ScarecrowES, on 28 June 2015 - 03:52 PM, said:
The reality would most likely be that any action taken on by MS to exert their rights to the property would not be met by any resistance by HG.
Let's think about it this way. If PGI were to sell a Project Phoenix pack that included any 4 of the remaining PP mechs we don't already have, among them being the Marauder, Warhammer, Rifleman, etc... what kind of monetary stream would such a pack represent to PGI? There's reason to believe such a pack would be the best-selling pack PGI could put out. If done well, there isn't a Battletech vet playing MWO who wouldn't pay hard cash for even one of those mechs, and it's likely PGI would sell the top-level pack at the highest possible numbers. There's little doubt here that those mechs represent the best money stream from mechs PGI can have at any point in the life of MWO.
PGI's existing stance of asking Harmony Gold for a blessing isn't going to work. It will NEVER be in HG's interest to say "yes" even if they have no LEGAL grounds to say "no." The threat of a lawsuit, however unfounded, is what prevents PGI from acting in its own self interest, the interest of the rights-holder (MS), and the interest of the property.
You can currently go out and buy Marauders in other media. You can order yourself an Iron Wind Marauder metal miniature right now if you chose. I can't imagine Iron Wind makes much money selling Marauder minis. HG leaves them alone. It's probably fair to say PGI, and certainly MS, has more might than Iron Wind. Ultimately, it might just require that, as rights holders, PGI... but more specifically MS... flex a little muscle.
If the community were to point out, en masse, just how MUCH is at stake with these reseen mechs, it might spur the powers that be to action. Show that the community is united in support of their inclusion in the game, and how much money stands to be made now and in the future from these mechs, and PGI/MS might lift a finger to bolster the rights they already have.
Of course, the community has to support a redesign. Many community members want the original designs, which PGI can't have without HG being on board (they are not). And the townhall made it seem like Russ is bucking for support from HG to use the original work. This would be a mistake, of course, for anyone to hold onto the desire to include the original designs. If you're ever going to see a Marauder in a Mechwarrior game, it's going to be reseen. Folks need to be on-board with that.
The part in bold is the real key here.
Any of the Macross Phoenix mechs would have to be redesigned regardless in order to fit into MWOs current aesthetic mythos.
I forget who it was, but someone posted a thread about a redesigned Marauder in MWO, and they used parts from the Catapult, S.Hawk and Cataphract to make it, and frankly it looked really close to the original Marauder art, but used assets completely unique to MWO.
Granted the picture was a photo-shopped mish-mash, but the key is, it looked enough like the original to appeal to that crowd, while differentiating itself from the disputed Zentradi Officer Pod image. So it's entirely possible that Alex and/or the rest of the art and design team could make the really popular Macross Phoenix mechs using current in-game assets, plus a little originality of their own.
The question is, how many of the Macross mechs could be worked like that? Right now I only think the Rifleman, Warhammer and Marauder could be safely brought into MWO after a once-over from Alex and the art team.
The Wasp/Stinger, and maybe the Valkyrie, I really can't see those mechs working, purely from a gameplay perspective, without some amount of armor/hardpoint inflation.
The Phoenix Hawk and Crusader are the only ones I don't have any idea on how they'd be made to fit into MWO, considering their original artworks were incredibly iconic, i.e. the Super and Armored Valkyries/Veritechs, respectively.
The Ostscout, Ostroc and Ostsol are the only Macross derived mechs that can be used in their original and/or upgraded forms, and frankly only the Ostroc and Ostsol are the only ones worth using from a gameplay perspective.
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