Updating old Tex games

If they were willing to let the rights go for practically nothing, wouldn't Aaron or Chris have already grabbed them???

Bafitis wrote:If they were willing to let the rights go for practically nothing, wouldn't Aaron or Chris have already grabbed them???

Bingo. That was going to be my next question. It seems rather nasty grabbing the rights ahead of the guys as well, if it were that easy. And lastly, we are not just talking about updating the videos... we are talking a re programming of the game as well to accommodate the new media (i.e. great new video with old school VR would look terrible. It's a matter of time for a lot of people which they don't have becuase these fan projects have started and ended many times before, quicker that anyone can say guacamole!

-Cub. =o)

This is the rights to update the old games ONLY.

Cubase, yes obviously this wouldn't be an "easy," task. However since we'd have the rights, we'd have the profits. My plan would be to use those profits to A. Pay back investors. and B. Invest in BIG FINISH for a new TM game.

So this wouldn't be your average fan game undertaking.

Well lotus, based on that, if the project were to get underway (and I mean, properly) then I would not mind lending my expertise in video editing/reproduction and sound design/remastering, as well as interface graphic design.

-Cub. =o)

Time permitting I'd throw my hat into the ring. I was debating that myself. I could definately help with the 3D world. Maybe get em running on a modern video card.

I think it's been brought up before but it would be cool if we could get our hands on the original footage as well. But I believe it was said there is little to nothing left of that.

EDIT: I've actually been working on 2 Tex related animated shorts off and on for some time now. I already have a 3D Roswell built. I was gonna keep that a secret until I had them done but it could be a while.

Electron Stu wrote:Time permitting I'd throw my hat into the ring. I was debating that myself. I could definately help with the 3D world. Maybe get em running on a modern video card.

I think it's been brought up before but it would be cool if we could get our hands on the original footage as well. But I believe it was said there is little to nothing left of that.

EDIT: I've actually been working on 2 Tex related animated shorts off and on for some time now. I already have a 3D Roswell built. I was gonna keep that a secret until I had them done but it could be a while.

AC told me they have the masters of the original footage from all their games. We should be able to get our hands on it all. I've already emailed them about it.

If they give me their ok, then I'll start working it all out immediately. Obviously I won't move forward without their blessing.

Oh, to be able to dream again! I haven't done that since middle school.

lotus_j wrote: AC told me they have the masters of the original footage from all their games. We should be able to get our hands on it all. I've already emailed them about it.

Not. Bloody. Likely.

joliet_jane wrote:Not. Bloody. Likely.

Well since AC said they had it I don't see any reason why they wouldn't let us use it. Unless they don't want people to update the game.

You should find out what format the video is in. I have free access to a production facility here. I can make sure we have it. I am assuming it's all Betacam seeing as it was the standard in the 90's. That way I can make modern duplicates to work with rather than risk damaging the originals.

. . . this is of course if we even get the go ahead from the big cheese(s)[?].

Electron Stu wrote:You should find out what format the video is in. I have free access to a production facility here. I can make sure we have it. I am assuming it's all Betacam seeing as it was the standard in the 90's. That way I can make modern duplicates to work with rather than risk damaging the originals.

. . . this is of course if we even get the go ahead from the big cheese(s)[?].

I'm not sure the guys would trust anything but having copies made right there in SLC. The key will be to make sure the right kind of copies would be made for us to use. Same with the sound data.

The VR side will be the tough part.

I am confident that I (and probably Cub) can replicate all the 3D for the game, improving on it could be more of a challenge. The other challenge would be getting the 3D models to whoever is desiging the new engine. Whether it's based on a pre-existing engine or not, the format needs to be known to export the world's objects to. The original game most likely had custom EVERYTHING so I would assume none of it is recoverable (not to mention dated now) so it most likely has to be entirely recreated. Hmmm this could indeed be VERY time consuming. We must REALLY love these games to devote the time to the project. Who's into making mods on the board and what are you familiar with? If you really rock at a newer (GNU General Public Licensed engine) please this could be your time to shine!

I must admit I am psyched about the idea of this, I wouldn't be in the field I am in if it wasn't for Tex so the idea of bringing him into a more modern age is exciting to say the least.

. . . IF we are allowed to go ahead with this that is. A lot is riding on that IF.



EDIT: Here's a sample of what I had for the Roswell thing I had done. It's an older file and not even close to finished but it's all I could find at this moment. You get the idea anyway.

Even given they have the VT and providing they give consent, do they have the audio tapes? The in-game audio is very inconsistent in quality (probably due to space concerns) so a remake would need access to original assets for high-quality capture and effect application. One thing that springs to mind is Chris's inspector burns speech, which would benefit greatly from modern high quality pitch shifting.

marinedalek wrote:Even given they have the VT and providing they give consent, do they have the audio tapes? The in-game audio is very inconsistent in quality (probably due to space concerns) so a remake would need access to original assets for high-quality capture and effect application. One thing that springs to mind is Chris's inspector burns speech, which would benefit greatly from modern high quality pitch shifting.

I think when AC said they had all the masters that likely meant Audio too. I agree the Audio will need tweaking just as much as the video. The audio and video can both be increased to DVD or HD quality.

Most of the original Cast came back and did the Radio Theaters for nothing, I imagine if needed that they could be persuaded to redo a few Audio Clips if needed...

However in a thread somewhere on the boards, I thought I remembered reading that AC said something about the UAKM film footage being lost or damaged... I could be wrong, might be something someone else had said in the form of a question...