242 replies to this topic

[Dawnstealer]

Lord de Seis, on 29 September 2014 - 06:27 AM, said:

LoL, do you know the actual facts behind the story? I love the unseen Battlemechs but FASA copied the Macross designs exactly and Harmony Gold didn't come after them at all until FASA sued Harmony Gold because they copying the Mad Cat, FASA lost the suit and Harmony Gold came back at them for all the Macross likenesses and won the case. It sucks, but Harmony Gold is not really in the wrong about it as I see it.

Here is a good article laying it out:
http://www.qqmercs.com/?p=2859

I actually DIDN'T know that. That's interesting. Games Workshop had a similar issue recently with their IP and nearly lost the rights to their stuff (they had characters in books, but not in miniature form, so third parties started making them).

Makes sense HG might be a little more touchy about their IP, if that's the case.

[Tombstoner]

Just use the clan variants for IS unseen. I personally like the designs and it would give PGI a great cash cow for clan tech unseeen....particularly if they are released in hero one shots with no customization.

[Dawnstealer]

Blood Rose, on 30 September 2014 - 02:44 AM, said:

I just want my Marauder.

I was always a Marauder pilot in pre-invasion TT and it served me well to the point that it was upgraded eventually to be an even more awesome killing machine than the prime. However HG are ******** and seem to think that they can clamp down on everything that even so much as looks slightly like it

Natasha Kerensky was a Marauder pilot: they're a pretty iconic mech in this game, probably only surpassed by the Warhammer or Atlas.

[Dimento Graven]

Dawnstealer, on 30 September 2014 - 10:17 AM, said:

Natasha Kerensky was a Marauder pilot: they're a pretty iconic mech in this game, probably only surpassed by the Warhammer or Atlas.

I would have sworn she was a Warhammer pilot...

Edited by Dimento Graven, 30 September 2014 - 10:24 AM.

[Metus regem]

Dawnstealer, on 30 September 2014 - 10:17 AM, said:

Natasha Kerensky was a Marauder pilot: they're a pretty iconic mech in this game, probably only surpassed by the Warhammer or Atlas.

She also drove a WHM-6R...

http://www.sarna.net...atasha_Kerensky

Under personal history:

"Like her entire Black Widow command of criminals and discipline cases she displayed borderline psychotic behavior and could kill at a whim, inside or outside her Warhammer."

[dwwolf]

Dawnstealer, on 30 September 2014 - 09:58 AM, said:

I actually DIDN'T know that. That's interesting. Games Workshop had a similar issue recently with their IP and nearly lost the rights to their stuff (they had characters in books, but not in miniature form, so third parties started making them).

Makes sense HG might be a little more touchy about their IP, if that's the case.

You will note that the judgement is only about granting a summary judgement in favor of FASA. The judge obviously declined to do that. It apparently only went to a settlement after that. The basis of HGs rights appears to be in question now however.

[Metus regem]

Dimento Graven, on 30 September 2014 - 10:20 AM, said:

I would have sworn she was a Warhammer pilot...

Wow, at that time she was only a regular clan pilot? I remember her being a 0/0... mind you that was when she was a Khan

[stjobe]

Metus regem, on 30 September 2014 - 10:39 AM, said:

Wow, at that time she was only a regular clan pilot? I remember her being a 0/0... mind you that was when she was a Khan

Actually, she was a regular IS pilot - the clans didn't exist yet.

Yes, from 1985 to 1990 Natasha Kerensky was a regular Inner Sphere human - if a bit on the psychotic side. Then in 1990 the disaster that is the Clans struck and she and her whole command were retconned into Clans.

Makes me sick.

[MeiSooHaityu]

stjobe, on 30 September 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:

Actually, she was a regular IS pilot - the clans didn't exist yet.

Yes, from 1985 to 1990 Natasha Kerensky was a regular Inner Sphere human - if a bit on the psychotic side. Then in 1990 the disaster that is the Clans struck and she and her whole command were retconned into Clans.

Makes me sick.

Sounds like opportunity lost to me.

Instead of altering her history as a Clan pilot, they should have kept her IS.

When the Clans invaded, they could have found out about her and and some could have come to the conclusion that she is the ancestor of Aleksandr Kerensky and maybe some Clans could have sought her out.

It might have created some interesting story arcs and caused additional riff in the Warden/Crusader belief system.

A lot of good story potential gone IMO.

[Metus regem]

MeiSooHaityu, on 30 September 2014 - 12:01 PM, said:

Sounds like opportunity lost to me.

Instead of altering her history as a Clan pilot, they should have kept her IS.

When the Clans invaded, they could have found out about her and and some could have come to the conclusion that she is the ancestor of Aleksandr Kerensky and maybe some Clans could have sought her out.

It might have created some interesting story arcs and caused additional riff in the Warden/Crusader belief system.

A lot of good story potential gone IMO.

True, but she did turn the Clans (Crusaders) on their heads a bit, when she shot her trial and was found worth of being a clan wolf pilot again, right after Khan Ulric elected her to Khan of Clan Wolf when him become ilKhan and all...

[Tombstoner]

stjobe, on 30 September 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:

Actually, she was a regular IS pilot - the clans didn't exist yet.

Yes, from 1985 to 1990 Natasha Kerensky was a regular Inner Sphere human - if a bit on the psychotic side. Then in 1990 the disaster that is the Clans struck and she and her whole command were retconned into Clans.

Makes me sick.

Hate to say it but she could very well be the inspiration for the clans, along with the entire history of wolfs dragoons. The clan concept could very well have been in a proto state in 1986.

General Kerensky did proclaim he will return and unify the star-league.

Edited by Tombstoner, 30 September 2014 - 12:28 PM.

[Metus regem]

Tombstoner, on 30 September 2014 - 12:27 PM, said:

Hate to say it but she could very well be the inspiration for the clans, along with the entire history of wolfs dragoons. The clan concept could very well have been in a proto state in 1986.

General Kerensky did proclaim he will return and unify the star-league.

And he did, and only Clan Nova Cat joined....

Mind you the Star-League came back in a way the clans were not expecting, and it wiped out the Smoke Jaguars....

[IceSerpent]

stjobe, on 30 September 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:

Yes, from 1985 to 1990 Natasha Kerensky was a regular Inner Sphere human - if a bit on the psychotic side.

As if there are IS characters who are not "a bit on the psychotic side"...

[Apnu]

Iron Riding Cowboy, on 27 September 2014 - 02:35 PM, said:

why are we not getting this reseen marauder... i understand why we are not going to get the unseen because of HG... But is this why we have reseen so we can have them ?

Because of Harmony Gold.

[Metus regem]

IceSerpent, on 30 September 2014 - 12:49 PM, said:

As if there are IS characters who are not "a bit on the psychotic side"...

ummmm First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion?

[JohnnyWayne]

We are losing the topic here (Grayson Death Carlyle?!).

HG currently is on pretty thin ice. They obviously don't try to produce more content of their IP on their own without cash in advance. In japan the court was settled in favor of BT.

They seem to rent stuff instead of making movies. Patent trolls nothing more nothing less.

Even the macross fans should hate them, they are blocking the IP outside of asia after all... (I liked the last macross series but that singing **** was distrubing xD)

[Apnu]

JohnnyWayne, on 30 September 2014 - 01:12 PM, said:

We are losing the topic here (Grayson Death Carlyle?!).

HG currently is on pretty thin ice. They obviously don't try to produce more content of their IP on their own without cash in advance. In japan the court was settled in favor of BT.

They seem to rent stuff instead of making movies. Patent trolls nothing more nothing less.

Even the macross fans should hate them, they are blocking the IP outside of asia after all... (I liked the last macross series but that singing **** was distrubing xD)

While much of this is true, you're forgetting something. FASA settled out of court. That settlement is active regardless of HG's status with the IP in Japan. Anybody who possesses FASA's property must adhere. FASA --> created --> FASA Interactive --> sold to Microsoft --> Leased "Mechwarrior" to PGI == PGI must adhere to the settlement.

This is why, even with Microsoft's retained legal department, who has a bigger payroll than Harmony Gold's whole operating costs plus company value is silent on the issue. HG could successfully defend the FASA settlement stipulations with any fool lawyer in court against Microsoft's biggest legal guns.

Its because of that Russ isn't going to bring any HG mech, even redesigned, to this game right now. He simply does not know what HG will do if they roll out the reseen mechs. There is some legal gray area with them, and though HG hasn't pursued Catalyst games for releasing the reseen mechs, Russ is wary of them after the MWO release video fiasco.

Edited by Apnu, 30 September 2014 - 01:26 PM.

[stjobe]

JohnnyWayne, on 30 September 2014 - 01:12 PM, said:

Even the macross fans should hate them

Oh, if you think BattleTech fans hate HG, you haven't seen the kind of hate they engender in Macross/Robotech fans. They hate HG with a passion.

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

Apnu, on 30 September 2014 - 01:24 PM, said:

While much of this is true, you're forgetting something. FASA settled out of court. That settlement is active regardless of HG's status with the IP in Japan. Anybody who possesses FASA's property must adhere. FASA --> created --> FASA Interactive --> sold to Microsoft --> Leased "Mechwarrior" to PGI == PGI must adhere to the settlement.

This is why, even with Microsoft's retained legal department, who has a bigger payroll than Harmony Gold's whole operating costs plus company value is silent on the issue. HG could successfully defend the FASA settlement stipulations with any fool lawyer in court against Microsoft's biggest legal guns.

Its because of that Russ isn't going to bring any HG mech, even redesigned, to this game right now. He simply does not know what HG will do if they roll out the reseen mechs. There is some legal gray area with them, and though HG hasn't pursued Catalyst games for releasing the reseen mechs, Russ is wary of them after the MWO release video fiasco.

Could a case not be made to invalidate the agreement based on international ruleings in regards to the property's in question?

[Apnu]

Flash Frame, on 30 September 2014 - 01:38 PM, said:

Could a case not be made to invalidate the agreement based on international ruleings in regards to the property's in question?

I'm sure a case can be made. Who wants to front the $ to find out? Microsoft certainly doesn't, or they would have now. Russ has hinted that models and skins of the mechs in MWO are PGI's property, so were they'd be the ones who'd have to argue such a thing I suspect. I doubt PGI has the budget or the time to argue all this in American courts.