[RAVEgun]

You probably noticed I called it Battlezone 3. That's mostly because quite some time ago, when www.battlezone3.com was still hosted by Ixman, he really motivated me to start this and take it seriously. I've always had a passion for Battlezone, and what Ixman wrote on battlezone3.com was really inspiring to me. After some short (but very interesting) discussions, I sadly lost touch with him. I eventually lost track of him and not much later the domain battlezone3.com went down, and a month later is was released. So I tried to pick it up where he left. The name stuck with me and seemed like a good name for the time being. Just sort of as an identifier for the effort until we settle on a better one.

Because obviously, the name Battlezone 3 is merely a handle, a thing that we all have in our mind before we make it into something tactile. If we face the legal issues connected to it, it very clear that it likely won't see the day as the real project title.

I haven't really dug into this much, but I believe Atari, the developer of the original console wireframe Battlezone, hold the copyrights on the franchise/title, and Activision and Pandemic hold the copyrights on the work they did for Battlezone 1 and Battlezone 2, like the unique vehicle handling and interface.

Obviously, we can't directly use any of their work, but I don't believe this implies that the project has to start from scratch. With an eye for authenticity and some reverse engineering I think we can very well bring the game to life, being true to the original Battlezone, with the classic look and feel while bringing in all the progress in gaming of the last years.

I propose the option of a doing this Battlezone as a spiritual successor of the original (take a peek at the Wikipedia article about it). As much as I'd just love to call this game by the name of Battlezone because nothing would suit it more rightly, the idea struck me as perfect for the project due to the legal reasons.

So I ask you; is this a path that we might take? And if so, the inevitable question:

What shall we call the game?

[megapig]

How much is under copyright

surely the storyline "USA vs USSR in space fighting over metal" is not under copyright

This should be no problem as long as its not a copy of names and code

It should be a peace of cake

[megapig]

What about

BIO METAL

[BW]

Darn... Battlezone has been one of my fav's game of my entire life!

I had a dream about it few days ago, and decided to take a look about it over the internet...

And what do i see..? Battlezone 3? OOOO REEEAAAALLLYYY..? <3

Finding a name is pretty hard, cause Battlezone will always be Battlezone, we can't change the name like this, or it'll lose some of its magic...

I used to call Battlezone as BZ while i was still playin' or even talkin' about the game... So why no calling it like it.? A stuff like "BZ: Third Strike" or whatever... I also like the NSDF letters... sounds good, could be a good thing in the game name...

Well... i really think the best name would stand BattleZone. Simply the best.

[Adam]

How about "BattleTech" ?

Or is that too close to "BattleZone" ?

[Activision RD]

DropZone

[Kaelsyd]

Imo, before searching for a name you could seek for the storyline what,s gonna happen, playstyle and such. then it makes it all easyer.

[megapig]

Ok dont think we need a big storyline yet. because the singleplayer can be made when the game is made.

But what about concept
1960 style,coldwar ?? USSR vs USA keeping the battlezone 1 feel which i want

Btw

I like the dropzone name

[RAVEgun]

I really like Battlezone Forever! It has a sense of open ended-ness to it. And that's exactly what we need for an platform. Something that has all the basics in place, a firm foundation to build on. Then we could start thinking about making expansions based on that, that incorporate storylines or different settings. This would eliminate the problem of conflicting ideas for now. Because, let's not be pretentious and claim to be the official sequel. I don't see this project picking up pace if we're going to have decide over a storyline first.

But let's get something clear: Anything containing the name Battlezone, which is copyrighted, is not going to do.

But we all know the abbreviation BZ, and every Battlezone player reads it the same a Battlezone. We could use that. Copyright can't be claimed on abbreviations. And there are more people who used this concept!

Take TA Spring -> 'spiritual succesor' to Total Annihilation (TA). The Spring project could actually be very similar to this project. It mainly consists of an engine/platform, on which numerous successful games were built by enthusiasts:

Spring (formerly known as TA Spring or Total Annihilation: Spring), is a full 3D free/open source RTS game engine originally created by the Swedish Yankspankers,[1] intended to bring the gameplay experience of Total Annihilation (TA) into three dimensions. The core game engine is licensed under the GNU GPL.

Games are played using one of a number of mods. The standard installation comes with a range of prepackaged mods, some which requires that one own a copy of TA to legally play them, and other Free Content mods which may be used free of charge without owning a copy of TA.

How about Battlezone Forever -> BZ Forever

[RAVEgun]

Second!

And just though of this: OpenBZ

OpenTTD anyone?

This would also reflect the open/transparent nature of a next-gen Battlezone that's build from the ground up by the community. It also implies open-source a little, but that's another topic. Going for open source does have some very interesting advantages when developing a community game like Battlezone.

[BZRanger]

Open BZ sounds very interesting, sort of a freeware type thing, but at SOME point me thinks that somebody should cash a paycheck for all their hard work. Ideas?

[RAVEgun]

Hm yeah, but I don't know how we'd realise that. Going for a commercial setup... It adds an entire dimension of complexity to the project. We'd probably need venture capital or investors to get the basics like an engine/platform licence, IDE licences in place. Not even to speak of employees and all the paperwork.

And seriously developing a game over the internet, without working together in real life, being in one office, it's often pretty hard and ineffective.

And don't forget that when money comes into play, it usually completely changes the game. People get all pushy about who deserves how much of a share. It kinda undermines the whole enterprise. Keeping this an open community effort also ensures that only the dedicated loving developers stay on board, so the team is motivated by their passion for Battlezone, rather than money.

The only realistic way of making this project profitable that I can imagine is how most projects do it: allowing people who appreciate the effort to donate.

[Kaelsyd]

Yeah i agree with you in a way, though the better games often go under the radar, even without big budgets..

Let me take an example, Aventurine, makers of Darkfall, those guys were nobodies, it was a bunch of friends who had a comon goal, make a game like no other, and even an MMO..

Sure they started from nothing, working in their offtime on the project, and eventually came up with some basic product, 1st image rendering were utterly awful.
Over the years the game grew, and it's comunity followed as well as the game potential.
and they now sell copies all across the globe.

those who started from nothing, came up, 9 years after, with something amazing for those who want to part with the carebears MMO.

Anyways you guys should check how adventurine started, it is pretty amazing to say the least.

My point simply is that, yes we are over the internet, yes there is no real financial support. but we all have the same goal in mind.
I mean, sure in the future those questions could be talked about.. but i think that, if we all put the efforts into it, SURE it will take long, but that goal can be reached we just cant see it yet.

Edit : Typo

[Honda]

Game name.. Depends on what the game is going to be about? why not consider these factors 1st:

- In relation to what the game's story, setting, game style, etc..

- If its a remake of the Original BZ or a sequel of BZ2? which i believe would be vague, no offense intended..

- Who r the battling sides? US, Russians, Chinese? Aliens??

Is chosing a name much of a priority for the mean time? as im sure if it undergoes development, the name will get changed several times.. Battlezone 3 would be a fine Title for the project but a much stronger title can be suggested...

[Kaelsyd]

Lol i just noticed the ? right above the BZ3 title on top right, but yeah think we need to figure out the game before figuring out the name because, anyway, if we search for a name, it'll more than likely get changed..

So unless one of us gets a bright idea about it