26 replies to this topic

[Seraphic Law]

I remember playing MechWarrior 2 and my favorite mech by far was the Marauder.
Will we ever see it in MWO? I'd pay $100, easy.

Edited by Seraphic Law, 26 May 2014 - 01:32 PM.

[Khobai]

no

[Alaskan Nobody]

Short answer - see above

Long answer - the "unseen" mechs such as the Marauder designs came from several different series - and the Marauder came from one that is currently off-limits (all the Phoenix pack mechs came from another)

Don't like it - Harmony Gold is the one you want to talk to about it - as they are the ones suing anyone who uses them.

[Seraphic Law]

But isn't only the original Marauder "UNSEEN", thus making the Marauder II and Marauder IIC "RESEEN"?

Edited by Seraphic Law, 26 May 2014 - 01:40 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Seraphic Law, on 26 May 2014 - 01:39 PM, said:

But isn't only the original Marauder "UNSEEN", thus making the Marauder II and Marauder IIC "RESEEN"?

No.

Because they are directly based on the Unseen Marauder

[Alaskan Nobody]

Seraphic Law, on 26 May 2014 - 01:39 PM, said:

But isn't only the original Marauder "UNSEEN", thus making the Marauder II and Marauder IIC "RESEEN"?

Design isn't different enough.

Visual design that is (though HG is pretty sue happy at even the name being used)

[Seraphic Law]

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 01:41 PM, said:

No.

Because they are directly based on the Unseen Marauder

Ah Phooey

Edited by Seraphic Law, 26 May 2014 - 01:44 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Yeah

[Seraphic Law]

I'm sure there is more to it then this, but couldn't IGP just give HG a share of the sales for the Marauder mechs sold in MWO?

Edited by Seraphic Law, 26 May 2014 - 01:47 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

According to what I have learned about HG - the prices they would charge to let that happen...

Not really

[Bishop Steiner]

Seraphic Law, on 26 May 2014 - 01:47 PM, said:

I'm sure there is more to it then this, but couldn't IGP just give HG a share of the sales for the Marauder mechs sold in MWO?

HG has been rather douchey about it, and pretty much reject any offers made. They essentially are a license holding company made up entirely of lawyers, and produce nothing, and do nothing, aside cling to an IP that the creators in Japan regret ever selling them, with the grip of a drowning person.

[Seraphic Law]

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 01:49 PM, said:

HG has been rather douchey about it, and pretty much reject any offers made. They essentially are a license holding company made up entirely of lawyers, and produce nothing, and do nothing, aside cling to an IP that the creators in Japan regret ever selling them, with the grip of a drowning person.

Did the creators in Japan actually sell the IP of RoboTech to HG or just a license to distribute in America?

[Bishop Steiner]

Seraphic Law, on 26 May 2014 - 01:52 PM, said:

Did the creators in Japan actually sell the IP of RoboTech to HG or just a license to distribute in America?

just the American rights. Sadly, FASA (aka Battletech) had also, previously legally procured the legal rights to use them,. but HG out lawyered and outspent FASA to beat them down in court. Not aided with FASA being about as well run and organized as PGI.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 01:55 PM, said:

Not aided with FASA being about as well run and organized as PGI.

Can I quote you on that?

Not any time soon I am thinking - but it may come in handy

[Bishop Steiner]

Shar Wolf, on 26 May 2014 - 01:57 PM, said:

Can I quote you on that?

Not any time soon I am thinking - but it may come in handy

Feel free. FASA was pretty famous for it's poor operations. A shame, since they made some cool games. (And still owe Stackpole for several novels, I believe).

Just compàre it to the lovely roadmaps Russ laid out, multiple times, just 90 days til CW.........

[Alaskan Nobody]

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 02:04 PM, said:

Feel free. FASA was pretty famous for it's poor operations. A shame, since they made some cool games. (And still owe Stackpole for several novels, I believe).

True - but so many get so hazy eyed over the older MW stuff that they tend to really forget that.

But then - I would (still!) say that MWO is a pretty cool game, so they would probably just laugh at the idea that FASA was as "bad" as PGI if it came from me.

Edit: on the note of FASA's games - I recently acquired one of the Shadowrun videogames - rather different game mechanics than I would have expected.

Edited by Shar Wolf, 26 May 2014 - 02:08 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Shar Wolf, on 26 May 2014 - 02:07 PM, said:

True - but so many get so hazy eyed over the older MW stuff that they tend to really forget that.

But then - I would (still!) say that MWO is a pretty cool game, so they would probably just laugh at the idea that FASA was as "bad" as PGI if it came from me.

Edit: on the note of FASA's games - I recently acquired one of the Shadowrun videogames - rather different game mechanics than I would have expected.

the old sega genesis one was an absolute classic.

FASA produced some good stuff (Mechwarrior/Battletech first edition sourcebooks were pretty much all gems), they were just horribly run and organized, not out of malfeasance, but just don't think they ever really understood how much "business" running a game business was (happened with Kevin Sembieda too, with Palladium, just got in over his head)

[Seraphic Law]

Nikolai Lubkiewicz, on 26 May 2014 - 02:04 PM, said:

Moving to Off-Topic.

Short answer, Unseen Mechs are generally a No until we can prove otherwise, It was kind of a big pull for us to get the Phoenix mechs in, afterall.
Sorry

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear it, but it is what is it is.

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 01:55 PM, said:

just the American rights. Sadly, FASA (aka Battletech) had also, previously legally procured the legal rights to use them,. but HG out lawyered and outspent FASA to beat them down in court. Not aided with FASA being about as well run and organized as PGI.

Doesn't the Japanese company have the right to take back the license rights or won't they expire at some point?

[Bishop Steiner]

Seraphic Law, on 26 May 2014 - 02:13 PM, said:

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear it, but it is what is it is.



Doesn't the Japanese company have the right to take back the license rights or won't they expire at some point?

apparently not, as long as they keep producing product under the license periodically, it will not revert, same reason Sony keeps shelling out spiderman movies, and Fox, XMen stuff.... so that Marvel cannot take them back.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Bishop Steiner, on 26 May 2014 - 02:13 PM, said:

FASA produced some good stuff (Mechwarrior/Battletech first edition sourcebooks were pretty much all gems), they were just horribly run and organized, not out of malfeasance, but just don't think they ever really understood how much "business" running a game business was (happened with Kevin Sembieda too, with Palladium, just got in over his head)

Shadowrun Returns off of steam is the one I grabbed - game itself isn't much, but like NWN it was built to be built on.

(And while it would have been awesome if MWO had been done that way, I can see why they did not - if only because there would have been people putting the unseen in, and getting them into trouble with HG!)


Looking more into it, it sounds like the FASA/PGI comparison is more apt than I would have thought though - maybe the BT/MW series itself is cursed?
(very long shot thought there, but at the same time.....)