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PUBG dev Bluehole concerned over Fortnite's Battle Royale [Up: Background Both Sides]

I like PUBG but I don't see the need for them to consider legal action, like seriously? FN:BR maybe similar in the survival aspect, but the games still have distinctive differences. I think they can both coexist just fine.

Dunno why they and the pubg players need to feel threatened. Pretty silly if you ask me.
 

BigEmil

Junior Member
Heh. Well, in the first clip, I was just building myself a small fort to hide in with a ramp so I can see over the top. I use that to snipe people from a relatively safe location. I saw another fort so I pulled out a rocket launcher that I found from someone I killed and I went to town. After I completely destroyed the fort, I saw the guy and went for the kill.

In the last clip, my fort was just outside the circle so I had to leave but didn't have materials left to build another. The other guy destroyed my cover (including the tree) so the only thing I could do was get a headshot to win.

My favorite way to kill someone though has to be shooting stairs out from under them :)

I wonder why my recordings are so choppy. Maybe I need to sync my in-game framerate with my recording framerate? I'm playing at 90-100 FPS but recording 30. Not sure if that's an issue with Shadowplay or not.
Damn wish my experiences was as epic lol and the recordings seems fine to me nothing jarringly bad still viewable but not sure how you can fix your issue sorry I don't use shadowplay
 
I like PUBG but I don't see the need for them to consider legal action, like seriously? FN:BR maybe similar in the survival aspect, but the games still have distinctive differences. I think they can both coexist just fine.

Dunno why they and the pubg players need to feel threatened. Pretty silly if you ask me.

Exactly. Bluehole should have never put this out because Fortnite's BR isn't BR as it's expected by people in regards to the previous mods and PUBG, it's a lot different, and it's definitely not going to take PUBG players lol.

What makes PUBG successful is its environment and core design, people that want a BR game don't want survival elements like base building in it which is exactly why PUBG is as successful as it is, and there's a specific way of design of the map/environment that sets it apart from just being a deathmatch game with no respawn, there's a lot more strategy involved in movement and positioning.

Furthermore PUBG is kind of a balance between arcade FPS and milsim like ArmA, which Fortnite is nothing like, another reason why people like PUBG. This is no surprise due to the game's mod origins on ArmA. Fortnite lacking things like bullet drop for example.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
Small studio success story let success go to their head and are now vaguely threatening legal action for a game being similar to theirs. The reaction, from a company that has sold 11 million copies at $30, is literally whining like a child.

Lets put them on a pedestal for being a small success story though, and ignore their tantrum.

This stupid PR stunt doesn't account for the amount of hatred that PUBG receives on this forum from certain people.
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
Gaf can't wait for a small studio success story to be replaced by their favorite Corporate Overlord Approved Game.

I have 120 hours into PUBG, I love the game but there's a ton wrong with it and Bluehole really doesn't fill me with confidence as a developer. If someone like Blizzard made a Battle Royal I'd be extremely happy because you know it's going to tick all the boxes (gameplay, sound, visuals, support etc). For me PUBG is more a great idea than a great game, it just came at the right time and it's the best in the genre for now.
 

Kaako

Felium Defensor
Gaf can't wait for a small studio success story to be replaced by their favorite Corporate Overlord Approved Game.
giphy.gif

Crawling out the woodworks today, are we?
 

Shin

Banned
I like PUBG but I don't see the need for them to consider legal action, like seriously?

If anyone should consider legal action it should be the company that released the movie, PUBG is even ripping off the outfits of the characters in it and selling them as cosmetics IIRC.
 

Boke1879

Member
This stupid PR stunt doesn't account for the amount of hatred that PUBG receives on this forum from certain people.

So certain people and not GAF at large then.

I've seen plenty of people in the congratulate them in the threads about how much they've sold or their concurrent users.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
This stupid PR stunt doesn't account for the amount of hatred that PUBG receives on this forum from certain people.

I play pubg and enjoy it, but I abhor it when companies that have made 100s of millions off a single game cry about lost sales due to competition.

I also have an irrational hatred towards anyone who puts their name on a game primarily made by other people. But that is just my beef with Greene.
 
The only game I want to rip off battle royale mode is Ghost Recon Wildlands. That game is perfectly designed for that mode already. You could have 5-8 different maps just from the main map that is in game already.
 

Kill3r7

Member
Small studio success story let success go to their head and are now vaguely threatening legal action for a game being similar to theirs. The reaction, from a company that has sold 11 million copies at $30, is literally whining like a child.

Lets put them on a pedestal for being a small success story though, and ignore their tantrum.

The argument is more nuanced than that. Bluehole is implying that Epic might have used their ongoing relationship and knowledge obtained from PUBG's development to get a jumpstart making Fortnite BR. There is also the overarching issue of Epic being creators of UE4 and the support they provide developers with inevitable permits them access to a wealth of development knowledge. If they are going to turn around and compete with these games it is easy to see how or why developers might be left disappointed.
 
I've heard more than one person on Twitter today talk about Bluehole putting out a statement about how similar Fortnite is to PUBG is the best thing that could possibly happen for Fortnite before it launches next week. They're right.
 

Pastry

Banned
The argument is more nuanced than that. Bluehole is implying that Epic might have used their ongoing relationship and knowledge obtained from PUBG's development to get a jumpstart making Fortnite BR. There is also the issue of Epic being creators of UE4 and the support they provide developers with inevitable permits them access to a wealth of development knowledge.

If bluehole has any evidence of anything like that then they wouldn’t be blogging about it. Since they are, it’s pretty safe to assume that they have nothing on Epic.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
The only game I want to rip off battle royale mode is Ghost Recon Wildlands. That game is perfectly designed for that mode already. You could have 5-8 different maps just from the main map that is in game already.

Ubisoft might be in panic-mode with how the reaction to their 5v5 pvp mode has been. They are literally pissing away 100s of millions by focusing on the wrong game mode for wildlands. That said, the netcode for the game could be impossible to scale up to PUBG levels, so maybe that is why they didn't go back to the drawing board.
 

CoLaN

Member
Oh, please. Its a game mode, its basically a no respawn deathmatch on a large scale map.

Instead of trying to sue others and focus on the streaming scene so much, make your game better and thank god that you were so lucky. Competition is always good.
 
The argument is more nuanced than that. Bluehole is implying that Epic might have used their ongoing relationship and knowledge obtained from PUBG's development to get a jumpstart making Fortnite BR. There is also the overarching issue of Epic being creators of UE4 and the support they provide developers with inevitable permits them access to a wealth of development knowledge. If they are going to turn around and compete with these games it is easy to see how or why developers might be left disappointed.

They're saying they benefited from the work that the two of them performed to make the engine accommodate. Like no shit, did they think they're entitled to own the modifications or that epic couldn't figure it out? It's really just bland accusatory language with no real merit behind it.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
I have 120 hours into PUBG, I love the game but there's a ton wrong with it and Bluehole really doesn't fill me with confidence as a developer. If someone like Blizzard made a Battle Royal I'd be extremely happy because you know it's going to tick all the boxes (gameplay, sound, visuals, support etc). For me PUBG is more a great idea than a great game, it just came at the right time and it's the best in the genre for now.

Well yeah there is a difference in a small studio making an experimental game, and a huge studio coming into an established genre and polishing it up. But I have extreme doubts that the Battle Royale genre is a AAA-able game design. Just like MOBAs, I have a feeling that we are going to find out that this genre is going to be heavily resistant to AAA-ing.
 
This stupid PR stunt doesn't account for the amount of hatred that PUBG receives on this forum from certain people.

Oh give it a rest. What’s it matter if some people hate on the game? It’s not stopping pubg’s success. I don’t get why some of you take these things to heart.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Gaf can't wait for a small studio success story to be replaced by their favorite Corporate Overlord Approved Game.

Bluehole is a bigger company than Epic by staff count, I believe significantly so to boot.

They were 500 employees when PUBG launched, but I think they're approaching 600 now. Epic was still 400 IIRC.

Edit:

Actually it looks like Epic is still 250?
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
The argument is more nuanced than that. Bluehole is implying that Epic might have used their ongoing relationship and knowledge obtained from PUBG's development to get a jumpstart making Fortnite BR. There is also the overarching issue of Epic being creators of UE4 and the support they provide developers with inevitable permits them access to a wealth of development knowledge. If they are going to turn around and compete with these games it is easy to see how or why developers might be left disappointed.

Epic owns the source to UE4, anything they did to help bluehole will have been done at the source level. Any changes made by bluehole are subject to copywrite though, so unless there is evidence that the exact changes, with the exact same variable names and code structure, are present in FNBR then they have no legal avenue to pursue a suit.

Yeah, bluehole can be mad but they can't do anything about it. There is nothing about PUBG that DICE hasn't already figured out how to do for Frostbite, or that the devs at epic couldn't figure out how to do by just watching someone play PUBG. Epic's devs are actually creating the best public engine after all. If Bluehole was capable of that they wouldn't be using UE4 and thus wouldn't be crying.

Hell, bluehole is so inept at netcode that they needed Epic to help them in the first place to get around UE4's soft cap at 64 players.

As a caveat, I dont work for Epic but I am a UE4 developer and marketplace seller so I am familiar with the engine.
 
The argument is more nuanced than that. Bluehole is implying that Epic might have used their ongoing relationship and knowledge obtained from PUBG's development to get a jumpstart making Fortnite BR. There is also the overarching issue of Epic being creators of UE4 and the support they provide developers with inevitable permits them access to a wealth of development knowledge. If they are going to turn around and compete with these games it is easy to see how or why developers might be left disappointed.
Ah yes, who can forget the classic Denis Dyack-argument.
 

Kill3r7

Member
They're saying they benefited from the work that the two of them performed to make the engine accommodate. Like no shit, did they think they're entitled to own the modifications or that epic couldn't figure it out? It's really just bland accusatory language with no real merit behind it.

It is not a question of whether Epic could have figured it out on their own, Bluehole and Epic figured it out together as business partners. Due to their business relationship Epic has a blueprint to jumpstart their development of Fortnite BR. Taking what you learned and starting a competing business can be legally problematic and depending on the facts can be viewed as dealing in bad faith.
 

Moose Biscuits

It would be extreamly painful...
I've heard more than one person on Twitter today talk about Bluehole putting out a statement about how similar Fortnite is to PUBG is the best thing that could possibly happen for Fortnite before it launches next week. They're right.

This is true. Given that PUBG isn't on PS4, and FN:BR will be (and will be free), this only reinforces my interest in it.
 

Z3M0G

Member
This is why I love Fortnite.

From the same game... pulling off a victory with only 14 health left. If only he knew.

Also, this sniper battle where I had no decent fort materials left except wood (which can be easily destroyed).

Sorry for the crappy framerate. I can not figure out for the life of me why Shadowplay saves these choppy clips. I thought switching to 30 FPS recordings would fix it but no.

This is with the instant replay feature capturing the last 5 minutes. Works perfectly in PUBG though.

Yah... this is going to be fun...
 

Hari Seldon

Member
Bluehole is a bigger company than Epic by staff count, I believe significantly so to boot.

They were 500 employees when PUBG launched, but I think they're approaching 600 now. Epic was still 400 IIRC.

Edit:

Actually it looks like Epic is still 250?

I stand corrected, probably cause I associated Bluehole with niche MMOs prior to this, where as Epic has produced some serious AAA games obviously.
 

toxicgonzo

Taxes?! Isn't this the line for Metallica?
I don't feel bad for PUBG.

You wouldn't have to feel insecure about a similar game if you had a high quality product.


This is a win for PUBG gamers as we might finally see a competent developer.
 

Z3M0G

Member
They have created something truly unique. There isn't another shooter on the market that plays like PUBG does - not even the sole other game in its genre (before Fortnight, that is :). That's the reason for PUBG's success. I don't even understand how you could say that unless you haven't actually played PUBG.

So what's the common factor exactly? Honest question, I know almost nothing about either game.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
I stand corrected, probably cause I associated Bluehole with niche MMOs prior to this, where as Epic has produced some serious AAA games obviously.

Epic is really an Engine Dev first now. Their games, Paragon, Fortnite, and Unreal Tournament, are really much smaller in scope than what Epic was doing last gen. AFAIK Sweeny wanted out of AAA development.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
I think Bluehole should be happy that we are at a place where a early access game can be this successful... But early access also means that people will copy your stuff even faster of the audience responds well to it.

That's just how it works... Why would the market make an exception for PUBG?
 
The only bit that got me was Epic specifically referencing PUBG in a press release, which was stupid. But otherwise, you can’t trademark an idea.
 

Z3M0G

Member
I think Bluehole should be happy that we are at a place where a early access game can be this successful... But early access also means that people will copy your stuff even faster of the audience responds well to it.

That's just how it works... Why would the market make an exception for PUBG?

I keep forgetting this is Early Access...

Is there even any history AT ALL of games having more success after they exit "Early Access"??
 

Tain

Member
I have a hard time believing that Epic would need "inside knowledge" to recreate anything about PUBG (or any UE4 licensee game, frankly) in a game of their own.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
Heh. Well, in the first clip, I was just building myself a small fort to hide in with a ramp so I can see over the top. I use that to snipe people from a relatively safe location. I saw another fort so I pulled out a rocket launcher that I found from someone I killed and I went to town. After I completely destroyed the fort, I saw the guy and went for the kill.

In the last clip, my fort was just outside the circle so I had to leave but didn't have materials left to build another. The other guy destroyed my cover (including the tree) so the only thing I could do was get a headshot to win.

My favorite way to kill someone though has to be shooting stairs out from under them :)

I wonder why my recordings are so choppy. Maybe I need to sync my in-game framerate with my recording framerate? I'm playing at 90-100 FPS but recording 30. Not sure if that's an issue with Shadowplay or not.

Oh no, I didn't expect that to not be safe. Ok not doing that anymore haaha.
 
Did Bluehole patent the idea of a battle royale game?

Did Epic steal Blueholes assets?

The *only* thing Bluehole has got on them is that they even *mentioned* PUBG in their marketing materials. And that is thin as hell, as Epic can just remove it.

Basically, they're butthurt that they can't patent an entire genre of game and that their days are numbered.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
It is not a question of whether Epic could have figured it out on their own, Bluehole and Epic figured it out together as business partners. Due to their business relationship Epic has a blueprint to jumpstart their development of Fortnite BR. Taking what you learned and starting a competing business can be legally problematic and depending on the facts can be viewed as dealing in bad faith.

Wait wut? They are not business partners. Epic provides a service for Bluehole but retains sole ownership of their sourcecode. To have access to it and publish a game using it Bluehole pays a 5% royalty. Epic did help bluehole by making some source changes and giving opinions on how to better implement their own netcode.

I also pay epic 5% and have received new engine versions with fixes and improvements, am I a partner now?

Think about it this way. When epic releases UE4 4.18 and I make a game using that version of the engine with the new features epic adds into it, can I then sue epic after they copy my game idea using said new features? I mean, they helped me make my game by providing tutorials n' stuff, and I have a contract with them to pay 5% of my sales.

How dare they follow their own tutorials! Where is my money?
 

Gator86

Member
Bluehole is a bigger company than Epic by staff count, I believe significantly so to boot.

They were 500 employees when PUBG launched, but I think they're approaching 600 now. Epic was still 400 IIRC.

Edit:

Actually it looks like Epic is still 250?

Bluehole is a gigantic corporate Korean game developer.

I'd say it's more important to people that they "feel" Bluepoint is the smaller upstart than whether Bluepoint actually is. The fact that Bluepoint is actually pretty big won't really deter a lot of people.
 
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