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Question about EnB


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Ok, to start off, I am legally challenged. My questions are:

Did EA let you recreate this great game?

Did you have to buy the rights to it?

Will it ever go public with subscriptions under a different developer?

Can EA stop the Devs from working on it?

Maybe I missed all the info over the years, but you guys are the greatest bringing this back to us. I really want to see this project succeed and make it.

I have my original beta disk and the final disks from the EA years ago. Are they any good or can be used for anything?

Thanks all and sorry if I sound ignorant on these questions, but these questions have been swirling around in my mind since I became a part of this game quest.
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[quote name='outfctrl' timestamp='1307018573' post='41531']
Ok, to start off, I am legally challenged. My questions are:

[b]#1[/b] Did EA let you recreate this great game?

[b]#2[/b] Did you have to buy the rights to it?
[/quote]
[b]#1[/b] No, and there was no need to ask because they are not using the original server code. Everything that the Dev's have done here is perfectly legal. The reason is because all the coding that they have done is custom coding not the original server coding that EA was running.
[b]#2[/b] No yet again. Since they developed their own server code to run the game they do not have to buy anything, Its the same reasoning as above.
[quote name='outfctrl' timestamp='1307018573' post='41531']
[b]#3[/b] Will it ever go public with subscriptions under a different developer?

[b]#4[/b] Can EA stop the Devs from working on it?
[/quote]
No on #3.
#4 Yes and no. At this time EA has no interest in this game or the project, I do believe they know about it, and if they do know about it they must think the project will not go anywhere.
If the EMU Dev's were to do any type of subscriptions, Selling of In-game items via real money, or simply charging any type of fee that can generate a profit, EA can and will shut this project down.
[quote name='outfctrl' timestamp='1307018573' post='41531']
Maybe I missed all the info over the years, but you guys are the greatest bringing this back to us. I really want to see this project succeed and make it.

I have my original beta disk and the final disks from the EA years ago. Are they any good or can be used for anything?

Thanks all and sorry if I sound ignorant on these questions, but these questions have been swirling around in my mind since I became a part of this game quest.
[/quote]

Your Beta and Normal Disks are now just memorabilia, however im sure you could install the game from the normal ones but the easiest way is through the demo install.

Hope this answered alot of your questions, a Dev is sure to see this and most likely answer as well.
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So basically, the Devs are doing this because of a passion for the game play? This is a tremendous amount of work to do for free. It just doesn't seem right that with all their efforts and time they put in, they can't make a dime. So what I paid for, was a donation to pay for servers and bandwidth. Right?

Now, the only way for this game to keep going is by donations or they have to shut down? Once the game is completed, then what?

When you said NO on #3, couldn't they just have us pay a monthly charge to keep the servers running once the game is complete? It seems fair to me.
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No donations would ultimately equal no EnB Emulator to play.

Not sure you can say the game is ever totally finished. Live status would be a goal, but even then there will be patches to add new content, new equipment, new systems, sectors etc.
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[quote name='outfctrl' timestamp='1307045344' post='41544']
When you said NO on #3, couldn't they just have us pay a monthly charge to keep the servers running once the game is complete? It seems fair to me.
[/quote]
No they cannot charge a monthly fee due to the EULA and several other legal issues. In order for this game to be developed again and played it relies solely on donations alone.
If they did do monthly fees there would be that fine line of making a profit, it can be considered a profit maker because a fee would be required to support development. Since the EMU team did not make the game itself it is not theirs and therefor cannot charge any type of fee to use the software.
Donations is the only legal way and none of the Developers are allowed to earn a dime if they wish the game to be resurrected. If they were able to get EA games to hand over the license to the game and all the game research it would be a different story, but there is no way in hell EA would considering they have the option to make money again from this game title. Edited by Maniac
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[quote name='outfctrl' timestamp='1307045344' post='41544']
So basically, the Devs are doing this because of a passion for the game play? This is a tremendous amount of work to do for free. It just doesn't seem right that with all their efforts and time they put in, they can't make a dime. So what I paid for, was a donation to pay for servers and bandwidth. Right?

Now, the only way for this game to keep going is by donations or they have to shut down? Once the game is completed, then what?

When you said NO on #3, couldn't they just have us pay a monthly charge to keep the servers running once the game is complete? It seems fair to me.
[/quote]



The answers have been essentially correct and this is right, we do it simply for the love of the game (and potentially our resumes, like me, since I just recently graduated with a degree in game design). We are discussing the idea of starting our own studio and so on so perhaps one day we'll be able to provide new games, but the copyright for this belongs to ea for 95 and/or 120 years depending on how they initially set up and worked on it. We have no rights to the content unless we were to buy it out, and they haven't offered.

Your donation is simply for server cost, if you look at that financial report post in teh first forum, it has a breakdown of what we pay for, amortized to a monthly basis to account for the one thing that is paid annually rather than monthly. If the donations stopped, we'd have no way to provide the public servers and would go back to private development on private machines, the donations are simply there so we can provide a public server. We cannot accept payment or profit without drawing ire of EA (I imagine it would have to be enough for them to consider it worth the legal trouble, but we won't risk it either way).

No monthly charge, this violates the EULA as I believe Maniac said, while it seems fair, they would have every right to haul our tails to court for it and legally break us if we did.
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I want to thank all of you for the extensive responses. I understand now.

BUT

It would make sense if EA allowed you to work on the game, charge a monthly fee and get a percentage of the profit without investing a dime to update or enhance the game over the years. It would be a win-win situation for them. Right now, the game is dead in their eyes, but this would give them an opportunity to make a few bucks on your labor.
I am sure you tried to present that to them, right? If you did, I am sure you never got a response. LOL
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[quote name='Kyp' timestamp='1307149909' post='41649']
EA doesn't publicly acknowledge our existence, but you can rest assured they know of us.
[/quote]

Them not acknowledging the existence of the EnB emulator is probably a good thing.
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My friend at EA says they are waiting till the emulator is ready before shutting it down...

They are going to send SWATs into Kyp's basement where he hides during daytime. He is then arrested and offered a deal to be let free if he works for EA, something Kyp cannot refuse. But in secret this is what Kyp has been fantasizing about all along. He outsmarts EA and all of us...
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I'm qualified for a job at EA now Tyran, but from what I hear from teh people I know within the IGDA, they aren't the kinda people you wanna work for.
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Regarding the licensing issue, I suppose it depends on whether or not you look at Earth & Beyond as a game or as a concept. The game itself in the form of code and database is worthless to EA as it stands right now. Their client and server code is over 8 years old now and so out of date as to be practically impossible to work on. Either for the EMU dev's or for EA themselves.

The game design and surrounding intellectual property as a brand, however, holds significant commercial value for EA and it is not beyond the realm of reason for EA to develop a second game, of whatever flavour, based on the E&B franchise. Unfortunately for the EMU team the old game code is worthless without the supporting design documents and EA is not going to release those without someone handing over several million dollars for the privilege - if at all.

While the server code is all Net-7 the client and the copyrighted material it holds isn't and the second EA get even a sniff of someone other than themselves profiting from use of the client and the copyrighted material they'll be all over Net-7 like a really bad case of Ebola.

Better the current status-Quo for all concerned tbh
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Actually Jerioca, for what its worth, the leads have (most of) the original design docs. I won't say where/how to protect anonymity and so on though. :)

This is sorta how we know that the game was initially planned to be a lil less RPG and a lil more twitch based.
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