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Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

openttd.org

41–50 of 136 posts

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#41

Weirdly the OpenTTD Steam page seems to be missing entirely at the moment: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536610/

Not weirdly, that's the point of the whole announcement. You can't get OpenTTD on its own from Steam anymore, it comes with TTD now https://store.steampowered.com/app/3766810/Transport_Tycoon_...

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#42

This doesn't feel right for me. OpenTTD is so much superior in every way compared to the original TTD, that noone in their right mind would ever play the original. So Atari now, while spending zero effort compared to the years of work that OpenTTD devs put in, will basically sell OpenTTD as if was their own creation. People who buy the new TTD will simply play OpenTTD anyway, since it's so much better. I might be wro…

> while spending zero effort Why do you think it took such little effort? Is it simply utilizing an emulation/portability package like Proton?

I assume they will take the original and most likely unchanged TTD binaries and package them together with DOSBox and that's it. It's something that one dev could do in a weekend.

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure the stream version has proprietary assets? I was under impression that they had some open assets, but I may be wrong.

OpenTTD has had entirely their own assets for 15 years.

But OpenTTD itself isn't a clean-room implementation of the game, it's a branch off a decompilation of the original game.

If Atari was really out to copyright the project into oblivion, they're likely to succeed in a legal sense*.

Within the confines of the current laws and known history of the game, and being a fan of both works, I think this compromise is fair.

*NotALawyerClause

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#45

This doesn't feel right for me. OpenTTD is so much superior in every way compared to the original TTD, that noone in their right mind would ever play the original. So Atari now, while spending zero effort compared to the years of work that OpenTTD devs put in, will basically sell OpenTTD as if was their own creation. People who buy the new TTD will simply play OpenTTD anyway, since it's so much better. I might be wro…

Atari didn't put in the effort, but Chris Sawyer did. Now Atari paid Sawyer for the rights to the game. I do not think Atari is a parasite here just because they paid for the game instead of creating it.

It seems to me that the logical outcome of your interpretation is that Sawyer's leniency towards the OpenTTD devs would be punished by losing exclusivity to his IP. Essentially, you are asserting "squatter's rights" to IP - if IP rights are not enforced, then they lapse. This is an interesting idea in principle, but I'm concerned that it might have prevented OpenTTD from ever being created. Original creators would be incentivized to chase off derivative works to protect their IP.

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#46
post #41

Weirdly the OpenTTD Steam page seems to be missing entirely at the moment: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536610/

Not weirdly, that's the point of the whole announcement. You can't get OpenTTD on its own from Steam anymore, it comes with TTD now https://store.steampowered.com/app/3766810/Transport_Tycoon_...

No, you misread. It's bundled on that page, which links to here:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/70574/Transport_Tycoon...

But the OpenTTD item listed in the bundle is non-existent at the moment.

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#47

This doesn't feel right for me. OpenTTD is so much superior in every way compared to the original TTD, that noone in their right mind would ever play the original. So Atari now, while spending zero effort compared to the years of work that OpenTTD devs put in, will basically sell OpenTTD as if was their own creation. People who buy the new TTD will simply play OpenTTD anyway, since it's so much better. I might be wro…

How do you feel about old Lucas arts adventure games that are purchasable on gog and other platforms and come bundled with scummvm?

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#48
post #13

Atari got a game I like called Awesomenauts and revived it from being shutdown F2P to $20. They paid an old dev to get it playable on a temporary contract. Though it has a few rough qualities I'm glad it's playable again.

Wow small world. Hello from a fellow L1 (2012-2016). I didn't realize Ronimo had gone bankrupt, so I suppose I should be glad I have a chance to boot it up again.

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#49
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not weirdly, that's the point of the whole announcement. You can't get OpenTTD on its own from Steam anymore, it comes with TTD now https://store.steampowered.com/app/3766810/Transport_Tycoon_...

No, you misread. It's bundled on that page, which links to here: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/70574/Transport_Tycoon... But the OpenTTD item listed in the bundle is non-existent at the moment.

Doesn't matter because you can't buy on its own. It's like a free DLC.

https://steamdb.info/bundle/70574/#subs

https://steamdb.info/app/1536610/

Re: Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam

#50
post #45

This doesn't feel right for me. OpenTTD is so much superior in every way compared to the original TTD, that noone in their right mind would ever play the original. So Atari now, while spending zero effort compared to the years of work that OpenTTD devs put in, will basically sell OpenTTD as if was their own creation. People who buy the new TTD will simply play OpenTTD anyway, since it's so much better. I might be wro…

Atari didn't put in the effort, but Chris Sawyer did. Now Atari paid Sawyer for the rights to the game. I do not think Atari is a parasite here just because they paid for the game instead of creating it. It seems to me that the logical outcome of your interpretation is that Sawyer's leniency towards the OpenTTD devs would be punished by losing exclusivity to his IP. Essentially, you are asserting "squatter's rights"…

My issue with this argument is that I'm not sure how much of OpenTTD is their IP. OpenTTD has been development for so long that I doubt that any original disassembly remnants remain in the latest version of OpenTTD. The only true piece of IP that OpenTTD may use is the name (the TTD part of OpenTTD) and the graphics, the latter of which being the more important one. However, as far as I know, OpenTTD devs have created their own version of all the assets that are also much higher resolution compared to the original. As a result, I see OpenTTD as an entirely separate game, that's been heavily inspired by original, but is its own separate entity.
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