Slashdot Mirror
Derek Smart Lusting Rights To Freespace?
WMCoolmon writes "Derek Smart (of Battlecruiser 3000 AD PC space-sim fame) has started a thread on the Adrenaline Vault forums stating that he is looking into buying the Freespace rights from Interplay and building his own Freespace 3. (For those of you who have not heard of Freespace, it is a space shooter developed by Volition Inc. and Interplay in 1998, which has received almost univeral acclaim.) Discussion has turned particularly ugly following Derek Smart's post on the main Freespace 2 fan site. In addition, he has threatened to shut down the Ferrium Project (an open-source project meant to replace the aging engine of Freespace 2) if he gets the license. To quote Derek: 'I have FULL intentions of getting this license. If I DO get it, you and your teenny leetle friends on your Ferrous Oxide project, are effectively, shutdown because I don't piss around when it comes to IP properties'."
No, I can't talk about it because like most issues such as this, the settlement terms are highly confidential (a DC requirement). Outside of our attorneys, the company primaries and the judge, nobody knows - or will know - the details.
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FROM: http://www.3000ad.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_
If DC is district court, isn't he lying? It would be up to both parties involved as to the release of the terms of the settlement/agreement, would it not?
How does he plan on shutting down the Ferrium project? The minute I read that, I instantly thought to myself that the fact that the source code for Freespace 2 has been available for some time which would be a huge dent in any attempt Derek tries to shut the project down. reveals that since the code for Ferrium isn't using any of the Interplay code it should be pretty safe. Of course, IANAL...
So, I read the slashdot article, and I think this Derek guy must be an asshole, reading the accompaning forum links, except the announcement on av.
After reading the av post, Derek seemed nice, wanting to keep the original series, and open to suggestions. Then the freespace fanboy trolls poured in, and started bashing him without reason.
Personally, I've never played any of Derek's games and I don't give a shit about Freespace, never even played it. But always be aware of slashdot bias, and RTFA before making a decision.
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I've always been curious to know just how Derek Smart avoids all the big sites that mention just how much of a joke he is to the gaming industry.
I mean, really, if he looked outside forums once and while, he'll see that not only do gamers hate him, but the professionals in the industry use him as fodder for just about every big-ego-no-talent joke made.
Trent Polack
www.polycat.net
Hello, I am also a Derek - Derek Meek, aka "Kazan" amongst just about everyone who knows me online. I am the project leader of Ferrium (the game engine project), and the Network programmer for the FreeSpace 2: Source Code project (i also do other various things for the SCP).
So Mr. Smart posted his message asking if we were interested I stated simply and calmly "We will not accept anything from you, sorry but your work in the past has been less than impressive." (not an exact quote, but very close). He then proceeded to insult me in very childlike fashion, and I calmly corrected him on all his misinformation.
That's when he threatend unfounded legal action by saying (direct quiote) "Let me assure you of one thing that you can go to sleep with tonite. I have FULL intentions of getting this license. If I DO get it, you and your teenny leetle friends on your Ferrous Oxide project, are effectively, shutdown because I don't piss around when it comes to IP properties. You would do well to ask around. I've sued publishers for less and I have attorneys around the world, literally on speed dial."
This legal threat is laughable when it comes to the Source Code Project. The intellectual property he may be acquiring from Interplay does not include the rights tot he source code - they belong to Volition, Inc. and we have an unlimited license to do what we want with the source as long as we don't make money of it. Furthermore any game content we distribute is protected by the laws protecting fan fiction.
When it comes to my project, Ferrium, they're downright laughable! Ferrium is a completely new game engine I'm designing from scratch and having members of the community right the code for. Neither Interplay or Volition have any claim to the intellectual property therein.
This seems to be very typical of him from everything that i've heard of him.
If you cannot keep politics out of your moderation remove yourself from the Mod Lottery.. NOW!
I remember reading countless Usenet threads dealing with this guy, egos, and Coke machines way back in college (95-96). Funny thing is, that quote sounds exactly like what he would have said back then too.
I guess some people are just assholes from cradle to grave.
Let's also examine this exchange:
You see, to imply that someone has a psychological problem for which he needs medication is to incite an angry response. Maybe the social context is different in Florida or something.It is generally unwise for the public face of a game company to start flamewars with the potential fanbase. Hence, you don't see Gabe Newell showing up and talking smack whenever someone makes a fat joke. It is also unwise to believe this statement: "Gents, some of the posts in this thread, are EXACTLY the reason why game developers AND publishers hardly pay attention to a game's fanbase." Game developers and publishers don't stop paying attention to its fanbase because a few people start spewing vitriol about them. They simply learn to ignore their anti-fanbase. Derek Smart, on the other hand, pays way too much attention to his anti-fanbase.
Battlecruiser 3000AD is not as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. The initial reaction was mostly the fault of Take 2's decision to release it in a buggy, unplayable state. But because of the Derek Smart mystique (somewhat akin to the John Romero mystique), people get in on the running joke without really knowing anything about the game. Then again, were Mr. Smart not so outspoken, he probably wouldn't have as much name recognition as he does now. (Does anyone know who the lead developer for Extreme PaintBrawl was?) Maybe Battlecruiser would have just faded away if he hadn't kept himself in the news. So I guess it works for him.
This guy has to be the biggest ass in gaming history. Just look at the support forum for his last game, BattleCruiser 3000AD.
So-called Support Forum
Examples:
1) Now that this major patch has been released, starting from now on, all subsequent patches will only be available via the registration downloads page.
For this reason, you must register the game and ensure that your profile contains correct, accurate and useful information.
Today, a large number of records have been DELETED from the database. These range from single letter first/last names, to completely empty profile info. Now, those people will have to re-register. And if the same problem occurs, the database will again flush these records every week. After three such deletions, the CDKEY will be invalidated and you will no longer be able to register it.
I paid a LOT of money for this system and I don't like people making a mockery out of my system.
So, now would be a really good time to login to your profile and update it accordingly.
[ 05-10-2004, 11:38 AM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]
2) From now on, ANYONE posting ANYWHERE on this site without their valid sys info in their signature, will be site banned. If you don't know what a site wide ban is, read this.
There won't be ANY warnings whatsoever. And once you are site banned there is absolutely ZERO chance of coming back here. Ever. If you feel so bad about it, next time you see my games on the shelves, just walk on by.
And this is how the guy talks to customers! Why would any company put up with this asshole?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Lois, this isn't my Batman glass. - Peter