Just another clone ? :: Diaspora Mass Exodus General Discussions

Diaspora Mass Exodus

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Diaspora Mass Exodus > General Discussions > Topic Details

Aeiyr May 21, 2018 @ 6:02am

Just another clone ?

Albeit a much cleaner looking version with improved graphics.
But its basicaly just the same ?

What differentiates this from the other clones over the last 15 years like Xiaspora/Rillaspora/OSpora etc ?

I mean it even has the exact same ship names :/

Now i understand the original game is abandonware but how was this allowed to be added on steam ?

A link to the original game 19 years ago for reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora_(video_game)

Personally i played the original and dabbled in the clones Rillaspora and Xiaspora.

But when i see a "game studio" using someone elses ideas and designs, throwing it up on a gaming platform like steam, and not even mentioning in the description that its essentially a remake of Altitude Productions game using its ship names, ship styles etc.

And then going as far as saying your going to monetize "premium content" and "skins" to make youself stand out.

This is trying to make a buck off someone elses designs and i think is total BS.

Heres a copy paste of your main steam store page.

ABOUT THIS GAME
Diaspora : Mass Exodus is a 2D/3D RPG MMO. You buy your ship, head out to space and decide how you want to make a living and to what extent you want to try to conquer the galaxy. The game is free to play, with the options for premium content, skins and other things to make you stand out. There are planets to take over, control and upgrade, aliens to fend off, and empires to build. Work hard on your own or a group of friends to become the most powerful and dangerous pilot in the galaxy.

- Massively Multiplayer
- Customizable Ships
- Full Guild Management System including bank and financial options
- Trade, Hunt, Mine, or Extort for Economic gain
- Planet Management
- Events and Compitions

Last edited by Aeiyr; May 21, 2018 @ 6:45am

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Showing 1-10 of 10 comments

StarReaper [developer] May 21, 2018 @ 12:13pm

Hey welcome to the steam forum with a bang. Maybe toss us a PM in the future :) but I will address everything right here, we have all this information on our forum and facebook page, granted its not always front and center. Alright first this is a remake of a combination of Diaspora and Exodus. Exodus was a similar try for Diaspora but we didn't have funding or skills to do it properly back in 2003. Diaspora was a fun game because of the community. It had some potential that never came to where it should have been before Altitude UK.

We actually have license for the game from Altitude UK, so without getting into massive private details, we are allowed to use the IP to produce the game, and in exchange we pay a royalty. So yes the game was abandonware if you wanted to make a legal case you probably could. We wanted to do this legit and do right by everyone, so we went the proper legal route.

As far as the game goes we have a lot that wasn't in the first game, we have literally rebuilt every asset, all the models from the game were lost in time, so we rebuilt everything from scratch and it wasn't cheap. Without giving away to much about our future plans we have all the ships, from the original and probably another 9 ship classes on top of that as well as multiple additional maps. Feature wise we have a crazy amount of guild control, additional planet and defense options, some standard research trees, and have plans for everything from dynamic trade and stock markets, to massive player customization and a lot of cool things we want to do with planets and Ai.

Now as far as making money on the game, we are doing the normal selling additional content and power ups. Difference being is we are doing stuff extremely cheap compared to most games, and if you don't want anything additional like a small bonus to your stats, or better prices at the market, or the Endy Beho in black :) you don't have to pay anything.

So there is a lot of differences with graphics, mechanics, options and depth that were not in the original games, and not in the clones. The stats have been completely redone, we have a massive amount of ships, all the Exodus content and planning, which is substantial in its own right, also have a team and company backing this product up.

I do appreciate the questions and concerns, we went the right channels, Altitude UKs current form gets a cut, Steam a Cut, and Unreal a cut. We also have about 80-90k in development costs so there is no free meal here.

If you have any questions at all please let me know :)

StarReaper
Angry Rabbit Studios

SlowCookerStu has Diaspora Mass Exodus

May 21, 2018 @ 5:11pm

I have played all Diaspora's since 1999 and this is BY FAR the best ( Yes I am a tester ). I also appreciate that you care about content AEIYR and that is why AltitudeUK were contacted and a deal was done.

I hope you can come and play AEIYR knowing that you are playing a game which pays royalties to the original developer. Did you know that we love this game so much our community has stayed in touch since 1999? That is 19 years we have dreamt of this day.

Please support us in bringing back an absolute classic with a whole new twist.

Butler.

Ruff Ryderz

Aeiyr May 22, 2018 @ 4:48am

Originally posted by StarReaper:
Hey welcome to the steam forum with a bang. Maybe toss us a PM in the future :) but I will address everything right here, we have all this information on our forum and facebook page, granted its not always front and center. Alright first this is a remake of a combination of Diaspora and Exodus. Exodus was a similar try for Diaspora but we didn't have funding or skills to do it properly back in 2003. Diaspora was a fun game because of the community. It had some potential that never came to where it should have been before Altitude UK.

We actually have license for the game from Altitude UK, so without getting into massive private details, we are allowed to use the IP to produce the game, and in exchange we pay a royalty. So yes the game was abandonware if you wanted to make a legal case you probably could. We wanted to do this legit and do right by everyone, so we went the proper legal route.

As far as the game goes we have a lot that wasn't in the first game, we have literally rebuilt every asset, all the models from the game were lost in time, so we rebuilt everything from scratch and it wasn't cheap. Without giving away to much about our future plans we have all the ships, from the original and probably another 9 ship classes on top of that as well as multiple additional maps. Feature wise we have a crazy amount of guild control, additional planet and defense options, some standard research trees, and have plans for everything from dynamic trade and stock markets, to massive player customization and a lot of cool things we want to do with planets and Ai.

Now as far as making money on the game, we are doing the normal selling additional content and power ups. Difference being is we are doing stuff extremely cheap compared to most games, and if you don't want anything additional like a small bonus to your stats, or better prices at the market, or the Endy Beho in black :) you don't have to pay anything.

So there is a lot of differences with graphics, mechanics, options and depth that were not in the original games, and not in the clones. The stats have been completely redone, we have a massive amount of ships, all the Exodus content and planning, which is substantial in its own right, also have a team and company backing this product up.

I do appreciate the questions and concerns, we went the right channels, Altitude UKs current form gets a cut, Steam a Cut, and Unreal a cut. We also have about 80-90k in development costs so there is no free meal here.

If you have any questions at all please let me know :)

StarReaper
Angry Rabbit Studios

Well, if what your saying is true about the royalties going to Altitude then kudos to you, but maybe in the decription for the game or the EULA thats on steam maybe Altitude should be mentioned.

I doubt people browsing steam are going to go find some obscure history buried in the depths of another webpage, thats been re-branded a couple of times.

I wish you all the best but i've spent my time in the spora's, i went by the char name of TenKa and was an ex member of Funkstars.

StarReaper [developer] May 22, 2018 @ 9:37am

I remember you, I think I have Funk on Skype somewhere, but he doesn't get on their often. Hopefully you'll find time to check it out at some point its a lot of fun. We generally don't reference our business agreements on the website or EULA unless we are asked to by the party and I don't think the former president of Altitude wants people bothering him about questions on the new game.