Mako Dawn mod for Fallout 3

9 comments by JigsawPieces on May 5th, 2012

At the beginning of April this year I contacted Square-Enix, the IP (intellectual property) holders of FFVII, to ask for permission to develop the mod. Thus far I have received no reply. As the title says, development for Mako Dawn has now ceased pending a response. It is 'indefinite' in the sense that it may begin again sometime in the future.  I will attempt to explain below as clearly as I can why this is and under what conditions development may resume.

Why?

As you may remember from the previous news update, I'd said that I would be writing a proper design document. In an ironic twist the very determination to create the design doc (and to complete the project) eventually lead me to the decision to cease development. As I researched design advice from professionals and experienced modders / indie devs alike I continually found that they advised against basing projects on someone's IP to which you don't own / have the permission to use. Chief among the reasons were that it is illegal for one thing, but also that it limits the number of developers you can recruit since they need to be competent and dedicated (something hard enough to find) and also very big fans of the IP the project is based on. Further, a project such as this can receive a cease and desist order at any time - I personally do not want to get to 99% completion and then have that happen.

Will Development Ever Resume?

It's possible. There are a few scenarios that could occur from here. I will outline my own stance towards each of them.

How Can I Continue This Project?

Download the mod and get started. Please do not harbour any hopes that I'm going to teach you how to mod. If you have a question about the GECK or FO3, ask it on the Bethsoft or Nexus forums. If you take over development I'll be happy to give you advice, but I'm not your teacher so again, don't expect that. Obviously project specific questions are fine. My addresses are on my profile page (I prefer AIM or GoogleTalk). Neomonkeus, a former developer, has stated he's willing to work with someone serious about taking over the project if that should happen.

If you prove yourself competent and dedicated I'll be fine with adding you to the dev group and giving you permission to upload to and use this profile. I will, however, be maintaining control of it at least initially to prevent any vandalism. Don't ask me for control of the page before you've even done anything because I won't give it. Demonstrate you're actually doing something first. There are also already forums and a domain name available to which the same conditions as the moddb profile page apply.

Right now only the latest release is available. Over the coming weeks (and possibly months) I will try to organise all the resources of the project and make them available. This will include previously unreleased content, some of which hasn't even been featured in images.

Final Thoughts

Well, it's been a long time. Some of you may not know that I've actually been with the project since August 24th, 2009. A lot has changed since then, as I'm sure it has for those reading. While it's unfortunate that I will not complete the project myself, I am satisfied that I've learned a lot along the way - a wide array of skills not only limited to creating games, but to interacting with people, as well as realistically assessing my own capabilities and short-comings and how to address this.

Before I finish perhaps some acknowledgements are in order. If it weren't for industrialpolygons there would've been no project at all. Additionally, much of my early modeling and texturing knowledge came from working with him. Neomonkeus, a former developer who currently hosts the project site and forum. Also, f7c64e (aka elegiac) who assisted me when I began learning web design and later scripting, among other things. Finally, the watchers of this project who offered their encouragement and feedback.

That's all for now. Again I'll stress that it might take some time for all the resources to become available - it'll be made clear when this goal has been achieved. I will be going my own way from here on - if you're interested you're welcome to watch my moddb profile. See ya :) 

One last note: Please be civil in the comments. I understand some of you may be disappointed / upset and I don't intend to prevent you expressing as much, however, if you begin being rude toward myself or others you will be moderated. There may be legitimate comments / questions to be had and they shouldn't have to take a back seat to childish nonsense. This includes stuff like "fuk square you shuld just make it anyway bla bla". Thank you.