Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Ok, in case you hadn't heard, the Dark Forces Mod For Jedi Outcast has been shut down by LEC. You can read my report on JKII.Net, but I am posting here to get your reaction to this turn of events in which was supposed to be a happy occasion because of the JK3 news. I personally think its sounds like another case of Bid For Power that went sour, unfortunately. Dark Forces Mod Shut Down posted by Andy867 on 04/01/03 Dark Forces Mod Shut Down posted by Andy867 on 04/01/03 LUCASARTS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY DECLARE DARK FORCES™: A MOD FOR JEDI KNIGHT II™ IN BREACH OF FUNDAMENTAL LEC LICENSE AGREEMENTS As of Today (March 31st 2003), the Dark Forces MOD will no longer be allowed to continue, as Lucasarts lawyers have shut down the project, and seized property, including the project leader's personal computer which will be later used in court. I wish I could say this was an April Fool's Joke. quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - March 31, 2003 - Today, LucasArts lawyers ordered the immediate abortion of the Dark Forces Jedi Knight II modification project. The Jedi Knight II modification project leader had been cautioned a number of times on the use of illegal materials in the project. These materials are the intellectual property of LucasArts, and to use them knowingly will result in criminal punishment. The website and modification project materials are now the material property of LucasArts. Dave Turner, the project's leader has been warned on a number of occasions, most recently being issued with a formal caution, and ultimatum outlining the immediate dissolution of the modification and all related materials. Mr Turner failed to agree to this ultimatum, and as a result on March 31, 2003 LucasArts' lawyers seized the website and Mr Turner's personal computer for use later in a court prosecution. Mr Turner will have no choice but to pay a fine of $250,000 to LucasArts Entertainment Company, or face a 6-year prison sentence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kind of sounds like the incident of Bid For Power, for those who know what I mean. A MOD/TC becomes so popular that the parent compnay steps in before it is publically released in its final form. Before I say anything that will get this site in trouble, I just want to say I hope Mr Turner comes out of this ok, and we wish him and all his team the best, and we thank them for all the hard work they put into the Demo and the Project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Truthful Liar Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 250,000$ or 6 years in jail just for making a mod. :| This is a big turn-off, I might just not buy JK3 because of this. Perhaps we should all take a stand and boycott it to help out a fellow modder/forumer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 1. Woah 2. This is truley Lucasarts going OTT as per nomal 3. I hope I dont get any nastly letters. Will this leave us all with big problems in the future? I dont know. I hope somthing will get resolved. Anakin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJihad Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 my opinion: lucasarts isnt seeing any money from df anymore. let us have some fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff 42 Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 April Fool's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hekx Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I haven't played DF, only JO. I want JKIII more than any expansion or mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 I am hoping, because I am talking With Anakin of the AOTC: TC and Nwo Reaper of DF2E, who are both project leaders. We are all a little suspicious, but not to hasty either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Indeed we are a little worried about this, but I hope we get some more info about this ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inbredyokel Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 This is definite overkill. Lucasarts seems to get upset when people try to do things that increase the appeal and versatility of their games. How very smart of them Games like Half-Life and Unreal Tournament don't fly off the shelves for years and years because people like the expired graphics or dated gameplay. It's the mod community that has kept games like this going, and Lucasarts products are never going to be truly successful until they acknowledge this, intellectual property or not. Lucasarts needs to take a lesson from Valve/Sierra and humble themselves a bit. You don't have to be an employee at Raven to contribute to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASk Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Strange As far as I can see Darth_Linux is currently online and connected from ATTBI. If his PC was taken away AND there was a lawsuit against him, wouldn't that force him to go offline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 depends.. if he is at work since it never said he was formally arrested, he could still log on to it.. but believe me, I am seriously hoping this is just the DF team's idea of a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarteX Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I think it was the worst thing Lucasarts has ever done! except for maybee superbombad racing... I feel sorry 4 the dark forces team and especially Dave turner It kinda seemed like Lucasarts were in a need of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorace Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Well, what's the source of the news release? It's not on the LEC site... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 from the Dark Forces MOD website.. I wouldn't count on them (LEC) posting it since they haven't even posted about JK3 yet. http://darkforces.jediknightii.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furiousgeorge31 Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Come on Ya'll. It's an April Fools stunt. When April 3 rolls around, if it still is down, I'll be concerned. If LucasArts did that they would be insane. There is no other single act they could make to boost indignation and fuel boycotts and piracy of JK3. I'm a little hacked that you don't play as Kyle apparently in JK3. I bought DF 2 wks. after it's release. The DF series IS Kyle Katarn. BTW, I was on the DF mod site on the 31st until about 5:00. If they DID shut it down, it was sometime that night. Let's just all chill until April 3. --------------------- Jedi Outcast should be called Dark Forces 3. Long live DF!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inbredyokel Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I agree. It seems rather funny that Lucasarts would reveal information like this: "Dave Turner, the project's leader has been warned on a number of occasions, most recently being issued with a formal caution, and ultimatum outlining the immediate dissolution of the modification and all related materials. Mr Turner failed to agree to this ultimatum, and as a result on March 31, 2003 LucasArts' lawyers seized the website and Mr Turner's personal computer for use later in a court prosecution. Mr Turner will have no choice but to pay a fine of $250,000 to LucasArts Entertainment Company, or face a 6-year prison sentence. " Either they want to scare mod teams thoroughly, or they're just plain inept. If this is in fact from Lucasarts, do they realize how much this would completely KILL their PR status if it was printed in a magazine like PC Gamer? This basically says "Don't expect a good mod from any Lucasarts game, ever, because we'll threaten you with imprisonment or colossal fines if anyone tries it!" I'm also pretty sure they cannot legally say that Turner will have to pay $250,000 or face a 6-year prison sentence, because this issue has not been brought before the court system, which would have ultimate authority in deciding the punishment -- not Lucasarts' lawyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeOfPhunk Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 $250,000 or 6 years is utterly rediculous!! and I'm not exactly LMAO... ...more a 'yeah, it's kinda funny I guess' chuckle..! ..next year I'd try something actually funny if I were them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 I wouldnt be surprised if Nwo Reaper mentions about how he has been receiving word from LEC as well. I mean, look what happened to Bid For Power.. They had to completely re-work all the characters, the storyline and what-not to please Funimation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kstar__2 Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 well, for one thing, it isn't like the normal code LEC site uses (don't ask:p ) and if they would do that, they would just take it down, and not post all those funky stuff about the case there. but, if it, indeed, IS true, than LEC has gone too far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 Well, think back to when the U.S. government seized a website that was selling Mod chips for the PS2 and PSX. They posted a note about how it now belonged to the United States Government, and how the alleged failed to correspond to direct court orders, etc. So, seized websites will do that, but only on a temporary basic before they are finally brought down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furiousgeorge31 Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Dark Forces MOD is back up. It was a joke. Everyone can calm down now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy867 Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 Pretty Amusing joke, eh? Ok, so maybe not everyone, even some here at JKII.net, thought it was funny. But I did. I had a very strong feeling that it was just someone's idea of a joke. I mean, after 5:00pm March31st is already 12:00am April 1st. There were obvious clues, as pointed out on the Dark Forces website, that made it obvious that it was a joke. I mean, sure it look authentic to most, but the real keen eye would have noticed the loss of law-school technical terms, plus the fact that it said Mr Turner must pay LEC $250,000, or spend up to 6 years in Jail.. No lawyer in their right mind would have worded it that way.. Well, least it got a few laughs, *and groans* but it was all in good humor:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorace Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 bah, this is why I HATE April Fools jokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_One Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Suckers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorace Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Ah, yes. Lying to the public is so funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.