Sega Supporting ROM Hacks Via Steam

[NeoVamp]

Am I the only one who likes this new 3D interface?

I think its neat, though I wouldn't mind some more options to tinker with the room. (like changing posters and magazines on the floor)

[Assman]

Also, I've found the source of all these Ecco hacks/protos:
http://web8.orcaserver.de/ecco/downl...on/genesis.php

Ecco 1 Rev. 01 is the one you guys are looking for.

FUCKIN' DUUUUDE. Thank you for that. I swear I checked that very page of that very site yesterday, but somehow I missed that. This makes my day.

By the way: rev01 of Ecco doesn't send you back to Welcome to the Machine if you lose at the final boss, but sends you to an easier level made just for this purpose.

That's one of the big draws for me. Even the Sega CD version, which has all (or most) of this extra content, makes you go back to the Machine. I really grew to hate that fucking level.

[Popful]

For some reason, I had always assumed the Japanese version of Ecco was in English, or at least just had Japanese subtitles a la SNES Shadowrun. Well, it's pretty cool that we basically have the Japanese version in English now.

Ninja edit: Not to be too much of a Debbie Downer, but regarding the whole "officially endorse ROM hacks" thing, I get the feeling this is too good to be true. :/ My guess is that they'll only put up hacks of certain games, ones that have already been released on Steam (which would actually be great!). I'm wondering, would you have to sign a contract saying that you can only host this hack on their servers, and said hacks could only be accessed by those who already own the games being hacked?

On the other hand, it's still pretty awesome that Sega's okay with their games being hacked to begin with, so...

Ninja edit 2:

Am I the only one who likes this new 3D interface?

I think it looks alright, going by that screenshot, but it could use a lot more polish, some thing like this: http://www.digitalcybercherries.com/...-retro-arcade/

[Sik]

FUCKIN' DUUUUDE. Thank you for that. I swear I checked that very page of that very site yesterday, but somehow I missed that.

You didn't, he only noticed the ROM was missing from the list when I pointed out this thread LOL. It actually went full circle.

EDIT before I forget:

Ninja edit: Not to be too much of a Debbie Downer, but regarding the whole "officially endorse ROM hacks" thing, I get the feeling this is too good to be true. :/ My guess is that they'll only put up hacks of certain games, ones that have already been released on Steam (which would actually be great!). I'm wondering, would you have to sign a contract saying that you can only host this hack on their servers, and said hacks could only be accessed by those who already own the games being hacked?[/url]

They're allowing arbitrary ROMs (not even patches) to be uploaded to the workshop without any sort of checking (otherwise all those that aren't actual hacks wouldn't have made its way there). So huh yeah "too good to be true" but it actually did happen. I suppose there may be some cleansing if it gets too out of hand but it's literally about putting up ROM hacks on the workshop.

[Barone]

It's sad to see it's going downhill now, though.

Several users exploiting the lack of verification in order to upload games which have no relation to the Sega packages. This is going to result in bad things IMO, especially if Sega doesn't do something to moderate this kind of crap.

Some hackers are also annoyed by the fact that people have been uploading their work without asking for permission.

A few days and the things seem to be going out of control already. I hope Sega find a way to start banning people who upload ROMs of other games or even use the hub to try to sell repros (yes, there are people doing it).

[Barone]

By the way:

[Sik]

I checked and it looks like so far (at least what I can see now) nearly all of those are bootlegs... and pretty much from the same user. Did something get filtered or what? (EDIT: oh, maybe that explains it)

Also hack of the year
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=676918656

[Barone]

I checked and it looks like so far (at least what I can see now) nearly all of those are bootlegs... and pretty much from the same user. Did something get filtered or what? (EDIT: oh, maybe that explains it)

They've cleaned it up, almost completely.

EDIT: There's still stuff like Zero Tolerance being uploaded as a Golden Axe's mod.

[Sik]

Zero Tolerance is free actually:

Randel Reiss, the owner of the Zero Tolerance copyright and trademark, has made the original Zero Tolerance Sega Genesis ROM image royalty-free for distribution. Portions of the ROM image are copyright Sega and although Sega has not actively prevented royalty-free dsitribution, they have never official granted permission for distribution.

http://www.technopop.net/

Well I guess it's safe to assume Sega won't complain about the code from their devkits in this particular case... So yeah, that one case is actually technically legal despite not being a mod.

[Barone]

But it's completely off when you consider the workshop's purpose.
It's not only about copyright infringement, it's completely against Steam's agreement.

[Baloo]

I know it's meant to be for hacks, but I don't mind stuff like Sonic Crackers, Sonic Eraser, Tetris, and Zero Tolerance 2 on there. The games basically never got commercial releases. Who is a ROM hack through steam hurting? Same with the rest of those goofy bootlegs. The bootlegs are garbage, but they're not taking money out of anyone's pocket in 2016.

That being said, the only game I see on there that probably shouldn't be is the Thunder Force IV under Gain Ground ROM. There's a lot of junk there, but I don't know if I agree that it's all terrible.

[Barone]

A lot of those garbage bootlegs use copyrighted material from Disney.
They aren't legal at all.

And, again, the workshop feature of Steam is for content creation based on and for the products you purchase there and which have that specific feature listed. If you're doing anything different, you're doing it against their rules.

[Benjamin]

You don't need the Game Genie firmware for that...

Yeah, I know Galoob doesn't own rights to the memory addresses or anything of the sort. More that Game Genie functionality is an expected feature of most any emulator, and these workshop mods seem to be a way to implement an expected feature without being "generic." I don't think it would hold the same appeal without workshop access.

Am I the only one who likes this new 3D interface?

I don't care for it since it's clunky and needless. Reminds me of VRML in that regard. I'm guessing Sega's primary motivation there was to update the old collection so that it would appeal to more people who would otherwise write it off as just another Genesis emulator. Now it's a bit different than the others out there! I really wish Sega had thrown in some badges, cards, and achievements with this update. I'd find that much more useful, useless though they all really are.

[Allard]

Wish they made a sixth pack in which they'd add more of the games they missed, like The Ooze or Chakan.

[Assman]

You didn't, he only noticed the ROM was missing from the list when I pointed out this thread LOL. It actually went full circle.

Finally my whining on an internet forum has paid off.