is it to early to discuss a new project? this team seems to work well together.

Yer good move Suze, as long as that story line is yours MeMod will never truely be gone. One thing though you said in a UK court, does that mean it is powerless over seas? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

Well, I'm not a legal expert in the slightest, though advice has been sought on several subjects over the MeMod's progress.
I could'nt claim the right to the subject material work, and certainly would'nt expect it for a profit-making concern, but, if say, "Vivosoft Electronicprose games" were to miraculously produce a game which has a inexplicable similarity to the Scion plot, then I would be within my rights to sue the pants off them for pinching my Intellectual Property...

And it's definately applicable under UK copyright law, and beinga UK citizen, it's likely to be through UK courts. I expect the same right would apply worldwide however, from the best of my knowledge.

(Effectively, a sealed post-dated document containing a copy of a work is considered legally acceptable as copyrighting under uk law (the post-dating means that it was done before anyone else, which is why it's accepted). since that post-dating is unalterable, it's considered sufficient evidence.
I can thoroughly reccommend the same technique to anyone else who's producing something that they want to release somewhere and might need to prove that they were the ones who created it...)


Suz

Better yet, Vivendi AND Electronic Arts make seperate games using it.

They'd probably end up merging to save themselves.....I can see it now:

"Vivendic Arts is proud to pronounce the sequel to the first film-based Lord of the Rings RPG:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fourth Age: The Hunt for Sauron."

Conference room Vivendic Arts Chatter:

"Waitaminute - didn't Sauron die in the third age?"

I'm sorry that I haven't checking the forums as much as I used to but. . .

Death and darkness. . . ruin and doom. . .

I can't believe my eyes.

I'm mainly a lurker but I just wanted to say thanks and good luck to the people behind what was MEMod, whatever happens in the future. You've carried the dreams of many on your shoulders, and for that I salute you. I don't think I've had such anticipation or wonder for something since I first read the Hobbit so many years ago. It's a terrible loss, but was wonderful while it lasted. Again, good luck.

[EDITED - Foul Language apparently ]

Well, you know what?

FIDDLESTICKS!

The guy that is responsible for the closure of this mod is probably some little poo-head dweeb sat in an office with nothing better to do than wee-wee on people’s dreams. I bet he gets off on it... bet he had a right good bank over this one.

Yeah well do us all a favour you silly poo-head - go play with traffic. Preferably oncoming and of the HGV variety.

I'm sorry guys and girls, I genuinely am. I was around at the beginning of the mod, and even then I witnessed a lot of hard work going in to producing this amazing piece of software. To get so far in... so close, and lose it all to some stuck up pole-smoking tellytubby…

It's sick, that's what it is. Flipping sick.

My condolences to all, and thank you for all the hard work you put in. Maybe next time, eh? MeMod might be gone, but it’s certainly not forgotten. You’ve built up quite a reputation, I’m pretty sure you could move on to other projects. Having said that, I doubt you have the heart for it all now… talk about a major kick in the nads.

Good luck in whatever you do and wherever you go from here – you deserve it.

Chin up

[EDIT] Apologies for the language. For a start, it used to be far more informal around here.

Second, I was Pis... wee-weed off.

I understand your feelings Jacko, but I also think your language is a bit intense. I'd like to ask you to take a deep breath and edit your post yourself before another moderator has to. I'm afraid that the language is just too offensive in some areas even though you attempted to bl*ep yourself out. Please do the right thing and just tone it down a notch.

Maybe a simple edit won't do the trick. I suggest he spend 5 months of hard labor moderating the International Quilting Societies forums. That purge the insolents out of his unclean mouth!!

NO...WAIT....I GOT IT!!

Ever been an alter boy, Jacko? MUA HA HA HAHAhhhaaaaa!!!!

*Cailwyn woundering exactly why is profanity so taboo?*

peace

But then this one wouldn't make sense....

Why don't you just rename a few things? I'd be tempted to call it something daft like 'Central Earth'. You know, just to wind 'em up a bit

Peregrine, I know you're counting... Exactly how many times has this been discussed and explained by now? About 372 times?

*sighs*

as I thougt
"we are perfectionists, we will release as it will be done"

now we have no version at all

ok, what solutions?

send sites and access codes to MeMod files, those codes are your property.
we will download what we find there - yes we stole your project, and continue it at our risk
then some day pirates will release Memod - shame on THEM!!! ))

The suggestions keep getting stupider...

I'm going to be blunt.

We are not releasing the memod because of legal reasons: we'd be breaking copyright. we're not going to do it in an underhand manner either.

Will people please give up on the bloody stupid ideas, for christssakes?

we're not going to rename the entire thing. we're not going to put it on a russian server on the Mir space station and give you the access codes for it to be launched to you from orbit. we've not going to bloody well go on a piracy spree impersonating johnny depp, get ratarsed on rum and accidentally give the memod out. we're not going to chuffing well distribute it by Kazaa. were' bloody well not going to give the content to Middle-Earth-Online. Got it?

Deal with it, for f*ck's sake, before we go insane.

Memod is closed. it's not going to be released because I'm not going to risk the members getting nailed for breach of copyright. if that involved deleting the entire workload, that's what I would do, because the wellbeing of the team members is more important than 3 years work.

Understand?


Suzerain
growing increasingly pissed off at the bloody stupid suggestions

Hello everybody!

I know I havent posted here for a looooooong time...

Whoever knows me, knows I am seriouse dude, so I am not about to just post my response to the cancelation of the ME-mod, without previousely reading allof the posts already written on the subject.

The truth of the matter is, I have spent the last day reading all the variouse posts on this forumes, including all the aformentioned possible solutions to this criesis, so dont flame me if I repeate something already mentioned (If I repeate it, It's for a good reason).

Middle-Earth Mod for Morrowind is dead. No argument here.

However, I Think I have a way of salvedging the material created in a 3-year-long prossess, along with the ME-Mod's Vision, in a way wich will benefit all.

I'm not about to suggest the ME-Mod should go underground, and/or become illeagle in any sort, nor am I to suggest that it should be changed, at least not in a way which would be unacceptable by the ME-Mod Team.

Here is my solution:

1.Vivendi Universal holds the Electronic Media rights to the works of Tolkien.
2.SIerra is launching a MMORPG game called Middle-Earth-Online.
3.Bethesda holds the rights over the TESIII:Cons/Set.

With that said, think of this:

1. Producing a 3-Years-Long Production of a game, costs a game company about 5,000,000$.
2. ME-Mod, is already a 3-year-long project.
3. It is not unpresidented for a company to leagaly BY another company's Game-Engine.
4. The Morrowind's Engine isnt THAT old. It was ahead of it's time when it launched.
5. The market for MMORPG is still weak, and ZERO for people without broad-band internet.

You can see where I'm going from here on...

Now, I know that whenever a company BY a game, changes are made to the material.

HOWEVER: That's no excuse for not trying to negociate!!!

All Sierra has to do, is BY Bethesda's lisence for using the Morrowind Engine, and sit down with the ME-Mod Team and talk about the nessesary changes to the ME-Mod game. It is, by this way, saving about 5 million dollars for production, and only paying a portion of this amount on the license.

It is my FIRM belife, that in a conferece including representatives from Vivendy Universal, and the ME-Mod team (with lawyers present from each side), and using good PR. and a very good lawyer, a MUTURALLY AGGREABLE CONTRACT, 'CAN' BE FORMULATED!!!
(Wich will include what parts of the material is to be/not to be changed, and to what extend)

Of couse I live in reality and not fantasy, and I know that for such a perchas to be made, ME-Mod's Team have to first Register themselves as a company, and that takes time, effort and money. And also that this kind of Conferece, with the Lawyers and all, ALSO costs money and time, but bare this in mind:

There are currently almost 500,000 registered people on MW-SOURCE, and due to recent events, people who havent even registered are poping into the forumes. That's a HELL of a croud, wich will gladly donate!!!

*How much could the Morrowind's Engine's license possibly cost??? Did anyone ever check?*

Waiting for your response, Suzerain...

*buries her head in her hands and groans*


Rynos.... you forgot one.


I think I'm awarding this one the giant turtlefish award for the most unrealistic and far-fetched suggestion so far.

Not only would we have to compromise the design principles of MEMod..... but we'd also have to pay handsomely for the privilege..... plus the myriad of other minor complications we'd have to sort out in our spare time......


and btw......

Eru - the typical MEMod Teamster. Smart, sophisticated..FUNNY.

I'm a huge fan of how he spelled BUY without the U like... 3 times. I say, if your gonna bold and/or caps lock it, spell it right

Please explain in detail why Eru's idea would not work. I find it very interesting.

I'm fairly certain that it would not be possible. The MW engine is not made by Bethesda, it's licensed from GameBryo(NetImmerse). So I believe that Vivendi would have to purchase a license from both Bethesda and GameBryo. Also, Morrowind's graphics are probably too dated for the 'average gamer', since they just want short game with good graphics .

Okay, sorry to go a bit off topic... Hell, I'm not touching this subject with a ten foot pole! I just wanted to see if you are all aware of the Middle Earth Trivia going on in the Tolkienite Lore section. I'd like to see some more activity there, since I find it one of the most rewarding threads here on the boards... But everyone seems to busy thinking of old stupid ideas to save MEMod! Er.. I mean new st... I don't... O, heck, I DO mean old stupid ideas!

agreed ...no sane company would buy out MEMod. saying it wont appeal to the average gamer is an understatement....i remember getting into a 4 page fight about this with Daerk. MEMod was a tribute to tolkein and not meant to be some fun game to play..it was meant to simulate living in middle earth and the realism aspects and just sheer size of the game would turn off everybody but the most hardcore of hardcore tolkein fans...which i think is the term i used in the argument.

I've mostly been a lurker on these forums, though I did post a little bit a few months ago.

I've been waiting for this mod for something close to a year now. Getting to actually explore middle earth was something I had been hoping for since I first read LOTR, so having this mod shut down is quite a crippling blow to my dreams (I don't have very high hopes for Middle-Earth Online).

I do hope you guys can stick together and produce a different mod for Morrowind. With all the stuff you were working on, I was as eager for all the weapons and realism as I was for the story and landscape. If a new mod is worked on, rest assured I'll be following it (as if such knowledge would actually mean enough to help anyone rest with assurance ), probably lurking some more.

Don't put too much hope into MEO...I'm fairly certain it will be about as similiar to Tolkien's work as the Teletubbies.

there's times I'm sure MEO can't get worse, and they just keep on surprising me...

*weeps*

Suz

don't you just wish you could persuade them to swap their licence over toward the memod? if only it was'nt the cash cow having that name-tag...

*reaches for a Syndicate style persuadertron*

Suz.

Sorcerers and Necromancers... so exactly how is this different from Everquest then?

Answer: It's not.

Sad thing is, it'll probably be better than all the other MMORPGs out there, except Guild Wars and World of Warcraft.....

Necromancers raising the dead in Middle Earth? Does that mean we'll get to see Hobbit zombies?

I can see it now:

"Hobbiton Taken Over by Living Dead - Sauron defeated by Zombie Bilbo!"

Travesty, thy name is Middle Earth Online...

i think MEO looks pretty damn good...i think its sad that all the MEgames that come out are all action games...i mean its ME...doesn't it make sence to make a quality RPG out of it? first person with the ability to pick up and replace everthing that isn't furniture like morrowind would be so nice

DMKW... .. I don't think you understand.

* Steps back from the flames *

Bloody hell Tor Anders, you just can't go letting that kind of stuff catch fire in the forums.

* Uses his Zen fire extinguisher *

Much better.

Seriously - calm down! There's absolutely no point in getting angry about the films, as any attempt to film these books is ultimately going to dissappoint the hardcore fans. Its a huge project with a great deal of money behind it, and quite frankly I'm grateful that they were as faithful to the books original spirit as they were. Granted you could sit back for for all 11 hours of an extended screening and poke holes in the work of Peter Jackson and his team, but whats the point?

Middle-earth belongs to everybody - it is a world that has assumed the mantle that the Professor never saw it crowned with in his lifetime. Its a genuine English legend now, another imaginative dimension of our own familar reality. To even see other artists working from it and its template makes me all warm and fuzzy, particularly when they get it right. ( and I certainly believe Peter Jackson very nearly did )

MEO is a different matter, though. Graphically it looks cheap. No love or care put into the placement of statics. The PC options are ludicrous, and the whole premise makes me want to tear my own teeth out in shame. Not to mention the fact that they've got a license and we haven't.

B*stards.

I'll be playing MEO. Not because of its story, but because it actually looks like quite a good game.

Similarly I'll be playing World of Warcraft - and I don't even like the RTS Warcraft games!

To be honest i would love to play MEO, really just to see what it is like and plus now its the only way we can actually see Middle Earth lol
I dont think it will be a totaly bad game, i think it will be ok. It will definatly appeal to the masses and you'll get all the Legolas freaks running around with bows and you'll get all the people wanting to be Frodo and so forth but thats to be expected.
But to alot of people here i think it just wont appeal as much. Oh well.