SegaSoft
Encyclopedia
SegaSoft, originally headquartered in Redwood City, California
and later San Francisco, was a joint venture
by Sega
and CSK, created to develop and publish single and multiplayer games for the PC, primarily in the North American marketplace. SegaSoft was founded in 1995 and lasted until 2000, when the company was restructured into Sega.com, Inc. SegaSoft was responsible for, among other things, the Heat.net multiplayer game system and publishing the last few titles made by Rocket Science Games
.
system produced by SegaSoft, Sega
's PC game division. Heat.net hosted both Sega-published first- and second-party games, as well as popular third-party games of the era, such as Quake II
or Baldur's Gate
. Heat.net was based on a licensed version of the MPlayer
Internet multiplayer gaming system which was later bought by GameSpy
. The "currency" in the gaming system was "degrees", earned through playing games, game-related or general trivia contests, viewing ads, or other actions (like hosting enough game rooms in a time period). Heat.net had a loyalty program, in which members, known as "Foot Soldiers", received shirts and Heat.net dog tags
.
Heat.net was also the home a collegiate gaming league called HeatCIGL (College Internet Game League). Students from 1,100 registered schools would play Quake II
or Unreal Tournament
in teams representing their colleges, with play-offs at the end of the season. The championship team received $5,000. The league also gave away a $5,000 "Excellence in Gaming" College Scholarship and $600 for each player in their All Star Tournament.
Heat.net's degree system would pay players to play, one would receive degrees per hour spent online playing. All players would accumulate degrees however only players who were premium members could spend them and not have their degree count reset at the end of the month. Degrees could be spent online first at a heat.net run store where players had a small selection of games and computer related items to pick from. Later heat.net partnered with a large web site Chips & Bits' online game superstore which allowed players a vast selection of games, hardware and even magazine subscriptions.
In September 2000, it was announced that Heat.net and HeatCIGL would be shutting down on October 31, 2000. This was due in large part to financial difficulties. At the current time the average player had $10 worth of degrees or more in their account, however was only paying $5 a month as premium membership fee.
Abuse of heat.net was rampant near the end as players would leave their computers logged into heat.net all day and night even when not at the computer themselves. Players could easily make $4 or more a day from heat.net to spend online.
Numerous players would set up Quake II
games where you could see 30 or more players at night, simply logged in and no-one playing.
In an attempt to stop this behavior Heat.net created a "parking police" which would go around looking for such rooms. However players who were smart would go to the lobby which allowed players to play such games as StarCraft
over a fake LAN while still being logged into heat.net. Many players would simply launch the game launcher and let it hang, thus no game was run but no heat.net staff could tell if they were playing or not.
In an attempt to save Heat.net, the value of degrees were cut by 80 percent, however at this point the damage had been irreversible.
Also an issue which saw the end of Heat.net was that new games had their own built-in browsers and no longer were using matchmaking sites like Heat.net, Quake III Arena
being one such game at the time.
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
and later San Francisco, was a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and CSK, created to develop and publish single and multiplayer games for the PC, primarily in the North American marketplace. SegaSoft was founded in 1995 and lasted until 2000, when the company was restructured into Sega.com, Inc. SegaSoft was responsible for, among other things, the Heat.net multiplayer game system and publishing the last few titles made by Rocket Science Games
Rocket Science Games
Rocket Science Games was a video game developer that created games for consoles and computers from 1993 to 1997. The company was responsible for games such as Obsidian, Rocket Jockey, and Loadstar.-History:...
.
Heat.net
Heat.net was an online PC gamingOnline game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
system produced by SegaSoft, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's PC game division. Heat.net hosted both Sega-published first- and second-party games, as well as popular third-party games of the era, such as Quake II
Quake II
Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
or Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules...
. Heat.net was based on a licensed version of the MPlayer
MPlayer.com
Mplayer, referred to as Mplayer.com by 1998, was a free online PC gaming service and community that operated from late 1996 until early 2001. The service at its peak was host to a community of more than 20 million visitors each month and offered more than 100 games...
Internet multiplayer gaming system which was later bought by GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
. The "currency" in the gaming system was "degrees", earned through playing games, game-related or general trivia contests, viewing ads, or other actions (like hosting enough game rooms in a time period). Heat.net had a loyalty program, in which members, known as "Foot Soldiers", received shirts and Heat.net dog tags
Dog tag (identifier)
A dog tag is the informal name for the identification tags worn by military personnel, named such as it bears resemblance to actual dog tags. The tag is primarily used for the identification of dead and wounded and essential basic medical information for the treatment of the latter, such as blood...
.
Heat.net was also the home a collegiate gaming league called HeatCIGL (College Internet Game League). Students from 1,100 registered schools would play Quake II
Quake II
Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
or Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
in teams representing their colleges, with play-offs at the end of the season. The championship team received $5,000. The league also gave away a $5,000 "Excellence in Gaming" College Scholarship and $600 for each player in their All Star Tournament.
Heat.net's degree system would pay players to play, one would receive degrees per hour spent online playing. All players would accumulate degrees however only players who were premium members could spend them and not have their degree count reset at the end of the month. Degrees could be spent online first at a heat.net run store where players had a small selection of games and computer related items to pick from. Later heat.net partnered with a large web site Chips & Bits' online game superstore which allowed players a vast selection of games, hardware and even magazine subscriptions.
In September 2000, it was announced that Heat.net and HeatCIGL would be shutting down on October 31, 2000. This was due in large part to financial difficulties. At the current time the average player had $10 worth of degrees or more in their account, however was only paying $5 a month as premium membership fee.
Abuse of heat.net was rampant near the end as players would leave their computers logged into heat.net all day and night even when not at the computer themselves. Players could easily make $4 or more a day from heat.net to spend online.
Numerous players would set up Quake II
Quake II
Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
games where you could see 30 or more players at night, simply logged in and no-one playing.
In an attempt to stop this behavior Heat.net created a "parking police" which would go around looking for such rooms. However players who were smart would go to the lobby which allowed players to play such games as StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
over a fake LAN while still being logged into heat.net. Many players would simply launch the game launcher and let it hang, thus no game was run but no heat.net staff could tell if they were playing or not.
In an attempt to save Heat.net, the value of degrees were cut by 80 percent, however at this point the damage had been irreversible.
Also an issue which saw the end of Heat.net was that new games had their own built-in browsers and no longer were using matchmaking sites like Heat.net, Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
being one such game at the time.
In the news
In June 2008, CNET hailed Heat.net as one of the greatest defunct websites in history.Partial list of games supported on Heat.Net
- Sega-published titles
- 10SIX
- Fatal Abyss
- Flesh Feast
- Godzilla OnlineGodzilla video gamesThis is a list featuring all the Godzilla games made through the years.These are the many video games on various consoles that are based on the Godzilla films and related kaiju eiga:-1980s:* Godzilla * Godzilla vs...
- Net Fighter
- Plane Crazy
- Scud: Industrial Evolution
- Vigilance
- Third-Party Titles
- Age of WondersAge of WondersAge of Wonders is a turn-based strategy PC-game often likened to Master of Magic. Originally titled World of Wonders, the game incorporated several role-playing video game elements that were dropped when simultaneous turns were implemented...
- Army Men
- Baldur's GateBaldur's GateBaldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules...
- BattlezoneBattlezone (computer game)Battlezone is a critically acclaimed remake of an arcade game of the same name. It was released by Activision in 1998. Aside from the name and presence of tanks, this game bears little resemblance to the original. Activision remade it into a hybrid of a tank simulation game, a first-person shooter...
- Darkstone
- DeathDromeDeathDromeDeathDrome is a 1996 third-person shooter game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Viacom New Media.- Story :The game takes place in 2057, where crime is rampant and jails are overpopulated. The government forms the Committee of Recreational Termination in order to eliminate the...
- DescentDescent (video game)Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
- DiabloDiablo (video game)Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996....
- Duke Nukem 3DDuke Nukem 3DDuke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software. The full version was released for the PC . It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
- Get MedievalGet MedievalGet Medieval is an action video game developed and published by Monolith Productions for the PC. It was released in North America on August 22, 1998.-Gameplay:...
- Heroes of Might and Magic III
- MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
- Quake
- Quake IIQuake IIQuake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
- Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
- Redline
- Sin
- Unreal TournamentUnreal TournamentUnreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
- Warcraft II: Tides of DarknessWarcraft II: Tides of DarknessWarcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy-themed real-time strategy game published by Blizzard Entertainment and first released for DOS in 1995 and for Mac OS in 1996...
- Kingpin: Life of CrimeKingpin: Life of CrimeKingpin: Life of Crime is a first-person shooter developed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment in June 1999. The game begins with the player character wounded and beaten up by the Kingpin's henchmen, and the story follows his thirst for revenge...
- Total AnnihilationTotal AnnihilationTotal Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
- Age of Wonders
Incomplete list of SegaSoft titles
- 10SIX
- Bug Too!Bug Too!Bug Too! is the sequel to Bug!, a Sega Saturn game that was also ported to Windows. Bug Too! was a third person platform/adventure game, and has lots of console-style play mechanics. The player can play as Bug and/or his 2 new sidekicks, Maggot Dog and Super Fly. The player goes through several new...
- Cosmopolitan Virtual Makeover
- Emperor of the Fading SunsEmperor of the Fading SunsEmperor of the Fading Suns is a science fiction "grand-scale" space strategy computer game made by Holistic Design in 1996. This game was based on Holistic's in-house role playing game Fading Suns. The game had a wide array of units and a complex back-story but was rushed to market and released...
- Fatal Abyss
- Flesh Feast
- Lose Your Marbles
- Net Fighter
- Obsidian
- Plane Crazy
- Rocket Jockey
- Sacred Pools
- Scud: The Disposable Assassin
- Scud: Industrial Evolution
- Skies
- The Space BarThe Space BarThe Space Bar is an adventure game co-developed by Boffo Games and published by Rocket Science Games and SegaSoft in 1997. The game featured a 3-D environment which allowed the player to rotate , and a humorous cast of aliens in the framework of a mystery...
- Three Dirty Dwarves
- Trampoline-Fractured Fairy Tales: A Frog Prince
- Vigilance
- Zombie Dinner
External links
- SegaSoft at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- SegaSoft at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- SegaSoft at IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
- Photos of the SegaSoft team at E3
- More information about HeatCIGL