Ohhhhh, the hypocrisy!

[Mich Angel]

I would say really don't matter if you put in 500$ or 25K$ in SC, For it's very much a skilled based game and the gear don't make you good.
Sure you might have a lot more cash ( UEC ) than one that have less fleet and maybe just started but still don't make you a winner with your 25K$ fleet of ships.. You still need to know how to use it and in SC you can not buy skill for cash.

( Having a big fleet a lot of cash can prove to be disadvantage too, since you're more likely to be attacked more often for you have the cash and yeah we all know where pirate like to strike... where the cash is, right !? )

:beer::beer::beer::beers::beers::beer::beer::beers::beers::beers::beer::beer:

 

[Talonsbane]

No individual can fully operate a capital sized ship on their own. They'll need crew to help them. Money can't purchase everything, but it can buy a few rounds for various people at a bar close to a landing pad. Who better to assist in providing maximum carnage in a system what a band of drunken TESTies with mini fridges beside them that are freshly stocked with their favorite beverages? Cheers & let the good times roll!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I suppose having a lot of UEC in the game right away would be like people with a lotta dolla in real life.

Yeah, a dude may have five cars at home and drives a Farrari to pick up some milk, but he's still just a fat balding 40somthing going to pick up some milk. Whats he done in life? Obviously something to have all those rides, but for all we know he's the accountant for the Milk Marketing Board... Not exactly a tale to tell the grandkids.

The PU is somewhere where you make your own stories - to go out and adventure. No amount of store-bought UEC is going to stop the Ninetails spawning in and being dicks when you are on your way from Olisar to Yeala, and a spaceman drifting through the void isn't going to care if they are picked up by a Cutlass Red or a 600i... When someone sees a player owned Idris they'll want to know how many Vanduul you've taken out, not how much the ship cost - and if they do ask how you got the ship you just know they'll be disappointed if you say "bought it from the pledge store" rather than "Won it from a guy called Calrissian in a game of Sabacc".

I think it'll turn out that way. Yeah UEC can buy things... But the adventures you'll be going on won't necessarily require them. What can one very expensive Multicrew ship do that a gang of five pilots with Aurora starter package ships can't?

 

[Sirus7264]

Alright, for everyone saying "HE'S VIOLATING COPYWRITE/TRADEMARK!!!!"

Fair use is applicable to both, for the purpose of "Education, critique, and satire." Since this is both a "Critique" and "Satire" the comic artist is fine.

Now, if he started using the logos as either a derivative work or claiming to be an "Official" Star Citizen webcomic, then he'd be in legal trouble.

I was just talking to the lawyer at work yesterday about stuff on copyright and one thing covered is "jounalism" which is covered under fair use thats how media can slander companies and quote things from books or use photos. this may fall in line with this subject.

 

[maynard]

...What can one very expensive Multicrew ship do that a gang of five pilots with Aurora starter package ships can't?

plenty of things

very few of which will be as much fun as blowing shit up and getting blown up with a gang of friends in starter ships

 

[Bambooza]

I suppose having a lot of UEC in the game right away would be like people with a lotta dolla in real life.
Yeah, a dude may have five cars at home and drives a Farrari to pick up some milk, but he's still just a fat balding 40somthing going to pick up some milk. Whats he done in life? Obviously something to have all those rides, but for all we know he's the accountant for the Milk Marketing Board... Not exactly a tale to tell the grandkids.

This is the truth I think a lot of people over look. Just because you have an Idris doesn't mean you know what you are doing with it.

 

[Talonsbane]

This is the truth I think a lot of people over look. Just because you have an Idris doesn't mean you know what you are doing with it.

Or just because somebody owns an Idris, doesn't mean that they can operate it by themselves.

 

[Vavrik]

Just to put some things to bed. Insert the standard "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer here. I just happen to have a lot of IP experience.

TLDR; Summary: Basically this passes most tests for fair use - but there is a potential catch, last paragraph.

You don't copyright or patent a logo. You trademark it. CIG owns the wordmark ("standard character mark) for "Star Citizen", written and used in a specific way defined in the trademark registration. Same goes for RSI, and Squadron 42. They do not appear, on a preliminary search, to have a trademark on the Star Citizen logo. That may be because it is too similar to other logos to be a distinctive trademark.

As for copyright on the art itself, a copyright does not have to be registered to be valid, you just need to prove yours is the prior art basically. Profit, is not a test for copyright infringement. You can be sued for photocopying a single page from a book if the author so chooses, and your fair use claims fail in court. Precedent says it is *usually* fair use, depending on the purpose of the copy, and one of the elements of fair use is known as parody (and includes satire). I said, profit is not a test. What is a test is the damage you did to the author.

Parody is a valid defense though, regardless of if it is for profit or not, and parody has *precedence over the rights of the author* in most cases, including whether there were damages - except specifically where a binding contract exists.

Now, you may think an EULA is a binding contract. It may be. But the real answer is, "It depends" on a lot of circumstances, including, apparently, whether the judge in the case has a wart on his left pinky among other things, or whether or not he got laid last night. EULA's tend to have a lot of sections that are not binding in any case.

But there's a catch here though anyway. The author of the parody or satire might open himself in hot water if his work crosses the line into defamatory. That's a question for the court, and not for the individuals to decide, but generally the idea here is if the intent of the parody or satire was to shame or defame someone.

 

[ThomSirveaux]

I was just talking to the lawyer at work yesterday about stuff on copyright and one thing covered is "jounalism" which is covered under fair use thats how media can slander companies and quote things from books or use photos. this may fall in line with this subject.

And no, a journalist (be they print or visual media) cannot knowingly defame (general term for slander and libel) without having proof of their claims. I have never been involved in any of these cases, nor am I a lawyer, but I do know some and our discussions on the topic were usually about "burden of proof" as far as what the truth is/was.

I also recall a few public cases that discussed the fact that a journalist could not knowingly print false information. This isn't just "fake news", but an article with information published with malice of intent.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

I also recall a few public cases that discussed the fact that a journalist could not knowingly print false information. This isn't just "fake news", but an article with information published with malice of intent.

Yeah, it depends if harm is intended. I don't think there is a distinction here between a journalist and anyone else. If you cause deliberate harm with a false narrative, you can be sued whether you are doing journalism or not. As result there are hundreds of pseudo-journals online that could easily be sued for their fake news, especially just before our elections. The issue is really whether one can get blood from a stone. There's no point in suing if you can't get an award, unless you're trying to clear a field of many others at once by forcing them to desist.

We actually need law suits like this in the US, and I am not a litigiousness person, but the fake news really is out of control

 

[Thalstan]

Sure, they start off with a lot of ships, but they can only use one at a time. For many, they need someone else to play with them as well...potentially lots of people. They probably won’t have enough money to hire tons on NPCs, even if they maxed out their UEC purchases. Finally, the economy in game won’t be evolved enough to support the big ships.

It’s going to take MILLIONS of credits to load up the Hull E, and that will require aggragation points for materials. So, a Hull isn’t the ship you will move from daymar to cellin to delamar etc. You might move from Port Olisar near Crusader, to Port x near ArcCorp, to Port H Hurston, to Port Y near MicroTech, buying and selling, but mostly buying things like hydrogen, food supplies, minerals, etc. then you jump to Terra and its planets. You then sell what you brought there and buy new stuff, before jumping on to a third (or original) destination...in the early game, there just won’t be enough trade to support that as everyone builds up their pile and pirates try and take it, with mercs playing both sides.

What they have done is cut the route from starter ship to big ship down by not having to pay for it out of their pile of UEC. They still need to work the same factions you do, they still need to build up their pile, just like you do. However, they also,provide a leg up. They need crews for their ships. They should be paying more than what you would earn in your starter ship, with less risk to you. That means you can build your pile even quicker, while still earning the same rep.