Duck and Cover uncovers new information about this epic struggle. Herve is not happy.

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Duck and Cover has obtained Interplay's latest court filing in its battle with Bethesda. This filing is a 17 page statement from Interplay CEO Herve Caen, and he is not very happy at all with Bethesda's conduct during the case. The filing mostly summarizes Interplay's legal arguments, but also allows Herve Caen to publically take shots at Bethesda. We also learn a bit more about Fallout Online's development status, including how fleshed out the game world is.

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">The TLA requires Interplay to begin "full-scale development within two years of its effective date, April 4, 2007, but does not define what this means.

To create its MMOG, Interplay spent more than a year in pre-production. It hired the game designers from the original Fallout game to work on the game design. Interplay hired artists to create concept art for reference during production...Interplay also hired writers to work on the MMOG's story line. The current game design document is more than 600 pages long and describes background material, such as the game world, characters, creatures, weapons, equipment, back story and other key concepts concerning game play.

In conjunction with Earthrise, Masthead has already developed a proprietary MMOG engine and software tool sets over a period of several years and at an equivalent cost of several million U.S. dollars. Masthead has also developed its own networking software to permit thousands of simultaneous connections to and interactions with the game world. Interplay licensed Masthead's technology and hired it as a contractor to perform software programming and some game design services under Interplay's direction and control.

Fair enough, and even better:

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">It is interesting that in or about August 2007, just four months after Interplay had entered into the TLA with Bethesda, Bethesda's parent compabny, ZeniMax Media LLC, announced the creation of its own MMOG development house, ZeniMax Online Studios. Based on Bethesda's subsequent conduct it thus appears that Bethesda never intended to permit Interplay to develop an MMOG under the terms of the TLA and planned from the outset to terminate Interplay's rights and grant them instead to affiliated ZeniMax Online Studios for a Fallout MMOG.
Bethesda's attempt to terminate the MMOG rights undert the TLA is consistent with its overall conduct designed to interfere with Interplay's exploitation of rights granted undert the parties' agreements, including Interplay's Merchandising Rights to the Interplay-developed Pre-existing Fallout Games.

Which side will prevail and bring the most anticipated Fallout MMO into life?

Spotted at: DAC