11 replies to this topic

[Serge]

Has anybody seen GANTZ anime series or manga? What do you think about a mod for UFO2000 with a similar plot/theme? It is just a theoretical question right now (let alone possible copyright problems)

[Kratos]

Sounds interesting, but what kind of mod? Maps, weapons, or units? or all three?

[Serge]

Mostly weapons and units. Also probably we need support for scriptable mission scenarios to be able to implement many different games using our engine.

For GANTZ mod important things are: knowing positions of all enemy units (using some kind of scanner) and time limit (turn limit). But maybe I have missed something else...

All in all, looks like we are going to have a rather flexible tactical engine with lots of possibilities

[Kratos]

If you can provide a picture/name/description for each weapon, it will be greatly appreciated.

[Exo2000]

I'm guessing it's base would be a modified version of the Assassination gametype with several targets instead of just one. That way you have the map and target tracking done already. (In Assassination, the Enemy's Commander is -always- visible on the minimap, no matter where they are. )

[Violazr]

In fact, assassination is just that, isn't it? Killing a target within a time limit, if only one.

And a gamemode with severval of those - why not. I guess you thought that through, so one player doesn't have to merely run and hide (with the aliens being described as harmless...).

BUT...

Does anybody play even the existing game modes, apart from deathmatch?
Sadly, it does not seem so.

Maybe some effort should be put into why that is and what can be improved.
I put up a poll on this.

[Anonymous]

I know im necroposting (??) but i really love the idea, so if someone still like the idea I can give some help, i like gantz but dont like the ps2 game and i still think that the story can be a very good game, so i can help with sprites and give some ideas. is anybody with me?

[Anonymous]

guys, i really love the idea about making a gantz mod and i'm reading the manga (chapter 318 so far)
I now the story very well and allways looked for a game that gives that feeling of the firsts missions in gantz.
Really, even though i think that this forum is a bit death, i think that a gantz proyect could resurrect ufo 2000 and even take another direction as an "indie proyect" so serge, guys, what do you think?

Edited by Anonymous, 11 May 2010 - 01:38 PM.

[Kratos]

Gantz is a story, not a game. Ufo2k is a game modded to feel like X-com, not be X-com (though many of us would like it to be). It just isn't legal to start copying things from other authors. We need to branch out to our "own" indie game, and that is so far what we have accomplished with our default graphics. X-com is just an option, but despite this it isn't distributed in Ufo2k at all, so what we're doing here is legal (at least legal enough for nobody to really care).

A gantz mod will not solve anything. There's no simple answer in solving what ufo2k needs to achieve. We need to make ufo2k's user interface prettier, simplier. We need to create more of our own units, story, maps, even our own ideas. But to do that, we need active developers. Serge (programmer) and I (pixel artist) are the only current ones around anymore. Granted, sometimes an old good face pops in (Nachtwolf), which is always beneficial, but activity is still low. I plan on expanding upon ufo2k's units/maps soon, so hopefully people will take notice and enjoy ufo2k a little more than they already do/did.

That being said, nobody is stopping you from creating a mod yourself. However, don't expect us to put it in the game (or anything in involvement for that matter). You must take responsible yourself for such legal issues, if you're so daring. Nobody is stopping you from forking the project either, to create your own "gantz game".

Your interest in ufo2k is appreciated though.

Edited by Kratos, 11 May 2010 - 02:03 PM.

[Anonymous]

well. hehe, i think that if it's a mod, and you distribute it for free, there are no legal problems.
Serge said it a few years ago, "similar plot" but i can make sprites but can't code anything.
So well, i feel sad about ufo2k because people don't give it the attention it deserves. I connected to the lobby a few times but have seen no one. but that is for another thread. If you ever feel interested in any mod, just ask, I'll be right there.
And if you ever need any hand in whatever ufo2k needs, i'll be right there, feel free to add me on the msn or send a pm.

[Kratos]

well. hehe, i think that if it's a mod, and you distribute it for free, there are no legal problems.

This is where you're actually wrong. Despite it's "free" and all, it's still a derivative of copyright. We're trying to avoid this entirely with original artwork. While I can understand fan games are enjoyable to create, and typically invites those community fan bases to attract in, it isn't a good idea to start adding copyright material. Generally free derivatives don't get so much bad publicity from their original author, but it is all up to the author's POV. If they feel upset, they can raise a stink about it, which would not be a good thing.

Serge said it a few years ago, "similar plot" but i can make sprites but can't code anything.
So well, i feel sad about ufo2k because people don't give it the attention it deserves. I connected to the lobby a few times but have seen no one. but that is for another thread. If you ever feel interested in any mod, just ask, I'll be right there.
And if you ever need any hand in whatever ufo2k needs, i'll be right there, feel free to add me on the msn or send a pm.

It really depends how "similar" it is. Too much copying is a bad thing IMO. As a partial game story writer, it ruins atmosphere more than likely. Stories for UFO2k atm though really don't matter. It's just a tactical simulator right now. We'll need to add Geoscape features if we really want to start adding such things as a "whole".

If you do art, that's always a useful skill around here. If you want to use your skills to make a mod, that's fine. Just don't expect it going in as a official revision, or linked to on our behalf for that matter. However, may I suggest you put it to more prioritized features?

We can always use more units (which I'm working) and a few more maps for official revisions to Ufo2k.

Edited by Kratos, 13 May 2010 - 08:16 PM.

[Serge]

Yeah, my initial post was a bit provocative, sorry for that. I'm most interested in ufo2000 engine features and whether it is capable to be extended to support many different types of games. When I watched this GANTZ show, my thought was that it resembles ufo2000 gameplay quite a lot. One has a briefing with mission objectives set, get some weapons/armor, get deployed into some constrained area and have to kill some aliens I think there is nothing original in this part in general. The story is a different thing (more or less irrelevant for ufo2000 as it is now, but a major part of anime).

I anybody starts an unofficial mod to implement something else on top of ufo2000 engine, I think we can provide some technical assistance regarding the basic engine features. But any artwork based on copyrighted material will have to stay apart from the core ufo2000 engine and be never distributed with it by us. Here are some random links from google: http://www.copyright.../fls/fl108.html and http://www.gamedev.n...topic_id=474340