FMs to be distributed exclusively through Eidos? (LOOK OUT! IT'S A PRANK!) - by Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread Man on 1/4/2005 at 05:03
I would have posted this earlier today, but to be honest I was trying to figure out how to word it. Ended up deciding to just blurt it out and basically hope for the best.
Okay, so... You might remember that I was looking into the mysterious lack of EULA packaged with the T3 tools, right? Well, I've been on a frenzy of email sending, partly because ISA no longer exists and the people I was talking to there are "in transition", partly because Eidos is in the middle of getting bought, and partly because sometimes I wonder if anyone on the receiving end of things even knows what I'm talking about most of the time. Getting hold of people hasn't been easy, and now I'm wishing I hadn't bothered.
Poke under rocks, and sometimes something stings you, yes? Well, something stung me.
I'm not considering this to be the end of the story -- I'm not sure a) they've thought this through very well, b) it's being presented in a DO IT THIS WAY OR SUFFER GREAT WRATH manner, and c) this is even something they are going to follow through with. But however you slice it, they hold cards we don't have. Nevertheless, I'm planning to convince them that this is a ridiculous idea that will actually backfire in a tragic way.
Anyway. This is the relevant text:
Quote:
Alex,
As you are probably aware, Eidos Interactive is undergoing
some fundamental restructuring at this time. In compliance
with our investors' wishes it has become necessary to reclaim
certain assets determined to be crucial to future development
possibilities.
The Flesh engine (developed by Ion Storm and used to create
Deus Ex: Invisible War and Thief: Deadly Shadows) is one of
these assets, and Eidos is forced to reconsider the decision to
make the editing tools freely available to the fan community.
We can't realistically guarantee that all distributed copies of
this engine and the editing tools are deleted, and we can't
collect a retroactive download fee from members of the
modding community who have the tool set. We also recognize
the contribution made by fans of the Thief series through the
free distribution of a very impressive catalogue of fan-made
missions and modifications.
As a compromise to our investors, we have decided to recover
potential losses by requesting that all modifications, maps, and
resources created with the Flesh engine and its editing tools
be evaluated by Eidos Interactive. High-quality submissions will
be released exclusively through Eidos as part of a series of
annual expansion packs which will be available for download
through our website for a nominal fee.
This is also a condition imposed by Epic Games, because the
Flesh engine includes significant amounts of unreleased code
relevant to their Unreal 3 engine which is not yet available to
the public.
If you have any questions about this new arrangement and
what it might mean to TtLG, please contact me here:
(contact info / phone etc removed)Sincerely,
Davison Lipsor
Eidos Interactive
Note: This ONLY seems to be an issue for Thief 3. There has never been anything said about Thief 1 & 2 FMs / campaigns / toolsets / whatever. Which is good, because otherwise I can think of quite a few T2x people who would happily descend on Eidos with pitchforks.
Ladron De La Noche on 1/4/2005 at 05:10
Wait a minute.... This is a joke, right? :sweat:
Gingerbread Man on 1/4/2005 at 05:11
Yeah, because that would be funny, wouldn't it?
:(
ZylonBane on 1/4/2005 at 05:18
Quote:
...we can't collect a retroactive download fee from members of the modding community who have the tool set.
Which is to say, if they thought they could, they would.
Yeesh.
New Horizon on 1/4/2005 at 05:19
April Fools?
ascottk on 1/4/2005 at 05:26
. . . Just because the modding community is improving their product . . . with unreleased code even . . . Thief 3 suddenly seems like a beta test . . .
ZylonBane on 1/4/2005 at 05:39
Quote Posted by New Horizon
April Fools?
D'oh! Yeah, the timing and nature of this announcement does seem far too coincidental.
The bit about the disfigured Flesh engine containing any meaningful trace of Unreal 3 tech is a dead giveaway, in retrospect.
Gingerbread Man on 1/4/2005 at 05:46
The way I have been led to understand it, Ion initially had to get Epic's programmers involved in rewriting parts of the engine to do what they needed it to do. All I can assume is that Epic's guys, being tits-deep in U3 stuff, used approaches and solutions that could be considered "work in progress" or some such with respect to the Unreal 3 engine.
But yeah, that bit sounds kinda weird to me, as well. Maybe there's leftover code or something? A code-monkey I am not. I shall bother Alex Duran about it.
David on 1/4/2005 at 05:58
I got this news late on Wednesday and am still trying to figure out how Eidos plan to make this work, looks pretty "grabby grabby" to me.
Something Awful had a seven page thread on Mitch Hedberg's passing that was full of "LOL APRIL FOOLS" when in fact he actually had passed away. Much like this news, the timing is just a bad coincidence. :erg:
New Horizon on 1/4/2005 at 06:05
All I have to say to Eidos...in the even that this is true....too late suckas...go to hell!!!
