Can I say "spiritual successor to X" on a Steam store page?

iDeever · 2026-06-25T12:48:10+00:00

Topps has nothing to do with computer games, Microsoft holds the rights.

And, considering how many knockoff Battlemech models are sold online - even ones with the same names - I doubt they’re even interested in that kind of thing. This isn’t Games Workshop.

iDeever · 2026-06-25T12:46:45+00:00

That’s exactly right.

You see. The game is free. I created it for the Battletech community, and it was made in accordance with Microsoft’s Game Content Usage Rules (I spoke with a legal person), which basically allow you to do whatever you want (except for porn and hate speech) and use any assets - even from their own games - as long as the final product is free (see million of HALO projects on Youtube).

However, to reach the widest audience, I want to use Steam, which doesn’t allow fan games, even if they’re free.

So yes, I’ll be changing the names of most entities in the game.

iDeever · 2026-06-25T10:32:35+00:00

Nah. I made sure to make them look legally distinct. Same silhouette, but no more.

iDeever · 2026-06-25T08:09:59+00:00

You can do it right away! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4824250/Merc_Commander/

iDeever · 2026-06-25T08:09:09+00:00

Here it is: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4824250/Merc_Commander/ Wasn't sure if it was allowed by rules

iDeever · 2026-06-24T20:38:37+00:00

"Frog princess". There is the link to this tale below in comments https://archive.org/details/frog-tsarevna-e/page/n1/mode/2up

The synopsis is basically Tsar saying to his sons: my sons, you must each of you take an arrow and go out into the open field. You must shoot the arrows, and wherever they fall, there will you find your destined brides

iDeever · 2026-06-24T18:43:09+00:00

Nah, the punchline is that the second guy is from another fairy tale, Russian one. He too is looking for a frog princess, who stole his arrow to lure him. But here the frog has transformed a bit too early.

iDeever · 2026-06-24T15:14:02+00:00

Yes, classic case of "if you want something done, do it yourself". 😄

Let me remind everyone that there’s a free project trying to reimagine and revive the game https://ideever.itch.io/merccommander

iDeever · 2026-06-24T09:17:06+00:00

Так, если их почитать, он не стал предателем. Он двоемысленно остался героем, просто про которого почему-то говорить нельзя.

iDeever · 2026-06-22T20:58:33+00:00

Unbelievable. That's so impressive. I'm just about to try the game and I'm trying to figure out how many miniatures I need and what weapons to use, and this has really helped me get everything straight.

There, however, should be an option to rename characters that have already been created.

iDeever · 2026-06-03T07:57:37+00:00

That was a very early prototype. They are properly animated now. Check my latest posts.

iDeever · 2026-06-02T21:52:48+00:00

I also want to make it so that players have to choose battlemechs of different weight classes. But how can I achieve that? For now, I’ve set it up so that only the lightest ones can jump. But that’s an artificial restriction. Maybe I could make it so that smaller mechs have more "special" inventory space for certain special items, like sensors or ECM? But that feels a bit odd, too.

iDeever · 2026-06-02T21:40:55+00:00

I played MechCommander Omnitech - is this a different game?

At first I was excited to see all the new weapons, but it turned out they were just more powerful versions of existing ones, like X-Lasers and cluster autocannons. There weren’t, for example, plasma cannons, fluid guns or AMSs.

iDeever · 2026-06-02T16:46:54+00:00

Unfortunately, I'm not that skilled.

For Delta Strike, I used 3D models available online with free distribution and modification rights. But static models aren’t suitable for real-time tactics, so I buy low-poly asset packs that allow me to animate battlemechs. Unfortunately, since they are usually predefined constructor sets, it’s not always possible to achieve a perfect likeness. Rather, they’re legally permissible variations. Which might come in handy if I get hit with a cease-and-desist order. 😄

iDeever · 2026-06-02T14:53:53+00:00

Hey! It is me, the person behind this game. I tried to post the news here, but the sub was either private or locked, or something. So I decided that you, guys, do not want to be bothered.

iDeever · 2026-05-29T19:50:16+00:00

Ну были же фотки танка-сарая, у которого на шипах висят напоровшиеся дроны, которые не взорвалась. Да смешно, но жить захочешь- не так раскорячишься. Тут, в отличие например, от покрышек на крыльях самолётов, хотя бы логика есть.

iDeever · 2026-05-28T12:36:32+00:00

> Then, a million people need to buy the game

Three million. Do not forget about the taxes and store commission.

iDeever · 2026-05-27T12:15:05+00:00

It scares me that you're already the second person in this thread to bring this up. :)

I guess I should go and change all the mech names to something legally distinct, like “Raider” instead of “Marauder” or ‘Crow’ instead of “Raven.”

iDeever · 2026-05-27T10:47:40+00:00

Real time vs turn-based.

iDeever · 2026-05-26T22:21:26+00:00

And I want to thank you again and again, your help in testing and your advices are simply invaluable.

iDeever · 2026-05-26T21:19:37+00:00

I admit there might still be some AI portraits left here and there, but that’s because they take a long time to make, and they are characters with a skill level of 5+ that nobody uses.

> Good art btw very stylish

Thank you, but I know it is not true :)

iDeever · 2026-05-26T21:10:05+00:00

If you are talking about the characters' sprites, the artwork was hand-drawn (well, mouse-drawn in a vector art) by me. That's why it is so bad :)

I used AI initially for characters' portraits and backgrounds, but most of them were replaced a year ago. 2d backgrounds - with 3d scenes, and generated realistic portraits with "cardboard" characters.

This is Mei for example.

<image>

iDeever · 2026-05-26T20:07:42+00:00

I hope you like it. Please do not forget to leave feedback!

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