Topic: Game source?

Hello everyone. I am computer science student and a game dev enthusiast. I was wondering if RuneStone let the code of the game open? And if not do we have contact with anyone from this studio?

Re: Game source?

The code is not open. It's probably still up for grabs for the highest bidder. You'll have to ask Kroll about that though. But it's probably not gonna come cheap, and the team is scattered so it's not really worth it.
However I can tell you that we used Qube 1.1.2 as main engine, Ice or Glacier for the whole network part, and probably C++ and some SQL or dotnet stuff for the remaining code and database.

Qube and Ice/Glacier is/was freeware.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, and I'll try to answer them the best I can smile

Cheers

Last edited by HateTank (2008-07-08 06:33:26)

Re: Game source?

I think that this is a game that can rise as a phoenix if put open source! I wonder why they have not done so. It seems that this game can build very strong community and slowly but steadily grow.

Do you know if they are expecting to sell it somewhere in the future?!

It is strange because I think this is unsellable. sad

Anyway, as I have not played the game. Do we have enough concept material as what the game had to feel like and play like? I think such a game can be started from scratch again at some point in the future open-source of course so it does not have real development cost.

Re: Game source?

Well you can "visit" the tower smile

http://www.seedthecommunity.org/viewtopic.php?id=242

But you'll need the .q assets and I dont think I have it. Drop on the irc channel, someone may have it.
We had a repository of all seed "dataine" concept art, video, screenshot... It must be somewhere ^^

Re: Game source?

Zammy : I agree - It is unsellable (without the team behind it). And yes it should be put open source. But there's a bunch of investors who lost a lot of money on this, and as such they'd rather try selling the Intellectual Property rather than just make it available to everyone.

Unfortunately this also means that you can't build anything (legally) in the same universe or with the same source material.

I'd LOVE to see it rise from the ashes, and I'd even chip in some work - but only if it is done 100% legally.

*edit* Oh, and I was on the RGD team - doing graphics - so yes, the community does have contact to the developers wink

Cheers

Last edited by HateTank (2008-07-08 10:06:21)

Re: Game source?

After 2 years it would be nice if the inverstor could think of making a discount tongue
I never managed to know the price of the IP (exept that it would be too much for me to pay sad )
/tries to summon Kroll

Re: Game source?

It's interesting how many people have come here and on our IRC channel, talking about reviving Seed in some form or another, as a MUD, as a text-based RP campaign, as a small adventure, as a game built with some gamemaker tool, etc. I think the setting really touches something in people once they read about it.

Oh, and the very cool and atmospherical graphics as well of course.

Reviving Seed would be fantastic, but this cynical goth thinks it's nigh impossible to get it going like that again. :S

Re: Game source?

Well, maybe we can do something different. Start negotiation price that is payable by community donation to buy back to rights of it. Of course that is wasted money sad Of course we can always rename everything in the game and have absolutely the same look,feeling and game play. People can have rights only over names and logos not over game play and graphics feel. smile I think that as mmorpg is very,very complex project we might start with rewriting the universe and then doing a normal adventure/quest type of game. (The game felt like one anyway.)

I am surprised that after 2 years there are so much active people connected with SEED.
It is a nice surprise for me.

Do we have any active game projects in the S33D universe? (to be legal)

Re: Game source?

Actually you can have rights over design, colours, and much more. Just try and make a game with a character that looks like Mickey mouse and watch as the shit hits the fan wink

And no - you cannot duplicate the designs - you can't use the tools, suits, items, levels or parts of the levels etc.

Sorry to bust your bubble - like I said, I'd really love to see this get revitalized, but at the same time you have to keep it legal. Or it has no point in my opinion.

Cheers

Re: Game source?

Hmm.... well that is a lot of copyright.  And who is the publisher that owns it? Has anybody contacted them? As I know Seed did not have real publisher or I am wrong? Who actually owns the rights to the game?

I do not understand much from copyrights but this seems to be too strong. Have someone actually asked them what we can use from the game? As it seems to harsh to sue us if the game looks like theirs for example... and is not worth suing in the first time actually ,if you think in economical terms, as they will not get any money form us as we do not have any in the first place. (just musing)

Re: Game source?

As Hatetank said, he was on the Dev team, so he's an accurate source of information wink

We'd all love to see the game come back to life, but in my opinion the feeling of the game owed a huge amount to the dedication, time and effort of the Devs who had a huge amount of input into gameplay alongside the community. I must admit I'm not sure a second attempt could ever be as good as the first time smile Goddamit, I'd like to try though!

And lovely to see you're still lurking Hate smile

Re: Game source?

I think that if it is built only from the community it will not lose anything! It will be slow but steady grow. Just saying "Ok, we cant buy back the franchise lets just say how cool it was and that's it! .'

Ok, maybe you are right. Anyway, just enthusiasm is not enough i guess

Re: Game source?

Well, we're running a very nice text-based RP campaign based on Seed, which is a great way to remember the game imo, since more is pretty nigh impossible due to many factors.

Re: Game source?

What about a MUD?

Re: Game source?

Someone tried to set that up after Seed died, but it fizzled out, due to too few people participating. It's a good idea if someone who was into MUDs and understood what Seed was about made a team and tried it. However, I would guess people aren't motivated to try that. We need a few people with lots of time and determination.

Re: Game source?

Hello all, as you can see by my post count I am new to ‘this’ forum, but not to the game. I had the great joy of actually playing the game Seed when in beta testing. I like you who read are stuck in a void that is yet to be again filled by something more than the second job of grinding, and I’m not talking the good kind on a night club dance floor.

As with Zammy, it was rather a surprise when I went looking for this game again to see there is still a community for it! While I have looked but not found something to quench my thirst for dare I say, something a little ‘Seed-y.’  I ended up full circle to here.

So a crazy idea to those that might know… maybe one of the people that used to work on the game. I understand the company filed bankruptsy, and in doing so the ‘game’ being its property would have been taken by the receivers, they would have then sold this on (if they could) and the profits used to pay of creditors to the company (or that’show it works in the UK.)

While the company is bancrupt the director or owner persoanly is not. i.e that person can start a new compnay and BUY the assests back. Obviously this was not the case for what ever reason, a broken heart and bank balance might have been the simple answer.

To the point… if it is known who own the ‘game’ code and rights… it could be purchased by whoever, that is if the new owners do not want to keep it considering it a possible commercial threat. That whoever depending on the price could be this here community. It could be worked on as a bedroom project with a cheap server and a few volenteers… university IT people looking for a little extra expriance (Zammy for example) with a playable reward. Costs could be helped by donations, and kept legitemat by setting it up as a registered charity.

This is ALL pie in the sky, float bed dreams but someone of you might just be crazy enough, have stupidly well paid jobs and fancy a little flutter. But then again it all depends on the initial cost to purchase it and you moths that flutter around this dim lightbulb. So who owns it anyone know? Where can we dig out information? How do we contact the old team?

If you dont think this is all possible I would advise you look up a German game Illarion. It was created by uni students and loved so much by the players a couple got together bought a server and made it better in thier own time, set up a charity for donations and its stronger than ever.

That all said if I had developed the game, I sure as hell would have made a copy of it all for a closed private server in my bedroom for select players… would you?

Last edited by Wrathe (2008-07-09 10:16:45)

Re: Game source?

I've sent Kroll an email, with a link to this thread. He's in England et the time being, so we might not get an answer anytime soon. But I'll let you know, if he does not himself.

I'll get back to you when I'm not at work wink

Cheers

Re: Game source?

I think the rights are with Østjydsk Innovation (http://oeiuk.itide.dk/), who got the rights after RGD went bankrupt. Some in our community have tried contacting them about exactly such a plan (or at least to get some info), but they didn't reply. However, perhaps we got it wrong, and the rights are elsewhere. Kroll would know all of this smile

Re: Game source?

Oh man...I never got to shower in the SteamBath area.... I need one!

Re: Game source?

Well - I still have a lot of "interactive" seed content online. You can't play it, but you can get stuck in a Radlock, and see SteamBaths without the steam effects...

http://polygonpoop.dk/2007/05/seed-inte … ntent.html

Might hold some interest to the newcomers wink

Cheers

Re: Game source?

Maybe we can sign a contract with the owners that we will not use the franchise for commercial use.  Something in this term. sad Maybe we need legal advise. But I think MUD can easily be created and needs no art as such. Let see first who owns it and get into contact with them. Step by step.

Re: Game source?

Hi guys

It breaks my heart. Seriously. It does.

Here's the situation: The IP rights do not lie with ØI: They were the initial investors in Runestone, and the ones that helped us getting started. The primary investors (in terms of amount of money) were a couple of danish business angels (read: wealthy guys). These guys lost a lot of money on the whole Runestone business, but decided to buy the IP rights from the bankrupt company, to at least have that lottery ticket to sit on.

I cannot disclose their identity, nor the amount of money they lost, nor the price they paid for the IP rights.

Would they be interested in selling it ? Yes, if the price is right.
Would they be interested in allowing non-commercial use of it ? maybe. I'm trying to open a discussion with them on this, but to them, I am still a guy who lost them a lot of money, which makes it a little difficult. On the other hand, I realize that I'm probably the only one that can make it happen.

As for commercial viability of Seed, as such: I hate to say it, but the numbers don't add up.
How ever much impressing it is that even after two years, there is still a community of volonteers, the community is much, much too small to make financial sense. Even just renting servers would not be covered by this size of community, not to mention pay etc as needed by the devs. This is not counting the costs needed to just get the damn thing up and running again.

So why am I interested in being allowed to use the IP for non-profit ? because maybe something like the stuff Hatetank has put up can be put in place in a slightly more interactive version. I will make no promises mind, but this *is* something on my mind.
Legalities must be sorted first, as Hatetank says.

Re: Game source?

Thanks for the clarification, Kroll. It is as I suspected, although not completely hopeless smile

Cheers

Re: Game source?

Thanks for the answer Kroll and also it's nice to see you  smile

Re: Game source?

kroll wrote:

Hi guys

It breaks my heart. Seriously. It does.

Here's the situation: The IP rights do not lie with ØI: They were the initial investors in Runestone, and the ones that helped us getting started. The primary investors (in terms of amount of money) were a couple of danish business angels (read: wealthy guys). These guys lost a lot of money on the whole Runestone business, but decided to buy the IP rights from the bankrupt company, to at least have that lottery ticket to sit on.

I cannot disclose their identity, nor the amount of money they lost, nor the price they paid for the IP rights.

Would they be interested in selling it ? Yes, if the price is right.
Would they be interested in allowing non-commercial use of it ? maybe. I'm trying to open a discussion with them on this, but to them, I am still a guy who lost them a lot of money, which makes it a little difficult. On the other hand, I realize that I'm probably the only one that can make it happen.

It is ugly business there but I have hopes and maybe you will be able to get back the game to the community at least. You will be surprised what a community can make with no real developing cost.

kroll wrote:

As for commercial viability of Seed, as such: I hate to say it, but the numbers don't add up.
How ever much impressing it is that even after two years, there is still a community of volonteers, the community is much, much too small to make financial sense. Even just renting servers would not be covered by this size of community, not to mention pay etc as needed by the devs. This is not counting the costs needed to just get the damn thing up and running again.

Such type of game will never ever have real commercial success! A game with target group at RP people is a very small and tiny target group. As such I am suggesting not making it commercial again but open volunteer creation. Paying just for server by donation is how we can at least keep it running. It will be slow but it will be steady grow of the game. Passion is something very strong and can move mountains.

kroll wrote:

So why am I interested in being allowed to use the IP for non-profit ? because maybe something like the stuff Hatetank has put up can be put in place in a slightly more interactive version. I will make no promises mind, but this *is* something on my mind.
Legalities must be sorted first, as Hatetank says.

Good luck! We have fingers crossed. In the meantime we will be here. Waiting.

Last edited by Zammy (2008-07-10 11:32:51)