess....it's the small indie developers who actually care about their projects and their fans/customers that will succeed in the end.

[@sagamer3594]

Sorry to hear your news Todd, sounds like Gala Games upper management are a bunch of wankers, more interested in saving their own ass than doing the right thing. Rising Star 2 is an awesome game and I'd be super keen to see some updates. Best wishes with everything.

[@daynecreveling7623]

Yes, hiring people would be expensive. have you considered hiring a team in Santiago Chile? :) Just kidding!

[@cptnredbeard81]

I'll be second then 😊

[@sim_o]

Anyone want to buy a Barn on mirandus? Hit me up 😂

[@BobJThomas-kp6vm]

Some of the fugliest NFTs in cyberspace.

[@AxeGaijin]

That sucks, about the lay-offs, but MMO with NFT? yeah that project is doomed to fail, sounds like a company that is chasing a trend that is already dead. A MMO is one of the most complex and expensive games to make, you simply can't do that with a small team, the many failed kickstarter projects by small indy teams are a testament to that.

[@Gilligames-Todd]

I definitely agree about the difficulty of making a MMO. Everyone on the team knew that. The Gala management doesn't seem to know that. If any small team was going to pull it off, it was this team. Probably about 35 industry veterans that have collectivelly worked on a huge list of big titles over the years (I don't know the full list offhand). It definitely wasn't a group of young startups. This is also why it was expensive to make payroll. I can say that the game was the most focused as a "real" game than any crypto game I've seen so far. The crypto part of it was only starting to get integrated in the last few months, well after the main design was established and core gameplay developed. The focus was definitely on making a fun (and hard) game. Not a casual game any means.

[@kylev6532]

The fact that you're playing metal/rock music as you gripe about $GALA makes me question your judgement, but thank you for an account of the whole situation

[@Gilligames-Todd]

Thanks for the comment. The channel is largely dedicated to my PC game Rising Star 2, which is a band sim/RPG. Almost every update I give has music involved.