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Vendetta wrote:
It's worth noting that MechCommander had at least Maruders and Warhammers in, and nobody bawwwed about it.

Was Mechcommander ever released in Japan? Because when the SNES Mechwarrior 3050 game was released in Japan they went in and changed all of the enemy sprites to Battletech originals.

VF5SS wrote:

Vendetta wrote:
It's worth noting that MechCommander had at least Maruders and Warhammers in, and nobody bawwwed about it.

Was Mechcommander ever released in Japan? Because when the SNES Mechwarrior 3050 game was released in Japan they went in and changed all of the enemy sprites to Battletech originals.

Don't think so. But then this might well not be either. It's Harmony Gold that bawwed and got them removed from the tabletop game, not any of the Japanese original creators.

Because Harmony Gold are dicks.

I doubt the original creators had much idea this was going on back in the 80's and if this game is to be released in Japan people will notice. Assuming that Harmony Gold didn't cut a deal with the new developers, then they will probably send a C&D letter to get those designs out of the game. If they try using designs from Dougram and Crusher Joe you're going to have the wrath of Sunrise studios and Takara Tomy coming down on you. I think one of the guys I know through Collectiondx said it best, when he remarked that when it comes to international licensing if it looks like a good deal then it probably isn't. "Hey lets license anime for pennies!" or in FASA's case, "Let's make a game using these model kits!" All it gets you in the end is a legacy of headaches.

VF5SS wrote:I doubt the original creators had much idea this was going on back in the 80's and if this game is to be released in Japan people will notice. Assuming that Harmony Gold didn't cut a deal with the new developers, then they will probably send a C&D letter to get those designs out of the game. If they try using designs from Dougram and Crusher Joe you're going to have the wrath of Sunrise studios and Takara Tomy coming down on you. I think one of the guys I know through Collectiondx said it best, when he remarked that when it comes to international licensing if it looks like a good deal then it probably isn't. "Hey lets license anime for pennies!" or in FASA's case, "Let's make a game using these model kits!" All it gets you in the end is a legacy of headaches.

True, though FASA's license was sound originally, and as Harmony Gold never had any derivative works rights their original complaint might not stand up in court. Especially after the decision of the Japanese courts against Tatsunoko for indicating that derivative works were included.

I like the mechs getting knocked around by weapons fire in that trailer. Oh, and also that missiles aren't auto-hit. More damage effects needed though, especially for that gauss rifle.

edit: oh, apparently they're PPCs. They look kinda weak for PPCs...

VF5SS wrote: Excuse me while I inform Big West :3

Excuse me while I murder you and leave your disemboweled corpse hanging with your nutsack stuffed in your mouth as a warning to whoever else might try to get the Japanese to put a stop to this game.

I thought there wasn't any hope of getting another battletech game, and I sure as hell won't let you ruin it!

On a more serious note, I know that whoever has the rights to the board game got the rights to the unseen back, would the game studio have to do it separately, or could they go through them?

Vendetta wrote:
True, though FASA's license was sound originally, and as Harmony Gold never had any derivative works rights their original complaint might not stand up in court.

But it wasn't sound originally. From what I understand from the court case, the people FASA dealt with only acquired distribution rights to existing model kits from Nichimo (Macross) and Nitto (Dougram and Crusher Joe). Does buying distribution rights to models allow you to create an entire intellectual property using the designs? Doesn't that fall under the definition of a derivative work? And that still doesn't account for the Dougram and Crusher Joe stuff. We've seen something from Macross so far, but what if there are Locusts and Shadow Hawks as well?

This whole discussion has me wishing to see a C&D from Grumman over derivative works concerning the F-14.

White Haven wrote:This whole discussion has me wishing to see a C&D from Grumman over derivative works concerning the F-14.

Well there goes Top Gun.

And volleyball fans the world over breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Looks like Mechwarrior 4 will be made available for free download:

7/09/2009

MechWarrior to be Distributed Free on BattleTech.com

In honor of BattleTech's 25th anniversary, Smith & Tinker has authorized MekTek.net and MekTek Studios to distribute MechWarrior 4 (along with its expansion packs) completely free. For years, MekTek.net has been the central point for online distribution of MechWarrior 4 expansion packs. Now they can provide the core game free to the fans as well. Keep an eye on BattleTech.com – the free download will be available soon!

VF5SS wrote: But it wasn't sound originally. From what I understand from the court case, the people FASA dealt with only acquired distribution rights to existing model kits from Nichimo (Macross) and Nitto (Dougram and Crusher Joe). Does buying distribution rights to models allow you to create an entire intellectual property using the designs? Doesn't that fall under the definition of a derivative work? And that still doesn't account for the Dougram and Crusher Joe stuff. We've seen something from Macross so far, but what if there are Locusts and Shadow Hawks as well?

As far as the only case that was brought against it went, it was. Here's the original court judgement in which Harmony Gold/Playmates' case for copyright infringement was denied.

No-one in Japan has ever brought a case against FASA, they only stopped using the "unseen" because the court action had been costly, and they feared that Revell would try their hand over the toys they had licensed, and Revell had much deeper pockets, even if FASA won the case again it would probably kill them financially.

Does buying distribution rights to models allow you to create an entire intellectual property using the designs?

That depends on the terms of the license. Since none of the franchises licensed had any presence in America at the time, it's highly likely they didn't care what got done with them, the same way they didn't care that the animated content of the TV shows Harmony Gold licensed were used to create ungainly chimerae.

So I actually tried recreating that battle from the trailer in Megamek using a standard Warhammer vs. a Jenner and an Atlas. It's funny, the Jenner bot did almost the same thing and leaped on a building only to get smacked down. The Atlas did win in the end although there was a lot of diving in between buildings. Despite all my legal grumbling, that trailer did look promising. It looked like there was just a "lock on area" instead of a standard reticule like in the old games. The was a reasonable spread to the shots and even some ducking. Maybe they remembered that mobility and positioning is far more interesting that "leg sniping 10x medium lazors."

But there better be some melee combat. They gave the Altas hands for a reason.

Honestly, every game about robots needs a grapple button.

Will there be a HABmod that makes the tanks playable and have stats twice as good as the mechs?

Will predictable and irrelevant nonsense be posted on the internet?

Stark wrote:Will predictable and irrelevant nonsense be posted on the internet?

The self-referential irony really makes that one-liner special for me.

Anyways I'm not impressed by the big reveal video with the Atlas in the dust and all that shit. It just reminds me how much I hate game developers who have gotten dumber over the years.

Remember Image Enhancement mode in MW2? Yeah, apparently we don't do that anymore. We just sit there looking in dust until an Atlas ambushes our dumb ass because we have no advanced optics/ sensors whatsoever, even though it's 3015 and we have better in 2009. Heck, 1979.

I can't wait for the night missions when you're tooling around with big ass white headlights trying to spot targets.

Stark wrote:Honestly, every game about robots needs a grapple button.

It's pointless interactivity with the environment that keeps people coming back for more. Imagine how much fun you could have destroying buildings and picking up the girders just to destroy more buildings. It's the cycle of replayability

Vympel wrote:Anyways I'm not impressed by the big reveal video with the Atlas in the dust and all that shit. It just reminds me how much I hate game developers who have gotten dumber over the years.

Remember Image Enhancement mode in MW2? Yeah, apparently we don't do that anymore. We just sit there looking in dust until an Atlas ambushes our dumb ass because we have no advanced optics/ sensors whatsoever, even though it's 3015 and we have better in 2009. Heck, 1979.

I can't wait for the night missions when you're tooling around with big ass white headlights trying to spot targets.

Don't forget that other hilarious factor in MW4. Your night vision mode prevents you from using a pathetic 2x magnification pop-up, and 'enhanced optics' that grant you a wider pop-up window and a godlike 4x optical zoom weighs 1.5 tons.

VF5SS wrote:
But there better be some melee combat. They gave the Altas hands for a reason.

Erm. I'm pretty sure the Atlas in the trailer doesn't have hands, just gunpoints on the arms.

It has fingers underneath the guns. Either way, if this is going to be 3025 TRO only I gotta have my Hunchback and Hatchetman with working hatchet! Gonna cut down some trees to make tree clubs.

Did they have Axemans in 3015? I'd like to try out one like Adam Steiner's custom from the cartoon.

Vympel just reminded of one of my favorite gaming cliches these days. All the advanced super future tech in the galaxy, hyperdrive, walking robots, and yet no one invented night vision.

It's like how Master Chief is supposed to be this super awesome soldier with ultra advanced tech...and the Marines are better equipped than he is. Maybe one day, developers will stop making obvious balance concessions for the sake of gameplay.

I fear that day is not in our lifetimes however.

You can't have sophisicated optics or advanced capabilities in games like this.

Then they'd PLAY THEMSELVES.