How much would it cost to buy the rights to Develop ?

[Spaceweezle]

Say if I was to utilize a semi-modern engine and develop H&S on the updated engine, how much would it cost to buy the rights for it ?

 

Just after a ballpark figure.

[silencer_pl]

Well safe guess would be 100-1kk USD. And do you know who has rights to H&S?

[Zombie]

I would assume Nival owns the rights as it's still in business. Hard to say if they would be willing to sell though, and if they would, it would be pretty expensive as Silent Storm and Silent Storm Sentinels run on the same engine. Might have to buy the IP for those two games as well.

 

- Zombie

[silencer_pl]

I would assume that IP for H&S still has Novik. Nival only owns the engine.

[Danimal]

Well, you sure are restricting yourself; TBS battle systems, nazies, allies, mechs... are all pretty commonplace. You can see mash-ups of them pretty often, you could probably make a game that looks almost the same as H&S as long as you dont copy the panzerkeins(its writen like this?) model designs and dont use their IP name or other pretty clear game references. Of course ripping their 3d models is also a no-go, but i dont think anyone can claim ownership over the looks of WW2 soldier uniforms, nothing is stoping you from making your models of them.

[Spaceweezle]

Well safe guess would be 100-1kk USD. And do you know who has rights to H&S?

 

A million for H&S rights wow! That would surprise me. I wouldn't imagine their sales even exceeded 100k. It's hardly a streaming success lol.

 

 

Well, you sure are restricting yourself; TBS battle systems, nazies, allies, mechs... are all pretty commonplace. You can see mash-ups of them pretty often, you could probably make a game that looks almost the same as H&S as long as you dont copy the panzerkeins(its writen like this?) model designs and dont use their IP name or other pretty clear game references. Of course ripping their 3d models is also a no-go, but i dont think anyone can claim ownership over the looks of WW2 soldier uniforms, nothing is stoping you from making your models of them.

 

You're dead right. There are a few titles that manage to get away with very similar design and concepts. You could probably get away with changing the name Panzerkliens to Mech's and it wouldn't breach copyright.

 

Something about H&S that really appeals to me. Ironically I found the game to be a complete mess, but it does show huge potential. I was envisioning what it would be like to tap into that potential.

 

I'm at a crossroads where I either follow my heart and invest my money into a project like this or buy a house and follow a more realistic, albeit more mundane existence. Funnily, I do genuinely believe I have it in me to produce a game that does everything right where so many get most of it wrong. When I look at the swath of crap on steam, such a task doesn't look all that hard to achieve.

 

Thanks for the input!

[silencer_pl]

The game was suppose to be a mod and came out as a standalone, and Russians are known to create a messy game. They are good modders if someone else creates good idea, but most of the time I can't find them decent at creating good stories (there are few exceptions but still).

 

Anyway if rights to IP is only in Noviks hands, he maybe give you permission to do whatever you want for free.

[WerHeruvim]

I'm at a crossroads where I either follow my heart and invest my money into a project like this or buy a house and follow a more realistic, albeit more mundane existence. Funnily, I do genuinely believe I have it in me to produce a game that does everything right where so many get most of it wrong. When I look at the swath of crap on steam, such a task doesn't look all that hard to achieve.

I am not going to teach you how to spend your cash (and your lifetime with it) but please, hear me out.

Perhaps you know that you can do something better than others (or even be the only one to make things right) but still that would not be enough. Game development was never worth it: a dream some people want to turn real and make them happy, In reality, such work is a huge time/life consuming activity. Just look at those indie games: ether cheap and bad, or cheap and decent but still unfinished. If your money will not be enough (realistically true), you will have to find some investors and they will enjoy trying to interfere in your development etc.

So if you are ready to come through all this, then go ahead. But if you are still unsure, then don't.

 

And yes, if you buy a house, you will still be able to mod any game you want (S2, S3, H&S are still relevant and can be modded like how you want, even just for fun) and make anything you want right.

 

In any case, do not rush your decision.

 

On topic though.

H&S ( as well as S2 engine ) is the property of Nival and 1C. Novik is not the owner. Source: Novik (russian ex-nival forum)