Announcing New Horizons Remastered - Bringing our best work to Unity

[Pieter Boelen]

How sensitive are you to copyright? If it's just the videos which are the issue, both storylines would work without them.

The question isn't so much how sensitive WE are to copyright. If we could, we would happily include everything.
The problem is that the copyright owners might have a problem with us using their content in a standalone game.
They might tell us to remove their content or they might try to put a stop to the game altogether or maybe even sue us for copyright infringement.
We'd prefer steering well clear of that...

Or are "Jack Sparrow" and "Hornblower" at risk because their plots are partly derived from their respective film and TV sources? In that case, anyone writing new storylines will need to be careful to write original stories not based on any existing film, TV or book.

The way we always figured it for HoO, which I think still holds true here, is that anything under copyright can be added as an additional download.
So the base game itself should be clean of anything under copyright to avoid any potential legal attacks against NHR itself.

This means that probably the entire "Tales of a Sea Hawk" storyline would have to be excluded from the base game.
After all, that is a near-carbon copy of contents from a game owned by Akella/Bethesda/Disney.
But the Assassin, Bartolomeu, Ardent and Woodes Rogers should be fair game.

If we maintain the idea we had for HoO, then any such content can still go in an additional download.

 

[Jack Rackham]

The GoldBug can for sure be claimed by the owners of the story. So it's out.

I think WoodesRogers will be impossible for several reasons:
I have used music and other sounds from.... here and there.
The story is very depending on the exact locations in NH as they are today.
Same goes for the map/archiplago.

So the question for me is whether to continue WoodesRogers part2 or not.

 

[Grey Roger]

Music is being rewritten for the new version. Any storyline being imported into the new game will need its locations adapted to the new setting. I'd imagine the archipelago map can stay as it is, because it's not the one from the stock game, so it's not at risk of copyright.

In any case, PoTC:NH isn't going away. Worst case scenario, Woodes Rogers Part 2 goes into that but not into the new game. Or it goes into the additional download mentioned by @Pieter Boelen as a way of getting the risky stuff into the new game without compromising the base game. (To be honest, "Ardent" has some... "borrowed"... music as well. So does "Bartolomeu". I imagine that unless the storylines benefit from the all-new soundtrack being written for the new game, almost all of them are going to end up in that additional download. )

 

[Captain Murphy]

You have to keep in mind, we are not writing in a ton of quests into the base version. We are writing a framework for people to put their stuff in as mods to the NHR game later.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The GoldBug can for sure be claimed by the owners of the story. So it's out.

I was afraid of that, which is why I didn't list it in my previous post.

How old is that story though? Copyright expires after a while, so eventually it should fall into public domain.

I have used music and other sounds from.... here and there.

I imagine music and sounds could be swapped out?
Or have Woodes Rogers as an additional download too.

The story is very depending on the exact locations in NH as they are today.
Same goes for the map/archiplago.

That is actually by #1 concern with any straight porting of storylines.
Because we do not have the rights to the PotC base game, we'll have to swap out all the resources sooner or later.
So how can we maintain existing storylines when the resources they use aren't there?

So the question for me is whether to continue WoodesRogers part2 or not.

For PotC, you most certainly can. PotC isn't going anywhere, as long as there are people left willing to work on it.
But as you have already noticed, I myself just cannot afford to give it to the support I used to for mainly personal reasons.
This means that merging work from different people, creating installers and advertising the mod falls to you guys instead.
And if you guys don't do it, then it doesn't get done.

Worst case scenario, everyone makes his own update for Build 14, none of which are compatible with each other.
There are no clean installers, so anyone who wants to try it will probably install it wrong, requiring plenty of additional support.
But because there is no promotion, nobody knows about it and nobody enjoys all your hard work.

Of course that isn't ideal, but thankfully @Grey Roger and @Mad Jack Wolfe are here to mitigate those issues.

I imagine that unless the storylines benefit from the all-new soundtrack being written for the new game, almost all of them are going to end up in that additional download.

That does actually sound very likely. Not necessarily a problem either.
I think that was one @konradk's intention with the "Different Storylines" mod in the first place, but it never ended up happening quite like that.

Additional advantage of "every storyline in its own additional download" is that you get to see the number of downloads, so you get an idea of how many people actually play with your work!

 

[Mad Jack Wolfe]

If it's all material with copyright issues, would ships from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film franchise (Black Pearl, Flying Dutchman, Queen Anne's Revenge) be left out? If so, that has implications for "Tales of a Sea Hawk" and the "Elizabeth Shaw" sidequest.

The only ships that would be problematic are the Black Pearl, Wicked Wench, Dying Gull, Silent Mary, and the visual appearance of the Flying Dutchman. Tales of the Dutchman have been floating around for centuries and are public domain. Disney can claim copyright on their visual interpretation only, with the same holding true for their take on Davy Jones . The QAR is a historic vessel, so copyright does not apply. Once again, Disney can only claim rights to their wildly fantastical representation.

Other ships that appeared in the PotC films such as Interceptor and Dauntless are not necessarily protected since ships with those names have appeared in multiple navies and countless stories.

C.S. Forester's works came into the public domain on 1 April 2017 under the "Life + 50" rule, so use of the Horatio Hornblower character is not an issue.

 

[Grey Roger]

Dying Gull isn't necessarily a problem unless someone creates an exact replica just in time for it to be left out. A reasonable approximation is simply to put a plain wood texture onto "FR_Sloop", which by an amazing coincidence is exactly what I'm doing - I found a nice plain wood texture on the GoF version of a sloop, and PoTC's "FR_Sloop" is a red-striped variant of a yellow-striped texture on the same GoF sloop. (I didn't even think about the Dying Gull when I started on that. It just looked like a nice ship to import from GoF. Someone else mentioned the Dying Gull, I went looking for pictures of it, and found it looked fairly similar to the sloop.) Silent Mary isn't a problem unless someone makes it so because we don't have such a ship at the moment anyway. It's basically a rotted version of La Couronne, which we do have.

A representation of the Flying Dutchman of legend would, as you say, not be an issue - it would basically be a 17th century merchant ship. Likewise, a realistic Queen Anne's Revenge would be an 18th century merchant converted to pirate use.

And I've seen a photo proving that the Black Pearl was a real brigantine at least a quarter of a century before anyone ever heard of a film based on a ship of the same name.

The specific texture of HMS Interceptor might be an issue, but I've already knocked up a more generic naval texture as well as a depiction of the real ship, Lady Washington. Both of those are already in the post 7th January update to Build 14. As for Dauntless (and Endeavour), that's nothing more than a 1st rate ship of the line. Put it in, perhaps with the lighter cream colour we're now using for British warships, call it something generic, end of problem.

But the "Hornblower" storyline has a unique problem in that it borrows from two copyright sources. C. S. Forester's work might not be a problem any more, but "Sharpe" certainly is!

 

[Qwerty631]

Hello everyone.
I would like to clarify \ offer an idea for interactive construction in the game world, is it possible on the part of the engine, and how difficult is it to realize? (Attached is a video for clarity)

What for? Diversify the gameplay. Interactive development can help you and your team to wait out the night in the middle of the jungle, protect your ship in the wild bay with a stockade, ambush someone, the team will have something to do, do not rum all the same, let them work for a change with a pick and a shovel. It all depends on your imagination and engine capabilities. I would very much like to see something like this in the final version.
And most importantly, I would like to express my great gratitude to all those who put their hand to this project and wish them success in the future. Well, the soonest release to all of us.

P.S I apologize for Google translator.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

@Qwerty631: Just so you know, it is not the intention to add all sorts of fancy awesome features.
Have to stick to the original base game functionality first.
If not, the project will never succeed.

 

[Qwerty631]

Of course. The road will be mastered by the going, by small steps to a great goal.

 

[Armada]

Regarding copyright, the situation is pretty much what Pieter described. We just want to make sure there is no content in the base game, by the time it is finished (version 1.0), that could cause a third party to make a copyright claim.

As far as I know, no claims have been made against any mod content we've released over the years, but it's best to be on the safe side for a standalone game.

The GoldBug can for sure be claimed by the owners of the story. So it's out.

That was based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, right? He died in 1849, so unless there was some sort of exception, copyright on his works should have expired by now.

C.S. Forester's works came into the public domain on 1 April 2017 under the "Life + 50" rule, so use of the Horatio Hornblower character is not an issue.

Does that apply to the US and any countries that consider the expiry date as "life + 70", though?

 

[Jack Rackham]

As far as I know, no claims have been made against any mod content we've released over the years, but it's best to be on the safe side for a standalone game.

Because we do not have the rights to the PotC base game, we'll have to swap out all the resources sooner or later.

So what can be ported over in the end?

 

[Captain Murphy]

Again, what we are starting with is nothing but mechanics and a way to add new addons/mods and some code to the game. It will be back to modders to add those other content items so that the base game does not violate any copyright, and since the modders don't have to answer to that then those items can get added to the game as they see fit.

 

[Armada]

So what can be ported over in the end?

For the base game: no copyrighted content.
For additional downloads/mods for the game: whatever you want.

Basically, as soon as we have built a system that will let people create mods for the game, as @Captain Murphy has described, we'll explain how to use the tools and submit content. Then, anyone can port a storyline, and it will be up to them whether to include copyrighted content or not.

As for specific locations from the NH mod, here's how it will work:

• To start with, we will port locations from the NH mod as-is
• As development progresses, we will start replacing these locations one-by-one with custom-made models, where applicable
• If any location changes drastically compared to the original NH version, we'll explain what has changed and discuss how existing storylines could be modified to fit them

Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Ok, I DLed and have run Version 0.1.1.18. Now a version .19 is available so I went to Itch.io and sought to DL it. I found a link to the X64 version but it does not work. So....how do I get the latest version?

PS: I am logged into itch.io.

 

[Captain Murphy]

Ok, I DLed and have run Version 0.1.1.18. Now a version .19 is available so I went to Itch.io and sought to DL it. I found a link to the X64 version but it does not work. So....how do I get the latest version?

PS: I am logged into itch.io.

In order to install the x64 you have to uninstall the x86 first.

 

[jaco]

Could do with a notification of what version you're playing. Unless I've missed it?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I am using the .18 x64 version already. The .19 x64 version can not be downloaded so can not be installed.

 

[jaco]

Sorry Hylie, I meant I can't see any indication in the demo of what version it is, which could be useful (unless I've missed it). Wasn't asking you in particular.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

In the first screen that shows up with the HMS Bellona, in the bottom right hand corner of the screen it shows the version number.

I have not been back to that site today, but yesterday it showed 2-x86 files to DL.