Limbo of the Lost-gate

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Garth
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PostLimbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:24 pm

Limbo of the Lost, developed by Majestic Studios and published by London based G2 Games, appears to contain locations with striking similarities to places found in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (as reported by GamePlasma.com earlier today).

Limbo of the Lost:
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Oblivion:
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Bethesda have been contacted:
Danielle Woodyatt, PR Representative for Bethesda wrote:We aren't going to comment. Screens pretty much speak for themselves. Legal is looking into it.


This was posted over on GAF, and it turns out that Oblivion wasn't Limbo of the Lost's only 'influence'.
Step forward Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Limbo of the Lost:
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Thief: Deadly Shadows:
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Looks like they added a few skulls to throw us off the trail.

But wait!

The skulls are an item from one of the Diablo games:

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"Wall of the Eyeless, Bone Shield"
http://battle.net/diablo2exp/items/norm ... elds.shtml


Surely the game's trailer would be free of such blatant plagiarism...

Limbo of the Lost trailer (skip to 02:40 if you can't bear watching it all):
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28891.html

Looks just like this bit from the Spawn movie, but with a colour change (00:24):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KMYx8lG59A

Just before that, at 02:36 in the Limbo of the Lost trailer, you also get a glimpse of the chapter 2 level 6 boss level from PC game Painkiller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJniAgD5wT0


Limbo of the Lost is actually on shop shelves right now:
http://www.game.co.uk/PC/PointandClick/ ... -the-Lost/

I wonder what other games and movies they've stolen from? :lol:


EDIT - more stuff from further on in the thread.

Morrowind's Orcish armour:
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Limbo of the Lost:
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The weapons are from Morrowind too apparently.


Interview with the devs:
Gordon: So have any more recent games influenced your current project?

Steve: The project is more influenced by film and literature rather than other games, we want the experience to be as original as possible and as such we have made a calculated effort to keep away from other games in the genre. Limbo of the Lost is an experience first and foremost, secondly wrapped up in a game media and genre.

Gordon: During the long gestation for this game, what sort of changes have you made to bring it up to date.

Steve: All of the game (apart from initial background story and some character designs) had to be re-written, all the characters had to be created in 3D and animated, all the background scenes re-created, all the sounds, coding and music?..basically everything had to be redone or newly created for the PC version. This is not an old game that has been dressed up. This is the original concept, dusted off and re-created.

http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArt ... ?index=795

:lol:


Limbo of the Lost:
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Diablo 2:
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Limbo of the Lost:
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UT2004:
Image

Image
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Limbo of the Lost:
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Painkiller:
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Vampire: Bloodlines spotted:
http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index ... 828&st=20#
http://pc.gamezone.com/gamesell/screens/s29203_4.htm


Pirates of the Caribbean spotted:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.ph ... tcount=218


Some of the dialogue from the trailer (the bit with the daemon speaking) has been lifted from Rune:
http://www.inkslinger.org/writing/sampl ... cript.html
The dead do not welcome the presence of the living, warrior. You remind them of all they have lost.



Press release has been issued by the US publisher:
– Tri Synergy, Inc. ( www.trisynergy.com) would like to publish an official comment regarding recent comparisons of level design and artwork between Majestic Studios’ Limbo of the Lost and Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion/Eidos Interactive’s Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Tri Synergy is just as shocked as everyone else is by the recent screenshot comparisons. At no point during our dealings with Majestic Studios up until the point that the comparison was first publicly made by a third party did we have any knowledge of these similarities. Additionally, Tri Synergy will discontinue distribution of Limbo of the Lost in both retail and online outlets.

We have contacted the developer, Majestic, and are anxiously awaiting their response. As soon as we know more on this matter we will issue another statement.

More information about Tri Synergy is available from www.trisynergy.com.

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:26 pm

HailToTheKingBaby! wrote:Only found one review (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Li ... /LotL.shtm)

but this one bit made me chuckle:

Development started way back in the 90s, originally for the Amiga 1200, then for the CD32 and eventually crossed over to the PC.


Early 90's so like 17 years-ish in development and when it finally comes out all they've managed to do is make a mish mash of other games content.

Quality..

Wonder if Duke Nukem Forever will feature levels from Quake 3, Halo 2 and Doom 3 with a little bit of Serious Sam mixed in for good measure :lol:

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:27 pm

Lewis D wrote:
MCN wrote:
Zellery wrote:
LotL Review wrote:Along with the intro, the bonus DVD includes scads of extras like artwork, screenshots, insights into the game’s development, etc.: a brilliant and highly original move that has to be praised and hopefully followed.

Cause they're ALL about originality at Magestic.


Because no other game has ever come with a "making of" DVD...

Actually, I'd be interested in watching it.


Haha yeah.

"Today, we're going to go and watch our Level Designer at work.
Here he is, So what are you up to at the moment?"

"Well, I'm currently hacking the sh*t out of Oblivion, Thief, Painkiller and some other high release titles so that we can cut many years of work down to about 1 or 2 months tops."

"I love it. Carry on."

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:27 pm

rght190 wrote:Buy copies of it now, mark my words they'll be worth something one day.

Edit: Wiki has a more complete list of games plagiarized...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo_of_t ... ontroversy

Apparently they've stopped distribution of it. Also Pirates of the Caribbean WTF?! :lol:

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:27 pm

Lewis D wrote:Image

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:28 pm

sulfurias wrote:Image

The upper texture is ripped from Blizzard if I'm right. Just look at the banner used on my old guild. (was pre-expac!) (from singularity.osgamers.com)
Image

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:28 pm

GreenGecko wrote:Yes. According to Wikipedia the developers had the idea for the game in 1990 and unsuccessfully managed to make the game for a bunch of Atari consoles, apparently nicking content back then as well.

The developer struck back by taking things into his own hands after failing to recruit a proper team, so learnt some 3D game engines (maybe Unreal) and lifted 3D assets directly from a whole load of games.

:lol::lol::lol: Look at the trailer! http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/698387 ... 60608.html

Pretty much no facial animation, and Times New Roman titles in pure #FF0000 read over some random After Effects animation probably lifted from somewhere. The models look like they're straight out of Oblivion as well.

Image

This is hillarious.

Games lynched:

* The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
* Unreal Tournament 2004
* Unreal Tournament 2003
* Diablo II
* Thief: The Dark Project
* Thief: Deadly Shadows
* a CryENGINE2 Tech Demo
* Silent Hill 4: The Room[citation needed]
* Return to Castle Wolfenstein
* Painkiller
* Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
* The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
* Hexen
* World of Warcraft

z0mg point 'n' click revival!

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:28 pm

GreenGecko wrote:I haven't finished watching it yet it's so funny.

This "lightning" is superimposed from Paint Shop Pro tubes!! :lol:

Image

It looks like 3D to me with fixed cameras.

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:29 pm

GreenGecko wrote:Sorry but this is just pure LOL!!

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28891.html

2:20 in this trailer. :lol:

I think for the awful conversation and storytelling sequences, they've nicked 3D assets from other places and done terrible animation with them in a 3D package like Max/Maya or some other game engine's face poser.

The keyframe animation looks like stuff 16-year-old students did at my college with their first 5 minutes experimenting with software to get to grips with it. Seems it's passed here.

Come on if they're using Paint Shop Pro picture tubes they must have nicked about 99% of the art for this game!

I can't believe the only review on the net gave this game 8/10 since the only production values that were actually created by the developer are appalling, but I'd love to find this "bonus DVD movie" they included:

There is a surprise. A bonus DVD movie! Majestic Studios decided to wander off the beaten “install game, watch intro, start playing” path and put the intro of the game on an extra DVD disk for you to watch separately, wherever you wish – and if you have a nice 50’’ TV/DVD rig, you will certainly be thanking them for that. Along with the intro, the bonus DVD includes scads of extras like artwork, screenshots, insights into the game’s development, etc.: a brilliant and highly original move that has to be praised and hopefully followed.

Erm yeah, no-ones done that before.. This reviewer obviously hasn't a clue, but I'd love to see the "artwork".

http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Li ... /LotL.shtm

What the f**k.. this reviewer really sucks:

Right clicking brings up the Ouija Board, in a nice “electric” effect. Unfortunately – as a result of that effect - the Ouija Board sometimes comes-up in a non working status and has to be closed and re-opened.

If anyone saw that "effect" in the trailer, it's about three frames in total and looks like a blob of green crap in Paint Shop pro. And doesn't bringing up the menu thing and it not working sometimes sound like a bug? It doesn't work. I can't believe that they gave this a B.

I'm not going to bother dissecting this review further, it's obviously crap

Close-ups of characters when they talk feature some top notch lip syncing..

:roll: :lol:
The background music is a pleasure, especially the exquisite intro track. The drawback here is that there is only one background track for each chapter that repeats itself and can become tiresome – but never annoying - after a while. The sound effects are the highlight of the game in the presentation department, from the effects of the Ouija board down to Captain Briggs’ footsteps. Sfx are absolutely brilliant and add volumes to the atmosphere and immersion. I would go as far as to say that LotL is one of the best adventure games in this department in history! Speech follows those high standards.

Wut!??

Image
Dig those highly detailed, believable, utterly haunting red eyes guys! Two clicks in PSP is all you need to add instant evilness!

Check out this snow!

Image

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:29 pm

TheTurnipKing wrote:
GreenGecko wrote:They've literally taken screenshots from other games and used this engine to render 3D scalable characters over the top, the models of which are most likely rips as well. This would explain why the scenes look worse than other games but the meshes and colours are identical.

That's pretty much what I expected.

Oh man, more screenshots have come to light. Check these out!

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?page_id=1909

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:30 pm

GreenGecko wrote::lol: Yeah I saw those too.

Just been exploring similar stories and it looks like some people suspect whether or not Nibris (Sadness for Wii) actually exist and aren't just pulling in funding from EU initiative programs. They'll probably never release anything. Apparently the only site that reports anything they do now is http://www.cubed3.com who may just be being suckered into Nibris' projects. There are some videos of a DS game on YouTube but you can see a glimpse of a homebrew cart loader at the start of the video. Are Nibris passing off unlicensed homebrew development or other people's work as their vapourware or maybe Cubed3 are making all this up for "exclusive" hits? Even if they just produce concept art forever, if they're receiving funding they're hardly putting it to any evident use at the moment.

Topic on NeoGaf but with a lack of anyone pulling it together it's confusing to know what the f**k is going on in there:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... ght=nibris

That topic claims some concept art is stolen but there's no evidence that Nibris ever claimed it was theirs, as they have no Website content. Who knows.

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:30 pm

Lewis D wrote:Even when they were making it for the Amiga they were ripping off other games:

Image

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:30 pm

Right Thing/GDMFSOB wrote:
GreenGecko wrote:New members are signing up just to comment on this. Is that because we got Slashdotted?


New members are also signing up to post unfunny shops. Yes, it's because we got Slashdotted.

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:31 pm

GreenGecko wrote:Holy sh*t, we have been slashdotted. 102,437 views for this topic.

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:31 pm

Yup, we've broken the number of users online record - 1519 on Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:53 pm :lol:

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:31 pm

TheTurnipKing wrote:http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/18/1938223&from=rss

Oh man, Slashdot is gonna get Gamesradar'd!

I can see it now.

Image

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:32 pm


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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:32 pm

RichieM wrote:
RichieM wrote:
slimchimp wrote:
RichieM wrote:Gotta say, I registered just because of this story!
I'm downloading the "making of" DVD to see what they have to say :lol:


Fancy uploading any highlights to youtube after?

I can assure you, you'd instantly become a GR Legend.


I'll see what I can do, but to be honest I wont have chance until Saturday :oops: I can't wait to get home from work and play it :lol:


Actually I've been beaten to it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RIL_OWlNbyE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=soE6Vn0gBw4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pCYEQC4sPiA

(and for the record I've never been on SlashDot, I got my lead from The Register :wink: )

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:33 pm

GreenGecko wrote:Oh my god, it's not just games.. They've recycled graphics from seemingly random sources. They probably just googled half their graphics.

Image

Image

:lol:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... 83&page=14

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PostRe: Limbo of the Lost-gate
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:33 pm

gravehill wrote:Hi all,

I'm Marko Hautamäki and I composed the music for LotL game level backgrounds and most DVD features, and my music also appeared in several trailer videos that can be found in YouTube.

I am preparing a press statement about my involvement in the game development and this is also why I registered to this forum. This is very bad publicity for me as a composer. Thus I'm trying to do everything I can to clear my own name.

There have been speculations that the game contains stolen music. Majestic Studios project leader Steve Bovis assured me this is not the case and I can 100% guarantee the material I was personally involved in. I have the original project files of every music piece I made for the game to prove this.

I will post the press release here as well.

Meanwhile, I will try to check this forum every now and then. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them but please bear in mind that a) I'm bound by NDA, and b) apart from music I have practically no information on the game creation process. I got involved in the project in May 2006 and finished my part in December 2006.

If anyone has actually found stolen music in the game, I would very much like to know about it!

Sincerely,
Marko Hautamäki


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