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octopusman · May 11, 2009

From ROMhacking

On May 8, we received a wide-reaching cease and desist letter from Square Enix, Inc. As with Chrono Trigger: Resurrection and Chrono Trigger Remake Projects letters, we have uploaded the letter for viewing here as a matter of public interest.

We have decided to comply with Square Enixs demands. Most of the Chrono Compendium webpages and forums will be unaffected by these changes. However, our compliance has the practical effect of ending the Compendiums support for ROM modification projects of any kind, with regard to copyrighted Square Enix works such as Chrono Trigger, Radical Dreamers, and Chrono Cross. We have already destroyed all known copies of Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes and other modifications and projects. We have also shut down and made inaccessible any discussion boards used for the development of ROM-hacking fan projects on this website, including:

* * Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes
* * Chrono Trigger: Prophets Guile
* * Retranslation of Chrono Trigger
* * Chrono Trigger Re-amped
* * Chrono Trigger Rebirth
* * Chrono Trigger Azala Style

The official Crimson Echoes website website was updated and now only shows the following:

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes was a fan project modification of the Chrono Trigger ROM begun in late 2004. Development continue thanks to a dedicated group of fans through 2009. By May 2009, the game featured ~35 hours of game play, 10 multiple endings, and 23 chapters, much like the original Chrono Trigger; it was around 98% complete. The plot featured the original cast as they struggled against a new villain risen from the legacy of Zeal.

The team planned to release Crimson Echoes on May 31, 2009 as the first feature-length fan Chrono series game, and an unprecedentedly exhaustive work in the ROM modification community. On May 8, 2009, Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes received a cease & desist letter, along with all other game modification activity (even research) at the Chrono Compendium. In compliance with the letter, the development team ceased development on the game, and existing modifications (including Prophets Guile) were taken down.

We thank those fans who followed the games development, and also those who poured countless hours into the vision of a fun, new Chrono game, made by fans for fans without copyright claim or intent to make profit.

We understand the frustration. I sincerely hope this action is a sign that Square Enix cares about the franchise and intends to produce future titles, and not merely a shortsighted legal exercise that will further alienate a tired, neglected fan-base.

Signed ZeaLitY, Saturday May 9th, 2009

Sucks, Crimson Echoes was going to be the first full Chrono Trigger hack. For a Property so neglected, they sure are fucking protective over it.

The actual C&D letter

Askia47 · May 11, 2009

I'm surprised they don't ignore square or take it more underground.

octopusman · May 11, 2009

Personally, I'm scrambling to get at whatever I can.

Esperado · May 11, 2009

I thought people usually got around this stuff by releasing ips patches and not the roms themselves.

Firestorm · May 11, 2009

Wow. So they waited 5 years and just before the end of their FREE MARKETING PROJECT to shut them down? Way to be dicks.

octopusman · May 11, 2009

Esperado said:
I thought people usually got around this stuff by releasing ips patches and not the roms themselves.

That's exactly what these groups do.

Gagaman · May 11, 2009

All over again. (well, sort of)

drizzle · May 11, 2009

Ok, quick.. somebody leak the damn thing!

Acosta · May 11, 2009

Soulless corporation rises the finger to its fans. News at 11.

People should stop trying to make this kind of stuff, 99% of the times they will get a cease & desist and all their work go to the trash.

Rektash · May 11, 2009

Aww come on SE. Its like fanfiction packed into a game. Since when do you care for regular written fanficition?, there is a ton of it swarming the internet and you don t give a fuck.

Blizzard · May 11, 2009

One of my friends just told me "Yeah, saw stuff about it around an hour ago. Apparantly been outed as BS so the creators can just ditch the project. And if it's not BS, a bunch of groups are ready to take what's there and finish the last two percent, along with changing things that were shown in the trailer to get the original crew off the hook."

I don't know if this is true, but hopefully we get some details...I hadn't even heard much about this project.

kevm3 · May 11, 2009

Square Enix pretty much is dead to me these days other than the occasional Final Fantasy game.

Threi · May 11, 2009

that means they are going to resurrect the franchise and don't want people googling and finding the wrong thing.

that must be it

it must be

Fourth Storm · May 11, 2009

What I don't get is this: These groups have to know what they're doing violates copyright laws and such. Why do they announce their plans before they've actually finished and uploaded the patch? Has history taught us nothing?

SkySonata · May 11, 2009

Blizzard said:
One of my friends just told me "Yeah, saw stuff about it around an hour ago. Apparantly been outed as BS so the creators can just ditch the project. And if it's not BS, a bunch of groups are ready to take what's there and finish the last two percent, along with changing things that were shown in the trailer to get the original crew off the hook."

I don't know if this is true, but hopefully we get some details...I hadn't even heard much about this project.

Why would they bail when the projects are mostly done? Doesn't make any sense.

A Human Becoming · May 11, 2009

Threi said:
that means they are going to resurrect the franchise and don't want people googling and finding the wrong thing.

that must be it

it must be

Guled · May 11, 2009

SkySonata said:
Why would they bail when the projects are mostly done? Doesn't make any sense.

maybe they they lied, maybe its no where near being done. Considering how it was "supposed" to come out really soon, this is really convenient

flintstryker · May 11, 2009

If i was part of the group that was making any of these there's no way i would agree to it after doing it so long they would had have to arrest me.

Firestorm · May 11, 2009

If it's 98% done that means all they had left was really a final edit/test and the patch. I don't see it as BS unless they've been BSing for like a year.

flintstryker said:
If i was part of the group that was making any of these there's no way i would agree to it after doing it so long they would had have to arrest me.

I'd release it pretending like I didn't get the email. Then be like "oops sorry guys we got a c&d" and take it down a day later. By then they'd be all over the place anyway so no way to stop it.

Regulus Tera · May 11, 2009

What a bunch of jerks.

Firestorm said:
Wow. So they waited 5 years and just before the end of their FREE MARKETING PROJECT to shut them down? Way to be dicks.

thisissquaredude.gif

Aeana · May 11, 2009

This is the first time I can ever remember something like this happening with a ROM hack of any kind. It's within their rights to go after the people, of course, but it's weird that no company ever has (as far as I know), and SE chose these projects now.

Maztorre · May 11, 2009

Fourth Storm said:
What I don't get is this: These groups have to know what they're doing violates copyright laws and such. Why do they announce their plans before they've actually finished and uploaded the patch? Has history taught us nothing?

Why should a fan community be hiding its work from the company they are paying homage to? This is a free marketing exercise for S-E and they basically decided to shit in the mouths of some of its most obviously loyal fans. Almost every other games company has at least reached the stage where they give even some acknowledgement of their online communities, but S-E is the kind of company that will still fuck its fans around with private theatre showings of trailers and then try and remove any trace of cameraphone recordings. Thankfully the further they take this ass-backwards approach with the western market the more irrelevant they become.

Regulus Tera · May 11, 2009

kevm3 said:
Square Enix pretty much is dead to me these days other than the occasional Final Fantasy game.

Which is the reason why Square doesn't give a shit about your feelings of them.

impirius · May 11, 2009

I hadn't heard of this before, but now I really want to play Crimson Echoes. GG SE

LoganKnight4949 · May 11, 2009

I hope this "accidentally" leaks.

I would absolutely love to play a new Chrono Trigger campaign using the original Chrono Trigger engine/world/etc.

One of my top 5 games all time.

sprsk · May 11, 2009

This is why when you are working with someone else's intellectual property you don't show it till it's done and released.

HK-47 · May 11, 2009

Regulus Tera said:
Which is the reason why Square doesn't give a shit about your feelings of them.

Give Ogre Battle back to Matsuno, fuckers!

Deku · May 11, 2009

I sympathize with these fan projects, especially those who do the fan translation side of things.

But adding new content using the existing engine would be akin to someone coming in and adding a new epilogue to the Merchant of Venice. It's not going to work.

this guy · May 11, 2009

What a great way to fuck over fans of the series.

I now expect three Chrono games, to be released before 2012!

Firestorm · May 11, 2009

Aeana said:
This is the first time I can ever remember something like this happening with a ROM hack of any kind. It's within their rights to go after the people, of course, but it's weird that no company ever has (as far as I know), and SE chose these projects now.

I'd say it's surprising that SE went after them (especially now), but not that no companies ever do it. It's free marketing that gets fans hyped up and interested in the franchise. No investment of time or money is required on SE's part whatsoever. The only reason I can even think of is that they want the Chrono franchise hype to die completely so they never have to look at it again.

Deku · May 11, 2009

Firestorm said:
I'd say it's surprising that SE went after them (especially now), but not that no companies ever do it. It's free marketing that gets fans hyped up and interested in the franchise. No investment of time or money is required on SE's part whatsoever. The only reason I can even think of is that they want the Chrono franchise hype to die completely so they never have to look at it again.

Chrono was never a real franchise.

Trigger was a one off collaboration.
Cross was based off of the Radical Dreamers text adventure SE released along with Trigger on the SFC.

But I can see how fans can believe it to be so. Most of the Chrono team moved on to build FFXI and the next SE MMO.

polyh3dron · May 11, 2009

This is why you don't announce your project until it is DONE.

inner-G · May 11, 2009

Threi said:
that means they are going to resurrect the franchise and don't want people googling and finding the wrong thing.

that must be it

it must be

Chrono HD

believe

Linkup · May 11, 2009

Chrono Break confirmed for E3, start the flood of pre-E3 threads.

bitq · May 11, 2009

As long as Chrono Crisis is still alright. That's the only one that seemed good anyway.

ninjarr · May 11, 2009

Shitty, this was shaping up to be awesome and I had been looking forward to it for a while. First OOT-2D (well that was a different ending...), then CT: Resurrection, now this!

Diablos · May 11, 2009

Threi said:
that means they are going to resurrect the franchise and don't want people googling and finding the wrong thing.

that must be it

it must be

Let us hope so. Otherwise this was basically a waste of time for S-E.

Lionheart1827 · May 11, 2009

bitq said:
As long as Chrono Crisis is still alright. That's the only one that seemed good anyway.

That team actually is split up into two different teams now. One is continuing with Crisis, the other is continuing with Chrono Ark(this team seems to be the better one however). info and website here

Odrion · May 11, 2009

sprsk said:
This is why when you are working with someone else's intellectual property you don't show it till it's done and released.

exactly, why do these guys never see it coming

Aeana · May 11, 2009

Odrion said:
exactly, why do these guys never see it coming

Probably because no major ROM hack has ever been cease & desisted before.

riskVSreward · May 11, 2009

This is so bullshit, just let the small-time, non-profit rom-hackers have their fun. Of course of all companies to do this, it's Squeenix, no surprise there.

The Faceless Master · May 11, 2009

Fourth Storm said:
What I don't get is this: These groups have to know what they're doing violates copyright laws and such. Why do they announce their plans before they've actually finished and uploaded the patch? Has history taught us nothing?

that's the thing i never understand. announce it when it's done, release it within 24 hours, then it will live forever.

bounchfx · May 11, 2009

The Faceless Master said:
that's the thing i never understand. announce it when it's done, release it within 24 hours, then it will live forever.

this this this

charlequin · May 11, 2009

The reason no one's sticking to the "don't announce 'til you're done!" standard here is that no one's ever C&Ded a ROM hack project before. If you don't follow ROM hacking specifically, don't comment like you know something about the topic. :lol

The difficulty here is that, essentially, you're looking at the equivalent of fan-fiction: unauthorized derivative works that do not meaningfully compete with the original project and which are produced solely as labors of love by legitimate, income-generating fans.

The legality issue is also pretty gray. Many aspects of ROM hacking are de facto legal, even if the actual distribution of what could be called a "derivative work" is less certain, and it's pretty strongly not in game publishers' interests to see something like this actually go to court and risk a ruling that doesn't come down in the publisher's favor.

With luck, this is some kind of random mistake or dumb move by some guy who was bored at SE Legal, rather than some kind of new, mutually-non-beneficial policy of zero tolerance.

Visualante · May 11, 2009

sprsk said:
This is why when you are working with someone else's intellectual property you don't show it till it's done and released.

You wouldn't attract developers and artists unless you showed what you have so far.

vandalvideo · May 11, 2009

I don't get it, were these people;

A) Editing official Square Enix source code to make a new game

or

B) Planning to engage in distribution for profit of said product

?

I mean, if this was a stand-alone product, not intended for retail distribution, why on earth was it stopped?

madara · May 11, 2009

Ever since whole CT DS early leak I suppose they are more defensive about property.

sprocket · May 11, 2009

vandalvideo said:
I don't get it, were these people;

A) Editing official Square Enix source code to make a new game

or

B) Planning to engage in distribution for profit of said product

?

I mean, if this was a stand-alone product, not intended for retail distribution, why on earth was it stopped?

lol they were illegally using the story, characters,code,and assets. Nothing else matters.

vandalvideo · May 11, 2009

sprocket said:
lol they were illegally using the story, characters,code,and assets. Nothing else matters.

I can understand if they were using original Square source code and intended to release that, but companies cannot stop independent parties from taking copyrighted material and making products based aroudn that material (Story, characters, places, and themes), as long as it isn't intended for profit. I'm guessing, and this is what I wanted clarification on, was that they were using Square source code.

fennec fox · May 11, 2009

What would you guys think about this project if it were done by Chinese hackers?

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