Chrono Compendium hacking projects go down

[Vanya]

I'm starting to think SE went ballistic because of that dumb-ass posting that CE was an official product of theirs on 2 well known sites.
Something like that would definitely have drawn their attention. That is assuming that the e-mail is a fake. Otherwise...

[philsov]

Space-shifting or format-shifting - that is, taking content you own in one format and putting it into another format, for personal, non-commercial use. For instance, "ripping" an audio CD (that is, making an MP3-format version of an audio CD that you already own) is considered fair use by many lawyers, based on the 1984 Betamax decision and the 1999 Rio MP3 player decision (RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia, 180 F. 3d 1072, 1079, 9th Circ. 1999.)
Making a personal back-up copy of content you own - for instance, burning a copy of an audio CD you own.

Fair enough.  I guess this got extended into video games with the 99 decision because most if not all of my old instruction booklets state its illegal to make a copy.  

In either case, though it might now be legal to have a digital backup, this still doesn't handle the distribution.  

Though, yeah, I'm with Vanya.  I think if a dialogue got opened up SE would feel better about the whole thing.  Hell, check this out:

http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q3-2007/071207a.html

On a similar note, we told Mr. Sakamoto that a fan translation had been done some years ago for Front Mission 1, and asked how he felt about such efforts. The producer replied that he actually found them very encouraging -- it's something the developers should be doing, but because they're not, the fans are doing it instead. He stated that he'd like to be able to give something back to the fans, and would like to thank personally each of the fans that worked on the translation

Translations aren't the same thing as full hacks, but it does offer some hope.

[DarthPaul]

their just bullies..stand up to them and eventually they'll back down...

This bully doesn't want you lunch money though, but I'll give it to you that SE is not completely impossible to deal with. Time will tell, and maybe they are doing research into this debacle right now.

[mav]

Well, after seeing the email that may have started all the controversy, I'm beginning to see SE as less of a bully and more of a mislead buffoon. I mean, if they really thought that the team making Crimson Echoes was doing it for profit, they had every right to shut it down. Now, if they realize that they were intentionally mislead (again, assuming the email was actually sent) perhaps they'll loosen the stranglehold they have on the Chrono (and I guess ROM-hacking) community.

[FaustWolf]

Just as an update on this situation, check out the Compendium frontpage. Not only are we not going to get the hoped-for communication from SE, but we also rooted out a mole it seems. I've done quite a bit of research on this Bruggeman character and it seems his major interests are Chrono and Kingdom Hearts, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to comb through your membership for any of his aliases.

[Smitson]

eh how did you catch that guy?

[Archael]

I've done quite a bit of research on this Bruggeman character and

Moar info please!

[FaustWolf]

Well, it all started with this guy posting at a game development community called Kagero Studios:
http://kagerostudios.b1.jcink.com/index ... entry15910

Oops, the denunciation email is gone there. Look here:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6480/denuciation.png

If you look at the bottom of the purported denunciation email to Square Enix you'll notice that the guy incompletely blanked out his name -- BAD idea, especially since he used his real name (or what passes as his real world name), traceable to several of his alt accounts/aliases, and which led us to the user at the Compendium known as Dark Serge. With that info giving us probable cause, we approached Kagero for more info on Alienat0r and IP address evidence obliterated any remaining doubts. Since he blanked out his name incompletely, it's my opinion that he wanted to be caught. A game just for kicks. Think of him as a fan project "Jack the Ripper." It's interesting that a videogame technical researcher who was working on Kingdom Hearts model viewing had to stop development at some point after Bruggeman came across the model viewer, but the researcher swears that he did not stop as a result of a C&D, so chalk that up to coincidence.

Whether the denunciation actually happened or not, the incident was spooky enough to warrant his banning. Hope you guys never come across this dude.

EDIT: It was probably incorrect to term this guy a "mole" as I did in my previous post; it wasn't like he was hired by SE to spy on us or anything. Rather, as a fellow Chrono fan he ingratiated himself with the Chrono modding community (he actually beta tested the Compendium's first Chrono Cross mod), then backstabbed us if he really did what he says he did. Why, your guess is as good as mine.

[DarthPaul]

If he did do it he is a backstabber who deserves the banning and any bad publicity that comes with it.

If he did not then he is your guys version of our MagiTek.

[Archael]

Wow, he really did tell SE that you guys were planning to make a profit and that you wanted to "claim copyright for their own"

I am pretty sure that's what got SE to act

that guy is a cunt

also,perhaps all modding sites should have a huge disclaimer in the front that clarifies their position on profit and copyright?

such as

WE DO NOT CLAIM COPYRIGHT AND WE DO NOT PROFIT IN THIS SITE

?

[Oblivion]

Well, it all started with this guy posting at a game development community called Kagero Studios:
http://kagerostudios.b1.jcink.com/index ... entry15910

Oops, the denunciation email is gone there. Look here:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6480/denuciation.png

If you look at the bottom of the purported denunciation email to Square Enix you'll notice that the guy incompletely blanked out his name -- BAD idea, especially since he used his real name (or what passes as his real world name), traceable to several of his alt accounts/aliases, and which led us to the user at the Compendium known as Dark Serge. With that info giving us probable cause, we approached Kagero for more info on Alienat0r and IP address evidence obliterated any remaining doubts. Since he blanked out his name incompletely, it's my opinion that he wanted to be caught. A game just for kicks. Think of him as a fan project "Jack the Ripper." It's interesting that a videogame technical researcher who was working on Kingdom Hearts model viewing had to stop development at some point after Bruggeman came across the model viewer, but the researcher swears that he did not stop as a result of a C&D, so chalk that up to coincidence.

Whether the denunciation actually happened or not, the incident was spooky enough to warrant his banning. Hope you guys never come across this dude.

EDIT: It was probably incorrect to term this guy a "mole" as I did in my previous post; it wasn't like he was hired by SE to spy on us or anything. Rather, as a fellow Chrono fan he ingratiated himself with the Chrono modding community (he actually beta tested the Compendium's first Chrono Cross mod), then backstabbed us if he really did what he says he did. Why, your guess is as good as mine.

FaustWolf... the person being investigated has a rare disease called Magitekidus. This disease causes stupidity of the brain and constipation of the mouth. Other notable symtoms include a desperate need for attention, a need to be hated by all in the community, and they will not to contribute to the projects located upon the site. They may claim to have have AS, but this is no excuse for attentiion whores with this disease. I conducted a thorough research and found out the only ways to cure this disease. The infected person must be beaten senselessly with flames or any blunt object that can be found. Banhammers work the best, but it takes two beatings for them to finally be cured. Flaming works as well.

Lol... But seriously. The guy being investigated is a fucking asshole if he really did this. As a matter of fact he's an ass regardless. Why would you post a sudden email that no one knows about except for you, with the writer's name blocked out. I think he/she did it and they're a traitor. I dislike traitors... I kill the guys that get invited to the enemy party in FFT and WOTL.

[Kuraudo Sutoraifu]

FaustWolf, perhaps you could share the IP address and other relevant info with Zodiac (which you may have already done) to block a potential intrusion.

[FaustWolf]

Done, it's always better to be safe than sorry. The only other community besides the Chrono community this guy would pester would probably be any fan community focused on Kingdom Hearts.

[tithin]

Further update, looks like some jerk has leaked a year old version of the ROM.

[tithin]

further further update, someone leaked a 75% complete version

[DarthPaul]

Someone is really trying to get this bunch in trouble. It is despicable.

[mav]

And not only do the leaks risk financial/legal trouble for the development team, they make them look bad, due to their incomplete nature. On the flip-side, the Compendium has been releasing chapter-by-chapter videos of the beta playthrough...this truly was a project of a high caliber.

[tithin]

http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1943118/5652096/

[Asmo X]

And not only do the leaks risk financial/legal trouble for the development team, they make them look bad, due to their incomplete nature. On the flip-side, the Compendium has been releasing chapter-by-chapter videos of the beta playthrough...this truly was a project of a high caliber.

lol. Damn those guys for trying to get the Chrono Compendium into deep shit. On top of that, they didn't even have the DECENCY to release the full game for me to play!

[Vanya]

How dare they short change us with an incomplete hack! =P