Uh, guys? Guys!
You seen the new terrain for BMS?
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Don’t think I’ve seen those pics before?
Has the new terrain been released?
22 August 2023
As noted elsewhere, MicroProse has acquired the copyrights in the Falcon 4.0 Intellectual Property (IP) from former owners, Tommo. [For completeness, Tommo still owns the associated trademarks.]
The BMS team has been working with MicroProse to formalize a working relationship and understanding around use of the IP. The goal for this is to ensure that work on Falcon BMS releases and updates can continue with a minimum of friction.
I am happy to bring you all the good news: The BMS team has now concluded a formal Agreement with MicroProse.
I won’t bore you with the minutiae of the conversations that led up to the Agreement or its final form but I think it’s important to share the broad strokes of how this will work.
The Agreement codifies the following:
- The BMS team has the rights to use MicroProse Falcon 4.0 IP to continue making Falcon BMS releases
- These rights are essentially perpetual meaning the BMS team’s work can continue working on the code and data with no end in sight.
- Falcon BMS will continue to be a free-of-charge binary release for non-commercial purposes as it is now. And also as it is now, a licensed copy of Falcon 4.0 will be required to install and run Falcon BMS.
- The BMS team has the ability to become the source of licensed copies of Falcon 4.0 in the event that no other source supplies that on a substantially equivalent basis to that on which it is available now. We also have an avenue to explore more and different distribution paradigms for future Falcon BMS releases.
- MicroProse may become a Contributor to Falcon BMS work. When and if that happens, the Contributions will be handled the same as any other contribution taken into the BMS body of work – the BMS team will have the non-exclusive right to incorporate such content and/or modify it as needed to meet the needs of future Falcon BMS releases.
I think you will agree that this is a very significant step for the Falcon community overall. Certainly it is a significant step forward as far as the BMS team is concerned.
We are very pleased to be working with MicroProse, an IP owner who both appreciates the value of and strongly supports continued work of the BMS team on making the best possible Falcon BMS.
And of course the BMS team wants to take a moment to appreciate all of you, the community. Without your enthusiasm, passion and engagement none of the above would even be possible. In that context, congratulations to us all: clear skies are ahead for Falcon BMS!
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Microprose was basically like:
“That IP / Codebase is 30 years old, you can have it”,
It’d be in their berst interest to keep BMS Alive, as it requires a Copy of Falcon 4.0,
Out of the Digital Licenses sold for Falcon 4.0,
99% of them are likely just purchased on sale at $4.99 - $9.99 depending on Storefront, just to be able to install BMS.
Since MP now owns Falcon 4.0, the revenue goes to them.
This Review sums it up nicely:
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What I read from that is that Falcon BMS will always be based on 4. Not sure if that’s good or not.
I s’pose it depends on what Falcon 5 brings to the table.
Would have been nice to see some gratitude expressed to Microprose though, instead of what, to me, looks like bordering on arrogance.
**ninja’d by Skate 
probably while I was making a gazillion edits to make my post more socially acceptable
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A few points to consider:
- I doubt that many of those that actually made Falcon 4 remain with Microprose. Those are the individuals that we should be thankful for. Being thankful to a company seems strange to me.
- Falcon 4 would be completely dead by now if it hadn’t been for the modder scene.
- Instead, it still turns free money for MP because of volunteer work.
- The community has invested engineering hours worth millions of dollars into Falcon 4. I’m not sure who should be grateful to whom.
I read it like: Yeah, you can keep on making free money for us. In return you earn the right that we can’t turn you off. “You can have it” would have meant releasing the source.
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They already have the source, and it’s since been about 85% replaced.
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Didn’t they already ‘get’ the source back in the day, when the MP Falcon 4.0 dev team went away?
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I meant releasing the source as in, relinquishing their exclusive copy- and distribution rights. Essentially going open source.
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the source was “leaked” the day before MP Offices were sealed.
whether it was MP intentionally doing it, or an individual doing it, was never determined.
There were 3 major builds leaked though.
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Here’s the Legal Rub:
They don’t own the rights to the source code. they own the Copyright to the publishing and the Namesake of “Falcon” Series.
The source code for Falcon 4.0 belonged to Micro Prose Interactive,
Which went bankrupt and closed all operations in 2000, (After jumping around multiple parent companies).
Microprose 2023 is not Microprose Interactive from 1998, they don’t automatically own all previous assets just because they have the same name, it’s an entirely different company, CEO, and founder, using the Base part of the Name “Microprose” which was released as a TM when Micropose Interactive went bankrupt and ceased operations.
They did secure copyrights to the names of the the series “B-17, Falcon” etc,
But they do not own the source code, once the company was dissolved, source code owner is transferred to the escrow agency to hold, however, they escrow agency has the right to release the source code if deemed necessary, seeing as the customer’s that bought Falcon 4.0 were attempting to sue for the game being released unfinished, and instead of patches, the IP was passed along to multiple published who released separate code branches (F4AF etc), due to customer non-confidence, the source code was no longer protected by the agency, honestly I highly doubt it was “Leaked”, more than it was simply released from protection by the escrow agency due to the state of Falcon 4.0 when MP dissolved, and the lack of support by the IP Owners it was passed around to,
The new Micropose business wise, has zero in common with the old.
It’s simply a guy that started a company, and used the old company name and bought back copyrights to the names of games produced under the old company name.
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This massive point right here.
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That’s not the point at all - Microprose have bought it commercially and legally - they could have put a stop to BMS easily. They didn’t - BMS attitude comes across as - and I’ve thought this many times in the past - arrogant.
Gratitude for allowing them to continue (bearing in mind the requirement for Falcon 4, which Microprose now own) and offering any kind of input/assistance/material. There isn’t enough gratitude these days - I’ve heard it being referred to as “the entitled generation”.
That is why they should be starting off with “we’d like to thank Microprose…”
It’s just common courtesy.
These words make me legitimately angry.
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I really wish I could understand your point because to me it feels absolutely nothing as such…
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Agreed. They’ve been fantastic.
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Arrogant? Folks who continue to develop THE best war sim - for free - should not be called arrogant. They do this in their spare time. More than likely have a demanding day job, a significant other, and maybe kids. And they do this for FREE.
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The “irony” in this is, some of the Falcon community devs are pretty old farts themselves by now.
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I find it arrogant of some corporate entity that had no stake in development to ask for money for IP that is only worth anything because the community has been supporting it for 25 years. The work BMS have done probably makes up for at least 80% of what the distribution rights for F4 are worth. I think that’s very much the point. Until I see conclusive evidence to the contrary, this “Microprose” is just banging the drum to up the worth of the assets it aquired.
Before respect is due, they need to accomplish something. Buying the IP of some commercially failed company to leech off of other people’s work is not an accomplishment.
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