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[Toady One]

Nah, I was just working on the dook "game" at the time that we were talking about copyright infringement.  So mithril became Dookstar.  On the other hand -- Angband has mithril AND "scruffy looking hobbits", though I think they changed out the balrog.  I thought the H word was particularly bad, and I know ADOM got nailed for it.  Was that only after Thomas Biskup started selling the ADOM deluxe for actual money?

[Gezol]

ADOM Deluxe was never finished. I don't know what the whole story was with ADOM changing the name of the hobbits, but it actually still has mithril. As does Angband, which still has Balrogs, along with Sauron, Morgoth, the One Ring, etc.  There's actually a huge number of games out there which use mithril, as the list in this article shows:

Mithril

My opinion is that you're probably safe using mithril, if you want to. Considering that games as high profile as Final Fantasy, Everquest, and World of Warcraft use it, I very seriously doubt anyone would come after you. Hobbits might be another matter, but then Angband and Nethack get away with it... it all seems to be pretty arbitrary.

(and then of course, there's the option of spelling it "mythril" and/or giving it a different color, as a couple games on that list did.)

What was the whole dook thing about, anyway? Reading the thread I'd thought it was just a joke based on a typo, but it sounds like you were working on some project involving them?

[Jim]

Liberal Crime Squad also has mithril in it, at the Oubliette shop!  I think aluminum would be an awesome thing to add.  Aluminum was more precious than gold back in the day.  there should be all sorts of different metals in the game.  certain metals could have a thematic element too.  For example, silver weapons could do severe damage to undead and were-creatures.

[Harlander]

Those ancient batteries are pretty cool, though some of the ideas for what they were used for seem a little off-the-wall... Using them for electroplating, sure, that's a great idea, but another hypothesis was that they were used in temples as a kind of theological joybuzzer...

[Aquillion]

I have to say that Dookstar sounds like a kind of silly name for a metal...

There was a mention at some point of letting players customize names like that via config files, so people who want to violate established properties can do so on their own initiative.  Is that going to be included, or is it in the 'shameless bloats' section at this point?

[ October 09, 2005: Message edited by: Aquillion ]

[Toady One]

It is in the last core thing I'm going to do, the init file.  Dookstar, of course, a silly name...  but, well, if mithril isn't being enforced or is unenforceable, then I might just do it that way.  Does somebody have an email for the Tolkien estate?  I could just ask them which words they are claiming.

That said, I can change it to adamant/adamantine, which has way older roots.  For instance, "In Greek mythology, Cronus uses an adamantine sickle to castrate his father, the Titan Uranus."

[Gezol]

Well, according to this page, the Tolkien Estate doesn't seem to have an e-mail address.

I agree with Aquillion on the Dookstar thing. Silliness isn't a bad thing, but this doesn't feel like the best part of the game to put it. I would go with adamant or maybe orichalcum if you were going to change it entirely, but as I said, I think mithril's safe. I mean, if something as big and well-known as World of Warcraft has it, and Thomas Biskup decided that it was okay to keep in ADOM even after he changed the hobbits... Personally, I would go ahead and use it, but it's up to you.

[Toady One]

To clarify, the use of Dookstar was a joke directed at this copyright issue.  It wasn't something to worry about.

I'll decide what to call things later.  I still have a lot of basic programming to do...

[Aquillion]

Also, as I understand it, they send out cease and detest letters before they do anything else...  so you could just go with mithril, and change it to something else if they object.

[Toady One]

Hrm, so on the weekend, I've gotten halfway through two of the core things.  I might not have time to finish them off until Thursday.  The continuing mission.

[Toady One]

38/192 -- going for 37 tomorrow.  Then more on the weekend hopefully.

[Toady One]

37/192.  Woot.  Shooting for 35 by the end of the weekend.

[Prospero]

Cor, I think I can see Toady's keyboard smoking from where I am!  

[Ancient_Sleeping_Dude_Rei]

Did... you miss me?

Hehehehe, I'm back to torture you all  

Anyways, keep up the good work, cyall in another ?unkown period of time?

[Toady One]

test grading and grant writing and talk preparing and makeup exam writing and paper writing are intruding on the free time at the moment...  I should get back on track a bit over the weekend.