Nightdive Studios, SNEG, Ziggurat, Piko Interactive and others rereleasing classic games

[Gragt]

Fans made DOSBox, and made it GPL so it can be used with out paying for licensing.
So now all these people (GOG*, ND, Tommo) can sell a harvest which they nether planted nor harvested.

Is the DOSBox team opposed to third-parties selling old games with their emulator? Did they complain about this practice? Why do they have a link to GOG on their homepage?

Republishing of old games has at least one positive thing - it brings those old games to the attention of modern gamers. I remember, when System Shock 2 came to GOG it was announced on various gaming sites. So now, people who have never played it can notice it, and maybe try it.

I am always happy to see some classics again enjoying a commercial release. There is money to be made there, which is not a shameful thing to do, and it gives these games a second life. Abandonware is only needed when it is useful.

 

[Grim Monk]

Is the DOSBox team opposed to third-parties selling old games with their emulator? Did they complain about this practice?

The DOSbox team seems be made up of generous people...

Why do they have a link to GOG on their homepage?

Referral monies, keeping a website up means servers costs.

Also GOG cultivates relatively "easy going" and "likable" image, avoids heavy-handed methods.
Plus the DRM -free stance is legitimately praiseworthy.

Plus many of them share your views:

1.

"It gives these games a second life."

Somewhat true, however a "commercial rerelease" is far from only way of raising awareness...

2.

"There is money to be made there, which is not a shameful thing to do..."

On this I disagree (both with you, and with them).

Its legal, but (IMHO) its certainly great shame that people who made the games aren't seeing any compensation ...

"That's just the way the video game industry works" is not a reason for me to agree with a practice...
Third world sweatshops is just the way the garment industry works.
They are also "legal" under the laws of the countries where they operate...

The fact Devs signed contracts giving them no rights, just means they work in a inherently unjust and predatory "Rip-off" system:

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

Turning the creative force in the games industry (Developers) in glorified "Contractual Day Laborers" does not IMHO seem to be a very healthy way to promote future creativity.


And I reserve the right to express my views (and distaste) on the subject...

 

[taxalot]

Whatever, free or not, if I was in the Dosbox team I would be incredibly pissed off at how much money these guys did thanks to my work. Dosbox actually started GoG. They should get some kind of reward ; sucking up to the customers while screwing both the original devs of the games and the guys who made this release possible is a dick move.

Still, I have like a 100 games in my GoG Shelf :/

 

[tuluse]

Whatever, free or not, if I was in the Dosbox team I would be incredibly pissed off at how much money these guys did thanks to my work. Dosbox actually started GoG. They should get some kind of reward ; sucking up to the customers while screwing both the original devs of the games and the guys who made this release possible is a dick move.

Still, I have like a 100 games in my GoG Shelf :/

If you would be pissed off you probably wouldn't work on a FLOSS project anyways. The whole idea is that it's free for people to do whatever they want with it.

 

[taxalot]

Yes, but there's a difference on working on a small program that will make everyone's life easier (which was what they probably intended) and starting a whole fucking industry revolution which is now making millions in cash. The difference in that case being : time, not intent.

 

[Gragt]

Why not directly ask the DOSBox team what they think? They are, after all, the ones working on it. So far I haven't seen Qbix go on a rant over the fact that some insidious bastards are making money off of his back. I can understand the other aspects of the bitching, but this one, i.e. crusading for other people, seems to be grasping at straws.

In any case the system that allows someone else to acquire the rights to an intellectual property is the current reality, for good or ill. I'd rather see them easily available than pushed to a gray legal area. I do not want even to speculate about the motives of the people behind it for what should matter most is the quality of the stuff actually being done.

 

[Infinitron]

New games - the "Classic War Pack": http://store.steampowered.com/sub/54317/

Includes the Silent Service series, and a bunch of other games that aren't on GOG.

 

[Infinitron]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/329650/



Vietnam in the Build Engine.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Still no Vietcong?
Whatever, just go for boxed version if I find it.

 

[LESS T_T]

Night Dive will re-release more games soon:

- Noctropolis, with remastered music and widescreen support. They're working with the original creator.
- PowerSlave/Exhumed. They're planning to include a port of the Sega Saturn version.

- They'll announce something about No One Lives Forever soon. "It's not gonna be the news what everybody is obviously hoping for, but it's gonna provide a very interesting update and some information on what's going on." hmmmmm
- They'll publishing a new indie sci-fi shooter Spirits of Xanadu.

- System Shock 2 is their best selling title.

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=130336

 

[Destroid]

I wonder how much they pay for the licences to sell these old games.

 

[Baron Dupek]

"It's not gonna be the news what everybody is obviously hoping for, but it's gonna provide a very interesting update and some information on what's going on."

Yeah, wonder if this is something bad (released under Warner Bros' sign on GOG?) or they trying to keep the tension.

 

[Morgoth]

http://kotaku.com/the-sad-story-behind-a-dead-pc-game-that-cant-come-back-1688358811

Last week, Night Dive founder Stephen Kick and director of business development Larry Kuperman emailed me to let me know that while they had indeed planned to re-release No One Lives Forever and its sequel, they'd hit a wall and been forced to give up. Thanks to the ongoing inability and/or unwillingness of three publishers—Activision, 20th Century Fox, and in particular Warner Bros.—to determine who owned the game, Night Dive is currently abandoning its efforts to revive No One Lives Forever.

Ah fuck.

 

[tuluse]

Well shit.

They should just release it anyways and then find out who owns it in the lawsuit.

 

[Athelas]

"It's not gonna be the news what everybody is obviously hoping for, but it's gonna provide a very interesting update and some information on what's going on."

Talk about an understatement.

Though now that Warner Bros. is on GOG, perhaps we might see it eventually.

 

[Infinitron]

Well shit.

They should just release it anyways and then find out who owns it in the lawsuit.

I don't think that's the real issue. It seems to me that what Night Dive and Stephen Kick really want is an official-looking "stamp of approval" from SOME corporation, so they can put the game on Steam and GOG without making Valve/CDProjekt scared of being sued. It doesn't matter who actually owns it. Warner Bros. has been selected as the "probable owner" they're seeking that stamp of approval from, and it seems fairly obvious that the other two companies won't care enough to contest that.

 

[pippin]

for fucks sake.

 

[felipepepe]

I guess this "officially" makes the game abandonware then... thank god for pirates.

 

[Infinitron]

New games:

The third Microprose RPG, Challenge of the Five Realms: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347240



An interesting-looking space exploration game I've never heard of, Hyperspeed: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347260



Plus three flight sims:

F-19 Stealth Fighter: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347250
Knights of the Sky: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347270
1942: The Pacific Air War: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347230

 

[Infinitron]

New stuff: http://store.steampowered.com/app/351810/



http://store.steampowered.com/app/351820/

 

[Unkillable Cat]

An interesting-looking space exploration game I've never heard of, Hyperspeed: http://store.steampowered.com/app/347260

Maybe you've heard of the prequel, Lightspeed. They both came out around 1990.

Anyway, trippy thought of the day. The YT trailer for Hyperspeed, combined with the game's similarities with modern-day indie titles, will probably mislead several people into thinking that it's "just another indie game", which could be good...or bad.

EDIT: Madspace looks like a game that mixes a rail shooter with a FPS running the Doom engine. Not exactly a good sign.

 

[Morgoth]

http://www.destructoid.com/night-dive-studios-might-be-remaking-turok-291786.phtml

“I was originally working on remaking N64 Turok (called Turok EX) but it got put off to the side. Since now Night Dive Studios has picked up the rights to re-release it, Turok EX will resume development later this year.“

Excellent.

 

[Baron Dupek]

They mentioned Powerslave, Turok but also Doom 64 aka Doom 64 The Absolution, which was p.cool and already have (unofficial) PC port.
https://doom64ex.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/status-on-version-2-6-and-turokex-updates/

Enjoy seeking-no-longer the light.

 

[Baron Dupek]

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/everything-else/72886-powerslave-ex-public-beta-released/
https://powerslaveex.wordpress.com/

And here is - public BETA of the project. Reverse engineering PSX version of the game on custom engine.
Not sure if brace myself or run.

To improve framerate - turn off bloom.
Not a problem I guess, I always turn off that shit.

 

[Riskbreaker]

All download links are as dead as they get. Guess there is way more interest for this port than Kaiser hath anticipated.