MechWarrior Crysis Mod Given Legal Clearance

[stlava]

In a move that will no doubt bring light to understandably joyless PC BattleTech fans, Microsoft, owner of the MechWarrior license, has granted the MechWarrior: Living Legends mod team (http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/) the legal clearance to use assets and properties drawn from the BattleTech universe (thanks Landrosradick (http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=15196970#itemanchor_15196970)). In other words, Microsoft has okayed a fan-created MechWarrior game. Seeing as Cease & Desist orders from property holders are a very common and real threat for mod teams, the Living Legends team has, essentially, dodged a major bullet.
All the more exciting, and at the same time disheartening, is the fact that Living Legends is a mod currently in development for Crytek's upcoming PC shooter Crysis. On the upside, it will most likely look really, really pretty. On the downside, that means that the team has yet to get their hands on the actual code, and with such mods being voluntary free-time projects, it could be a few years out.
Still, lots of excitement to be had, especially with the recent closure of MechWarrior 4 developer FASA Studios (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48915), the only internal Microsoft studio to utilize the property. Now to wait.



Source: http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/49121

I'm actually on the team working on the mod. While I don't do actual work on the mod itself I keep the forums and anything web related up to date and running.

[Enigmachine]

Cool, I'm itching for a good Mech game!

And a good space trade/combat game a la Freelancer... I should really look into Eve online I think :)

Isn't it odd that the mod will be on Crysis? It's not a Microsoft product... I'm confused!

[stlava]

No its totally community done. MS approved the use of the MW concept and name. There are strict guidelines we have to follow in terms of what could be in the mod. No new content can be added that wasn't in the original concepts. Since MS isn't planning on producing any Mech games they have nothing to loose in terms of giving legal approval to use the name and concept. If anything it promotes MS a little bit.

[Xero (1)ne]

YES!!!!111

I love mech games. I still fancy myself some MW3 and 4.

My first mech game was Heavy Gear. I loved that game.

Anything about a linux port? I highly doubt it but I love my linux. :icon_tiphat:

While I'm thinking of it does anyone know of a good mech game for linux? Preferably free.:threadjacked:

[PP Mguire]

Ok so im kinda confused. Its a Mechwarrior mod....for Crysis? Or is it a new Mechwarrior?

[stlava]

Its a mod for crysis. Most questions can be answered from our FAQ section but any further ones I'd be happy to answer too.

http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/content/view/49/73/

[PP Mguire]

Oh i get it. Its going to be Mechwarrior in its own game cept your just using the Crysis engine to power it and your calling it a mod so you dont have to market it or get any other legal rights. Genious.

BTW im linking this everywhere i go.

[Enigmachine]

It's cool that Microsoft agreed to do the mod, I'm just wondering why they didn't insist on the mod being made on the Halo 3 engine or something... Free mod, but people have to buy Halo 3. :)

In any case, cool stuff, I can't wait to kill mechs using destructable terrain! :)

[stlava]

In any case, cool stuff, I can't wait to kill mechs using destructable terrain! :)
Speaking of that, destructible terrain will be a bit of a problem for us because of the way DX9 and DX10 servers run. Essentially we need to create 2 maps but you see a destructive terrain one for DX10 would play way differently than a non destructible one.

[tomato]

Awesome news stlalva! 8) I'm always up for some Mech action! ;)

[Nocutius]

That really is good news. Very nice.

[Acidtears33]

Wow I wonder if the mechs will have area specific damage?

Take a missle to the arm and whoops your arms isn't looking so hot.

Take some .50 cal rounds to the leg and you can barely stand on what's left.

The possibilities!

[PP Mguire]

Actualy, its been that way since like Mech2. Its just going to be more precice and accurate instead.

And i know it would be a pain to ALOT but why dont yall just create the mod for use with DX10 only? you could do alot more in that short period of time if you dont have to wory about 2 seperate DX APIs.

[Schwarz]

Oh man !
Mech warior on the crysis engine.
Imagine all the buildings blowing up and so on.
Its gonna be tight !
Thanks microsoft this time around...
but hey st didn;'t you show me this website back in my xyzcomputing days??

[stlava]

@Schwarz I believe I phased out of the forums before I joined the team. I did post something about the site here though.

@PP We have to make sure the mod targets a broad audience. The devs of crysis had the same exact problem. They couldn't just forget about DX9 since a large amount of people still use it and will continue to use it because they don't want to downgrade to vista err upgrade. Yes by the time the mod will be released the DX10 population will be larger however there still needs to be some backwards compatibility for the mod. There was a large discussion between the developers on this very topic and it will actually be discussed in our up coming newsletter.

[PP Mguire]

Well i understand that but as a mod team im sure you guys arent getting paid for this right? It would be easier to just go DX10 and put more time and effort into gameplay and ect ect w/e you guys do. This coming from somebody who wont have DX10 for a while. And i LOVE Mechwarrior games. My first "computer" game was Battletech on a Comodore64 and my first PC game was Descent on DOS6.0. You know any of the guys from the possible Descent 4 mod team?

[tomato]

Development for DX10 only = niche market, limited exposure = less chance of getting noticed by one of the "big boys" to get a job in the field that pays ;)

So, while DX10 looks pretty right now, DX9 with DX10 support is the way to go 8)

[Schwarz]

You know sometimes when you make a mod like this, some companies might approach you and buy your game or something like that.
There was this mod for Unreal Tournament called Tactical Ops which was like CS and later on it became an official game.

[tomato]

Another great example is the Far Cry team if I remember correctly? Were they not discovered through a mod of some sort? :?

[PP Mguire]

Didnt think about that, good point. Here here DX9 support!

[stlava]

You know sometimes when you make a mod like this, some companies might approach you and buy your game or something like that.
There was this mod for Unreal Tournament called Tactical Ops which was like CS and later on it became an official game.
We have one dev that just started working at Bioware Corp. Them seeing his participation in the project was a big big plus. While the mod is a good reference for a resume unless microsoft itself wants to buy it we legally can not sell or be paid for the work that is being done.