All seemed well


http://www.kentmessenger.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=9644&slide_id=1&newspage=2&searchkeyword=&searchpage=1


but what's this?


http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/18/limbo_lost_saga/


but it gets worse


http://forum.gamesradar.com/viewtopic.php?t=120121


red faces all round I think

On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:33:38 +0100, ArthurS
 wrote:

>
>All seemed well
>
>
>http://www.kentmessenger.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=9644&slide_id=1&newspage=2&searchkeyword=&searchpage=1
>
>
>but what's this?
>
>
>http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/18/limbo_lost_saga/
>
>
>but it gets worse
>
>
>http://forum.gamesradar.com/viewtopic.php?t=120121
>
>
>red faces all round I think


OK 

so you don't like clicking on links- fair enough, maybe I've breached
usenet protocol by pasting them, but it's not malicious and this is a
Kent story, I'd thought it quite interesting and I expected I'd get
some response so I'll cut and paste instead.

This is from the Kent Messenger:-



'THREE computer fans are hoping to make a mint after the PC game they
created went on sale in the USA.

Steve Bovis, Tim Croucher and Laurence Francis, all from Maidstone,
have dreamt of seeing Limbo of the Lost played across the globe since
they first started discussing the game 10 years ago.

Mr Francis, 47, who also provides the voice for the game's lead
character Captain Briggs, said it was conceived for Amiga computers
that went out of date in the 1990s.

He said: "Everything just sort of fizzled out. Then one day I was
working in a pub and Tim and Steve walked in.

"I joked 'I thought you would be millionaires now', and they replied
'actually that is what we wanted to talk to you about'".

The three put their heads together and after three more years of hard
work Limbo of the Lost - a PC adventure game - was born. It is a
battle between fate and destiny, with players having to work through a
series of puzzles and challenges to reach the end.

Mr Francis, a former landlord of The Pilot pub, Upper Stone Street,
and now a mature student, said: "It is a sort of comedy come horror. A
bit like Monty Python meets Evil Dead.

"Between the three of us we researched, wrote, designed, animated,
scripted and developed the whole game from home."

Mr Francis, of Reginald Road, said he hoped their story would inspire
other PC users to the full potential of their machines.

He added: "For us it started out as a hobby and then just grow.

"Our hope, if everything goes well with the sales, is that within a
year we will all be stopping the day jobs and doing this full time."



This is from The Register:- (the UK's foremost IT website)


'A former pub landlord and two chums who together created a computer
game and signed a big distribution deal with a major US games supplier
have been accused of ripping off other titles' content.

Back in May, local newspaper the Kent Messenger interviewed Steve
Bovis, Tim Croucher and Laurence Francis, all from Maidstone, Kent,
who had developed a game called Limbo of the Lost, building on a
concept they came up with in the 1990s.

"Between the three of us we researched, wrote, designed, animated,
scripted and developed the whole game from home," Francis, 47, told
the paper.

"Our hope, if everything goes well with the sales," he added, "is that
within a year we will all be stopping the day jobs and doing this full
time."

Skip forward a month or so to early June, and Limbo of the Lost - the
title comes from a book about the Bermuda Triangle - is now on sale in
the States. It's distributed by Tri Synergy, the company with whom the
trio, who operate as Majestic Studios, had done the deal that prompted
the Kent Messenger story.

A copy of the game found itself in the hands of Eric Franck, a writer
with website GamePlasma. He gave it a try and was surprised to find
some of the scenes in the game seemed strangely familiar. He fired up
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and was shocked to see images from the older
game apparently reproduced in the new title

Franck produced a series of side-by-side screengrabs showing the
apparent similarities he spotted. You can see the full selection on
GamePlasma here. (you need to follow the above links to see the pics)

That was last week. Since then numerous gamers have posted what they
allege are more instances of scenes in Limbo of the Lost that bear
remarkable resemblances to areas from titles like BioShock, Crysis,
Unreal Tournament 2004, Painkiller, Diablo 2, Return to Castle
Wolfenstein and many others.

A forum on GamesRadar has this pair and a stack of others:

(as Above links)

It's been alleged that the game contains screens and even footage
taken from DVDs of movies like Pirates of the Carribean and Sea Dogs.

Limbo of the Lost is a point-and-click adventure in the tradition of
Myst. The player's presented with a static view of a location. A click
with the mouse indicates the direction you want to move in, and up
pops a picture of the location you've moved too. Back in the
mid-1990s, they were all the rage.

Tri Synergy said it was "shocked" by the screenshot comparisons. "At
no point during our dealings with Majestic Studios up until the point
that the comparison was first publicly made by a third-party did we
have any knowledge of these similarities," it said.'


I think this is quite a big story, the games these three have
allegedly plundered are multi million sellers.I imagine the publishers
of these titles will be looking for substantial damages and Majestic
looking for the advances back.

What's a bit ironic is that these guys must of put a lot of work into
the rest of the game (these  images are really only backdrops) and
made it a quality game to be picked up by a US distributor.

Also how did they not think someone would spot this?

"ArthurS"  wrote in message 
news:hj3o545qnq11pm40ls9nhgoi7qj2uhr47r@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:33:38 +0100, ArthurS
>  wrote:
>
>>
>>All seemed well
>>
>>
>>http://www.kentmessenger.co.uk/paper/default.asp?article_id=9644&slide_id=1&newspage=2&searchkeyword=&searchpage=1
>>
>>
>>but what's this?
>>
>>
>>http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/18/limbo_lost_saga/
>>
>>
>>but it gets worse
>>
>>
>>http://forum.gamesradar.com/viewtopic.php?t=120121
>>
>>
>>red faces all round I think
>
>
> OK
>
> so you don't like clicking on links- fair enough, maybe I've breached
> usenet protocol by pasting them, but it's not malicious and this is a
> Kent story, I'd thought it quite interesting and I expected I'd get
> some response so I'll cut and paste instead.

Ok, here's my response. I got as far as the quote below:

"Mr Francis, of Reginald Road, said he hoped their story would inspire
other PC users to the full potential of their machines."


Mr Francis is a no-hoper! Anyone with half a brain, ney, any brain at all, 
uses the "full potential" of their pc for something other than mindless 
games. I've never had a game on my pc in my life yet every 4 years or so I 
have to pay out to increase my pc memory because I'm using the current 
memory to it's full potential.

I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most subscribers 
to this ng. FFS!

"Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...

<snip>

>
> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most subscribers 
> to this ng. FFS!

You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite like the 
odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim City" or similar. 
Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play makes Tooold a dull boy...

 :-)

-- 
Harry Keane

"Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> <snip>
>
>>
>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>
> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite like 
> the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim City" or 
> similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play makes Tooold a 
> dull boy...
>
> :-)

Lol! It's not long ago that I used to play lots of games. Just not on a 
pc!

"Not Today"  wrote in message 
news:1vdsrv.jrv.17.1@news.alt.net...
>
> "Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
> news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
>> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
>> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>>
>>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>>
>> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite like 
>> the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim City" or 
>> similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play makes Tooold a 
>> dull boy...
>>
>> :-)
>
> Lol! It's not long ago that I used to play lots of games. Just not on a 
> pc!

Hang on. Are you cripping my replies?

"Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
news:34KdnRb4GZSGvMHVnZ2dnUVZ8sPinZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "Not Today"  wrote in message 
> news:1vdsrv.jrv.17.1@news.alt.net...
>>
>> "Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
>> news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
>>> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
>>> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>>>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>>>
>>> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite 
>>> like the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim City" 
>>> or similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play makes 
>>> Tooold a dull boy...
>>>
>>> :-)
>>
>> Lol! It's not long ago that I used to play lots of games. Just not on a 
>> pc!
>
> Hang on. Are you cripping my replies?

Yes! I thought I would help you out. :-) Beats politics!

"Not Today"  wrote in message 
news:1vdt4t.l0t.17.1@news.alt.net...
>
> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
> news:34KdnRb4GZSGvMHVnZ2dnUVZ8sPinZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> "Not Today"  wrote in message 
>> news:1vdsrv.jrv.17.1@news.alt.net...
>>>
>>> "Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
>>> news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
>>>> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
>>>> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>
>>>> <snip>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>>>>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>>>>
>>>> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite 
>>>> like the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim 
>>>> City" or similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play 
>>>> makes Tooold a dull boy...
>>>>
>>>> :-)
>>>
>>> Lol! It's not long ago that I used to play lots of games. Just not on 
>>> a pc!
>>
>> Hang on. Are you cripping my replies?
>
> Yes! I thought I would help you out. :-) Beats politics!

That's the sort of smart alec remark that used to set of WW111 not so long 
ago. You've been a bit quiet lately, got problems?

"Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
news:n_mdnS0uS4jQvsHVRVnyvgA@bt.com...
>
> "Not Today"  wrote in message 
> news:1vdt4t.l0t.17.1@news.alt.net...
>>
>> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
>> news:34KdnRb4GZSGvMHVnZ2dnUVZ8sPinZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> "Not Today"  wrote in message 
>>> news:1vdsrv.jrv.17.1@news.alt.net...
>>>>
>>>> "Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
>>>> news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
>>>>> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
>>>>> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>>
>>>>> <snip>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>>>>>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>>>>>
>>>>> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite 
>>>>> like the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim 
>>>>> City" or similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play 
>>>>> makes Tooold a dull boy...
>>>>>
>>>>> :-)
>>>>
>>>> Lol! It's not long ago that I used to play lots of games. Just not on 
>>>> a pc!
>>>
>>> Hang on. Are you cripping my replies?
>>
>> Yes! I thought I would help you out. :-) Beats politics!
>
> That's the sort of smart alec remark that used to set of WW111 not so 
> long ago. You've been a bit quiet lately, got problems?

Well, it is a hard life out there trying to make a living.

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:47:07 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
 wrote:

>
>"ArthurS"  wrote in message 
>news:hj3o545qnq11pm40ls9nhgoi7qj2uhr47r@4ax.com...

Snip 8<
>>
>>
>> OK
>>
>> so you don't like clicking on links- fair enough, maybe I've breached
>> usenet protocol by pasting them, but it's not malicious and this is a
>> Kent story, I'd thought it quite interesting and I expected I'd get
>> some response so I'll cut and paste instead.
>
>Ok, here's my response. I got as far as the quote below:
>
>"Mr Francis, of Reginald Road, said he hoped their story would inspire
>other PC users to the full potential of their machines."
>
>
>Mr Francis is a no-hoper! Anyone with half a brain, ney, any brain at all, 
>uses the "full potential" of their pc for something other than mindless 
>games. I've never had a game on my pc in my life yet every 4 years or so I 
>have to pay out to increase my pc memory because I'm using the current 
>memory to it's full potential.
>
>I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most subscribers 
>to this ng. FFS!
>
>
>
Right - misjudged it again. - serious edit needed

The story is that these three Kent gentleman have allegedly ripped off
lots and lots of artwork from some of the biggest games and DVD's
around at the moment, these have sold millions of copies and generated
hundreds of million of Dollars for the publishers concerned.

These guys have created this game and sold it into major US
distribution without it dawning on anyone that 'actually this looks an
awful lot like Oblivion, etc, etc .....

And now no-one can make contact with them - hmmmm

I thought this was quite a big Kent story.

Ok Toooldtocare, you may not be into gaming and not even have heard of
these games, but maybe there are others on ULK who are more
contemporary.

"Harry Keane"  wrote in message 
news:v6V6k.35204$8k.34070@newsfe18.ams2...
> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
> news:7M-dnWncsebUisHVnZ2dnUVZ8uudnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> <snip>
>
>>
>> I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most 
>> subscribers to this ng. FFS!
>
> You're obviously not in touch with your inner little boy.  I quite like 
> the odd shoot-em-up game, or an hour of "Red Alert" or "Sim City" or 
> similar. Where's the harm in that?  All work and no play makes Tooold a 
> dull boy...
>
> :-)

Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, I haven't got a clue what you are 
talking about. 10 pin bowling was my limit. Got a strike once!

I used to love playing Bridge. The opposing side so wanted to win. When 
they did, because I was pontificating on how bloody awful tennis was or 
something like that and wasn't concentrating, they got really uptight 
because I didn't "care" I'd lost. They wanted to "really" win. If I didn't 
care whether I'd won or lost they got no satisfaction from winning. Used 
to make my day to see them so pissed off even though they'd won.

Winning games is for wimps. There is only one thing worth winning. But 
that's another story :-)

I like chess. Especially ng chess. Can't beat it.

"ArthurS"  wrote in message 
news:748o54tm7ilk54c359rvs8j6js9n58km90@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:47:07 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
>  wrote:
>
>>
>>"ArthurS"  wrote in message
>>news:hj3o545qnq11pm40ls9nhgoi7qj2uhr47r@4ax.com...
>
> Snip 8<
>>>
>>>
>>> OK
>>>
>>> so you don't like clicking on links- fair enough, maybe I've breached
>>> usenet protocol by pasting them, but it's not malicious and this is a
>>> Kent story, I'd thought it quite interesting and I expected I'd get
>>> some response so I'll cut and paste instead.
>>
>>Ok, here's my response. I got as far as the quote below:
>>
>>"Mr Francis, of Reginald Road, said he hoped their story would inspire
>>other PC users to the full potential of their machines."
>>
>>
>>Mr Francis is a no-hoper! Anyone with half a brain, ney, any brain at 
>>all,
>>uses the "full potential" of their pc for something other than mindless
>>games. I've never had a game on my pc in my life yet every 4 years or so 
>>I
>>have to pay out to increase my pc memory because I'm using the current
>>memory to it's full potential.
>>
>>I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most subscribers
>>to this ng. FFS!
>>
>>
>>
> Right - misjudged it again. - serious edit needed
>
> The story is that these three Kent gentleman have allegedly ripped off
> lots and lots of artwork from some of the biggest games and DVD's
> around at the moment, these have sold millions of copies and generated
> hundreds of million of Dollars for the publishers concerned.
>
> These guys have created this game and sold it into major US
> distribution without it dawning on anyone that 'actually this looks an
> awful lot like Oblivion, etc, etc .....
>
> And now no-one can make contact with them - hmmmm
>
> I thought this was quite a big Kent story.
>
> Ok Toooldtocare, you may not be into gaming and not even have heard of
> these games, but maybe there are others on ULK who are more
> contemporary.

Blimey, this is hard work. So these guys are scammers?  You don't have to 
be au fait with silly games to be aware of scammers. So the gist is this, 
these guys have broken copyright?

And is there such a word as gaming? Isn't that to do with betting? If so 
I'm the expert. I've discovered one fool proof method to beat the bookies. 
Lay betting! Do it right and you can't lose!

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:59:36 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
 wrote:

>
>"ArthurS"  wrote in message 
>news:748o54tm7ilk54c359rvs8j6js9n58km90@4ax.com...
>> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:47:07 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
>>  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"ArthurS"  wrote in message
>>>news:hj3o545qnq11pm40ls9nhgoi7qj2uhr47r@4ax.com...
>>
>> Snip 8<
>>>>
>Snip again!
>
>Blimey, this is hard work. So these guys are scammers?  You don't have to 
>be au fait with silly games to be aware of scammers. So the gist is this, 
>these guys have broken copyright?
>
>And is there such a word as gaming? Isn't that to do with betting? If so 
>I'm the expert. I've discovered one fool proof method to beat the bookies. 
>Lay betting! Do it right and you can't lose!
>
>
>
Can be! lots of betting on gaming. Andrew Black would thank you for
that.

"Toooldtocare"  wrote in message 
news:QZOdnTLsr5PYtcHVnZ2dnUVZ8uKdnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "ArthurS"  wrote in message 
> news:748o54tm7ilk54c359rvs8j6js9n58km90@4ax.com...
>> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:47:07 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
>>  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"ArthurS"  wrote in message
>>>news:hj3o545qnq11pm40ls9nhgoi7qj2uhr47r@4ax.com...
>>
>> Snip 8<
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> OK
>>>>
>>>> so you don't like clicking on links- fair enough, maybe I've breached
>>>> usenet protocol by pasting them, but it's not malicious and this is a
>>>> Kent story, I'd thought it quite interesting and I expected I'd get
>>>> some response so I'll cut and paste instead.
>>>
>>>Ok, here's my response. I got as far as the quote below:
>>>
>>>"Mr Francis, of Reginald Road, said he hoped their story would inspire
>>>other PC users to the full potential of their machines."
>>>
>>>
>>>Mr Francis is a no-hoper! Anyone with half a brain, ney, any brain at 
>>>all,
>>>uses the "full potential" of their pc for something other than mindless
>>>games. I've never had a game on my pc in my life yet every 4 years or so 
>>>I
>>>have to pay out to increase my pc memory because I'm using the current
>>>memory to it's full potential.
>>>
>>>I gave up playing "games" when I was 9. So I expect did most subscribers
>>>to this ng. FFS!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Right - misjudged it again. - serious edit needed
>>
>> The story is that these three Kent gentleman have allegedly ripped off
>> lots and lots of artwork from some of the biggest games and DVD's
>> around at the moment, these have sold millions of copies and generated
>> hundreds of million of Dollars for the publishers concerned.
>>
>> These guys have created this game and sold it into major US
>> distribution without it dawning on anyone that 'actually this looks an
>> awful lot like Oblivion, etc, etc .....
>>
>> And now no-one can make contact with them - hmmmm
>>
>> I thought this was quite a big Kent story.
>>
>> Ok Toooldtocare, you may not be into gaming and not even have heard of
>> these games, but maybe there are others on ULK who are more
>> contemporary.
>
> Blimey, this is hard work. So these guys are scammers?  You don't have to 
> be au fait with silly games to be aware of scammers. So the gist is this, 
> these guys have broken copyright?
>
> And is there such a word as gaming? Isn't that to do with betting? If so 
> I'm the expert. I've discovered one fool proof method to beat the bookies. 
> Lay betting! Do it right and you can't lose!
>

Come on Tooold!  You're not really an old cardie-wearing fuddy duddy are 
you?!?

I thought this story was quite interesting, especially if you have a look at 
the screenshot comparisons side by side.  How on earth they thought they 
would get away with it is beyond me!  Probably they never for one minute 
thought the game would get a global distributor.

Love
Portia
xxx

"CosmicTheCat"  wrote in message
news:g3julq$b1a$1@energise.enta.net...
>
> "Toooldtocare"  wrote in message
> news:QZOdnTLsr5PYtcHVnZ2dnUVZ8uKdnZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> "ArthurS"  wrote in message
>> news:748o54tm7ilk54c359rvs8j6js9n58km90@4ax.com...
>>> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:47:07 +0100, "Toooldtocare"
>>>  wrote:
>>> Ok Toooldtocare, you may not be into gaming and not even have heard of
>>> these games, but maybe there are others on ULK who are more
>>> contemporary.
>>
>> Blimey, this is hard work. So these guys are scammers?  You don't have
>> to be au fait with silly games to be aware of scammers. So the gist is
>> this, these guys have broken copyright?
>>
>> And is there such a word as gaming? Isn't that to do with betting? If
>> so I'm the expert. I've discovered one fool proof method to beat the
>> bookies. Lay betting! Do it right and you can't lose!
>>
>
> Come on Tooold!  You're not really an old cardie-wearing fuddy duddy are
> you?!?

It depends who is asking :-)

>
> I thought this story was quite interesting, especially if you have a
> look at the screenshot comparisons side by side.  How on earth they
> thought they would get away with it is beyond me!  Probably they never
> for one minute thought the game would get a global distributor.

Probably they did. Cheats are also arrogant, until they get caught.