Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: an0n on February 17, 2006, 12:21:38 pm

Title: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 17, 2006, 12:21:38 pm
Who the **** owns them?

I'd search, but I get the feeling it'll kick up about 40k results.

And, yes, it should be in HL.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Roanoke on February 17, 2006, 12:25:43 pm
Last I heard, Interplay. Who are essentially skint. So they may be for sale soon-ish, maybe not.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 17, 2006, 12:29:37 pm
I seem to remember someone saying something about the "$50k range".

Probably PinkBananas at AV though. So I doubt it's particularly reliable.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: CP5670 on February 17, 2006, 12:48:07 pm
Someone here said that Interplay owns the distribution and FS universe rights but not the FS2 code, or something like that. I'm not really sure.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 17, 2006, 12:50:41 pm
Yeah, Volition owns the code.

And Interplay did own everything else. But I was wondering if they'd sold them off or transfered them to whoever the **** it was that bailed them out (Vivendi?).
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: aldo_14 on February 17, 2006, 02:44:32 pm
DaveB suggested a figure which I *think* was in the $100k range, during the Ego Has Landed fiasco.  Sandwich, who copied (parts of) his email might know better.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: ionia23 on February 17, 2006, 04:26:33 pm
Rights, schmights.  SCP, the modders, campaigners , keep me quite happy.  Those guys can do anything.

I could give a flip which shivan Admiral Bosch gave a knobber to at Capella. 

Let Derek (Not So) Smart have 'em.  I so look forward to FreeSpace: Universal Combat Edition. :doubt:
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Scuddie on February 17, 2006, 08:05:38 pm
I wonder if a series or movie can be made with the rights being in a limbo state as they are.  I would love to see Freespace on the silver screen, as portrayed by Uwe Boll, or even *gasp* George Lucas...
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Stealth on February 17, 2006, 11:33:45 pm
i dunno... $100k+ for a game that flunked royally sounds a bit high.

Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: CP5670 on February 18, 2006, 12:39:40 am
yeah, the original DS episode was a few years ago. I doubt the rights are still worth that much given the current state of Interplay. Although it doesn't really matter since none of us could afford them anyway. :p
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 18, 2006, 05:15:47 am
Yeah.....  :nervous:
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Turnsky on February 18, 2006, 05:43:51 am
i can just imagine a former interplay employee standing outside the defunct offices, with trenchcoat going up to people "hey, you wanna buy some game rights real cheap?" and opening up one side of the trenchcoat to reveal papers with various game franchises on 'em.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Mefustae on February 18, 2006, 05:46:16 am
If I ever have the money to buy the rights to Freespace, i'm going to post a video here of me eating them. :D
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: BlackDove on February 18, 2006, 05:49:54 am
I'd pay to see that.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: aldo_14 on February 18, 2006, 07:56:07 am
i dunno... $100k+ for a game that flunked royally sounds a bit high.



Can you cite any license costs for other games?  Because, not to be confrontational or owt, we don't really have any way to judge.  $100k is what I think Daveb said, and I think it's worth remembering that a) the first game did well and b)there's definately name recognition and reputation still attached to 'freespace' as a brand.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 18, 2006, 08:01:06 am
There's also the SCP to consider.

Given that it'd take maybe 4 years to knock up a new game from scratch and that the SCP is both free and features pretty much every technological thing FS3 could have, any developer would be relying entirely on the strength of the plot for their profits.

And with the modability of the SCP releases, they'd have to expect that the entire FS3 campaign would be mirrored in an SCP campaign inside a week of it's release, complete with any new little innovations in design, control and graphics the developers happened to come up with.

Basically, the only way forward with Freespace would be with the co-operation, support and heavy involvement of the SCPeople. C'z if they kept doing their thing while someone was trying to market FS3, it simply wouldn't sell.

At present, to someone without full SCP support, I'd say the rights are worth maybe $30k tops.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: DeepSpace9er on February 18, 2006, 08:27:33 am
Doesnt Derek Smart have one of those money order doctorates?
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 18, 2006, 08:28:18 am
Yes. No-one cares.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Grey Wolf on February 18, 2006, 08:12:52 pm
i can just imagine a former interplay employee standing outside the defunct offices, with trenchcoat going up to people "hey, you wanna buy some game rights real cheap?" and opening up one side of the trenchcoat to reveal papers with various game franchises on 'em.
Bit slow on that: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/07/14
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Black Wolf on February 21, 2006, 11:10:40 am
There's also the SCP to consider.

Given that it'd take maybe 4 years to knock up a new game from scratch and that the SCP is both free and features pretty much every technological thing FS3 could have, any developer would be relying entirely on the strength of the plot for their profits.

And with the modability of the SCP releases, they'd have to expect that the entire FS3 campaign would be mirrored in an SCP campaign inside a week of it's release, complete with any new little innovations in design, control and graphics the developers happened to come up with.

Basically, the only way forward with Freespace would be with the co-operation, support and heavy involvement of the SCPeople. C'z if they kept doing their thing while someone was trying to market FS3, it simply wouldn't sell.

At present, to someone without full SCP support, I'd say the rights are worth maybe $30k tops.

Using the SCP to make money would be a legal minefield for everyone involved unless it was [V] making it and they had the full, legal (i.e. written down) support of every SCP contributor (which gets a whole lot harder if you want to include the media VPs).

As I understand it, Volition own the rights to everything except distribution, which is exclusively interplays, but quite neatly prevents anybody from making a Freespace game (or selling on anyway)
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 21, 2006, 11:15:38 am
As I understand it, Interplay owns everything except the code.

And I wasn't suggesting selling the SCP, just that it's presence would negate any profits to be had from FS3, as within a few weeks of it's release the SCPeople would alter FSOpen to be as near a perfect clone as they could.
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Flipside on February 21, 2006, 11:18:52 am
No, we'd spend 6 months arguing, followed by about 3 months hi-intensity work followed by 2 years of 'I'll get round to it'. ;)
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: an0n on February 21, 2006, 11:23:50 am
Not to mention the 3 months you'd take playing the damn thing over and over.....
Title: Re: A Question About The Freespace Rights
Post by: Descenter on February 21, 2006, 05:45:54 pm
Not to mention the 3 months you'd take playing the damn thing over and over.....

Yep, that's me.  Playing till I can't play no more.. :D