Adventure Game Rips Off UT2004, Other Titles

[[GU]elmur_fud]

http://www.kentmessenger.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=9644

Ah so there not Texans ... so why was tri-synergy founded in dallas? odd. Door to door asset theft of companies like 3Drealms, Id, Gearbox, and enamble studious? Actually was there anything noticable from any of those studios also in the DFW area ... hmmm

 

[elmuerte]

How do you go about porting the contents of a map from one game engine to another like this ?

They are 2D screenshots... erm... I mean backdrops.
Only the main character is 3D

 

[Leonardo]

The whole thing leaves me in stitchs of laughter.

 

[[GU]elmur_fud]

Ah so there not Texans ... so why was tri-synergy founded in dallas? odd. Door to door asset theft of companies like 3Drealms, Id, Gearbox, and enamble studious? Actually was there anything noticable from any of those studios also in the DFW area ... hmmm

I think I got my wires crossed someplace are those dweebs the founders of majestic or tri-synergy? To dang sleepy.

They are 2D screenshots... erm... I mean backdrops.
Only the main character is 3D

Pretty sure thats 3d. for the most part.

Well actually that is easy enough with UT2k4 you place the object in a map and export it as .obj voila editable with almost any modeler.

Additionally I believe most games have people out there that make tools to reverse engineer and rip assets, I recall running across a forum for just that once. I know I saw games like wow Diablo 2 and painkiller on there list.

Id uses md and lwo type models which can be accessed for mappers and modders via any zip tool from the pk3 files though I think some of the assets for id are embedded into the lvl.

I am sure with a little time in google search you could find all sorts of stuff on just that.

Most games that allow community content creation can have there assets accessed. Almost always a violation of terms to use them in another game.

 

[elmuerte]

no really, the backgrounds of that game are completely 2D.
they used screenshots as source for all backgrounds.

 

[Grobut]

Hahaha. They didn't think they'd get away with this, did they?

Probably not, which would explain why they are all "on vacation" now.. they are probably sipping cocktails on some beach right now in a country where they can't be extradited from.

...Idea?

There are two CLEARLY-Copypasta'd scenes from DM-Aristocracy in LotL (a pun on LotR?). The only actual difference? photoshop pattern layer snow.

What i meant was: Did they build the assets themselves but just shamelessly based them on Dm-Aristockracy assets, or did they export the actual assets and use them directly.

But as Senior Muerte points out, its probably none of the above, they are just screenshots, the player model just moves around in a simple invisible 3D room with a screenshot overlay (so the rooms are just a 3D box with blocking volumes so you can only go where the screenshot looks like you can go), lots of point'n click adventure games work like this.

So really, thease guys have been even more lazy than i first imagined, they have just taken a bunch a screenshots from their favorite games, photoshopped them a bit, and slapped it all togeather with some other stolen assets and released it, and they barely had to make any assets of their own in the process, for great revenue potential! move LOL!


I'm just amazed the publisher didn't catch on to what kind of 2-bit scam opperation they where getting in bed with, their "official site" was/is hosted on Geosities for crying in the mud!

 

[dub]

Probably not, which would explain why they are all "on vacation" now.. they are probably sipping cocktails on some beach right now in a country where they can't be extradited from.



What i meant was: Did they build the assets themselves but just shamelessly based them on Dm-Aristockracy assets, or did they export the actual assets and use them directly.

But as Senior Muerte points out, its probably none of the above, they are just screenshots, the player model just moves around in a simple invisible 3D room with a screenshot overlay (so the rooms are just a 3D box with blocking volumes so you can only go where the screenshot looks like you can go), lots of point'n click adventure games work like this.

So really, thease guys have been even more lazy than i first imagined, they have just taken a bunch a screenshots from their favorite games, photoshopped them a bit, and slapped it all togeather with some other stolen assets and released it, and they barely had to make any assets of their own in the process, for great revenue potential! move LOL!


I'm just amazed the publisher didn't catch on to what kind of 2-bit scam opperation they where getting in bed with, their "official site" was/is hosted on Geosities for crying in the mud!

May I direct you to this thread, with a lot more info on the subject. You can also see shots of Aristocracy and that they literally took the models along with their textures.

And no, they aren't just classic screenshots of the game as they have moved and altered minimal parts of the maps they ripped off, so at some point they had the assets in 3D form.

 

[elmuerte]

FYI: 3D characters with 2D backdrops as environment is quite normal for adventure games.

 

[EdWinchester]

Well he is planning a new one.. the sequel.. i wonder which games will be used in the next the sims ? Fifa 2008 ?

http://forum.dead-code.org/index.php?topic=2904.msg18305#msg18305

 

[elmuerte]

if you can construct in 3D using an editor like Unreal 3 etc all the better.

Well, that's a clear violation of the EULA for UT3 (or any other UE3 engine game that comes with the editor)

 

[EdWinchester]

Well, that's a clear violation of the EULA for UT3 (or any other UE3 engine game that comes with the editor)

ssh.. am dieing to see the sequel!

 

[elmuerte]

Also, you would get a percentage of the royalties. I wonder if they do Holywood Accounting

 

[EdWinchester]

Also, you would get a percentage of the royalties. I wonder if they do Holywood Accounting

Should be translated to "you will become a percentage bankrupt".. enough jokes..

in a way its sad that some can f### up so badly.. makes me wonder if they had a subcontractor on the 2d/3d that stiffed them... or if they actually thought that this was okay.

 

[Grobut]

in a way its sad that some can f### up so badly.. makes me wonder if they had a subcontractor on the 2d/3d that stiffed them... or if they actually thought that this was okay.

I think it was a scam from the very start, more so after reading up on thease guys on the WME forums, i think this is how it went down: 3 aging blokes decide they want an early retirement, and figure out that if you could sell a vid-game you'd get rich quick, but none of them have the skillz to do it, so they just steal whatever they need, and the "coder" they have was basically getting all the code for the game from helpfull members of the WME forums, it has probably cost them nothing to make this game (just the electricity to run their PC's, everything else is probably stolen, pirated or freeware), and it probably didn't take them very long either, and then they get it published, and scurry off to some tropical paradise where the law can't get to them, and hope for a tidy sum to collect on their bank accounts before someone figures out what has happened and pulls the plug.

If i am indeed correct, we can only hope the publisher did not line their pockets before figuring out what happened.

 

[JaFO]

Are you somehow related to the devs? There could not be any other explaination of what you just wrote with all the evidence around.

No I am most certainly not related to those *eh* guys.
I am simply wondering what exactly is being 'stolen' here.
Is using a modified 2D screenshot of a 3D level the same the same as using the assets themselves ?
It could be considered an artistic interpretation of the original ... and as such the only 'legal' basis would be that they didn't ask for permission to use said screenshot.

What if they've used screenshots that were part of a press-release for the various games/maps/whatever ?

There are still plenty of people/gamers/fans out there that do exactly the same as these guys did ... so the only 'news' is that these guys dared to do it on this scale for a commercial project without even bothering to hide their sources.

// ---
And finally ... what publisher ever decided to even release a game like this ?
Those guys must surely have been good at 'convincing' them just to get something like this released. They may have dropped it after it got out in the open, but one really has to wonder if that's not just a matter of them covering what's left of their behinds ...

 

[MonsOlympus]

Theres gotta be something to fair use though, there does become a point where its blatant plagiarism. I guess it does depend on the country you are in but the pictures Ive seen arnt altered enough for what I would consider fair use. Ofcoarse its up to the courts now, Id be betting, to sort it out!

Honestly though, whats a publisher doing releasing a game they havent played? Sure we cant expect everyone to be a gamer but it would be nice if the people in the industry actually played games themselves. Maybe Im asking too much since its a 'business' but my faith in publishers has been lowered even more after hearing about this, they cant shrug and say we didnt know like it means something. It is their logo on the box as well after all!

 

[Hourences]

They are a tiny publisher, they dont really represent the bigger publishers and how they deal with their games.

Screenshots and photos have some strong restrictions to them too. You cant just take a photo of something and do with it whatever you want, even if you personally took the photo. Think of building interiors or people, or more fitting, what if I take a photo of some dude's painting, and I start reproducing his painting a thousand times, and sell the printed reproductions. I could argue that it is just a photo that I took in a public place (museum), but surely that wouldnt really help me would it?
I could take a photo of the UT logo and name, and make a crappy game, and put the photo of the UT logo and name on my box, and argue it is only a photo, but that still wouldnt help me...Even if the logo was used in a press release.

Stuff like this is usually fair use. You could use a screenshot of a game in a book, and no one would sue you, and even if they would, you could argue it is only one little picture to support your article or other publication. In this case however, they built their entire and very similar (its a game, not a book or a pack of milk) product with the material. Thats hardly fair use.

I dont think they will survive the lawsuit.

It is a shame that so many developers are trying to get hold of a publising deal, and spend years working on their sometimes great projects, and then these guys come in, rip off the entire industry, and do manage to get their "product" on the shelves. Slap in the face for independent devs.

 

[Manticore]

I don't know about the game but I've certainly enjoyed reading all these threads about it.

 

[MonsOlympus]

They dont usually allow camera's in galleries, well atleast not here, the guards even check to make sure. I see where you are comin from though!

I can certainly see this publisher is smaller than others and I agree about the developers basically bitch slapping the industry. I just think that both of these the publisher and the developer represent the industry, especially when they get 'their' game lol on shelves under the PC lets say logo so both should be held liable. It should be the publishers job to make sure this doesnt happen no matter how big or little, if it wasnt for them the title would have never seen the shelf but that in no way excuses the actions of this developer.

To me fair use means to take something that isnt yours and edit it in a way where the original is virtually unrecognizable. That happens with peoples face's if you try to use them without permission, much like criminals on TV or say logo's which arnt endorsing a program etc. Some games take inspiration like GTA has done and makes something like a car we see in the real world, remove the badges and changes it enough to be a fair use. Other games get official endorsement by these companies, sign contracts etc stating what they can and cant do.

Back on publishers though, Im of the opinion alot of the things they handle could be done internally for less cost, its more than likely it would catch stuff like this alot sooner. Then again even internally this developer was out to do something.

I would really like to know the motivations are behind this, what were the developers thinking? If it was a pure fame and fortune thing or if there is a statement they were trying to make. I honestly cant see a statement of any kind other than putting the games industry in a bad light, is piracy that much of an issue people are stealing the games they make now? Maybe Im just reading too much into it, its not like all features in every game is new but yes fair use.

 

[elmuerte]

commercial use is pretty much exactly where fair use (and similar constructions) ends.