I usually do my best to avoid washing dirty laundry in public. It invariably reflects badly on all involved, and if ever required it´s seldom going to be when dealing with people worth being dealt with reasonably, only attracting further mudslinging.
However since we seem to have become implicated in this, and since we did have some tangential involvement with this project (thus playing a part in possibly lending it unwarranted credibility), I feel we should explain a few things.
Late last year OZV8 folks approached us with the idea of producing an Australian V8 mod for GSCE and asking if we had plans to do one or could help them put such project together as a mod. They were told to no uncertain terms we could not get involved in the production of a mod, but if they had a 3D model they wanted to share with us, we could use it to produce a car in GSCE with our sounds and physics to kickstart things, which they could then use as a base for their own project.
It was again made explicitly clear however that for various reasons we could not / would not get involved at all in its production beyond this one generic car, specially if it were to use real brands, and specially if they had plans to crowdfund for it as they suggested they would. This is well documented and our non-involvement beyond supplying them with sounds and physics
was made publicly clear in this very thread when their methods already began to appear questionable.
They did supply us with a 3D model earlier on, which was the base for what is now the SuperV8. Once question marks were raised about its precedence however, we completely reformed the model to the point its final published form bares little actual resemblance with the original model besides the base shape. In any case, if someone feels their work has been misused, or if OZV8 can demonstrate they did pay for the full rights to the original model, please feel free to contact me so we can try work something out for your trouble.
Later on, as they began having trouble to complete the project, OZV8 came to us for help - which again, we never were in position to offer. All our vehicle art production is outsourced to independent contractors, and these people naturally expect to be paid for their work. There aren´t (or weren´t at the time anyway) people on Reiza clock we could assign to help develop free mods for third parties, even if that made any sense to begin with
We did offer them contacts to these developers so they could try work something out to finish their project. Unfortunately from what I understand the 3D models they had supposedly acquired were not up to a workable standard and would have to be redone almost from scratch, which obviously they were not budgeted for.
At this point, faced with the choice of either taking responsibility for misjudging their venture and having a honest discussion with their backers to decide the best way to rectify the situation, or running for the hills while deflecting blame to the people who actually tried to help them put it together, they unfortunately seem to have chosen the latter route.
From our side and the communication I did carry with these guys, I cannot say OZV8 appeared to be lacking in good faith when they first proposed the mod - credit where it´s due, if not for their initiative we probably wouldn't have pushed on to create the SuperV8 in GSCE. But they clearly underestimated what is involved in creating such a project, and now are not doing a very good job of handling themselves in the aftermath.
So if OZV8 want to reply to this and set the record straight with your supporters in a mature manner free to PM me, and I´ll allow you to include it in this thread so you can direct them to your own private place where you guys can talk it over. If however you prefer to continue to deflect blame for starting a crowdfunding project before you had a full grasp on what you were doing, well there are clearly other places where you can get on a soapbox about it.
