• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

STEAM | September 2017 - Summer Ys Ending

Status
Not open for further replies.

yuraya

Member
Why shouldn't Epic try to beat Bluehole at their own game, so to speak?

Because they are business partners?

This is probably a good case study on why graphics engine creators and licensors shouldn't make games. And explains why so many gaming companies keep their inhouse graphics engines close to their chest and don't license them out.

I mean, Bluehole didn't invent the concept of Battle Royale, Battle Royale (the movie) did that. Not to mention corresponding H1Z1 game mode existed long before PUBG. I don't see anything illegal here (morally questionable - yeah, sure) unless Fortnite straight out copied "the wall" and its mechanics from PUBG or something.

I mean its one thing to rip off gaming mechanics. Its another to license out an engine to a dev and then use that very same engine to rip off the gaming mechanics of that game for themselves. And to blatantly spin off that said game into a F2P mode out of nowhere lol. Its shitty but I'm sure Epic wouldn't lose a lawsuit of any kind. They probably have plenty of small print to protect themselves in these situations. I mean they'd be stupid not to.
 

Plesiades

Member
I mean its one thing to rip off gaming mechanics. Its another to license out an engine to a dev and then use that very same engine to rip off the gaming mechanics of that game for themselves. And to blatantly spin off that said game into a F2P mode out of nowhere lol. Its shitty but I'm sure Epic wouldn't lose a lawsuit of any kind. They probably have plenty of small print to protect themselves in these situations. I mean they'd be stupid not to.

For all we know, there is a Non-compete clause after release, but the whole Early Access thing makes this possible.
 
The timing is what got Bluehole shook. Fortnite was never a battle royale game. And then boom out of nowhere they announce it because its the hot shit atm. Its very blatant.

If this was some other big dev/pub instead of Bluehole it would probably be very different. Imagine if Epic licensed out Unreal to Sega to make Binary Domain. And then 6 months after Binary Domain comes out Epic releases Gears of War (for the first time). I bet there would be shit ton of lawsuits with a big corporation like Sega involved.
That's what i tried to say. Originally whole situation with Too Human started after Silicon Knights, developers of Too Human, tried to sue Epic for "sabotaging game development due to inadequacies of Epic support". Soon after, Epic counter-sued Silicon Knights, claiming that it was using its engine without paying royalties. Five years later, Epic fully prevailed in the lawsuit and Silicon Knights has been forced to destroy all copies of Too Human and remove it from online stores.

And now, we have this PUBG/Fortnite situation. Bluehole sued some of their rivals before, if i'm not mistaken, they're also modified the engine. On the other hand, Epic can't do same flip again and accused Bluehole in not paying all royalties from PUBG sales. This situation looks just way too similar for me, that's it
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
That's what i tried to say. Originally whole situation with Too Human started after Silicon Knights, developers of Too Human, tried to sue Epic for "sabotaging game development due to inadequacies of Epic support". Soon after, Epic counter-sued Silicon Knights, claiming that it was using its engine without paying royalties. Five years after, Epic fully prevailed in the lawsuit and Silicon Knights has been forced to destroy all copies of Too Human and remove it from online stores.

And now, we have this PUBG debacle. Bluehole sued some of their rivals before, if i'm not mistaken, they also modified the engine. On the other hand, Epic can't do same flip again and accused Bluehole in not paying all royalties from PUBG sales. It's just look way too similar for me, that's it

You seem to be under the impression that Silicon Knights modifying UE3 is what gave Epic an opening to turn the case around, but there's nothing inherently wrong with modifying an engine you've licensed. An engine is just a toolset and its default configuration isn't going to cater to every possible game design scenario. There is something inherently wrong with refusing to pay royalties on that licence, though, which is where SK screwed up, but there's no legal mechanism that Epic can use as a killswitch against PUBG because, unlike SK, Bluehole has done nothing wrong. Naturally, the UE EULA does theoretically protect Epic against just about any and all forms of litigation from the licensee, but this is presumably why Bluehole is treading carefully and merely "contemplating" further action rather than just rushing head-first into it.
 

Parsnip

Member
Pubg has what, a few months max before it's regular release and a ton to improve on? Time will tell if they stick to the schedule. I love it.
I have my doubts to be honest.

After Tera, I have almost zero confidence on Bluehole's technical ability.
That was on UE3, and certainly UE4 is more capable tech, but I'm just not too impressed with their updates on pubg either.

I guess we'll see how it all goes.
 

prudislav

Member
meanwhile at Devolver
IS54F4F.png
 
I have my doubts to be honest.

After Tera, I have almost zero confidence on Bluehole's technical ability.
That was on UE3, and certainly UE4 is more capable tech, but I'm just not too impressed with their updates on pubg either.

I guess we'll see how it all goes.
I'm also a little skeptical, but Playerunknown seems to have a fiery passion for his baby. Unfortunately he isn't the tech guy, the art guy, etc.

Worst case scenario, I get about 300 or more hours out of PUBG and then move on to whatever competition crops up that is better (if that happens).
 

Dec

Member
It's weird the windows 10 store lets you download things without an account but doesn't let you play them. Was going to give the forza 7 demo a try until getting stopped at the main menu to make a microsoft account.

Oh well
 
For some reason I thought Bluehole was a startup studio that Playerunknown made specifically for PUBG. Like the Starbound devs or something--a studio with a purpose.

Kinda disappointed this isn't the case.
 

yuraya

Member
That's what i tried to say. Originally whole situation with Too Human started after Silicon Knights, developers of Too Human, tried to sue Epic for "sabotaging game development due to inadequacies of Epic support". Soon after, Epic counter-sued Silicon Knights, claiming that it was using its engine without paying royalties. Five years later, Epic fully prevailed in the lawsuit and Silicon Knights has been forced to destroy all copies of Too Human and remove it from online stores.

And now, we have this PUBG/Fortnite situation. Bluehole sued some of their rivals before, if i'm not mistaken, they're also modified the engine. On the other hand, Epic can't do same flip again and accused Bluehole in not paying all royalties from PUBG sales. This situation looks just way too similar for me, that's it


Its kind of surprising to see so many people side with EPIC instead of Bluehole in that thread.

Its like. Why would any indie dev do business with EPIC and Unreal ever again? You are an indie dev and you go to a company to license an engine to make the game of your dreams. And then 6 months after you make that game that very same company that licensed you the engine creates a clone that is nearly 1:1 in terms of game design. Even if its legal it shouldn't be. Its shitty as hell and sets up a dangerous precedent for how your game is supported in the future with the said engine. A big company like EPIC could easily choke out any indie dev who makes a popular game with those type of tactics.
 
Devolver did a great job of taking Mike Wilson’s edgy humor and making it more palatable and classy.

Fork Parker is probably written by him. But it’s much better as a fictional character.
 

Tonton

Member
Damn. Seems almost every japanese publisher raises the price to be similar to the American price.

Its 300RMB in China, while the other games were around 100....
Also 105BRL in Brazil.

Whats wrong???
It`s a new game that costs $60 instead of being a late port for $30

The BR price is on par with Steam`s suggest regional price for the game and the previous ones

The Chinese one that seems higher compared to the previous games so idk what`s the deal with that
 
The Chinese one that seems higher compared to the previous games so idk what`s the deal with that

A lot of japanese devs dont follow the suggested price by Valve lately. And it doesnt work well.

Look at K-T games. Atelier, Azure and some Musous used a good regional price, selling well in China.
Some of their games are even more expensive than in the US (look at Sanada), sell really bad.

PUBG has regional pricing, more than half of owners are from China.

In Malaysia its also 41€.


Also: The game is 40€ on Vita. It has the same content.
 

Dec

Member
For the last week or two my computer wont let my hard drives sleep...

I can hear them wake up but nothing is accessing them when I check. Then they go back to sleep after some time and get woken up again, over and over.
 

Tonton

Member
$30 for 6 year old game take my money, $60 for brand new one gtfo

A lot of japanese devs dont follow the suggested price by Valve lately. And it doesnt work well.

Look at K-T games. Atelier, Azure and some Musous used a good regional price, selling well in China.
Some of their games are even more expensive than in the US (look at Sanada), sell really bad.

PUBG has regional pricing, more than half of owners are from China.

In Malaysia its also 41€.


Also: The game is 40€ on Vita. It has the same content.
idk blame this weird industry standard that the same game on a handheld cost less than the console/pc version
 
Ucchedavāda;249673272 said:

Figure it would be $60 since it is the same day and date release as the console versions.

Preload is also live for the game too. Don't know if it was reported before but it looks like Danganronpa V3 will have a midnight launch as soon as the date is the 26th. I guess that was why Spike Chunsoft visited Valve recently.
 
idk blame this weird industry standard that the same game on a handheld cost less than the console/pc version

Even then the regional pricing in some asian countries seem like BS.

I mean Malaysian salary is even less than China, but still costs the same there.

Technically, the Vita version is missing uncompressed soundfiles

20€ more for that?
 

Knurek

Member
V3 will be mine as soon as it's below €15.
It's okay, I can wait. I have loads of VNs to play.

Also, I heard you people liked Picross:

V5P6S9C.jpg


Yes, I went there
 

Tonton

Member
Even then the regional pricing in some asian countries seem like BS.

I mean Malaysian salary is even less than China, but still costs the same there.



20€ more for that?

Sure I`m not arguing against those, there`s something wrong with them, but the $60 price is just the usual full price for a new release I don`t see why they can`t charge that
Handheld versions traditionally have been cheaper even if they have the same content it`s just how it is
With the Vita and 3DS fading over and the Switch having games priced like a console we won`t even have that problem soon anyway
 

Mike Bison

Neo Member
Fornite and PUBG are still two completely different games. Epic copied an idea that has been done so many times, should H1Z1 devs sue Bluehole too?
 
It's does feel kinda weird paying €60 for a Danganronpa after getting the earlier ones for much cheaper, but I'd much rather pay the launch-day price than having to wait for a port. They are just about the only games where I actually take care to avoid spoilers.
 

Phinor

Member
Dig 2 looks pretty damn tempting...

so many smaller games coming out that I want ahhh

If it was released a month or so ago I would have bought it day 1 but unfortunately it's a bad time to release a game on PC now. Hopefully it sells well enough anyway, I'm going to pick it up around Steam Winter sale. Cuphead and few other games will likely have the same fate.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom