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First Person Shooters (Games) Media Movies PC Games (Games) Star Wars Prequels Entertainment Games

Star Wars FPS Mod Gets LucasArts Permission 49

Posted by simoniker from the these-are-the-enlightened-licensors-you're-looking-for dept.
Thanks to UT2003Troopers.com for the news that their Unreal Tournament 2003 'Troopers' Star Wars-themed mod has been officially approved by LucasArts. This extremely rare step means the previously unlicensed mod is free to enter the Make Something Unreal competition without restriction, and the announcement continues: "The agreement made with LucasArts (after a long period of VERY friendly negotiations) also allows the Troopers Development Team to implement Star Wars assets and content directly from the movies and games. This means that, with the exception of the Star Wars music (which LucasArts doesn't own the rights to, and so therefore could not give us the rights to use), we can use anything we want."
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Star Wars FPS Mod Gets LucasArts Permission More

Star Wars FPS Mod Gets LucasArts Permission

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  • Woohoo (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Komarosu ( 538875 ) <nik_doof@nikdoofAUDEN.net minus poet> on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @06:48AM (#6849078) Homepage
    Looks like LucasArts have finally accepted theres alot of fans wanting to create works around there fave films... Hopefully this will be the start of something better for all the mod makers out there trying to make a movie spinoff mod.

  • Wtf? (Score:4, Funny)

    by rylin ( 688457 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @07:08AM (#6849130)
    WTF?
    I repeat: WTF??

    Lucas Arts being more reasonable than a Wookie during mating season?
    Seems SCO passed on the crack..
    • I'm just upset that Mr. Lucas didn't get a chance for the company to use the Chewbacca defense against the modders!
  • It is a rare opportunity when the cards of this greedy, posessive and paranoid world fall your way. This is a perfect example of the kind of dream come true for those of us with enough ambition to allow ourselves to reach beyond common conceptual life.

    But the question remains - Star Wars, for all its intellectual property ownership, is a universe built by community and, somewhat, by faith. Each and every Star Wars fan has their own unique perspective on the universe and what they gain, in each case, is a
    • (before anything else:)

      What? You mean UT could be THE Star Wars game that's better than SW:Galaxies itself??

      (And now my addition to poster's comment:)

      I remember the old Star Trek episodes were published, and after these pocketbooks came out, there was one which was a compilation of FAN/READER-contributed stories. The better ones were chosen and put in this book, and I enjoyed reading them, especially the one where the cast of the TV series were suddenly thrust into the parallel universe of the REAL Star

  • NO THANKS!!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by j0nkatz ( 315168 ) * <<anon> <at> <memphisgeek.com>> on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @07:45AM (#6849366) Homepage
    Last thing I want is for some Ewok to score a head shot on me!

  • After all they work for free for SW (Score:4, Insightful)

    by imperator_mundi ( 527413 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @08:16AM (#6849566)
    If Lucas & co still wanting to see campfire outside theaters weeks before the release of Episode III why should they frustrate fans who like SW so much that they spend theirs free time developping stuffs that will surely help keeping the hype about Starwars alive?

    Pushing the fans give away theirs fanatism is the best (possibly the only) way to turn a cult movie back to the "just movie" status.
    • beep! sorry to correct you! but the benefiated there is LucasFilm the film company not LucasArts the game company which has created most star wars games and several other franchises.
      Of course there is a connection, but LucasArts doesnt make money from the films (not directly at least)
      LucasArts (as far as I can see) is not making any revenue because they don't own UT2003. (if this MOD was for Jedi Outcast/Academy it would be a quite different story)
  • Will the 'Troopers' team get to keep all prize money if they should win the 'Make Something Unreal' contest? And maybe another, better question; are they even elegible for the contest considering they have access to the Star Wars content? It's great that LucasArts has given them permission though, I could never understand why companies such as LucasArts frowned so much on people making stuff like this when it's non-profit and all in good fun. A lot of authors don't want people to write fan fiction stories

    • Re:A question remains... (Score:4, Informative)

      by PainKilleR-CE ( 597083 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @08:34AM (#6849699)
      If you read the article, it mentions that any prizes, except a game engine, will go to charity, which is more than likely a requirement of the license they negotiated with LucasArts.
    • Also in the article it mentions that while they have access to just grab the stuff, they are "creators" and prefer to model from scratch. It's just for the minute details that they'll be grabbing stuff from the source, like the Tie Fighter flyby sound mentioned. The gist of the agreement afact is that LucasArts are allowing them to use it (and thus they're not running against IP laws with the Make Something Unreal contest) not that they'd hand over stuff for them to use.

  • So 'Lucas Arts' has a pet team, now? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by IM6100 ( 692796 ) <elben@mentar.org> on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @08:49AM (#6849794)
    So what it comes down to, is one particular team now is Lucas Arts 'pet team' and will be able to mow down the competition and win the prize. Nobody else will be able to compete on the same level, as Lucas Arts will be on them in a second if they do.

    Hmmm, it does sound like there must have been 'very friendly negotigations.' I hope everybody played safe so there's no chance of an STD.
    • That would be very strange, LucasArts jumping on another mod team for making a better mod that was, oh, not based on Star Wars.

      There's no category in the "Make Something Unreal" competition for "Star Wars Mods" that I can see. Make Something Unreal Categories. [unrealtournament2003.com]

      So the other teams have to use original ideas or those of a company that doesn't jump on people? Is that a big ethical problem in a contest to create creative content? Presumably it is on the strength of the art assets and gameplay value that the S

    • Wow. YOU'RE a cynical pratt aren't you? I mean, you're not really wrong, but you could try and see this as a good thing instead of yet another way to cluster-fuck the populace.

  • If only... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Spankophile ( 78098 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @09:24AM (#6850056) Homepage
    If only Lucas would grant permission for someone else to make Episode 3. Then we might get a movie worth watching!
    • I don't think you can deny that teh 'prilogy' has been special in it's own way. If you don't think Lucas is Special enough to express his creativity uninhibited, no matter how greedily and possibly self-centeredly he goes about it he is special.

      We are all special, in our own ways.
      And for some of us, that means making lots of money while turning a comedy relief into a pete the repeat parrot for stupidest things ever caught on film.
      Well, nevermind....mod me down already.

      • "...no matter how greedily and possibly self-centeredly he goes about it he [George Lucas] is special." I'm sure his mother told him he was special too... Right after she entered convulsions after experiencing, "Mesa Jar Jar Binks sah!"

  • the OTHER SIDE (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rerunn ( 181278 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @10:18AM (#6850443)
    Theres alot more to this

    Theres quite a soap opera [jolt.co.uk] brewing away at UT200Troopers.com

    The team members got into a big pissing match with the project lead and they ended booting his ass. He got all up tight about it and has been making his opinions known in the forums as well as on his website [planetunreal.com] where he details his interactions with Lucas Arts.

    His account did not include any VERY friendly negotiations. In fact, Lucas Arts threatened legal on his ass before anything else.

  • How about this cool mod [galactic-conquest.net]? Will it be allowed?

  • wha? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by iainl ( 136759 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @11:00AM (#6850809)
    While I, as a mere gamesplayer, think this is a definite Good Thing, I just dread to think what the lawyers at Activision, who have already sued Paramount for diluting the Star Trek license, think - they publish the Jedi Knight games, don't they?

    Who would splash down real cash for the frankly poor Jedi Outcast when there are better-looking mods for free?
    • Co-publish with Lucasarts. Clearly the Star Wars IP is still owned by Lucas. They have to "co-publish" with Activision because Lucasarts wants to work with Ravensoft on the Jedi Knight games and Raven is owned by Activision. There is no grounds to sue, as it would appear Lucas has not even licensed Activision anything in this case. Please mod parent "Unlikely hypothetical karma-whoring".
    • If it's that good, Activision (or someone) will buy it. Look at Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, etc.
    • Outcast POOR? Clearly you havn't enjoyed the visceral thrill of bursting into a room a storm troopers, gone force-choking one while your lightsaber whings around the room slicing and dicing until returning to you THROUGH the guy you've been throttling.
  • This [c0r3.org] picture says it all. =)

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @02:58PM (#6852948)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • what the? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by AzraelKans ( 697974 )
    Why in the world is lucasArts giving permission to a mod team to create a game that plays exactly like Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy? at first I thought this mod would be something different (or at least better) like a 3d RTS but after seing the webpage it looks to me this is nothing but an ordinary vainilla ut2003 deathmatch mod with an sw theme (??).

    Is Jedi Outcast Academy doing that bad? where they so impressed (or unimpressed) on this mod? maybe they thought they could get some free advertising on "
    • Let me guess, you are a manager or a lawyer.

      The "revenue" is in not pissing of your fans who pay through the nose for your merchandise. Read up on how Star Trek, despite the fact that it was cancelled after the third season, became this juggernaut License.

      Perhaps because of all the fan made work?

      So instead of looking really bad by trying to sue some pennyless students for being hardcore fans who will probably watch the movies dozen of times, buy all the books, they look good while loosing nothing.

      Their

      • Nope, Im a game developer (a small one though)
        Anyway I dont think you are getting the whole picture here, this guys are not just getting "permission" (in which case lucasarts could simply just look in the opossite direction and allow this mod to be) they are getting support! they actually can use all profesionaly produced sounds models and textures from previously released games!

        I can understand from watching the screenshots why Lucasarts was impressed with the quality, but if this mod wins the "unreal
  • Too Late. Lucas has been crushing out the life of fansites in the name of 'protecting the copyright' for years. This is coming about because of the truth that everyone knows: the "Star Wars" brand is shoddy, tarnished & losing any respect it used to have, and being supplanted by LotR and Harry Potter, 2 franchises that are capturing the minds of people and giving them what they want. Lucas wants that geek demographic to love them again, like they did before DVDs, before Episode 1, and before they pe
    • "And really, truly, don't get me started on the original 3 movies STILL not being available on DVD."

      Considering that they probably won't come with the original footage available (you know, like the original Jabba's Palace dance number, for example), I really wouldn't want them on DVD or any other medium.

  • Up setting.... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by wacko-Netgear ( 700822 )
    You know I am a big fan of gaming... have enjoyed many games... years of games... but was pisses me off about this. Is that the reason behind lucasarts and there protection of there stuff is that they can create an orginal idea and profit from it... but this mod team can't create and orginal idea and they will profit off of lucasarts... I am a huge fan of the star wars series... My uncle works for Lucas Arts; i find this to be an upsetting thing because not only has this mod team not created a worth wild mo
  • I started poking around, and the closest I can see on on this page [planetunreal.com], which is Patrick Fitzsimmons page. On it he says he defied the first C/D e-mail and posted his maps anyway. Later on, a Tom Sarris posts in email and on the forum that Lucas Arts was never going to sue.

    Nowhere do I see any sort of official e-mail or letter from LucasArts Legal giving them permission to continue. If it's there and I'm missing it, please let me know!

  • Anyone know if this'll run on the Mac version of UT2003?

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