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It's been a good run

Discussion in 'News' started by ToastyJustice, Dec 8, 2012.

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< MLP:Online OST | No Longer Operational >
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  1. ToastyJustice
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    ToastyJustice

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    Just over a month ago, we released our first episode of our game. After a year and a half since the outset of the project, we were happy to present our first Episode to you. Though our servers suffered, we were pleased with the response and the great feedback we received!

    Shortly after that–exactly 4 weeks prior to now–we received a complaint about copyright and trademark infringement. We initially dismissed this it was most likely submitted by some trolls, as they could be submitted anonymously by anyone through our CDN. However, we continued to look into it, and by the following Monday, found it to be very real.

    Hasbro is not to be blamed here. As per U.S. Trademark law, as soon as an infringement comes to light, they are obligated to defend the trademark, or they will lose it. They had no choice in the matter, regardless of what they thought of the project or how it benefited them.

    The matter was quite strict: there was little that we could do to work around it. We removed the download link and development was suspended. Discussions continued through the month, but it came down to one fact: MLP:Online had come to an end.

    MLP:Online: April 2011-November 2012. RIP.

    We apologize for the wait. The time that we were taking for our discussions and to announce this publicly was time-boxed. Salty will be posting a eulogy about the project.

    But all hope is not lost. While MLPOnline is officially dead and buried, the team is mostly sticking together. Some took their leave due to real-life considerations, but about 75% of the old team remains. We've officially changed our name to Starlight Studios, as per a team vote last week. We have selected a new project. It is pony related, but otherwise we're keeping most of the details secret. It is our goal to have it completed by Bronycon 2013, though this may be ambitious.

    You should expect to see something unveiled this summer.

    EDIT: Information on how to help is now available. See this post.

    Thanks to Salty for helping with this post.
    • Optimistic Optimistic x 14
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    ToastyJustice, Dec 8, 2012
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  2. Contex
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    Contex

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    Was fun people, nice getting to know everyone, it's been a great experience :)
    • Agree Agree x 5
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    Contex, Dec 8, 2012
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  3. Rar1ty
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    Rar1ty

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    It was fun and I'm very sad of the news. Thank you team for bringing the best community I have ever been apart of. ;)
    • Optimistic Optimistic x 2
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    Rar1ty, Dec 8, 2012
    #3
  4. Shadran
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    This is the worst news you could ever give to us. I can't even write a good reply now, I'm just.. destroyed.
    RIP.
    TTwTT
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Funny Funny x 1
    Shadran, Dec 8, 2012
    #4
  5. hitman61live
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    hitman61live

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    We, as the fans of your game, thank you for the time we had with it. It was, indeed, amazing to see, play, and...just have a good time with.

    We will always be proud at how much amazing work you guys and girls did.

    So, thank you, MLP Online team Starlight Studios~!"
    (I've got nothing better to say, I'm sorry..)
    • Like Like x 1
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    hitman61live, Dec 8, 2012
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  6. Rar1ty
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    Starlight Studios (love the name) I wish you the best of luck in the future.
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    Rar1ty, Dec 8, 2012
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  7. sbloom85
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    Well, this sure sucks, but I can't say I'm surprised. It seems like everyone is trigger happy with copyright these days.

    Good luck with your future projects.
    sbloom85, Dec 8, 2012
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  8. plankton0591
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    Man, this sucks. Oh well, things happens. So Hasbro didn't like this. Man, Hasbro was a team player up until now. Was it Lauren Faust who did this?
    • Agree Agree x 1
    plankton0591, Dec 8, 2012
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  9. trainee
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    trainee

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    As a developer on the team, I'm very happy a lot of you enjoyed the game. I was very surprised we had over 17,000 downloads when we first beta released it after 2011 summer Bronycon. It was a great experience to have and learn by joining this project.
    • Like Like x 7
    trainee, Dec 8, 2012
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  10. cookie
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    cookie

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    does that mean this web site is going to go as well o_o
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
    cookie, Dec 8, 2012
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  11. Shadran
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    Lauren Faust has no decisional power at hasbro, and doesn't work as show writer since the end of season 1. Hasbro just decided that the proget was violating copyright lav, even if it's a no profit.
    It's really sad to see a good RPG and a good pony game die like this.
    I wish all the devs the best of luck with the new project, we all wish to see it very soon.
    • Agree Agree x 1
    Shadran, Dec 8, 2012
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  12. plankton0591
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    plankton0591

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    Oh, what happened? How did they find out about the game?
    plankton0591, Dec 8, 2012
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  13. Bluenight
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    Bluenight

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    Hey, you guys did amazing. The game had very good quality. I'm glad I joined this website and got to try it. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you guys. I'm not mad at Hasbro, or angry about Copyright laws, (maybe a little sad), but I now have something new to look forward to in the future.

    Thanks for filling up all of my time these last few months. I had a blast and met tons of awesome new people. Everyone here is awesome and I'm glad I signed up back in June.
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    Bluenight, Dec 8, 2012
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  14. mike
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    I guess it was copyrighting, wasn't it? This sucks hard, it makes me sad to see such a dedicated team work on a project for so long, only to have someone say they can't finish it. I'm not too sure how Copyright law came into effect, but it did, and like you said, they had to defend their claim or they'd lose it. I still have quite a few of the 0.9 releases, do I need to delete them?
    1.0.4a
    1.0.5a
    1.0.6a
    1.0.9a
    and the most recent one which I snagged a day before the link was nuked.
    mike, Dec 8, 2012
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  15. Contex
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    Contex

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    We'll keep the website & forum up for now, but we might have to change the domain & forum name.
    So the forums will stay, though we might change the name and move it.
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    Contex, Dec 8, 2012
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  16. Bluenight
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    If someone reports the game as a violation of Copyright laws, Hasbro has to investigate and if it does (by the way, Copyright laws are very strange) Hasbro has to stop the violation otherwise they automatically lose their copyright.
    Bluenight, Dec 8, 2012
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  17. Rar1ty
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    It's really good to hear this.
    • Agree Agree x 6
    Rar1ty, Dec 8, 2012
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  18. mike
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    Thanks for clarifying that, I'd hate to lose contact with the 7 or 8 users I've met so far.(They irk me sometimes, but it's quickly resolved)
    • Agree Agree x 1
    mike, Dec 8, 2012
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  19. GhostGuerrilla
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    GhostGuerrilla

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    Thank you guys for everything! Good luck on your next project.
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    GhostGuerrilla, Dec 8, 2012
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  20. trainee
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    trainee

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    You guys are allowed to keep the copies of the game. Once you've downloaded it it's yours. We just cannot distribute it anymore publicly anymore on this site.
    trainee, Dec 8, 2012
    #20
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