[HeX]

Yeah that was posted in here already. It's already been said he doesn't have a leg to stand on in terms of those legal threats.

[Flipside]

Meh, he does this a lot, look at 'Something awful's review of UC if you can find it That is just hilarious

http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2010

Check out page 2 in particular.

[Sigma957]

Only time will tell how all of this will end

[spaceman spiff]

exactly. let's just hope it goes our way and not his.

[Flipside]

Well, the Source Code was Volitions to give away, so no trouble there.

Textures etc would have had to have been removed anyway.

As far as storyline is concerned, well, since we were deliberately kept in the dark about what happened next, none of us have follwed that, merely used it as a guideline, and extrapolated from it.

The only concern I have left is 'referring to the storyline'. If someone made a film with Cylons as the bad guys, you can garauntee that the owners of the BSG license would have something to say about it. However, since we do not make a profit from our endeavour, he has no grounds for legal proceedings then, it is no worse than 'fan fiction'

So no, I don't think we are in any danger from his posturing to be honest

[Dough with Fish]

My God. This guy has got to be unstable. He actually tried to sue someone over at SA?! Who the hell does he think he is anyways?

[Unknown Target]

Originally posted by heretic

All this talk of pooling money to purchase the license...not possible guys. You need to either organize into a legitimate group, or into a corporation- you can't own a share in licensing.
 

Could HLP become a legitamate corp and buy the liscence? Or could we just buy it under Hlp's name?

[Sigma957]

I see it  as long as no money is exchanged he cant sue.

[TrashMan]

Originally posted by Flipside
LOL I've made my position perfectly clear, I will not play this game. Knowing the nature of the hands that went into making it, and his opinion of his own customers.

And what if it turns out brilliant? (not much of a chance, but still a possiblility)

And seriusly, I would be pissed too if I had to digest several pages worth of insults aimed at me from people who don't know d*** about me.

I'm not saying he's a good guy, I'm not saying he's a smart guy, I'm not saying he's a brilliant programmer - I'm just saying that none of us knows practicly anything about him....

[HeX]

Most people know enough, especially if they've seen him in action in other forums.

Believe me TrashMan, is known about DS.

[Cabbie]

Makes us regret it? What he's going to do? Buy the FS IP just to spite us and ruin it in everyway possible? The man needs his valium.

[Flipside]

I still wouldn't play it Kara, I used to program, and I'd still like to try and learn some more modern languages than Z80. But there are some attitudes that programmers do not adopt if a programmer does a job simply to make money then he is in the wrong line of business.
Remember how hard Kazan worked to get the Network code stable? Or Bobboau constantly adjusting and perfecting specular and decals etc?
That is programming in my eyes, if you don't start off wanting to make the program a great one, you will get a buggy half-arsed attempt.

I would choose not to buy this game if it was the best Space Combat Sim ever made, something in the attitude displayed really hit a nerve in me, as I've said before, it's a small protest, but it's the only one I've got.

I'm not saying he is a good or bad guy, I know nothing about him personally. He's perfectly free to develop the code in any way he chooses if he owns the rights. But speaking from my experiences here, he is someone who brushes poorly against both the gamer and the programmer in me.

[Corhellion]

(edit: deleted: See latest post)

[Sigma957]

Well there is that possibility that another game company might counter his offer but I'm not holding my breath,.

[Thorn]

"He may not have a clue
And he may not have style
But everything he lacks
Well he makes up in denial"
 -The Offspring

[Geezer]

I don't know, but it looks like he can screw us pretty good.  I found  this on a quick net search.  The way I read it, we're still in copyright violation even if we don't make a profit from it.  Besides, what do you think would happen if he had his lawyer send an official letter to Gamespy saying that they're in copyright violation because they're hosting a site that's using his copyrighted names 'Freespace' and 'Vasudan'?  Do you honestly think Gamespy would hire lawyers to fight it?  I don't.   I think HLP would be gone in a heartbeat.

We've got to make peace with this guy.

[jdjtcagle]

Hey, how did I beat Anon in posting in this thread.
I didn't realized that, that he is lacking on spamming, Oh no wait, checks more threads... Typical

[StratComm]

Originally posted by Thorn
"He may not have a clue
And he may not have style
But everything he lacks
Well he makes up in denial"
 -The Offspring

ROFL.  I've never seen a better use of an Original Prankster quote

[Zarathud]

I Just posted this on AVAULT:

The reason to buy a franchise is to reach out to the existing market -- to tap into the built-in fan base and profitably extend it further.  I can think of no other reason to buy the FreeSpace property but to tap into the massive potential of the game which has made many passionate about seeing a sequel.

As you acknowledged earlier in this thread:

Originally posted by Derek Smart [3000AD]:
[QB]Look, the VERY core of my business, RELIES on a fan base. I have and continue to, make a living from that. I have been at loggerheads with publishers because of that. When it comes to fans of my work, I do not - and repeat - do not, take it lightly. THAT is what YOU the FS community should be concerned about. Does this guy care about the game and people who buy/play it, or not?  [/QB]

 I'm sorry, Derek Smart.  You are the WRONG person to continue the FreeSpace franchise.    I'm not certain that you care about respecting ANY of your "fans" who disagree with your opinions.  You shouldn't be suprised, you had to ask the question on this board in the first place --- would people buy a FreeSpace game you created?

The mere fact that the thread on this board and others has turned into a flame war and been locked down should be proof of the simple fact that the "value" in the FreeSpace property won't exist if you develop it.  Your blanket dismissal of the (admittedly) rabid FreeSpace community at  Hard Light Productions (HLP) should at least give you some pause before you continue with your plans.  Yes, FreeSpace 2 failed to adequately sell because Interplay decided to save cash by squeezing its marketing (which is why Volition Inc. SUED Interplay).  

But those who bought FreeSpace 1/2 were touched by the storyline, the gameplay and the moddability of the game.  I know this from experience, because for a long time I devoted a significant part of my life to mission reviews, mission design and continuing the search for the unanswered and interesting questions within the FreeSpace universe.  I haven't been active for a while, so you couldn't consider me a "rabid" or "fundamentalist" fan.  What I am is someone who loves the franchise, learned about it and tried to cultivate it by teaming up to expand the largest fan mission database and expand it into a community site (which evolved into the now closing  Volition Watch before being replaced by the modders over at HLP).  In fact, two of my missions were released on the FreeSpace 2 "Space Sim of the Year Edition."  I knew the FreeSpace community and I knew the developers.  They won't follow your lead -- because you make games based on what YOU want to do, based on your own unique "take no prisoners" and "damn the torpedoes, I'm doing it my way" attitude.  And that's the wrong way to "develop" a franchise.

I'm not questioning your ability as a programmer, Derek.  You COULD make a "fun" based flight sim, and I'd even try a demo of it to make up my mind whether to buy.  But what I do question is whether you have the respect necessary to purchase the much-beloved FreeSpace franchise and contribute *constructively* to it.  Develop what games what you will, but don't call it "FreeSpace."  The name recognition you will receive from the title is meaningless when you destroy what makes the market -- those who love and want to see FreeSpace continue.

[Stryke 9]

Wow. You're kinda stupid, aintcha boy? Take a guy who goes berserk at the very suggestion of negative feedback and flame him in a thread where we've finally gotten him to cool down and concede that maybe we are not all Satanic retards from Canada or whatever, so that maybe we could get, y'know, a real dialogue about this and get some aspect of what we want?

Take the Avault post down, ****stick. And here's a handy hint- those around you flaming, go ahead and flame. Those around you acting restrained and civil? No flamey!