Has anyone considered approaching DICE directly?

BeerHunter · Post by **BeerHunter** » 2007-08-05 13:09

I’m wondering if anyone on the development team has ever considered approaching DICE directly for a license to the BF 2 / 2142 engine. AFAIK EA was simply the publisher.

There are some sound arguments for DICE to grant a restricted license to proven mod developers.(ie mod developers who have , over the years , proven themselves with high quality , popular mods).

One precedent worth mentioning might be HL1 , which remained on the shelves LONG after it’s lifespan not because of the game but because of the mods that were developed from it (CS and DoD). Fifteen years later they are still selling copies of HL1.

Another is the fact that many bought BF2 simply for the mods and won’t buy BF2142 until mods are developed or ported over to it.

One could also mention that BF2 is now obsolete, having been replaced by BF2142. Both are facing strong competition from Armed Assault for realism with lord only knows what’s on the horizon.

The license would allow the mod developers to incorporate features specific to their mod (imagine PRM with LEANING!!) and advance the basic game to a much more sophisticated level targeting a specific demographic to compete with the up and coming competitive releases.

It’s my opinion that by granting such a license, DICE will be ensuring itself of residual revenues for years to come from dated games without incurring any of the development costs associated with trying to release a modern competitive game.

Is just a thought? Might be worth a try. The worst that could happen is they would simply decline the offer.

Expendable Grunt · Post by **Expendable Grunt** » 2007-08-05 14:04

A liscense would cost several thousands of dollars.

BTW Half Life 1 came out in 1998, which makes it nine years ago, not 15.

Post by **BlakeJr** » 2007-08-05 14:25

EA has bought DICE so the BF2 engine belongs to EA. In fact I think EA bought the engine before they actually bought DICE.

ArmedDrunk&Angry · Post by **ArmedDrunk&Angry** » 2007-08-05 14:29

someone mentioned here that the license for HL cost 500,000USD, a tad more than several thousand.
If it were only several thousand I think the community would cough it up.
I know I would rob some kids of their lunch money to get rid of " hardcoding".

Post by **Outlawz7** » 2007-08-05 14:34

Yeah, EA made sure, they keep that hardcoded arcadey engine to themselves...

Expendable Grunt · Post by **Expendable Grunt** » 2007-08-05 14:38

ArmedDrunk&Angry wrote:someone mentioned here that the license for HL cost 500,000USD, a tad more than several thousand.
If it were only several thousand I think the community would cough it up.
I know I would rob some kids of their lunch money to get rid of " hardcoding".

Ment to say several hundred thousand...stupid sleep deprivation.

Revelation_Space · Post by **Revelation_Space** » 2007-08-05 14:59

You forgot to mention BF1942.

I don't know anyone who played 1942 for the regular game (which was shit, imo). Everyone played it for Desert Combat and/or Forgotten Hope, which were both far superior to vanilla 1942.

But everyone else is correct, EA bought DICE, and there's no way EA would be as kind as to offer the engine for license at a reasonable fee.

Post by **Matrox** » 2007-08-05 15:02

try e-mailing that to EA... Would be interesting to see how they turned us down.

BeerHunter · Post by **BeerHunter** » 2007-08-05 15:35

[R-DEV]Matrox wrote:try e-mailing that to EA... Would be interesting to see how they turned us down.

OK

Leo · Post by **Leo** » 2007-08-05 15:58

20 bucks on them not even responding.

ArmedDrunk&Angry · Post by **ArmedDrunk&Angry** » 2007-08-05 16:26

Number one........forget email.
Send them a typed letter with a return reciept.
And don't ask for open source code but only for PR.
Then people will buy the BF2 basic game in order to get the Free PR mod, which benefits everyone.

Post by **Outlawz7** » 2007-08-05 16:29

Has anyone considered approaching DICE directly?

Yes, but they didnt make it through the security

Leo · Post by **Leo** » 2007-08-05 16:52

Outlawz wrote:Yes, but they didnt make it through the security

LMAO, Outlawz wins this thread.

Randleman5102 · Post by **Randleman5102** » 2007-08-05 17:01

Lol Outlawz, And dont send an e-mail. You wont get an answer. Send a letter at least. Or you can even call.

Alex6714 · Post by **Alex6714** » 2007-08-05 17:47

I think it would be good to try, I mean, what can you lose by asking?

Mention PRs huge success, increasing popularity, restriction due to hardcoding and possiblity of increasing even further the number of players by making th mod better, the amount of copies more they could sell just for people who want PR, the competitions PR has won etc....

Jedimushroom · Post by **Jedimushroom** » 2007-08-05 17:50

Competitions PR has won?

You forget that in nearly all bf2 mod competitions we lost because noobs want their shiny.

eddie · Post by **eddie** » 2007-08-05 17:53

Apart from the $3000 Requiem would of just won... I'm sure they know all about PR. They probably have a user on here just to see what's happening etcetera.

In all honesty, I think it'd just be a waste of time sending a letter and hoping for a reply. If you do get a reply it'll be a polite way of saying "Haha, are you joking? F*ck off."

DarkTalon · Post by **DarkTalon** » 2007-08-05 18:12

we could all buy alot of stock in EA, might influence them.