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Fix't
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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
Myth: People read on the internet.
Fact: tl;dr |
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I would agree that Creating commercial works based on your CoH characters will not get you into legally murky waters is a myth. But your "fact" explanation leaves much to be desired.|
Originally Posted by TonyV
And I guess this little back-and-forth is indicative to just how pervasive and compelling this myth is!
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It's like if you told someone "Be sure to always lock your car doors when you leave the car somewhere, because otherwise a slasher could hide in the backseat and slit your throat when you get back in the car". Good advice, somewhat dubious explanation for it.
Character index
Myth : Creating the superleader position will lead to a rash of Hitleresque tyrants taking over the SG's in the game.
Myth: Eden Studios is working on a pen and paper version of CoH.
Myth: Without endgame content, CoH will never keep going.
Arc #1267 The Key of Brass and Flame
Myth: The game is dieing.
Fact: It's "dying," learn to spell!
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
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Actually, stealth toe bombing is one such situation. If you place a Trip Mine at the feet of a large spawn, it will explode immediately. Even with the knockback, you are in a world of hurt from the alpha strike. You won't have the opportunity to "lay down another mine for the same total cast time and endurance cost and more damage" since the whole spawn will be mad at you and interrupting the 4 second cast time.|
Originally Posted by Siolfir
I fail to see where the 8-second interrupt time makes it anywhere remotely useful to using in a toe-bomb situation when you could use Trip Mine instead, and in any case where you want the extra damage, just lay down another mine for the same total cast time and endurance cost and more damage.
... since there are exactly 0 situations where Time Bomb can be used that Trip Mine can't. |
Time Bomb allows you to place the mine, then back up around a corner (with a conveniently placed field of Trip Mines, plus Caltrops and any other goodies you want) to avoid the alpha.
That being said, I don't find that situation comes up enough to be worth taking Time Bomb on either my Traps or Devices characters.
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]
Myth: I'm not paranoid, people really are out to get me.
Truth: they arrrrrrrggghhhhhhh....(crash)
Lots of 50's yada yada. still finding fun things to do.
Cthulhu loves you, better start running
I�! I�! Gg�gorsch�a�bha egurtsa�ar�ug d� Dalhor! Cthluhu fthagn! Cthluhu fthagn!
You are in a maze of twisty little passages
Quote:
Someone quick, get this poor man some help!
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Originally Posted by hedgehog_NA
Myth: I'm not paranoid, people really are out to get me.
Truth: they arrrrrrrggghhhhhhh....(crash) |
Myth: Electric Blast sucks
Truth: Electric Blast performs in the middle of the blast sets. It's not Fire Blast, so stop trying to make it so.
Myth: Endurance Drain is a worthless secondary effect.
Truth: While not as useful as other secondary effects, it works just fine on Bosses and especially Elite Bosses.
"I don't have an angel and a devil on my shoulder, I have Rocky and Bullwinkle." - Lore Sj�berg
Myth: Cimerorans are Spartans
Fact: Spartans were Greeks, not Romans
Myth: Scrappers would never recieve an elemental set
Fact: Scrappers now have Fire and Electricity. This will sound petty, but I really hope the person that said he would be forever right about this is still playing the game. In fact, I hope he sees this post. Yes, I am laughing at you.
Myth: CO will kill COH
Fact: Fury was supposed to kill it, WoW was supposed to kill it, Warhammer was supposed to kill it, AoC was supposed to kill it......
Myth: All PvPers are jerks who brag about being leet.
Fact: Some of the best PvPers are rather nice. And regardless of the game, the people with true skill usually don't brag. Those who do brag are usually the ones who can only defeat those weaker than them, only to throw a fit when someone who is more skilled defeats them.
Myth: COH costs too much a month
Fact: The person that said this was subscribed to XBox live, multiple pr0n sites, ate out everyday, bought a new 360 game every week, and only lived on a (disability?) check. And then had the nerve to question why he never had any money.
Myth: AE farming made it impossible to get onto real teams
Fact: Not true. Cry moar plz
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-anim.php
Can't come up with a name? Click the link!
Can't come up with a name? Click the link!
Quote:
The US is *not* one of the countries that allows for rights to be transfered in the manner described, which is why NCSoft does not have exclusive rights to my characters.|
Originally Posted by TonyV
In other words, if the law in your particular area does not allow NCsoft to claim exclusive ownership of intellectual property, then they claim what rights that the law does allow. This is an international game, and some countries don't allow the transfer of intellectual property at all, or it's extremely limited are regulated.
But in places like the U.S. and many other countries that do allow for the transfer of all rights, the section you highlighted does not apply, as denoted by the "to the extent..." clause. People pulling things like this out of the context of the entire sentence/paragraph/section are exactly why this myth is so persistent. |
In the US, copyright is presumed to attach "at birth" meaning the moment I create the work. NCSoft cannot then demand either ownership or exclusive rights to my work because copyright transfer must be done specifically and in writing, and exclusive transfer of rights is considered to be a copyright transfer under the law. Section 204(a) in particular governs this, and it states that copyright transfer must be signed and in writing. Furthermore, courts have consistently ruled that 204(a) should be interpreted to mean that the transfer must be explicit - it must essentially name the works in question. The EULA doesn't come close to meeting the burden of 204(a) which is why NCSoft specifically asks for a non-exclusive license. Doing so prevents them from attempting to claim something Federal Copyright law forbids, which would make the contract invalid.
The only major exception to this is the work-for-hire exception. But no player of an MMO is likely to be seen by any US court as operating as a work for hire employee. Any attempt to assert that would border on ludicrous.
It is black-letter law that the assertion that NCSoft "owns" your characters is a myth. The only kernel of truth in this is that while I own the creative work I generated, I don't own, nor do I have a license to use, any of NCSoft's intellectual property. So while I can take my characters and use them elsewhere, I cannot use the specific artwork from the character creator, I cannot use the specific descriptions of the powers in the game, nor can I use any of the backstory elements that NCSoft owns the copyright on, such as the Rikti. I can only use *my* parts of the characters. In some cases, characters may be so encumbered by IP that the player doesn't own that it is impractical to use them elsewhere. But they do own them nevertheless.
And just to be 100% clear: if I made them up, I own the names of my characters for the purposes of them being a component of an artistic work I created. Whatever the EULA says, it would be against Federal law for NCSoft to attempt to assert they own them. Once again, they can only demand a non-exclusive license to use them themselves, which is why the EULA has that escape hatch in the first place.
Trivia: there are some rights that as the creator of a work I *can't* surrender, no matter what. That's because copyright law recognizes the creator as a separate entity from the copyright holder. Even if I were to sign my rights away for a creation, there are laws that provide me with some rights to reassert or reacquire my copyright rights in certain circumstances, no matter what I've signed. These rights are granted to me when I create the work, and they stay attached to me until I die.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
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Um... I'm pretty sure that's true.
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Originally Posted by kidengineer
When running toward a gravity geyser in Shadow Shard, you have to yell "Yeee-haaa!" and floor it.
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Originally Posted by eltonio
This is over the top mental slavery.
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Silent Spy is a girl.
50s: Silent Spy - MA/Regen Scrapper | Tinkerhell - SS/Inv Brute | Extrasensory - Psi/Men Blaster | Ana Cruz - DP/PD Corruptor | Sara Thunderbird - Elec/Elec Scrapper | Pinstrike - Spines/SR Scrapper | Cold Feet - Cold/Cold Blaster
@Silent Spy, Champion Server
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I was thinking about posting something similar to the above, but as usual Arcanaville says everything much better than the rest of us could ever hope to. |
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
The US is *not* one of the countries that allows for rights to be transfered in the manner described, which is why NCSoft does not have exclusive rights to my characters.
In the US, copyright is presumed to attach "at birth" meaning the moment I create the work. NCSoft cannot then demand either ownership or exclusive rights to my work because copyright transfer must be done specifically and in writing, and exclusive transfer of rights is considered to be a copyright transfer under the law. Section 204(a) in particular governs this, and it states that copyright transfer must be signed and in writing. Furthermore, courts have consistently ruled that 204(a) should be interpreted to mean that the transfer must be explicit - it must essentially name the works in question. The EULA doesn't come close to meeting the burden of 204(a) which is why NCSoft specifically asks for a non-exclusive license. Doing so prevents them from attempting to claim something Federal Copyright law forbids, which would make the contract invalid. The only major exception to this is the work-for-hire exception. But no player of an MMO is likely to be seen by any US court as operating as a work for hire employee. Any attempt to assert that would border on ludicrous. It is black-letter law that the assertion that NCSoft "owns" your characters is a myth. The only kernel of truth in this is that while I own the creative work I generated, I don't own, nor do I have a license to use, any of NCSoft's intellectual property. So while I can take my characters and use them elsewhere, I cannot use the specific artwork from the character creator, I cannot use the specific descriptions of the powers in the game, nor can I use any of the backstory elements that NCSoft owns the copyright on, such as the Rikti. I can only use *my* parts of the characters. In some cases, characters may be so encumbered by IP that the player doesn't own that it is impractical to use them elsewhere. But they do own them nevertheless. And just to be 100% clear: if I made them up, I own the names of my characters for the purposes of them being a component of an artistic work I created. Whatever the EULA says, it would be against Federal law for NCSoft to attempt to assert they own them. Once again, they can only demand a non-exclusive license to use them themselves, which is why the EULA has that escape hatch in the first place. Trivia: there are some rights that as the creator of a work I *can't* surrender, no matter what. That's because copyright law recognizes the creator as a separate entity from the copyright holder. Even if I were to sign my rights away for a creation, there are laws that provide me with some rights to reassert or reacquire my copyright rights in certain circumstances, no matter what I've signed. These rights are granted to me when I create the work, and they stay attached to me until I die. |
If it worked the way that TonyV is describing, it would be very dangerous for anyone to participate in the Guest Author MA series that was recently announced, since the whole point of that is for established creators to bring their creations into City of Heroes...
Myth: DOOOOOOOOM!
Fact: No.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by eltonio
This is over the top mental slavery.
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I thought that when u died u didn't get debt if you use an awaken instead of hosping. (when i first started playing)
Triumph Lurker: mintmiki 50 emp/archer
basically, if you see a miki on Triumph, it's probably cute and it's probably me.
Huge thanks to cuppamanga and all the folks in the mac help forum for prolonging my borrowed time on this game.
Quote:
This makes much more sense.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
The US is *not* one of the countries that allows for rights to be transfered in the manner described, which is why NCSoft does not have exclusive rights to my characters.
In the US, copyright is presumed to attach "at birth" meaning the moment I create the work. NCSoft cannot then demand either ownership or exclusive rights to my work because copyright transfer must be done specifically and in writing, and exclusive transfer of rights is considered to be a copyright transfer under the law. Section 204(a) in particular governs this, and it states that copyright transfer must be signed and in writing. Furthermore, courts have consistently ruled that 204(a) should be interpreted to mean that the transfer must be explicit - it must essentially name the works in question. The EULA doesn't come close to meeting the burden of 204(a) which is why NCSoft specifically asks for a non-exclusive license. Doing so prevents them from attempting to claim something Federal Copyright law forbids, which would make the contract invalid. The only major exception to this is the work-for-hire exception. But no player of an MMO is likely to be seen by any US court as operating as a work for hire employee. Any attempt to assert that would border on ludicrous. It is black-letter law that the assertion that NCSoft "owns" your characters is a myth. The only kernel of truth in this is that while I own the creative work I generated, I don't own, nor do I have a license to use, any of NCSoft's intellectual property. So while I can take my characters and use them elsewhere, I cannot use the specific artwork from the character creator, I cannot use the specific descriptions of the powers in the game, nor can I use any of the backstory elements that NCSoft owns the copyright on, such as the Rikti. I can only use *my* parts of the characters. In some cases, characters may be so encumbered by IP that the player doesn't own that it is impractical to use them elsewhere. But they do own them nevertheless. And just to be 100% clear: if I made them up, I own the names of my characters for the purposes of them being a component of an artistic work I created. Whatever the EULA says, it would be against Federal law for NCSoft to attempt to assert they own them. Once again, they can only demand a non-exclusive license to use them themselves, which is why the EULA has that escape hatch in the first place. Trivia: there are some rights that as the creator of a work I *can't* surrender, no matter what. That's because copyright law recognizes the creator as a separate entity from the copyright holder. Even if I were to sign my rights away for a creation, there are laws that provide me with some rights to reassert or reacquire my copyright rights in certain circumstances, no matter what I've signed. These rights are granted to me when I create the work, and they stay attached to me until I die. |
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This point can be argued extensively. Specifically, the map patches/etc. do not actually modify the game's executable, nor any of its data files. What they do is place specifically named files in a specific location such that the game will read them in preference to the normal data. It is easy to argue that this is not a client modification, but rather an undocumented feature of the game. And that distinction is enough to make any attempt at prosecution not worthwhile, anyway.|
Originally Posted by TonyV
Myth: Map patches and splash screen modifiers aren't against the Terms of Service.
Fact: They most assuredly are. CuppaJo posted a sticky that has remained up for over five years in the Player Guides forum saying that Client modifications are against the Terms of Service, and later posted in the same thread after discussion about map patches, "Even if you are just photoshopping a pic or turning off a sound, it is a violation." This is a subject near and dear to my heart, since I've written a map patch myself. Their current attitude seems to be that if it's harmless and doesn't cause copyright violation, they don't pursue it. In some cases, such as the Splasher utility, they've come very close to semi-endorsing it as okay, but where the rubber meets the road--in the Terms of Service and the EULA, they are technically not allowed, and NCsoft/Paragon Studios are well within their rights to nuke these utilities if they so desire at any time. Will they? Probably not. Can they? Absolutely yes. |
Now, if there were a game mod that actually altered the .exe or the .piggs, that would be a different story entirely.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Myth: Ms. Liberty is a hero
Fact: Ms. Liberty has several times attempted to take over UN operations by violence and treachery, in order to secure and further expand her own powerbase, influence, and agenda. Many characters have seen this, and even taken part in preventing/encouraging these black ops.
Myth: Statesman is a hero
Fact: Statesman has excellent PR. Statesman has twice invaded sovereign nations in order to do what he felt he should, once leading an invasion of a sovereign nation to settle an old score. When he invaded the USSR to "rescue" people, instead of allowing diplomacy to take place, his assault of the nation's military defending their nation in clear accordance to world statutes, forced the USSR to use a nuclear weapon in order to save the lives of their soldiers and stop what appeared to be a rogue power from invading their nation and causing more damage. Notice that everyone learns that Statesman was injured, but the billions of dollars in damage, thousands left homeless, hundreds of soldiers and civilians killed, before the nuclear detonation. are all overlooked. Additionally, he led an assault on the Rogue Isles, a sovereign nation in its own right, in clear violation of UN laws, without any formal declaration of war, and led scores of young heroes to the slaughter, just to settle a personal grudge. Finally, Statesman has repeatedly invaded Praetorian Earth, several times being captured by Tyrant, but never have the Praetorian invaded Primal Earth, yet Statesman's PR machine has already begun attempting to convince Primal Earth heroes that Praetorian Earth is evil, without any proof.
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES!
"If you build it, they will run you over with it."-RPG Designers Mantra
Working on: YotZ Legends: Even Heroes Die (First Round Edit)
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Don't members of the UN have to recognize a country's sovereignty in order for the laws to apply? And wouldn't UN recognition imply that there should be embassies in the Rogue Isles (there aren't)?|
Originally Posted by Rusted_Metal
Additionally, he led an assault on the Rogue Isles, a sovereign nation in its own right, in clear violation of UN laws
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And what of the myriad of international laws broken by the governing body of the Rogue Isles (Arachnos), as well as many of the Rogue Isles citizens? What of the three nuclear silos with regular missile launches hosted in their own back yard (Warburg)?
Also, simply having sovereignty doesn't protect you. What of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta?
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Originally Posted by Rusted_Metal
Finally, Statesman has repeatedly invaded Praetorian Earth... but never have the Praetorian invaded Primal Earth
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
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Actually, while the files are not modified, the client IS, while you use it.
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Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
This point can be argued extensively. Specifically, the map patches/etc. do not actually modify the game's executable, nor any of its data files. What they do is place specifically named files in a specific location such that the game will read them in preference to the normal data. It is easy to argue that this is not a client modification, but rather an undocumented feature of the game. And that distinction is enough to make any attempt at prosecution not worthwhile, anyway.
Now, if there were a game mod that actually altered the .exe or the .piggs, that would be a different story entirely. |
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
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Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Don't members of the UN have to recognize a country's sovereignty in order for the laws to apply? And wouldn't UN recognition imply that there should be embassies in the Rogue Isles (there aren't)?
And what of the myriad of international laws broken by the governing body of the Rogue Isles (Arachnos), as well as many of the Rogue Isles citizens? What of the three nuclear silos with regular missile launches hosted in their own back yard (Warburg)? Also, simply having sovereignty doesn't protect you. What of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta? |
The following are necessary, and that is it.
* a permanent population
* defined territory
* Government
* capacity to enter into relations with other states
According to strict interpretation, the Rogue Isles are a sovereign state, whether acknowledged by the UN or not. For example, CHINA is not fully recognized by the UN, but I doubt that any with any sense of reality would argue whether or not they exist.
Regardless, Statesman led a military action against foreign territory, launching it from the United States of America, giving the implication that it was supported and accepted by that nation's government whether or not it truly was, in hopes that the Rogue Isles would perceive that the United States would react swiftly and quickly to any nuclear weapon use, reducing the fighting to a brutal amphibious landing that ultimately served no purpose other than kill hundreds.
Plus, the ongoing occupation by Longbow forces, which are NOT part of any UN body, instead act as Ms. Liberty's private army and enforcers, shows a general hostility on the part of other nations who allow this to take place.
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| What are you talking about? |
We have only the word of one of Statesman's little lackeys that the Praetorians attacked first. For all the truth may be, they may have just been reacting to an inter-dimensional incursion much as Portal Corps keep hiring freelance mercenaries to handle.
And note that Dr. Calvin is taken at his word.
I for one, refuse to believe the lies!
"If you build it, they will run you over with it."-RPG Designers Mantra
Working on: YotZ Legends: Even Heroes Die (First Round Edit)
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Sorry, but at the time that was said about power customization - which, given the "I16" comment, you're referring to - that was most certainly the truth. It was not possible with the 15-person team they had at the time. They could have DONE it, yes, but it would have been prohibitively time- and manpower intensive, severely affecting every other project. |
Originally Posted by thanos316
Myth: That it would be too hard or impossible to implement that new feature.
Truth: Looking at I16 right now. |
Some items *are* still too hard (see "ran into a problem with customizing Granite," for a recent example) or impossible (stretching/grappling with the current engine) to do - and others (full AT/powerset respecs) are not desirable to the dev team. Other items that couldn't realistically be done with the 15 person team *can* be done now that Paragon Studios has 60+ people on staff.
Atlas is the place to be.
"The Truth" being that if you got the Isolator Badge you would level up quicker, and get better drops.
Lisa-Smiling at the memory
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.