Legal issues n00b question

Hank · Post by **Hank** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 2:10 am

Hello!

I got the gist of this game engine and I like it. The catch is this: long time ago I played Duke Nukem 3D. There was one Total Conversion called Star Ship Troopers. It is that TC that I want to re-create, for 2010 computers. Is that legal, or will I conflict with any copyright issues?

Models and sound are by me. Texture bases are from the TC, (enhanced by me) as are the layouts of the maps and how those 'bugs' behave, all that, I will faithfully import; after all it's a remake.

Any thoughts; negative or positive?

CuteAlien · Post by **CuteAlien** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:09 am

The legal state of media (like textures, sounds) always depends on the licenses used. But unless explicitly stated your are usually not allowed to use or modify them. And the name Star Ship Troopers is very likely also protected - although many companies avoid going after non-commercial fan projects.

Better create own stuff - and look for free textures on the web. There are many sites for that like http://www.gamingtextures.com/ and http://www.mayang.com/textures/

randomMesh · Post by **randomMesh** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:53 am

People are already working on a remake. Gearbox was interested in supporting the project, which resulted in a personal non-commercial license.

Hank · Post by **Hank** » Sat Oct 23, 2010 3:14 pm

Thanks CuteAlien. I use the book, not the B-Movie, as the base, but I will check who currently has the rights to the title. Yes, it is always better to make your own, and I will. This project is a Thank You to the original makers of the TC. When funds where very low, they provided a very well made 'free' game. Now funds are high, the game is for those who are now on low funds. The texture – OK. Why not do them as well, they can be used for other projects later. Good point!

Thanks to randomMesh. I know 'Fresh' plans to upgrade Duke Nukem. But it's based on the Unreal game engine, and is a remake of the original Duke Nukem game. The best things about Duke Nukem, in my opinion, were those TCs. Platoon, Zero Hour, SST and so on. So when Fresh is finished, there probably will be a lot of TCs spinning of his work. Meanwhile, there are game features from the 'SST TC' the Unreal Engine does not have and needs to be programmed in. For that I need an engine, I can ask n00b question, and can easily upgrade with my small team. And I think irrLicht has some benefits, it’s relative small, clearly written in C++ and has a German title