KOTOR being remade in UE4

[Zenoth]

Just in case some might have missed the news.

So, how long will it take before Disney or EA (most likely Disney) fires a C&D laser at them?

I wish them the best of luck, but... yeah. We'll see... we'll see.

 

[Dahak]

Hmmm.... I could see Disney shooting this down soon

As much as I would like a new KOTOR the one thing that concerns me at the moment based on the limited info is that its First Person.

Now that could be just early in the build but if it stays that way I dont think most would like it

 

[KB]

They claim it will be free. If they were selling it, their odds of a C&D are 100%. Because its free I put it at 70%.

 

[zinfamous]

If it's first person only, then do not want.

 

[mnewsham]

If it's first person only, then do not want.

This, I can play the real KOTOR on my phone. I really don't see the point in the same game re-done in UE4 but first person.

That being said, Obsidian has been working on a KOTOR 3 script internally since KOTOR 2 came out, they have asked Disney to let them do a KOTOR 3 but Disney promptly sold the rights to future SW games to EA.

I hope EA decides to team up with Obsidian for a new Starwars RPG, but I wont hold my breath...

 

[DaveSimmons]

From the article:
"The Apeiron website answers a couple questions that interested players might have, like is making a Star Wars game like this legal? According to the remake's developer, the game being made is totally fine, while selling it isn't. "

That is not how copyrights and trademarks work at all.

Nope, this will be shut down.

Also, the art style was stylized so it aged better than attempts to be realistic. Adding lens flare isn't necessary.

 

[shortylickens]

 

[cmdrdredd]

If it's first person only, then do not want.

from the article update. You can switch on the fly.

While Apeiron is a remake of Knight of the Old Republic we also wanted to add things that the original didn't have. One of those things is giving the player a choice to switch between 1st and 3rd person. The functionality is already in the game and the player simply has to press their [F] key to change the POV. The screenshots are in first person because I wanted to display the surroundings, but if you catch the dev stream I cycle between the two often.

 

[Slew Foot]

i so want kotor 3 but knowing EA itll be some freemeium hellhole.

 

[Red Storm]

I'll care about this if/when it ever finishes. There's a long, long list of awesome games/mods/remakes announced that never finished or took so long everyone lost interest.

 

[Jaepheth]

They claim it will be free. If they were selling it, their odds of a C&D are 100%. Because its free I put it at 70%.

I think to have a shot at not getting shut down it'll not only have to be free, but also somehow require the end user buy or already own the original game.

 

[zinfamous]

from the article update. You can switch on the fly.

well, that's good to read. Free is free and I may try it out if it is ever released, and if I ever remember that this happens; but playing through KOTOR 1 again for the 3rd or 4th time. Not sure...

i so want kotor 3 but knowing EA itll be some freemeium hellhole.

well, they did release "KOTOR 3," and while it is deserving of much criticism, ToR is pretty fantastic if you do just want to solo through the story which is actually quite good. And you can do that for free, quite easily (though a 1 month or 2 month sub will make that much faster, esp. if you want to try the various classes). The problem there is that you have so many different storylines from the two factions that you will eventually want to try several of them if you enjoy a first playthrough. This certainly eats some time.

 

[zinfamous]

I think to have a shot at not getting shut down it'll not only have to be free, but also somehow require the end user buy or already own the original game.

That's what I'm thinking. Not something that they can enforce, maybe, though with the community Morrowind and Oblivion remakes using Sky engine, I think they require ownership of Skyrim + Morrowind/Oblivion in your steam account for them to activate.

 

[Sonikku]

This, I can play the real KOTOR on my phone. I really don't see the point in the same game re-done in UE4 but first person.

That being said, Obsidian has been working on a KOTOR 3 script internally since KOTOR 2 came out, they have asked Disney to let them do a KOTOR 3 but Disney promptly sold the rights to future SW games to EA.

I hope EA decides to team up with Obsidian for a new Starwars RPG, but I wont hold my breath...

Freakin' Disney. I know it's business but sometimes I wish somebody would do right by Star Wars by keeping it in the hands of those with the best stories to tell as opposed to who have the better lawyers and leverage and budget. It's clear Obsidian had a real passion for the story of KOTOR 2. EA's passion is only for short term profit.

 

[mnewsham]

Freakin' Disney. I know it's business but sometimes I wish somebody would do right by Star Wars by keeping it in the hands of those with the best stories to tell as opposed to who have the better lawyers and leverage and budget. It's clear Obsidian had a real passion for the story of KOTOR 2. EA's passion is only for short term profit.

Yeah, it's really sad that Obsidian got to do KOTOR2 but even that was rushed and unfinished, they had so much left to tell in that story and playing the game it certainly feels unfinished in sections.

KOTOR 3 from them would be amazing but at this point I am thinking it just wont happen.

 

[XavierMace]

From the article:
"The Apeiron website answers a couple questions that interested players might have, like is making a Star Wars game like this legal? According to the remake's developer, the game being made is totally fine, while selling it isn't. "

That is not how copyrights and trademarks work at all.

While legally that's not how it works, historically the Star Wars franchise has been pretty friendly to letting the IP be used as long as it isn't being done for a profit.

 

[Anteaus]

While legally that's not how it works, historically the Star Wars franchise has been pretty friendly to letting the IP be used as long as it isn't being done for a profit.

Historical precedent in this case is irrelevant because Disney now owns the IP and there is no telling what plans they have to monetize things. If there is even a small chance that they might update and re-release the KOTOR games then a C&D is a virtual certainty.

It isn't so much about Disney being a bad guy and more about them making more plans for Star Wars in the past couple years than George Lucas had in the past two decades. That said, anything is possible and they might let this slide but I doubt it. If I were Bob Iger, I would be carpet bombing the world with Star Wars content right now...both old and new. That would include updated KOTOR releases.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Since the original version is still on sale and this doesn't sound like it will require you to own it, that's directly taking sales away from the commercial version.

There's a slight chance Disney might offer to buy the code and have them finish it as a paid update, but their plans to possibly accept "donations" conflicts with that. Especially if the developers promise anything in return for the donations.

 

[magomago]

people need to just get the work done without much publicity, and then release it at once. Once its completed and on the internet, then no Qty of C&D letters will stop it.

 

[Red Storm]

people need to just get the work done without much publicity, and then release it at once. Once its completed and on the internet, then no Qty of C&D letters will stop it.

This.

 

[mnewsham]

people need to just get the work done without much publicity, and then release it at once. Once its completed and on the internet, then no Qty of C&D letters will stop it.

Without publicity they wont get donations. Without donations they probably can't finish it nearly as quickly nor have the finished product be as professional looking.

If they had enough funding amongst themselves I'm sure they would have kept quiet until they were done.