Warsong Campain
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Warsong Campain
If anyone else is a diehard Warsong (for the Genesis) fan, I'm about to undertake creating the ENTIRE game in Wesnoth for kicks. If you have any advice/art/suggestions feel free to use this forum as the place to dump it, and I'll be back periodically to list my progress. Off the top of my head, I think Im going to skip the first level, and IF I add the first level, I'll go back and do that last. Its really not necessary to the campaign, and is a very complicated level.
Secondly, I'll probably make ALL of the unit fork paths from the original Warsong, with a few twists: Fighters/Lords will probably keep a melee sword swing, and a ranged Shockwave (which was their default attack), and their sword will be slightly better. This will make them very defensive against ranged attacks if their shockwave is intimidating which was the feel of the old Lords.
Most other combat types, like Crocodile Knights and Knights and Grand Knights, etc will get melee/ranged version of the standard attack so they'll be the same as in the normal game.
Offensive casters.... not sure how I'll make their 'magic' work. I'll probably give them a standard melee magic spell, and then a seperate 'ranged' magic spell which is just better. So on the offense they're using their magic in an attempt to replicate their long range spells, while their normal attack was their combat magic. They'll probably be destructive but weak.
Secondly, I'll probably make ALL of the unit fork paths from the original Warsong, with a few twists: Fighters/Lords will probably keep a melee sword swing, and a ranged Shockwave (which was their default attack), and their sword will be slightly better. This will make them very defensive against ranged attacks if their shockwave is intimidating which was the feel of the old Lords.
Most other combat types, like Crocodile Knights and Knights and Grand Knights, etc will get melee/ranged version of the standard attack so they'll be the same as in the normal game.
Offensive casters.... not sure how I'll make their 'magic' work. I'll probably give them a standard melee magic spell, and then a seperate 'ranged' magic spell which is just better. So on the offense they're using their magic in an attempt to replicate their long range spells, while their normal attack was their combat magic. They'll probably be destructive but weak.
Re: Warsong Campain
As for 'troops' I'll probably make the 'hero' units all far far better than troop units. You are handed a certain number of hero units, they all carry over, and if any of them ever die then they are gone for good. You cannot recruit hero units, all of your recruitments are 'troops' and they will level up and upgrade, but more subtlely, and they'll just be troops. I want the feel to be as close to the original Warsong game as possible, with every general assigned roughly 8 'troop' units, and hero units can wade through soldiers taking only marginal damage. The real threat is hero on hero combat.
Re: Warsong Campain
Also, can someone verify all the different steps / files I'll have to create?
I know I'll need a map file for each level, I'll need a scenario file for each map, I'll need a campaign file to connect all the scenarios.
I'll need a unit file for each unit, to include both .png and .cfg for each unit, I'll need faction files containing those units, and I'll need an Era file containing those factions.
The lastly I need artwork for any drama scenes, but this is fluff for the later stages.
Anything else?
I know I'll need a map file for each level, I'll need a scenario file for each map, I'll need a campaign file to connect all the scenarios.
I'll need a unit file for each unit, to include both .png and .cfg for each unit, I'll need faction files containing those units, and I'll need an Era file containing those factions.
The lastly I need artwork for any drama scenes, but this is fluff for the later stages.
Anything else?
Re: Warsong Campain
I'm pretty sure there are copyright issues with creating an exact copy of a game. Funnily enough, Wikipedia lists Wesnoth as being inspired by Warsong.
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Re: Warsong Campain
Yeah, this is how I found out about Wesnoth a few days ago. I'm a huge warsong fan, and I've been looking for 'strategic turn based games like warsong / advance wars' and I found that link in wikipedia.
So yeah, theres a direct and obvious reason why I'm creating the conversion. And as for the copyright issue, its legal as long as it isn't sold. This is a freeware game with freeware player made content. No copyright issue involved as long as credit is where its due, which is obvious. I'm not hiding the fact that I'm converting an old Sega classic, all credit will be awarded to the original creators.
So yeah, theres a direct and obvious reason why I'm creating the conversion. And as for the copyright issue, its legal as long as it isn't sold. This is a freeware game with freeware player made content. No copyright issue involved as long as credit is where its due, which is obvious. I'm not hiding the fact that I'm converting an old Sega classic, all credit will be awarded to the original creators.
Re: Warsong Campain
Not really. Even though Wesnoth is a not-for-profit game, we are still not allowed to copy other people's stuff, unless we have written permission from the proprietor of the company/idea/product/etc.
Of course, you could make an era based on the game, but you'll have to change art, unit name, abilities, and attacks (and more) to avoid any kind of copyright infringement.
Of course, you could make an era based on the game, but you'll have to change art, unit name, abilities, and attacks (and more) to avoid any kind of copyright infringement.
Re: Warsong Campain
Johs wrote:Yeah, this is how I found out about Wesnoth a few days ago. I'm a huge warsong fan, and I've been looking for 'strategic turn based games like warsong / advance wars' and I found that link in wikipedia.
So yeah, theres a direct and obvious reason why I'm creating the conversion. And as for the copyright issue, its legal as long as it isn't sold. This is a freeware game with freeware player made content. No copyright issue involved as long as credit is where its due, which is obvious. I'm not hiding the fact that I'm converting an old Sega classic, all credit will be awarded to the original creators.
You are however free to make the scenario for your own pleasure, though it is against forum rules to post any content on the forum or the Add-on server.zookeeper in a previous thread wrote: Breaches of copyright have basically nothing to do with what your intention was (of course, it would affect a court's decision and especially the sentence). It doesn't matter to the law (generally) whether you intended to make money off of it or not if you violate copyrights; it's all illegal, except for some exceptions made for fair/personal use, parody and such. If you for example just made curtains yourself and drew pictures of Mickey Mouse on them and would put them on your windows because you think they're pretty, Disney could probably sue you for violating their Mickey Mouse copyrights (of course, they wouldn't actually win such a silly case, but still) and the fact that you just did it for your own enjoyment wouldn't matter.
Re: Warsong Campain
It gets a little more complicated than that though, the company that owned the rights to Warsong no longer exists, the game is 17 years old, and I have written Sega/Sammy for the permission, so we'll see.
Re: Warsong Campain
Well, good luck, but don't get your hopes up.
Bear in mind that, while Warsong was a major inspiration for Wesnoth, it was not the sole inspiration. Wesnoth is different in more ways than you could imagine(But you'll soon find out).
Still, if the company absolutely no longer exists, domain would not fall to Sega but to the individuals who authored the storyline, wrote the code, and whichever parties licensed the game. If it is truly abandonware, then that means the various vested parties(or a vast majority of them) have signed their portion of the rights to public domain, or simply forgotten they exist. If unlicensed use of abandonware goes uncontested long enough it becomes treated like public domain but legally isn't. Someone who owns one of the rights to some part of it could be a biznatch and sue as if his portion is equivalent to all of it, and while the courts might laugh it out of the room, there is still a chance you could still be burned by it. However, 75 years after the entity which holds the rights is gone. The work as a whole will be public domain legally. lol.
Bear in mind that, while Warsong was a major inspiration for Wesnoth, it was not the sole inspiration. Wesnoth is different in more ways than you could imagine(But you'll soon find out).
Still, if the company absolutely no longer exists, domain would not fall to Sega but to the individuals who authored the storyline, wrote the code, and whichever parties licensed the game. If it is truly abandonware, then that means the various vested parties(or a vast majority of them) have signed their portion of the rights to public domain, or simply forgotten they exist. If unlicensed use of abandonware goes uncontested long enough it becomes treated like public domain but legally isn't. Someone who owns one of the rights to some part of it could be a biznatch and sue as if his portion is equivalent to all of it, and while the courts might laugh it out of the room, there is still a chance you could still be burned by it. However, 75 years after the entity which holds the rights is gone. The work as a whole will be public domain legally. lol.
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Re: Warsong Campain
The timespan varies by country and in some it's the author's life + 70 years.
Anyway games are typically written by employees, meaning the stuff they produce (the game) is the property of the company they work for. Should the company fold, the rights are auctioned off along with all other possessions. In the case of a takeover, the buyer gets the rights.
In other words, seeing the information you posted, Sega probably does have the rights to the game, though it's unlikely they'll ever use them.
On a more practical note, we require content on the addon server to be under the GPL, which means all authors must have licensed their work under the GPL or a GPL-compatible license. (public domain is fine too)
Essentially, this means you can't upload parts of abandonware game, though stuff inspired by it is fine. (I'm less sure about straight clones (same names and everything) of the original)
Anyway games are typically written by employees, meaning the stuff they produce (the game) is the property of the company they work for. Should the company fold, the rights are auctioned off along with all other possessions. In the case of a takeover, the buyer gets the rights.
In other words, seeing the information you posted, Sega probably does have the rights to the game, though it's unlikely they'll ever use them.
On a more practical note, we require content on the addon server to be under the GPL, which means all authors must have licensed their work under the GPL or a GPL-compatible license. (public domain is fine too)
Essentially, this means you can't upload parts of abandonware game, though stuff inspired by it is fine. (I'm less sure about straight clones (same names and everything) of the original)