With Sega in the current state of flux it is in with SoA moving and major shuffles in management, I really really hope he removes the XG stuff from GoFundMe, because I'm worried that if XG gets a C&D it may put even the non-profit fan-games under unnecessary heat. I want that to stop before it gets to that point.
Well done W.A.C. Good message. Reading that it sounds pretty much perfect. Concise, well communicated and to the point. He should theoretically interpret that message as holding good intentions. I only hope he listens to the good advice and adjusts accordingly. Please do post here if and when he responds.
What you say about Streets of Rage Remake is interesting to me. On TSSZ years ago, we got a pretty significant dump of rumored information from a "trusted source" (I wasn't privy to who). Every single thing this guy told us ended up coming true. Virtua Fighter 5 on XBLA, all of that stuff. But part of this batch of rumors concerned Streets of Rage Remake -- according to this source, the reason the game was taken down is because Sega was actually pursuing making SORR an official paid product. They apparently wanted to port the game to XBLA, PSN, etc. This was right around the time that Taxman's Sonic CD was announced (if I'm remembering properly), so this information seemed to hold some water. I was assigned tracking down and interviewing Bomberlink about the veracity of this claim, but he had closed himself off from all outside contact. No email addresses, no way to talk to him on the forums (I registered but was never approved), nothing. The trail went dead. I'm inclined to believe it was true, given everything else that source told us ended up coming to pass, but obviously we never ran with the story because I could never get any more substantial information.
Its wrong to ask for money and put Sonic on the same page. If that didnt have the remote possibility for C&D, I'd have done the same thing ages ago except not funding for a game engine but for food. You know, to make games. And like others mentioned, if one Sonic fan game gets the axe it unleashes the highway to hell for all fan Sonic games. They would have already done the paperwork and the C&D letter and put someone on the Send to All button.
Hey Blaze. Not sure if you remember but I'm actually Sonic360 from Sfghq circa 2001/02. We used to talk on AIM a lot back in the day. Really good to see you on here. And wow at all of the information you just posted. It's super fascinating and enlightening so thanks for contributing with that info. I believe it all too. It just sounds all too plausible and like you said your source was accurate on everything else. The primary thing that comes to mind is why didn't the deal actually lead to the game getting an official release? I suppose the obvious and simple solution would be that Sega pursued it but the deal failed to reach an amicable conclusion. It would have been amazing to see SORR become an official Sega product. Certainly the quality of the game made it extremely deserving of that status. SORR is pretty much one-to-one with the original games in terms of its engine and even superior in some ways in terms of content and music. It's truly a labour of love and one of the best fan-produced projects of all-time. I can absolutely see Sega being interested in securing the game especially because at the time they also worked with Taxman and Stealth. The only advice I have would be that it might be worth TSSZ looking in to it again just to find out what happened. It has been that many years now I guess the deal must have fallen through or whatever because of the length of time since SORR's final release. They did however release an update kind of recently that flew under the radar. People were posting about it in the NeoGAF thread. A stealth update with some minor additions that wasn't heavily promoted. That to me indicates the Sega deal must have failed; for the team to resume their work on the game even in the face of the C&D. Everything you wrote was super interesting though so thanks for the insight. Good to see you again. This is the pressing danger right here. Sonic fangames have been isolated and immune to legality because of Sega's discretion for well over a decade now. Sega's accepted stance is that they're the "cool" company that appreciates the fanbase that made them famous that much they let Sonic fangames slide. I have no citation for this but I think we can make the confident assumption that Sega chose preserving and strengthening its reputation amongst its closest fans over forcing down the legal hammer like other companies such as Square Enix do (hello failed Chrono Trigger remake). They would have obviously had to have made the decision at some point and I think we can be confident in assuming they chose goodwill amongst their fans as opposed to aggressive legal action. However, and this is a major however, this is predominantly because Sonic fangames are not for profit and to this day no-one has ever tried to profit from a Sonic fangame reducing the severity of the legal issue quite substantially. There's precedents everywhere but the basic summation is that when money becomes involved game companies tend to forego any gesture of goodwill, turning a blind eye if you will because of the seriousness of the legal consequences. It transitions the legal situation in to something far more severe and I don't think Nitemare is aware of the potential ramifications here. Sonic fangaming is depleted and rare enough as it is, what with only a release every couple of years or so (compared to a new demo every week circa 2001/02 or so; so basically during the development of the Sonic Adventure series and Dreamcast days when Sega was more popular). A C&D precedent with Sonic XG could effectively kill the scene altogether. We have however made efforts to try and steer Nitemare in the right direction so hopefully W.A.C. will return with Nitemare's response and potential evasive action soon. I'm hoping nothing comes of this and Sonic XG releases when it's complete and we all immensely enjoy the game. Hopefully.
I have no idea who is this guy but I'm a contributor to the Bombergames community and the fangame and I keep contact with Bomberlink regularly, never was it confirmed it was specifically because of the donation button for the forum hosting cost. That deal never happened in the first place too. SEGA never tried to propose anything, they just sent a C&D in order to protect their IP, no less. Also that patch you're mentionning, yes it's been spotted quite recently but it's not something that's been developped under the radar, it was apparently developped right after the C&D, probably in case an agreement would have been found. Anyway, I know this isn't the topic but as I and the rest of the Bombergames community are very uneasy with rumors about the C&D that happened to SORR, I can ask Bomberlink to clarify all these points so we stop spreading false informations about SORR but also figuring out how to deal with Sonic XG so it can avoid a similar problem.
Congratulations, people. We now have no official source of Sonic XG updates. But it's for the best, I guess? Eh...
If he didn't make the changes, his fangame might have gotten a C&D. Here's hoping he'll start posting his updates elsewhere and doesn't stop making updates. If anyone's wondering, I have not received a response, but it's pretty obvious he must have read what I sent.
I was literally just about to come in here and post that Nitemare changed his GoFundMe page. I was pretty shocked to see it this quick to be honest. W.A.C's message must have hit him like a lightning bolt. Something tells me he might even be reading this very thread; after all it is one of the only threads dedicated to his game. If I were developing Sonic XG I'd be watching this thread like a hawk. Even so it looks he listened to our advice. This is also for the best. It evades potential legal action. It protects the game. And more importantly to us as fans of his work there's no threat or danger now to the game being released. He can just as easily start a Tumblr or something and post updates there. As for Nitemare not responding I messaged him a few days back (talking about something completely unrelated to the potential C&D; I basically expressed my avid enthusiasm and support for the game saying I was really excited to play it and I'd help him down the line if I could) and also received no reply. Probably best we all just leave him to it at this point. Though on the off chance he is following this thread: please do continue to post updates on Sonic XG Nitemare. The updates were fascinating and wonderful and made us hyped and excited for the game. Just host them somewhere else and we'll all follow wherever you post them. Firmly believe we did something good today. It's great when we unite like this and take action. We may have just saved the game.
Thats....kind of fishy. I'd start with just Fusion 2.5 first and move from there. I have both export modules and they don't work the best with a lot of things. At this point, I'm not even sure if mobile version of the worlds engine is possible.
yes please chide us more for worrying about the legal status of a fangame and establishing a possible precedence towards the scene it gives me pleasure
As fun as the discussion about the trial system was, this topic is not the place for it. If you want to talk about it in more detail make a topic on the appropriate subforum. Let's get back to Sonic XG, shall we? Good to see you on here Nitemare, and lovely to see Sonic XG is still being worked on after all these years.
I stumbled upon that, it's apparently just a "theorical" OST for Sonic XG but damn some of those tunes are great! https://soundcloud.com/nine-zero-music/sets/sonic-xg-theoretical
Awesome find. And I agree entirely. These tracks truly are excellent. Very fitting for a Sonic game. I'd love it if these tracks were used for the game's soundtrack.
I don't understand why people keep making 'theoretical' OSTs. Go contact the people making the fangames and make something happen. (I should know)
