/vr/ - Retro Games

I agree, Randy is a wanglord and I hope his feet get run over by a steamroller.

For clarification, and for to those who may not know, it is important to rewind a little the history of Gearbox and Duke Nukem 3D.

After 3DRealms went under, Gearbox made a deal to release Duke Nukem Forever.
That deal included the rights to DNF and to "any NEW Duke Nukem game".
3DRealms still owned Duke Nukem 3D and every single Duke game already released.

3DR died and Interceptor bought what was left of it.
They wanted to do a lot of cool shit for DN3D and also its community.

But Gearbox said "no you can't do that, we own DN3D"; so of course Interceptor was all like "wtf man? No you don't".
So then Gearbox sued them, which no matter who would win in the end, halted every of their Duke related process.

And in the end, Gearbox won and went through the court door with the entire Duke IP.

>>3156076
>And in the end, Gearbox won and went through the court door with the entire Duke IP.
FUCKING RANDY
I HOPE YOU GET A PROSTATE ANEURYSM

>>3156076
So now this current situation comes in :

In 2014 the main programmer of EDuke32 had made a deal with the CEO of 3DRealms so he could publish a mobile phone port of DN3D. That would include every add-on of the game, including the PS1 version exclusive episode which was never ported anywhere.

So that deal was passed before Gearbox won the latest courtcase and acquired the entire IP. Which would mean it's perfectly valid even if THEY didn't sign it, but Gearbox says it isn't. They offered a shitty deal to the programmer of that port, and when he refused, started talking via lawyers on each side, Gearbox claiming that he can't release that port.

Now though, and this is just MY two cents, I think the entire idea behind Gearbox is that THEY were the rightful owner of the franchise ALL ALONG, since they acquired DNF, the others just didn't know it yet.
As a result any deal not made by them since they got DNF is invalid.

Considering they already won the previous courtcase, I can totally see them win under this idea.

From skimming some of those tweets, holy shit that guy sounds like a massive douchey faggot.

>>3156130
Who, Pitchford? That's what most people think.

>>3156307
CEO of Gearbox. Before that he worked for 3DRealms, which he joined in 96/97 iirc, between the release of DN3D and DN3D:Atomic Edition.

>>3156318
Yeah. IIRC, he made a couple maps in Duke3D E4, and Shadow Warrior.

>>3156318
I know who he is, I know the work he's done, and I also know what a sleazy shit he is.

>>3156534
Ah sorry, I thought you were asking who he is.

With so many Anons so suicidally depressed it's amazing that none of these corporate assholes ever get assassinated.

>>3156538
Probably because contrary to what the media wants to believe, video games don't actually create violent people.

So what are Gearbox doing with the Duke IP? And why are they so pissy about porting a 20 year old game to phones?

>>3156568
>So what are Gearbox doing with the Duke IP?
While I'm not aware of any announcements or anything, I do know that Randy Pitchford is interested in making a fully gearbox made Duke in the future.

>And why are they so pissy about porting a 20 year old game to phones?
They want money

>Jeeeeez! I'm being NICE by telling you your contract is invalid without explaining it, I could have just sued you out of the blue with no notice!

How evil do you have to be to think scare tactics is being nice?

Gladly I managed to snatch all the Douk games on steam before they were removed due to contract change, so now I have a steam full of rare Duke Nukem titles that may or may not return.

I hate Randy Pitchfork, the devil incarnate, but if the future Douk games are good then I guess I could just stop giving a fuck. Though DNF was so shit and completely missed the point that made Duke 3D so good, any future Douk games should be exceptionally good if they want to redeem the name of Duke Nukem.

Also, didn't the fan remake of Duke Nukem 3D get canceled thanks to Gearbox and Randy Ditchlord lawyers for being better looking than Duke Nukem Forever? It's so absurd that a simple thing like a video game that gives us so much enjoyment has this kind of bureaucracy mumbo jumbo drama on the background.

Randy's just trying to save us from playing an old game like Duke Nukem. Instead, he's trying to help point us to fresh new games, like Battleborn™, the badass FPS MOBA which features over 100 characters, from a black soldier dude with forced "cartoony" proportions to motherfucking' mushroom man! Will you save the last star in the galaxy with an epic and badass character of your choice, or destroy it????? Be the badass you always wanted to be with Battleborn™!

>>3156853
>mfw randy pitchfork will make duke nukem moba
>mfw randy pitchfork will make a new polite and politically correct duke nukem
>mfw randy pitchfork will make a cartoony borderlands version of duke nukem and his racially diverse cast of radical sidekicks

>>3156568
Presumably turning Duke into a DLC character for Borderlands 3.

>>3156839
>Gladly I managed to snatch all the Douk games on steam before they were removed due to contract change, so now I have a steam full of rare Duke Nukem titles that may or may not return.

You could have just pirated them. I wouldn't ever call a digital license ''rare"

>>3156869

>You will never be able to play as Duke in the Batttleborn mobile port because of TerminX's greediness.

>>3156906
>ywn play a new Douk because SJWs

Copyrights are good, (THEY) said.

>>3156578
>fully gearbox made Duke

Here it gets interesting:
According to some old articles they perhaps aren't even developing it on their own and well, we all remember what happened to the last studio that worked with Gearbox on a game.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/head-turning-new-duke-nukem-game-teased-but-dont-e/1100-6428903/

>Pitchford went on to tease that Gearbox has "done some concept development [for a new Duke Nukem game]," but warned fans that this game might not come soon and Gearbox may not even develop it.

I remember him also saying that they are looking for other studios to co-create a new Brothers in Arms game while they are doing the next Borderlands game completely in-house.

>>3156902
So that I can show to all my steam buddies how cool retro gamer dude I am. I also supported 3D realms and that feels good.

>>3156853

Fucking hell I hate what gearbox has become. I liked the first borderlands, but it's just been a rapid downward spiral of garbage after that.

I've seen furry porn comics with better writing than most gearbox games

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/17/whats-in-a-name-gearbox-software/

Man. 3DRealms really got a lot of mileage out of selling themselves off in pieces. MULTIPLE TIMES TO DIFFERENT BUYERS.

>>3157006
Gearbox didn't buy the Duke Nukem IP.

They sued Gearbox, afaik over a Duke Nukem game 3DRealms was developping which they supposedly had the right to even though Gearbox had previously acquired the rights to "any upcoming Duke game, except for exceptions" when they bought DNF.
They won that courtcase and got the Duke IP in compensation.

As for TX acquiring the rights for a mobile phone game, we don't know if he paid something, and if so, how much.

>>3157037
I never said they did?
3DR sold themselves to a bunch of buyers, including GB to make as much bank as possible before folding, and left the cleanup to every sucker they baited.

>>3157046
I thought you meant they sold the same thing to two different entities.

Because at the moment the situation is both Gearbox and TX think they have the rights to the mobile ports of Duke Nukem 3D.

>>3156986
Pitchford is just a self insert liar.

It's like when their latest issue with 3DRealms/Interceptor settled, Randy said something like
>I wish them the best luck for their upcoming Bombshell game. As someone who was there when Bombshell was first created, I'm very excited about it.

Which is like saying "Interceptor wouldn't be doing this without me" in a falsely polite way.

So anyway, Pitchford joined 3Drealms in 1997. The first Bombshell drafts date from 1994.

>>3158867
I still remember how before DNF's release he praised the shit out of the game and when the reviews rolled in he told the press that 3DR's work on it damaged Gearbox' reputation as a dev.
Shouldn't have bought the rights for it then, moron.

>>3158867
Is Pitchford some kind of time defying demon?
Does he think whatever he writes or says will be accepted as truth? Surely he knows that anything he says can be examined?

>>3159685
This picture...

Can you believe that Gearbox acquired the entire franchise without knowing or ever being told that a bit of it was licensed to another company already?

In the process of being handed the whole thing, wouldn't they go in precise details what it represents? And in that process, bump onto the "mobile port" criteria and thus realizing there was a conflict ?

I mean, surely they'd have to go through it all at least to go over the specifics of the current releases of the time like Megaton.

Or did Scott Miller just hand over to Pitchford a piece of paper with written "Duke Nukem" on it while saying "Here, just take it all, now leave us alone"?

tl;dr : are both 3DRealms and Gearbox very unprofessional companies or is Pitchford lying ?

>>3159749
>tl;dr : are both 3DRealms and Gearbox very unprofessional companies or is Pitchford lying ?

yes and yes

Haven't believed a word that comes out his or anyone who works at Gearbox's mouth since Colonial Marines.

>>3159685

Has Randy given any hard dates or legal facts, or at least links to where said info can be found? From a brief skim all that stood out were threats of going legal over it and some reference to a $400 gift that was apparently just a payment related to a contract.

http://www.dicesummit.org/news/penn_jillette_and_randy_pitchford_to_open_2016_dice_summit.asp

>Penn Jillette, author, actor and half of legendary magic team Penn & Teller, and Randy Pitchford, magician, co-founder and president of Gearbox Software. Discussing “Assumptions and Expectations with Interactivity and Magic,” this session will incorporate some lessons in misdirection of attention, expectation disruption and just plain old-fashioned lying.

>>3159809
I want Penn to put Randy in the trash where he belongs.

>>3159782
....Did this comic seriously steal a joke from Spaceballs?

>>3163798
That joke goes back a lot further than Space Balls, kid.

>>3163958
>steal joke from Spaceballs

>lol it's okay because Spaceballs stole it from Looney Tunes :^)

Two wrongs don't make a right. It was funny when Spaceballs did it, at least.

>>3163798
>thinking Spaceballs invented that joke
Shh, shhhhh...we won't tell the other kids at school.

>>3164349
Unless you show me an earlier example of a xenomorph singing "hello my baby", I can confidentally state that Spaceballs invented that joke.

>>3164349
>ONLY US OLDFAGS WILL GET THIS LE EBIN '50S CARTOON REFERENCE XD

>>3165695
That frog was even used as the mascot of the WB Network. It isn't some obscure thing that only people born in the 50s or 60s would get.

>>3164349
are you having a nerdoff, m8?

Can we get back on topic, that is to say how much of a massive fuck up Randy's life always been?

Check this out from the Shadow Warrior / Blood period.

http://pastebin.com/C83rLJD8

>>3155898
wtf are you guys so mad about? even 3DR and Gearbox. It's Duke Nukem. The last game in the series that didn't entirely blow was made in 1996, and even then the tech was already out of date. It was literally old when it was new and here we are 20 years later still fighting about it?

I mean, I know this is retro but come the fuck on. Duke had his day, we can still play it, android ports are shit, let it be what it is: history.

>>3165737
>The last game in the series that didn't entirely blow was made in 1996, and even then the tech was already out of date.

Bullshit. Quake came out half a year after DN3D, which had the time, made a big difference. Plus DN3D did a lot of amazing effects which were never done before, Quake barely had any special effect and interaction, there isn't even an interaction key.
If Quake had as many effects at DN3D, NOBODY would have been able to play it at release, it already required a high end computer with the bare minimum it had, so that's far from putting DN3D in the status of "outdated tech at release".
Major games for the Build engine were still being released in 1998, with technical improvements every new Build game released, which is the same year Half-Life came out. It remained up to date until HL reshaped the enitre genre.

Secondly, Time To Kill and Land of the Babes are good games. Manhattan Project is great.

>we are 20 years later still fighting about it?
Yeah, /vr/ in a nutshell? What are you even doing here then?

>I mean, I know this is retro but come the fuck on. Duke had his day, we can still play it, android ports are shit, let it be what it is: history.

This whole case is a LOT more important than just the simple fate of an Android (and iOS) port. BTW that port will be amazing and contain the PS1 version exclusive episode, which was never ported anywhere before. This means that as a result, we'll be able to play that on PC too.

But anyway - the developer of that mobile port is the main developer being EDuke32, the best and only still updated DN3D sourceport, which has greatly helped keep DN3D alive this past DECADE.
By spitting on that, Randy is spitting on a main pillar of the community. If they don't come to term with a friendly agreement, which they probably won't because Randy is a dick, TerminX will most likely STOP working on and updating EDuke32; whether or not he wins a potential courtcase.

>>3165803
>>3165737
Also this affair, like all the others before involving Gearbox, contribute into showing the audience how Gearbox really is.

This thing has a much bigger impact than just the fate of a mobile port.

>>3163975
>It was funny when Spaceballs did it, at least.
Nostalgia at it's worst

>>3165803
all im hearing is blahblahblah coke is better than pepsi, we pride ourselves in our aspergers, and videogames are art, duke was a masterpiece.

go outside for a while man, it's just some videogames. duke3d isn't going to be removed from the galaxy and terminx will move on to do something else cool even if eduke gets eaten by wandy. maybe he'll even get an actual job somewhere

>>3165813
nostalgia at its worst. isnt that /vr/'s credo?

>>3155898
>implying Interceptor is any better

They tried to make a Duke game without owning the license. As much as I dislike Gearbox, Interceptor is just flat out fucking incompetant.

>>3167363
No, /vr/'s credo is "consolewars are never truly over." That Space Balls kid is just an autist of a special variety

>>3163975
>>3165695
Whatever makes you feel better about being wrong, moron

>>3156076
>>3156121
>>3156318
>>3156535
>>3157037
>>3157104
>>3158867
>>3159749
>>3165720
>>3165803
>>3165806
Hi there!
You seem to have made a bit of a mistake in your post. Luckily, the users of 4chan are always willing to help you clear this problem right up! You appear to have used a tripcode when posting, but your identity has nothing at all to do with the conversation! Whoops! You should always remember to stop using your tripcode when the thread it was used for is gone, unless another one is started! Posting with a tripcode when it isn't necessary is poor form. You should always try to post anonymously, unless your identity is absolutely vital to the post that you're making! Now, there's no need to thank me - I'm just doing my bit to help you get used to the anonymous image-board culture!

>>3156076
Did anyone at Devolver bitch about this? I would assume they should still have the rights to sell DN3D on Steam

>>3167518
That's a namefag not a tripfag.
Lrn 2 difference

>>3167518
Sup /v/

>>3165690

I don't think they realize it's specifically about a xenomorph doing it

>>3167518
I have no great love for NESfag but you're an idiot.

>>3167542
They did Megaton and I assume were entitled to some (unknown to us) percentage of the profits.
The Megaton port can no longer be bought, as whatever contract there was specified a limited time, which has expired, and Gearbox gleefully took it off the market when that happened.
They're now going for an even smaller port that's more niche on the market, and they're taking that down too, or trying to, they're not really fully within their legal rights this time, hence the court case.

There was also that Unreal engine remake they CAD'ed when DNF got all that critical backlash.

They're obviously looking to do something with Duke Nukem as a property and they want to make absolutely sure nobody else can get in on their action, or provide their audience with a superior alternative

Randy wants complete, 100% control of Duke, at the cost of everyone else if he has to.
If he thought it possible, the faggot would surely round up all previous releases of Duke Nukem games in existance so he could holocaust them, and if he thought he had the legal power, he'd try to sue away any and all sourceports and fan content. Pitchford is a wiley (fat) slithering snake in the grass, and nobody should trust to turn their back on him when in the same room. He has ZERO qualms about exploiting any of us.

>>3167518
watch out NESfag is a mod on /vr/

Now that I think about it, I wonder if Pitchford served as some manner of (at least partial) inspiration, for the character of Handsome Jack, from Borderlands.

They're both the kind of guy who would whore out their daughter/son/wife/mother/dog to crackheads for nickels and dimes, and then feel not the slightest remorse.

>>3168940
>make an absolutely retarded memepost which contributes NOTHING to the discussion
>it gets wiped
>HURR NESKEK IS A MOD

>>3167418
Check part IV. 3DRealms, and therefore Interceptor who acquired 3DRealms, still had the rights to in development game "Duke Nukem Survivor" which is the one you're reffering to, as well as any port of DN3D.

AFAIK Gearbox pretty much threatened them by playing on words and contract loopholes.

>>3168930
>he Megaton port can no longer be bought, as whatever contract there was specified a limited time, which has expired, and Gearbox gleefully took it off the market when that happened.

AFAIK, after the legal threats I just mentioned, Gearbox acquired all of Duke Nukem franchise (contrary to only a part of it).
That's why Megaton went down, the rights shifted to Gearbox.

If Gearbox was smart, they'd just re-make a similar contract with Devolver for Megaton, I mean the port is done, ready to be sold, but I'm not sure that's what's going to happen since they seem to be demanding way too much and they probably want to get 100% of the profit for themselves.
I don't know if it's true but I heard they were asking a lot of money to Devolver for Megaton sales.

>>3168954
>If Gearbox was smart, they'd just re-make a similar contract with Devolver for Megaton, I mean the port is done, ready to be sold,
Hell, it'd be the right thing to do, and no effort on their part, it may not be a 100% perfect port, but it works well enough and it's a very accessible and affordable way to play Duke (and the lesser known expansions), on any modern systems. You could pick it up for a tenner on online distribution channels and be playing Duke in a minute.

Balls, they could port it to the PS4 and XBoner, even ask to strike a deal with Nintendo, port it to the 3DS and WiiU (or that upcoming thing they're doing to succeed it, which will be backwards compatible with the WiiU anyway, so whatever), let Devolver do all the work for a cut of the profits.

They could so easily do the right thing, make money of it, and please all parties, but the dickass bastards just wont do it.

>>3170072
I agree with almost everything you said and I hate Gearbox and his CEO as much as anyone here does and I won't make remarks about Devolver but I just wish Megaton didn't get all this attention, or that the guys from EDuke32 actually took care of it (instead they just stole the whole polymost implementation along with the new features and riddled it with bugs and unwanted graphical bloats).

I really hate that it got that much popular it became synonymous with Duke3D and you just had to buy it for getting people to play with you, when there's already free (not always legal), better means of doing that, although not that accessible unless you're the right amount of tech savvy.

>>3170110
Well that's the thing, Megaton is super easy to get into, it's even on console.

Some bored 12 year old could easily see it on PSN or XBLA and afford it, then very shortly be experiencing one of the best games of it's decade.
For all it's flaws, it was worth it solely for how easy of a step it was for someone incredibly lazy and/or ignorant to play it.

I played Duke3D as a kid, but never Duke Caribbean, I was told it was just a reskin, and dismissed it as I just assumed it wouldn't be anything beyond a little novelty, if I knew of the D!Zone crap back then, I'd have assumed it was the same kind of quality.

So I've got Megaton on my PS3, it plays well, the controls are pretty agreeable (with some tweaking), after clearing the original levels and the Plutonium Pak, I decide "Hey, there's this Caribbean thing", I play it, and I'm instantly awestruck by how GREAT it is, not just the funny and upbeat theme and atmosphere (though it really got me in a vacation mood), but the levels are just amazing. All this time I'd been missing out.
Also the echo added to the music, and all the original sound effects, all sound very impressive on a big TV.

>>3170110
Yes this is true.

In Megaton, not only the original game's bugs are a LOT easier to pull out, but the thing comes with new bugs too.

That's why reason why speedrunners use Megaton now.

I've seen people complain how glitchy "Duke Nukem 3D" is when they were in fact thinking of Megaton, they just didn't know there was a difference.

Also they should have left the original 8bit 2.5D renderer in as an option, even if not the default one.

Also it doesn't have true widescreen support, it's actually a zoom-in, etc

Megaton was great for making the game popular again, and the workshop on Steam made it all more awesome. Two of my maps got downloaded around 10 000 times each !

>>3170980
Caribbean Life is the best thing there is about DN3D. I'm so glad I had it as a kid, I didn't even have Atomic Edition, but I had Caribbean Life, all I needed.

Sunstorm Interactive, the devs of that add-on, were the true kings of the Build engine as a whole imo. They made add-ons for DN3D (Caribbean Life and Duke It Out In DC), Blood, Redneck Ramapge and Shadow Warrior (though unreleased at the time) and they're all great.

>>3170072
>They could so easily do the right thing, make money of it, and please all parties, but the dickass bastards just wont do it.

Exactly. That mobile port we're talking about ITT? In the current contract they're fighting against, they'd be getting a good percentage of the sales just sitting on their asses without having to lift a finger, but it's not good enough for them. They want 100%

Not sure what's going to happen with Megaton. Would be really weird if Gearbox re-released another version of DN3D on Steam and there would be two.

>>3170996
Well, the reasonable thing would be to just put it up again, maybe have Devolver do a few bugfixes or something, and then be done with.

>>3170072
>which will be backwards compatible with the WiiU

What fly-by-night organization did you hear that from? The NX isn't even going to have discs, it's just a TV dock for their proprietary "mobile" device/controller.

A good summary of the situation

http://techraptor.net/content/duke-nukem-dust-up-gearbox-vs-gobeille

>>3173221
really is sounding exceedingly likely gearbox does not have all the control of the rights they want and have been hoping to get the guy to walk away on his own

>>3173265
Yes.

There is one thing that article mentions... A "new episode", so I asked around if they were making a new episode for DN3D to go with a port of the game, like Doom had with No Rest For The Living (that was the name IIRC) on XBOX.

Seems like it is the case. I don't know if I should be excited or not. A new official DN3D episode in 2016/2017 sounds great, but since Gearbox is making it...

>>3156839
I just got it on GOG when it was free. I am more concerned about the fate of source ports.

>>3173265
I think the best evidence against Gearbox is that this whole twitter war is going on at all. If they had clear evidence that TX didn't have the rights to the mobile port, Randy should be able to cite specifics, either in public or in private, backing up his claims with legal documents. He seems to think (or hope TX thinks) that simply saying the claims are invalid is enough, no evidence or supporting documentation required. What is so stupid is that they are potentially further tarnishing the Gearbox name in the eyes of fans over a mobile port of a 20 year old game.

>>3173271
At least the Bombshell Build game is looking nice. Hope it can stick the landing.

>>3173291
Honestly between DN3D getting a new official episode, the Bombshell prequel, and the official re-release of the Total Meltdown exclusive episode, things are looking pretty smooth for Build fans...

Although because of this whole month the Total Meltdown episode might be taken off by Gearbox somehow (it's part of the port they've fighting against) and as for the new episode I have a hard time believe that Gearbox can make good classic style FPS gameplay in 2016...

Also apparently, for that new episode, they're using the level editor made by the EDuke32 team. Apparently they're also ripping off one of the renderers used in EDuke32 for their port, so they don't have to pay royalties.

So they use part of his work, rip it off, and threaten the guy to sue him.

>>3173291
Honestly between DN3D getting a new official episode, the Bombshell prequel, and the official re-release of the Total Meltdown exclusive episode, things are looking pretty smooth for Build fans...

Although because of this whole mess the Total Meltdown episode might be taken off by Gearbox somehow (it's part of the port they've fighting against) and as for the new episode I have a hard time believe that Gearbox can make good classic style FPS gameplay in 2016...

Also apparently, for that new episode, they're using the level editor made by the EDuke32 team. Apparently they're also ripping off one of the renderers used in EDuke32 for their port, so they don't have to pay royalties.

So they use part of his work, rip it off, and threaten the guy to sue him.

Also, this suggests that instead of bringing Megaton back, Gearbox is making a new port themselves.

This would mean that we'd end up on Steam with Megaton for those who've bought it in the past, and the new Gearbox port we'd have to buy again.

What a total screw-up. How far can they go to avoid paying a bunch of royalties?!

>>3173319
A company president resorting to Twitter battles over an issue makes it seem like the whole thing is just as personal as it is business.

>>3156986
what the hell motivates pathological lying like this, especially when it's so meaningless?

>>3173313

Fuck you Randy.

>>3173221
A+ article

Why is it that's always the smaller sites that end up doing the proper games journalism

>>3176229
Because the bigger sites don't want to cross Gearbox. Either because they don't want to turn their back on potential ads or because they're afraid Gearbox will go against them, or both.

>>3176235
GearBox isn't that big, it's not like they can afford blacklisting major press sites.
They probably need them more than the press needs them.

But either way point taken.

>>3176235
This.

They don't dare step on the toes of the big companies, lest they stop advertising with them or cut their access to new releases.

So you'll almost never see anything this kind of dirty laundry getting aired. Their editors just won't let these kinds of stories get run, at least not in a form that's worth reading.

>>3159758

I see no reason for an 'or' in that sentence. 3D Realms' lack of professionalism is evident in everything from the subject matter of their games, to the their press releases and trailers, to their hilarious development of Duke Nukem Forever, and Randy Pitchford is well known for saying dumb shit on twitter - such ranting about and legal matter on fucking -twitter- and being willing to rush to journalists to tell his side of the story, which just about any lawyer will tell you is one of the dumbest fucking things you can do.

>>3168954

What's the source of this image?

>>3176402
>What's the source of this image?
https://www.scribd.com/doc/264460584/Exhibit-s-1-Asset-Purchase-Agreement