Where Can I get some Sprites!? [Archive]

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Petrus Magnus

04-16-2010, 20:36

After having watched this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDNLEMmqPQA

I was very entertained! What an excellent job!

I did not expect terminators to start singing like that, :thumbsup:

Those sprites look AMAZING!

Is there any place that has posted them?

The artwork and detail is just freaking out of this world on those guys!

the_Fifth_Horseman

04-16-2010, 22:19

The barbarian sprites are from here: http://www.teardown.se/forum/showthread.php?t=1169

As for the others, you're out of luck. Those were part of the Warhammer 40k content for the game before we had to scrap that.
None of that content is going to be released - we don't want another cease & desist from Games Workshop's legal department.

Petrus Magnus

04-16-2010, 22:34

You broke my heart :(

I hate you :'(

the_Fifth_Horseman

04-16-2010, 23:49

Buddy, we had to nuke a lot of things we made for Space Hulk 1.1.
Like somewhere around sixty or so maps I personally ported from the boardgame and literally spent days on making sure every detail (including the briefings) matched exactly with the originals.
We put one hell of work into these (and other) things.
Do you really think we like not being able to release them to the public? Bloody damn right we don't like that.

But we don't have any say in the matter. If we released them, it would get us in serious trouble with THQ. We don't want that happening. Good legal defense is rather expensive.

Also, the game changed game since then. There are things in the current sprite specification that were not there when these sprites were created, and the whole sprite sheet was rearranged. Even assuming you had those sprites, to use them in the current engine you'd need a completely custom layout.dat (no, we don't have one; at the time, the sprite layout was still completely hardcoded). Simply put, even if you had them, that wouldn't mean you'd be sure to get them working in any version of the game that was released to the public.

Petrus Magnus

04-17-2010, 00:36

I feel your pain and your work is appretiated! (Man, that story about the maps almost made me cry.)

I was not saying "I hate you" in an angry way, just a playful one. It's really GW legal that I'm not a fan of. They've been really over zealous with their i.p. and shooting off letters to everyone. Having fans make a game, that sticks close to the universe they created, which promotes their product and, is FREE, can only create interest for their games. It's just bad business on their end not to see that. Lucasarts lets fans have fun with the Star Wars i.p. as an example of a big company that gets it.

But I don't want to go down a rant that you guys have probably heard like a million times.

You guys made a wicked game that I am playing WAY too much of. :D

Even assuming you had those sprites, to use them in the current engine you'd need a completely custom layout.dat

What's the harm in uploading them as pieces of fan art on another site, maybe under an alias? They could be great sources of inspiration, and they really are well done.

the_Fifth_Horseman

04-17-2010, 10:15

It's really GW legal that I'm not a fan of. They've been really over zealous with their i.p. and shooting off letters to everyone. Having fans make a game, that sticks close to the universe they created, which promotes their product and, is FREE, can only create interest for their games. It's just bad business on their end not to see that.
Nuh-uh. They DO see that.
The problem is that they have a licensing agreement with THQ, and part of that agreement is that THQ's license to make Wh40k computer games is exclusive. If GW allowed a fan-made game, it would constitute a breach of contract and THQ could very well sue them for damages.
Further, there is a number of kinks in copyright laws. Remember Damnatus? The only real problem was that if they permitted it, they would basically lose control over licensing movie rights to the 40k universe.
Allowing fan creations also carries other problems - see this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_fan_fiction#Copyright_holders.27 _attitude_towards_fan_fiction) and scroll down to the part about "Darkover".

What's the harm in uploading them as pieces of fan art on another site, maybe under an alias? They could be great sources of inspiration, and they really are well done.As you might have noticed, they're pretty distinct (and we kind of used them on all released preview screenshots and videos). Sorry, but the release of any such content would inevitably be traced back to us.
But then, I'm pretty sure it would just take a few crazy enough people with proficiency in image editing to reverse engineer them from all the imagery available. :)

Petrus Magnus

04-19-2010, 21:27

If GW allowed a fan-made game, it would constitute a breach of contract and THQ could very well sue them for damages.

K. That makes sense. Still sucks though. (thumbs down to THQ then!)

Further, there is a number of kinks in copyright laws. Remember Damnatus? The only real problem was that if they permitted it, they would basically lose control over licensing movie rights to the 40k universe.

I read your link, and I didn't quite make the same connection. Perhaps I wasn't attentive enough, i tend to read quickly... So fans can make Star Wars fan movies because LucasArts put out movies first? Does that mean that when the new Ultramarine movie is released then maybe Damnatus will be allowed?

Sorry, but the release of any such content would inevitably be traced back to us. But then, I'm pretty sure it would just take a few crazy enough people with proficiency in image editing to reverse engineer them from all the imagery available.

Okay, I understand. Better safe than sorry. I'm not the best at photoshop but I'll give it a go. Such a big project though!

Just wanted to say thanks again for taking the time to make such a great game. I haven't been addicted to a game like this in quite some time, :D

the_Fifth_Horseman

04-19-2010, 21:41

I read your link, and I didn't quite make the same connection. Perhaps I wasn't attentive enough, i tend to read quickly... So fans can make Star Wars fan movies because LucasArts put out movies first?Nope, they essentially can because LucasArts doesn't care.
Does that mean that when the new Ultramarine movie is released then maybe Damnatus will be allowed? Nope. The whole point of problem was apparently some quirk of German copyright laws that - according to GW - would make them lose their current control of the IP as a whole, or at the very least control of movie rights.

Anyway, last time I heard Damnatus somehow made it online anyway. I'm pretty sure that if you asked the production team they'd deny that ever happening, though. :p