starstalkere

original scavenger falkok design

It recently came to my attention that the reasons the "Savage Falkok" skins were edited from my original submission were not because of copyright but because of RealOn3's disdain for MLP[1], which is the source of inspiration for the skin. I was highly upset because not only was MLP invalidated as artistic reference, it highlights a double standard and nepotistic behaviour in the team responsible for PB2 updates and lack of communication within the team. Nehil is able to selectively choose skins to get away with copyright issues, such as RealOn3's upcoming Sgt. Johnson skin, while skins such as mine are wildly changed without notice for supposed "copyright reasons"[2]. In my talks with Nehil he has denied any bias against me or my Scavenger Falkok submission, but continues to demonstrate unfairness by stating that RealOn3's Sgt. Johnson skin would be fit for publication after changing only the sword sprite[3]. This was said while completely disregarding the extreme similarities in armor and facial features. Meanwhile, my skin was radically changed beyond the given copyright issues of its feathers and visor. Furthermore Lin, the current lead developer of PB2 has brought in an inexperienced artist Serpent, whose art was added directly into the game without any revision or communication with the rest of the team[4].

Information is not shared within the team, but rather between the subset of friends running the team as was the case with the lack of communication regarding Serpent's art being added to the game. I was not informed of changes to my skin or its supposed "copyright issues" prior to the fact, and neither were other artists, such as LazyRain with his proxy skin submission[5]. This deficit in communication is also followed by extreme stubbornness, in which the leaders of the team have refused to accommodate artists wishes to fix their own art[6]. My own autonomy as an artist has been brought into question by this stubbornness, as after requesting my submissions be removed from the update queue I was shown hostility towards my wish to remain in control of my own art[7]. This leads me to the conclusion that the art team believes it may use whatever art they find however they wish, which is corroborated by the theft of not only my art[8], but also Kek's Nexxon contractors in the development of human special forces and infected human special forces[9].

Addendum:

To clarify on the theft of Kek's work: The original design was a security contractor made by Kek[a], which was recreated by Cakespider[b]. Cakespider's recreation was copied and recoloured by RealOn3[c], which then made its way into the game as a CS special forces soldier[d]. Notice how only the head is significantly changed, while the body retains all of its original detail with the addition of a few armor plates and pouches.

Additionally, Kek was initially approached about using his original infected Nexxon contractors and was told that the original file had been lost. RealOn3 then recreated the skin without obtaining permission to do so[e].

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[1] RealOn3 admitting to altering my skin because of its relation to MLP

[2] Supposed copyright issues with Scavenger Falkok

[3] Copyright infringement of Sgt. Johnson

[4] Lin forcing Serpent's skin into the game

[5] Nehil changing LazyRain's submission without notice

[6] Refusal to allow artist to modify their own submission

[7] Hostility towards me after requesting my artwork be removed

[8] Theft of my work by Serpent

[9] Theft of Kek's works by RealOn3

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[a] Kek's original design

[b] Cakespider's recreation

[c] RealOn3's copy

[d] RealOn3's final product

[e] Theft of infected Nexxon contractors

when will you learn that your actions have consequences???

Apparently, there are none. As of this writing head developer Lin is advocating for Nehil and ReaOn3's return to the art team. This is the first message I received upon Nehil's reentry: abject denial of any wrongdoing despite clear and abundant evidence to the contrary[see: previous post]. What has since ensued has been nothing but lies, ad hominem attacks, deflection of responsibility, and matters being swept under the rug.

Nehil brought up three points against my post.

RealOn3 did not steal the infected skin

He has no preferences towards anyone

I should not have made this post

Note that in the first point Nehil denies theft of the infected Nexxon contractor, but makes no mention of any other stolen artwork. Of course, Nehil failed to provide evidence proving his first point. He then feigned ignorance to the existence of other copied skins, the first of many attempts to ignore important issues. When I pressed him on the matter he first denied any semblance to the original artwork, and when pressed again exclaimed that Cakespider had no qualms about his artwork being used. When pointed out that the artwork did not belong to Cakespider, Nehil claimed ignorance and attacked me for "bringing drama [over what he didn't know]". Again, deflecting and downplaying the issue. It should go without saying that not knowing about wrongdoing is no reason to do wrong, much less vehemently defend the act afterwards.

This behaviour also shows how the team had double standards and inconsistent management. My scavenger falkoks were scrutinzed and had as much MLP inspiration as possible removed from it for "references to an animated character which i dont know what it is but eric wants us to be careful as hell with" while a skin submitted by RealOn3 was approved with no scrutiny whatsoever. When I raised this issue Nehil once again feigned ignorance to the matter.

Even if we grant them the claim that the situation was a misunderstanding there is no excuse for the lack of proper attribution to the original artists. Infected Nexxon and Special Forces were added to the production queue under RealOn3's name, rather than giving proper attribution to Kek-and Cakespider if we generously grant them the claim that they thought they sourced the skin from him. Furthermore and to a lesser extent, Nehil and RealOn3 take my work and claim it as their own faction.

I was initially approached by Nehil about using the blue falkok. I proactively told him I wanted to redo the artwork to less resemble the source character, and provided the yellow falkok for him to use. Nowhere in the initial interaction did I give permission to use the blue falkok. Nehil later returned to me with drastic changes and talks about a new faction (which he claimed i would have full credit for). I expressed discontent with the direction he took my art without informing me prior, but allowed him to use the art anyway because I wanted to avoid conflicts at the time. While this situation wasn't outright theft in the case of the yellow falkok, it's yet another example of the backwards actions of Nehil and RealOn3 in obtaining skins. Case in point: the blue falkok was redrawn without my knowledge and without my permission; I never provided the file for a blue falkok, RealOn3 redrew it from old photos.

Nehil never proves his second point; if anything his responses further prove the point I was making in my original post. Up to this point he has zealously defended RealOn3's theft of Kek's art and works based on copyrighted material, thus allowing his friend to break the rules around copyright while my own works were subjected to drastic changes because of the same rules. He does say that Sgt. Johnson was removed, though it should be noted that it was only removed after I had brought the issue to Eric Gurt. I had attempted to inform the team of copyright issues when Johnson was first revealed and my concerns were ignored, which leads to the third point Nehil brought up. Communication with the team was impossible, and Nehil has berated others for critiquing his actions. The only course of action for raising concerns was to bring it up with the original developer, sidestepping Nehil as well as Lin for enabling him.

At no point has either Nehil or RealOn3 apologized for their actions. Over the course of our conversation Nehil apologized once, and only for "misunderstandings" around why my art was changed. Nehil has spent the rest of his energy on attacking me for daring to speak up about team misconduct.

Neither Nehil or RealOn3 have stepped down or admitted fault. RealOn3 has gone as far as stating he can't take any of the issues seriously, because as he is friends with the two people in charge of the team he can hide behind their protection.

Lin, for her part, has been enabling and is now protecting Nehil and RealOn3 from any consequences of their actions. When I raised the issue with her she claimed full responsibility for the mismanagement of the team, and blames the art theft on her instruction to Nehil to "modify skins to better suit the game". This excuse completely sidesteps the issue I raised, which is that art was being taken and used without gaining permission to do so. These cases of art theft are not simply a misunderstanding around tweaking artwork to fit into the game.

Lin has laid none of the responsibility for mismanaging the team and stealing art at Nehil or RealOn3's feet, and expects them to continue working with the team despite neither of them acknowledging their wrongdoings. Lin even claims the team had no leadership structure, in essence saying Nehil had no responsibility to lead the team. This is false, as for all intents and purposes Nehil was in charge as he made the final decisions about the state of each skin when they were added to the game. Neither Nehil or RealOn3 have put in any effort to show they deserve to work with the team again, yet Lin keeps insisting they still belong.

Keep in mind that Nehil was permabanned for doxxing another player but is working closely with Lin on PB2's development and has access to modifying the game code.

She excuses their inability to take responsibility as them being unable to resolve the matter peacefully, which only serves to say they are incompetent or malicious. Taking responsibility for their actions and removing themselves from PB2 development is the proper course of action to resolve the issue, and as is evident in all they have done they are either too immature or too stubborn to do so. Either way, such individuals have no place handling the delicate matter of adding other people's artworks to the game.

Addendum: Original source can not be shown because the channel the conversation took place in was removed, but multiple people can back up the existence of server leaks, despite clear rules forbidding it written by Nehil himself. This is yet again, evidence of double standards.