The Ellis Studios Tribute Thread

[Haba]

you buy game? it has dozens of hamlets

 

[Bara]

What's this exactly ?
Looks like a MMO but there's little info on the website.

Would look alright if it was a TB party based RPG but it really looks like a MMO website with subscription and shit.

It does look like that. You can see combat starting around the 5 minute mark.



The music and sound assets in this game play though.... I'm pretty sure are from neverwinter nights before combat starts and then heroes of might and magic when it does.

 

[Haba]

any bets if there is an actual game in there somewhere, or if it is simply smoke and mirrors to fool people into buying it?

 

[Infinitron]

That's the game Roqua was obsessing about on Shoutbox the other day.

Is it actually by Ellis Studios?

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100047155697073

"James Kiefer". Yes, yes it is! Looks like "Fishdog Games" is their latest alias.

 

[Haba]

How can any of this make sense? Their trailers didn't even have 200 views before I posted them in shoutbox?

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

It's been just smoke and mirrors for years, it's a wonder they haven't been hired by some government as professional bullshitters yet.

 

[Bara]

Well if any of you take the plunge here's the only other thing I could find posted about anyone playing it so far.

Hi.

I had some issues playing v1.1:

- killed all creatures in the cave north of the farm (I guess this is the ogre quest?). When I returned to the farm he kept asking if I killed it and the quest remained open.

- I helped the wounded character at the start and added another one in Trent (innkeeper). I had three characters when entering the ogre cave. When I helped the wounded character it just levelled up the last character I got (from Trent), I did not get a fourth character?

- I brought back Sean's ring and got my reward. The ring stayed in my inventory though?

- After finishing the quest above and looking at my inventory I got an error message and my autosave file was deleted(!!). Lost practically all my progress.

...Downloading v1.2c

Though in the comment thread dev is already made or working on fixes

 

[Darth Canoli]

Skipping through that video, it really looks terrible, no encounter design, basic UI, barely any combat option ...

Thanks for the video.

 

[karnak]

you buy game? it has dozens of hamlets

That's a lot of melee combat.

 

[Infinitron]

Found this amusing drama from last year. Apparently they accused another indie developer of plagiarizing them.

https://itch.io/t/582366/released-mythos-reawakening

Wow! PVgames stay away they use only use other peoples stuff! they use my stuff

https://kieferd20.itch.io/sotg

You did not make half of what you said you did! look at the people on steam say about your stuff!

Not Recommended
POSTED: FEBRUARY 3, 2018
Do not buy this DLC. It is a waste of money. It promises a bunch of things but delivers on none of them. It's pretty, I'll admit, but the actual assets you get all suck. The character creator pieces are only good if you want a bunch of people that look the same. Over-hyped. Save your money.

And you did not make half of those resources, you used someone's other stuff to make those...omg I've been doing this for so long. please do not make people think you made most of this? and the link you shot pulls up all your stuff but guess what noone is not allowed to speak about them!

you don't even have an email option! no forums nothing! Mythos I created most of what you are saying you created!

What are you talking about? I have a link to my e-mail right on the main page of my website, along with links to Facebook, Patreon, Itch, etc. It's not difficult at all to get ahold of me. I even have a Discord channel.

I have my own subforum on the official RPG Maker forums: https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/pvgames-2-5d-graphics.108640/

You are welcome to come there at any time (as you have always been, since it's been around for years).

You did not create any of these resources. If you did, as you are claiming by stating "I created most of what you are saying you created" then prove it. Show the original drafts of the work. I can do it because, well, I made them. In the meantime, I am simply going to report your rather belligerent (for no apparent reason) posts.

Also, if you dislike my resources so much, why are you using them in almost all of your games? You are clearly profiting off of my resources. Nobody is forcing you to use my assets, and there are plenty others out there to choose from if you so wish.

@Lunatic Rpgs All right, please take a break. Our admins are aware of the issue now and will look into it. Do you have any proof to support your claim?

Edit: actually, care to explain how come you made an identical-looking "sequel" to Mines of Grimvale by Dragon Game Designs? And are you the same Jamie Ellis of (apparently defunct) Ellis Studios who kickstarted for Isinica Clash of Magic three years ago?

@No Time To Play - After going down the internet rabbit hole, it seems that Lunatic RPGs is Dragon Game Designs, Grinding Game Studios, formerly Ellis Studios and who knows what other pseudonyms. It also appears he has a history of shady practices, such as claiming authorship of stolen artwork and spamming crowdfunding sites and game-hosting sites with shovelware games under numerous pseudonyms.

I found this gem of a thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-ellis-studios-tribute-thread.112724/

To save time having to dig through it, here are some notable excerpts (each bullet point is a direct quote):

• To those considering backing this project, beware. This game uses content not made by Jamie Ellis. Ellis has taken screenshots of game maps made by others from Deviant Art and claimed that he has made them. Here are some links of maps that can be seen in the screenshots of this campaign:
  http://tensen01.deviantart.com/art/Unnamed-Fantasy-World-Map-136525669
  http://sillouete.deviantart.com/art/Forest-3-RPG-Maker-Parallax-Practice-425523342
  
  In addition, this "game" is already being sold by Ellis on a couple of different sites, his personal one and itch.io. https://kieferd20.itch.io/humans-and-monsters
  
  The itch.io page shows yet another stolen screenshot, as seen on this DA account. http://hypersnake22.deviantart.com/art/Halterock-Full-view-155359644
  
  This is not an attack or slander, simply a comment to let the buyer beware that this creator is not honest.
• the whole Studio is weird as fuck, they keep pumping shovelware quality games every two months, trying to earn a buck here and there, spamming the codex with different accounts.
• It isn't just their art assets that are allegedly stolen, a lot of their code has been copied wholesale as well, often times with the OC's legal disclaimers and etc still intact.
• he delete his site https://blackthornelord.itch.io/sacred-lands this delveloper seem to scamer..

And another thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...a-pc-3d-rpg-similar-to-dungeon-master.113629/

• I am sure i 've seen some eye of the beholder sprites as well, a bit redrawn maybe, but you clearly see where they come from
• Looks like that Eye of Beholder 4 vaporware
• Some of the spell icons on their kickstarter screens are ripped right from WOW.
• Several of those are from Diablo 3 as well.
• So is this a module or did they get the rights to use the music from the game or something? Do I get half price because I already have the Neverwinter Nights music from GOG
• Inventory sounds are exactly like Nwn.
• That's NWN VA, yes. Not only the spell chants. All of this seems ripped off. I remember one of the voices because I always picked it for my characters.
• Wow. What in the world? The Red Hand of Doom is literally the exact same game. Look at the character creation as well. https://rpgmaker.net/games/7125/ Edit - Seems some small details are different, but obviously a ton of it is exactly the same.
• lol another one from these guys? It's basically the same demo that every year appears as a different new "game" with a few changes.
  As for the plagiarism thing, also all the feats icons are taken straight from NWN2.
• It is not just about the art. They stole a whole other (unfinished) game and tried to pass it as their own.

From their Cave of Sorrows Kickstarter (which came after the game was already made, it seems?): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/759393997/cave-of-sorrows/comments

• Hopefully your spell icons are temporary seeing as how they are ripped right out of other games...

From RPG Watch: https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34496

• I've run into game stopping bugs in every product. Instead of fixing the bugs, they release a new copy of the game under a different name (bait and switch) and a few more engine/rule changes.
• But it looks like they might also be nabbing other people's assets from DeviantArt. In that promo video, there's three maps from three different users on DeviantArt, and one of them is actively claiming he's been ripped off.
• So it implies that the game is finished, but Nut reports there are game-breaking bugs. Not to mention credible accusations of art being used without permission.
• You have shown some random gameplay footage from "Isinica Clash of Magic". The issue at hand is the Kickstarter promo video for "Humans and Monsters", though perhaps they are the same game? The footage shows none of the maps in question. Nothing you showed gives any proof of where you acquired the resources in question.
  
  To clarify, this map appears at 1:06 in the Humans & Monsters promo: http://hypersnake22.deviantart.com/a…view-155359644
  
  As you can see, it was uploaded to DeviantArt in February 2010, and it is claimed that it is someone's else's work. Please confirm which bundle gave you this resource to use, and where in the game it can be found.
  
  Also, this map shown at 1:20 in your promo: http://tensen01.deviantart.com/art/U…-Map-136525669
  
  From that page we can see it was uploaded by another user in September 2009. Again, please tell us which bundle gave you the right to use this asset, and show us where it features in the game. The map features places named Grimstad, Savonia, Royce, and Vestinia - are these locations in the game?

Another thread from RPG Watch: https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1061418897#post1061418897

• So this is yet another version of the shovelware for which they claim they need a Kickstarter?
• Leaving aside the open question of whether they've ripped off other people's work, I find it pretty astonishing that they're selling yet another iteration of essentially the same game, while the Kickstarter for the previous incarnation is still running.
• The accusation from the users at the RPGmaker forums is that these devs have simply put screenshots of other people's graphics into their promo. I asked a detailed question that illustrates the suspicions in the other thread, to try and pin this issue down, but I've had no response. If they can provide a convincing response, rather than vague denials, I will happily apologise.
  
  Bear in mind that the devs are calling these users liars, and accusing them of having a grudge against them. If that's not true, and I don't believe it is, that's pretty contemptible. Add to that running a Kickstarter for a game that's already complete and being sold, while simultaneously releasing yet another iteration of that same game, and I think it all looks pretty sketchy.
• And yet, having cancelled the previous Kickstarter (I suspect because that was the only way to remove the video with the evidence of the stolen maps), you have immediately started a new Kickstarter for this spin of the game. The campaign is a copypaste of the last one.

And then there is, of course, him accusing me of stealing art from him, which is utterly nonsensical since I can very easily prove that I created those assets, and they will never be able to prove otherwise.

Thanks for the investigation! Our admins are aware of the dispute now and will look into it. I can't be of any more help as it's not my department, but we take (potential) fraud seriously. For what it's worth, people seem to speak highly of you on the RPG Maker forums.

I guess this is why all of their old itch.io sites have gone down.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

PVGames makes fantastic graphical resources, I love their work and very much enjoyed their few shorter RPGs. I always wondered why not more RPG-Maker developers use these stellar resources instead of the crappy shit RPGM comes with.

edit: Here are the links to the three games, if anybody is interested:

https://pvgames.itch.io/the-last-journey
https://pvgames.itch.io/unsung-heroes
https://pvgames.itch.io/aleph

 

[Eisen]

Despite his comment on KotC 2, i think he stopped, right? He isn't gonna make a cashgrab shovelware again?

 

[Serus]

Despite his comment on KotC 2, i think he stopped, right? He isn't gonna make a cashgrab shovelware again?

The question is, why he even bothers/bothered to program or design anything in the first place. As i understand at least some of his "works" have been partially real, not just videos with "gameplay". Scamming full time would be more profitable.

 

[Zizka]

(Is there somewhere on the codex where the best threads are linked/archived? Like Sirtech bankruptcy and soul of war (not using caps for this)?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

How many of these "games" are still downloadable. Quicklinks before I decide to delve the web?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

(Is there somewhere on the codex where the best threads are linked/archived? Like Sirtech bankruptcy and soul of war (not using caps for this)?

check the stickies here
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/forums/retardo-land.17/

 

[Zizka]

Thanks, the ones I’ve browsed through don’t come close to Soul of War level of quotes but I’ll keep sifting through, surely I’ll find something else.

i distant myself from this nightmare place

It’s poetry.

 

[Zizka]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/fairfax-fluent-shoutbox-drama-my-side-of-the-story.131002/
Just some nice guy drama. No broken English or anything funny, like confusing buying a game with owning music. I’d say . The whole act of being kind and loving was pretty dope.


The thread about the Asian lady was ok but it wasn’t funny, not in the surreal way Soul of War was. Nothing really special.

Can anyone Enlighten me on how to get this asshole off my ass!

Goddammit, can you not appreciate this? Can you not see? This was meant as an insult to someone else and said seriously. I mean technically if your asshole went off your ass to another part of your body, it’d be pretty decline.

Actually, turns out there’s gold in the other fake games:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/cave-of-sorrows-dungeons-and-dragons-clone.113738/page-2


The capitalisation is back. He also poses as a fake member but keep on writing in the same style (DeletedMember16721). It’s as if he choose the path he was the least adept as, like a man with no hands doubling down on being a juggler. Some funny quotes as well:

A notification I received states a moderator here named Infinitron gave my posting a bird. I'd be a liar if I said I know what this means but I am assuming it is like the middle finger (also called the bird)?

Man, it’s like Idiot Savant perk right there.

I think I’ll print them all put them in a binder and keep it as an oddity.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Man, it’s like Idiot Savant perk right there

Nah that was an obvious newfag not knowing what buttons do.

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

PVGames makes fantastic graphical resources, I love their work and very much enjoyed their few shorter RPGs. I always wondered why not more RPG-Maker developers use these stellar resources instead of the crappy shit RPGM comes with.

edit: Here are the links to the three games, if anybody is interested:

https://pvgames.itch.io/the-last-journey
https://pvgames.itch.io/unsung-heroes
https://pvgames.itch.io/aleph

It looks very bad because it has *that* look thats been used 10000 times in shitty games.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

PVGames makes fantastic graphical resources, I love their work and very much enjoyed their few shorter RPGs. I always wondered why not more RPG-Maker developers use these stellar resources instead of the crappy shit RPGM comes with.

edit: Here are the links to the three games, if anybody is interested:

https://pvgames.itch.io/the-last-journey
https://pvgames.itch.io/unsung-heroes
https://pvgames.itch.io/aleph

It looks very bad because it has *that* look thats been used 10000 times in shitty games.

Yes, there are tons and tons of terrible "games" using these resources. But I still think RMG-Maker XP's (and later) standard resources are simply shitty from an aesthetical standpoint. Characters look like fat blobs on compeltely sterile, way too smooth surfaces, surrounded by plastic-like props. They should have stayed with the pixelated style of the earlier RPGM-versions. That one is timeless.