Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - Standalone => Fate of the Galaxy => Topic started by: wookie12 on August 02, 2016, 10:07:25 am
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Hey everyone, really great job on the game so far. With the news that star wars: galaxy in turmoil has been shut down with a cease and desist order, it sort of had me concerned about this mod. Lucasarts aren't too bothered about free initiatives but that one was free and still shut down as it was too similar to battlefront. As the battlefront add-ons and sequel next year may well include space battles, isn't there a likelihood the same will happen to this mod? That would be such a terrible shame after all the years of work on this.
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A couple of things to consider:
- We've made a conscious and deliberate effort to keep the name "Star Wars" out of our mod. It's not in our title, it's not in our graphics or opening crawl. It's something most mods have done in the past to avoid litigation, and something Galaxy in Turmoil failed to do. We don't know all the details behind why Galaxy in Turmoil was shut down (as opposed to countless other Star Wars mods), but I've got a feeling it was much more due to using "Star Wars" in the title than by being "too similar" to battlefront.
- Even if there's a Battlefront game that includes space battles, there's virtually no overlap. FotG is a space combat simulator, Battlefront is an action/arcade shooter. I haven't seen any indication that Lucasarts has any interest at all in getting back into the Space Combat Simulator genre again. We're not taking any sales away from any current or proposed Lucasarts game.
- Tying in with the "Star Wars" directly in the title, they were slated to be released on Steam. I can understand the reluctance of LucasArts/Disney to allow a free game with the name Star Wars in the title being distributed on an official platform like Steam where there are many other official Star Wars games available for purchase. The possibility of customers confusing the fan made mod for an official product are too high, and that seems to be a big deal in the courts for these sorts of issues.
- We use no copyrighted assets in our mod. All our models and textures and graphics are built from scratch. We've created our own sound effects from scratch instead of using stock clips from the movies. Our music has been composed from scratch in a manner reminiscent of John Williams'.
These are not all foolproof, but we've gone to pretty great lengths to avoid calling down the wrath of Disney's lawyers.
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Well, the team behing Galaxy in Turmoil has meet Lucasfilm staff, and the latter could accept Galaxy in Turmoil but they have a contract with Electronic Arts. EA has for now, all exclusivity on Star Wars licensing for video game.
And since Galaxy in Turmoil compete with their Star Wars Battlefront, the game has been shut down.
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This may be a stupid thought, but would it be proper for someone on the team to contact Lucasarts directly, identify what the mod is about, identify how you are trying to avoid infringement, identify how it won't get in their way, and ask if there is anything further you should do to stay out of their turret arc, so to speak? Or is it suicide to deliberately raise your hand?
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It's best to let sleeping lawyers lie.
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It's best to let sleeping lawyers lie.
Yep. I have no desire to poke the bear with a stick. Once we release we will do so with as much fanfare and attention as we can muster, but also have to consider that there's much less interest from the general public in a combat sim based on an outdated game engine than something like Battlefront. We're a niche interest, and that does protect us to some degree. More so because we're a niche interest that LucasArts has publicly stated they have no interest in. But that doesn't make us invulnerable, and I don't want to go causing unnecessary waves.
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The first rule about C&Ds is...
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I was afraid that this would happen once Battlefront came out. It would have been nice to see the game.
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I was afraid that this would happen once Battlefront came out. It would have been nice to see the game.
:confused:
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Maybe he was talking about Galaxy in Turmoil?
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Yep. Isn't that what this OT of this thread is about? But also would like to hear how this will affect Fate of The Galaxy seeing it is a non profit game.
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Oh I see. Thought you were thinking FotG had received a C&D for some reason.
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Gotta admit, that's why I poked my head in here.
Battlefront is receiving a 3D flight sim component for the Playstation 3D headset by the way. I think that's what OP was referring to.
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I doubt it would be comparable to an actual space sim, Dekker. All the examples of space sim "components" I know of are so poor they can't be even considered space sims by those who actually know the genre and its main characteristics. Also, bear in mind that the audience of FPS games probably wouldn't accept anything other than a space sim minigame with very simple controls; go beyond that and you'd get a crowd of angry players complaining about it.
Yet, it doesn't mean FotG can't piss those game programmers off. I hope it won't.
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Well these companies are getting protective over their intellectual property more these days. Look at CBS suing the fan made movie Axanar over copy right infringement when it uses less than most elements of Star Trek than any other fan made movie. It is just getting more attention because of its quality. Lucasfilm has always been a bit more supported of fan made movies and mods but Disney is another animal to deal with. They have a lot of money to recoup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W1_8IV8uhA
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This is what I was referring to and much like Kylie Minogue it may seem short but boy......is it sexy.
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I doubt it would be comparable to an actual space sim, Dekker. All the examples of space sim "components" I know of are so poor they can't be even considered space sims by those who actually know the genre and its main characteristics. Also, bear in mind that the audience of FPS games probably wouldn't accept anything other than a space sim minigame with very simple controls; go beyond that and you'd get a crowd of angry players complaining about it.
Yet, it doesn't mean FotG can't piss those game programmers off. I hope it won't.
*cut*
I saw it in the flesh (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=92373.msg1826694#msg1826694), it is visually impressive but it is what is already in Battlefront with a VR interface and fuctionality from the headset (the simplicity of SW:BF's gameplay actually helps to soak it all in)
EDIT: Also the IGN video is really misleading as none of the footage they show is from the demo; (also you don't "walk around" the X-Wing in mission prep - you jump around view points around it)
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:yes: you lucky so and so ;)
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FYI, in case anyone was still looking at this, the Galaxy in Turmoil game is still going to be released on Steam. They will just be pulling out certain Star Wars and Battlefront related assets out and supposedly replacing them with originals. This may push their deadline back, but it seems that they are still optimistic about hitting a 2017 Q3 date for a demo. One that's definitely aimed at a supported crowd funding campaign.