Yes--but as both have long since ceased production, irrelevant.
Stage 9 gets cease and desist order from CBS
- Thread starter StarTrekRecuts
- Start date
Excalibur never released anything at this point, thus legally speaking they're still fan art, just screenshots and videos. That's the key difference. Bridge Commander 2 made the mistake of using the Bridge Commander name, thus not only being in the radar of CBS, but also of Activision.
STC worked in conjunction with permission from CBS' legal team. There was no infringement.
I had a little too much fun making this lol:
They never got anything 'official' (IE legally motorized) - but if what they say is true, they did have conversations and CBS basically turned a blind eye to them as a result. So, yes, in that sense I suppose you could say they had a form of unofficial permission (as they were NEVER officially licensed) - but I don't think you could say they ever worked 'in conjunction' with CBS,
Sometimes I wonder about the usefulness of actions like that one CBS took. While I understand protecting one's ip even with the reservations in have about the entire system the attention this has received only means more people will download it.
On reddit people are posting links to download it all over the place. Now I qualify my next statement to say that I downloaded this a month ago but have not tried it yet. I looked at one link they posted and at doing a little math about 10,000 people a day are downloading from that one link. I have to believe that this is due to all the press attention and young folks know to go straight to the wild west of reddit.
It's kind of a shame I guess. When this was being worked on it was not nearly as popular as it becomes once it shuts down.
That's too bad.
On reddit people are posting links to download it all over the place. Now I qualify my next statement to say that I downloaded this a month ago but have not tried it yet. I looked at one link they posted and at doing a little math about 10,000 people a day are downloading from that one link. I have to believe that this is due to all the press attention and young folks know to go straight to the wild west of reddit.
It's kind of a shame I guess. When this was being worked on it was not nearly as popular as it becomes once it shuts down.
That's too bad.
A cool project getting shut down by the IP holders is nothing new. It's been a part of gaming since the 90's. I've always wondered what would happen if a project designer, being aware of that, was able to just do the thing without the need to tell the world "look what I'm doing!"....get it complete, then make it available for download. Because by the time the IP holder became aware of it, the genie would be out of the bottle and it would always be available somewhere out there.
It does suck that someone at CBS (or partners) didn't look at this thing and go "Holy shit! We could make some bucks off that!" and figure out how to make everyone happy. I have Bridge Crew and love it, mainly for the VR aspect as the game is pretty repetitive. If I were UbiSoft and saw how much work had been done by some fans, I'd move heaven and Earth to figure out how I could get that under my aegis
. Especially since the TNG expansion was the most requested expansion. There's gold in them thar starship corridors!
Hell, in the world where I'm a millionaire with crazy connections in the Star Trek gaming world, I've already got Donny Versiga doing the classic and movie Enterprise VR games.
But, in the end, I don't live in that reality, and it's CBS's property to do with as they will, like it or not.
It does suck that someone at CBS (or partners) didn't look at this thing and go "Holy shit! We could make some bucks off that!" and figure out how to make everyone happy. I have Bridge Crew and love it, mainly for the VR aspect as the game is pretty repetitive. If I were UbiSoft and saw how much work had been done by some fans, I'd move heaven and Earth to figure out how I could get that under my aegis
. Especially since the TNG expansion was the most requested expansion. There's gold in them thar starship corridors!Hell, in the world where I'm a millionaire with crazy connections in the Star Trek gaming world, I've already got Donny Versiga doing the classic and movie Enterprise VR games.
But, in the end, I don't live in that reality, and it's CBS's property to do with as they will, like it or not.
I wonder what the process would be to offer them money for something based off of their own IP?It does suck that someone at CBS (or partners) didn't look at this thing and go "Holy shit! We could make some bucks off that!" and figure out how to make everyone happy. I have Bridge Crew and love it, mainly for the VR aspect as the game is pretty repetitive. If I were UbiSoft and saw how much work had been done by some fans, I'd move heaven and Earth to figure out how I could get that under my aegis
I downloaded it about a month ago, but found the whole thing unusable from the user interface down. Graphically beautiful, but the mouse control was appalling, it was impossible to look at what you wanted to, the graphics would whizz around at 100mph, the turbolift deck controls didn't work, and more than once, I found myself floating in the far reaches of space. Full of bugs doesn't get near it, I'm afraid. The whole thing gave me terrible motion sickness.
All that said, it's terrible that the CBS clowns shut the project down, but it was always coming. All we as fans can do is not give CBS a penny/cent/currency of your choice, and that includes cancelling CBS AA subs and not watching STD. Eventually, CBS will get the message.
All that said, it's terrible that the CBS clowns shut the project down, but it was always coming. All we as fans can do is not give CBS a penny/cent/currency of your choice, and that includes cancelling CBS AA subs and not watching STD. Eventually, CBS will get the message.
The fans are the ones who need to get the message.
It's basic playground rules: Just because you like something that doesn't mean it's yours for the taking. If you want to play with something, ask first. If they say no, too bad for you.
I'm not referring to fan made media in isolation. CBS' treatment of the franchise and fans generally is what the fans need to send CBS a message about.
CBS refuses to remaster DS9.
CBS made STD which no one wanted, and made it in an alternate universe which the fans don't want or like.
CBS allowed the mainly awful Abrams movies to be made.
CBS shuts down fan made Trek productions and issues prohibitive rules over anyone wishing to make Trek media.
CBS ripped off an indie developer's game for the whole basis of the first season of STD, and is currently being sued.
Well, I'm done with CBS-owned Trek. I'm the guy who buys licensed products like books, games, model kits, action figures, and more. I'm the guy who -- in spite of some deep misgivings -- ponied up for AA to watch Discovery. I'm the guy who spends money on Trek, but not anymore.
CBS' actions vis a vis Axanar, I could understand. I'm not a fan of their "generous" guidelines, but the response made sense. This does not. Stage 9 was not profiting or attempting to profit from CBS' IP, and moreover, have been following in a long tradition of fan-based Trek productions that started in the 1970s. They were showing appreciation for the franchise; nothing more.
CBS should be thanking fans for our energy and zeal, not smacking us down. Until the franchise changes hands again, I won't be buying any more official products.
CBS' actions vis a vis Axanar, I could understand. I'm not a fan of their "generous" guidelines, but the response made sense. This does not. Stage 9 was not profiting or attempting to profit from CBS' IP, and moreover, have been following in a long tradition of fan-based Trek productions that started in the 1970s. They were showing appreciation for the franchise; nothing more.
CBS should be thanking fans for our energy and zeal, not smacking us down. Until the franchise changes hands again, I won't be buying any more official products.
That's an urban myth.
What is "STC" ?
That is a statement from Mignona on behalf of the entire group that produced STC, and stating they infringed is libel.
If we're going to get into definitions.
Star Trek Continues, an amazing fan project (and also a CBS All Access Affiliate) https://startrekcontinues.com/
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