38 replies to this topic

[Joseph Mallan]

War Dogz, on 10 April 2015 - 04:14 AM, said:

Yes I want but not with the lawsuit attached

Just enough tweaks to teh appearance and the Marauder can be in MW:O.

[JohnnyWayne]

MeiSooHaityu, on 10 April 2015 - 04:47 AM, said:

That's not the problem from what I have heard. The problem is, PGI has been trying to get HG to approve an alternate design and HG refuses to buy off on it. PGI could launch it anyway, but HG would probably serve a cease and desist order or hand them a summons to court just because the new mech is called Marauder.

Even though PGI, Microsoft, whomever would win with a new design, tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and court fees isn't going to be covered by selling a Marauder in MWO.

The threat of a lawsuit is enough to keep the mech in limbo.

Simply put, no. There is aleady a reseen Marauder around.

[Darian DelFord]

There will probably never be another Urbie Mech phenom again. However my hat is off to them for giving it to us. It has been a breath of fresh air in an already stale game.

[FindersWeepers]

El Bandito, on 10 April 2015 - 03:02 AM, said:

And now we can wallow in the despair of never having another mech as hyped as the Urbie in the future.

FIREMOTH MOTHERF*CKERS!!!

[Johnny Z]

JohnnyWayne, on 10 April 2015 - 03:03 AM, said:

Marauder.

WOOT

[El Bandito]

Joseph Mallan, on 10 April 2015 - 04:51 AM, said:

Just enough tweaks to teh appearance and the Marauder can be in MW:O.

As long as the name "Marauder" is still attached to it, it may attract lawsuit--since it is pretty much a money earning brand name for BT fans, like the "Warhammer". To be on the safe side, PGI should change Marauder's name, as well as the appearance, but keep the hardpoints. Rename it "Bandit" or "Plunderer", or something in that vein.

Edited by El Bandito, 10 April 2015 - 07:32 PM.

[Xetelian]

You will never convince me this thing is 'viable' because to my standard it just isn't.

[SweetJackal]

Well, the Urbie may have had a cult following but you want to know what really made the mech so hyped? How PGI actually handled the release. Before the "11 Days Of Urbie" thread the Urbanmech was just another mech pack and despite how many might have loved or hated the cute thing it was treated to about the same fanfare on the forums as other mech packs, like the Zeus.

Then 11 days before the release they start showing themed cosmetics items, the free things in the package that no one gave a hoot about as up until now they have been pretty trash. We were expecting the same model of Stein just with a pixelated urbanmech concept art on it, some medallion symbol as a hanging item (maybe a trashcan imprinted on a square metal plate with no detail,) and that symbol in the middle of the high tech warhorn circle thing as the mounted item.

In short, it was reasonable to expect PGI to treat the Urbanmech cosmetics just like they have treated the cosmetics of every other mechpack they have ever done- pretty much just the same old reused assets stamped out to produce trash that would in my case sit in my inventory and collect dust.

Then they made a brand new Stein model to the Urbanmech theme, the 8-bit hanging glasses, the pop-up urbie, dramatically different "custom geometry" for the "collector's edition" and so on. They made most of the extra bonuses actually be attractive and interesting, then used that as a drip feed reveal to build the hype.

If PGI follows this formula for every other package in the future then love it or hate it you will have to admit that the Urbanmech was a turning point for the better. The quality of the cosmetics is something that I would be willing to pay for and I do hope that they are released for sale eventually, even if I have 3 of each.

Edited by SuckyJack, 10 April 2015 - 07:39 PM.

[BarHaid]

Rushin Roulette, on 10 April 2015 - 04:10 AM, said:

Charger anyone?

Oh, I LIKE you.

[Tarl Cabot]

BarHaid, on 10 April 2015 - 10:09 PM, said:

Oh, I LIKE you.

There was one already running around but it sure looked like a Banshee, it was all small lasers or small pulse lasers.

[Wild Hamster]

They should have kept a few of the iconic mechs under wraps and do the urbie thing wit em ie Atlas, Awesome, Timby

Oh well, there's always.. Firemoth. Elementals perhaps?

[SweetJackal]

Wild Hamster, on 10 April 2015 - 10:30 PM, said:

They should have kept a few of the iconic mechs under wraps and do the urbie thing wit em ie Atlas, Awesome, Timby

Oh well, there's always.. Firemoth. Elementals perhaps?

Mauler, Charger, Bushwacker, Cyclops, and Black Knight for a start. And when mech melee, impacts and collisions are properly put into the game you'll have the Axeman to work with as well.

That is before you start taking a look at Iconic Faction mechs as well.

[darkezero]

What about the Marauder II or IIC? are those locked just because they carry the name Marauder?

[SweetJackal]

darkezero, on 10 April 2015 - 11:15 PM, said:

What about the Marauder II or IIC? are those locked just because they carry the name Marauder?

The artwork for both the Marauder and Marauder II are from Robotech/Macross or otherwise derived from. That's a can of worms as the reseen version, the artwork that was changed drastically enough to no longer be claimed to be derived from the source material was hated by a very vocal group. So it's not the name that lays the claim but the artwork, and changing the artwork upsets enough Marauder fans. So legal litigation sits on one side of the fence, and an angry mob with pitchforks sits on the other.

Even if PGI did strike that balance the Marauder IIC is out of the picture due to it being a Clan Battlemech and not a Clan Omnimech. Currently Clan Tech is being balanced to the restrictions of the Omnimech system, IS don't get Clan Tech or Omni-mechs and Clans don't use IS tech or Battlemechs. This also fits for the time period in game as Omnimechs were used as first line units due to tactical flexibility, being able to swap configs in mere hours would allow all Omnimechs to be used and be tailored to the battlefield. That is a level of tactical flexibility that would otherwise require battalions of battlemechs for a handful of pilots. Clan Battlemechs are second line and we won't see those in the near future.

Edited by SuckyJack, 10 April 2015 - 11:46 PM.

[Elizander]

MeiSooHaityu, on 10 April 2015 - 04:47 AM, said:

That's not the problem from what I have heard. The problem is, PGI has been trying to get HG to approve an alternate design and HG refuses to buy off on it. PGI could launch it anyway, but HG would probably serve a cease and desist order or hand them a summons to court just because the new mech is called Marauder.

Even though PGI, Microsoft, whomever would win with a new design, tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and court fees isn't going to be covered by selling a Marauder in MWO.

The threat of a lawsuit is enough to keep the mech in limbo.

Well if that's the only problem then let's freaking call it something else then.

Marauder -> Raider RAD / Highwayman HWM / Bandit BDT / Brigand BRG (some might be vehicle names but who cares?)
Warhammer -> Battlehammer BHR / Warmaul WRM
Archer -> Ranger RNG (lol) / Hunter HTR

Use the new models, give it new lore with no references to the old ones, magically inject into the timeline and there you go.

Experimental models based off old ones that shall not be mentioned.

Edited by Elizander, 11 April 2015 - 03:32 AM.

[JohnnyWayne]

HG has no rights. They only think they have.

Anyways they think they have rights on the design, not the name.

[Escef]

MeiSooHaityu, on 10 April 2015 - 04:47 AM, said:

That's not the problem from what I have heard. The problem is, PGI has been trying to get HG to approve an alternate design and HG refuses to buy off on it.

As far as I know, PGI hasn't even submitted concept art to HG for approval. HG has a nasty reputation on this matter, and I highly doubt that PGI has even bothered to talk to them.

[Firecrafter]

I agree, as silly as the 'mech is, I really like some of the effective builds you can use with it.

[Scorch454]

Never really got the hype about the urbie but I only think that it got all this attention due to MWO in general kinda running on fumes. There seems to be a lot of people getting bored with the game so when something...ANYTHING... new comes out it and they put all this effort into it to sell it, people for the most part eat it up. I just really really think they could have spend their efforts elsewhere in the game,