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Anderson said:
They'd probably win.

If companies let anyone use their name brand or trademark, they are going to hurt their company and investment. The brand gets watered down, you lose quality control, and your public image gets hurt. That's what copyright, branding, and trademark laws are designed to protect against. There are a lot of those laws. I agree that there isn't much similarity between this game and a standard Fallout game, but I think this case is about protecting a copyrighted, trademarked brand name (and also about establishing legal precedent for other cases down the road).

I'm not a lawyer, of course, and I could be wrong. But that's how I see it.
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You can't have a net that wide though. I've got a friend who tries to patent stuff all the time, you'd be surprised how very specific each one is. I imagine Copywrites are similar. I think Bethesda has an advantage in that they have the money (or rather the Indie has the lack of money) to effectively force victory. I doubt the indie dev can afford to go to court over it when changing the name is cheaper and easier. Doesn't make it right though.

I do agree that they have a right to protect their brand, but I don't think this has any relevancy.

Aww s***, I didn't know Fallout Boy's music was connected to Bethesda's game! Must be in the subtle details...
 
Frozpot said:
You can't have a net that wide though. I've got a friend who tries to patent stuff all the time, you'd be surprised how very specific each one is. I imagine Copywrites are similar. I think Bethesda has an advantage in that they have the money (or rather the Indie has the lack of money) to effectively force victory. I doubt the indie dev can afford to go to court over it when changing the name is cheaper and easier. Doesn't make it right though.

I do agree that they have a right to protect their brand, but I don't think this has any relevancy.

Aww s***, I didn't know Fallout Boy's music was connected to Bethesda's game! Must be in the subtle details...
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I get what you're saying, and I'm sure that's what the indie dev's attorney would be arguing, if he had the money to pay one. I just don't think he'd win.

I figure that if copyright/trademark laws allowed this sort of thing, you'd have games with Halo and Fallout (or any other big-name brand) in the title all over the place -- some by accident, some by design (i.e., trying to cash in on the name by association). But you don't see that. In fact, it's hard to find a single example of a game like that (there probably is one, I just didn't find it on a google search). I think the reason is what I've been saying -- these brand names are legally protected. You can't just go sticking "Halo" or "Zelda" or "Mario" or "Fallout" in your videogame title, without running into trouble.
 
Kassen said:
"Bethesda's parent company." A key word. We can't blame Bethesda particularly for this given the current information. Tragic situation nonetheless.
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Anderson said:
I get what you're saying, and I'm sure that's what the indie dev's attorney would be arguing, if he had the money to pay one. I just don't think he'd win.

I figure that if copyright/trademark laws allowed this sort of thing, you'd have games with Halo and Fallout (or any other big-name brand) in the title all over the place -- some by accident, some by design (i.e., trying to cash in on the name by association). But you don't see that. In fact, it's hard to find a single example of a game like that (there probably is one, I just didn't find it on a google search). I think the reason is what I've been saying -- these brand names are legally protected. You can't just go sticking "Halo" or "Zelda" or "Mario" or "Fallout" in your videogame title, without running into trouble.
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The problem is that Fallout is just far more of a blanket term though. Halo, Zelda, and Mario aren't used because they're way harder to fit into a generic sentence. Although Halo could probably get used if done right, like Angel's Halo or something. It's still a pretty specific term where Fallout has more of a blanket status to it. A better example would be adding the term "Super" in front of a game title. Every knows it's in reference to Nintendo games, but a game like Super Meat Boy gets away with it just fine. Another example would be Final Fantasy. I type Fantasy into steam, I get Final Fantasy and a game called Epic Battle Fantasy 4. On Xbox, I type in Final for Final Exam and Final Fight. Fallout falls under a much more wider category than examples you provided because of it's non-specific nature. Fallout shouldn't be used by itself, but to stop people being able to legally use it and other things like the Scrolls situation all falls under exploitation of the trademark and comes across as monopoly-esque. I
 
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sharkboy1200 said:
The problem is that Fallout is just far more of a blanket term though. Halo, Zelda, and Mario aren't used because they're way harder to fit into a generic sentence. Although Halo could probably get used if done right, like Angel's Halo or something. It's still a pretty specific term where Fallout has more of a blanket status to it. A better example would be adding the term "Super" in front of a game title. Every knows it's in reference to Nintendo games, but a game like Super Meat Boy gets away with it just fine. Another example would be Final Fantasy. I type Fantasy into steam, I get Final Fantasy and a game called Epic Battle Fantasy 4. On Xbox, I type in Final for Final Exam and Final Fight. Fallout falls under a much more wider category than examples you provided because of it's non-specific nature. Fallout shouldn't be used by itself, but to stop people being able to legally use it and other things like the Scrolls situation all falls under exploitation of the trademark and comes across as monopoly-esque. I
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ARGH, damn you! This is what I was trying to say, but you have done a better job! Jerk!

Yes. I can't imagine anyone getting away with anything Zelda. Even Mario.
 
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Anderson said:
I'll actually side with Bethesda on this one (though not on going after someone for "Scrolls," that's too generic). The "Fallout" brand is pretty big. I can understand their concerns.
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"Fallout" is an actually English word though. As in "nuclear fallout." It seems too ambiguous. I would understand if the game was just call "Fallout" and nothing else, but i don't think it's fair to say that you can trademark an actual English word that no one else can now never use to describe their games.
 
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sharkboy1200 said:
The problem is that Fallout is just far more of a blanket term though. Halo, Zelda, and Mario aren't used because they're way harder to fit into a generic sentence. Although Halo could probably get used if done right, like Angel's Halo or something. It's still a pretty specific term where Fallout has more of a blanket status to it. A better example would be adding the term "Super" in front of a game title. Every knows it's in reference to Nintendo games, but a game like Super Meat Boy gets away with it just fine. Another example would be Final Fantasy. I type Fantasy into steam, I get Final Fantasy and a game called Epic Battle Fantasy 4. On Xbox, I type in Final for Final Exam and Final Fight. Fallout falls under a much more wider category than examples you provided because of it's non-specific nature. Fallout shouldn't be used by itself, but to stop people being able to legally use it and other things like the Scrolls situation all falls under exploitation of the trademark and comes across as monopoly-esque. I
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Your examples aren't single words emblematic of a brand, but just words that, by themselves, don't mean much ("super," "fantasy"). Fallout is a single word that stands for a well-known game series. "Super" and "fantasy" are just parts of titles. They aren't in the same category (neither is "scrolls," by the way, the subject of a previous claim, which I believe failed).

Yes, Mario is a more specific word than Fallout. If that example doesn't work, throw it out. Think instead about Halo, or Doom, or Diablo, or Portal, or Half-Life. Those are all normal english words (like "Fallout") that could conceivably be used in other ways in videogame titles -- except for the fact that they are not used that way. The reason is that they are all well-established, trademarked labels for franchises. You can't just go around slapping those words on your product, especially when you're in the same business. You may get away with Fallout Dishwashing Detergent, but not putting "Fallout" in another videogame title.

Usually I sympathize with the little guy, but in this case, I think the dev made a rookie mistake (an understandable one, since he's an indie dev). There is a reason you don't see a bunch of non-franchise games with Fallout, Halo, Half-Life, Diablo, etc. in the title.

p.s. Nobody better steal my idea of Fallout Dishwashing Detergent, or I'll sue.
 
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Kassen said:
"Bethesda's parent company." A key word. We can't blame Bethesda particularly for this given the current information. Tragic situation nonetheless.
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Tragic situation? WTF, is this a daytime soap opera? Jesus f'ing Christ some of you are super magoo.
 
EA has shut down Maxis Emeryville, the main Maxis studio and longrunning developer behind SimCity and Spore, among other games. I've been hearing rumblings about this for a few days now, but official word comes via designer Guillaume Pierre, who wrote on Twitter this afternoon that the studio would be shutting down:


We've reached out to EA for confirmation. It's unclear what this means for the future of SimCity or other Maxis games, but EA has used the brand for a number of studios.

UPDATE (3:29pm): And here's EA's statement:

Today we are consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations as we close our Emeryville location. Maxis continues to support and develop new experiences for current Sims and SimCity players, while expanding our franchises to new platforms and developing new cross-platform IP

These changes do not impact our plans for The Sims. Players will continue to see rich new experiences in The Sims 4, with our first expansion pack coming soon along with a full slate of additional updates and content in the pipeline.All employees impacted by the changes today will be given opportunities to explore other positions within the Maxis studios and throughout EA. For those that are leaving the company, we are working to ensure the best possible transition with separation packages and career assistance

Originally founded in 1987, Maxis was best known for the Sim franchise, which began with Will Wright's SimCity and expanded to include a number of other games, including the popular The Sims series, which is handled by a separate developer called The Sims Studio. In 2013, Maxis released an online reboot of SimCity that was plagued with all sorts of problems, which may have been what led to this final closure. Neither SimCity nor the recent release of The Sims 4 performed very well, according to a person familiar with goings-on at the studio.

http://kotaku.com/ea-shuts-down-simcity-developer-maxis-1689454903
 
Interestingly, DriedMangoes who used to post all these DF articles at record speed seems to be slacking lately. I wonder why.

Since nobody else posted these articles, I might as well.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-dmc-definitive-edition-face-off

DmC is a decent port across both current-gen consoles, although both versions have some plus and minus points to consider. The tearing on the Xbox One is a little more intrusive than the short dips in frame-rate on the PS4, though both manage to deliver extended segments of solid 60fps gameplay. Image quality is basically identical, but the lack of anisotropic filtering harms the presentation of the PS4 game, leaving blurry artwork displayed on-screen far more frequently than the Xbox One game, which is clearer and cleaner in comparison. With this in mind, we're inclined to give the Xbox One the final nod here: the dips and tearing are intermittent, while the reduced texture clarity on the PS4 is a more frequent annoyance. That said, when assessing both titles overall, both are still solid releases, and the Definitive Edition is well worth picking up if you don't have an Xbox One, or simply prefer the Dual Shock 4 controller.


http://gamingbolt.com/dmc-definitive-edition-visual-analysis-ps4-vs-xbox-one-head-to-head

We observed some frame rate drops in playing through the first few hours of the campaign and Vergil’s Downfall but these were incredibly few and far between. The drops are fairly miniscule as well, with the average frame on the PS4 coming in at 55 frames per second while the Xbox One is 57 frames per second. Keep in mind that DmC: Definitive Edition is still on Unreal Engine 3 but running on platforms meant for Unreal Engine 4.

However, continuing the trend, DmC: Definitive Edition has better anisotropic filtering on the Xbox One than the PS4. Many recent third party releases in recent times have skipped implementing AF altogether on the PS4 so at least it’s here. QLOC further played up the game’s colourful art style with soft shadows, better particle effects and a smart utilization of screen space reflections. There isn’t much else new when it comes to animations or increased enemy count. One may wonder if DmC: Definitive Edition isn’t a bit late, perhaps by a year. Personally, I’ll take a strongly optimized remaster releasing two years after the initial version over a cross-generational debacle or a port that hardly takes any risks.

The Xbox One version may have a slightly better average frame rate and anisotropic filtering than the PS4 version but both are otherwise identical. Whichever version you decide to pick up, you’ll be assured of a rollicking good time with excellent visuals. And hey, this time you can choose Dante’s classic look from the start, in case that was (unjustifiably) stopping you before.
 
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The AF situation is so weird because it so inconsistent.

Very strange to see the PS4 version getting WORSE AF than the PS3 or 360 versions.
 
Troublegum said:
The AF situation is so weird because it so inconsistent.

Very strange to see the PS4 version getting WORSE AF than the PS3 or 360 versions.
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There's something in the system architecture or system tools making it more difficult to implement. How many X1 games have AF issues? Any? Yet for PS4, you have anything from $10 Strider to AAA games with AF issues. If it's not a system/tool issue and not a power issue, there's something else holding it back.

It doesn't make sense that AF can be as bad or worse than last systems from 10 years ago.
 
Intellivision said:
There's something in the system architecture or system tools making it more difficult to implement. How many X1 games have AF issues? Any? Yet for PS4, you have anything from $10 Strider to AAA games with AF issues. If it's not a system/tool issue and not a power issue, there's something else holding it back.

It doesn't make sense that AF can be as bad or worse than last systems from 10 years ago.
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Sniper Elite had awful AF on Xbox One.

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As a whole it is a much more prevalent problem on PS4 for some reason.

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From a hardware standpoint there's no reason we're aware of why Sony's console can't deliver similarly decent texture filtering to the Xbox One and PC - after all, there's an immense level of commonality between the systems. It's not exactly clear why developers are having problems in this specific area on Sony's console, and it's something we're discussing with contacts right now, with a view to getting to the bottom of what is a rather bizarre mystery. Anisotropic filtering is bandwidth intensive - and that's a precious commodity on both PS4 and Xbox One, but assuming the textures aren't being kept in ESRAM, the Sony console has more bandwidth than its Microsoft counterpart and should be able to handle the job just as well, if not better.
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DF is pretty good at analyzing and explaining things, but even they can't figure out this one. Will be interesting to see what Sony says.

There's also a possibility that there's nothing wrong with the system/specs, but simply devs cutting corners since they know the PS4 market is larger and will buy up software anyway. Just like the NES days. When you got a dominating share, just release anything and it will sell.
 
Troublegum, even Strider. Just like the old 360/PS3 days, the Sony system is often more washed out.
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Crushed blacks or washed out. Odd that both systems still have those respectively. Are crushed blacks an Xbox mandate? PS requires wash out?

Over my head.
 
To be fair to dried mangoes he hasn't been posting lately so he might be busy.

Though I doubt he would have posted this article :)
 
Kvally said:
Are crushed blacks an Xbox mandate?
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There isn't a choice, it is how the RGB value is set on the system.

Developers can tweak the gamma to reduce black crush but then that will also wash out other aspects of the screen.

Also, PlayStation 64.

I'm a f***ing genius.
 
de3d1 said:
I get the feeling devs are going to really lazy this gen
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Considering the number of remakes/remasters/ultra edition every publisher has churned out already..... in only a little more than a year, all signs point to yes for quick cash ins.
 
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